Studies Reveal Pro-Life Values Established At Early Age
By Sandra Choate Faucher

Ms. Faucher is the President of the Rosetta Foundation. Its purpose is to research Generation Y and develop effective methods of communicating the pro-life message.

National surveys and polls have periodically determined the positions of individuals on the pro-life issue. But until recently, no one has endeavored to determine exactly when these positions are established. Two completely different types of studies have now revealed that pro-life or pro-abortion values are solidified at a very early age. Ascertaining this knowledge provides us with the key to truly creating a culture of life in America.

Aaron White, PhD, is a researcher at Duke University Medical Center on adolescent brain development. Over the past several months, discussions and communications between Dr. White and the Rosetta Foundation have confirmed that pro-life or pro-abortion values, like other values, are established between the ages of 10 and 20. Science has now proven that, unlike previous thinking, the brain continues to develop between the ages of 10 and 20 and that this is the time period when values and habits are established which will be taken into adulthood.

Dr. White states:

The brain you get as an adult is the brain you “wire” as a teenager, according to the latest research. So be careful about the patterns of thought and behavior you establish in adolescence - between the ages of 10 and 20.

Because for good or ill, your brain is deeply influenced by such patterns and may well adopt them as “default settings” for the rest of your life.

That could explain why some people emerge from their teenage years with a sense of purpose and others don’t. Or why some adults enjoy exercise and others don’t. Or why some struggle with overeating or become dependent on tobacco, alcohol or drugs and others don’t.

The experiences we have in our teen years are so very powerful, if you become an expert in calculus in high school, chances are for the rest of your life you’re going to have superior math skills.

…as the growing teenager begins to form habits of thought, behavior and speech - as choices are made and certain avenues in the brain take precedence over others - those paths become established while the unused ones shrivel to the side.

So a lot depends on nurturing the teen with a healthy environment that’s populated by peers and adults who model good choices.

Dr. White’s primary emphasis is on the impact of alcohol on the teenage brain, but the research by Dr. White and his colleagues is extensive. This same “wiring” applies to other behaviors, decision-making, beliefs and values. Dr. White is in total agreement with the importance of Life Issues Institute’s efforts to reach Generation Y to establish pro-life values through its interactive CD-ROM, Truth Unmasked.

Just think about your own memories of childhood. Why is it you can remember your high school years with such nostalgia and clarity but can’t remember what you did last week? It’s because these memories are more imbedded into your brain during that critical time period.

Dr. White’s research also explains the results found during national polling in 2003. Responses to survey questions in diverse parts of the country indicated that almost all respondents had held their pro-life or pro-abortion beliefs for as long as they could remember, i.e., “always.”

When you combine the research by Dr. White and his many colleagues with the 2003 polling results, it becomes abundantly clear that pro-life values are established in those all-important pre-adult years and, with few exceptions, stay with you throughout your adult life.

This new information places a far greater emphasis on reaching teens (Generation Y) during the critical age of 10-20 when these values are being established. It is our greatest opportunity to actually change the future by “wiring” in pro-life values at this significant point. We already have a very receptive audience. Even the New York Times was astounded over the increasing pro-life leanings of Gen Y. They are intelligent, inquisitive, want the facts, and are accustomed to getting information instantaneously through their computers.

By 2012, all 60 million Gen Y youth will be of voting age. By solidifying pro-life/pro-family values with them now, their beliefs and actions as adults can totally change the social and political landscape of this country. In addition, these more positive values can be passed on to their own children as well.
The Rosetta Foundation’s focus is on reaching Generation Y on the life issues and sharing their knowledge with other pro-life groups to help in their communications with this demographic.

A predominant part of this outreach will be via a new website which will focus on building confidence, self-esteem, good character and wise decision-making. The website will provide factual information and assistance on issues affecting their lives, such as pregnancy, abortion, adoption, abstinence and relationships. It will also include issues related to post-abortion syndrome and early sexual activity, depression, drug and alcohol abuse, suicide, eating disorders, etc.

Generation Y now ranks #1 in computer users and time online, exceeding even the 35 to 49-year-old business users. As 99% of all public schools now have Internet access, these young people have access to computers at both school and at home. Further, their Internet use crosses all ethnic lines.

Unfortunately, however, pro-abortion organizations have also identified the need for computer access to these young people and have already established sophisticated websites with specific appeal for Generation Y.

