Blood Test Could Replace Amniocentesis, Save Unborn Children From Miscarriage -- OR -- Result in More Abortions...

New Study Measures Benefits of More Involved Fathers

UN Committee Asserts Special Rights for "Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity"

U.S. Court Rules 'Sexual Orientation' Protection Laws Must Include Former Homosexuals

Little Recognition Given To Study of Sexual Reorientation Therapy at APA Convention

Study: Homosexuals Twice as Likely to Seek Mental Health, Substance Abuse Treatment

AIDS Rate 50 Times Higher in Homosexual Men: CDC

New Study Shows Homeschoolers Excel Academically

Listening to the Voice of the Forgotten: a Review of "The Human Experience": Movie review by Kathleen Gilbert

Florida Abortion Facility Closes, Had Done Second-Trimester Abortions

Preliminary Injunction Granted in IL Conscience Case: Pharmacists Score a Win

Planned Parenthood Overcharging Medicaid in Yet Another State...

Blood Test Could Replace Amniocentesis, Save Unborn Children From Miscarriage -- OR -- Result in More Abortions...
The British National Health Service is working on a new blood test that could replace amniocentesis and save countless unborn children who are normally threatened by them. The amniocentesis test puts the lives of unborn children at risk and can lead to abortions that may not have occurred otherwise.

The London Guardian indicates NHS has put about $3 million into new technology and that the blood test could become the standard and replace amniocentesis.

Although the test would not alleviate concerns about increased abortions based on the test results, the newspaper indicates it would save as many as 265 babies in the United Kingdom alone who die as a result of premature delivery brought on by it.

The new test involves a sample of maternal blood and is called a non-invasive prenatal diagnosis (NIPD). It would be easier to administer, provider faster results and be able to be used earlier in pregnancy.

"NIPD is exciting because it could mean that in future many thousands of women will not have to undergo invasive tests, which carry a risk of miscarriage, to diagnose genetic and chromosomal conditions in developing babies," Professor Lyn Chitty told the newspaper.

During the current procedure, amniotic fluid is withdrawn from a woman's uterus to test for certain problems in the unborn baby such as genetic defects, fetal infections, fetal lung immaturity, or Rh sensitization.

A needle is typically inserted through a mother's belly into the sac of amniotic fluid that surrounds the baby and a small amount of the fluid is removed. The fluid contains skin cells the baby has shed and biochemical substances the developing child has produced.

Amniocentesis increases the risk of miscarriage with as many as anywhere from one in 200 to one in 500 babies born prematurely. The procedure also carries a low risk of uterine infection, maternal or fetal hemorrhaging, and there is a risk that the needle used during amniocentesis can hit a crucial fetal area and cause permanent damage.

Meanwhile, pro-life advocates look down on the procedure because mothers are sometimes persuaded by a physician to have an abortion when the test shows, perhaps incorrectly, that the baby has development problems.

The NIPD test isn't without controversy itself.

Some private companies are using it to allow pregnant mothers to determine the sex of their unborn child and it has prompted concerns that it could lead to sex-selection abortions.

Others are concerned that it will lead to further stigmatization of disabled people. [ErteltLifeNews.com August 10, 2009Washington, DC (LifeNews.com, http://www.lifenews.com/int1292.html]

New Study Measures Benefits of More Involved Fathers
Children face greater risk when agencies focus only on moms, overlook dads
 Family service agencies are missing huge opportunities to help children by focusing only on mothers and ignoring fathers, according to a groundbreaking study by some top U.S. family and child development researchers.

The scientific study, which is being published today [10Aug09] in the Journal of Marriage and the Family, found that when mothers and fathers enrolled together in 16-week sessions to work on their relationships as parents and partners, their children were much less likely to show signs of depression, anxiety and hyperactivity.

“The vast majority of family services — from parenting classes to home visits — are really aimed at mothers, while fathers are almost completely overlooked,” explained Dr. Kyle Pruett, clinical professor of psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine and a co-author of the study. “The research is clear that the best way to create a healthy environment for children is to engage dads and moms together.”

An executive summary of the research and the full research paper are available for the public.

According to the most recent census statistics, one in three children grow up without fathers. For low-income families, that percentage is even greater. Previous research has found that kids with absent fathers are more likely to suffer from psychological problems, drug addiction or incarceration in their lifetime.

The new study is especially relevant at a time when the president is calling on fathers to take more responsibility and when economic distress is expected to put more pressure on young fathers and their families.

