The “Reproductive Health Act” ("RHA")
(S.5808) was introduced in the last
session of our State Legislature, and is
expected to be pushed forward again in 2010. This extremist bill would:
Establish a “fundamental right of
privacy” within New York State law,
Ensure that abortion is legal throughout
all nine months of pregnancy,
Permit non-doctors (like optometrists
and podiatrists) to perform abortions,
Make abortion virtually immune from any
regulation or restriction,
Allow post-viability abortions to be
performed on an out-patient basis in clinics
that go virtually unregulated by public
health authorities, endangering both women
and unborn children, and
Endanger conscience protections
under current law, which could force Catholic
hospitals to perform abortions, and could
even force Catholic schools and charitable
agencies to promote or refer for abortions
and contraception.
Cardinal Egan issued a letter regarding
this bill last year. You can download a copy
of the letter in
English and
Spanish. The bishops of New York State
have also issued a joint statement on the bill,
which can be downloaded
here.
Here is a
Fact Sheet with more detailed information
about this bill (also available
here in Spanish). Here is the New York
State Catholic Conference's
position paper on the bill. You can
also download some flyers
here. (Spanish translations are available
here.)
Please write to your State Senator and
Assembly representative and oppose the
RHA bill. You can do so by going to the New York State Catholic
Conference
Catholic Advocacy Network website,
and sending an email to your legislator.
Remember, the most effective emails are those
that are personalized, so please feel free to
add your own thoughts to the sample email
letter.
Here's a sample letter you can print out and
mail to your legislator, or you
can cut and paste it into an email:
I am writing to oppose the "Reproductive
Health Act", which would
establish a virtually unlimited right to
abortion here in New York State. This
radical bill would give New York the most
liberal abortion laws in the United States.
This bill could: Eliminate conscience
protection in current state law for
religious institutions and force religious
hospitals to permit abortions; permit
non-physicians – like a podiatrist, dentist
or even a social worker – to perform
abortions prior to viability; make abortion
virtually immune from any state regulation,
such as parental notification requirements;
and allow late-term abortions to be
performed in clinics that do not offer the
full complement of support facilities
necessary to assist women and any child born
alive during an abortion.
This is an extreme bill that is out of touch
with the attitudes of most New Yorkers, who
favor common-sense limitations on abortion.
Please do whatever you can to oppose this
bill. This bill is bad for women,
children, and our society.
Pro-abortion
organizations like NARAL are promoting this
legislation!
It's
important to contact your State Senators
over the summer and into the fall to let them
know their constituents are opposed to this
extreme bill.
The
following link is a recent (8-minute) interview
with Kelli Conlin, Director of NYS NARAL on
"Inside City Hall" on NY-1. She indicates that
NARAL continues to push for a vote on the
pro-abortion Reproductive Health Act (S.5808) in
a special session, prior to the November 2010
elections.
An
important study on the women who have abortions
has recently been released by the Guttmacher
Institute.
Among
the findings:
In 2008, the majority of women obtaining
abortions (58%) were in their 20s; women in
their 30s made up the second largest
age-group (22%).
42% of women having abortions were poor, a
substantially greater proportion than were
poor in 2000 (27%).
The overwhelming majority of women having
abortions (85%) were unmarried, including
29% who were cohabiting.
Women with no religious affiliation had a
relative abortion rate one and one-half
times that of all women.
In
2006, the average woman paid $413 for a
first-trimester abortion and $1,300 for an
abortion at 20 weeks.
61% of women obtaining abortions in 2008
already had children, including 34% who had
two or more.
Half of the women surveyed reported one or
more prior abortions; most of these women
(37% of all abortion patients) reported both
a prior birth and a prior abortion
by
TheRadianceFoundation.org. This clip
highlights that abortion clinics target the
African-American community.
"Abortion isn't a me
issue. It's not a you issue. It's not just a
woman's issue. It's a human issue. And with over
51 million lives lost since 1973, it is a human
crisis. African-American women abort their
children at over 3x the rate of white women and
2x the rate of all other races combined. And
all, the while, Planned Parenthood profits from
the destruction. Find out more at
www.toomanyaborted.com",
The Radiance Foundation.
June 2010 is Abortion and
All Acts of Violence Awareness Month
“Come
Let Us Defend the Sacredness of Life Together”
is the theme for the 2010 June is Abortion and
All Acts of Violence Awareness Month in the
African American and African Community as quoted
by Franciscan Father James (Jim) Goode,
President of the National Black Catholic
Apostolate for Life. “We are marking this
month of awareness because there is no room in
the African American and African community for
abortion or any act of violence that destroys
the sacredness of human life. Despite the
difficulties that will surely await us; we will
not be discouraged as we evangelize for life and
the family. We go forth with the ‘Good News’that
we have all been created in the image and
likeness of God. God holds us in His hand
and will never leave us alone (Matthew
28 20:).”
Click here for more information.
March For Life 2010
The March for Life in Washington D.C. began as a
grassroots response to Roe v. Wade, the 1973
Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion
throughout the 9 months of a woman's
pregnancy. The march now consists of
200,000+ people who make a peaceful,
prayerful stand against this legislation.
Click here to
find out more about the
March For Life 2010.
Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade is the 1973 Supreme Court case which
struck down existing state laws nationwide that
had heretofore made abortion illegal. Roe v.
