International News Headlines: February ‘09 Edition

Spanish Families Defy Mandatory Homosexual Indoctrination in New Video

Spanish families who are resisting their government’s mandatory homosexualist indoctrination program have made a video expressing their defiance.  ”We’re not giving in” says one mother. “We’re not going to enter the classes,” say two teenagers.  “We’re going to continue fighting … for our freedom and the freedom of all,” say two groups of families. 

The video has appeared in the wake of a recent decision by the Spanish Supreme Court, which has not been formally announced yet, but which purportedly confirms that the government may compel students to take the course, which is entitled “Education for Citizenship and Human Rights.”

Although the course is billed as a type of civics instruction, it has been criticized for promoting secularist values strongly opposed to Christianity, including homosexualist ideology.

Massive German Study Confirms Abortion Significantly Increases Premature Birth Risk

A huge German study has further substantiated the link between abortion history and an increased risk of future premature births.  The German study joins a solid body of evidence showing the increased risk of preterm births for children who are brought to term after a previous abortion. 

Why, instead of chasing criminals, are police asking children to write essays about gay pride?

It takes pride in its reputation as one of the most gay-friendly employers in the country.  But the Kent Police force has been accused of going too far after inviting children under the age of 14 to write about their feelings on homosexuality and transsexuality as part of a competition. The force is offering a £25 prize to the child who submits the best 200-word essay on the subject. 

Ireland to refuse adoption rights for gay couples

The Irish government published the Adoption Bill 2009 last month.  It limits access to adoption to married couples and individuals, excluding non-married same-sex and opposite-sex couples.

Tiny Fetal Models Cause Uproar in Dutch Media and Parliament

The model of an unborn child carried in the annual March for Life in Amsterdam has caused a firestorm in Holland.  A photo of the tiny fetal model was pictured on the front page of the Dutch Christian newspaper “Het Nederlands Dagblad” in December after the march. The front-page coverage garnered other media attention, television interviews and even angry reactions in the House of Representatives of the Dutch government. 

The two inch long model represents a fetus at ten weeks of actual length and weight. “At four weeks the heart of the unborn beats; the model shows that it is a child with hands, feet and a nose even able to bring its finger to its mouth” according to the Dutch pro-life group Cry for Life. 

Pro-Abortion Marie Stopes Eager for American Funds to Promote Abortion in Kenya

The leader of the Kenyan division of Marie Stopes, one of the worlds largest abortion providers, has told an AP reporter that he is eager to receive American funds now that President Obama has rescinded the Mexico City Policy.

The Mexico City Policy is a Reagan-era directive that prohibits pro-abortion overseas organizations from receiving American taxpayer dollars.  Obama repealed the policy three days after his inauguration, making hundreds of millions in foreign aid money available to such groups.

Thanks to the policy, abortion facilities that would have made abortion available to Kenyan women were forced to close, and contraception became less available, according to Marie Stops Kenya.  Now groups like Marie Stopes Kenya, who were “limping along” on European aid, are lining up to apply for American aid.

Opinion Essay: Adoption, Abortion, and Solutions

We all probably know someone who has been adopted.  In my case, my brother, 8 months my elder is adopted.  I also have dear friends who are adopted.  I can hardly imagine my life without them.  I think about the times I have spent with them, I have participated with them in their success, and seen the things that bring them joy.  These people have made me who I am and I am ever grateful to them.  The thought that their birth mothers may have been so close to abortion and the idea that these people way not be in my life is enough to make me cringe.  I marvel at the love of these birth mothers who so unselfishly carried these precious people to full term to put them into a better situation. 

My desire is that each  may come to a better understanding of the dangers of abortion, and the positive aspects of adoption.  I will discuss the effects on the aborting mother and the anguish that she passes through emotionally and physically.  I will touch on proposed methods to educate people about pregnancy and safe sex, and provide information about an organization dedicated to making the adoption process smooth.

The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform states that 52% of abortions are performed on women younger than 25 years old.  Teens account for 20% of all abortions.  To stunt the problem of teenage pregnancy parents must take responsibility for teaching their kids about sex.  Families must discuss the risks of becoming sexually active and the dangers that are associated with having multiple partners.  Our schools must also tastefully teach sex-ed and students should be informed on the topics of contraceptives.  Teens must understand the power of procreation and the problems that can arise in if this power is misused.

We must also teach the public about the dangerous reality of abortions.  Many studies have revealed some startling facts about the after effects of an abortion.  The British Medical Journal published that physically, women who have an abortion run the risk of becoming sterile, never able to have a natural child.  Those who are not sterile face a greater chance of having complications in their future pregnancies.  Many other health concerns arise after an abortion operation such as hemorrhage, convulsions, and severe infection. 