The Supporting Father Involvement study represents the first randomized, controlled clinical trial focused on encouraging father involvement in low- and middle-income families.

The study compared father-only and father-mother interventions with each other, and against a control group, and evaluated the impacts on parents and children. Highlights from the research include:

The behavioral and psychological involvement of fathers significantly increased when fathers were given the tools to be more effective parents alone or with the mothers.

Parenting stress decreased when fathers and mothers participated in the groups together.

While distress in couple relationships grew predictably in both the control and fathers-only groups, when fathers and mothers went through the groups together, the quality of their relationships as couples remained stable for more than a year after the groups ended.

Children of fathers who went through the program alone or with the mothers were much less aggressive, hyperactive, depressed or socially withdrawn than children of fathers in the control group.
The research was funded by the California Department of Social Services Office of Child Abuse Prevention, with additional support from The Stewart Foundation, and gathered evidence from family resource centers in five California counties: Yuba, Tulare, Contra Costa, Santa Cruz and San Luis Obispo. The researchers note in their paper that the factors that contribute to more violent behavior in the home are exacerbated when families experience greater economic stress, as they do today, making this research especially timely and relevant.

“The transformation that some of the men went through because we gave them the tools and encouragement to be involved as parents is amazing,” said Roy Martin, a director of the Supporting Fatherhood Program in Yuba County. “Some of the couples have been so enthusiastic about supporting each other that they continue to meet as a group, even after their participation in the program concluded.”

“Public and private agencies would get more bang for their buck if their programs that already focus on mothers were retooled to include fathers as well,” said Richard S. Atlas, founder of the Atlas Family Foundation, which focuses on early child development and parent education. “Essentially, what we need is a First Five for Fathers, or, better yet, a First Five for both parents.”

Visit the Supporting Father Involvement website, http://www.supportingfatherinvolvement.org/
[10August 2009, http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/aug/09081003.html]

UN Committee Asserts Special Rights for "Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity".  A UN human rights committee recently told UN member states they must grant broad new human rights on the basis of “sexual orientation and gender identity.” By making sweeping changes to their national laws, policies and changing practices and attitudes within families and cultural institutions, or else they will be in “violation” of their obligations under international law.

     The document, called “General Comment 20,” was released on July 2nd by the committee responsible for monitoring compliance with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Going well beyond putting an end to criminal penalties against homosexuality or stopping violence and unjust discrimination, it claims that two new anti-discrimination categories exist even though sovereign states have repeatedly rejected these same categories in open UN debates.

     In those debates, nations expressed concern that since the terms “sexual orientation and gender identity” are not recognized or defined in international law, the new category could be used to impose limitations on freedoms of speech, religion and conscience as well as marriage laws and school curricula.

Indeed, the committee asserts that changes must include “a State’s constitution, laws and policy documents,” as well as “measures to attenuate or suppress conditions that perpetuate discrimination” including “employment in educational or cultural institutions,” as well as “families, workplaces, and other sectors of society.” Measures must remain in place until such a time “when substantive equality has been substantially achieved.”

No definition of or standards for measuring “substantive equality” are provided. 

     The non-discrimination article says that states party to the treaty agree to “guarantee that the rights enunciated in the present Covenant will be exercised without discrimination of any kind as to race, color, sex, language, religion, political identity, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.”

     The committee asserts that “a flexible approach to the ground of ‘other status’ is thus needed” and “‘other status’ as recognized in article 2, paragraph 2, includes sexual orientation.” “Gender identity,” the general comment goes on to state, “is recognized as among the prohibited grounds of discrimination; for example, persons who are transgender, transsexual or intersex.”

     The idea that gender identity and sexual orientation are “recognized as among the prohibited grounds of discrimination” is one of the most hotly contested issues in UN social policy debates. Liberal governments have repeatedly attempted to gain consensus on the issue but have so far been defeated. No binding UN document includes sexual orientation or gender identity among protected non-discrimination categories.

     For support of its re-definition, the committee cites the Yogyakarta Principles , a highly controversial 2007 manifesto authored by activists and UN human rights officials which re-interprets 29 existing human rights to include homosexuality. The unofficial document asserts that nations who are party to UN human rights treaties are already obligated to grant broad homosexual rights or else they are in violation of international law.

