Theresa Stammen, President
3112 County Rd. 716A
Celina, OH 45822
April 2007
Meeting Date:
Our next meeting will be April 26th,
8:00 PM, Coldwater Mercer Health Hospital Meeting Rm. Everyone is always
Welcome. Why not bring along a Friend!
NATIONAL PRO-LIFE T-SHIRT DAY -
Tuesday, April 24th
For the
5th year, High School students across the nation will join together
to be a voice for the babies by wearing a Pro-Life T-shirt on this particular
day. This project has gone over well here in Mercer County and we are thrilled
to report that every school in our area will have teens participating this
year. The shirts are white with black lettering, a picture of a baby in utero:
listed at the top - fingers, eyes, ears, mouth, hands, heart – and the message
states, “What part of abortion don’t You understand?”
Angie Bertke & Theresa
Homan chaired this project. 1,285 T-shirts have been ordered and will be
delivered. High School students will be given a shirt FREE. As with everything,
the prices of the shirts went up to $6.00 each and with that, our membership
decided that we could only afford to give these shirts to HS student. Parents
of JH students requesting shirts were ask to make a donation. And many did!
Thank You so much. Donations are still being accepted for this project.
The best part of this
story is that the teens will continue to wear these shirts throughout the summer
months, spreading the Pro-Life message.
2007 WINNER MERCER COUNTY RTL ORATORY CONTEST
Lauren Pax, a senior from Coldwater, was the winner
of the Mercer County RTL Oratory Contest, held on April 10th. The
judges were, Dave Kaiser, Angelica Hein and Dennis Lee.
According
to Diana Homan, Contest Co-coordinator,
“We are very proud of Lauren and all of the participants in this year’s Oratory
Contest.” “All of the students did exceptionally well and we are excited about
the possibility of having a Mercer County resident represent Ohio at the
National RTL Oratory Contest in June.”
Juniors and
seniors were eligible to participate in this contest. This years contestants
were: Lauren Pax, Coldwater, Tiffany Uhlenhake, Coldwater, Jenna Tumbusch, St.
Henry, Cassandra Homan, St. Henry and Rachel Garmann, Maria Stein. The
contestants had to write a 5 – 7 minute speech on abortion, infanticide,
euthanasia or stem cell research. This years contest theme was “I Have a Dream
– How the Future Looks in the Culture of Life.”
As the Contest
winner, Lauren Pax received $400 plus a complimentary trip to the March for Life
in January from Mercer Co. RTL. She will also have the opportunity to compete
at the state contest on April 28th in Columbus. The winner of the
state level will be eligible to participate in the National RTL Contest, which
will be held in Kansas City, MO in June.
Need pro-life
resource materials for school projects? Brochures, Videos or DVD’s??? Give
Sharon a call, 678-4128
UPDATE - Newborn BIB
PROJECT:
Since August
1999, Sylvia Stammen, Coldwater, has been making baby bibs that were given to
the parents of babies born at Community Hospital. During that time, she made
1,800 Bibs! WOW!!
We
stated last month that Sylvia was looking for someone to take over the project.
We are pleased to report that she found the perfect person. Judy Forsthoefel,
Clover Four Rd., Celina, has come forward and has readily agreed to take over
the project.
We
feel so fortunate, first of all, for Sylvia taking on this project many years
ago and for doing such lovely work and secondly, for Judy coming forward to take
over. We wish them both the BEST!
MOTHER’S
DAY ROSE SALE, MAY 13TH
Don’t Forget -
Long Stem Red Roses will be For Sale after most of the church services in the
Mercer County area on Mother’s Day for $2.00 each. This is such a nice way to
remember your MOM!
Phyllis Wenning, Coordinator for this project,
states that she has ordered 4,750 roses from Roger’s Flower Shop in Coldwater.
Owner Theresa Jutte is always eager to help and her service is much
appreciated.
