Jackson Students for Life featured in Jackson Citizen-Patriot

On December 26, the Jackson Citizen-Patriot carried an article on the Jackson Students for Life, a group of prolife high school and college students from Jackson County who work to protect life at all stages.

The group is focusing on education and issues such as euthanasia and embryonic stem-cell research. It has set up information booths at events, protested and prayed in front of facilities that perform abortions, and hosted euchre, pizza and movie nights to reach out to other students.

Students have also been working to start their own pro-life groups in their schools.

Maggie Emmert, a freshman at Lumen Christi High School, said she has always opposed abortion.

“My mom didn’t have to choose life,” said Emmert, 15.

“I don’t think a lot of people appreciate that their mothers didn’t choose abortion.”

FULL STORY

Right to Life stands behind its efforts at the Capitol

Right to Life of Michigan's legislative director Ed Rivet wrote an editorial to the Lansing State Journal in response to an editorial by Planned Parenthood's Sarah Scranton. Scranton's editorial claimed Right to Life of Michigan is an "extreme anti-choice group."

Planned Parenthood political activist Sarah Scranton used the State Journal recently to call on Gov.-elect Rick Snyder to "reject the Right to Life agenda" in the upcoming legislative session. She refers to Right to Life of Michigan as an "extreme anti-choice group."

But who has the extreme agenda? Is Planned Parenthood prepared to again object to legislation banning the horrific partial birth abortion procedure?

Huge majorities of the public support such a ban. Yet Scranton's group successfully lobbied Gov. Jennifer Granholm to twice veto such bills.....

Their own annual report shows Planned Parenthood makes hundreds of millions of dollars by performing abortions. That is not family planning, but instead killing a member of the human family.....

Planned Parenthood might do well to stay focused on what they claim their real goal is, eliminating unplanned pregnancies.

If they would do that, and stop destroying the "pregnancies" (fetuses/babies) already conceived, they might have less reason to publicly wring their hands and beg the incoming governor to protect their financial interests.

FULL STORY

Fetal Development Videos

The web page of the Endowment for Human Development has a variety of short videos, including 4D ultrasound videos, on the development of unborn children at various ages.

The videos can be viewed here.

Michigan planned parenthood executive used donations for personal expenses

The web site of WWMT News Channel 3 in Kalamazoo has a story on questionable behavior occurring at Planned Parenthood of Southwest Michigan. An audit discovered that Director of Finance Rene Davis was using company money to pay for personal expenses. WWMT sources say around $5,000 was taken. Instead of being fired, Davis became Chief Operating Officer. The story also mentions the board of Planned Parenthood of Southwest Michigan is looking to replace Rev. Mark Pawlowski, who is their CEO and makes all the hiring and firing decisions.

Planned Parenthood CEO Rev. Mark Pawlowski gave us a statement, saying;

“It came to our attention and we were duly diligent in investigating it. The employee faced disciplinary action and is no longer responsible for any financial duties within the organization.”

But Davis was not fired, instead she was appointed as Chief Operating Officer, this at a time when many other Planned Parenthood employees lost their jobs as a result of cutbacks.

Planned Parenthood says Davis paid back all the money and no charges have been filed against her. Planned Parenthood CEO Rev. Mark Pawlowski is in charge of hiring and firing, and has been for fourteen years.

Now, the board of directors is searching for a new CEO. Some board members have told Newschannel 3 the search for a replacement was prompted by the handling of Davis' situation. Pawlowski says that's not true.

Newschannel 3 has requested public documents from Planned Parenthood to learn more about how much money was taken.

FULL STORY

It's Not Too Late! Double Your Donation

While the clock is ticking down on 2010, there is still time to double your donation to the Right to Life of Michigan Educational Fund. Year-end, online tax-deductible donations to the Right to Life of Michigan Educational Fund up to $35,000 will be matched until December 31, 2010. That means your gift toward the lifesaving work of the Right to Life of Michigan Educational Fund will be doubled.

Reported abortions in Michigan are at an all-time low. Abortions in Michigan have decreased 54.4 percent since 1987. Help us in our efforts to keep these numbers going down.

If you are able to make a special year-end contribution, you will be making a real difference in the lives of mothers and families.


Be inspired and read about people in Michigan who have been impacted by our prolife work.