     The committee of appointed “experts” has no enforcement capability. However, nations report to the committee which then publishes reports on whether the government is properly implementing the treaty. Their views are increasingly used by sympathetic jurists, government officials and activist to pressure their governments to change laws and policies. [August 27, 2009 Susan Yoshihara, Ph.D., Vol. 12, No. 37, Friday Fax, NY, http://www.c-fam.org/publications/id.1391/pub_detail.asp ]

U.S. Court Rules 'Sexual Orientation' Protection Laws Must Include Former Homosexuals
PFOX calls for all sexual orientation laws and programs nationwide to include former homosexuals
In a case that is the first of its kind, a federal court has ruled that laws prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation in the District of Columbia must also include former homosexuals as a protected class.  

The Superior Court of the District of Columbia has ruled that under the D.C. Human Rights Act, a former homosexual must have the same protections as an active homosexual against discrimination based on sexual orientation.

The decision handed down by Judge Maurice Ross says that the D.C. Office of Human Rights (OHR) was wrong to dismiss the discrimination complaint of "Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays" against the National Education Association (NEA) on the basis that ex-homosexuals were not covered by the HRA's anti-discrimination protections, because they were no longer practicing homosexuals.

 "We are gratified that the ex-gay community in Washington D.C. now has the same civil rights that gays enjoy," said Regina Griggs, executive director of Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays.

PFOX had filed a discrimination complaint to the OHR after the national teachers union had refused to give the group a booth at the NEA's EXPO 2002 convention in Dallas, Texas. The NEA which is headquartered in D.C., where PFOX filed its application, said it had a policy against giving accommodations to groups which are against NEA policy or which it believes would have a disruptive effect.   

Although the DC Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on "sexual preference," "sexual orientation," "gender identity," and "gender expression," the OHR maintained that only homosexuals, bisexuals, "transgenders", and cross-dressers qualified for protection under the Act.

Ex-homosexuals did not qualify, because the OHR said sexual orientation was "immutable."

P-FOX then appealed the OHR decision to the Superior Court, which has the final say over agency decisions in the nation's capital.

The Superior Court rejected that argument as "erroneous" and said the OHR had ignored the "plain language and explicitly stated intent" of the HRA, which protects plenty of circumstances subject to change such as "religion, personal appearance, familial status, and source of income."  

The court said that the language protected individuals on both their sexual "preference or practice," meaning that the law also protected those who changed their sexual practices from homosexual to heterosexual.

"By failing to protect former homosexuals, the sexual orientation laws gave more rights to homosexuals than heterosexuals who were once gay," said Griggs, who added that PFOX was happy with the result "that ex-gays are a protected class under 'sexual orientation.'"

The Superior Court did rule that the NEA was within its rights to reject PFOX's application to its annual conference on the grounds that it could prohibit the attendance of those groups, which it deemed contrary to its policies or could prove disruptive. For those reasons, the court let the OHR decision against PFOX stand.

"All sexual orientation laws and programs nationwide should now provide true diversity and equality by including former homosexuals," said Greg Quinlan, a director of PFOX.  "I have experienced more personal assaults as a former homosexual than I ever did as a gay man."  

PFOX called on the NEA to stop "denying equality to former homosexuals" and to include an ex-gay caucus member to the NEA Sexual Orientation Committee.
[26August09, Peter J. Smith, Washington DC, http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/aug/09082612.html]

Little Recognition Given To Study of Sexual Reorientation Therapy at APA Convention
Findings contradict the APA position that homosexuality is not changeable.
By Thaddeus M. Baklinski
TORONTO, August 10, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Dr. Stanton Jones and his research partner, Dr. Mark Yarhouse, were given the opportunity, on Sunday morning at 8:00 a.m., to present their findings on a study of sexual reorientation therapy, at the annual convention of the American Psychological Association (APA) in Toronto.

The paper titled, "Ex Gays? An Extended Longitudinal Study of Attempted Religiously Mediated Change in Sexual Orientation," was presented as a part of an APA symposium titled Sexual Orientation and Faith Tradition Symposium.

The six year study concluded that there is evidence that homosexual tendencies can be controlled and redirected toward normal sexual attraction.

The research was based on a study of 98 men and women who sought help from Exodus International, a Florida-based evangelical ministry that provides sexual-orientation conversion therapy and counseling. The group seeks to help individuals troubled by their sexual orientation to achieve "freedom from homosexuality through the power of Jesus Christ."

