Right to Life of Owensboro Newsletter April 2015

Volume 41 Issue 4

April 2015

Local Pro-Life Agencies Care Net Pregnancy Center 270-685-5077 Donna Flaspoehler

This could be a tough one, guys. If you know someone on hormonal contraceptives, please share the article from this newsletter. Sometimes in our lack of education we don’t always know the truth. Help someone out today by sharing the truth.

Sometimes the truth hurts, but that is not our intention. Offer the information out of love. We have more information at the office, so please do not hesitate to call if you need more.

SAVE THE date!

May 7, 2015 May Membership Meeting The meeting will be held at Western Kentucky UniversityOwensboro campus, located at 4821 New Hartford Road. We will host speakers on the educational, spiritual, and political aspects of the impact that abortion has on our society.

Birthright 270-570-5319 Terri LaHugh Opportunities for Life 1-888-496-3638 Brenda Thomson Project Rachel 270-683-1505 Betty Medley Rachel’s Vineyard 1-877-467-3463 Debbie Ward Catholic Charities of Owensboro 270-852-8328 Rita Heinz

Keeping the Momentum Going!

Sometimes I hear the question: “Isn’t it time we move on from abortion and work on other issues?”

For those who have donated money and time to the cause, written letters to their elected officials, and voted for pro-life candidates, they want to know their efforts make a difference.

Some ask, “If we haven’t ended abortion yet, can we ever?”

Of course, those who keep themselves informed about pro-life issues know that tremendous progress has been made. The number of abortions has dropped precipitously. State legislatures across the country are passing record numbers of lifesaving laws, laws that for the first time in decades, are actually banning abortions. Polls show young people are among the most pro-life Americans.

But for some, the question remains. “How much longer?” Few goals in an individual’s life require decades of struggle; most of us succeed or fail much quicker.

March, Women’s History Month, gives us a lesson about patience in trying to bring about major changes in law and policy from efforts to give women the right to vote. (I am not comparing this issue to abortion; I am merely noting that changes in this area, like changes in abortion policy, did not come about overnight.)

Elizabeth Cady Stanton famously proposed women’s suffrage at the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, but the 19th Amendment giving women the right to

vote throughout the U.S. wasn’t ratified and made law until 1920 – over seven decades later. At many points along the way, I’m sure many felt the efforts were simply never going to pay off. The victory that ultimately came did not seem like a foregone conclusion to many casual observers at the time.

Of course, some celebrating Women’s History Month think that you and I are a part of a “war against women,” but this is a slander, really. The leader of the fight to pass the Amendment that finally gave women the right to vote, Alice Paul, once said abortion is “just another way to exploit women,” a sentiment she shared with many other early advocates of women’s rights.

Change may not come quickly, but we know that pro-life efforts are never in vain, especially to the little baby boy or girl who owes his or her life to our efforts and your support. Millions of precious human lives have been saved from abortion because of the tireless efforts of so many who did not give up, and who never will!

We’re mindful in this Women’s History Month of the half-million little baby girls who will lose their lives to abortion this year, and of the countless mothers who will suffer deep physical and emotional scars from their abortions.

We wish every group claiming to represent women would stand with us in this fight. But sadly, they won’t.

Sincerely,

Carol Tobias

National Right to Life

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Right to Life of Owensboro

Intercessions for Those Involved in Abortion For those who are tempted by abortion, that God may plant in their hearts a love for the treasure of life and the strength to protect it; we pray to the Lord:

For all doctors, that inspired by their oath to protect life, they may know the grace of repentance, serving others as true disciples of the Gospel of Life; we pray to the Lord:

For all nurses, that inspired by the gentle compassion, of Mary, the Mother of God, they might serve as guardians of life in every moment of its existence; we pray to the Lord:

For all hospital administrators, that with wisdom and respect for life, they might lead those who work with them, for the nurturing and protection of all life; we pray to the Lord:

For parents who have lost a child to abortion and whose hearts are closed to the mercy of God, that they might know the grace of repentance, confession and the healing embrace of the Father; we pray to the Lord:

For parents overwhelmed by grief and remorse at the loss of their child to abortion, that Jesus the shepherd, so rich in mercy and compassion, might heal their broken hearts; we pray to the Lord:

For all who counsel the parents of aborted children, that God might reward them for the crosses they bear and grant them the words of wisdom to lead lost souls home to him, we pray to the Lord:

For each child aborted from his mother’s womb, that from their place in heaven they might intercede for their mothers and fathers for peace and healing and the gift of true repentance; we pray to the Lord:

Thus says the LORD: In Ramah is heard the sound of moaning, of bitter weeping!