Worse than the physical effects are the potential emotional damages to an aborting mother.  According to The British Journal of OBGYN, in the weeks after the abortion 50% of women admit to feelings of intense guilt and one-third regret their decision to abort.  According to studies by Dr. David Reardon, a leader in the study of post-abortion research tells that the most frequent reactions to an abortion include: depression, loss of self-esteem, self-destructive behavior, sleep disorders, memory loss, sexual dysfunction, chronic problems with relationships, dramatic personality changes, anxiety attacks, guilt and remorse, difficulty grieving, increased tendency toward violence, chronic crying, difficulty concentrating, flashbacks, loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities and people, and difficulty bonding with later children.  The most devastating findings from research say that 80% of women who have abortions later express feelings of “self-hatred” with 60% entertaining the thought of suicide with 30% of them actually attempting suicide.  These stats are depressing and hopefully they awaken us to a need for an alternative to abortion that avoids the physical and emotional damage.

One organization with the cause of helping women make the decision between adoption and abortion is LDS Family Services.  LDS Family Services is an organization run by and paid for by the LDS Church.  Although the organization is run by the church, it’s services are available to people of all faiths, religions, races, economic standing, and sexual orientation.  According to the LDS Church website, LDS Family Services is a non-profit organization that offers individual, marital, and family counseling.  Their unwed parent services include counseling, medical, and educational assistance, along with the adoption services if the parents so chose.

If a mother chooses to give her child up for adoption, LDS Family Services will guide her through the entire process.  The mother can choose the couple who will receive her child and the mother and couple may even discuss if the adoption is an open or closed adoption.  Although adoption may normally be expensive, this organization is able cut cost thanks to donations from members of the church and donations from members of the community.          

This is a topic that is very real and close to me.  A lot of the happiness in my life has come from the close interactions I have had with adopted people in my life.  On the other hand, I have had the opportunity of meeting with several women who have had abortions.  I have looked into their eyes and felt their pain.  I have gained a personal knowledge of adoption and abortion and I wish that each of us could gain our own understanding so that when it comes time for us or someone we know to make a decision we will be ready.

I hope that the right to life is always respected.  I hope that when a decision is being made about an “un”expectant pregnancy all factors are taken into consideration, especially the factor of potential for both mother and child. I call to each of you who have been informed, to share these dangers of abortion and spread the good news of adoption.  In truth, LDS Family Services does not need your money, but they do need you to tell others about their many services, especially those who will benefit as they make the difficult choice as to what steps to take as they deal with an unexpected pregnancy.  As we support adoption, we support the life of a mother or an adopted individual who will come into our lives and change us for the better.

Opinion Essay: Why We Must Promote A Cultire of Life

This blog post has been used with permission of the author.

I think the time has come to discuss why our nation should promote a culture of life.  It is a stance that in time has grown closer and closer to my heart.  With almost one week to go before Election Day I think it is more important than ever to discuss this issue.

Let me start with a fact that may blow your mind – A year ago I would not even think of writing the following editorial.  I was apathetic and sat on the fence between pro-choice and pro-life not wanting to stray onto either side.  For years I had read advocate after advocate from both sides bicker and battle with each other. I saw abortion as a divisive issue.  With a major political influence being Neal Boortz who could blame me?  Then stepped in Governor Mike Huckabee.

No one on any side had been able to communicate in a way that made sense and was compassionate towards the issue until Governor Mike Huckabee came onto the national scene.  Granted he did not win me over right away.  It took a lot of praying and thinking but the process began while Mike was speaking to the throng gathered in Ames at the Iowa Straw Poll.  Fresh in our minds that day were the trapped miners in Utah.

While making his case, Governor Huckabee cited those poor miners.  Also important was that not only did Governor Huckabee say that we must protect the unborn and the sanctity of human life but he took his case one step further and said that we should honor, cherish, and nurture all human life from “conception until death.”  As with his stance on other issues it was definitely Vertical and unifying compared to the zealous views of other people and politicians who have sparked violence between factions at times.

With that said I can now say that I am definitely pro-life.  Governor Huckabee made the view seem compassionate and quite logical.  Going back to his speech in Ames, “Why should we care about lost boy scouts or the trapped miners in Utah if we don’t protect the unborn and the sanctity of human life from conception until death?”I think I must have heard that same message about a few hundred times while watching him speak on the stump on TV and in video.  Each time he said it, he made more and more sense.  Then I began to look into my heart and look back at the very unique story that is my life when it hit me like the broad side of a barn.

