RTLO Newsletter July 2016

Volume 45 Issue 7 July 2016

Right to Life of Owensboro

NEWSLETTER

Don’t forget to like us on Facebook: Right to Life of Owensboro

Prayer to End Abortion

GOLF SCRAMBLE When July 16, 2016 Registration at 7:30am Tee-off at 8am Lunch provided Where Ben Hawes Golf Course Entry 4 person scramble $50 per person/ $200 per team The fee includes all golf costs, lunch, and Refreshments, and admittance for each player.

Prizes will be awarded

Lord God, I thank you today for the gift of my life, And for the lives of all my brothers and sisters.

I know there is nothing that destroys more life than abortion, Yet I rejoice that you have conquered death by the Resurrection of Your Son. I am ready to do my part in ending abortion.

Today I commit myself Never to be silent, Never to be passive, Never to be forgetful of the unborn.

I commit myself to be active in the pro-life movement, And never to stop defending life Until all my brothers and sisters are protected, And our nation once again becomes A nation with liberty and justice Not just for some, but for all, Through Christ our Lord.

Amen!

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20 reasons why euthanasia corrupts everything it touches and must be opposed FROM LIFE SITE NEWS So often in the Pro-Life movement, we are focused on abortion, but euthanasia is equally as important.

Here is why: 1. Assisted suicide suggests that for people to “die with dignity,” they must die faster. The underlying insinuation of the “Death with Dignity” movement is that those who do not opt for an expedited exit are not dying with dignity.

2. Assisted suicide undermines the supposed purpose of the medical establishment: To heal patients, save lives, and reduce pain. To refer to killing patients as a “medical service” is an assault on medicine and on the English language.

3. Assisted suicide reduces those who qualify for this “service” to second-class citizen status. If someone without depression does not qualify for assisted suicide, for example, but someone with depression does, the state has effectively judged the life of the person with depression as being less valuable.

4. Eugenics. Assisted suicide requires the state and the medical establishment to judge what constitutes a “life worth living.” As a result, those with disabilities become less valued as their lives are judged to be less valuable than those without disability. Parents of disabled children in Belgium have had people suggest to them that they should have their children euthanized. Euthanasia - Greek for “good death” – is being employed as eugenics, which is Greek for “good birth.” Just as abortion is used to kill pre-born children with Down Syndrome and other conditions, euthanasia is already being used to kill born people deemed less than perfect.

5. Assisted suicide blurs what were once clear lines. If someone suffering from a psychiatric condition that qualifies them for government-funded death phones a suicide hot-line, where should they be referred? Should they be talked out of suicide? Or would such pressure be a “violation” of their new “right” to government-assisted killing? After all, once people started calling abortion a “right,” they soon began to accuse those who attempted to talk women out of having an abortion of violating that “right.”

6. Assisted suicide puts those vulnerable to suicide even more at risk, as the government has confirmed their lack of worth by legislating an avenue that they can utilize to kill themselves. The impact of this message cannot be underestimated.

7. Assisted suicide redefines the term “medicine” to include lethal poisons administered with the specific intent to kill.

8. Assisted suicide creates a new, fictitious right—the “right to die.” This fundamentally undermines the right to life, which cannot be given up, even voluntarily. The “right to die” is a legal absurdity.

9. Giving the state and courts the right to legislate killing is an extraordinarily dangerous step with far-reaching consequences. In the Netherlands, many people are becoming victims of what is being deceptively referred to as “involuntary euthanasia.”

10. Giving medical professionals a legally-protected right to kill, even in initially-restricted circumstances, is as stupid as it is dangerous. The potential for this right to be misused to cover up, for instance, malpractice or botched treatment is already beginning to manifest itself in European countries where euthanasia is legal.

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Letter from the PRESIDENT Recently my mother gave me a sketched portrait of my dad she drew when they were both young. He died almost 20 years ago so needless to say this is one of my prized possessions. The visual arts are powerful because they move people. I am not an artist but I admire those like my mother who are. An artist sees and feels the world differently than the rest of us. An artist can capture moments in a drawing, painting, photograph, or sculpture that gives us an experience more than what is apparent in 2 or 3 dimensions. That’s one of the reasons RTLO sponsors an annual art show.

Looking at the submissions at the art show last month I saw a range of images. Some were somber with shades of gray, while others were joyful and full of color. That is a reflection of life itself; sorrowful at times and happy at others. It’s a normal cycle in life.