Rachel mourns her children, she refuses to be consoled because her children are no more.

Thus says the LORD: Cease your cries of mourning, wipe the tears from your eyes.

The sorrow you have shown shall have its reward,…

There is hope for your future. …

–Jeremiah 31:15-17

Board Members Officers Jerry Embry, President Gayle Rhodes, First VP Matt Valego, Second VP Stacey Davis, Secretary Wes Hamilton, Treasurer

Executive Director Robin Beatty

Board Members at Large

Jason Tanner, Newsletter Editor Katelyn Stallings Michelle Byrne Taryn Rice Bailey Stiff Kevin Dorth John Thompson Matt Fitzgerald Laura Ruth Edge Allan Stockinger

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT Life. Isn’t it amazing how such a small word can stir such emotion? For some it is a sacred thing. For others it is something that must be endured and if deemed of little value and can be ended at any time. The founders of our country recognized that all people were created equal with inalienable rights and among them are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The right of liberty and pursuing happiness has little meaning without the foundational right to life.

Jesus said He came that we may have life and have it more abundantly.(John 10:10) Jesus came to live His life as an example for us to follow and He came to give His life as a ransom for us so that we could know that abundant life. That life includes living in the here and now but it also includes the eternal life that He gives to all who repent of their sins and follow Him. At this time of year we remember how valuable life can be and how much He sacrificed so that we could live free. Don’t make the death of Jesus of little importance for without that we would still be in our sins. And don’t take lightly the resurrection which He accomplished through the power of God for His glory and for our benefit. Because of His sacrifice let us live our life on purpose and with His direction. Let us not stay silent when others are missing the life He came to give. Let us not stay silent while others are being deprived of the most basic right, the right to life.

Jerry Embry

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EDUCATION All the pro-life facts about hormonal contraception (that you probably don’t want to hear) - Part I By Abby Johnson Contraception

I’m just going to go ahead and let you know that this article is going to probably anger a lot of people. But I am a truth teller, and sometimes truth hurts. And as pro-lifers, this is information that we simply can’t ignore… no matter how much it affects our current lifestyle.

This is the first of a three-part piece on hormonal contraception. I hope you will read all three parts and share this factual information with people who may not know these truths.

The pro-life mantra has always been “Life Begins at Conception.” But do we really believe that? Do we really believe that life begins at that amazing moment of conception? Or do we actually believe that it begins at implantation? You may think that is a silly question. ‘Of COURSE pro-lifers believe that life begins at conception! Hello?! We have been saying that for years!’

Well, then here’s the kicker. If you believe that life begins at conception, then you MUST unequivocally oppose hormonal contraception. Here’s why.

Hormonal contraception does not always prevent ovulation. In fact, many studies done by the birth control manufacturers themselves state that only about half of women using their methods actually cease ovulating.

Hmm. So how do these methods work if you are still ovulating at least half the time? Simple. These methods have a backup plan. Hormonal methods also work to thin the lining of the endometrium (uterine wall) so that a newly conceived human being (life begins at conception, right?) cannot implant on the uterine wall. Because the baby has nowhere to implant, they are spontaneously aborted.

Don’t believe me? View the screenshots of the information that comes directly from the manufacturers:

Mirena Hormonal IUD

OrthoTriCyclen Lo Birth Control Pills otherwise known as Combined Oral Contraceptives

Nuvaring Vaginal Ring

OrthoEvra “The Patch”

Paragard Copper IUD (cause that sounds safe!)

Depo Provera “The Shot”

Implanon

Three year birth control method inserted in arm (yikes!)

Progestin Only Pill “The Minipill”

Will sexually active women abort their babies every cycle? Probably not. But you may. You don’t know, and that’s the scary (and morally troubling) part.

Let’s say that a demolition company was going to use a wrecking ball to destroy an old school. When the supervisor of the company asks the principal if they made sure to clear the building, the principal says, “We most likely did. We aren’t 100% sure, but we are pretty confident.” Would that be acceptable? Would you be willing to push that button that releases that wrecking ball? Would you be willing to risk that there may or may not be life in that building?

If you take hormonal contraception and you are sexually active, then you are releasing that wrecking ball every month.

Luckily, there is a way to space pregnancies without the potential loss of life. It’s called Natural Family Planning. There are MANY different methods and sometimes it takes trying a couple before you find the right one for you. I recommend visiting www.iusenfp.com to explore the various methods out there.

And just in case you are one of those people who say, “I have to take birth control because of xyz health condition,” you actually don’t. I’m going to write another article on this, but I will tell you that by taking birth control, you are masking the problem, not solving it. NFP and NaPro technology can actually FIX the problem. You can find more information at www.fertilitycare.org.