Dr. Jones began his presentation by outlining the rejection of reorientation therapy for homosexuals by most professional mental health associations. Last week the American Psychological Association adopted a resolution urging mental health professionals to avoid telling clients that they can change their sexual orientation through therapy or other treatments.

"I had met people in the religious community who claimed to have changed," said Dr. Jones, a professor of psychology at Wheaton College, a Christian college in Illinois. "And at the same time I saw a growing momentum behind the view that change is impossible. As a scientist it is an empirically interesting question when you see a growing momentum behind a view but you feel that you also see exceptions to that view. So I thought it would be an interesting thing to study."

Jones then noted an important limit and hypotheses of the study: "Our study addresses the generic questions of whether sexual orientation is changeable, and whether the attempt is intrinsically harmful, by focusing only on the religiously mediated approaches to change; this is not a study of professional psychotherapy."

In light of the newly accepted convention that homosexuality is not a mental illness, the researchers stated that, "We hypothesized that sexual orientation is not changeable, and the attempt to change is likely harmful."

However, the study found two forms of successful reorientation away from homosexuality in the study group.

Thirty percent of the study group categorized themselves as successful in chastity: "Subjects who reported change to be successful and who reported homosexual attraction to be present only incidentally or in a way that does not seem to bring about distress, allowing them to live contentedly without overt sexual activity."

23% of the group reported a successful conversion to normal heterosexuality: "Subjects who reported change to be successful by experiencing substantial reductions in homosexual attraction and substantial conversion to heterosexual attraction and functioning."

Drs. Jones and Yarhouse conclude that their findings contradict the APA position that homosexuality is not changeable.

"In conclusion, the findings of this study would appear to contradict the commonly expressed view of the mental health establishment that sexual orientation is not changeable and that the attempt to change is highly likely to produce harm for those who make such an attempt."

The report also stressed the need to keep "a range of professional and ministry options open to clients who experience same?sex attraction, are distressed by this because of their moral or religious beliefs, and who may benefit from hearing about a number of intervention modalities."

The full text of the paper presented by Dr. Jones yesterday at the APA convention is available here.

See previous LSN coverage:
APA Officially Rejects Reorientation Treatment for Homosexuals
APA Ignored Evidence that Homosexual Behaviour is Part of Psychiatric Disorder Says Noted Psychiatirst

Study: Homosexuals Twice as Likely to Seek Mental Health, Substance Abuse Treatment
 A study led by Susan Cochran and her team of researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles, published in the open access journal BMC Psychiatry, reports that homosexuals seek treatment for mental health issues or substance abuse at a rate over two times higher than heterosexuals.

The study of 2074 people interviewed in the California Health Interview Survey found that 48.5% of homosexual and bisexual individuals reported receiving psychiatric or drug abuse treatment in the past year as compared to 22.5% of heterosexuals.

When the research results were broken down by gender, the report states that lesbians and bisexual women received the most medical treatment and heterosexual men received the least.

"It is well known that health services utilization is greater among women generally," Cochran commented. "Here we have shown that minority sexual orientation is also an important consideration. Lesbians and bisexual women appear to be approximately twice as likely as heterosexual women to report having received recent treatment for mental health or substance use disorders."

Cochran concludes that, "The pervasive and historically rooted societal pathologizing of homosexuality may contribute to this propensity for treatment by construing homosexuality and issues associated with it as mental health problems."

However, critics of the accepted secular interpretation that mental illness in homosexuals is due to discrimination have pointed out that in countries where homosexuality has been "normalized", the numbers of homosexuals seeking medical intervention for a wide range of mental and medical conditions including major depression, suicidal ideation and attempts, anxiety disorders, and substance abuse, are virtually the same as reported in the California study.

Homosexuals in the United States and Denmark - the latter country is acknowledged to be highly tolerant of homosexuality - both die on average in their early 50's, or in their 40's if AIDS is the cause of death, according to a study by Drs. Paul and Kirk Cameron of the Family Research Institute.

An analysis last year of 25 earlier studies on sexual orientation and mental health in the UK revealed that homosexuals are about 50% more likely to suffer from depression and engage in substance abuse than the rest of the population and also found that the risk of suicide jumped over 200% if an individual had engaged in a homosexual lifestyle.

A documentary film produced by British homosexual journalist Simon Fanshawe late last year stated that the "gay" lifestyle is a "sewer" of casual degrading sex, drug abuse and misery. In the film Fanshawe castigated what he views as a prevalent gay subculture that is focused on vanity, puerile superficiality, and transient pleasure, at the expense of lasting values and meaningful relationships.

