eMagazineforFaith,FamilyandLife

Volume4Issue4FirstinTime,FirstinRightApril2012

ImaChild,notachoice:
Iamnotablob,butaHumanbeing. IamaPerson,notathing!

Life is all about personhood:

The truth defends itself

2 PageApril2012

HeadsUp

Sign the petition, support the Life at Conception Act

For 39 years, nine unelected men and women on the Supreme Court have played God with innocent human life. They have invented laws that condemned to painful deaths without trial more than 56 million babies for the crime of being "inconvenient." In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade ruling forced abortion-on-demand down our nation's throat. In the past, many in the pro-life movement have felt limited to protecting a life here and there -- passing some limited law to slightly control abortion in the more outrageous cases. But some pro-lifers always seem to tiptoe around the Supreme Court, hoping they won't be offended. Now the time to grovel before the Supreme Court is over. Working from what the Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade, pro-life lawmakers can pass a Life at Conception Act and end abortion using the Constitution instead of amending it. You see, while the national media has talked a lot about the impact of economic issues on this past election, the untold story is just how well pro-life candidates did. So it is vital every Member of Congress be put on record. Signing the Life at Conception Act petition will help break through the opposition clinging to abortion-on-demand and get a vote on this life-saving bill to overturn Roe v. Wade. A Life at Conception Act declares unborn children "persons" as defined by the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, entitled to legal protection. This is the one thing the Supreme Court admitted in Roe v. Wade that would cause the case for legal abortion to "collapse." When the Supreme Court handed down its now-infamous Roe v. Wade decision, it did so based on a new, previously undefined "right of privacy" which it "discovered" in so-called "emanations" of "penumbrae" of the Constitution. Of course, as constitutional law it was a disaster.

Editorial

COVERSTORY

CONCEPTIONIfaspermcellmeetsandpenetrates
anegg,itwillfertilizeit.Thisisknownasconception. Atthismoment,thegeneticmakeupiscomplete,in cludingthesexoftheinfant.Withinaboutthreedays afterconception,thefertilizedegg,whichisdividing rapidlyintomanycells,passesthroughthefallopian tubeintotheuterus,whereitattachestotheuterine wall.Theplacenta,whichwillnourishthebaby,also beginstoform.

But never once did the Supreme Court declare abortion itself to be a constitutional right. Instead the Supreme Court said: "We need not resolve the difficult question of when life begins . . . the judiciary at this point in the development of man's knowledge is not in a position to speculate as to the answer." Then the High Court made a key admission: "If this suggestion of personhood is established, the appellant's case [i.e., "Roe" who sought an abortion], of course, collapses, for the fetus' right to life is then guaranteed specifically by the [14th] Amendment." The fact is, the 14th Amendment couldn't be clearer: ". . . nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the law." Furthermore, the 14th Amendment says: "Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article." That's exactly what a Life at Conception Act would do. But this simple, logical and obviously right legislation will not become law without a fight. And that's where your help is critical. You see, it will be a tough fight, but we believe with your support it is one we can win. By turning up the heat through a massive, national, grass-roots campaign in this session of Congress, one of two things will happen. If you and other pro-life activists pour on enough pressure, pro-lifers can force politicians from both parties who were elected on pro-life platforms to make good on their promises and ultimately win passage of this bill. But even if a Life at Conception Act doesn't pass immediately, the public attention will send another crew of radical abortionists down to defeat in the next election. Either way, the unborn win . . . unless you do nothing. That's why it is urgently important that hundreds of thousands of Americans just like you to mobilize a grass-roots army to pass a Life at Conception Act.

PresidentofGeorgiaRighttoLife,Daniel Beckerhasoverthreedecadesofprolifeactiv ismtohiscredit.HisstudiesunderDrFrancis SchaefferatL'Abriduringthesummerof1973, challengedhimtodevelopabiblicalworldview thatshapedhisviewofprolifepoliticalaction. HeservedasPACDirectorforGeorgiaRightto LifeduringtheeightyearsthatGeorgiawent froma3%prolifelegislaturetoamajoritypro lifelegislaturewithallninestatewideconstitu tionalofficersholdingaproPersonhoodNO exceptionspositionontheissueofabortion. AsanationalleaderpromotingPersonhood, hehaschallengedtheprolifemovementtore thinkitseducational,legislativeandpolitical strategyandadaptittomeet21stcentury needs.Usingthelastdecadeofprolifevicto riesinGeorgiaasacasestudy,Beckerpro ceedstochartacoursefornationalprolife victory...statebystate.Thisbookshouldbe giventoeverystatelegislatorwhoidentifies themselvesasprolife. Personhood:APragmaticGuidetoProlife Victoryinthe21stCenturyandtheReturnto FirstPrinciplesinPolitics willchallengeevery prolifeactivisttopursueaneffectivestrategy utilizingprudence,pragmatismandprincipled politics.

4 PageApril2012

HeadsUp

Oklahoma Senate: life begins at moment of conception

three clinics in the state perform abortions, and the abortion rate in Oklahoma is lower than the national average, according to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau. In 2008, about 10 out of every 1,000 women had an abortion in Oklahoma, lower than the national average of almost 20 abortions per 1,000 women. What would I do in the situation where one of my daughters found themselves with an unwanted pregnancy? Crain said. I would hope that my children would say, Dad, I choose life. ... I would like to raise The Personhood Act, Senate Bill 1433, received interthis child or I can't raise this child but I would like to national attention in the wake of a proposed amendment bring this child into the world and then that child could from Sen. Constance Johnson, D-Holdenville. The be adopted.' amendment said it was an act against unborn children Sen. Jim Wilson, D-Tahlequah, made a plea for the for men to waste sperm. men of the Senate not to take that choice away from A lot of people thought that I was being facetious women. with my amendment in committee, and it was humorous We say we're pro-life out here, but we don't do and it has gotten international response, Johnson said anything to limit pregnancies, Wilson said. We could to her fellow senators. do medically accurate sex education, but we choose not But I was serious as a heart attack. All we're asking to do that. We could make birth control more available, for is for this conversation to include both individuals but we choose not to do that. that are necessary to bring life about. The bill, now headed to the House, is one of several Johnson, whose amendment was tabled, said she is the Legislature will consider that deals with abortion. sick of legislation that pries into the private lives of SB 1274 requires that women listen to the heartbeat of women with no mention of the men who are co-actors a fetus before having an abortion. in the process of conception. The bill passed 34-8 with several Democrats voting in favor. Crain defended the bill he authored as a necessary step toward protecting Oklahoma's most vulnerable people, unborn children. The unborn have no voice of their own. We must be the voice of the unborn, Crain said. It will take us to the very limit of what the United States Supreme Court has deemed to be constitutional. He said the bill was a lobbyist request from the group Oklahomans for Life, but he would not name people who had sought the bill. Oklahoma already has some of the strictest regulations on the books when it comes to abortions. Only

Theunbornhavenovoiceoftheirown...

The first bill of the session passed by the Oklahoma Senate was an anti-abortion statement that life begins at the moment of conception, approved by senators Wednesday after two hours of debate. The practical effect of the bill is open to question. Its author, Sen. Brian Crain, R-Tulsa, said it's merely a statement that Oklahoma is pro-life.

