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Judy Forsthoefel, President 131 Clover Four Rd. Celina, OH 45822 October 2009 Meeting Date: The next scheduled meeting will be on the 4th Thursday, October 22nd, 8:00 PM, Coldwater Mercer Health, Meeting Rm. #2. Why not come and bring along a friend or two. OCTOBER is Respect Life Month. “Every child…brings us God’s smile and invites us to recognize that life is his gift, a gift to be welcomed with love and preserved with care always and at every moment. “ Pope Benedict XVI
OHIO RTL/MERCER COUNTY ANNUAL SWEEPSTAKESRemember where you put those Sweepstake tickets? If you were planning to buy them, you have until October 31st to do so. The Ohio RTL and our RTL Chapter have combined efforts on this annual Fundraiser. 40% of all ticket sales sold from our Chapter are returned to our Chapter. The drawing will take place on November 6, in Columbus. Ten Cash Prizes will be awarded: 1st Place $1,000.00; (2) 2nd Place of $500.00; (2) 3rd Place of $250.00 and (5) 4th Place Prize of $100.00. Please return the tickets and your donation in the envelope provided with last months Newsletter to Ruth & Henry Kunkler, Project Chairpersons.
RTL FLOAT IN OCTOBERFEST PARADE, MINSTERMany Thanks to Dan Thieman and his grandchildren for pulling the RTL float in the Octoberfest Parade. It was the last parade for the season. The float will now be stored at the Timmerman’s for another year. Many Thanks to Pat & Henry for providing a shelter for the float during the winter months and for scheduling the drivers for our area parades.
HARBOR LIFE MINISTRIES presents their 19TH Annual “Celebration of Life” Sharing Banquet, Tuesday, October 27th at Romer’s Banquet Hall in Celina. Space is still available if you act quickly. Call 586-5941 for the latest update. Featured speaker will be Michael Gonidakis, Director of Ohio RTL.
HEALTHCARE REFORM The U.S. Senate has been debating their own version of health care reform and a vote is expected soon. They rejected amendments that would have included an explicit exclusion of abortion from health care reform, so now, as it stands, the Senate bill specifically authorizes the use of federal funds to pay premiums on private plans that cover elective abortions – a departure from longstanding federal policy. However, the fight is far from over, because the House has their own version. Members are still debating, so it is important to keep the heat up on our elected Representatives & Senators! The question looms as a test of President Obama’s campaign pledge to support abortion rights but seek middle ground with those who do not. Obama has promised for months that the health care overhaul would not provide federal money to pay for elective abortions, but White House officials have declined to spell out what he means. According to Fr. Pavone, Director of Priest for Life, “It’s 1973 all over again – back then, the battle was Roe vs. Wade. Today it’s so-called ‘health care reform’. Same thing. The Right to Life for all Americans, born & unborn! If Congress passes ‘health care reform’ without explicit protection for vulnerable human beings, it will institutionalize the culture of death in America! Our government failed our unborn brothers & sisters in 1973 – we dare not fail them now!” Fr. Pavone shares this story of Sarah Capewell and her son Jayden. Their story is the story of what could happen to countless thousands of tiny boys & girls in America. Jayden Capewell was born prematurely in a hospital in Gorleston, England. At the time of his birth he was 21 weeks, five days old and weighed just a few ounces. Jayden was not given the medical care he needed in order to live or even transferred to another hospital so that they could care for him, the doctors & nurses did nothing to help him because little Jayden was TWO DAYS under the limit set by the British government’s National Health Service (NHS). Could Jayden Capewell’s story be repeated countless times over in hospital maternity wards across our country? It could if health care reform passes without significant revisions. In spite of our Presidents cries to the contrary, taxpayer funding of abortion and health care rationing are woven into the House “health care reform” bill. And – according to Planned Parenthood’s own research, as a result of those federal subsidies – abortion in America will INCREASE by 20 to 35% and that’s just in the first year of ‘Obamacare’. Our own President says our claims are ‘fabrications’ and our fears are unwarranted. He tells everyone not to worry but to trust him and his advisors. These same things were told in the 1970s. Falling for their lies and deceptions, many people were silent. As a result – Roe vs. Wade and the death of tens of millions of babies killed in abortion.
HEALTH CARE – REFORM OR DISASTER?? All current versions of the health care reform bills have these things in common; it includes abortion and taxpayer payment of them under any government-operated plan & it allows federal subsidies to flow to private insurance plans that cover abortions. Bills will ration and even deny care for ALL, especially older people and those with disabilities. The government will have the authority to decide which treatments are mandated and which can be denied. Specially targeted are those who need medical care at the end of their lives. The level of treatment will be determined by preset formulas – not on a case-by-case basis. Government paid ‘end–of-life’ counseling for older people will lead to pressure for them to forego treatment. The HEALTH CARE Reform proposals currently before Congress devalue human life. That’s not reform – it’s disaster for all of us!
