Unborn Child Saved by 12-Year-Old's Popular Pro-Life Presentation

God does indeed work through those who allow Him.

TORONTO, February 18, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Though 12-year-old Lia's popular pro-life presentation did not win a regional speech competition last night, she and her family are celebrating what they call the "best trophy ever" - the saving of an unborn life, after Lia's words convinced a stranger not to abort her child.
A video of Lia's 5-minute speech, in which the sprightly and articulate 7th-grader gives a point-by-point argument against abortion, has attracted over 200,000 views on Youtube and a flurry of comments, in addition to increasing news media coverage.

Despite warnings that her pro-life message would disqualify her from the school competition, Lia's speech impressed both her pro-choice teacher and the school so deeply that she won the contest, despite a controversy that erupted in the judge's panel, which had at first disqualified her. Winning the school wide contest meant she would go on to compete at the regional level.

Lia's mother told Matt Lockett of the Moral Outcry blog that Lia presented the speech at the regional contest flawlessly, and though many testified to hers being the strongest speech, the family believed she likely lost because she spoke on the topic of abortion.

After learning she had lost the competition, Lia's mother wrote: "Lia wasn't really that upset though, especially when she considered that the only difference between winning the competition and not winning was having a couple extra pictures taken and being given a small trophy.

"Lia has a much bigger trophy - somebody commented to us on our YouTube account that her aunt watched Lia's video and decided to NOT have an abortion because of it. Yay God! Others have commented that they either never thought of the issue before or were pro-choice - but now they have changed their opinions. So, having a life saved is the best trophy ever!" wrote Lia's mother.

North Dakota State House Approves Personhood-Abortion Ban Legislation

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor

Bismarck, ND (LifeNews.com) -- The North Dakota state House on Tuesday approved a bill that declares unborn children as persons beginning at the point of fertilization, or conception. The bill could be used to challenge the Supreme's Court's infamous Roe v. Wade ruling and ban abortions.
 
Because the bill defines an unborn baby as a person, an abortion of an unborn child would be considered murder under state law.

The legislative chamber approved House Bill 1572 on a 51-41 vote and now the measure heads to the state Senate for consideration.

Republican Rep. Dan Ruby, who has also sponsored other pro-life bills this legislative session, is the main sponsor of the personhood bill. He says the measure fits in with what the Supreme Court said in Roe, namely that abortion would be illegal if the personhood of the unborn child could be asserted.

"This is the exact language that's required by Roe vs. Wade. It stipulated that before a challenge can be made, we have to identify when life begins, and that's what this does," he said.

Still, he said that the measure doesn't go as far as banning abortions in the same way a previous bill had or the two ballot measures neighboring South Dakota considered. (Full story at Lifenews.com)

Pope Urges Catholic US Legislators to Defend Life

VATICAN CITY, FEB. 18, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is urging legislators to uphold the sanctity of human life according to Church teaching, he affirmed in an meeting with U.S. Speaker of the House of Representatives.

The Pope received Nancy Pelosi and her entourage briefly today after the general audience, reported a Vatican communiqué.

He "took the opportunity to speak of the requirements of the natural moral law and the Church's consistent teaching on the dignity of human life from conception to natural death," the Vatican reported afterward.

The Pontiff added that these teachings "enjoin all Catholics, and especially legislators, jurists and those responsible for the common good of society, to work in cooperation with all men and women of good will in creating a just system of laws capable of protecting human life at all stages of its development."  (Full story at ZENIT.org)

North Dakota Personhood Bill Passes State House 51-41

Brought to my attention with the comment: 

In case you hadn't seen this news - see below.

Passed North Dakota House, now to Senate.

Maybe this will be challenge to Roe v. Wade!

Washington, D.C. (17 February 2009) -The civil rights movement gained a significant victory today as the North Dakota House of Representatives voted Feb. 17 to recognize the personhood of all human beings.

Led by American Life League Associate group North Dakota Life League, the personhood movement celebrated the passage of The Personhood of Children Act (House Resolution 1572), introduced by State Rep. Dan Ruby, in a 51-41 vote.