Let’s promote life even in the midst of pain. Let’s convince expectant mothers to choose life even when times appear hopeless and desperate. In the end if they could get beyond that critical moment in their life they would see that a baby is a blessing and a source of joy.

To see life through the eye of an artist is a moving experience. We need to move America. We need to touch hearts and change minds. We need artists to constantly remind us that life is precious.

Who knows how many artists were among the 58 million babies aborted since Roe vs. Wade. Who knows how many Rembrandts and Michelangelo’s there may have been to enrich our lives.

I want to thank all those who submitted entries in the art show. My appreciation also goes out to our wonderful hosts Nikole and Mike Gross at The Crème Coffee House who donated the space and delicious food for the event, board member Michelle Byrne, chair of the art show, and Stacey Davis for helping to organize the event.

Gayle Rhodes

We have new sponsor opportunities this year

Annual Banquet

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Date: October 27, 2016

an ad for 12 months in RTLO newsletter free tickets for table of eight

NEW Location: The Convention Center

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Call our office to reserve your spot or to get more information.

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Marilee’s Message

Do you ever feel like you aren't doing enough to save the unborn? Do you ever feel like your just stuck, and don't exactly know what to do next? I have to admit, I feel this way quite often, but recently I was talking with a friend who gave me a new perspective, and I thought I would share that with you this month.

I was sharing with my friend that I seem to have times where I am just doing one thing after another after another to save the unborn, and then all of the sudden, there is a dry spell. I don't have any events to plan or attend, I don't have an abortion minded mother to help, and I'm not getting any feedback from social media which makes me feel like I'm not making much of a difference in that area either. I'm just stuck wondering what to do next. I told her that I wished God would just tell me where he is taking me with all of this and where I'm going to end up so I can just get to it and do what it is he ultimately want me to do! Her response really made me rethink that statement. She asked me if God had told me everything he was going to have me do from beginning to end, would I have ever even started this journey in the first place? If when he called on me to take on this advocacy, he had told me that in a few months I would be making a testimony video that would be seen all over the world in a matter of weeks, would I have even walked into Right To Life that day? My answer? Probably not.

Her next bit of wisdom also stopped me in my very fast paced tracks. She talked about how God gives us a little bit at a time instead of giving it to us all at once just for that reason. He knows that our human minds will overload with his awesome plan because our plan and his plan NEVER match up. He has to lead us little by little or we will run screaming the other way at the mere thought of what he will have us do in the future.

I want so badly to make things happen now, now, now! There is no time to take a break or slow down! Babies lives are at stake! Wrong again. God gives us these "dry spells," because we need that break. We have to take care of ourselves and renew our minds and spirits once in a while if we are ever going to help anyone else. This is just God's way of telling us to slow down, take a new perspective, and listen for him. He has always told me what to do next, and he always will, as long as I never forget to listen for his voice.

I know that this message is about my feelings, but I also know that I am not the only one who feels this way. We are all passionate about the unborn, and I wanted to give some encouragement to those of you who may be facing your "dry spell," as well. My friend knew what she was talking about, that's for sure. Let's take this time to recharge. Let's get in line with God's plan, listen for his voice, and he will tell us what is next. And I can promise you, it won't be any small "next!" God bless.

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Continued from page 2 11. Assisted suicide could be used by children to pressure parents into accepting this “service.” Instances of children encouraging their parents to take this route have surfaced in the United States and Europe already. As people live longer and thus spend much of their savings on their own care, the reaction of selfish offspring watching “their” inheritance shrink should be noted. (In fact, the Calgary Herald recently published a column describing the anticipated “bequest boom” over the next decade, in which Canadian parents are anticipated to turn over $750 billion in inheritance over to their children).

12. Those who desire the legalization of assisted suicide ignore the fact that people may be pressured into utilizing this service for various reasons. For example, Belgium’s legalization of euthanasia for children ignores the fact that children can be persuaded of things that are in fundamental opposition to their interests.

13. There is very little discussion surrounding just how final assisted suicide is. The so-called “safeguards” have proven illusory or ineffective in every jurisdiction which has legalized euthanasia, and once the procedure is over, a human being is dead. Although we know enormous numbers of people feel great relief when they fail at a suicide attempt, it is impossible for us to ask those victims of euthanasia regimes whether or not they regret their decision.