"Personhood" Amendment26 supporterJoyce Haskins,withher grandchildLandry Bruce,wavesto passersbyoutsidethe votingboothsatthe OxfordConference CenterinOxford, Mississippion November.8 oflastyear.
(APPhoto/OxfordEagle)

Mississippi House defiant, passes personhood bill bill

AssociatedPress,March14,2012

Despitelosingreferendum

JACKSON, Miss. A bill that would require physicians to search for a fetal heartbeat before performing an abortion has passed the House. The bill would potentially require women to have transvaginal ultrasounds of the sort that were contested in Virginia recently, because a heartbeat cannot be heard through a traditional ultrasound until five or six weeks into a Upforresurrectionin2013 pregnancy, legislators said. The bill passed 78-36. The bill defines an "unborn human individual" as "an individual organism of the species Reuters,February23,2012 homo sapiens from fertilization until live PORTSMOUTH, Virginia - A Virginia birth." House Bill 1196 contains language similar to the bill aimed at outlawing abortion by granting indi"personhood amendment" language that would have vidual rights to an embryo died on Thursday defined life as beginning at conception but was dewhen lawmakers returned the bill to committee, feated by voters last year. An amendment to the bill that would have prohib- scuttling its prospects for this year.

ited vasectomies in the state was defeated. Meanwhile, Mississippi groups that oppose abortion want to put the question to voters again. The opponents will seek another state constitutional amendment to define life as beginning at conception, they told reporters last week at the Capitol. Voters defeated the so-called "personhood amendment" by a wide margin in November 2011. Similar amendments died in this year's Legislature until recently. About two dozen women and children surrounded by 25 empty strollers vowed to again go through the complex process of bringing the amendment to a popular vote. They say the new initiative will address concerns of voters who opposed it last year. They also say they have hired law firm Liberty Counsel to assist in drafting the new initiative. The groups plan to collect signatures in hopes of putting the amendment on the 2013 ballot.

VA personhood bill died in the Senate

Earlier this month, the Republican-controlled House of Delegates voted in favor of defining the word person under state law to include unborn children "from the moment of conception until birth at every stage of biological development." Similar legislation failed last year in the Virginia Senate, which was then controlled by Democrats. The Senate is now divided evenly between the two parties. The Senate's move came a day after another effort aimed at inhibiting abortions was dealt a crucial setback when Gov. Bob McDonnell, a Republican, shifted his stance on the legislation. That bill, which would require women seeking abortions to have an ultrasound, originally would have also required an invasive internal ultrasound when deemed necessary by a doctor. McDonnell backed off that amid large protests at the Capitol in Richmond. An amended version, which at McDonnell's urging dropped the requirement for an internal procedure, passed the House but its future in the Senate is now clouded. The personhood bill's prospects were also harmed by McDonnell -- this time by his refusal to signal whether he would sign it. "This cannot have been done without the consent, or tacit approval, of the governor," said Delegate Robert Marshall, a Republican sponsor of the bill in the House.

The state Senate voted 24-14 to send the socalled "personhood" bill back to a committee to be taken up again in 2013.

AffectingIVF,RHandmedicine

Personhood bills across the country

Throughout the country, many states are dealing with legislation and initiatives that could have an effect on in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and women's reproductive health and medicine. Most recently, on February 14, Virginia lawmakers in the House of Representatives voted 66 to 32 to approve "personhood" legislation that grants individual rights to an embryo from the moment of conception. The legislation defines the word person under state law to include unborn children "from the moment of conception until birth at every stage of biological development." The measure now heads to the Senate. Virginia is attempting to pass personhood legislation in a different way than the failed personhood amendment effort in Mississippi this past November. Lawmakers in the state are seeking changes through the legal code vs. having constituents vote on it; however, there could be a detrimental effect of the measure on abortion, contraception and fertility treatment. In fact, legislator Vivian Watts (D-Fairfax) tried to attach an amendment to the bill that would declare that nothing in it could be construed to outlaw any form of legal contraception, since some kinds of birth control have the potential to prevent a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus. The House voted 64 to 34 against considering the amendment. "The Mississippi ballot initiative was very short and simple. In two sentences, it would have amended the states constitution to grant personhood at fertilization," explains Elizabeth Nash, State Issues Manager for the Guttmacher Institute in Washington, D.C., an organization that advances sexual and reproductive health through research, policy analysis and public education. "The motivation behind this effort was to ban abortion, hormonal contraceptive meth-

VIEWTHISVIDEOTHROUGHTTHISURL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81Nr Wq3p5Ag&feature=player_embedded

ods and infertility treatApril2012Page7 HeadsUp ment." "The Virginia bill stitutional protections of due process and equal protecwould change the definition for non-biological entities, such as corporations. The Colorado Personhood Amendment may aption of person for the lepear on the November 6, 2012, ballot in the state of gal code rather than Colorado as an initiated constitutional amendment. The amending the constitution measure would define the term "person" in the state by considering a fetus at constitution as the start of development. ImaChild, A Montana initiativebiological on the definition of any point in gestation as focusing a person," she continues. notachoice: a person in the state constitution was approved by the "The bill then specifies Montana Iamnotablob,Secretary of State for signature gathering. The that the definition of butaHumanbeing. measure would define "person" to include all members of the species Homo sapiens at any stage of developperson would not apply IamaPerson, To gain ballot access for the November 2012 balment. to 'lawful assisted connotathing! lot, supporters must collect 48,673 valid signatures from ception.' However, it is registered voters submit them by the June 22, 2012 petiunclear as to how 'lawful assisted conception' tion drive deadline. would be interpreted, including whether selec An Ohio "Personhood" Initiative may appear on tive reduction [would] be permissible. Muddy- the November 6, 2012, ballot in the state of Ohio as an initiated constitutional amendment. The measure would ing the waters further, the bill states that the definition would be subject to the Virginia and define a person as any human at any stage of development, including fertilization. U.S. Constitutions, decisions by the U.S. Su The Oregon initiative states the word person preme Court and contrary laws of the Comapplies to all human beings, irrespective of age, race, monwealth. All of this means that assessing the gender, health, function or condition of dependency, impact, should the bill become law, would be including their unborn offspring at every stage of biodifficult." logical development, including fertilization. Other personhood initiatives have been introduced as Similar personhood legislation is being considered in other states. "Some of the most con- bills to be decided by the state legislature, as in Virginia. cerning initiatives are in states traditionally hos- State legislators who have introduced bills include those in Alabama, Kansas, Oklahoma, Washington and tile to abortion rights, such as Ohio and KanWisconsin. sas, but these types of measures are popping up "In total there are 18 states with efforts underway to across the county," Nash says. re-define a person," Nash says. "These efforts are either Many of the initiatives are ballot measures to through the ballot initiative process or in state legislatures. be decided by voters; for example:
The Arkansas Personhood Amendment may appear on the November 6, 2012, ballot in the state of Arkansas as an initiated constitutional amendment. The measure would define the word "person" in the Arkansas Constitution as the moment of "fertilization." A California "Personhood Begins at Moment of Conception" Initiative" (#11-0041) has been approved for circulation in California as an initiated constitutional amendment. If the initiative qualifies for the ballot and the state's voters approve it, it will define "person" as including "all living human beings from the beginning of their biological development as human organisms, for purposes of state constitutional protections of due process and equal protection" and eliminate state conMost use an approach similar to Mississippi and would amend the state constitution. They would also impact IVF treatment, although most of the rhetoric around these measures is about abortion and contraception, the issue of IVF should not be overlooked." On February 16, the Republican-controlled state Senate voted 34-8 to pass the "Personhood Act," which defines the word person under state law to include unborn children from the moment of conception. The measure now goes to the state House where prolife Republicans outnumber Democrats by more than a 2-1 margin. In addition, the governor of the state is also Republican.

http://www.fertilityauthority.com

A Beautiful Story

DolansmothermeetsPopeBenedict: HolyFather,meetmymom!