I was born physically challenged with many birth defects.  The most prominent of these is my lack of sight.  I am legally blind.  Yes, I can see some but that is with the help of the very thick glasses I wear.  Along with being legally blind I was born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate and was born without a nose (just holes where it should be).  I was tested for every disease and disorder known to man in 1982.  All the tests came out negative.  Despite that I faced long odds and a grim prognosis.  My doctors gave me six weeks tops.  If for some reason I would survive that long, they said I’d be a mere “Vegetable.”

Despite beating those odds, at two months-old, pneumonia set in and after only a few weeks home I was back in the hospital.  Then things went from bad to worse and my heart began to fail.  My skin started turning blue turning blue and I was rushed into intensive care.  On Thanksgiving of 1982 I underwent emergency surgery and through the skill of my doctors, the love of my family, and the blessings from our Lord, Jesus Christ, the operation was a success.  To this very day, 26 years later, I continue to beat the long odds that were placed before me

After looking back at my life story I realized that I have beaten the odds because I was blessed to have parents who chose to love and care for me no matter what.  This can be attested to the culture of life we have had in this Nation.  However it is sad, but true that there are some in this country that would have left me to die.

I can’t imagine to be a source of knowledge of the complexities of the miracle of child birth.  I’m a man, not a woman.  I understand that there are emotions and feelings that I cannot comprehend.  In addition, I realize that there are some women who would like the right to choose.  I’m not heartless.  Has it ever occurred to anyone out there that when a fetus is aborted a woman may be exercising her right to choose but when she does so there is a life that stands in the balance who has no choice in the matter?

While others may disagree the facts are plain as day to me.  Life begins at conception.  God has a plan for each life that is conceived.  Fuliflled an un-born fetus could grow up to be the next Einstein, the next President, or the next Elvis.  The unborn child could go on to find the cure for Cancer, AIDS, maybe Muscular Dystrophy.  Not allowing an unborn fetus to fulfill the plan God has laid in my eyes is murder in the worst degree.  Why?   The life held in the balance has no choice whatsoever.

There are definitely other options.  What about the couples out there that would like to raise a family but for whatever reason cannot conceive?  One of the birth defects I was “blessed” with was a pituitary dysfunction.  My body cannot produce enough testosterone.  Therefore I cannot conceive if I wanted to.  Adoption would be my only option and the process seems so convoluted and complex that it doesn’t seem worth it.  If the process was streamlined and made more simple child bearers who cannot afford their baby or don’t want a child could easily put them up for adoption for parents who do want them.

Please note that I do recognize that there are some cases where an abortion is absolutely necessary and required. That is when the life of the mother lays in the balance as well.

So why must we promote a culture of life in our Nation?  It is very simple.  It does not take a lot of effort to research the alternative.  Let’s go in the wayback machine to the 1930’s in Europe.  The Nazi culture of death led to the Holocaust.  There is a lot made of the many brutal and senseless murders of millions of Jewish people.  However I want you to know that the Nazis didn’t stop there.  Also murdered were people of other races, creeds, colors, sexual orientations, and the handicapped.

I’m not trying to say that a culture of death is going to result in a 2nd Holocaust in the same manner.  There is nothing that can compare to the tactics of the brutal Nazi’s led by Adolph Hitler.  It is meant as a lesson that we should take to heart.  A culture of life will cause people to prevent even a remote similarity from occurring.  Due to the technology today, mothers have access to many tests to get a glimpse at what their children may turn out to become right out of the womb and how healthy he/she will be.   Living in a culture of life, the chances are better that parents will continue with the process, even if the tests come out with results that are sobering.  A culture of death will result in more abortions and children being killed off without a choice once they are born with severe handicaps and birth defects.

The handicapped are born as they are for a reason.  It’s part of His plan in some way.  While, yes, my parents have questioned why I was born the way I was I have never questioned it.  My life is not easy but it is mine that was set out for me.  The same goes for the many who are handicapped and disabled.

I volunteer for a school for special needs children here in my hometown.  I am very blessed to serve the Lord, my community, and the world in this fashion.  I feel a special bond with the children because while we may be different we are alike more than we are different.  What if we had a culture of death and these little angels didn’t exist?  If fills my heart with sadness just thinking about it.

Whether you agreed with me before reading or you agree after reading my opineI urge everyone to sign Governor Huckabee’s Pro-Life petition and get as many people as you can to sign it as well.  Thanks & God bless you!

- Brian