Bella Pro-Life Film Project Has Saved 200 Babies From Abortions
Hollywood, CA — A special life-saving project using the movie “Bella” has reportedly resulted in 200 babies being saved from abortion as of late October.
The report of the 200th child being spared through the Bella HERO project came Oct. 26, the third anniversary of the movie’s theatrical release. The movie portrays the difference a man with a painful past makes in the life of an abortion-minded co-worker.
The Bella HERO effort provides free DVD copies of the move to pro-life pregnancy care centers to give to women considering abortion. More than 10,000 DVDs of “Bella” have been distributed to nearly 400 pregnancy care centers so far. (Baptist Press)
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Obama Administration Argues Against Patents on Human Beings
Washington, DC — Drawing a sharp distinction between “nature’s handiwork” and human invention, the Obama Administration has urged a federal appeals court to rule that no U.S. patent can be issued to give sole rights to a natural gene taken out of the body and used for medical research. The stance is directly contrary to long-standing government policy. The issue almost surely is headed ultimately to the Supreme Court.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit — the nation’s specialized court for patent litigation — is now considering whether scientists working with basic DNA in the form of unmodified human genes — that is, extracted from the human body but changed in no way from their natural state — can get patent protection for the genes themselves. A federal judge in New York City said no last March, but a genetic research company, Myriad Genetics, Inc., has appealed.
The idea of patenting genes and their DNA components when “isolated” in a laboratory is linked to a very practical pursuit in basic genetic research: the gene’s natural characteristics are studied in order to be able to understand susceptibility to disease, enabling medical diagnoses and suggesting treatment options. In isolated form, the DNA in its unchanged gene form retains the identical characteristics found in native DNA in the body, and that is precisely why it is valuable medical research material.
For years, the U.S. Patent Office has taken the position that extracted genes, or “isolated DNA,” can be patented. (SCOTUS Blog)
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Three Presidents of Jesuit Catholic Colleges Funded Pro-Abortion Candidates
Washington, DC — Three laymen recently named presidents of Jesuit universities have contributed to candidates who favor legalized abortion, according to federal election records.
David W. Burcham, the new president of Loyola Marymount University, donated $500 to the presidential campaign of John Edwards in 2003 and $250 to the campaign of Rep. Maxine Waters in 2009. John Hurley, the new president of Canisius College, has donated $4,500 to the campaign of Rep. Brian Higgins since 2004. Thayne McCulloh, the new president of Gonzaga University, donated $1,500 to Obama for America and the Obama Victory Fund in 2008. (Catholic Culture)
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New Brunswick Holding Inquiry on Provincial Tax-Funded Abortion Policy
Saint John, Canada — The New Brunswick Human Rights Commission is holding an inquiry into the province’s abortion policy.
Randy Dickinson, chairman of the commission, confirmed Tuesday that the human rights organization received a complaint relating to New Brunswick’s Medical Services Payment Act, which sets out the conditions under which the province will pay for abortions with taxpayer funds.
The provincial Department of Health’s policy stipulates that it will only pay for an abortion if a woman gets a referral from a family doctor and if the procedure is performed in a hospital.
“That issue has been brought forward as a complaint,” Dickinson said.
The privince has been fighting abortion practitioner Henry Morgentaler for years over forcing it to pay for abortions at his abortion business. (Montreal Gazette)
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Australia: Abortion Survivor Featured in Pro-Life Victoria Video
Victoria, Australia — Mainstream media coverage of pro-life activities is often hard to come by, and coverage not slanted in a negative light is even more difficult to come by, particularly in Australia. However, the Herald Sun has taken notice of the video that Pro-Life Victoria has produced in their hopes to raise awareness of the changes in law in Victoria in 2008.
With state elections approaching, the truth about the laws in Victoria and how they came about needs to be shared. These changes include no restrictions on the gestational age of a child being aborted, and there being no protection for children who are aborted but born alive.
In one year alone, 54 children survived abortion attempts in the state of Victoria, but none are alive today to share their story. That’s where Melissa Ohden comes in. As the survivor of a failed abortion attempt in the U.S. in 1977, Melissa now puts a face to abortion around the world, and gives a voice to the unborn children who lose their lives to abortion every day.
As the Herald Sun reports: “Melissa Ohden, from the US, says her mother tried to abort her but doctors and nurses saved her life when the procedure went wrong.
“‘Sadly for me in visiting Australia, I’ve learned that children aren’t afforded that same opportunity,’ she says.
“The video also features state DLP MP Peter Kavanagh, who says he can’t imagine a worse law than the Abortion Law Reform Act 2008 passed in Victoria.”
To view the video, The Story of a Life, in its entirety, please visit:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3WHP7Q5dp8.