Capping a whirlwind nine-day trip with a final visit to the Vatican, Timothy Cardinal Dolan introduced his 84-year-old mom to Pope Benedict XVI then jokingly asked the pontiff if he could make her the first lady of the College of Cardinals. Amid cheers and applause, Dolan walked his mom, Shirley, up to the stage to greet his boss during a papal audience before an enthusiastic crowd inside the Paul VI Hall. Holy Father, here is my mom! Dolan said he told the pope. Unable to resist the temptation to make a joke, Dolan, 62, pointed out that hes one of the few princes of the church young enough and lucky enough to still have his mother alive. I asked him if he would declare her the first lady of the College of Cardinals, he said. Dolan recounted that the pope, who turns 85 in April, then paid his mom the ultimate compliment, telling her, You look too young to be the mother of a cardinal. The cardinal said his mom showing that a quick wit is a family trait shot back, Holy Father, was that an infallible statement?

Accompanying Dolan and his mom Shirley, was Vincenza Mustaciuolo, the 80-year-old mother of Monsignor Gregory Mustaciuolo, who once served as personal secretary and righthand man to Dolans New York predecessors, John Cardinal OConnor and Edward Cardinal Egan. Each of the 22 cardinals elevated on Saturday at St. Peters Basilica was invited to bring up two guests to meet the pontiff. Dolan said that picking his own mother was an easy choice but that he settled on Mustaciuolos mom, who lives on Staten Island and goes by the nickname Vinnie, only following a recent chat with the monsignor. I asked if his mother had ever met the pope, recalled Dolan. He said, Actually, no. She never has. I said, She will on Monday. Later in the day, Dolan celebrated his first Mass as cardinal at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, which was built in the year 386 above the saints burial site. Dolan, who flies back to New York this morning, said hes eager to return to St. Patricks Cathedral for Ash Wednesday services tomorrow. He also will visit St. Francis of Assisi Church on West 31st Street to give sandwiches to the poor. # ByClementeLisi
NewYorkPost,February22,2012

HeadsUp

April2012Page9

DAILYMAILUKONLINEBeamingfromeartoear,emittingcacklesof
laughter,TimothyDolanwasvisiblyecstaticashebroughtawhirlwindnine daytriptoanendinsidetheVatican'sPaulVIHall. It'snotoftenthatintroducingyourparenttoyourbosselicitssuchpure pleasure.ButNewYork'snewestCardinalwasclearlypleasedaspunchto orchestratetheaudiencebetweenhis84yearoldmotherShirleyandPope BenedictXVIyesterday. Dolan,whowasmadeaCardinalonSaturday,wasallowedtobringtwo peoplealongforthespecialpapalaudience. Healsochosethe80yearoldmother'Vinnie'ofMonsignorGregoryMus taciuolo,whoonceservedaspersonalsecretarytoDolan'sNewYorkprede cessorJohnCardinalOConnor.

Yesterday'saudiencefollowedthePope'spresentationoftheredhatto22 CardinalDesignatesamongthembeingTimothyDolan. The22newcardinalsbringthetotalnumbereligibletovoteinthenext papalelectionto125thosebeingundertheageof80whowilleventually electthepope'ssuccessor.

1 0 PageApril2012

HeadsUp

Patrick shares how twas being Tims kid brother

CathNewsFebruary6,2012 The first question I get, even from relatives, is How is it to be brother of the Archbishop of New York? My answer is usually the same: Its awesome. Hes a great brother and what a place to go visit! You see, Tim Dolan will always be just that our brother to me and my siblings. I mean no disrespect to the office he holds, but as good a priest, archbishop and cardinal that he is and will be, hes a greater son, brother, brother-inlaw and uncle. When people tell my mom, You must be so proud of your son, she quotes my dad: Which one? I have three of them and am proud of all three the same! Now, we know better since every conversation with mom begins with, Hi Tim! I mean Bob (or Deb, Li or Pat). You get my point. As the youngest of the five Dolan children, I dont have as many childhood memories of Tim as my other siblings, but I can tell you it was joy to grow up with him around. We played Mass in the basement but also neighbors. In Tims seminary days, Victor Court was the weekend gathering place for him, his classmates and often the priests from our parish, Holy Infant. Dad would barbecue pork steaks (a St. Louis favorite) or mom would serve one of her many fabulous dishes. Tims favorite was chicken and dumplings. Family vacations consisted of day trips or, on special occasions, a real vacation to the Lake of the Ozarks or Kentucky Lake, where family, food and fun ruled if dads car didnt break down. We selfishly wished Tim would remain a priest in St. Louis but realized that would not be the case. So we figured that if he cant be with us, lets hope he goes somewhere thats a great place to visit. And we lucked out. His assignments have taken us to Washington, Rome, Milwaukee and now New York. Not bad. The welcome mat he puts out is the same one we had at Victor Court. The family visits bring him back to what

PatrickDolan,brotherofAbp TimothyDolan,displaysaphoto graphofhischildrenGrace,Cath erineandPatrickwiththeiruncle.

enjoyed yard games to the fullest. We grew up in a very small house on Victor Court in Ballwin, Mo., but, boy, was our yard big. Big enough to easily carve out a whiffle ball field, a football field, horseshoe pits, a bocce court you name it. Tim may have had trouble hitting my brother Bobs curveball (everyone did) but he never had trouble laughing and sharing with friends and

made him Tim, I think. The kids adore him and he spoils them rotten. In Milwaukee, he would be sure that a pool was set up on his residence grounds. When he learned we were bringing 5-year-old Gracies bike with us on one trip, he went out and bought 3yearold Kathleen a tricycle. I thought, Thanks Tim, how am I going to get two bikes back home? On one of our last visits to Milwaukee before he was called to New York, he came and got little Patrick, who would have been about 1, so my wife and I could sleep in. When I went downstairs looking for them, I discovered he was in his private chapel

saying morning prayers while Patrick was spreading Cheerios across every square foot. I was upset, thinking, This is sacrilegious. Tim just laughed. On an Easter visit to New York, Tims first as Archbishop, there were chocolate stains and Easter grass everywhere. In the main room of the beautiful Madison Ave. residence, theres an ornate white papal chair on a platform in the main room. Just as he did in Milwaukee, Tim took Patrick down with him early one morning. Fifteen minutes later I found him sitting on that chair, eating and spilling Cocoa Puffs. More laughter from Tim. I safely speak for my mom,

my brother Bob and my sisters Deb and Li when I say we are very proud of Tim and love him as much as we can possibly love anyone. A question Ive been asked recently is, Do you think your brother will be the first American Pope? My answer, with all due respect to papacy and the Church that I love and respect, is: I hope not we barely see him as he is! We realized that he was special and had a calling from the get-go, and are so very grateful that he answered it and is living it out to the fullest. He is an exceptional brother and a brilliant leader of our Church in America. Take care of him New York!

Ashotofmom,CardinalTim,Patrickhiswifeandchildren,takenfromaTVscreen..

