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International Right to Life Federation,
Inc. Poland – No Underground Abortions We are pleased to publicize a remarkable record from Poland. Ten years ago this country was killing 160,000 to 180,000 babies a year in abortion. Last year it killed 250. This is a result of a pro-life law passed in 1993. When debated, the press, U.N. agencies, etc., all screamed that to forbid abortion, after having it free and state-paid for 44 years under the Russians, would merely drive it underground. Abortions would be begun clandestinely, and thousands of women, bleeding and infected, would flood into hospitals because of “miscarriages”. Many would die. But abortion was forbidden. And what is today's record? – The number of abortions has dropped from 160,000 to 250. The number of admissions to hospitals for “miscarriage” has dropped from 59,454 to 44,185. The total number of admissions for “complications of pregnancy and childbirth” has dropped from 178 to 144 per 10,000 women. In the last four years, no woman has died from abortion, legal or illegal. Premature babies are often born of women who have had prior abortions and they die more frequently. In the last ten years the number of such neonatal deaths has dropped from 19 to 9.6. Poland is a western nation of almost 40 million people. Pro-abortion forces have always claimed that to forbid abortion will merely drive it underground and women will die. This now constitutes a legitimate field trial. None of the bad predictions have happened. Poland and its women and babies are healthier today than they were when abortion was legal. If this is the result in Poland, we can predict that there will be a similar result in other developed nations, if and when they forbid abortions. Croatia – Good News The number of legal abortions in Croatia, since the end of Communism, has plummeted. In 1987 the total was 48,608 - in 1998, 8,907. Marijo Zivkovic, Director of the Family Center in Zagreb, credits this success to concerted efforts over the years to distribute pro-life information and literature, the clarity and consistency of the Catholic hierarchy in addressing the issue, and the visits of Pope John Paul II in 1994 and 1998. Complications with “Assisted” Suicide A sobering new Dutch study published in the February 28 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine reports on 648 cases of assisted suicide. It notes that this is often fraught with complications and long delays before death occurs. These “complications” occur in 7% of assisted suicides and “problems with completion”, that is, of dying, occur in 16% - this compared with direct euthanasia in the Netherlands with “problems” of 3% and 6% respectively. In the accompanying editorial it was noted that this rate of complications would surprise Americans “who have never considered that the procedures involved in physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia might sometimes add to the suffering they are meant to alleviate and might also preclude the tranquil death being sought.” In the Dutch study, it was admitted that doctors often had to “complete the process” (i.e., directly kill the patient) when assisted suicide failed. It is noted that this has also occurred in one or more of the reported cases in Oregon. AIDS Drops Life Expectancy: More dismal news – this time from United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). In its just released, State of the World's Children 2000, it notes that while 200,000 Africans died as a result of armed conflict in 1998, 2 million Africans died from AIDS. As a result of this, life expectancy is dropping precipitously in some African countries, Sierra Leone and Malawi have a life expectancy of 39 years. Zamiba's and Uganda's are 40, Rwanda's is 41, and Burundi's is 43. Eberstadt – Rbbits or Flies? Harvard scholar, Nicholas Eberstadt, has stated that worldwide fear of over-population is unfounded. The real problem facing the world in the 21st century will be depopulation. The current “explosion” is the result entirely of health improvements and of life expectancy. “World population is increasing, not because people are breeding like rabbits, but because they stopped dying like flies.” Catholics for a Free Choice Not Catholic This tiny group has long publicly claimed to speak as an authentic Catholic voice. Recently, the American National Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a public statement stating that this group is “an arm of the abortion lobby in the U.S. and throughout the world. It is an advocacy group dedicated to supporting abortion, funded by a number of powerful and wealthy private foundations promoting abortion as a method of population control. It has undertaken a concentrated public relations effort to end the official presence and silence the moral voice of the Holy See at the United Nations.... Its use of the name “Catholic” and its ridicule of the Church's pro-life efforts are offensive, not only to Catholics but to all who expect honesty and forthrightness in public discourse.” These are very strong words, but those of us who work in this field agree totally. To speak honestly, this group is a virulent, anti-Catholic group and does not in any way represent more than a tiny, tiny fraction of former Catholics, while