REAL LIFE STORIES

Cord blood stem cells save child's life from mystery ailment

The Today Show on NBC recently featured the story of Nicholas Volker, a 6-year-old boy who has had more than 100 surgeries and spent more than 700 days in the hospital due to a condition which doctors struggled to diagnose. Doctors eventually used DNA sequencing to discover his ailment and then used a cord blood stem cell transplant to successfully treat his condition.

Nic has suffered some complications and setbacks since, but he has kept his spirits up. During his long hospital stays, he donned his favorite Batman costume, complete with bat gloves that sound "kapow!" His mother told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Nic likes the musical trio the Jonas Brothers, and she had heard him sing a line from their song "A Little Bit Longer," which goes, "A little bit longer and I'll be fine."

Hopefully, that will be the case for Nic. Santiago Volker told Lauer that her son's prognosis "is extremely good. His [transplant physician] thinks he will be a long-term survivor. And that he's possibly cured."

FULL STORY

Abortion provision dropped from defense bill

According to Congressional Quarterly Today, the leaders of the House and Senate armed services committees have agreed to drop the Burris Amendment from the 2011 Defense Department authorization bill. The Burris Amendment would have allowed abortions at overseas military hospitals. The controversial amendment was removed along with other controversial amendments in order to get enough votes for bill to pass.

The abortion provision, written by Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.), was included in a previous version of the Senate's bill (S 3454). The provision would have repealed a policy that bans provision of nearly all abortion services at military hospitals, even if paid for with private funds. If enacted, the measure would have allowed military servicewomen and their dependents to obtain abortion care at military hospitals if they paid for the procedure with their own money

FULL STORY

Bible Verses Addressing Life

There are many verses in the Bible that deal with respecting the sanctity of human life. Below are links to web pages on Right to Life of Michigan's web site which have various verses addressing the sanctity of human life in these different Bible translations:

King James Version

New King James Version

New International Version

Planned Parenthood rakes in hundreds of millions from taxpayers, loses tens of millions in investments

Planned Parenthood Federation of America recently released their 2008-2009 annual report which documents their financial activities as America's largest abortion provider. The report notes that Planned Parenthood received more than $363 million in "government grants and contracts" for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009. Planned Parenthood spent $55.8 million to lobby the government and lost $78.1 million in investments. Their total revenue was more than $1.1 billion dollars.

FULL STORY

Real Life Stories: A Call for Help

How Right to Life Offers Hope on a Daily Basis

Catherine Nutter was a young, recently married, college graduate without health insurance looking for someone to help with her unplanned pregnancy when she turned to Planned Parenthood for help.

I pictured the Planned Parenthood building in my mind that I had driven by every day for the past three years on my way to Western Michigan University—the one situated just on the campus's border with the giant orange three-foot lettering on its roof. Planned Parenthood, I thought. They help you plan for your up-coming parenthood. I knew that they would be the perfect resource to help me prepare for my prenatal care and delivery.

The next day I woke up almost feeling excited. I had practiced dozens of times what I was going to say to the worker at the clinic when she answered the phone. I dialed the number and light-heartedly spoke my rehearsed lines: "Hi. I just found out I'm pregnant. I'm married and have my degree, but I haven't gotten a job yet. I'm keeping the baby. I just need to know who to call for help."

A voice on the other end of the phone said plainly, "We don't do that here."

I was confused by this reply. "What don't you do there? I'm pregnant and I need to know who I should call."

The voice said again, "We don't really do that here. We don't give out phone numbers."

READ THE FULL STORY

Right to Life Teleseminar Today at 1 p.m.

A Right to Life of Michigan Teleseminar is scheduled for Tuesday, December 14, at 1 p.m. You will not want to miss this event with Right to Life of Michigan President Barbara Listing, RLM Legislative Director Ed Rivet and RLM Development Director Brian Cusack. The teleseminar will last about 30 minutes.

During this teleseminar we will be reflecting on 2010 and looking forward to prolife opportunities in 2011. Ed will also be reporting on the Washington, D.C., National Right to Life state legislative strategy conference. We are excited for a new year and look forward to sharing updates with you during the December 14 teleseminar.

This teleseminar is open to the public. Please pass this e-mail on to your prolife friends.

EVENT: Right to Life of Michigan Update

DATE & TIME: Tuesday, December 14, at 1 p.m.