1 2 PageApril2012

HeadsUp
to position correctly the issue as the government violating the first and fourteenth amendment rights of every American that of religious liberty. Then there is the reality that New York is the top state in the country when it comes to abortion. Thirty-eight percent (38.2%) per every 1,000 women accounts for 155, 960 abortions a year. (The District of Columbia is actually tops with 54.2% but its population base is so small compared to the Big Apple.) New York is also tied with New Jersey when it comes to highest incidence of teen pregnancy ending in abortion. There is also no question that when it comes to issues such as gay marriage, the church has its own problems acknowledging honestly and fairly widespread homosexuality in the church. All these issues and more will be on Dolans lap for the foreseeable future, and one can only wish him well in his new position as a prince of the church. Suffice it to say there has probably never been a more complicated time to effectively be the public face and top Catholic official in America.# Withexcerptsfromthe
IrishVoiceeditorial

Challenges confronting thenew Cardinal ofNewYork

The new cardinal is everything his predecessor Cardinal Edward Egan was not -- avuncular, brilliant with a quote, hands on and charming.
He is a perfect fit for New York, where big is better and an outside personality is needed to break through the clutter. Dolan certainly made his name in Italy too last week, with an Italian newspaper ranking him among the papabile, the handful of cardinals who could become the next pope. Egan further damaged his reputation recently by rowing back on his admission of child abuse by clergy in his former parish of Bridgeport. Dolan, on the other hand, threatens to become as popular as Egans predecessor, the much -loved John Cardinal OConnor. But times are very different since the relative innocence of the OConnor era. Dolan is in charge of a church that faces

challenges the likes of which OConnor never had to contemplate. The sex abuse scandals have exacted a terrible toll on the credibility of the church. The churchs continued political battles that have placed it firmly in the Republican camp, and the educational crisis which is seeing parish schools closed down all over the archdiocese are huge issues to contend with. The church needs to tack to the center politically, to advertise its myriad great works in Catholic hospitals and providing education for hundreds of thousands of children in the New York area. The churchs mission of healing the sick and educating the masses is almost always lost in the latest controversy over its stance on political issues. The recent contraception debate that the Obama administration has attempted to drag him to was a case in point. While the Obama administration regulations for Catholic employers to provide mandatory insurance coverage were certainly imposed treacherously after the President assured the Archbishop earlier that the guidelines will observe some flexibility when it comes to conscience protection, the left has attempted to shanghai the as a war on women However, Dolan was quick

Acomprehensivelibraryofmaterials fromtheinternet ture Special Fea forthedefenseoflife from the Editor

The Philippine Congress will open the deliberation on the Re- In necessariis productive Health bill when it resumes session next month (May unitas, in 7), probably resulting finally on a vote on the measure before it opinabilibus libertas, in again adjourns sine die for the next fiscal year beginning July. omnibus Sessions devoting time for the deliberation of the bill have caritas. been greatly pushed back by the impeachment trial of the Chief LINAWAN ADO PAG Justice, where the congressmen acted as prosecutors and the senators sat as jurors. This gives us pro-lifers time to deepen our mastery of our substantives and inform those around us, our families, warm publics and importantly public officials, of the disastrous consequences the evils of a contraceptive mentality brings to people, especially the poor and the defenseless.
The war against the culture of death sizzles further with the rabid patrons of the RH bill now facing an election year here in the United States that could see them ousted from power. In the United States, a recent mandate making it compulsory for churches and faith institutions to provide coverage for contraceptive pills and devices for their employees, has been met by a national uproar as a violation of their freedoms guaranteed under the first and fourteenth amendments to the US Constitution. We Filipinos take for granted the Constitutional advantage of our having life guaranteed from the moment of conception and marriage protected as a sacred institution. We sit on our asses as equally life comes under attack from secular and liberal forces that peddles the relaxation of our consciences towards the lures of a strong measure pushing contraception to be an accepted byword and rules both in our consciousness and daily lives. How could we have escape considering sometime in the past that contraception is really temporary sterilization of the female homo sapien? And with a dark track record today especially as an enhancing cause of breast and cervical cancer, and other hormonal as well as side disorders among women, how can we even allow this bill into our front doors? As if this were not enough, how can we allow penalties for non-compliance to violate not just the life and religious liberty guarantees and allow language of the evil bill to trample on our freedom of speech and conscience? In America, because they have welcome the contraceptive mentality to enter their lives in the mid-60s, they are about to lose their God-given rights to this resident evil. In fact, Barack Obama and Health Secretary Elizabeth Sebellious, has issued an order that effectively gives Catholics one year to learn how to violate their consciences, because by 2013, provisions of the Affordable Health Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, will start to kick in towards full implementation by 2014, including the most controversial caveat making it compulsory to all residents of the United States to have a health insurance policy that carries with it coverage for contraception. With Obamas popularity sinking to its lowest level so far at 41%, the proponents of the RH bill in the Philippines are in a state of panic. They are rushing its passage in the Philippines so that they can secure their position before the Democratic Party loses not only the presidency, but the majorities of both the US Senate and House of Representatives. With this as a socio-political environment, the Catholic Church in the Philippines have called the people to increased vigilance. Thus as we anticipate the resumption of the Philippine Congress next month, we have devoted a great amount of space in this issue to make available this roster of valuable information. May the Holy Spirit guide you through these references, and give you not only the gift of best retention but the conviction of a true and righteous Christian soldier propagating the truth thse resources offer, functioning with a demeanor of sobriety and civility whenever you discuss the same. All this so the truth can set us free!

1 4 PageApril2012HeadsUp
1. JAPAN'S POPULATION FACES DRAMATIC DECLINE, CNN, Jan. 30, 2012 http://edition.cnn.com/2012/01/30/world/asia/japanpopulation-decline/index.html 2. S. KOREA TO SPEND BILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO BOOST BIRTHRATE http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ ALeqM5i97IozUY1vx3LoG_YqrOtFdnpSZQ? docId=CNG.1c29e0b64ef02ac621d8a8911f61ba89.3a1 3. TAIWAN'S SHRINKING POPULATION http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest+News/Asia/St ory/A1Story20100412-209823.html 4. TAIWAN FACES RISK OF DEMOGRAPHIC COLLAPSE By Peter Westmore, News Weekly (Australia), Nov. 26, 2011 http://www.newsweekly.com.au/article.php?id=5006 5. "Taiwan's birth rate is dropping like a stone..." http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/ 2010/03/20/2003468449/1 6. SINGAPORE'S BIRTH-RATE CHALLENGES: AGEING AND SHRINKING POPULATION http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne+News/Singa pore/Story/A1Story20100126-194441.html 7. ITALY: POPULATION DECLINE CATALYST FOR ECONOMIC DECLINE Seniors World Chronicle, November 18, 2011 http://www.seniorsworldchronicle.com/2011/11/italynations-population-decline-is.html 8. LESS THAN TWO PEOPLE PER TOKYO HOME, Japan Times, March 16, 2012 http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120316b4.html 9. U.S. AID FOR CONTRACEPTION CREATED WORLD'S HIGHEST ABORTION, HIGH MATERNAL MORTALITY RATE IN ROMANIA By Thaddeus Baklinski, March 15, 2012 http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/u.s.-aid-forcontraception-created-worlds-highest-abortion-highmaternal-mo 10. JAPAN POPULATION SEEN FALLING 30 PERCENT BY 2060 Reuters, Jan. 30, 2012 http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/30/us-japaneconomy-aging-idUSTRE80T0JE20120130 11. YOUTH NEED CATHOLIC VISION OF SEXUALITY, POPE TELLS AMERICAN BISHOPS, Catholic News Agency, March 9, 2012 http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/youthneed-catholic-vision-of-sexuality-pope-tells-americanbishops/ 12. RUSSIAN POPULATION DWINDLING, CREATING "GHOST VILLAGES" March 6, 2012