"We are very excited about the personhood movement in North Dakota - which has the chance to become the first state to protect the rights of all its citizens from their biological beginning," said Jim Sedlak, vice president of American Life League.
The Senate vote is expected in the next two to three weeks.

Fifteen other states are currently pursuing personhood legislation.

American Life League was co-founded in 1979 by Judie Brown. It is the largest grassroots Catholic pro-life organization in the United States and is committed to the protection of all innocent human beings from the moment of creation to natural death. For more information or press inquiries, please contact Katie Walker at 540.659.4171.

MORE INFORMATION:

Personhood North Dakota:
http://personhoodnorthdakota.com/

North Dakota Life League:
http://members.tripod.com/NDLL/

Examiner: ND Pro-Lifers Hang Hopes on Personhood Refrendum (9 February 2009)

http://www.examiner.com/x-2359-Evangelical-Examiner~y2009m2d9-North-Dakota-prolifers-hang-hopes-on-Personhood-Referendum

Talk Radio's Savage, Law Center Vow 'Fairness' Suit

Conservative talk-radio host Michael Savage and the Thomas More Law Center promise to fight any possible restoration of the so-called “Fairness Doctrine,” with the center promising to sue on Savage’s behalf if it is reinstated.

Several liberal senators and former President Bill Clinton been threatening to muzzle talk radio by reinstituting the doctrine, according to a joint news release from Savage and the national public-interest law firm based Center in Ann Arbor, Mich.

“Michael Savage is the personification of what the liberals hate about conservative talk radio, and we’re proud to represent him in this crucial battle to preserve the grand purpose of political speech protected by the First Amendment,” said Richard Thompson, president and chief counsel of the law center. (Full story at Newsmax.com)

Axelrod Says Obama to Discuss Fairness Doctrine

By: Dave Eberhart

Article Font Size

An Obama senior adviser has indicated that the administration is mulling whether the controversial Fairness Doctrine will get a new lease on life, according to a report in Broadcasting and Cable.


The now defunct Fairness Doctrine, if revived, could be used by a liberal administration to silence Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and other radio talk show hosts, as well as much of the new alternative media. The doctrine required broadcasters to report both sides of controversial issues. The Federal Communications Commission dropped it in 1987.

(Full story at Newsmax.com)

Electrician Quits Repairs on Nebraska Abortion Facility in Response To Calls

Consider this man's response to Catholic teaching and compare to madam speaker's......

From LifeSiteNews.com 

BELLEVUE, NE, February 17, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - An electrician made the decision yesterday to cancel his contract for work on a fire-damaged abortion centre after pro-life advocates called and explained to the vendor that his work was enabling abortions.

At first, the electrician told callers that he was not working in the abortion facility, but was working only in the basement. However, once he learned that the basement was part of the abortion centre where records and supplies were kept, he halted work.

"He said he considered himself a good Catholic and didn't want to be an accessory to an abortion clinic," said Larry Donlan of Rescue the Heartland, and Truth Truck driver for Operation Rescue.

The facility, which was damanged in a fire last month, is one that belongs to the infamous partial-birth abortionist LeRoy Carhart.

"This just shows the effectiveness of Abortion Collaborator campaign," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman, who first coined the term "abortion collaborator" and pioneered the project. "Once people understand that their work is helping the abortion industry, they often want nothing more to do with it."

Abortion collaborator campaigns help vendors recognize that providing services for abortion facilities contributes to abortions and makes them culpable for the continued shedding of innocent blood.

"It's a legal principle as well as a bibilical one. Those who aid and abet share in the guilt," said Newman.

"We congratulate Rescue the Heartland and appreciate the willingness of this electrician to do the right thing and stop work on the abortion mill. We pray that Carhart's clinic will never reopen."
 

Pro-Life Pastor Faces 2 Years Jail and Fine for Peaceful Sidewalk Counseling

Guilty verdict came despite proof prosecution witnesses gave false testimony

By Kathleen Gilbert

OAKLAND, California, February 17, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - An Oakland pastor arrested last May for peacefully counseling and picketing at a local abortion clinic has been found guilty of violating a new city ordinance that his lawyers are claiming is unconstitutional, and now faces up to two years in jail and a $4,000 fine.