14. Assisted suicide has an underlying secular principle: That there is nothing after death, and that the final act of selfmurder is thus insignificant. This is a huge assumption. If there is something beyond death as Christians (and virtually the entirety of Western civilization until very recently) believed, then assisted suicide is an action with enormous moral implications. That should at very least discourage the state and medical establishment from engaging in this practice.

15. Assisted suicide as a fundamentally moral issue—and how can it not be considered thus?—has never been adequately addressed or even marginally discussed. Those seeking the legalization of assisted suicide, it seems, simply take for granted the idea that assisted suicide is a right without making any attempt to articulate a coherent philosophy to illustrate why this is so.

16. Rampant abuse of euthanasia has occurred in every single jurisdiction where assisted suicide has become legal: shockingly, this has included judges in the Netherlands granting families the right to euthanize elderly parents suffering from dementia regardless of the fact that euthanasia had never been requested by the parent and that there was no tangible evidence that the parent wanted to die.

17. In every jurisdiction where assisted suicide has become legal, rates of euthanasia have been sky rocketing. In Belgium and the Netherlands, huge numbers of people die by euthanasia every single year.

18. Ethicists are pushing for “involuntary euthanasia”—read “murder”—for infants to be made legal across the board.

In the Netherlands, this has already been permitted by the Groningen Protocol since 2004.

19. Assisted suicide and euthanasia devalues human life, with our medical establishment busying itself putting suffering human beings to death like aging household pets.

20. In every single instance where assisted suicide becomes legal, euthanasia activists push for the “service” to be available in more circumstances. Their public talking points about “safeguards” and “limited circumstances” are outright deceits. The end goal of these activists is for assisted suicide to be legal on demand and without apology

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EDUCATION

Three Myths of the Pro-Life Movement Exposed Posted by Ardee Coolidge Anyone who has read much about abortion in the news, or commented on an abortion discussion on Facebook or Twitter, has likely encountered three myths in one form or another. Sadly, blog comments or Facebook debates rarely elevate the discussion. Instead, emotion often rules the day. On the surface, the following statements may seem to be reality; closer examination reveals that their justifications are mythical, not rational.

Myth #1. The Pro-Life movement is “pro-forced birth.”

Examples of this statement abound. The Daily Kos, The Huffington Post, and other publications have featured abortion defenders accusing the Pro-Life movement of wanting to force poor, abused, and mistreated women to give birth. Opponents argue that women possess the ability to determine, not just whether they get pregnant, but whether they give birth as well. Every time legislators restrict the timing or circumstances of abortion, they encroach on this fundamental right and “force” women into actions they do not want take. There are several problems with this line of reasoning.

First, society daily “forces” men and women to do things they would otherwise not want to do. I may want to drive 80mph on my way into work, but the state of Virginia says I would be a “reckless driver” for doing so. I may want to punch the guy who cut me off, but to do so would be assault. So the question should not be, “does the pro-life position imply legal restrictions curtailing an individual’s choice?,” but rather, “is there a logical reason for those restrictions?” After all, I would not go around calling assault statutes “pro-forced physical restraint laws” or speed limits “pro-forced drive slowly laws.” As the old adage goes, “my right to swing my fist ends at another person’s face.”

When looking at the unborn, what logical distinction about personhood exists that would protect a child’s life after birth, but not the five minutes prior? Is the child who is 39 weeks old, but in its mother’s womb, less of a person than the one who is laying in the NICU after being born prematurely at 26 weeks? The child in NICU is arguably more dependent, as its lungs are not able to operate on their own. Yet, few would support a mother’s decision to end the child’s life once it is born, even if born prematurely. If the NICU baby deserves protection and the best medicine available, why doesn’t the unborn child deserve the same?

If a woman should have the right to end the life of her child due to their financial concerns, social pressure, or lack of support, why does that right suddenly end when the child is born? Financial burdens do not decrease with birth, but rather increase, as the mother now has to pay for diapers, daycare, clothes, and other goods. If pro-life advocates are pro-forced birth, then anyone who forces that mother to keep her child after delivery is pro-forced parenthood.

Without a logical distinction between the personhood of the unborn child and the infant, the safety and security of all children is jeopardized. Any attempts to argue that the unborn child is dependent on, or a financial burden to a woman and thus not a person would then apply to infants as well.

Ultimately, the desire of pro-life people is not that we want to force women to do what they don’t want to do, but rather that our social values change to the point that people no longer desire abortion.