Planned Parenthood has extensive websites, broadcasting their anti-life agenda. For example, their web magazine for teenagers, Teenwire.com, has been recognized with awards for “Best Kids Website” and “Best Health Website.”

The largest website focusing exclusively on teenage girls, gURL.com, was reaching 9.4% of all girls between the ages of 12 and 17 by 1999. Clearly, pro-abortion organizations and abortion clinics have been only a click away.

The pro-life movement used to be concerned about providing school libraries with a balance on topics like abortion. Now it is far more important to provide a balance on the Internet. When teens are asked how they would get information on the topic of abortion, the unanimous answer is always, “I’d turn on my computer.”

Teens get almost all of their information via their computers. When they want to know about abortion — to end a pregnancy or write a school paper — they simply type in the keyword “abortion.”

But what they find is sometimes shocking and discouraging. Google will produce 4.3 million websites on the topic, and Yahoo will provide 6.2 million more. Everybody’s there, but who gets the teen visitor?

Obviously no one is going to check out that many websites. It’s usually only the dozen or so on the first page that get attention. More often than not, it’s only the first two or three at the top of the page.

If you check out this first page listing of websites, you will quickly see that it is predominantly made up of hardcore pro-abortion sites, i.e., pro-choice.org, abortionclinicsonline.com, naral.org, and many more. Somewhere on this first page you may find one or two occasional pro-life sites competing for the teenage eye.

Why the disparity? Is it discrimination? No, it’s much simpler than that. The pro-abortion groups have more money to bid for the highest rank on the list. That’s right, bid. This is how the search engines make their money. In order to compete for the top billing on certain expensive keywords like “abortion, teen abortion,” etc., the search engines have a bidding system. The website which is willing to pay the most per click for visitors interested in that word is the one in first place. The second highest bidder is in second place, and so on. With their more limited financial resources, the pro-life sites are often simply outbid by their pro-abortion opponents.

This is why the Rosetta Foundation will keep its focus on reaching Generation Y through the Internet. We are determined to take on the abortion clinics and outbid them. The reality is that if we’re not willing to enter the bidding war with the pro-abortion sites to help these teens, they win by default.
Complete details of the Rosetta Foundation’s new Generation Y website will appear in the fall issue of Life Issues Connector.

For more information contact Ms. Faucher at: rosettafound@aol.com.

Life Issues Today
with J. C. Willke, M.D.

RU 486 Has Killed Seven Women

Since it has become generally used in the western world, the French abortion pill, RU 486, has now resulted in the death of seven women. This fact speaks for itself in regard to the so-called safety of the drug. Let me briefly describe each victim.

The first published case occurred in France, April 1991, but was widely dismissed because it was reported she had all three contraindications to the use of the drug. She had been a heavy smoker, had heart problems and high blood pressure. Over the next several years, there were no deaths reported, possibly because the drug was only beginning to be introduced in many countries.

In September 2001, a Canadian woman died from septic shock eight days after taking the pills. This was a result of a Clostridium infection in the uterus, possibly due to retained parts of the baby. A second woman, 21 years old, sustained a serious heart attack but survived. As a result, the Canadian trials of RU 486 were temporarily halted.

On September 12, 2001, a 38- year-old woman in Tennessee died five days after taking RU 486. She had a tubal pregnancy which, according to a warning from the Food and Drug Administration, RU 486 will not abort. This abortion facility apparently failed to make the proper diagnosis, even though they did an ultrasound. According to her boyfriend, they said, “We don’t see any fetus in the uterus, but that is not unusual. This is an early pregnancy.” She returned home and developed severe pain and bleeding, which worsened over several days. She placed multiple calls to the abortion facility, as her condition worsened, but was advised that her symptoms were normal and routine. She was finally hospitalized and received legitimate medical care, but died from massive peritonitis from the ruptured tube. A major malpractice lawsuit was subsequently filed.

Holly Patterson, an 18-year-old girl in California, died September 17, 2003, after taking RU 486. The Planned Parenthood death center did not educate her on how to administer the medication, did not have her signature on a consent form and failed to report her death as an unusual occurrence. After taking the medication, she returned to a local hospital twice. The first time she was given painkillers and sent home. The second time, she went to the hospital where she died. The Alameda County, California Coroner’s official autopsy report stated that she died because the drugs did not produce a complete abortion. The retained parts developed a massive systemic infection, septic shock and resulted in death.

