Archive for the 'Contraception' Category

Here follows the text of a beautiful homily on contraception given by Father Bryan Stitt of St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Plattsburgh, New York:

And its grade is a big fat F:

CWA: Morning-After Pill Fails Tests

Journal reports that no study found a decrease in pregnancy or abortion rates, even with increased use

WASHINGTON, Jan. 5 /Christian Newswire/ — Well-known advocates for the morning-after pill have admitted that “increased access to emergency contraception pills enhance use but has not been shown to reduce unintended pregnancy rates” in a meta-analysis of studies conducted in 10 countries published this month in the Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. They also state the drug’s effectiveness may be “substantially … overstated.”

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Some quick links:

Miss Kelly at Modestly Yours has a must-read post titled “Sexual Freedom Is Damaging to Students”. It’s about a new book called Unprotected, written by an anonymous psychiatrist at the student counseling center of a major American university who has seen firsthand the horrible effects inflicted — especially on women — by so-called “safe sex” and “sexual freedom”.

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Christina at RealChoice has a great post titled “Pre-Roe Mortality, Redux”:

Just about anybody that’s paid attention has heard the claim that “thousands” — or, more specifically, “5,000 to 10,000″ maternal deaths a year in the United States from criminal abortions back in the bad old pre-Roe days. In fact, Planned Parenthood’s amicus brief filed with PP v. Casey still cited this bogus “fact”.

Let’s start with the numbers. Where did they come from?

Find out here.

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JivinJ reports on some disturbing statistics from the United Kingdom about the number of teens having “two or three abortions”. (more…)

You’ve probably already heard about Planned Parenthood’s free “emergency contraception” giveaway last week.

Generation Life* reports on how the event provides further evidence of the emptiness of Planned Parenthood’s “We care about women’s health” rhetoric.

PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 15 /Christian Newswire/ — On Wednesday, Dec 6, 2006 Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania (PPSP) distributed free “emergency contraceptives” to women of all ages. Young women associated with Generation Life entered four different PPSP clinics. There they discovered that PPSP was engaging in many illegal and irresponsible activities and distributing inaccurate and incomplete medical information.

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I opened up the paper this morning and saw this headline:

NYC to enforce healthier living

TRANS FAT: Ban hailed for blocking use of `basically a slow form of poison’

The article beneath the headline reported that restaurants in New York City will no longer be allowed to cook with oils containing trans fats. And:

In what could be the start of a shift in how Americans choose their meals, the New York City Board of Health said it will require restaurants that offer nutritional information to post calorie counts where everyone can see–on menus or menu boards.

“It will be a completely different ballgame if it is right there before their eyes,” said David Grotto, spokesman for the American Dietetic Association and a registered dietitian. “It very well may cause them to think twice.”

In light of these regulations, I’m sure no one would object to a new law that would require notices to be posted — “where everyone can see” — in any place condoms are sold that there is “insufficient evidence” to determine whether condoms do anything to prevent the spread of the vast majority of STDs. (more…)

Ruben at No Room for Contraception has hit the nail on the head in explaining the increasingly obvious connection between birth control and abortion:

It’s a common assumption that contraception reduces the need for abortion in the United States. Yet the history of contraception and abortion in the 60s and 70s shows this assumption to be incorrect.

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From a country where homeschooling is illegal and “offending” parents are jailed (see here, here, here, and here) comes this:

A German court decision earlier this month ordered a gynecologist who “botched” a patient’s contraceptive implant to pay €500 [around $650] a month in child support for the next 18 years. (The patient gave birth to a son nearly four years ago.)

This Irish Times article notes the reaction of the German newspaper Die Welt, which calls attention to the unspeakable psychological harm this case inflicts upon the boy:

“A child as a case for damages - this perverse idea has now been confirmed by one of Germany’s highest courts.”

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The No Room for Contraception Blog reports on a new billboard campaign sponsored by the Diocese of Tulsa. They’re a response to a billboard campaign launched by the local Planned Parenthood affiliate that claims, “Birth Control is Easy.”

And, speaking of billboards, I’ve included below an e-mail we recently received from Judy Climer of Flint (MI) Right to Life, whose organization has put up over 50 billboards in the Flint area on behalf of the local affiliate of Black Americans for Life, with which she is also involved. To say the least, the campaign has gotten people talking:

I’ll share a little of our success with BAFL, and you use it however it will bless and help others in this battle to save life.