Ladies, we have been force fed the idea that we must fix our unbroken fertility… and that our fertility solely falls on our shoulders. But here’s the reality. Fertility should be shared between a husband and wife. You don’t get pregnant on your own. NFP is a beautiful way to help you share in that gift. It’s worth your time to check it out.

EDUCATION Ladies: we deserve better than hormonal birth control This is the best we can get?

Women of today have been convinced that our fertility is broken. And so, because it is broken, we have to fix it with a birth control pill. We think that being able to conceive is a burden or a problem. So we “fix” something that isn’t broken.

In no other case is this considered a good idea. You don’t spend time trying to fix something that is working properly. That’s counterproductive. If I took the time to take apart a car that was brand new and had no mechanical problems, that would be silly. Not only would it be a complete waste of time, but I would be setting myself up to break something that was in complete working order before I started my project.

Using Natural Family Planning has really been a no-brainer for me and my husband. As pro-life activists, we don’t want to use methods that could abort our children. And as a woman, I have no desire to use methods that could give me cancer!

This is what women have done to our bodies. By “fixing” something that isn’t broken, we have created even more problems for ourselves. We take birth control to “fix” our fully functioning fertility, and by doing that have seen a dramatic increase in breast and reproductive cancers. That doesn’t even make sense when you think about it.

Full disclosure here: I was on some sort of birth control method for 15 years.

I have physically suffered because of those methods, including an extended period of infertility. And not to be a downer, but I’m literally just waiting for the day when I will be diagnosed with breast cancer. Not only do I have family history staring me in the face, but I increased my own risks by using hormonal birth control for 15 years and having two abortions.

Take a look at this article. Dr. Angela Lanfranchi, a breast surgical oncologist and co-founder of the Breast Cancer Prevention Institute, says “medical textbooks attest to a 30 percent increase in cancer risk.” She also talks about the well-known fact that the World Health Organization classified hormonal birth control as a Class One Carcinogen. What else is a Class One Carcinogen? Here are a few: arsenic, asbestos, ionizing radiation, formaldehyde, and tobacco. So, all of these things are admittedly as dangerous as hormonal birth control, yet birth control is widely accepted. Look at all of the “quit smoking” campaigns that are out there. Yet, birth control is just as dangerous as tobacco and the only thing you see about birth control on television are the ads encouraging women to take it. Why the discrepancy?

Simple. Because pregnancy is looked upon as a disease…something that

must be “treated.” But women who can get pregnant are not broken. Their bodies are working in the way they were intended to work. So why put cancercausing pills into your body to fix something that works?

“But Abby, I HAVE to take birth control. I have xyz problem.” You can fill in the blank; Poly-Cystic Ovarian Syndrome, Endometriosis, irregular periods, hemorrhagic bleeding during menses.

First, you need to know that you do not have to take birth control. Birth control does not “fix” anything. It only masks an underlying problem that ultimately needs to be treated. Birth control will not treat the problem. And honestly, it’s going to compound your problem…you have PCOS? Great! Let’s take birth control and add some cancer to it.

Ladies, we deserve better. And the good news is that if you have these problems, they can actually be treated with something called NaPro Technology. You can learn more about it here. There are many NaPro trained doctors all over the country. If there isn’t one in your area, there are several who will actually see you as a patient remotely. They can order labs, test hormones and get you on a path to true healing even if you live in a different state. NaPro has also been a blessing to thousands of couples struggling with infertility. You can find a physician here. You can also find out more information about treating these problems naturally at this website.

There is truly never a reason to take hormonal birth control. Besides the fact that every hormonal method has the ability to abort an already conceived child, it is dangerous for those who take it. There are natural ways to space your children. You can learn more about these methods at this website here and this one here.

Using Natural Family Planning has really been a no-brainer for me and my husband. As pro-life activists, we don’t want to use methods that could abort our children. And as a woman, I have no desire to use methods that could give me cancer! My family history is going against me…I don’t need to add anything to make it worse.

Now, is Natural Family Planning always the easiest thing to do? Honestly, no. But is it 100% worth it? Absolutely. It takes some time to learn. There can be some minimal cost. But I would never go back to artificially altering my hormones and my fertility. I know that I deserve better than what hormonal options can give me.

Do better for your body. Do better for your marriage. Look into Natural Family Planning.

Sorry folks. Contraception access increases abortions. And here’s the proof.

Every time I post something on my Facebook about abortion, there will inevitably be someone who makes a comment that says something like this, “Don’t women know how to use birth control these days? What is wrong with them? With so many birth control options these days, no one should ever have an abortion.”