http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story .php?id=45055 13. DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES HURT BABYBOOMER POCKETS, By Stefano Gennarini, 3/06/12 http://www.turtlebayandbeyond.org/2012/demography/ demographic-changes-hurt-babyboomer-pockets/ 14. THE ANTI-CATHOLIC "PONTIFICAL CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF PERU" Catholic World Report, March 5, 2012 http://www.catholicworldreport.com/Item/1166/the_anti catholic_pontifical_catholic_university_of_peru.aspx 15. CHINA'S ONE CHILD POLICY POSES RISKS FOR NEXT LEADER, Bloomberg News, 3/05/12 http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-05/chinaone-child-policy-poses-risks-for-next-leaders-correct-.html 16. STUDIES: BIRTH CONTROL, CONTRACEPTION DON'T CUT ABORTIONS By Keith Riler, Feb. 17, 2012 http://www.lifenews.com/2012/02/17/studies-birthcontrol-contraception-dont-cut-abortions/ 17. CATHOLIC POLITICIANS WHO ATTACK CHURCH SHOULD REMEMBER GOD'S JUDGMENT, By David Kerr, Feb. 11, 2012 http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/catholicpoliticians-who-attack-church-should-remember-godsjudgment 18. DEADLY HEALTH RISKS FOR WOMEN: THE UNSPOKEN SIDE OF THE OBAMA BIRTH CONTROL MANDATE, By Jenn Giroux, Feb. 14, 2012 http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/giroux/120214 19. HONDURAS COURT RULES AGAINST MORNING-AFTER PILL By Wendy Wright, February 2, 2012 http://www.turtlebayandbeyond.org/2012/turtle-bayun/breaking-news-honduras-court-rules-against-morningafter-pill/ 20. ANALYSIS: AGEING, INDEBTED JAPAN HOLDS LESSONS, Reuters, 1/12/20 http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/12/useconomy-demographics-idUSTRE80B1FN20120112 21. FDA ADVISORS ON YAZ AND YASMIN HAVE INDUSTRY TIES, Project on Government Oversight (POGO), January 11, 2012 http://www.pogo.org/pogo-files/letters/public-health/phfda-20120111-pogo-letter-fda-advisors.html 22. DEMOGRAPHIC WINTER - THE DECLINE OF THE HUMAN FAMILY - 51 minutes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZeyYIsGdAA 23. MOSCOW DEMOGRAPHIC SUMMIT, JUNE 29-30, 2011 PHILLIP LONGMAN (SUMMIT SPEECH) http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscre en&v=tUnzZBupDr0

24. MOSCOW DEMOGRAPHIC SUMMIT, JUNE 29-30, 2011, FRANCISCO TATAD (SUMMIT SPEECH) http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscr een&v=h_TV1lPhphM 25. AUSTRALIA: DECLINE IN POPULATION GROWTH COULD IMPACT BUSINESS, ABC News (Australia), March 30, 2011 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLVe6PA_ZBY 26. TAIWANESE TEACHERS STRESSING OVER LOW BIRTH RATE, Taiwan News, 927/2011 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSSDroDqcJk 27. RUSSIA'S POPULATION DECLINE SPEEDS UP, Prime Time Russia, January 7, 2012 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAg20BfDxMo 28. SLOVENIA'S AGING POPULATION, SLOVENIAN PENSIONS THREATENED Euronews, January 5, 2012 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEm0DCjieB0 29. RUSSIA THREATENED BY PLUMMETING POPULATION, Voice of America (VOA) News http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynOzSB1s4I4&featu re=endscreen&NR=1 30. MINISTER MENTOR LEE KUAN YEW: POPULATION IN SINGAPORE COULD HALVE IN 20 YEARS, Singapore Now, The Straits Times, Razor TV (Singapore), September 15, 2010 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yf_cLBIEj60&featur e=related 31. SINGAPORE'S RECORD-LOW FERTILITY RATE, News Singapore, January 18, 2011 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YS0q5aMfgeA&fea ture=related 32. FDA REPORT: ABORTION DRUG KILLING MOMS, BABIES, By Lorie Johnson, CBN News, January 8, 2012 http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/healthscience/2012/Jan uary/Pro-Lifers-Danger-Abortions-Drugs-BeingCovered-Up/ 33. THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF SOCIAL SECURITY, Why Entitlement Reform Needs a Fertility Boost, By James C. Capretta, Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC), May 31, 2011 http://eppc.org/publications/pubID.4476/pub_detail.as p 34. YAZ BIRTH CONTROL INVESTIGATION, ABC News Nightline, October 14, 2011 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czbgs37B2K4 35. INTO THE UNKNOWN, Japan is ageing faster than any country in history, with vast consequences for its economy and society. So why, asks Henry Tricks, is it doing so little to adapt? The Economist, November 18, 2010

http://www.economist.com/node/17492860 36. OVER HALF OF ITALIAN FAMILIES CHILDLESS: REPORT, By Hilary White http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/archive/ldn/2010 /mar/10032405 37. VENICE STAGES OWN FUNERAL TO MOURN ITS POPULATION LOSS http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFFOYeD91wY 38. POPULATION DECLINE SET TO TURN VENICE INTO ITALY'S DISNEYLAND, The Guardian (U.K.) http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/aug/26/italy. travelnews 39. DECLINE IN FERTILITY RATES, RECESSION CAUSE GLOBAL SOCIAL SECURITYPROBLEMS, Voice of America (VOA) News, August 24, 2010 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrebZOJtA7A 40. TAIWAN BIRTH RATE FALLS TO WORLD'S LOWEST, By Ralph Jennings, Voice of America (VOA) News, August 17, 2011 http://www.voanews.com/english/news/asia/TaiwanBirth-Rate-Falls-to-Worlds-Lowest-ChallengingProductivity-127933153.html 41. ECONOMIST MAGAZINE ADMITS LOW FERTILITY IS KILLING JAPANESE ECONOMY, By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/economistmagazine-admits-low-fertility-is-killing-japaneseeconomy/ 42. JAPAN'S POPULATION DECREASING AT FASTEST POSTWAR RATE Mainichi Daily News, January 1, 2012 http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20120101p2g 00m0dm030000c.html 43. RUSSIA FIGHTS DWINDLING POPULATION, ABCNEWS, August 2, 2010 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW_VUBezasQ& feature=related 44. REAL U.S. POLICY IN THIRD WORLD: STERILIZATION: DISREGARD THE 'EMPOWERMENT' SHOE POLISH - THE GOAL IS TO KEEP THE NATIVES FROM BREEDING,Los Angeles Times, September 8, 1994. http://articles.latimes.com/1994-09-08/local/me35791_1_shoe-polish 45. FDA ADVISERS: ORTHO EVRA PATCH NEEDS CLEARER LABEL Reuters, December 9, 2011 http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/09/us-fdabirthcontrol-patch-idUSTRE7B827N20111209 46. EX FDA HEAD SAYS BAYER WITHHELD

