Pope Francis: Oppose Abortion, Protect Human Life From Conception
by Steven Ertelt | The Vatican | LifeNews.com | 8/12/13 12:46 PM Pope Francis articulated a defense of human life from abortion: restating the Catholic Church’s longstanding opposition to the snuffing out of human life before birth and explaining that it must be protected from conception. From an international news report: “Human life must always be defended from its beginning in the womb and must be recognised as a gift of God that guarantees the future of humanity,” Vatican Radio cited Francis as saying in a message to mark Brazil’s National Family week. The Argentinian pontiff’s remarks came in the wake…
Growing up in big families reduces divorce rate, study finds
BY JOHANNA DASTEEL Tue Aug 13, 2013 17:11 EST August 13, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A new study conducted by Ohio State University has found that children who grow up in large families have lower rates of divorce. The Duggar Family, the United States’ most famous large family. “When you compare children from large families to those with only one child, there is a meaningful gap in the probability of divorce,” Doug Downey, co-author of the study and a professor of sociology at The Ohio State University, said. The study’s researchers say that with every additional sibling, up to seven siblings, a…
No, all women do not support the contraceptive mandate
BY HELEN ALVARE Tue Aug 13, 2013 10:46 EST Co authored with Meg T. McDonnell August 12, 2013 (MercatorNet) – On August 1, when the Department of Health and Human Services’ “contraception mandate” began, members of Women Speak For Themselves (WSFT)—a grassroots women’s religious freedom group—demonstrated in Lafayette Park across from the White House. Though HHS postponed implementation of the mandate for religious non-profits to January 1, 2014, the women of WSFT don’t want anyone to believe that the cause of religious freedom is forgotten. And they don’t want anyone buying the phony message the government is selling (in the words…
Pope Francis: parents must teach their children reverence for life in the womb
BY HILARY WHITE Mon Aug 12, 2013 17:35 EST ROME, August 12, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In a message for Brazil’s National family Week, Pope Francis said it is the task of parents to pass on reverence for human life at all stages to their children. “In a particular way, faced with the culture of waste, that relativizes the value of human life,” the pope said, “parents are called to pass on to their children the understanding that this must always be defended, already in the mother’s womb, recognizing in it a gift from God and an assurance of mankind’s future, but also in the…
Religion or Science: What is the Basis for the Pro-Life View?
by Murray Vasser | Washington, DC | LifeNews.com | 7/30/13 7:10 PM Washington, DC (LiveActionFilms) — One of the most shocking conversations I have experienced occurred on a train. I was in the lounge car, watching the sun rise as we glided through the gritty precincts of Los Angeles. Sitting next to me was a young man, about my age, who was an atheist. We had become entangled in a debate on religion, and I was pressing him to concede the reality of objective moral values. “Surely,” I argued, “You would admit that the Holocaust was truly evil.” “Well,” he responded, “You…
Genetic Testing to Abort “Imperfect” Babies? Who are We to Judge?
by John Stonestreet | Washington, DC | LifeNews.com | 8/2/13 10:06 AM Imagine you and your spouse find out you’re expecting. Having experienced this moment a few times, I know there’s nothing quite like it. Your world changes, and within days, your child’s entire biography unfolds in your mind: her first steps, first words, kindergarten, little league, ballet, high school, college, and eventually a young adult who will make you insanely proud. It’s all so promising. But for thousands of parents every year, that’s when the “bad news” comes. You find out your child has been diagnosed in utero…
Abortion is Not the Answer to Stopping Maternal Mortality in Africa
by Jon Russell | Washington, DC | LifeNews.com | 7/26/13 4:52 PM Social media, office water-cooler chatter, and the mainstream media obsessed this week over the birth of a single child: the #RoyalBaby. Meanwhile, Steve Murigi took up his pen on CNN.com to remind the world of the hundreds of women and children who die daily during childbirth – and how easily these lives can be saved. Self-proclaimed advocates of “choice” and “women’s health” in the United States and other developed nations would probably assume the answer is more abortions. But, rather than mirror the American abortion business’ apparent obsession with plying their trade, this…
Ireland President Signs Bill to Legalize Abortions Despite Pro-Life Objection
by Steven Ertelt | Dublin, Ireland | LifeNews.com | 7/30/13 10:30 AM Although pro-life groups mounted an amazing campaign to attempt to defeat the bill and turned out tens of thousands of pro-life people at multiple rallies against it, the Irish Parliament approved the measure. Now, Ireland’s head of state, President Michael D. Higgins, signed the country’s first bill on abortion into law. Abortions would be allowed when the life of the mother is supposedly in danger from the pregnancy and in cases when pregnant women may commit suicide, even though studies show abortion increases suicide risk for women. Pro-life groups…
Abortion Survivor: My Mom Tried to Abort Me Three Times, God Protected Me
by Melissa Ohden | Washington, DC | LifeNews.com | 8/2/13 3:54 PM Here’s Beth’s story. Beth is a photographer, and I will be sharing more in upcoming months about a project she is working on that embraces the beauty of life. “I am 25 years old and a product of multiple failed abortion attempts. I was born in India to an unwed 15 year old who felt her only option was abortion. My birth mother went to abort me but was stopped due to running into an old friend of hers, who was also connected with my (adoptive) parents, which…
Parents of Seven Children Reject Abortion to Have Baby With Trisomy 18
Nancy Flanders | Washington, DC | LifeNews.com | 8/4/13 7:12 PM Bernadette and Philip Smith were the proud parents of seven children – Philip Jr., Delores, Soma, Titus, Isaac, Israel, and Eden – when they were blessed to learn they would soon welcome an eighth child. But by the fourth month of the pregnancy, during a routine ultrasound, doctors learned there was a problem with the baby. The Smiths were told that their child had Trisomy 18, or Edward’s syndrome. “They told me that she was fatal,” explains Bernadette, “and that she wasn’t going to make it.” Trisomy 18 is considered…