it certainly flies directly in the face of basic Catholic doctrine. British Embryos Killed Under British law, frozen embryos must be thawed (killed) after five years unless an extension is requested. It is estimated that tens of thousands of frozen human embryos have been destroyed under this rule. England has 120 fertility clinics. Between April 1977 and March 1998, 152,000 embryos were created, and estimates are that 51,000 were destroyed Australia's Kevorkian Suicide Activist, Philip Nitschke, has admitted that he has aided in the death of 15 people. The Australian Medical Association is strongly opposed to assisted suicide and has called for a police investigation. These individuals were killed after the passage of a law that overturned euthanasia legalization in the Northern Territory last year. Nitschke has commented that he, like Kevorkian, has videotaped the death of these victims, who he states had given him permission to end their lives. To Save Her Life We have very interesting information from Ireland. Dr. P.J. Conway has reported that only two maternal deaths have been recorded among 223,000 births in three Dublin maternity hospitals between 1980 and 1989. The figure has improved since then. This makes Ireland the safest place in the world for a mother to have her baby. In addition, Dr. Eamon O'Dwyer, OB professor at Galway, and an obstetrician for 40 years, states that he has looked after more than 9,000 women, and none have died. “I never had reason to think that I could have done better if I had abortion available.” Support Holy See at UN The latest reports on the battle for groups to support and oppose the Holy See at the UN as of the end of May is as follows: After more than a year the pro-abortion “See Change” campaign has gathered 498 groups, mostly pro-abortion, population control and lesbian. In 4 months time, those supporting the Holy See now number over 2,000 from more than 50 countries and all continents. This now includes the largest evangelical groups in the world as well as major Islamic groups, including the Sheheit Al-khoei Foundation. Russia Shrinking More data from Russia paint the same bleak picture. Its population fell by 800,000 people last year. There are now 3 million fewer Russians than there were 8 years ago. The Russian press reported this month that for every 1 birth, there are 2 abortions. Add to this a high death rate due to alcohol abuse, a failing public health system, a growing AIDS problem, emigration, tuberculosis, economic crises, war in the south, and a shocking high suicide rate. Where will it end? Cardinal O'Connor Dies – Dramatic Response in Cathedral At the Cardinal's funeral, St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York was packed with 3,500 prominent people. Right in front were President and Mrs. Clinton, Vice President and Mrs. Gore, Mayor Guliani, George Bush and George W. Bush. Boston's Cardinal Law, in giving the eulogy, stated, “He preached most powerfully, by his example the necessity of seeing in every human being, from the first moment of conception to the last moment of natural death, and every moment in between, particularly in the poor, in the sick and the forgotten, the image of a God to be loved and to be served. What a great legacy he has left us in this constant reminder that the Church must always be unambiguously pro-life.” There was a moment of silence, and then, as columnist Ray Kerrison said, “The import of his words exploded around the cathedral... The response rolled from the back of St. Patrick's Cathedral to the altar, as the congregation, including both Bush's, first began to applaud and then rose to their feet, continuing their ovation for 3_ minutes. The discomfort felt by the attending pro-abortion politicians, Catholic and non-Catholic, was obvious. Guliani stood up slowly and clapped feebly. President Clinton and his wife Hillary squirmed visibly. Vice President and wife Tipper, once pro-life but now vociferously pro-abortion, stared blankly... The Clintons and the Gores could not, would not join in the prolonged applause, which seemed to go on forever. Finally, after several minutes, the foursome stood but did not applaud. Cardinal Law appeared stunned, even delighted, commenting, “I see he hasn't left the pulpit.” If it was ever totally apparent that pro-abortion politicians are out of the mainstream of society, it was evident during this funeral. An Oregon Suicide? According to an October 17, 1999 article in Portland, Oregon's newspaper, The Oregonian, an 85-year-old woman, Mrs. Chaney, could not remember recent events, people she knew, the name of her doctor or that she was diagnosed with cancer. Her doctor said she was not eligible for assisted suicide because she was not of sound mind. Her daughter then sought another opinion. The second doctor acknowledged her memory deficits and said, “The choices of the patient may be influenced by her family's wishes. The daughter was somewhat coercive.” Even so, the doctor approved her “suicide”. She was euthanized. The Oregon law officially recognizes a voluntary request by a person of sound mind who then takes the lethal medicine him or herself. None of the above fits this case, and yet this case was not prosecuted. This demonstrates where that law is going – clearly – clearly down the slippery slope.