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YASMIN SAFETY DATA, Reuters, December 5, 2011 http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/05/bayercontraceptive-lawsuit-idUSN1E7B41FD20111205 47. STRONGER WARNINGS URGED ON SAFETY OF NEW BIRTH CONTROL PILLS, By Rob Stein, Washington Post, December 9, 2011 http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/healthscience/new-warnings-urged-on-safety-of-new-birth-controlpills/2011/12/08/gIQA4gtbgO_story.html 48. More on the birth control pill-breast cancer link: LIFE CHOICES DWARF POLLUTANTS IN BREAST CANCER RISK, REPORT FINDS, Los Angeles Times, December 7, 2011 http://articles.latimes.com/2011/dec/07/health/la-he-breastcancer-environment-20111208 49. FDA ADVISERS: REVISE POPULAR BIRTH CONTROL LABELS, Reuters, December 8, 2011 http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/09/us-fdabirthcontrol-idUTRE7B72KX20111209?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthN ews 50. MORNING AFTER PILL, Catholic News Agency (CNA) Youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZ0_PhdcbSU&feature= results_video&playnext=1&list=PLC24F851E09C5EA7D 51. JAPAN'S BIGGEST CHALLENGE: ITS AGING POPULATION, Agence France Presse, Youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59tvl6mJGrQ 52. STEVEN MOSHER: THE MYTH OF OVERPOPULATION, December 6, 2011 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWUg0kbdTGk 53. OVERPOPULATION MYTH DEBUNKED CLASSIC: JULIAN SIMON PRC FORUM INTERVIEW Part 1 of 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLQoa_FA_zo&feature =related Part 2 of 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSQw4X5ETo&feature=related Part 3 of 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKrmtxTclfo&feature=r elated Part 4 of 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zn6zo8MOuwQ&featur e=related Part 5 of 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7P6QLQiSBI&feature =related Part 6 of 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLdNMzcgTaY&feature =related

Were all Catholics now!

ByGlenBeck,February19,2012

I am a proud member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, but today I call myself a Catholic. Why? Because the state is telling the Catholic Church to violate its principles and teachings. So if you are a person of faith, you must call yourself a Catholic.
Today, the Catholic Church is defending a historic American freedom. We tend to forget that many of Americas earliest European settlers were religious refugees. Europe was not a kind place to the faithful if the state didnt approve: Jews in Spain, Puritans in England, Protestants in France and so on. You were cast out, or worse. Our Founding Fathers remembered this. They knew if you cant serve God as you choose, you are not free. And so they enshrined that right in the First Amendment of the Constitution: The state shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof This is why Americans are offended by the ruling from the White House that would force church-run institutions to pay for birth control and morning-after pills, which are tantamount to abortion. The so-

GlenBeck,aMormon,meetsthenewlyelevated CardinalTimothyDolanintheVatican. called compromise is no compromise under government-approved health insurance plans that the church pays for, abortifacients would be covered. Sin by proxy thats the compromise. This isnt a fight over abortion or birth control. This is about whether the state can force someone to pay to have their religious beliefs violated. Many people including those who use contraception and abortion respect those whose faith teaches them that God wants them to do or not do certain things. They recognize such faith in themselves. Some people dont drink alcohol. Some dont eat pork. Some people wear a hijab. Some work in soup kitchens. Some tithe 10 percent of their income. All because God tells them to. That is what a conscience is a belief in a higher power, greater than the state, greater than any man. That makes religious people a danger to the state and a powerful force for change. Religious people stood against slavery. They stood against injustice. And today, they stand against a culture of death and a culture of hatred. On July 28, in Dallas, I will convene a meeting of the faithful all faithful to celebrate life and restore love. Because when the state comes against the Catholics, or the Jews, or the Muslims, or the Pentecostals, or the Mormons or those of any other faith exotic or familiar we must all stand up as one: We are all Catholics now. This is a broad struggle. I have met many Catholic friends, including high-ranking church leaders last weekend at the Vatican. I told them this struggle is similar to the fight against anti-Semitism. They understand, and they agree. To them, this fight is everything. And there will be no compromise. Perhaps this is a hard line. But when it comes to the separation of church and state, we need absolutes. The state needs to be free from the church, and the church from the state. The state has no right to say how much religion any American can practice. Its our right, and it is the first one our Founding Fathers protected.

PHILIPPINESATITSWORST

The House of Political Prostitutes

...aneophytecongressman,paintedavivid, scandalouspictureofhowSpeakerFelicianoBel monte,theHouseappropriationscommittee chairRep.JoseEmilioAbaya,andBudgetSecre taryFlorencioAbad,MajorityLeaderNeptali GonzalesII,(conspiredtoimplement)President Aquinosandconsumingprojecttotakeout ChiefJusticeRenatoCorona.
ByRigobertoTiglao
PhilippineDailyInquirer,March15,2012

It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first. That famous quote from the late US President Ronald Reagan cant be more appropriate for the House of Representatives, which has become or been forced to become a body providing, with the appropriate fee, not only extra service to, but going all the way for, President Aquino and his consuming project to take out Chief Justice Renato Corona. At the impeachment trial on Monday, Rep. Tobias Tiangco, a neophyte congressman, painted a vivid, scandalous picture of how Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, the House appropriations committee chair Rep. Jose Emilio Abaya, and Budget Secretary Florencio Abad got the congressmen to railroad within a day Coronas impeachment through threats of withholding their pork barrel if they refused to sign the complaint. The joints bouncer, Major-

ity Leader Neptali Gonzales II, immediately pounced on the rebel congressman, threatening to expel him from the House if he testified at the trial. A despicable group in this herd has been Congress Left parties led by Bayan Muna, which joined this plot to take out a Chief Justice who practically fought with their comrades to liberate from the decades-old clutches of Aquinos clan Hacienda Luisita, where many of its cadres have been killed by the plantations security force. This entire impeachment saga reminds one of that biblical insight of ravening wolves in sheeps clothing, or even of the Antichrist as the Prince of Deception. Rather than a noble crusade against corruption, the campaign to take out Corona is greeddriven for three goals: terrorize the Supreme Court to order P10 billion paid to the Cojuangcos for Hacienda Luisita; browbeat the Presidential Electoral Tribunalthe high courts other personato replace Jejomar Binay with

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Liberal Party president Mar Roxas as the republics vice president through the latters ongoing electoral protest; and get the founder of The Firmnow the most powerful and richest legal firm in the countryto become chief justice. Tiangco, who was with the political opposition during President Arroyos term, testified under oath that Belmonte told the congressman in that hurriedly called meeting that Corona must be impeached as he is a protg of GMA (Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo). As if lecturing to school children, Belmonte declared that no questions will be entertained, that the impeachment complaint is still being written, and that they should just line up to sign a paper attesting to their agreement to the move. According to Tiangcos testimony, the impeachment of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez was a dry run to take out Corona. It was in this episode when Abaya circulated a text message that congressmen who will not support the move to impeach Gutierrez will get zero as in zero PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Funds, or the pork barrel released for the projects of each congressman in his district). True enough, because of Tiangcos refusal to sign Gutierrezs impeachment complaint, his pork barrel was withheld, and released only after he publicly raised hell on the injustice. Abad had texted him that it was Mr. Aquino who orders the release of pork barrel for each congressman. Talk of the media as a weapon. What was a banner story in this paper with the headline Pork tied to impeachment was, in Belmontes Philippine Star, Abads press release published nearly in toto, denying the congressmans allegations, and headlined Tiangco got full pork. To denigrate the testimony of a heroic Tiangco, the photo in that newspaper was of him with his shoes off and laughing, to falsely portray him as making fun of the trial.