The film includes statistics that show the deadly consequences of the homosexual lifestyle. For instance, one in nine gay men in London is HIV infected and new cases of HIV have doubled in the city in five years. Incidences of syphilis have increased in the same time period 616 per cent. "Unsafe" sex, Fanshawe said, is not the only way in which gay men are self destructive. "If there's a new drug, gay men will find it and take it," he stated.


Related:  Study: Homosexual Lifestyle Strongly Linked to Depression, Suicide http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/sep/08091704.html

Study Finds Homosexual Men Much More Likely to Consult Mental-Health Service Providers http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/mar/08032008.html

Homosexual U.K. Documentarian Says Gay Lifestyle a "Sewer" of Casual Degrading Sex, Drug Abuse and Misery
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/sep/08091011.html
[18Aug09, T. M. Baklinski, www.LifeSiteNews.com]





AIDS Rate 50 Times Higher in Homosexual Men: Center for Disease Control (CDC)
  An official with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced the CDC's estimate Monday that in the United States AIDS is fifty times more prevalent among men who have sex with men ('MSM') than the rest of the population.  Dr. Amy Lansky revealed this statistic during a plenary session at the 2009 HIV Prevention Conference in Atlanta.

The CDC had already revealed last year that approximately 53% of the estimated 56,300 new HIV cases in 2006 were in homosexual men, with the African American population being particularly affected.

The new statistics, however, estimate the prevalence of HIV/AIDS relative to the homosexual population, which allows comparisons to other groups in the wider population.  Because of the difficulty of determining the homosexual population, the CDC had to estimate.  Based on a variety of national surveys, they based their statistics on the median estimate that homosexual men constitute 4 percent of the overall male population, reports RH Reality Check.

According to Dr. Lansky, then, based on the 4 percent figure, the CDC estimates that in 2007 there were 692.2 new HIV cases per 100,000 homosexual men - or fifty times more cases than the rest of the population.

While merely an approximation, the CDC's announcement confirms previous statistics and studies that indicate vastly disproportionate occurrence of sex-related diseases in homosexuals.  According toa February 2007 study, for example, homosexual men with HIV are 90 times more likely to develop anal cancer than the rest of the population.

Earlier this year, as another example, the Centers for Disease Control released a statistical report indicating that homosexual men made up 65 percent of the reported primary and secondary syphilis cases in 2007.  A report from the Public Health Agency of Canada in 2006 revealed that 51 percent of people infected with HIV in the country were homosexual men.

In fact, the statistics on HIV/AIDS led one group, the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, to state in 2006 that HIV/AIDS is a "gay disease," in a billboard ad campaign geared to reducing rates of HIV infection.

While homosexualists have actively suppressed such statistics in the past and focused on portraying HIV/AIDS as a disease affecting the whole population in an equal fashion, the statistics' increasing undeniability has forced their hand.  Rather than admit any inherent problem with homosexual practice itself, however, the apparent prevalence of disease among practicing homosexuals has led them to switch tactics and use these statistics to urge governments and other organizations to increase support to the homosexual communities.

Asking why it has taken so long for the CDC to make its estimate about the high prevalence of AIDS among homosexual men, homosexual activist Dr. Senterfitt chalked it up to 'homophobia'.  "Seems clear to me," he says, "that this was at least an indirect effect of the pervasive homophobia still affecting much of government, public policy, media and societal norms in this country."

"We must fight for funding and adequate social investment to end HIV/AIDS wherever it continues to persist and thrive," he argues, "which is almost always where concentrated social injustice also thrives."

Pro-family advocates, on the other hand, maintain that the prevalence of sex-related diseases among homosexuals is clear evidence of the disorder of homosexual practice.  For example, in a commentary for LifeSiteNews.com published last year, J. Matt Barber stated, "By recently admitting that 'HIV is a gay disease,' Matt Foreman, outgoing Executive Director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, acknowledged what the medical community has known for decades: the homosexual lifestyle is extremely high-risk and often leads to disease and even death."