Rev. Walter Hoye was convicted on January 15 of two counts of unlawfully approaching women entering an abortion facility, a misdemeanor enshrined in city law last spring, which holds a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a $2,000 fine.  Hoye is scheduled to receive his sentence on Thursday, February 19. 

The African-American pastor is the founder of the Issues4Life Foundation and an outspoken opponent of the genocide of unborn African Americans. He had been accustomed since early 2007 to picket alone or with two other women on the public sidewalk in front of Oakland's abortion clinic and counsel incoming patients.  Pro-abortion escorts testified to regularly obstructing Hoye's message by blocking the pastor's sign (reading "Jesus loves you and your baby, let us help you") with a sheet of blank poster board and shouting loudly to prevent dialogue with patients. (Full story at LifeSiteNews)

 

 

The crucial test for the pontificate of Benedict XVI

by Phil Lawler, February 17, 2009 

Years from now, I feel certain, Church historians will look back upon the early months of 2009 as the crucial test of this pontificate. Four years after he assumed the throne of St. Peter, Pope Benedict has run into a solid wall of resistance to his pastoral plans. That resistance is evident not only in the secular world but also within the Church (especially in Europe) and even inside the Vatican. The Holy Father's response to this challenge will define the remainder of his papacy.

The late Pope John Paul II defined his mission-- first as Archbishop Krakow, then as Bishop of Rome-- to lead the Church to the full implementation of the teachings of Vatican II. When he was elected to succeed the beloved Polish Pontiff, the former Cardinal Ratzinger embraced the same mission, while adding his own distinct perspective. The message of Vatican II, Pope Benedict insisted, must be interpreted using a "hermeneutic of continuity," recognizing that the Council was not a radical break from enduring Catholic tradition.

(Full story at Catholic Culture)

 

Ramos, Compean Released from Jail

From CNSNews.com


Ex-Border Agents Who Shot Smuggler Out of Prison

Dallas (AP) - Attorneys say two former Border Patrol agents convicted of shooting a drug smuggler and covering it up have been released from prison.

Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean each had their sentences of more than 10 years commuted earlier this year by former President George W. Bush. Their commutation becomes effective March 20, and both will serve out the remainder of their sentences in home confinement.

The men were convicted in 2006 of shooting Osvaldo Aldrete Davila near El Paso and trying to conceal it.

Ramos left a federal prison in Phoenix on Tuesday morning on furlough, his attorney said in a statement. Compean was released Tuesday from an Elkton, Ohio, facility, his attorney's office said.







 

Pope Benedict strongly rebukes Pelosi over abortion

Vatican City, Feb 18, 2009 / 10:18 am (CNA).- House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s photo-op with Pope Benedict XVI turned sour when the Pontiff used the 15-minute meeting to reaffirm the teachings of the Catholic Church on the right to life and the duty to protect the unborn.

No photo of Nancy Pelosi and the Pope will be forthcoming, since the meeting was closed to reporters and photographers. The two met in a small room in the Vatican just after the Pope's weekly public audience.

Immediately after the meeting, the Holy See’s press office released a statement saying, "following the general audience the Holy Father briefly greeted Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, together with her entourage."

"His Holiness took the opportunity to speak of the requirements of the natural moral law and the Church's consistent teaching on the dignity of human life from conception to natural death which enjoin all Catholics, and especially legislators, jurists and those responsible for the common good of society, to work in co-operation with all men and women of good will in creating a just system of laws capable of protecting human life at all stages of its development." (Full story at CNA)


RELATED ARTICLES:

Pope gently rebukes Pelosi (Catholic Culture) 

Pope to Pelosi: Protect Life at All Stages of Development (InsideCatholic)

The Pope and Pelosi (Ignatius Insight)

Updated: Pope Reminds Speaker Pelosi of Her Obligation to Protect and Defend all Human Life (Catholic Online)