FORMAT: Simulcast! (Attend via Phone or Webcast -- it's your choice)

TO INSTANT TELESEMINAR, CLICK THIS LINK NOW...
http://InstantTeleseminar.com/?eventid=16396158

Teleseminar Number to call on December 14: (616) 712-3139
Conference ID: 662744#

Georgetown researchers use stem cells from human testes to treat diabetes in mice

Researchers at Georgetown University have taken stem cells from the testicles of adult men and then changed them into cells which secrete insulin.

Researchers have taken the stem cells that would differentiate into sperm from adult men and, after a five-week process, transformed them into cells that secrete insulin, just like the beta islet cells in the pancreas, which Type 1 diabetes destroys. The researchers will present their findings today (Dec. 12) at the American Society of Cell Biology 50th annual meeting in Philadelphia.....

The technique is promising, but there's still work to do.

"We need to get the amount of insulin up to the point [of] being secreted from each cell that it will be enough to cure diabetes in humans," said G. Ian Gallicano, a developmental and stem cell biologist at Georgetown University Medical Center. "If you are a mouse and you have diabetes, you are in luck, we can help you......"

The researchers used cells from the testes of donors from the ages 16 through 57 and coaxed them back to an embryonic-like state, a two-week process. To convince the cells to become insulin producers, they exposed them to chemicals that stimulate differentiation at specific times over the course of about three weeks.

FULL STORY

Donations will be doubled!

Every day the Right to Life of Michigan Educational Fund works to promote the sanctity of human life in Michigan. Thankfully, lives have been saved and many women, men and families have been spared the devastation that often occurs in the wake of an abortion. Reported abortions in Michigan in 2010 were at an all-time low. Abortions in Michigan have decreased 54.4 percent since 1987. Help us in our efforts to keep these numbers going down.

Donations made to the Right to Life of Michigan Educational Fund up to $35,000 will be matched until December 31. That means that your gift today will be doubled. Please donate today.

Abortionist gets out of jail after 3 months

Abortionist Rapin Osathanondh was released from jail this week after spending only 3 months in jail. Osathanondh pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter after his negligence led to the death of Laura Hope Smith.

Osathanondh pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in Barnstable Superior Court in September. He was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in jail with six months to serve.

His lawyer, Paul Cirel, tells the Cape Cod Times that Osathanondh must now complete nine months of home confinement.

Laura Hope Smith, a 22-year-old Sandwich woman, never regained consciousness after undergoing an abortion in 2007 at Osathanondh?s Hyannis practice.

FULL STORY

Prolifers pack city council meeting to speak out against new Planned Parenthood in Michigan

In the Detroit News, pro-choice columnist Laura Berman writes about an Auburn Hills City Council meeting which was packed with prolifers who are opposed to Planned Parenthood's plan to come to Auburn Hills.

More than 200 crammed the Auburn Hills City Council chambers on Monday. Some were there to protest changes in trash pickup. But it was another debate about choice that drew most.

Residents, and some interlopers, had learned that Planned Parenthood of Mid and South Michigan recently bought a 17,000-square-foot Auburn Hills building and intends to open a family planning clinic....

To date, Planned Parenthood hasn't confirmed that abortions will be performed at the facility, although the Ann Arbor-based group does perform abortions at some of its clinics. ...

The state plans to give more than $200,000 next year to the Auburn Hills clinic, because it would be in an area of high unmet needs for women's and men's reproductive services.

Anti-abortion groups in Oakland County are ramping up opposition to the clinic, citing concerns about violence, crime and sidewalk pickets.

"We may not be able to prevent the clinic from opening," Kiessling says. "But there's definitely going to be protesters; there will be sidewalk counselors."

FULL STORY

Meet some of your new, young prolife representatives

The Detroit News has an article and video on a couple of young prolifers who won office in November and will officially become state representatives in January. One state representative-elect is Andrea LaFontaine who is 23-years-old graduate student who currently works as a waitress.

FULL STORY

Teleseminar Scheduled for December 14th

A Right to Life of Michigan Teleseminar is scheduled for Tuesday, December 14, at 1 p.m. You will not want to miss this event with Right to Life of Michigan President Barbara Listing, RLM Legislative Director Ed Rivet and RLM Development Director Brian Cusack. The teleseminar will last about 30 minutes.

During this teleseminar we will be reflecting on 2010 and looking forward to prolife opportunities in 2011. Ed will also be reporting on the Washington, D.C., National Right to Life state legislative strategy conference. We are excited for a new year and look forward to sharing updates with you during the December 14 teleseminar.