Many thanks to all
those who plan to sell the roses on that special day. Most of them are Mom’s,
too! (Keep your fingers Crossed so that the Deep Freeze doesn’t hurt the
Rose Industry)
WALK FOR LIFE 2007, to Benefit Harbor House Maternity & Elizabeth Pregnancy
Service
This year’s
“Walk for Life 2007” will take place in Celina on Saturday, May 12th,
at 9:00 AM. The Walk is a “fun” two- mile event (non-athletic) so you can bring
the entire family. It will begin in the parking lot of St. John Lutheran Church
(the “Purple Door” church) 1022 N. Main St., Celina and conclude with an Open
House at Harbor House. Complimentary refreshments will be served and shuttle
service will be available to take those participating in the Walk back to their
vehicles at the starting point.
Pledge forms
are available at Harbor House, 586-9029 or check your church bulletin for the
name/phone number of the volunteer liaison. Walkers and Sponsors are both
needed for this event. Why not ask your family members or friends to Walk with
you.
What if it RAINS??
Just simply bring an umbrella or wear a raincoat. OR, if you prefer to walk on
another day by yourself, you may do so. Walkers should return their Pledge
Forms as soon as possible. Walkers need NOT collect the money.
Members from Harbor House will collect the pledges through the mail.
Harbor House
and staff offer young girls a unique environment designed to help them make an
informed decision between parenting or adoption and addresses behavior issues
that often accompany pregnancy.
SENATE VOTES TO EASE STEM CELL RESTRICTION – PRES. BUSH TO VETO
Senator Brown votes Yes.
Senator Voinovich votes No.
The House passed similar legislation earlier this
year and is expected to adapt the Senate’s version shortly. President Bush
states he will Veto the bill. He states, “The bill is very similar to
legislation I Vetoed last year. This bill crosses a moral line that I and many
others find troubling. If it advances all the way through Congress to my desk,
I will Veto it.” The bill would use federal taxpayer dollars to support and
encourage the destruction of human life for research.
Trial confirms promise of adult stem cell
An
early trial of a drug developed from bone marrow stem cells showed remarkable
promise in treating heart and lung disease. They went into the trial looking to
see if they had a cardiac drug and to their surprise found that they might have
a drug for respiratory disorders like chronic asthma or emphysema. It’s a first
in a series of attempts to heal heart patients after a heart attack.
Researchers caution that much more work needs to be done before an adult stem
cell-derived drug can be placed on the market. However, these early results are
remarkable.
Doctors in Germany also report that they have successfully grown new livers in
patients using stem cells taken from the patient’s own hips. They hope that
very soon, this will become a standard way of helping patients re-grow their
livers. Their study indicates that six of the eight patients who had been
suffering from advanced stages of liver cancer are alive and cancer free two
years after receiving the cells.
Often, patients
with liver disease can be saved if the damaged portion of the organ is removed,
since the liver regenerates on its own. Doctors at the University of Dusseldorf
harvested stem cells from a patients hip bones and injected them into a healthy
portions of the liver. Cutting off the blood supply between the healthy and the
diseased portions, the new cells multiplied and began to grow as liver cells.
Within weeks, most of the livers had doubled in size, allowing the damaged
sections to be removed. They may now have an alternative to transplantation of
the liver. They have demonstrated that in the short term they have saved the
life of a terminally ill cancer patient for who previously there was no hope.
GOVERNOR STRICKLAND – NO FEDERAL FUNDS FOR ABSTINENCE EDUCATION
3/22:
Governor Strickland decided NOT to pursue federal funds for
abstinence-until-marriage education, and this funding has been removed from the
state budget that the General Assembly will be considering in the next few
months.
In a
response to that decision, some are calling it a vote of no confidence in
today’s teens. Most young people want the freedom that comes from sexual
purity, modesty and self-control. It really isn’t a tough sell to promote a
healthy lifestyle free from the epidemic STD situation, unwanted pregnancy and
the emotional scars of having premarital sex.