I supposed that is a really common misconception...that birth control reduces the abortion rate. But is that true? Look at this quote from Ann Furedi, the former director of British Pregnancy Advisory Service, Britain’s largest abortion provider: Often, arguments for increased access to contraception and for new contraceptive technologies are built on the assumption that these developments will bring down the abortion rate. The anti-choice movement counter that this does not seem to be the case in practice. Arguably they are right. Access to effective contraception creates an expectation that women can control their fertility and plan their families. Given that expectation, women may be less willing to compromise their plans for the future. In the past, many women reluctantly accepted that an unplanned pregnancy would lead to maternity. Unwanted pregnancies were dutifully, if resentfully, carried to term. In days when sex was expected to carry the risk of pregnancy, an unwanted child was a chance a woman took. Today, we expect sex to be free from that risk and unplanned maternity is not a price we are prepared to pay.

It is clear that women cannot manage their fertility by means of contraception alone.

Contraception lets couples down. A recent survey of more than 2000 women requesting abortions at clinics run by BPAS, Britain’s largest abortion provider, found that almost 60% claim to have been using contraception at the time they became pregnant. Nearly 20% said that they were on the pill. Such findings are comparable to several other smaller studies published during the last decade… It is clear that contraceptives let couples down… The simple truth is that the tens of thousands of women who seek abortion each year are

not ignorant of contraception. Rather they have tried to use it, indeed they may have used it, and become pregnant regardless.

Here’s a statistic from the Guttmacher Institute, Planned Parenthood’s research arm. This stat makes Planned Parenthood look terrible, so I can’t imagine that this is not accurate. They have absolutely nothing to gain by putting this out there: “More than half of women obtaining abortions in 2000 (54%) had been using a contraceptive method during the month they became pregnant.”

How is it that abortion supporters understand that birth control does not reduce abortion, yet pro-lifers don’t? Birth control was created so that we could separate sex from procreation. How do we not get that, pro-lifers? When you separate the act of sex from babies, of course abortions occur.

Let’s look at a quote from Rosalind Pollack Petchesky, famous abortionsupporting feminist: “Until a ‘perfect’ method of contraception is developed, which will probably never happen, periods of heightened consciousness and extended practice of birth control will inevitably mean a rise in abortions.”

In a book written by Petchesky, she comments on the research of demographer and feminist Susan Scrimshaw who linked rising abortions to wide acceptance of the birth-control pill: But Scrimshaw reminds us that the pill, as a more effective method of reversible contraception that women had ever known, contributed to a climate of expectations that women need not and should not have to fear an unwanted pregnancy. Having a baby when you didn’t want to became “unthinkable” for new generations of women, or for older generations in new stages in their lives.

This change consciousness undoubtedly contributed to the rising abortions, for women who did not use the pill as well as those who did.

I’m not saying that you should only have sex when you are fertile. But to be perfectly honest, you should only have sex when you are open to life. Because believe it or not, babies are many times a result of sex. And that’s the way it was intended to be.

EDUCATION How my life changed forever after I got the Depo Provera birth control injection I had been putting off this visit for quite some time. I guess I really didn’t want to even think about it, and figured that maybe if I ignored it, it would just go away. Unfortunately, that isn’t reality.

So I sat there on the exam table answering questions about our presidents, reading letters off a card to check my vision, and listing off my health history for the past five years (that was the last time I saw a neurologist).

Are you willing to lose your vision in order to prevent pregnancy? Are you willing to develop osteoporosis in your 20s because of your “need” to be on birth control? Are you willing to have a stroke at 30?

I got married to Doug in 2005. I knew that we wanted to delay having children for a while, and I had tried pretty much every hormonal birth control method under the sun. I had not, however, gotten the Depo Provera birth control injection. It seemed like a pretty worry-free method.

You only have to get a shot once every three months and most women didn’t even have a period on it. It sounded pretty good to me. I received my first injection just a few months before our wedding date.

About a week after getting the first injection, I started getting these debilitating headaches. And I mean, they were really BAD. I could hardly work. It was interfering with my job, my sleep, pretty much everything.

After about of week of this, I made an appointment with my family doctor.

I told her about my symptoms and she totally blew me off, saying, “Well, some people just get bad headaches.” Um, no they don’t…not like this.

My mom suggested that maybe it had something to do with my vision.

I made an appointment with an ophthalmologist looking for an answer. It was time for my annual eye checkup anyway, so I just kind of figured that my vision must have changed. As soon as he sat down and pulled his fancy eye looker machine up to my face, he backed away from it, switched the light on and asked, “Have you been having really bad headaches?” Why yes I have. I knew it. Mom was right. My vision must have changed.