Feel free to submit questions on the Teleseminar web site page (link is below). Please submit your questions by 5 p.m. on Monday, December 13. This teleseminar is open to the public. Please pass this e-mail on to your prolife friends.

EVENT: Right to Life of Michigan Update

DATE & TIME: Tuesday, December 14, at 1 p.m.

FORMAT: Simulcast! (Attend via Phone or Webcast -- it's your choice)

TO INSTANT TELESEMINAR, CLICK THIS LINK NOW...
http://InstantTeleseminar.com/?eventid=16396158

Teleseminar Number to call on December 14: (616) 712-3139
Conference ID: 662744#

Planned Parenthood buys new building in Michigan for abortions

Planned Parenthood of Mid and South Michigan have spent nearly 3/4 of a million dollars to purchase an office building in Auburn Hills. According to past information from Planned Parenthood, it appears they plan on performing abortions at this location.

Planned Parenthood of Mid and South Michigan purchased the office building at 1625 N. Opdyke Road in Auburn Hills from Fidelity Bank. The commercial real estate company CoStar indicates the buy came in at $733,150, or about $43 per square foot.

"The buyer will occupy the property as a new clinic and office location. The facility is estimated to open in May/June of next year," the firm said in a statement about the sale.

FULL STORY

Stem Cell Fraud

The Investor's Business Daily has an editorial on California's foray into state-funded embryonic stem cell research and the plan to ask for more money from California's citizens.

Some six years later, with about $1.1 billion dispersed, there have been $270 million worth of impressive new labs built, research papers published, and respected scientists hired at exorbitant salaries, but no miracle cures or even marketable therapies. And none is likely for years, if not decades, to come. The promised financial payback for the financially strapped citizens of California is also far off.

Before the money runs out, Silicon Valley real estate developer and Prop 71 architect Bob Klein, who now heads the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), is laying plans to hit voters for another $3 billion in bonds in 2014. It's based largely on his personal belief that "there will be some remarkable new therapies that will save lives and mitigate suffering substantially."

There already are. But they're coming from work with adult stem cells and umbilical-cord blood, not embryonic stem cells.

FULL STORY

Your help is needed

Your gift will be doubled for human life. Online tax-deductible donations up to $35,000 will be matched until December 31.

If you are able to make a special year-end contribution, you will be making a real difference in the lives of mothers and families.

Here are just a few exciting achievements of Right to Life of Michigan in 2010.

* The television media campaign developed by Right to Life of Michigan featured prolife information and the Right to Life of Michigan web site, RTL.ORG. It is exciting to know that viewers have been reached with a message of hope and help. In addition, more than 25,000 women and families have been helped by visiting RTL.ORG, teenbreaks.com or stemcellresearchcures.com as a result of the Right to Life of Michigan Google AdWords.

* Because of these outreaches, Right to Life of Michigan has helped thousands of women through the years facing crisis pregnancies or suffering after abortion. Right to Life of Michigan is privileged to be working with more than 150 pregnancy centers, adoption agencies and counseling organizations in Michigan to provide women and families with the medical, material and emotional support needed to celebrate life. Be inspired and read about a group of Lansing tweens who are helping a local pregnancy center supporting women in crisis.

* According to the Michigan Department of Community Health, abortions performed in Michigan are at an all-time low. Abortions performed in 2009 (the most recent year for statistics) dropped 13.9 percent over 2008 and decreased 54.4 percent since 1987 (the year with the largest number of induced abortions). Abortions performed on minor girls has been reduced by a whopping 63 percent since the early 1990s.

* On a daily basis, Right to Life of Michigan's educational resource centers in Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, Lansing, St. Clair Shores, Traverse City and Wyandotte supply all ages with prolife materials and resources for research projects, debates, teaching lessons and letters to the editors of newspapers. Each year thousands of people utilize the educational services of Right to Life of Michigan's Educational Resource Centers. Educating our communities on the dignity of human life before a crisis is one important prolife outreach.

Most of us have realized hard economic times in Michigan, but what we know without a doubt is that life does equal opportunities. Every mother experiencing an untimely pregnancy needs to be lovingly reminded of what really matters. Empowering women from the start is what Right to Life of Michigan does best.

Please partner with our life-saving work by giving a gift today. Your online gift will be doubled up to $35,000!

Support life today!