Rebecca Tell Berg, a sixteen-year- old Swedish girl, died June 3, 2003 from an RU 486 abortion. In this case, she apparently received good medical care. She was seven weeks pregnant. One week after being examined by a gynecologist, she returned to the hospital and was given three RU 486 abortion pills, a full dose. Two days later she returned and was given two Cytotec pills. After a few hours, she was in severe pain, bleeding heavily and was given pain medication. After being kept in the hospital for eight hours, she passed a “big blob” and was sent home. Days later, still bleeding and in pain, her boyfriend encouraged her to go to the hospital. However, hospital officials told her she could bleed for as long as two weeks, so she stayed home. During this time, a medical professional, inquiring about her condition, made at least one phone call. Eight days after the abortion she was found dead in the shower. A coroner’s report confirmed that Rebecca bled to death. It noted, however, that the doctors had given an appropriate dosage, followed proper procedure and “followed all the rules.”

The British government, in January 2004, announced that two women had died after taking RU 486 for abortions. No details of the deaths or the victims have been given except that they died after taking RU 486. The deaths were described as “suspected fatal reactions associated with the use of RU 486.” When questioned, the health minister noted there might have been other causes for the deaths, but provided no evidence other than the use of RU 486.

Short of death, the most serious concern is bleeding. Women who take RU 486 usually bleed for one or two weeks, with 10% bleeding more than one month. This leaves women exposed to infection for an extended period of time. The average woman loses four times the average blood from a standard surgical abortion. In European trials, at least one in every hundred women had to be hospitalized due to blood loss and needed a transfusion. One case illustrating this occurred during the official trials of RU 486 in the United States. A woman in Iowa almost died from hemorrhage from an incomplete RU 486 abortion. Multiple emergency blood transfusions saved her life. (This according to Dr. M. Loviere, Waterloo Courier, 9-24-95.)

Much more detail could be given to the problems resulting from the use of this chemical abortion, including fetal deformity in babies delivered after failed use of these drugs. As a close observer of this issue from its beginning, I felt it was time to document these deaths and tell the world this is not a safe drug.

Please note that the accompanying brochure, RU 486 A Human Pesticide, has just been completely revised and includes these deaths. For those who want up-to-date information on this drug, I recommend this new brochure to you.

Registering Voters Critical For Fall Election

By Bradley Mattes

Do you think most pro-life voters are registered and ready to go to the polls this November? If so, you are sadly mistaken. Recent research of America’s pro-life, pro-family organizations shows that a vast percentage of their memberships are not registered to vote. This has come as a shock to leaders of these organizations. After all, the members of these groups should be more politically informed and activist-oriented, right? That may be the case, but, even so, we’ve uncovered an alarming trend. Many of these people who are vital to protecting unborn babies and their mothers from abortion are not registered to vote. A crucial part of stopping abortion is voting pro-life.

Life Issues Institute is partnering with many other pro-life, pro-family organizations to register hundreds of thousands of voters before the November election. We need your help if we are to be successful. Please be a part of awakening thousands of Americans to vote. So much is at stake in the next election. Their participation will affect the race for the White House, their local state legislator and everything in between. But now is the time to act! Our collective efforts can bear fruit. If so, the outcome will have life-saving results.

If you represent a pro-life or pro-family organization, compare your membership list with those who are registered to vote. Make every effort to register those who are not. Then, before the election, encourage everyone to vote.

If your group has a web site, consider linking to ours at www.lifeissues.org so those visiting your web site can register to vote online, regardless of where they live. We’ve made it easy. The last page of this newsletter showcases two ad slicks you can download for free from www.lifeissues.org/ads.html or we can send them to you by mail. They’re also perfect for including in your newsletter or church bulletin and will not jeopardize the tax status of any organization or church.

You can help, even if you’re not associated with an organization. Encourage your church to participate in a voter registration drive. Life Issues Institute will be happy to provide assistance if needed. Based on this alarming new evidence, there must be an all-out effort to register voters.

Certainly, you recall how close the presidential election was four years ago. Pro-abortion forces are angry and highly motivated to win this time. The future of countless unborn babies is in our hands. We must act now to secure the lives of future generations.

New Major Legislation to Advance Pro-Life Cause

By J. C. Willke, M.D.