Related:  "Gay" Sex Kills
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/apr/08042101.html

Male Homosexual Sex Fuelling Spread of HIV in Asia, Warns World Health Organization
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/feb/09021708.html

High Occurrence in Africa of HIV among Homosexual Men Study Finds
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jul/09072102.html
[24 August 2009,  Patrick B. Craine, Atlanta GA, http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/aug/09082609.html]

New Study Shows Homeschoolers Excel Academically
Homeschoolers, on average, scored 37% above public school students on standardized achievement tests
PURCELLVILLE, Virginia, August 7, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) –  Today, the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) released a new study: the Progress Report 2009: Homeschool Academic Achievement and Demographics, conducted by Dr. Brian Ray of the National Home Education Research Institute, which surveyed 11,739 homeschooled students for the 2007-08 academic school year.

The results were consistent with previous studies on homeschool academic achievement and showed that homeschoolers, on average, scored 37 percentile points above public school students on standardized achievement tests.

"These results validate the dedication of hundreds of thousands of homeschool parents who are giving their children the best education possible," said Michael Smith, president of HSLDA.

The Progress Report drew homeschoolers from 15 independent testing services and is the most comprehensive study of homeschool academic achievement ever completed.

While the academic results are impressive, the study also showed that the achievement gaps common to public schools were not found in the homeschool community.

Homeschooled boys (87th percentile) and girls (88th percentile) scored equally well; the income level of parents did not appreciably affect the results (household income under $35,000: 85th percentile - household income over $70,000: 89th percentile); and while parent education level did have some impact, even children whose parents did not have college degrees scored in the 83rd percentile, which is well above the national average for public school students. Homeschooled children whose parents both had college degrees scored in the 90th percentile.

"Because of the one-on-one instruction homeschoolers receive, we are prepared academically to be productive and contributing members of today's society," said Smith.

The average public school spends nearly $10,000 per child per year whereas the Progress Report shows that the average homeschool parent spends about $500 per child per year.

"Homeschooling is a rapidly growing, thriving education movement that is challenging the conventional wisdom about the best way to raise and educate the next generation," said Smith.

There are an estimated 2 million homeschooled children in the U.S. today, which is about 4% of the school-aged population, and homeschooling is growing at around 7% per year.

Listening to the Voice of the Forgotten: a Review of "The Human Experience": Movie review by Kathleen Gilbert. The tagline of the Human Experience, simple as it is, seems to scratch the itch rankling in the corners of our cyber-saturated minds: Did we forget what it means to be human?

Grassroots Film's masterful 90-minute piece, which has been touring the U.S. and Europe in a series of screenings, has asked audiences of all different creeds to probe that question, and offers a rich contemplation of humanity through the eyes of its forgotten members.   What we see there, as Martin Luther King, Jr. said and as cited in the movie, is the fact that "we must rapidly begin the shift from a 'thing-oriented' society to a 'person-oriented' society."

In a unique documentary style, the film follows in real time the adventures of a group of young men who, seeking to deepen their understanding of the human experience, set out to spend time with some of the most "unwanted" of humanity: those living on the streets of New York, a home for sick and disabled children in Peru, a group of Africans dying of AIDS, and finally, a Ghanaian leper colony.  The film's contemplative bent is supported by a running commentary from several thinkers in various disciplines, probing at the greatest questions of life - and even questions about the questions.

Here we are faced with the reality of the individual that politicians, society, or even his or her own family has rejected as "unwanted."  Unwanted people, evidently, are often considered not really people at all; and this makes their suffering an easy thing for us to handle.  The Human Experience re-introduces us to that outdated discomfort.

A homeless woman describes how people on the street immediately came to the rescue of some lost dogs, while leaving her in the cold.  Later, viewers are told that Angela, a six-year-old, constantly smiling streak of pink that brightens the entire movie, was maimed and nearly killed by the father who simply wanted her dead.  

"Most people say, 'Oh, they're not human.'   Well, we're not automatons either. We have a heart, we have blood, we have a mind, a spirit, and a soul," declared one of the homeless of New York that the two young stars of the film encountered.

The film's contemplation of these forgotten ones is bound up in an acknowledgement of their suffering: gone is the "just throw condoms at them" attitude towards the groaning of Africa under the AIDS epidemic.  When we suffer with a nation, as one of the interviewees of the film noted, "a great love for that nation is developed" - and we learn compassion.

Laced throughout the globe-trotting adventures is a running narrative on the family by one of the young men, Jeffrey Azize.  Jeff - who described himself as an "unexpected zygote" - told the story of how his abusive household affected him, his view of himself, of others, and of life.  His musings anchor the film's message in the family, whose integrity determines whether individual lives and societies will stand or fall.  

