EL SALVADOR - In open defiance of the Clinton Administration, lawmakers in El Salvador overwhelmingly have voted to amend their country's constitution to declare that life begins at conception. "We wanted El Salvador to be the first country in the world to roll back an abortion law," explains Ricardo Enrique Posada, one of the amendment organizers. The initiative began two years ago in resistance to a U.S. Agency for Interna-tional Development-funded rewrite of the country's penal code that would have allowed abortion on demand. The process gathered steam last November when first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton visited El Salvador in the wake of Hurricane Mitch. "She tried to put abortion rights on every agenda," according to Posada. Within weeks, a citizens' drive was underway to collect signatures calling for full ratification of the constitutional amendment. The amendment to Article I of the Salvadoran constitution to "recognize every individual of the human race as a human being from the instant of conception" passed the 84 member assembly 72-0 with 12 abstentions. (Insight Magazine, "Choosing Life" by Michael Waller - April 5-12/99)

CANADA - The Canadian "Compendium of Pharmaceuticals and Specialties" indicates that one of the modes of action attributed to the Pill does cause abortion. Further, a visit to the pro-abortion Family Health International website provides a presentation on the Pill, which states, "Under the influence of COCs (oral contraceptives), only a small amount of endometrial growth occurs. The thinner endometrium [lining of the uterus] would make implantation unlikely, in the rare event that fertilization occurs." Even though many in the medical community are in denial about these facts, pro-lifers should strive to remember that, "when in doubt -- choose life!" (communiqué, 4/30/99)

Kansas - U.S. Senator Sam Brownback says some of Social Security's problems are due to the high abortion rate in the country. At a town hall meeting in El Dorado on April 9th, Brownback said too many abortions have created a shortage of workers across the U.S.. He said that when baby boomers begin to leave the workforce in the next decade, the Social Security Trust Fund will begin to pay more to retirees than it takes in from current workers. (NewsKansas Headlines, 4/12/99)

New Jersey - In an unusual act of political defiance, two Republican Congressmen from New Jersey are pointedly sitting out pro-abortion Gov. Whitman's effort to rally the party behind her campaign for the U.S. Senate. In remarks reported by Tom Turcol in the Philadelphia Inquirer on May 7th, pro-life champion Rep. Chris Smith denounced what he called a "heavy handed attempt to recruit elected officials for Whitman's Senate Committee," saying they received a fax notifying them they would be included unless informed otherwise by last week. He said that was typical of a political and governing style by Whitman that offends many Republicans. "This isn't the Marines, where everybody snaps to it," he said. Rep. Frank LoBiondo, in a separate interview, said he is considering running for the New Jersey Senate seat himself.

Whitman was re-elected by a hair and many political analysts predict that, should she win the nomination for the Senate seat, a pro-life, conservative, independent candidate could pull enough votes to throw the election to the Democrat.

Michigan -
Legislature Promotes Hospice Care and Pain Control
In Michigan, where voters defeated a proposal to legalize assisted suicide in November, legislators have passed six bills to promote hospice care and pain control. The bills, passed earlier by the House, were unanimously approved by the state Senate on December 3 and signed by Governor Engler on December 29th. They establish an interdisciplinary advisory committee on pain and symptom management; require health plans to report whether they cover hospice care and pain management for the terminally ill; set standards for hospital pain control programs; and assure physicians of their authority to prescribe controlled substances to treat pain. "We have a clear policy that use of opiates is approved of, and physicians no longer have to be afraid to prescribe morphine," says Sen. John Schwarz, the legislature's only physician. (Life at Risk, a publication of the National Council of Catholic Bishops, January, 1999) What is your state legislature doing to prevent legalization of assisted suicide?

More from Michigan - Designer Babies
Physicians at the Detroit Medical Center are ready to offer diagnosis of genetic diseases at the earliest stages of life and give parents the option of killing their child before implantation in the uterus. Couples who have a history of inherited defects or illnesses could, under the plan, forgo natural conception and instead opt for conception in a petri-dish or test tube, after which the newly conceived embryonic baby would be tested for genetic abnormalities. Then the parents could decide whether or not to kill their child. "There will some day be a genetic surgeon who will be every bit as precise as a surgeon with a knife," predicted Dr. Mark Evans of Hutzel Hospital in Detroit. "It'll be like buying cable TV: Do you want the basic programming or the various premiums?" (The Detroit News, 1/31/99)

Oklahoma - To be able to swear the traditional Hippocratic oath, about 30 graduating students from the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine held an alternate graduation ceremony at 9:30 a.m. Sunday, May 30. OU, like most medical schools, has dropped the original oath in favor of one that does not mention prohibitions on abortion and euthanasia, said Dr. Curtis E. Harris, an associate clinical professor at OU, who will administer the oath. The original Hippocratic oath, written in 400 B.C. has been the basis of medical ethics in the United States for more than 200 years, Harris said. The Oath of Hippocrates says, in part, "I will give no deadly medicine to anyone if asked, nor suggest any such counsel; furthermore, I will not give to a woman an instrument to produce abortion."