Here’s how the rest of the conversation went: Doctor: “Your optic nerves aren’t pulsing. You will need to be seen by a neurologist immediately.”

Me: “A neurologist? Why? Don’t I just need a different contact lens prescription?”

Doctor: “No. This has nothing to do with your vision really, except that if they continue to lay dormant, you can go blind. Many times this means that your spinal pressure is very high, which could mean that there is a tumor in the brain.”

Me: “A tumor?”

Doctor: blah, blah, muffled sound, blah, blah (I heard nothing he said after the word “tumor”).

I suddenly felt hot and sick to my stomach. A brain tumor? Possible brain surgery? They will have to shave my head. I will look terrible bald.

Am I going to die from this?

About three days later I was sitting in a neurologist’s office. A couple days after that, I was getting my first lumbar puncture. About a week after that, I was getting my first MRI. Then came another lumbar puncture and another MRI. The results were all in and they had a diagnosis: Pseudotumor Cerebri, otherwise known as Intercranial Hypertension. Basically, I have increased spinal fluid pressure because of swelling in my brain. I also have reduced vein size because of the swelling. I would be on medication the rest of my life. And if I wasn’t diligent about taking my medication, my

spinal pressure would become high resulting in debilitating headaches… and/or I will go blind…or anything in between.

I thought for a long time that my headaches must have been related to my Depo Provera use, but I didn’t have that confirmation until I was diagnosed. My neurologist told me that he very often saw this condition manifest after women took hormonal birth control…particularly birth control containing progestin. So I had to deal with the fact that because I was so desperate not to get pregnant, I put something in my body that gave me a life-long disorder, and could make me go blind.

I MEDICATED A PROBLEM THAT WASN’T THERE AND NOW I TRULY DO LIVE WITH THAT CONSEQUENCE EVERYDAY. Like I said in part two of this series, when we use birth control we are taking medication in order to “fix” something that isn’t broken. I had done just that and now I was living with putting the pieces back together.

Now I do have something to fix…something I never would have dealt with if I had never taken hormonal birth control.

I live everyday with the reality that I could permanently lose my vision.

I live with very serious headaches, even though I am on daily medication.

A medication, by the way, that costs me almost $500.00 per month.

The sad part is that I am not alone. We know the risks of birth control and yet we continue to pump it into our system as if we have no choice. So here are my two questions, ladies.

IS IT WORTH IT? HOW MUCH ARE YOU WILLING TO RISK? Are you willing to lose your vision in order to prevent pregnancy? Are you willing to develop osteoporosis in your 20s because of your “need” to be on birth control? Are you willing to have a stroke at 30? Are you willing to increase your risk of cancer by 30 percent? Are you willing to develop deadly blood clots because you just can’t be a mom right now? Are you willing to risk a hysterectomy because that IUD looks so appealing? Are you willing to have a heart attack just so you can “fix” your unbroken fertility? If you are a married woman, are you willing to completely lose the desire to have sex with your husband?

How much are you willing to risk? The good news is that you don’t have to risk a thing in order to space your children and avoid pregnancy.

There are other, natural options available that give you control over your body. Birth control does exactly the opposite of what its name implies. It doesn’t control birth. It doesn’t control anything. It actually takes your control away.

If you want to truly stand up for women’s reproductive rights, then stand against birth control. Because nothing says anti-woman more than birth control. Any drug that is pushed upon women in order to simply prevent a natural part of a woman’s cycle is one that needs to be outright rejected.

For more information about your other fertility options, please visit www. iusenfp.com or www.naturalwomanhood.org.

If you have been diagnosed with PTC after taking hormonal birth control and would like to talk to an attorney about your situation, please visithttp://www.schmidtlaw.com/pseudotumor-cerebri-lawsuit/. Getting these dangerous drugs off the market is one of the best things we can do for the safety of women. Thousands of women, including myself, have now come forward in hopes to do just that.

Right to Life of Owensboro, Inc.

1115 Tamarack Road - Suite 200, Owensboro, KY 42301

Jerry Embry President

Robin Beatty Executive Director

Phone: 270-685-4922 Fax: 270-684-0625 rtlo1973@att.net Online: www.rtlo.org

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Rosary Rally - October 10 Life Chain - October 4

Other Pro-Life Events Banquet at The Hines Center - October 15 Walk for Life beginning at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church - Sept. 5 Golf Scramble - July 18 Art Show - TBA May Community Event - May 7

2015 Calendar of Events