Jeff's soul-searching also draws the film's theme inward, casting light on one origin of modern man's ill-treatment of his neighbor - uncertainty over the intrinsic value of his own life.  This, the film seems to suggest, is the key to unlocking compassion for others, and to understanding "the breathtaking reality of a new, unrepeatable, unprecedented adventure of a human life."

"We are pro-family and pro-life, so we wanted to do a pro-life film that never mentioned the word 'abortion,' didn't take a religious view, didn't take a political view, we just wanted to be pro-life because that's the way life should be naturally,"  producer Joseph Campo told LifeSiteNews.com (LSN).  

Grassroots Films, an independent motion picture company founded in 2001, has already completed several projects that have secured their reputation as a font of professional and thoroughly modern talent - including the wildly popular pro-life Catholic Vote advertisements.  While most of its previous work have addressed Catholic themes, The Human Experience breaks new ground in fighting the inhumanity of the culture of death in a way that appeals to all - religious or not.

The scope of the short film is incredibly daunting - it is essentially a documentary of the human soul - but handled masterfully, with top-notch directing and a breathtaking original score.  The format and message of the film are brilliantly intertwined: the face of no well-known actor graces this film, because this film is not about famous people.  There are no scripts, because the film's message would wither the moment it touched paper.  Humanity doesn't need makeup, several takes, cleverness or art, to be what we crave.  

"The film was being written and produced as we were filming it," said Campo. "Each experience that you see takes place in real time. We did not know the outcome of every one of these experiences.  What you see when you see in the film, everything that's in the film would really be behind the scenes of any other film.

"One of the things I said to the young men when we were filming: 'Whatever happens, don't shut off the cameras,'" said Campo.  "And that's what the audience gets to see."

Campo said that one of the driving goals of the film was to make the experience "real," - and it was for that reason, he added, that city-by-city screenings accompanied by two of the men in the film have so far been the group's preferred distribution method.

"When the young men go to the prescreenings themselves, the audience has an opportunity to speak to the young guys in the film to answer some questions, and also to raise questions," said Campo.  "I think we're being more effective by doing it just the way we are in this point in time.  

"It's a tremendous amount of work, but you know, it goes with the territory."  Nonetheless, he said, a movie theater distribution may be in the film's future.

Campo said his greatest hope is to reach a secular audience - noting that reviewers at the Sedona film festival, not known for its conservative tendencies, "absolutely loved" the film.  

"So that's very important, so that people who need to see it are seeing it.  But the idea of the message is to change people's hearts and to change people's minds," he said.

Click here to find out more about upcoming screenings of The Human Experience, http://www.seethx.com/SEETHX.COM/Welcome.html  

Click here to visit Grassroots Films' website, http://www.grassrootsfilms.com/  
[FALLS CHURCH, VA, August 26, 2009, www.LifeSiteNews.com]-

Florida Abortion Facility Closes, Had Done Second-Trimester Abortions
 One of the three abortion facilities in Sarasota, Florida has closed and it was the only one where 2nd-trimester abortions were done. Local pro-life advocate Jim Styer informed LifeNews.com of the news. "Up to 450 2nd-trimester abortions a year were done in the county, according to recent years' figures from the state. Last year, it was down to 129," he explained.

Potential clients might go elsewhere, but the nearest second-trimester abortion center is at least an hour's drive from Sarasota, with Sarasota Memorial Hospital reporting it does second trimester abortions for "medical" reasons.

The closed facility is Premier Institute for Women's Health, in the Gulf Gate Medical Center on South Tamiami Trail, north of Stickney Point Road. Styer says the abortion practitioner there, Matthew Kachinas, said in July that he is "on assignment" in various locations around the state for up to three weeks at a time.

"This is the second time a Sarasota facility where Kachinas worked has closed and he reportedly had left or been dismissed from three other abortion facilities in Florida," Styer said.

"Premiere has been closed for at least a few months. But it couldn't be determined for several weeks whether the closure might be temporary. An answering service continued to forward messages. Eventually, the web site was taken down, the phone number ceased service, the property was listed for sale or lease, and web searches didn't find any current information on the business or any references to Kachinas doing abortions elsewhere in the area."
[24Aug09, Sarasota, FL, www.LifeNews.com, #4688]




CONSCIENCE

Preliminary Injunction Granted in IL Conscience Case: Pharmacists Score a Win
The circuit court in Springfield, Ill. on Friday issued a preliminary injunction in favor of two pharmacy owners who have been fighting to protect their right to conscientiously object to distributing abortifacient contraceptives.  