Pro-Abortion Republicans Raise $500,000

The Republican Pro-Choice Coalition issued a news release on May 2nd, announcing the amalgamation of three GOP groups that work to defeat pro-life candidates, promote pro-abortion legislation, and have pledged to weaken or remove the pro-life plank from the Republican National Platform. The National Republican Coalition for Choice, the Republican Pro-Choice Alliance of New York and the Republican Pro-Choice PAC have joined together to "help Republicans in many states work toward positive legislation for family planning and safeguarding abortion rights." They held a $1,000 a head fundraiser where they raised $500,000. The family of former President Gerald Ford was honored at the event. The keynote address was delivered by New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman. Susan Cullman, a close Whitman ally and fundraiser and chairman of the WISH List, a political action committee that raises money for Republican women who are pro-abortion, is co-chairman of the Coalition.

PRESIDENTIAL POLITICS 2000

Bush Campaign Registers Web Addresses for Potential Running Mates
On May 13th, Reuters reported that Texas political consultant Karl Rove, Governor George W. Bush's top political operative, recently registered website addresses for Bush/Whitman; Bush/Pataki; Bush/Ridge and Bush/Engler, giving rise to speculation that these people are under serious consideration as potential running mates should Bush receive the Republican presidential nomination. They are all governors of large states and they are all members of the Republican Leadership Council which was formed by Governor Christine Todd Whitman and her friends in the northeastern establishment for the purpose of helping to elect pro-abortion candidates and weakening or removing entirely, the pro-life plank from the Republican National Platform. Whitman, Gov. George Pataki of New York, and Governor Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania, are all aggressively pro-abortion. While Governor John Engler of Michigan has lent his name to the Republican Leadership Council (for reasons we can't explain) and has raised money for the re-election of Whitman in N.J., he has been solidly pro-life throughout his entire political career in the Michigan legislature and as Governor, and has probably enacted and/or signed more pro-life legislation than anybody else.

Utilitarian To Arrive at Princeton in July
Will Forbes and Frist Withdraw Funding?
National Review's Internet Update for 5/17/99 featured the following report by John J. Miller and Ramesh Ponnuru: "Bill Bradley, Steve Forbes, and Sen. Bill Frist (R-TN) ­all members of Princeton University's board of trustees ­ failed to comment when asked by NR about their alma mater's decision to hire infanticide advocate Peter Singer. ŒKilling a disabled infant is not morally equivalent to killing a person. Very often it is not wrong at all' says Singer, an animal-rights activist who recently won an endowed chair at Princeton's Center for Human Values. Now Forbes, a Republican presidential candidate, has promised to raise the issue with Princeton's president and ask for Singer's appointment to be rescinded. He also urges students who have protested Singer to continue their activities."

To date, there has been no response from Senator Frist, who votes pro-life on most measures that come before Congress. We expect no response from Bill Bradley who is running for the Democratic nomination against Vice President Al Gore, given his radical pro-abortion views.

Christopher Benek, a seminarian at Princeton Theological Seminary who heads up Princeton Students against Infanticide, points out in an e-mail message that both the Forbes and Frist families have donated huge sums (tens of millions) to Princeton, which Benek believes the university would hesitate to jeopardize if either trustee were to oppose the Singer appointment and threaten to withdraw their financial support. The Singer appointment has caused tremendous controversy and demonstrations by disability rights groups, religious and pro-life organizations.

Top Consultant Leaves Dole Campaign
A new website, 2000GOP.com, reported on 5/24 that Kieran Mahoney, a top Dole consultant has re-signed for "personal" reasons. "While we all know campaigns take a personal toll, we also know you don't quit a top position if things are going well. Dole has also slipped considerably in our monthly poll." The website is dedicated to tracking Republican campaigns.

Please Correct This Error When You See It

On February 24th, the Chicago Tribune carried a column by Linda Chavez entitled "Feminists, Clergy Out of Sync With Women." In the well-intended article, Mrs. Chavez points out how "out of sync with the average woman the national feminist organizations like the National Organization of Women really are." She referred to a poll commissioned by Planned Parenthood that confirmed that the majority of American women want to see more restrictions on abortion. "What's more, 40 percent of those polled said they oppose all abortions except those performed to save the mother's life or in cases of rape and incest ­ a position identical to the Republican Party position . . ."

Those last fifteen words are incorrect. The official Republican Party position as spelled out in the platform has no reference to rape or incest. It does not spell out any legislation. It does not recommend specific language for a human life amendment to the constitution. It says the following:

"The unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed. [To exclude some babies from the legal protection of their God-given right to life for any reason would contradict this principle and allow that right to be infringed. ] We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and we endorse legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment's protections apply to unborn children. Our purpose is to have legislative and judicial protection of that right against those who perform abortions. We oppose using public revenues for abortion and will not fund organizations which advocate it. We support the appointment of judges who respect traditional family values and the sanctity of human life."

Columnists make this mistake all too often. When you see it, please write a letter to the editor correcting it. Thanks!