Abad claimed that Tiangco and other legislators who did not vote for Gutierrezs impeachment all got their 2011 PDAF. What he didnt say, though, was that these uncooperative legislators got their allotments mostly in the last quarter of the year, months after Gutierrez was forced to resign in April. Cooperating congressmen, on the other hand, got theirs early in the year, and after the anomaly was exposed in the media. Delays in PDAF releases are crucial. Funds intended for scholarships become unusable after classes begin, while infrastructure projects have to be put off because of rains that start in June. No pork barrel has been released yet for this year. All presidents have used the pork barrel except, of course, by Marcos during martial law, when Congress was closed downfor maintaining and expanding their political base in Congress, and to get Congress to pass their priority bills, mainly the national budget. But never before has taxpayer money been brazenly used for political warfare against a sitting Presidents perceived enemies. Never before has it been used to push Congress to attack a coequal branch of government that is the bedrock of the rule of law. Never before has it been used to rouse a lynch mob, and to provide a venue where, as a senior Liberal Party senator put it, he would strip naked and humiliate the Chief Justice in public, and with his family too. After 29 days of trial, though, the political prostitution of the House has resulted only in a half-aborted, dying abomination, as the charges have all but collapsed in the clear light of facts, and as the prosecutors have ended up running with their tails between their legs, having to drop the five other articles of impeachment. For the Houses principal customer, there wont be a happy ending.
Email:tiglao.inquirer@gmail.com

HomegrownCommuniststakestheoffensive

Akbayan tells Congress: Complement anti-corruption drive with passage of RH bill

AKBAYANPressRelease,March7,2012

"Kung may RH at walang kawatan, mas masusugpo ang kahirapan." This was the statement issued today by women members of Akbayan Party as they trooped to the House of Representatives to call for the passage of the Reproductive Health (RH) bill on the eve of the international celebration of Womens Day.
Akbayan Party Spokesperson Risa Hontiveros said that an RH law is indispensable to the current administrations efforts at curbing poverty and fighting corruption. "Congress must sustain the momentum of reform. It must complement its anti-corruption effort with the passage of the RH bill. It is a necessary piece of legisla-

USTjournalismstudentpostedinAkbayansFacebookpage,her oppositiontoPiaHontiverosdistributionoffreecondoms,even likeningtheuseofcondomstoeatingicecreamwithasockonit. Boldlystandingbyheropinion,sheevenputherschoolIDnumber.

PRORHWATCHLIST

CLOCKWISEFROMTHETOPPresidentialpoliticaladviser CLOCKWISEFROMTHETOP RonaldLLlmas,HumanRightschairEttaRosales,Partylistrepre sentativesWaldenBelloandKakaBagao,ExecomSylviaClau sentativesWaldenBelloandKakaBag dio,and2010losingsenatorialcandidateRisaHontiveros. dio,and2010losingsenatorialcandidateRisaHontiveros.

tion that will help complete the government's anticorruption and anti-poverty initiatives," Hontiveros said. The former partylist representative said the ongoing impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona should be used as an "impetus" by Congress to enact the RH bill. "Corona is branding the impeachment trial as a distraction from Congress's supposed real work. He is trying to pit issues equally important to the people against each other. We must not fall for that obvious trap. The women demand accountability. The women also demand the advancement of their reproductive rights. The most effective way for Congress to shut up Corona is to pass the RH bill," Hontiveros said. Meanwhile, Akbayan Executive Committee member Sylvia Claudio said those who support the current campaign against corruption must also show the same zeal in supporting the passage of the RH bill. "Those who signed the impeachment complaint against Corona must also become the signatories to the RH bill. While The anti-corruption campaign is crucial, it is not enough. To eradicate poverty as promised by the government's anti-corruption campaign, social reforms like RH are equally important," said Claudio who is also a licensed physician and professor at the University of the Philippines.

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The Church tells the people: Exercise vigilance against the malicious railroaders
A ranking church official has called on antiFatherMelvin reproductive health (RH) advocates to be vigilant as he expressed fear that the passage of the controversial measure might be fast-tracked at the House of Representatives. Fr. Melvin Castro, executive secretary of the Catholic Bishops Episcopal Commission on Family and Life, raised the possibility that the bill would be railroaded similar to the impeachment of Chief Justice Renato Corona by allies of President Aquino in the lower chamber. in its daily agenda despite the ongoing impeachment
trial at the Senate. At least 14 congressmen are participating in the Corona impeachment. The impeachment proceedings should not be used to derail the passage of a long delayed legislation which will benefit the multitude of women and children, he said in a statement. Lagman added the House leadership must still devise ways to expedite the interpellations to fast-track the passage of the proposed legislation, which seeks to promote both natural and artificial forms of family planning. Meanwhile University of Santo Tomas (UST) theology professor Aguedo Florence Jalin Jr. has gone beyond leading his students in street rallies on social issues. Now he is mobilizing his wards to use social media, giving them bonus points for posting anti-RH comments on the Facebook page of the pro-RH Akbayan party-list group. I call it an online parliamentary The rejection or disregard of morality and religious belief is at the core of corruption," Jalin said. My students and I are simply echoing the pastoral letter by CBCP president Bishop Nereo Odchimar last July 2010 entitled, Securing our Moral Heritage: Towards a Moral Society,

We are not sure how the impeachment passed with 188 votes and without any discussion. That same thing can happen to the RH Bill so I hope we keep track of it, he said in a statement posted on the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Web site. The House impeached Corona for alleged graft and corruption, culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust. He stressed the people must remain vigilant even as they also monitor the impeachment trial against Corona at the Senate. My appeal to the faithful, pro-family and pro-lifers is not to forget that interpellation of RH Bill (which) takes place in the morning session of the Senate, he added. Although there is no active interpellation in Congress these days, we must still be watchful, Castro said. Earlier, one of the principal authors of the RH bill has appealed to the House leadership to push through with the debates on the measure despite the ongoing impeachment trial of Corona. According to Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, the House should still include plenary discussions on the RH bill

Vs Obama compulsory birth control coverage

144ralliesforreligiouslibertynationwide
NationalPublicRadio
Across the country, thousands of people skipped lunch Friday, March 23, to protest what they see as a threat to religious liberties in the United States. The protesters' specific complaint was the birth control mandate in the new health care law, but the discontent runs far deeper.
It didn't take much for the Rev. Pat Mahoney, an evangelical minister, to warm up the crowd in Washington. He gazed out at hundreds of people who filled the plaza in front of Kathleen Sebelius' office at the Department of Health and Human Services. "Come on," Mahoney urged the crowd. "We want Secretary Sebelius to
Onefifthofthepeoplewhogatheredin frontoftheHHSbldgattheIndeoendence Ave.despitetheshortnoticeisshownbelow. Rev.PatMahoney(extremeright)moderated therally.LiveActionLilaRose(center)said therealwaronwomenisbyPlannedParent hood,Abortionhavekilled140millionun bornfemalesworldwidebecauseItsagirl! StudentsforAmericaKristanHawkins(left) saidThisisthetyrannyourforefathersfled fromEurope.Itwontstand! fromEurope.Itwontstand!

