April Newsletter, 1996, Part 2

Quarterly Issue

As pro-lifers pray outside an abortuary, Children of the Rosary carry small crosses at Lenten Rosaries as a reminder of the suffering and death of Our Lord.

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If you care to reprint or use references from this issue, the following credits and information must be attached: Children of the Rosary Publication, April Newsletter, 1996.

VATICAN VS. CLINTON
THE INFAMOUS THEOLOGIAN
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
A HAPLESS PERSON'S CHANCES
TARGETING THE VULNERABLE
OUR WALK TO CALVARY
THE SILENT DANGER - VASECTOMY

VATICAN VS. CLINTON

It was announce today that the Vatican has made a strong statement against President Clinton in reference to his shameful veto of the partial-birth abortion ban bill, H.R. 1833.

The Vatican said that Clinton's move against the bill amounted to brutal attack on human life.

The Vatican stated, "The Presidential decision in opposition to the American Congress is a shameful veto which in practice is equivalent to an incredibly brutal act of aggression against an innocent human life and against the inalienable human rights of the unborn."

The press release was followed by a comment from Routers that this was an unusually strong statement. The chief Vatican spokesman stated that Mr. Clinton was putting the moral and ethical future of American society at risk by legalizing what he called an inhuman procedure.

The Cardinals who have already rebuked Clinton for his anti-family stand were praised by the Vatican for their letter to Clinton. The letter, dated April 16, 1996 stated in part:

vowed to "do all we can to educate people about partial-birth abortions" and inform Americans "partial-birth abortions will continue because you chose to veto H.R. 1833."

"Mr. President, your action on this matter takes our nation to a critical turning point in its treatment of helpless human beings inside and outside the womb," they wrote. "It moves our nation one step further toward acceptance of infanticide...."

The letter continued...

"As Catholic bishops and as citizens of the United States, we strenuously oppose and condemn your veto of H.R. 1833 which will allow partial-birth abortions to continue..."

"Combined with the two recent federal appeals court decisions seeking to legitimize assisted suicide, it sounds the alarm that public officials are moving our society ever more rapidly to embrace a culture of death,"

The letter from the Cardinals was signed by: Cardinals Joseph L. Bernardin of Chicago, James A. Hickey of Washington, Bernard F. Law of Boston, Adam J. Maida of Detroit, Anthony J. Bevilacqua of Philadelphia, William H. Keeler of Baltimore, Roger M. Mahony of Los Angeles and Joseph J. O'Connor of New York, as well as by Bishop Anthony M. Pilla of Cleveland, president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops.

THE INFAMOUS THEOLOGIAN

You might remember Fr. McBrien, the first choice of the media when they requested the opinion of a Catholic priest. Fr. Richard McBrien is an embarrassment to the Catholic faithful for his shocking statements throughout the years.

His outspoken condemnation of the decree of excommunication by Bishop Bruskewitz might be his undoing. He stated, "This edict is so irresponsible that no one is bound by it."

It was suggested by Fr. Welch, Human Life International, that according to canon 1373 of the code of Canon Law, that McBrien should be disciplined with just penalties.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

How much is an annual subscription? I'm confused from your newsgram in March. It says two different things: 1) $10 to remain on mailing list. 2) $5 for one month of the newsletter.

Loretta Fabick
Fort Lauderdale, FL

Ed. Note: We are aware that the "Gram" and "Letter" can be confusing. Consider the fact we are basically printing two different publications. We encourage everyone to read page 2 of this issue for the latest, most extensive explanation we have ever given on this topic.

Just wanted to say we're behind you. Our parish does not have a pro-life group.

When I asked our pastor about it, he said if the parish were following the teaching of the Church, it doesn't need one. He does not honor the Life Sunday either, set up by the Council of Catholic Bishops. It is sad because a lot of the women in my parish are what I'd call "flaming liberals."

We have been going to a Planned Parenthood referral clinic and praying outside quietly. We are praying for our parish as well as the women going inside the mill. Any suggestions?

Kim Anderson
Kansas City, KS

Ed. Note: If you do not already have Perpetual Adoration at your parish or a Holy Hour in front of the Blessed Sacrament, see if you could start one. One intention should be for the end of abortion. That will be the beginnng of your pro-life work in the parish.

A HAPLESS PERSON'S CHANCES

By Sue Widemark

A hapless person with multiple selerosis, who, in a moment of despair, engaged the services of Jack Kevorkian, set into place a deathmachine which could not fail to murder her.

There was no second chance, and not a prayer that a vision of her dead grandmother or thinking of her children would save her life.

I have to ask whether the lady with MS was someone's mother, someone's wife, someone's child. All those somebodies who would have been ecstatically happy had their mother/wife/daughter sought psychiatric help and medication for her depression instead of the deadly services of Jack Kevorkian, who, eagar to put the people out of their pain, never fails, never talks them out of their death wish. Mother/wife/daughter on medication would still be with them now. But instead, all they have is their memories and the niggling thought that it didn't have to be this way. They have the empty feeling that the person forsook them, deserted them, left them, and then was murdered. Difficult and painful. Yes, painful.