OBAMACARE & ASSISTED SUICIDE: Compassion & Choices, the nation’s leading pro-assisted suicide organization, is aggressively promoting the widely discussed ‘end-of-life counseling’ provision found in H.R.3200, the House version of Obamacare. They claim responsibility for getting these provisions included in the bill. If this section remains as written, it will result in two very dangerous outcomes: Taxpayer funding of information on assisted suicide & Lawsuits to expand assisted suicide information nationwide. Compassion & Choices will be able to bring an equal protection lawsuit against the federal government claiming that patients in states where assisted suicide is not legal are being deprived of information about a ‘benefit’ provided to patients in states where it is legal. The assisted suicide connection in H.R. 3200 is not being publicly discussed to any extent. It remains to be seen whether this troubling aspect of Obamacare will be revised to eliminate funding of assisted suicide information and therefore lead to expansion of the deadly agenda of Compassion and Choices through lawsuits.
UNITED STATES CONFERENCE OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS, which has lobbied for decades to persuade the government to provide universal health insurance, says it opposes the Bill unless it bans the subsidies for plans that cover abortion. “We have said to the White House and various State offices that we could be the best friends to this Bill if our concerns are met,” stated a spokesman for the Bishops on abortion issues.
PARTY AFFILIATION SHOULDN’T HAVE AN EFFECT ON WHEELS OF JUSTICE Recently, Gov. Ted Strickland stated that he supported Mary Jane Trapp’s candidacy for the Ohio Supreme Court. He said, “Justice is best achieved when the makeup of the judiciary is balanced.” The “balance” that Strickland referred to was based on the party affiliation of the Judges. He states: “Since 2007, all of the seats on the Ohio Supreme Court have been controlled by one party. Like all parts of government, the court’s effectiveness will only improve as it more accurately reflects the people of our great state.” The Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct has a different view of what judges are suppose to “reflect.” Political influences are not suppose to affect a judge’s rulings. Under Rule 2.4 (B), “A judge shall not permit family, social, political, financial or other interests or relationships to influence the judge’s judicial conduct or judgment.” As a reflection of this, judges in Ohio are elected in nonpartisan general elections in which their party affiliation does not appear on the ballot. Strickland’s comments suggest, some people think that judges should be the ultimate policymakers. They envision the state & federal constitutions as “living, evolving” documents that can be revised at the will of the judges. However, both the U.S. & Ohio Constitutions start with, “We the people,” not, “We the judges.” U.S. Chief Justice Roberts stated: “Judges and justices are servants of the law, not the other way around. Judges are like umpires. Umpires don’t make the rules; they apply them. ”When they are doing their jobs as intended, the party affiliation of the judges should not be any more relevant than that of an umpire.
OCTOBER IS BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH Concerned Parents Report is providing summaries of studies that suggest that abortion and contraception use can be contributing factors to the development of Breast Cancer. Go to Concerned Parents Report website and check out the many studies they have summarized. They also tell us ways to lower the incidence of breast cancer in the future by educating our teens to avoid these two actions that can contribute to it. Concerned Parents Report is dedicated to reporting information to parents so they can empower their children to make the healthiest choice for their reproductive health – living a chaste lifestyle.
Facing Life Head-On, a weekly pro-life TV show has received two prestigious TV awards; The Telly Award and The Accolade Award of Excellence. Locally, the show can be seen on TBN, Tuesday mornings at 11:30AM. For more info such as airing schedule, online viewing, go to www.facinglife.tv. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * VISIT US AT OUR WEBSITE. www.mercerlife.org Larry Laloge,WebMaster. Officers: President: Judy Forsthoefel, 268-2911 Newsletter: Janet Gels & Sharon Hibner Vice President: Marleen Evers, 375-2475 Folding & Sorting: Ann Schroyer, 678-4785 Secretary: Lisa Homan, 419-375-2515 Sorting & Labeling: Deb Huelskamp & Volunteers Treasurer: Frank Mohlman, 678-3788 Mailing: Carol Ranley Catholic Social Services, 800-521-6419 Choosing Life Pregnancy Center: 418-733-4847 Mercer Co. RTL, Phone/FAX: 419-678-1348 Elizabeth Pregnancy Service: 419-586-9029 |