hear you!" Earlier this year, Sebelius announced that the nation's new health care law would require some religious organizations, like Catholic hospitals and universities, to provide birth control coverage to employees. Many conservative Catholics and evangelicals not to mention the Catholic bishops were furious at the announcement. That anger sparked the nationwide rallies, dubbed "Stand Up For Religious Freedom." Kristan Hawkins, head of the organization Students for Life, says the contraception requirement is an attack on religion and that the Obama administration is sending a hostile message to believers. "This is where tyranny begins," she told the boisterous crowd. Kathleen Burke, a Catholic

who took the day off to attend the rally, says the White House is stepping into people's private lives. "The government has no business telling me what I need to buy," Burke says. "What, are you going to tell me I need to buy broccoli next?" Nearby, Patty Weaver, a home schooling mother and evangelical, says the mandate is an affront to American ideals. "People came over here the Pilgrims not for free health care," she says. "They came over for freedom. And we're losing our freedom. We're losing it every day." Rallies like this one took place in approximately 140 places across the country Friday. Hundreds turned out in Philadelphia, including Episcopalian

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Robert Mansfield, an Iraq war veteran. "We didn't travel 7,000 miles to have the government tell us how we're going to practice our faith. If they're coming after the Catholics, they're coming after us next," DonningaCFCFFLteeshirt,proLifeadvocateMargiPaglinawanandparishionersofSt.Raymondparishin DonningaCFCFFLtee shirt,pro Mansfield says. SpringfieldVAleadabout2,000attheWashingtonDCHHSbldginprayingtherosaryaftertheStandUpforReligious In Nashville, Freedomrally.Fr.MarcelGuarnizoofGaithersburg(left)stressedthatlikeRosaParksrefusedtostandattheback Tenn., evangelical ofthebus,weoughtnotcomplywithhismandate,exhortingeveryoneinthewordsofAbeLincoln:Itisforus Teresa Reff worries rathertobededicatedtothegreattask..thatthisnationshallhaveanewbirthoffreedom.PHOTOBYZIMBIO.com rathertobededicatedtothegreattask..thatthisnationshallhaveanewbirthoffreedom.PHOTOBYZIMBIO.com that people of faith soon won't be able to new practice any type of religion in public. payyourfinetoCae William Lori, re "They've taken prayer out of school; sar.Orthird,giveup op of Baltimo they've taken Scripture-reading out of ArchbishictXVIhasappointedBishop yourbusiness. school. They want to get rid of the Bible PopeBened ,Connecticut, LoriofBridgeport clubs that are in school," she says. "It's WilliamEdward oreviceCar hbishopofBaltim just systematic taking-away, and if we sit tobethenewarc by and do nothing, then we'll be like ComdinalEdwinF. munist Russia or China where it's against OBrienwhowas the law to even go to church." aster namedgrandm oftheEquestrian y OrderoftheHol Urbancure.orgsSTARPARKER a SepulcherofJerus deliveredthekeynoteaddressof . lem. therallysayingthatObamacare BornMay6, promotesonlyAIDS,abortionand 1951,Louisville, dependency.Ifitisnotrescinded, Kentucky,Lori inaryof earnedearneda thevocalandbeautifulmotherof w nowclosedSem lareatefromthe mas baccau ckyin1973anda onesaid,itwillmeanonlythree nErlanger,Kentu mits St.Piusi sSeminaryinEm optionsavailabletoallofus:First, MountSt.Mary iest tersfrom ewasordainedpr ylandin1977.H bowyourheadsandgoonyour 1977, burg,Mar hingtonMay14, rchdioceseofWas fortheA kneestoNebuchadnezzar.Second, nedadoctor mBaumandear byCardinalWillia tholicUniver logyfromtheCa ateinsacredtheo MUSTSEEVIDEO:STARPARKERASKSWhydoesmyhealth 2. 1982. sityofAmericain ofWashing auxiliarybishop insurancehavetopayforsomeone'sabortions? He Hewasnamed opofBridge asappointedbish http://www.urbancure.org/mbarticle.asp?id=156&t=Star-Parker-leads-protesttonin1995,hew against-Obamacare#.T3CCI2Ie53U.facebookhttp://www.urbancure.org/ 1. portin2001. chairmanof mbarticle.asp?id=156&t=Star-Parker-leads-protest-againstistheconcurrent Atpresent,he Atp nReligious Obamacare#.T3CCI2Ie53U.facebook HocCommitteeo eUSBishopsAd th . Liberty.

Opportunity USSupremeCourtweighsoral
argumentsvsObamacare
until after the individual mandate takes effect in 2014? (Florida v. Health and Human Service, one hour, March 26.) 2. Does Congress have the power to require Americans to buy health insurance (the minimum coverage provision, also called the individual mandate)? (HHS v. Florida, two hours, March 27.) 3. If the individual mandate is overturned as unconstitutional, can other parts of the Affordable Care Act remain in effect? (National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebellius and Florida v. HHS, one hour, March 28. 4. Can Congress require the EDITORSCOMMENTARY
ThisisnottosaythattobeaCatholic isconsequentialatallinthedetermina tionofUSpolicy.ManyCatholicshave tionofUSpolicy.ManyCatholicshave contradictedtheteachingsoftheCatholic Churchinmattersoffaithandmorals. Churchinmattersoffaithandmorals. AmongCatholicsofhighprofileinthe USgovernmenttodaywhohavevotedfor adversarialpositionsare:VicePresident JosephBiden,formerSpeakerNancyPe losiandSenatorsSenatorBarbaraAnn MikulskiofMarylandandOlympiaSnowe ofWashingtonstate. ofWashingtonstate. Themostnotoriousofall,ofcourseis HealthandHumanSecretaryKathleen Sebelliuswhorecentlyorderedcompul sorycontraceptioncoverageforCatholic andconsequentlyfaithbasedinstitutions. andconsequentlyfaith basedinstitutions. Thishighlightsthecontinuingneedfor catechesisevenforadults,andespecially forpublicofficialssincetheirdecisionsnot onlyaffectthemselvesbutallpeoples. onlyaffectthemselvesbutallpeoples. IntheArchdioceseofArlingtonin NorthernVirginia,theInstituteofCatholic Culturehasone.Gogoogletheirwebsite. Culturehasone.Gogoogletheirwebsite.

ByNancyFrazierOBrien,CNS Washington Although there are no specifically Catholic issues under consideration when the US Supreme Court hears oral arguments March 26 -28 on various aspects of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Catholics will play some key roles. With six of the nine current Supreme Court justices being Catholics, it is almost inevitable that a Catholic justice will be a swing vote determining the outcome in at least one of the cases.
The lawsuits before the court have nothing to do with the contraceptive mandate set by the Department of Health and Human Services and the First Amendment religious freedom questions raised by it which has been the subject matter of a number of other suits in lower courts. There are four questions before the high court in three cases, with five-and-a-half hours of arguments scheduled over the three days. 1. Does the Anti-Injunction Act, which says no tax can be challenged in court before it is due, preclude a challenge to the Affordable Care Act

TAKING IDEOLOGY OUTOF FEDERAL GOVERNANCE

states to expand their Medicaid Programs for those with low incomes and disabaled? (Florida v HHS, one hour, March 28.) A coalition, made up of Muslim, Jewish and Christian organizations said the Scriptures of the three Abrahamic religions as well as sacred teachings of other faiths, understand that individual acts of kindness to persons suffering ill health are commendable, but they cannot replace a nationwide safety-net program like Medicaid, which currently serves millions of this nations poor and vulnerable. The New Jersey-based American Catholic Lawyers Association based its opposition to the individual mandate on the principle of federalism. Forcing a person into a market kicking and screaming, into a sphere of activity in which he or she has and wants no involvement whatsoever, contradicts utterly the deeply embedded tradition of individual autonomy and selfdetermination which is the hallmark of our nation.

ROBERTS

SCALIA

KENNEDY

THOMAS

ALITO

SOTOMAYOR