NPR engages in battle of words on abortion

This is good article from Jeff Bercovici, media analyst for Finance Daily.  He notes that NPR (that is taxpayer supported National Public Radio) has changed its vocabulary when referring to the opposing sides of the abortion debate.  Previously, NPR called the sides what they call themselves, Pro-Life and Pro-Choice.  NPR has now decided that they will call the opposing sides supporters/opponents of abortion rights.   Of course, this is a charged term that colors Pro-Life voices as being against a right.  No mention of the Child's right to life.  The NPR memo is here.  As mentioned in a previous blog, our opponents often try to control the use of language to win the debate before it has started.  This is another example.  Do not let yourself fall into using their language to describe your position.  It is easy to do because the media will inundate you with "their" terminology.  Never hesitate to correct the language used in debate.  We are Pro-Life because the right to life is fundamental to any other rights.  Without it, there are no other rights.     

Predictions of Humanae Vitae

The Population Research Institute blogged this list of predictions from Pope Paul VI encycical Humanae Vitae:
1. Contraception would lead to conjugal infidelity.
2. Contraceptive practice would lead to a “general lowering of morality.”
3. Contraception would lead men to cease respecting woman in their totality and would cause them to treat women as “mere instruments of selfish enjoyment” rather than as cherished partners.
4. And finally, widespread acceptance of contraception by couples would lead to a massive imposition of contraception by unscrupulous governments.

You might wonder how Pope Paul VI could have been so precient as to predict these things with such accuracy.  It is simple.  He studied natural law.  Our Declaration of Independence speaks of the adherance to the "Law of Nature and of Nature's God."  The laws of nature cannot be violated without adverse consequence to individuals and to society.  The relationships of male and female and the regeneration of society have been ordered by nature in accordance with the natural means of human procreation.  Contraception discards the natural means of procreation and replaces it with an artifice.  The predictable result is the destruction of the normal relations between the sexes and of the bonds of society.  To reorder society we need to understand that liberty exists within law; "freedom" outside law is chaos.

Abortion Language in Health Care Bill

While supporters of health care reform claim that they are working to help the less fortunate, their actions belie their words.  They have steadfastly, and in many ways deceitfully, included language in the bill that would fund abortion and those who would promote abortions.  Health care supporters seek to destroy the most unfortunate of those among us; the unborn child at risk of being killed.  The plan includes a kind of tax on every person's healthcare plan that would then be used to fund abortion. 

Congressional supporters  claim that "federal" funds would not be used for abortion.  This is only partially true in that the accounting gimmick simply uses the insurance companies as a proxy for government support.  This principle that no one should be forced to support that which they find abhorrent is violated whether the funding is through the government directly or a payment forced by law.  The bill also includes funding for "Communty Health Centers" which is simply a code word for abortion providers.  This health care bill must be defeated. 

Potential of Life vid

Check out this vid promoting the March for Life in Spain. The vid is effective in showing the continuity of life from conception on. The vid shows life in the womb and the events that take place at certain weeks such as the heart beats, the hands are formed, and etc... then moves on to show how at 1,100 weeks individuals such as Mother Teresa have changed the world. This vid is beautifully done and includes English subtitles.

My only quibble is that it shows successful people are certain stages of life. It leaves out the potential for those who are almost certainly destined not to make achievements at that level, the severely handicapped, for example. Sarah Palin's son Trig in all likelihood will never achieve greatness or change the world in a spectacular way. However, he, too, deserves life and our support for children such as these are truly the least of us. They, too, change the world by their very presence.