Myth #2. The pro-life movement does not care about women, just babies.

I am not sure where this myth came from, but it is ubiquitous. Op-eds and pro-choice advocates often equate being pro-life with being racist, sexist, and misogynistic. They write that pro-life centers prey on the poor and minorities by forcing them to have costly pregnancies and then ignore them when they struggle to provide for their babies. For a recent example of this narrative, look no further than comedian Patton Oswalt’s inflammatory and unfounded attack on pregnancy centers this past week. When one looks at the track record of pregnancy centers, reality tells a very different story.

Care Net’s 2014 study of its pregnancy centers found that they provided more than 142,000 clients with maternal support and supplies and 734,000 clients with sexual health and parenting education. Combined, Care Net’s services saved communities more than $56 million last year.

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Board Members Officers Gayle Rhodes President Kevin Dorth 1st Vice President Andy Norris 2nd Vice President Marilee Morris Secretary Wes Hamilton Treasurer Board Members at Large Taryn Norris Newsletter Editor Michelle Byrne Kenny Barr Mike Mudd Laura Ruth Edge Stuart Squires Shannon Sandefur Stephanie Carr Jordon Tong Stacey Davis Executive Director

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The Right to Life annual Art show took place June 11, 2016 at The Crème Coffee House downtown. Several local artist entered pieces into the show this year.

A big thanks to Emilee Seaman, Father Josh McCarty, Rex Robinson, Sarah Truman, Nate Horner, Robin Beatty, Crystal Dawn, and Angela Hatfield for participating in our event.

Patrons and show attendees were encouraged to vote for their favorite art exhibit by making donations. Each piece of art was numbered and a jar with the same number was used to make donations. The jar with the most money collected won for favorite art piece. This year Emilee Seaman won. She received the winnings from her jar!

Board member Michelle Byrne, is the chairperson for the annual Art show. She has done a great job the last 2 years, and is looking forward to next years art show being even better.

Art work was on display for the entire month of June.

A big thanks to Nikole and Mike from The Crème Coffee House for hosting the 2016 RTLO Life is Precious Show

Board members Laura Ruth Edge and Marilee Morris with executive Director Stacey Davis

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Continued from page 4

Moreover, in the last two years, over 97% of the women visiting Care Net centers reported that they had a positive experience at the center. That is a customer satisfaction rate that is hard to find in any industry. So, these stories of women walking away from pregnancy centers feeling deceived and uncared for are fictional accounts not based on any real data.

For our centers, the cause of life compels the protection not only of the unborn, but of the mother as well. We understand that women need compassion, hope, and help when facing pregnancy decisions. Our desire to protect women is not predicated on their views on abortion; pro-life advocates have been at the forefront of calling for increased regulatory oversight to ensure the safety of women seeking abortion at abortion clinics. This endeavor is more needed than ever before as yet another prominent clinic was shut down for gross negligence.

Myth # 3 The pro-life movement only cares about babies in the womb, but disregards their needs when they are born.

While similar to myth number two, this myth accuses pro-life people of disregarding children in need of adoption, financial support, or other material needs. Common manifestations are the accusations, “If you cared about life, you would adopt instead of attacking abortion providers” or “How many children have you adopted?” or “You don’t support government programs for the poor, so therefore you don’t care about babies after they are born.”

Logically, these arguments fail in multiple ways. I do not have to engage in an activity in order to have the right to form an opinion about it. For example, I do not need to be African-American in order to believe that slavery was wrong. Nor do I need to donate to the NAACP before having the right to affirm that racism is wrong. My beliefs should motivate my actions, but actions are not pre-requisites to belief.

If action were required for belief, then this argument would cut both ways. Pro-choice people would be unable to say they cared about the needs of children unless they also adopted.

As for support of government programs, it is folly to conflate one’s desire to help the poor with one’s support of federal government programs. This is primarily due to the fact that we have scant evidence that government programs work, despite the fact that we are 50 years into the government’s “war on poverty.”

Fifty years ago, the percentage of Americans below the poverty line was about 19%. Today, it hovers around 15%.

While the percentage of those experiencing poverty has only decreased 4%, government welfare spending has increased 1600%. Moreover, much of the decrease in poverty can be attributed to shifting demographics, such as more people living in cities than rural areas. When looking at the data, it is more than reasonable to conclude that simply spending more money on government programs is a dubious way to alleviate poverty.