We bought a 10-billboard blitz to put out there for the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade in January of 2004, and the message was: “Abortion, the #1 Killer of African Americans.” (This board is on our website - www.FlintRTL.com)

I received a phone call from The Flint Journal (liberal newspaper), ironically, the exact day that the boards were going up. The reporter had talked to Jim Richardson, the Director of PP, and he told them they were giving out free coffee at the Coffee Beanery to “celebrate” Roe vs. Wade. She wanted to know what we were doing.

So., I told her we were breaking forth with the truth about how African Americans have been deceived by PP, that little black babies are aborted 3 times more often than babies of all other races (in MI, they accounted for 37% of the abortions) and it makes abortion the #1 killer of African Americans.

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I was really annoyed with a particular article from last Sunday’s Chicago Tribune. I have to wonder if Ross Werland is stuck in the 60’s? Doesn’t he realize that there are dozens of STDs because people choose to sleep around? And that most of these STDs wreak havoc on women – possibly rendering them infertile? But why should he care about that? He’s more concerned about whether or not people think he’s a freak.

As an aside, I happened to really like being part of a “small crowd” and so do most people I know from large families.

I suggest you write to our dear friend and enlighten the poor soul: (rwerland@tribune.com).

It’s a stiff competition, but the Patch continues to make a convincing case for why it deserves the title of Most Dangerous Form of Hormonal Birth Control, as this article from No Room for Contraception explains:

Ortho Evra Birth Control Patch: 1,000 Claimants and Counting

Youngest victim was 14

By Ruben Obregon

According to Johnson & Johnson’s third quarter SEC filing for 2006 , there are over “1,000 claimants who have filed lawsuits or have made claims regarding injuries allegedly due to Ortho Evra.” [1] Ortho Evra, also known as the birth control patch, is a transdermal hormonal contraceptive which is applied weekly to the skin. In addition to being a contraceptive, the patch can act as an abortifacient by preventing implantation of a fertilized egg.

Serious health problems have been associated with Ortho Evra including fatal and non-fatal blood clots, strokes, heart attacks, and death. From April 2002 to December 2004, over 27,974 ‘adverse effects’ were reported by users of Ortho Evra.[2] Many of the complaints are serious, and the patch is alleged to be responsible for over 23 deaths, including the death of 14 year old Alycia Brown.[3]

The claims keep mounting – last week a lawsuit was filed on behalf of 40 women against Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical Inc, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson and the manufacturer of Ortha Evra.. The lawsuit alleges that the Ortho Evra patch was responsible for the serious health problems, including the death of one user.[4]

“We were saddened for these women and their families but not surprised by the news of these cases,” says John David Hart, of the Law Offices of John David Hart in Fort Worth, who represents women who have used the Ortho Evra patch. “All of the women we’ve met with and all of the research we’ve done suggest that this is a real problem and that women are being harmed by using this drug.”[4]

Rather than pull the drug off of the market, it appears Johnson & Johnson finds it cheaper to settle with victims.

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Yesterday, the aptly named Project Reality announced the following:

Congressional Committee on Government Reform Finds Rep. Henry Waxman’s Report on Abstinence Education Inaccurate and Misleading

Glenview, IL - An official Congressional Report, released this October 27th by the Committee on Government Reform, has found that a Democratic Staff Report released in December, 2004, entitled “The Content of Federally Funded Abstinence-Only Education Programs” is inaccurate and misrepresentative of abstinence education programs nationwide.

The 2004 report, commonly referred to as “The Waxman Report,” was widely and misleadingly critical of federally funded abstinence education programs. It was prepared by partisan staff and released by Rep. Henry Waxman, the Minority Chair of the Committee on Government Reform. This report received widespread and favorable media coverage and was hailed as a “Congressional Report” despite the fact that it was prepared by Minority Staff and never reviewed by the full committee. It referred to abstinence education programs as “inaccurate” and “dangerous” and called for more funding for so-called “comprehensive” sex education programs. Since its release, The Waxman Report has been used by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Planned Parenthood and the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) to perpetuate national campaigns against abstinence education programs and funding.

The new report “Abstinence and Its Critics” released on Friday by Rep. Souder, reveals that The Waxman Report itself was misleading and dangerous in that it failed to examine any content of the sex education programs it recommended and contained errors and half-truths in its analysis of abstinence education programs.

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A friend of mine from college, Father Robert Zwilling, stopped by our office recently to celebrate Mass in the Pro-Life Action League’s St. Joseph Chapel.