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) is representing the pharmacists, Luke VanderBleek and Glenn Kosirog, in the case of Morr-Fitz, Inc. v. Blagojevich.  

The lawsuit was launched to fight against a 2005 executive order by former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich forcing pharmacists and pharmacy owners to distribute the abortifacient morning-after pill.  Blagojevich defended the executive order by saying that "right of conscience does not apply to pharmacists."

The ACLJ announced the injunction as the latest victory in an ongoing effort to protect the fundamental right of pharmacists to practice their profession without having to violate their conscience.

"The Attorney General's Office has repeatedly argued that the Health Care Right of Conscience Act does not apply to the practice of pharmacy-and they have repeatedly failed," said Francis J. Manion, ACLJ Senior Counsel.

"While this is not a final decision on the merits of our lawsuit, the writing is on the wall.  Our clients are entitled to run their pharmacies according to the dictates of their moral and religious beliefs.  This is what the law allows; this is what the court has affirmed."

In the court's decision, Judge John W. Belz ruled that "Plaintiffs have certain and ascertainable rights under state and federal law," and that the law forcing them to distribute emergency contraceptives is causing the plaintiffs to suffer "irreparable harm in the form of an ongoing chill of their free exercise rights and rights of conscience under federal and state law, as well as unlawful coercion based on their religious and moral beliefs."

The judge went on to find that the plaintiffs "have a likelihood of success on the merits of their claims."

As a result of the injunction, the pharmacists will be permitted to refuse to dispense Plan B and other forms of emergency contraception, if doing so would violate their religious or moral beliefs.

In Menges v. Blagojevich, the ACLJ represented seven individual pharmacists who succeeded in having the state amend the regulation to recognize the conscience rights of individual pharmacists.  In Vandersand v. Walmart and Quayle v. Walgreens, the ACLJ convinced two other courts that Illinois pharmacists are protected by the State's Health Care Right of Conscience Act.

The current case, Morr-Fitz, Inc. v. Blagojevich, seeks to ensure that pro-life pharmacy owners - not just individual pharmacists - receive the legal protection to which they are entitled under state laws as well as the U.S. Constitution.

The injunction will remain in place until a final ruling in the case is issued.

Related:  Illinois Judges Upholds Pharmacists' Conscience Rights http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09040604.html
[WASHINGTON, D.C., August 26, 2009 www.LifeSiteNews.com]

PLANNED PARENTHOOD OVERCHARGING MEDICAID IN ANOTHER STATE
 Another Planned Parenthood affiliate has been caught defrauding taxpayers of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

An audit recently conducted by Washington state’s Department of Social and Health Services revealed the Spokane abortion business overcharged the state Medicaid program by at least $629,142.88 from 2004 to 2007. 

“This isn’t the first time Planned Parenthood has overcharged taxpayers,” said Jim Sedlak, vice president of American Life League. “Last year, American Life League revealed a Planned Parenthood affiliate in California overcharged the state more than $5 million.”

The announcement comes just weeks after Rep. Mike Pence introduced an amendment to the Health and Human Services Appropriations bill, to defund Planned Parenthood of  hundreds of millions of dollars in Title X family planning funding. The amendment garnered 42 percent of the vote.

“Had these audit results been known at the time,” said Sedlak, “we are confident the Pence Amendment would have passed. The American people shouldn’t be forced to pay the nation’s largest abortion chain to cheat them out of tax dollars and use these funds to pay for abortions, protect child predators and sexualize children."

American Life League has long called for an end to taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood and state-by-state attorney general investigations into Planned Parenthood’s use of tax dollars.

“With the revelation of these audit findings in Washington, we ask every community with a Planned Parenthood business to demand a state audit of its operations.”
Coverage:
Abortion in Washington: Planned Parenthood Spokane Slapped with $700,000 bill from Audit  (11 August 2009)
http://abortionstate.blogspot.com/2009/08/planned-parenthood-spokane-slapped-with.html

Planned Parenthood Audit Documents:
http://www.scribd.com/people/documents/15599048/folder/110070?secret_password=1gd0gi8bgsln4mfaxkf8
[Lifenews.com, Washington, DC,11 August 2009)