Furthermore, since we are all subject to the same tax laws regardless of our stance on abortion or our faith in the efficacy of the programs that our taxes fund, all people (pro-life and pro-choice) support those programs to the same degree. So, unless pro-choice people are sending in extra checks to the IRS and asking the IRS to use that extra tax revenue for programs for the poor, they are doing nothing more to support those programs (their efficacy aside) than anyone else.

Furthermore, as the statistics and studies cited under Myth #2 demonstrate, pregnancy centers provide services for the poor, minority, and at-risk babies before and after their birth. If these centers only cared about them in the womb, why would they provide parenting classes, diapers, financial support, and other aid to these children and their mothers? Clearly, their actions indicate that this accusation is unfounded.

When looking at the available data, it becomes clear that pro-life people do care about babies, regardless of whether they are in the womb, and that conviction compels them to action.

Myths like these often surface as knee-jerk reactions to debate, rather than as the results of thoughtful engagement.

While it can be tempting to respond to these myths with a witty comeback or one-liner, the most important thing to do is to respectfully dialogue with those who believe these myths to be reality. We have nothing to fear from dialogue. Logic and truth are on the side of life.

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Keep praying and giving! Our efforts are making a difference!

With His Wife Inside the Clinic Preparing for an Abortion, Husband Calls Her and Saves His Baby Sarah Zagorski | Washington, DC In Ohio, the pro-life group Created Equal shared a video of their team speaking with a man whose wife was inside Founders Women’s Health Center, which is an abortion facility located in Columbus. The unnamed father says they already have a two-month old baby and that he’s been pleading with his wife to keep their second child. He tells one of the counselors, “I love what you guys are doing. I want to keep [my baby].”

Then, after one of the counselors mentioned that depression is a side effect of abortion, the man says, “Oh, I believe it. I mean, it’s got me depressed already.” In an email to Life News, Created Equal explains what happened next. They said, “We urged him to act before it was too late, provided resources to convey to the baby’s mother, and offered to help in any way they would need. Minutes later, the abortionist arrived and walked into the building. We watched the young father return to his car where he appealed to the baby’s mother by phone.

We grieved for him as we knew any minute the abortionist could be dismembering his baby.”

However, miraculously the father was able to convince his wife to come out of the building over the phone and choose life for their baby. Created Equal concluded, “We saw him meeting the mother and getting ready to drive away. He turned to us and, with a smile, declared, “She couldn’t go through with it!”

As Life News previously reported, Founders Women’s Health Center employs abortionist Harley Blank, who was sued in 2013 for failing to diagnose an ectopic pregnancy and performing an abortion on the woman anyway. Afterward, the woman suffered a uterine rupture and now cannot bear any children.

WIMM Catholic Radio

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Agency Manager 4565 Hwy 2830 (Old US60 E) Phone: 270-684-3227 Fax: 270-684-3031 Cell: 270-313-3195

Right to Life of Owensboro

12 Local Pro-Life Agencies

Upcoming Events: Golf Scramble– Saturday July 16, Ben Hawes Walk for Life– September 3, Our Lady of Lourdes Pro-Life Chalk Day—September 24, 2016 Banquet– October 27, The Convention Center

Birthright 270-570-5319, Terri LaHugh Care Net Pregnancy Center 270-685-5077, Donna Flaspoehler Catholic Charities of Owensboro 270-852-8328, Rita Heinz Opportunities for Life

The RTLO mission, in part reads...

“The purpose for which RTLO is organized is to encourage among the general public an understanding of the dignity and worth of each human life, whatever his or her state or circumstances; to foster respect for human life before and after birth, particularly for the defenseless, the incompetent, the impaired and the incapacitated: to promote and encourage passage of amendatory and statutory measures which will provide protection and support for human life...”

1-888-496-3638, Brenda Thomson Project Rachel 270-683-1505, Betty Medley Rachel’s Vineyard 270-570-4717, Debbie Ward

Celebrate Life Celebrate Life Celebrate Life Celebrate Life Celebrate Life Celebrate Life Celebrate Life Celebrate Life Celebrate Life

NEED HELP? CALL 1-800-822-5824 or 270-685-5077 Gayle Rhodes Stacey Davis President Executive Director ________________________________________________ Phone:270-685-4922 Fax 270-684-0625 rtlo1973@att.net Online: www.rtlo.org 1115 Tamarack Road, Suite 200, Owensboro, KY 42301 ________________________________________________

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