While the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban has yet to be enacted, it’s had a profound impact on society regarding abortion. It has educated millions of people to the ugly reality of so-called “choice.” It has also dismissed, in many people’s minds, the misconception that abortion is only legal during the first three months of pregnancy. The Partial-Birth Abortion Ban has changed many hearts and minds on abortion.

Our efforts to stop partial-birth abortion must continue. At the same time, the pro-life movement must also look toward the future for our next major piece of federal pro-life legislation.

That time has come. Senator Sam Brownback, R-KS, has introduced the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act in the Senate. Rep. Chris Smith, R-NJ, has introduced a similar bill in the House.

Like the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban, this new bill also has the potential to greatly affect public opinion on abortion. An abortionist who is killing a child twenty weeks or older would be required to inform the mother that her child feels pain. The bill also allows the mother the option of giving her baby pain medication prior to the abortion.

The abortion industry is vulnerable on the issue of pain. This was clearly demonstrated during recent court hearings on the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban. When questioned under oath, abortionists were obviously very uncomfortable when asked about pain felt by the unborn child.

The question immediately arises, what is fetal pain? Is it simply an unconscious neurological reflex mechanism, or is it pain in the sense that we consciously feel pain?

Let’s use the following example. A newborn infant is having her diaper changed with an old-fashioned cloth diaper and pin. She is stuck by the pin. She immediately cries, letting us know she felt pain and she pulls away. Medically speaking, what happened was that her sensory nerves in this area felt this noxious stimulus and instantly sent a message back to the brain. It went to the thalamus at the base of the brain, which relayed the message to a motor nerve, instructing that part of her body to pull away.

Let’s take an 8-week fetal baby. This little girl, inside the womb, is stuck in the palm of her hand with a needle. What happens? She immediately pulls her hand away and opens her mouth. Since she is in a full-fluid medium, no cry is heard. However, it is obvious she reacted exactly like the newborn infant when she was stuck with a diaper pin.

In a very simple and direct fashion, if the infant felt pain, then we must say that the 8-week fetal baby also felt pain.

Naysayers will claim this pain is different, saying that, with the fetus, it is only a reflex. Their reason is that the thalamus, at that age, is not connected to the higher centers of the brain, the cerebral cortex. Therefore, not being so connected, the pain is not felt consciously and therefore is not “pain.”

One answer to this is to observe the reaction of an anencephalic infant when stuck with a diaper pin. Such a baby is born without cerebral hemispheres and without higher brain centers. These babies do have a brain stem and a thalamus. When this baby is stuck, we see the identical reaction of the normal newborn above. On occasion, such an infant will survive for a number of days, and when they do, they cry to have a wet diaper changed. They also react to other stimuli, showing that the need for cerebral hemispheres to feel pain is simply non-existent.

Why do sponsors of this new federal legislation draw the line at 20 weeks? Because medical research shows “the sensory pathways and connections to the cortex necessary for pain perception are present, or beginning to form, at twenty weeks gestation.” For documentation see a complete paper, “Fetal Pain Legislation: Is It Viable?” Teresa S. Colette, professor S. TX College of Law, Houston. See also, R. Hyfield, “Unborn Child Can Feel Pain At Twenty Weeks”, Daily Telegraph 2, 8-28-01.

Perhaps the greatest advantage to the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act will not necessarily be that it will markedly curtail fetal pain. Rather, it will serve as a very effective educational tool, just as the partial-birth abortion debate did. Clearly, when the mother is told her baby can feel pain, she is also told there is an intact child in her womb. When these two concepts are connected in her mind, hopefully, she will think twice before aborting her baby.

Further, millions of Americans who are exposed to the public debate on this legislation will begin to understand that abortion kills a beautifully formed unborn child in the womb. It is our belief many will take the next logical step in reasoning, and decide that these children should be protected from abortion.

From The Executive Director
Bradley Mattes

A True Olympic Hero: Tasha Danvers-Smith

Tasha Danvers-Smith had Olympic gold on her mind, and with good reason. She was one of Britain’s most promising prospects for bringing home the highest honor from the Summer Olympics. Tasha’s event is the 400-meter hurdles. Life was good from her perspective. She had gold in her sights and had recently married Darrell Smith, her trainer, in November. They were happily settled into Los Angeles, concentrating on training for the upcoming Olympics.