So now, we don't even know if mother/wife/daughter IS still in pain or not, but we have added the pain of child/husband/mother. One woman was in pain before, but three or more people now in serious psychological pain from the loss of their loved one. Ever tried to take medication to help ease the pain of the loss of a loved one through suicide? I have not seen the medication to help that one!

I wonder if the family members and friends ever think to themselves that they wish the world had NOT respected their loved one's wish to die at a moment when she was merely crying out from a very curable depression and not REALLY wishing to die at all. Will we ever think about that or is our new method of handling mental illnesses execution?

TARGETING THE VULNERABLE

By Priscilla J. King

Not long ago I arrived at work to hear that one of the residents I care for on my night shift had a critically high blood level of sodium. I brushed up on hypernatremia and found that she was more likely to die than to live. I called her doctor to inform him of her sodium level. His initial response was, "I don't want to bother with her tonight. Let it go till morning."

Actually his response was longer than that, but I refuse to fill your ears with the language with which he filled mine.

I then called the woman's son. My position was difficult. I couldn't cast the doctor in a bad light, but I needed to communicate both the doctor's decision and the urgency of his mother's condition. I did so carefully and dispassionately. He asked me if there were any alternatives. "She could be given intravenous fluids to correct the sodium level," I said. "My mother has lived a long and full life," he replied, "and I think extraordinary measures would not be appropriate. But I couldn't live with myself if I failed to urge her doctor to provide basic treatment. I'd like her to have an IV."

And so I called the doctor again. When I told him the son's decision, he swore. "How old is this woman?" he asked. I told him she was 79. "How long has she been in a nursing home?" I checked and found she'd been there six years. "Any treatment for someone that old and living in a nursing home is extraordinary treatment," he shouted. "I'll see her in the morning!"

I instructed the two nursing assistants who, with me, made up the team that night, to push fluids at every opportunity. This was not easy, as our patient was all but unconscious as a result of her electrolyte imbalance. The aides seemed not to be very ambitious in following my instruction. I felt the burden of preserving this woman's life was mine alone for eight hours that night. I probably spent two of those hours with her, dribbling straws-full of water into her mouth and watching that she swallowed without choking. She made it through the night and was still there the next. Over the next two or three weeks she gradually improved.

I could tell you other such stories. But this one should suffice to illustrate the attitudes of many health care personnel toward the infirm elderly today. The sanctity-of-life principle, a heritage from our Christian roots, has largely been replaced by the relativistic quality-of-life standard whereby we judge the merit of continuing existence on the basis of our estimate of what constitutes a good life.

Abortion has been legal for more than twenty years now. Not long after the Roe v. Wade decision, Dr. James Dobson predicted that infanticide would follow naturally, and then euthanasia. In 1982 "Baby Doe" was born in Indiana with Down syndrome and a problem of the esophagus easily correctable by surgery. But they elected against surgery and asked the physician to order that their baby not be given food or water. And so the little girl's lungs were slowly digested by gastric juices while she starved to death. The decision was upheld by the Indiana Supreme Court on the basis of the parents' right to privacy. Other infants judged doomed to a life not worth living have also been "allowed" to die. Is assisted suicide and euthanasia for adults "burdened" with unworthy life a possibility that is just around the corner?

Your very presence here, I believe, answers that question affirmatively. What you may not be aware of, as I was not as recently as a year ago, is that killing life judged unworthy of life is already happening quietly in this country.

A year ago last January, 83-year-old Marjorie Nighbert suffered a stroke. She was left with severe physical disability, including difficulty swallowing, not uncommon in stroke victims. A feeding tube was inserted so that she could receive nourishment.

In 1992 Marjorie had designated that her brother be given power of attorney for health care for her. He directed that the tube feeding be discontinued. The tube was removed.

Marjorie, of course, became hungry. She repeatedly asked those caring for her in the nursing home for food. But the order was clear, and legal. Marjorie was to be starved to death. She would have died unnoticed behind closed doors had it not been for the conscience of one staff member who saw Marjorie touch a nurse's arm and ask for food. He told a priest, who contacted the local chapter of Right to Life, who reported Marjorie's situation to Florida's Health and Rehabilitation Services. The case went to court. Ultimately the judge ruled that Marjorie not be fed on the basis of her not being competent to ask for food. The employee who reported the incident was fired. Marjorie died on April 6, 1995.

This is not an isolated incident. A study published in the March 27, 1996 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Aassociation reports a survey of physicians in the state of Washington. Twelve percent of the respondents had in the previous year been asked by one or more patients for help in ending their lives. Of these, 24% had complied by prescribing a lethal dose of oral medication and 24% had administered a lethal injection on request.