Ohio is a
national leader in abstinence-only-until marriage programs, and in 1999 the
legislature passed a law requiring school districts to develop a health
curriculum that emphasized that abstinence is the only sure fire way to avoid
pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and HIV.
What
are the alternatives if abstinence only education is tossed out the window?
Programs that preach a double standard of encouraging abstinence while handing
out the contraceptive are counterproductive. A mixed message doesn’t benefit
young people when it comes to something as sacred as one’s sexuality.
ABSTINENCE PROGRAM ATTRACT LOCAL TEENS AT BREAKAWAY REC PLEX
Sex Until Marriage was the topic at the
abstinence shut-in recently sponsored by OUR Home Family Resource Center. Amy
Miller and Miles Nugent, along with a group of local teachers, youth pastors and
college students led the program.
From midnight until 6 AM, more than 60
students participated in small group settings. Four lessons – physical,
emotional, spiritual and protecting your image – challenged them to think
through the “real life” consequences of sex before marriage.
CHASTITY FOR TEENS – 20 Ways for Young Women to
Command the Respect they Deserve
Written by
Kristie Wellman, 2001 Coldwater Grad
Women today are surrounded by attitudes,
actions and materials that demean, degrade and disrespect them. Our society
claims to respect women yet think nothing of pornography, casual sex, and
contraception.
It tells women that equality with men means being the
same as men and claims that women have the “right” to kill the children within
their wombs.
These 20 suggestions were written by Kristie,
Coordinator of Youth and Family Outreach for One More Soul. Check it out
at:
Kristie@omsoul.com or (800) 307-7685
HOLY THURSDAY – An Afternoon at the Abortion Mill
Sharon, Judy, Ruth and Dennis spent 3 to 4
hours carrying signs, praying and taking turns sidewalk counseling outside
Martin Haskell’s abortion mill in Kettering. They stated that when they arrived
in the morning, a few cars were in the parking lot. However, by afternoon, it
was 2/3s full. Many of the girls were obviously under pressure from boyfriends
or parents, entered the clinic to have their babies killed during Holy Week.
Some girls appeared to come close to changing their minds, but they went ahead
with the abortion. They walked thru the doors “with child” and exited with
their womb vacuumed – their child left behind, dismembered and in the garbage.
One girl that
entered the clinic stated that she was 15 weeks pregnant. She appeared to have
no remorse, but seemed rather flippant about the whole ordeal.
Their
observation that day was that by far, the majority of people seeking abortions
were not impoverished, as liberals would like us to believe. Moderately priced
to quite-expensive cars lined the parking lot. It seems that, in today’s world,
rather than select a car to accommodate the needs of a growing family, we
dispose of the family to accommodate the desire for material goods and a fancy
car.
CENTER FOR BIO-ETHICAL REFORM (CBR) GENOCIDE AWARENESS PROJECT
In the beginning (1998) college
administration, faculty and students were outraged that CBR’s Genocide Awareness
Project (GAP) was at their Universities. However, after many battles and a
lawsuit or two, they are now able to go onto campuses fairly easily.
How do students
react when they see the display? Many young people are saddened because they
saw something they had never seen before – abortion. The GAP has visited over
100 U.S. Universities. By displaying large photo panels depicting abortion as
genocide, GAP has made abortion real to approx. 2 million college students.
Recently, a professor at Bowling Green State University wrote about the impact
of GAP:
A married 22-year-old BGSU student found out she
was pregnant. She was upset. She already had two small children. She felt
that pursuing her education would be too difficult with another child. She was
strongly considering an abortion. One day after class, she stayed to talk to
the professor. The professor suggested that she go out and look at the GAP
display that was visiting the campus. She didn’t want to, but after talking,
she and the professor walked across the campus to view the GAP display.
