file: /pub/resources/text/ProLife.News/1992: pln-0211.txt --------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Life Communications - Volume 2, No. 11 July, 1992 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This newsletter is intended to provide articles and news information to those interested in Pro-Life Issues. Questions to readers and articles for submissions are strongly encouraged. All submissions should be sent to the editor, Steve (frezza@ee.pitt.edu). ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (1) WHEN A CALENDAR ISN'T JUST A CALENDAR [I]n January, [Ohio State] Students for Life filed a lawsuit against the OSU Office of Women Student Services (OWSS) because is [sic] would not include the group's pro-life views in its quarterly Women's Calendar. The Women's Calendar, according to The Lantern [the student newspaper], "lists events around the campus and city that office personnel determine are of interest to women." Lisa Huelskamp, the president of Students for Life, remarked, "Giving us a three-inch spot on the calendar would take care of us." As an example of the bias, she pointed out that the calendar mentioned a pro-abortion celebration of the Roe v. Wade decision while ignoring a pro-life candlelight vigil held on the same date. Students for Life was denied funding by the Council of Student Affairs because of its involvement with the abortion issue, which was classified as political. OWSS, which is actively involved with the issue on the pro-abortion side, operates from the general fund which is funded through tuition payments as tax dollars. Huelskamp also charged that Director of Student Life Services Cynthia Harris's behavior is motivated by pro-abortion sentiments. Harris sent a letter to Huelskamp on January 30th that read: "Women and men request to receive the Women's Calendar specifically because it promotes and endorses those programs and organizations which support and serve choices for women. The Calendar will not include programming or organizations which seek to oppress, reduce, or eliminate choices of women and minorities. ... Your organization's focus on fetal rights is incongruent with our most basic philosophy of women's rights." ['guess she never heard of a "Feminist for Life"] Huelskamp called for Harris's resignation, saying, "If she can't keep her personal views out of this, she has no right being where she's at." -Ed Gehringer ------------------------------------------------------------------------ (2) GU CHOICE DEFUNDED "GU Choice", a pro-abortion advocacy group at the Jesuit-run Georgetown University, recently had its official status revoked. This is after more than a year of controversy, and pending action concerning Georgetown's status as a "Catholic" university. GU had been charged that it's support of GU Choice was "clearly inconsistent" with the aims of a Catholic university. The university administration maintained that it was funding only "abortion discussion" in the name of academic freedom. Despite the fact that the group was officially supposed to limit itself to abortion discussion rather than advocacy, the group passed out postcards printed by the ACLU for students to send to their senators and congressional representatives urging them to support the Freedom of Choice Act (AKA the MAD Act). In addition, leaders of the group made a blatant appeal for "abortion rights" in one of the student newspapers under the auspices of GU Choice. Also, a student letter told of a particular meeting prior to the national pro-abortion march (in DC, April '92) in which the leaders simply declared an official adjournment and then continued their meeting uninterrupted to discuss their participation in the march. Faced with pressures from the Church, several alumni, students and faculty, the administration revoked its decision to grant funding and benefits to GU Choice on 24 April, 1992 with a statement to the effect that "separating speech from advocacy proved unmanageable." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (3) THE GOP POLITICS - NORTH CAROLINA In late May, the North Carolina Republican State Convention approved a resolution urging retention of the pro-life plank in the GOP national party platform. The resolution was approved on a voice vote. A fairly large number of vocal "No"s were heard from the delegates, but they were easily exceeded by the number of "Yes"es heard a moment earlier. Then a resolution to convey the decision to the national platform committee in writing was approved, by an even larger margin. Later, the state party platform was passed without debate over its pro-life plank. Also at the convention, a pro-life challenge to the Republican National Committeeman garnered an impressive number of votes. The National Committeeman is former Hardee's CEO and longtime Republican activist Jack Laughery. He has been quoted as saying he believes in the "right to choose" abortion. He was challenged by political unknown Conrad Pogazelski. Pogazelski was garnering 25%-30% of the vote, despite the fact that delegates knew nothing about him except that he supported the pro-life plank. In fact, most could not even pronounce his name. About 2/3 of the way through the vote, Laughery promised to support the platform, at which point Pogazelski withdrew from the race. In the race for National Committeewoman, delegates elected staunch pro-lifer Linda Shaw. She turned back a challenge from Peggy Harrison, a lesser-known opponent whose position on abortion was more equivocal. -Ed Gehringer ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (3) PRO-LIFE RETREAT Richard Neuhaus and Jean Garton are sponsoring a weekend (Catholic?) retreat "Come and Rest Awhile II" for leaders in national, state, regional, and diocesan pro-life positions at the St. Pius X Retreat House in Blackwood, NJ, from Friday 17 July to Sunday 19 July, 1992. Those interested should contact the retreat house. (??) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (4) LIST OF PLANNED PARENTHOOD SPONSORS AVAILABLE Life Decisions International has compiled a list of sponsors for Planned Parenthood. This project encourages people to boycott the company that is supporting PP, and write to that company's contact that the reason that you are boycotting their company is that they sponsor Planned Parenthood, which is the nation's largest chain of abortion clinics. The national organizations endorsing this project (partial list): Ad Hoc Committee in Defense of Life, Advocates for Life Ministries, Alliance for Life (Canada), American Coalition for Life, American Collegians for Life, American Family Association, American Life League, Americans United for Life, Bernadell, Brokers for Life, Campaign Life (Canada), Catholic League, Center for Bio-Ethical Reform, Christian Action Council, Christian Coalition, Christians for Life (Canada), Coalitions for America, Concerned Women for America, Defenders of Life, Eagle Forum, Family Research Council, Feminists for Life, Human Life International, Legacy Communications, LifeNet International, Lutherans for Life, Methodists for Life, National Association of Evangelicals, National Conservative Political Action Committee, Pro-Life Action League, Public Advocate, St. Antoninus Institute, Stop Planned Parenthood, and Traditional Values Coalition. The list is about 650 lines long. If you would like a copy, please send your request to: v063kc44@ubvms.bitnet or v063kc44@ubvms.cc.buffalo.edu If you have a listserv library or a ftp site that would be able to store such a list, please send to the above address. - Bob [the Nuzz] Weis ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (5) "PRO-CHOICE"ERS SHOW THEIR COLORS IN ST. LOUIS A so called "Pro-Choice" organization on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis, showed their true colors and convictions this Spring. Washington University Students for Life approached the Washington University Students for Choice and made a proposal. With a donation of $25.00 a month from each organization would go to help a woman who had chosen to contine her pregnancy. This would be done through an Adopt-A-Mother program run by Birthright. The only response the Students for Choice could give was "Isn't that an anti-choice organization?' Can they really be concerned with choice if they are not willing to put their money where it will help support the women who _choose_ to continue the life of their child? This is another confirmation that "Pro-Choice" is nothing but pure and simple rhetoric, and thier object is to promote abortion, not choice. - Ed Lorden ----------------------------------------------------------------------- READER RESPONSES This is a response to David Cruz-Uribe's response in the most recent issue of the ProLife News: It is difficult to fully understand the role that Planned Parenthood has played in pushing sex and abortion without reading about them first. I highly recommend both _Grand Illusions: The Legacy of Planned Parenthood_ by George Grant and _Blessed are the Barren: The Social Policy of Planned Parenthood_ by Charles Donovan and (??). If you do read these and are not religious, don't stop reading because of the religious convictions of the authors...read them for the facts that they present. It is possible - I certainly didn't agree with George Grant on all that he said, but his book is very well researched and there can be no denying most of his arguments. David's comments mentione that it is "ludicrous in the extreme" to refer to PP as "the nation's foremost facilitator of teenage fornication." Actually, this statement is incredibly accurate - not because PP passes out condoms or other types of birth control, but because they are the biggest pushers and supporters of "value free" sex education. Both books that I mentioned point this out with quotes from PP leaders vowing to have their sex education curriculum in every school in the country by (some year), and by quotes from their own sex ed books. Another great source of information about this aspect of PP is STOPP (STOp Planned Parenthood). Basically, PP has a curriculum for sex education for pre-K through 12th grade whose sole purpose is to push sexual activity, especially at an early age. If everyone knew what PP is really about, I have a feeling that they'd be out of business before not too long. --Chris Bord - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Quote Of the Month: The Polish Medical Association on May 3 implemented a code of medical ethics which says that any doctor who performs abortions will lose his license. "The new Polish ban on abortion... an act of courage which should be an example to the medical profession in other parts of the world." - Cardial Fiorenzo Angelini, head of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Workers +---------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Credits: | | 1 - From Accuracy in Academia's Campus Report, May 1992, p. 3. | | 2 - From the "UFL Pro Vita", newsletter of University Faculty for | | Life, Washington DC, volume II number 2 May, 1992. | | write to: Box 2273 Georgetown University, Washington DC 20057. | |QOM- June, 1992 "Catholic World Report, p. 25. P.O.Box 6718 Syracuse,| | NY 13217-7912 | +---------------------------------------------------------------------+ Anyone desiring information on specific prolife groups, literature, tapes, or help with problems is encouraged to contact the editor.