Although Washington is the only state in which a formal study of the incidence of assisted suicide and euthanasia has been done thus far, it is not the only state in which these practices are occurring. Bioethicists and other knowledgeable persons on both sides of the issue take it as established fact. Respected journals confirm its existence. Although not yet legal, death for the marginalized is already here.

OUR WALK TO CALVARY

Our Good Friday prayer-filled interfaith event was well attended by people from different denominations. The three-hour vigil, starting at noon, began with the 15 decades of the rosary. An interdenominational prayer time was next, with readings from scripture, led by Chuck Carlson. The Divine Mercy Chaplet was then prayed. As the hours went by, we repeated the sequence, with religious songs included, led at times by Paul Schmidt and Virginia Schumacher.

While we prayed outside the abortuary, women were entering the clinic by the side driveway. Pro-life counsellors were present to offer the women information and help.

The normal yearly gathering of Planned Parenthood board members was in attendance, leaning on the upper balcony railing to watch us as we prayed. Unbelievably, they had their 'party' again this year, ordering pizza to be delivered.

We must continue to pray for all those in the abortion industry. They don't even pretend to believe their own propaganda of "abortion is tragic but it must be done for the poor women" when they party and eat pizza as the babies are being killed.

THE SILENT DANGER

By Katherine Sabelko

What is a dangerous silent method of braking up families, creating higher risk of cancer, a cause for auto-immune disease and is related to decreased sexual desires and an increase in extramarital affairs? You might be surprised to find out that we are not taking about abortion or birth control pills, but a vasectomy.

The new rage in the women's liberation movement is to have the man accept responsibility for overpopulation. In sit-comedies on television to women's magazines, the topic of vasectomies seems to be quite chic.

More people now are aware of the many dangers of the birth control pill but the vasectomy has been a silent destroyer of families and a physical danger to men.

An article in CCL Family Foundations, published by Couple To Couple League (CCL), list some of the dangers and misconceptions of the vasectomy.

In an attempt to sound the first alarm to everyone, the following facts are listed in the article.

A vasectomy is NOT 100% effective in birth control and studies show a decreased sexual desire and performance. The list of dangers is sadly very long:

• It can trigger an auto-immune disease.
• A higher rate of prostate cancer.
• A higher rate of lung cancer.
• A higher rate of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
• A higher rate of multiple myeloma.
• A higher risk of kidney stones.
• A higher rate of testicular cancer.
• A higher rate of infidelity and divorce.

The article proves to be an excellent snapshot of the dangers of a vasectomy on the man, the marriage and the family. Though the article cites reference, sources, percentages and such, Couple To Couple acknowledges that it could not be covered in depth with the limited space.

CCL is providing a free pamphlet on the danger of a vasectomy upon request. To help with the cost of printing and postage, for additional copies, CCL request you send twenty cents per copy with a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

You might also request the pamphlet on Tubal Ligation with the same pricing listed. Send your request to:

Couple To Couple League
P.O. Box 11184
Cincinnati, OH 45211

BITS AND PIECES

In arguing against the bill to ban partial birth abortions, Patricia Schroder belittled the charts diagrams of the abortion procedure because they were provided by the Catholic Council of Bishops.

Schroder stated, "I want you to know I also looked at your drawings. You know what it said on the bottom? It said, ``Drawing commissioned by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops.'' Maybe they deliver babies, and maybe they practice medicine, but I go with the American College of Gynecologists and Obstetricians, because those are the ones I know that deliver babies."

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While pro-life groups and Catholic cardinals and the Catholic Council of Bishop have bitterly spoken out against Mr. Clinton's veto of the partial-birth abortion ban bill, Planned Parenthood have commended Clinton. Christian Crusade, April 1996 quoted National Right To Life Committee Legislative Director, Douglas Johnson: "Many voters didn't know that when President Clinton called himself 'pro-choice,' he included pulling a two-pound baby feet-first from the womb, alive, and then stabbing her through the head."

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All doctors are encouraged to begin to perform abortions by the National Abortion Federation (NFA). The New York Times, March 30, in an article New drug apprears for use in non-surgical abortions, reported that the drug, methotrexate. can be used now to perform chemical abortions. Dr. Richard U. Hausknecht, who is pushing the method was quoted in the New York Times article, "Then I'm going to share my cookbook; that is, all the details of how you do this. And then, later, we'll be setting up a physician-training program with Planned Parenthood in New York City. After the NFA meeting, I think you'll see a lot more doctors starting to use methotrexate."

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There were 300 concentration camps in Germany during the second World War. There are over a 1,000 Planned Parenthood clinics in the United States.

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"Every adult woman should be informed of the abortion/breast cancer link" wrote Clarke Forsythe in Christian American, Jan/Feb. 1996 which is published by Christian Coalition. Forsythe, president of Americans United For Life, in addressing this additional threat to women having abortions stated, "One of the most important pro-life policy issues in 1996 will be the abortion/breast cancer (ABC) link. Over the past two decades, a number of independent studies have shown a strong link between elective abortion before a woman's first full-term birth and higher rates of breast cancer later in life."