The college student
stopped in front of the display and stood very quiet. She slowly moved along,
looking at one picture at a time. After walking all the way around the display
without saying a word, she went back to the professor and said, “There is no way
after looking at this that I could ever have an abortion!”
GAP works by changing
hearts and minds!
This spring CBR will be displaying their GAP
exhibit at 5 Universities. The student enrollment alone surpasses 100,000.
Bowling Green State
University – April 16 – 17
University of Toledo –
April 18 – 19
Ohio State University – May 16 – 17
Parents, if your students attend one of these
Universities, encourage them to check it out. Or perhaps, you might be
interested in seeing them for yourself.
We’ve been told that it cost CBR $7,000 to display GAP at a single university
for two days. This amount doesn’t even begin to cover staff salaries.
Donations are always Welcomed.
If you would
like more information regarding CBR’s GAP displays,
www.abortionno.org
INFANTICIDE IN EUROPE
A spate of murdered babies has shocked
Germany in recent weeks. The Times of London reports that at
least 23 babies have been killed this year alone, “many of them beaten to death
or strangled by their mothers before being dumped on wasteland and in
dustbins.” German officials believe the total number of babies killed this year
to be even higher than what has been yet reported.
The rise of
infanticide is shocking, but should hardly be surprising. After all, in many
societies these babies could safely be aborted almost up to the time of their
delivery. The logic of infanticide is just the logic of abortion pushed beyond
the moment of birth.
The fact that
Germans have responded with outrage over this spate of infanticides is
comforting in one sense, but it also reveals the hypocrisy of our age. How can
infanticide be wrong and abortion be a basic right? This is moral nonsense.
THE HONORABLE HENRY HYDE, STILL FIGHTING TO DEFEND LIFE
He may be retired from a long career in
Congress, but Henry Hyde is fighting to defend innocent human life by working
with Americans United for Life. AUL is a group of public interest attorneys and
legislative specialists whose mission is the restoration of human dignity. They
work state by state to change laws to protect human life. Americans United for
Life assists lawmakers who are committed to protecting human life by providing
them with information, research and counsel needed to draft challenge-proof
legislation.
Want more
info? Go to:
www.aul.org
Many times, people
will call and ask if a certain organization is a good one to contribute to. So,
occasionally, we like to print about the various pro-life groups that do good
work.
WAL-MART CAVES INTO PRESSURE FROM PLANNED PARENTHOOD ON PLAN B DRUG
Just over a year ago, Wal-Mart bowed to
pressure from pro-abortion groups and decided it will carry the morning after
pill at its 3,700 pharmacies nationwide. After more lobbying from Planned
Parenthood, the retailer revised its nationwide corporate policy on the morning
after pill. The new Wal-Mart policy ensures customers “will now receive their
prescriptions of OTC products in store without discrimination (no harassment or
lectures)” Wal-Mart has pledge to stock the morning after pill in every store
where at least one person requests the drug and to assist customers in obtaining
the drug if it is not available at a particular location.
Planned
Parenthood Pres. Cecile Richards applauded the news. She said, It was a victory
for its membership, which has been scouring the country in an attempt to gather
damning evidence against pharmacies that don’t make the morning after pill
easily available.”
Let Wal-Mart
know how you feel about their decision.
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President: Theresa Stammen,
925-4214 Address Changes: Ann Schroyer, 678-4785
Vice President: Ruth
Rutschilling, 925-5500 Sorting & Labeling: Deb
Huelskamp & Volunteers
Secretary: Lisa Homan,
419-375-2515 Mailing: Carol Ranley
Treasurer: Sue Moeller,
419-925-5410 Newsletter Editors: Sharon Hibner
& Janet Gels
Mercer Co. RTL Phone/Fax:
419-678-1348 Catholic Social Services: 800-521-6419
Harbor House: 419-586-9029
VISIT US AT OUR
WEBSITE, www.mercerlife.org
Larry Laloge, Web Master. MCRTL, 419-678-1348