Physically, she didn’t feel quite right. Her period was late, but considering her rigorous training, that didn’t worry her. However, she was also frequently tired, so she took a pregnancy test to eliminate this unlikely possibility. Then, Tasha got the shocking news. She was pregnant!

All of a sudden, Tasha’s world was turned upside down! The pressure to have an abortion was enormous, and Tasha admitted that she briefly considered it. She was the breadwinner of the family. Continuing the pregnancy would jeopardize their financial well-being. Not only that, the winners of Olympic gold frequently receive lucrative endorsement offers. These generate large amounts of income for the athlete. By having the baby, she and Darrell would be giving up a lot.

In spite of the pressures, abortion didn’t linger in Tasha’s mind very long. She kept thinking of Matthew 16:26, “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?” Tasha and Darrell knew a gold medal wasn’t worth their souls, and it wasn’t worth the life of their baby. They decided against abortion.

I was amazed by Tasha and Darrell’s firm commitment to life and their faith. Money is often the god of choice in today’s society. It seems to influence a majority of our decisions. Many women faced with Tasha’s situation would have opted for abortion.

That’s why I presented Tasha with Life Issues Institute’s “Hero At Heart” award. It’s presented to those who demonstrate outstanding courage or compassion on behalf of innocent life. I then announced this award on my daily radio program, Life Issues, which is heard on about 500 stations throughout the nation. One of our staff was working to get Tasha’s contact information so we could mail the award to her when she contacted us.

I guess we shouldn’t be surprised that Tasha encountered an avalanche of criticism for giving up her Olympic dreams to have a baby. Some pretty ugly and hurtful things were written about her. One night, because she was unable to sleep, Tasha surfed the Internet, looking to see what other negative critiques existed. During her search, she came upon our web site and read that she had received this prestigious pro-life honor. She was moved to tears and e-mailed us to express her gratitude.

Tasha wrote, “I was beginning to think that no one else but my family thought I wasn’t an idiot for giving up this ‘opportunity of a lifetime.’ You have helped me keep holding my head up high, and one day I will be able to show this to my child. It will impress that his or her life is not just special to my family and me, but to people all over the world.” Tasha also added Darrell’s appreciation, because he had gotten out of bed to see what all her tears were about!

It broke my heart that Tasha had been inundated with negative feedback when she and her husband so unselfishly chose to do what was right. I want to change all that. We’ve set up a special way for you and others to e-mail a message of encouragement to Tasha and Darrell. Simply go to our web site, www.lifeissues.org. Click on Tasha’s picture on the home page. It will provide you with more information. More importantly, you will be able to write your own personal letter to this true “Hero At Heart.” We will see that she and Darrell get them.

Please tell others about Tasha. My goal is to receive thousands of e-mails, expressing supportive good wishes that we can give to these expectant parents. Tasha’s baby is due December 3, 2004. What do you say we generate a few mementoes for their baby’s scrapbook? Someday they’ll be able to share your kind words with this now unborn child. Your kind words will tell this child that he or she is truly loved and wanted. They will also say this child is much more important than the temporary glitter and excitement of an Olympic event.

The race Tasha and Darrell have decided to run is one for their child. It’s a race that will take a lifetime to complete, and is certain to provide countless blessings along the way. Let’s help these new parents get this race off to a wonderful start. Send your letter of encouragement today!

New Board Member

Life Issues Institute is pleased to announce our newest Board member, Raymond R. Clark. Ray is the retired President and CEO of Cincinnati Bell Telephone Company. He is presently a member of the Board of Directors of the Cincinnati Institute of Fine Arts. He previously served on the Board of Directors of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Ray and his wife, Marylyn, reside in Cincinnati and have three children and three grandchildren. Ray is a welcome and valued member of our Board of Trustees.

STATES EXCHANGE
Free Ad Slicks to Register Voters

Tragically, tens of thousands of pro-life voters are not registered to vote. Join Life Issues Institute and other pro-life organizations in a nation wide effort to register voters. We’ve made it easy for you to participate. Life Issues Institute is offering two ad slicks, both in color and black and white. They can be used on web sites, in publications, church bulletins, etc. They’re free to download at www.lifeissues.org/ads.html or we’ll mail them to you on a CD free of charge. Our goal is to register as many pro-life voters as possible between now and the November election. Please join us!