Wade effectively legalized abortion throughout a
woman's 9 month's of pregnancy. While the legal
validity of Roe v. Wade has always been
considered questionable by those in defense of
the sacredness of human life, in recent years
this case has come under considerable scrutiny
and criticism from the general public and
influential media outlets.
Remembering Roe v Wade:
A Morning of Prayerful Reflection & Intercession
Saturday January 16, 2010 at Mary's Chapel in
St. Patrick's Cathedral New York, NY.
Click here for more information.
The USCCB’s New “Second Look” Educational
Projectwww.secondlookproject.org .
The USCCB developed a national education campaign,
providing facts vs. myths about the
Supreme Court decisions that legalized abortion
nationwide, to members of Congress, the media,
and other key public interest groups.
The USSCB has now created an 8-page Roe Reality
Booklet
Roe Reality Check.
A Morning of Prayerful
Remembrance and Intercession January ??, 2011 (tba)
Women, men, families, health care providers
and all of us,
directly or indirectly, have been impacted
by abortion. In response, as we
observe the 37th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade,
we gather to pray and to seek healing and
forgiveness. Personal testimonies,
intercessory prayer, Eucharistic Adoration,
Rosary, Confession, and Holy Sacrifice of
the Mass. (The 2010 event was so
successful that we hope to continue this event
in 2011. ) Our Lady's Chapel in St.
Patrick's Cathedral 460 Madison Ave (at 5th
Ave) New York, NY 9:00am to 12:00pm.
For more information call (877) 586-4621 or
email:
lumina@postabortionhelp.org. Click
here to
download a flyer.
For Prayerful Remembrance Day Resources, please
go to:
http://www.postabortionhelp.org/afternoon of
remberence/afterremberHome.html
National Prayer For Life - May 3rd,
2010 Archbishop Timothy Dolan launched and
introduced a new effort of the Sisters of Life
and the Knights of Columbus called the National
Prayer for Life Campaign. See here for more
info
http://www.nationalprayerforlife.org/ and
watch as this brand new website develops.
Adoption
A beautiful adoption website with basic
information, testimonials of birthmothers,
profiles of adopted families, and places to go
to get more resources.
http://www.ichooseadoption.org/
BeNotAfraid.net - Online outreach to parents
An online outreach to parents who have received
a poor or difficult prenatal diagnosis.
The family stories articles, and links within
the site are presented as a resource for those
who may have been asked to choose between
terminating a pregnancy or continuing on despite
the diagnosis. The
benotafraid.net families faced the same
decision and chose not to terminate. By
sharing our experiences, we hope to offer
encouragement to those who may be afraid to
continue on.
Help for those who
have suffered a loss following an Adverse
Prenatal Diagnosis can also be found on our
Bereavement page.
Please see information on
Chastity, Abstinence, and the
Theology of the Bodyhere including
upcoming events, speakers and resources for
Parents, Teachers and Clergy.
In Vitro Fertilization and
"Snowflake" Babies
The following document, Dignitas Personae, is an
important new document from the Congregation for
the Doctrine of the Faith on bioethical issues.
This document covers the topics of: In Vitro
Fertilization, ICSI, Freezing Embryos, and Human
Cloning, etc. It also discusses the fate
of "Snowflake Babies": frozen human persons in
an embryonic stage that are the result of a
previous In Vitro Fertilization process. A
short version can be found here:
http://www.usccb.org/comm/Dignitaspersonae/Dignitatis_Vatican_Summary.pdf
(past)
4/17/2010 Saturday-
Retreat for couples
dealing with Infertility
"The Hope Retreat: A day of support and
healing for couples struggling with
infertility."
The struggle with infertility is a very heavy
cross for a couple to carry. Come and join other
couples for a day to focus on coping with
infertility, communicating with your spouse in
times of trial, and discovering the good coming
from God. Click here for more info:
http://www.fertilitycarefriends.org/hoperetreat.html
Gianna Center for Women:
(Located in Manhattan, New York,
NY)
Comprehensive. Restorative.100% Pro-Woman. 100% Pro-Life. We
combine comprehensive primary care with
specialized obstetrical and gynecologic care and
serve women with a deep commitment to honoring
their dignity and the sanctity of human life.With this as our promise, we are uniquely
qualified to care for women of all ages and at
all stages of life.
We are pleased to be the first medical practice
in New York City to feature two new
women's health services -- the CreightonModel
FertilityCare System and NaProTechnology, both
of which allow us to provide you with a
natural, scientifically-based
approach to monitoring your health and managing
your fertility.
Our mission is simple - to acknowledge your
dignity as a woman and to provide you, our
patient, with exceptional medical care.Our goal is to be of genuine service to
you - and we look forward to serving your
healthcare needs.
Same Sex Attraction
“Courage and Encourage”
– Courage is a support group
that ministers to those with same-sex
attractions and their loved ones. They also
have an outreach called Encourage, which
ministers to relatives and friends of persons
with same-sex attractions.
Church of St. John the Baptist
210 West 31st Street
New York, NY 10001
Phone: (212) 268-1010
www.couragerc.org
Stem Cells / Cloning
A common misperception is that the Catholic
Church opposes Stem Cell Research. The
Catholic Church, in fact, emphatically supports
Stem Cell research and funds such research
through many of it's Catholic Universities.
The Catholic Church, does
however, oppose Embryonic Stem Cell research
because it involves the destruction of a human
being at the embryonic phase.
To learn more about
current Embryonic Stem Cell research
legislation and how you can help, please
visit our Public Policy page
here....
Sr. Lucy Marie, S.V.
646.794.3192 