Since then, I have had the good fortune to be able to read his Sunday homilies, which he sends to an e-mail list, along with a reflection, a “Catholic term of the week,” a bit of humor, and some suggestions for further reading on the topic(s) addressed in the homily.

Last week, Father Robert preached on contraception.

I was very impressed — first, simply by the fact that he preached on what many consider to be the unpreachable. (Unfortunately, it seems that a homily on contraception is about as rare as a Honus Wagner cigarette card.)

Most people assume it’s foolish for a priest to preach against contraception:

Most of the parishioners are using contraception themselves, so many of them will be offended, and they’ll stop coming to Mass — which means they’ll stop giving to the church.

Or so the argument goes.

Thankfully, there are still holy priests who care more about souls than money — priests who are serious about shepherding their flocks, and are courageous enough to proclaim the truth about human sexuality from the pulpit, knowing full well that many in their congregations may have never heard these teachings before.

I especially liked Father Robert’s use of an analogy I’d never heard before to distinguish between contraception and NFP: (more…)

A couple weeks ago, my wife and I received some mail from:

The Executive Mansion
410 E Jackson
Springfield, IL 62701-1719

It was addressed “To the Parents of Maria Jansen.”

“What could this be?” we both thought.

Upon opening it, we found a card saying “Welcome, Little One” with a collection of stuffed animals looking out the window at an approaching stork carrying a bundle in its beak.

Opening it up, the right flap said, “The world is one baby sweeter now.”

The main part of the card reads:

Congratulations on the birth of your new baby! Childbirth is an exciting event for every family, and we are proud to share in your joy.

A healthy child is a happy child. Therefore, it is important that your baby receive proper immunizations by two months of age. It will help to ensure protection against future illnesses.

Best wishes to your whole family on this very special occasion.

Rod Blagojevich

At this point, we had to chuckle. Honestly, we don’t know which of our girls’ births this card was intended to recognize, as all three of our daughters are named Maria. (We call each of them by their middle names).

Presumably, it was sent in response to the birth of our yountest daughter, Maria Lucia, who was born in September 2005. Which means the card is at least a year late (“…it is important that your baby receive proper immunizations by two months of age”).

I guess when your office is as scandal-plagued as Governor Blagojevich’s is, these sorts of things get put on the back burner. (more…)

Reader Ellen recently alerted us to an entry posted earlier this month on the pro-abortion blog RHRealityCheck — the same blog that also recently included a series of posts by one Tyler LePard, who attended our “Contraception Is Not the Answer” conference last month.

In an entry titled “Rethinking Overpopulation”, Andrea Lynch writes:

Amidst the media hysteria about the U.S. population reaching 300 million this month, it seems an opportune moment to reflect on the deeply subjective nature of the concept of “overpopulation.” One example: how is it that Europe’s low birth rate is a population “crisis,” whereas Africa’s high birth rate is also a population “crisis”? Three guesses.

For this and other food for thought, I highly recommend 10 Reasons to Rethink ‘Overpopulation’ [PDF], a thoughtful new resource from Hampshire College’s Population and Development Program that explores the links between population, reproductive health, human rights, racism, and the environment. Here are some particularly compelling reasons to rethink:

1. Population control targets women’s fertility and restricts reproductive rights.
2. Population alarmism encourages apocalyptic thinking that legitimizes human rights abuses.
3. Conventional views of overpopulation stand in the way of greater global understanding and solidarity.

If I had my way, it would be required reading for all 300 million Americans…

In response, reader KellyR posted a comment that begins:

I was surprised to see this post. I would consider these old arguments to be harmful rhetoric and should be placed as such under that portion of your website. The paper referenced above only harms the family planning/reproductive health movement now that we’ve moved on.

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A study [PDF] published this month in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings provides further evidence of a connection between the Pill and breast cancer.

In a related post a few days ago — regarding an article titled “Breast Cancer and Oral Contraception” posted on the No Room for Contraception website — Mark Shea summed it up: Contraception: The Gift that Keeps on Taking.

Dr. Janet Smith gave a presentation at last month’s “Contraception Is Not the Answer” conference titled “Hormones ‘R’ Us,” in which she discussed in detail these and other harmful side effects of hormonal birth control on a woman’s body (as well as some downright bizarre side effects on the environment).

You can buy a copy of Dr. Smith’s talk, as well as any or all of the other seven conference talks, here.