Use Humans – Not Rats Animal Times is the quarterly publication of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. This is an aggressive, worldwide animal rights group. In its winter edition, it has announced that the group is giving financial grants to companies who will prefer testing human embryos as an alternative to the use of rats and other animals in experimentations and programs that generate or use information from toxicological tests relating to humans and environmental risks. World Net Daily, in January, published a report by the pro-life committee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and it notes that the current draft document out of the U.S. government justifies the killing of human embryos in order to obtain stem cells which may reduce the use of laboratory animals for drug testing. It concludes “The human embryo ranks lower in status than a laboratory rat.” And so, I guess we've been reduced to asking the question, which living being has more value – a laboratory rat or a living, human embryonic baby? Abortion – Link to Drug Abuse Women who've had abortions are five times more likely to report later substance abuse than women who carry to term. This is reported in a study in the American Journal of Drug & Alcohol Abuse by Dr. David Reardon and Dr. Philip Ney. They analyzed data from a national reproductive history survey of 700 women, age 24 to 44. They said, “Even if we assume the lowest statistical range for relative risk, our results would indicate that each year, in the U.S. alone, there are at least 150,000 new cases of abortion-related substance abuse. Given the range of relative risks identified, the actual number could be as high as 500,000 cases a year.” The researchers pointed to a recent study in Finland that showed that the risk of death from suicide was six times higher among women who had had an abortion, while the risk of death from accidents was four times higher, and the risk of death from homicide was twelve times higher in the year following an abortion. They note that such deaths among post-abortive women are most likely due to risk-taking behavior that is an expression of self-destructive or suicidal tendencies. Britain – Breast Cancer/Abortion Link Britain's pro-abortion Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists has issued “Evidence-based Guidelines #7”. It reports on Dr. Joel Brind's meta-analysis linking abortion with breast cancer. It states: “The conflicting review by Brind has examined the same studies and concluded that induced abortion is a significant, independent risk factor for breast cancer.” The assessor concluded that his and a second differing opinion “were both carefully conducted reviews and that the Brind paper had no major methodological shortcomings and could not be disregarded.” In stating the above, the RGOC has acknowledged valid evidence of the abortion/breast cancer connection. RU486 and Fetal Deformity We have a new study published in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology of February (pp 232-235) relating to the second drug that is needed to complete the abortion begun by RU486. This drug is misoprostol (trade name cytotec). It was shown that oral doses of this drug had an effect on uterine arteries and fetal heart rate. When this chemical was administered during the first trimester of pregnancy and an abortion did not follow, “the child who is born may have multiple congenital abnormalities”. The study concluded, “Sub-therapeutic doses of prostaglandin abortifacients could lead to multiple congenital malformations of those children who are not aborted.”
Abortion Sequellae Researchers at the Danish Epidemiology Science Center report that women who abort are twice as likely to have either a pre-term or a post-term delivery. They followed 61,753 women for 12 to 14 years. Of these, 15,727 had a first-trimester-induced abortion. The women who had abortions were from 1.9 to 2.6 times more likely to have a subsequent pre-term delivery and 1.9 to 2.6 times more likely to have a post-term delivery. This reported in the Journal of OB and GYN, December 1999 A New “Morning After” Pill A new “morning after” pill has been introduced in Britain. Levonelle-2 retails for 5 pounds. It does not contain estrogen, but rather only progesterone. This pill should be roundly condemned, as it makes no pretense at all of preventing ovulation. Rather, its prime function is to prevent implantation and therefore to kill a living embryo at one week of life CONTACT US Phone: (513) 729-3600
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