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Did You Know? 2004
Did You Know? 2005 >>>
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(12/21/04) “In the sixth month,
God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged
to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name
was Mary…the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found
favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to
give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most
High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will
reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.’”
Source: Luke
1:26-27, 30-33. (NIV)
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(12/14/04) 85% to 95% of babies are born
somewhere between 266 and 294 days. By this time the infant normally
weighs six to nine pounds and the heart is pumping 300 gallons of
blood per day. The child is fully capable of life outside the womb.
Source: “The First Nine Months” brochure,
published by Focus on the Family, Colorado Springs, CO., c.1990.
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(12/07/04) “Therefore the Lord himself
will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give
birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” Source: Isaiah
7:14 (NIV)
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(11/30/04) “History shows us that
the Savior of mankind, Jesus Christ, came by way of the mother’s womb. Even then
there was an attempt on his life. He was able to escape, which allowed mankind
to be saved from destruction.”
Source:
“Abortion: Black Genocide!” by Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson,
Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny, 12/5/2003.
www.bondinfo.org
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(11/16/04)
“New warnings will be placed on packages containing the
dangerous abortion drug RU-486 following the death of a California teenager last
year. The new warning labels required by the FDA will highlight how infections
can bring about the death of a woman using the abortion drug.”
Source:
“Dangerous RU 486 Abortion Drug Gets Safety Warnings After Teen’s Death,” by
Steven Ertelt, 11/15/2004,
www.lifenews.com
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(11/9/04) “A nationwide
scientific poll conducted by the polling firm Wirthlin Worldwide
shows that a significant majority of Americans believe that abortion
is ‘almost always bad’ for women—even when they know a woman who has
had an abortion.”
Source:
“Poll: Majority Believe Abortion ‘Almost Always Bad,’” October 28,
2004,
www.newsmax.com
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(11/2/04) In the brief span
of two months, the baby grows from a single cell at conception to a
tiny human with all organs present and functioning.
Source:
“What They Never Told You About
the Facts of Life” brochure. Published by the Human Development
Resource Council, Inc., Norcross, GA. 2001
www.hdrc.org
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(10/26/04) “Eve Sanchez Silver,
... a medical analyst for [the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation],
resigned when she found out the charity had given hundreds of thousands of
dollars to Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion business. According
to former Komen public relations director Kristin Kelly, Komen affiliates
awarded $38.4 million in grants to support community outreach programs in 2003.
That figure includes 21 grants to local Planned Parenthood abortion businesses
totaling more than $475,000. …. Sanchez Silver says that women deserve to know
the recent research showing a link exists and that women who have induced
abortions are at greater risk for contracting breast cancer than women who carry
the pregnancy to term.”
Source: “Komen Breast Cancer
Group Scandal Over Abortion Donations Hits Home,”
www.LifeNews.com , October 24, 2004
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(10/19/04) “The United Methodist
Church is a Christian community that … willingly and regularly engages the
issues of the day in the public arena. Throughout its history, American
Methodism has generously given attention, energy, and resources to public
ministry to promote one, overarching social principle: respect for the human
dignity and natural rights of ‘the least of these’ (Matthew 25). …. Today the
unborn child is the most threatened member of the human community. …. Like no
other domestic problem, abortion is an exercise of raw power against the
weakest. As the 2004 elections draw near, United Methodists of all political
persuasions will be encouraged to vote. …. Only those candidates who favor
increasing protection of the unborn child and mother, only those candidates who
favor building a culture of life, deserve the votes of United Methodists and
others. …. After all, elections should advance public justice, human dignity,
and natural rights—not the opposite.”
Source: “United Methodists
Connect Pro-Life and Public Service.” Part of the media packet released to the
media in a News Release, September 23, 2004.
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(10/12/04) The child’s sex is determined at
the moment of conception and is determined by the X or Y chromosome contributed
by the father’s sperm. (An X chromosome from the father produces a girl; a Y
chromosome produces a boy.)
Source:
A Child is Born,
published by Delacorte Press/Seymour Lawrence, New York, NY. c.1966; Eighth
Printing 1980, page 37.
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(10/5/04) “America For
Jesus, a national, interdenominational coalition of Christian
ministries and churches, is sponsoring seven days of prayer,
fasting, and repentance for the sins of our nation and fellow
Americans from October 18-24, 2004. …. Those who have been involved
in abortion are particularly encouraged to attend on October 21st
and 22nd. …. Women who have had abortions—as well as
others who have been involved in an abortion—who would like to
participate in a special way in this event are invited [to] come [to
the] Tent of Meeting and Prayer that will be erected on the National
Mall in Washington, D.C., particularly on the 21st and
the 22nd.”
Source: Press
Release. For more information, visit
www.americaforjesus.org or
www.operationoutcry.org
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(09/29/04) “When a woman destroys
the life of her unborn child, it is a sign that, by education or circumstances,
she has been greatly wronged.”
Source:
statement by Susan B. Anthony. “Real Feminists are Pro-Life,” by
Connie Roland Alt and Judy Fetters, Good News, July/August
1994, p. 22.
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(09/22/04) The kidneys begin to develop
early in the fifth week after conception. The jaws and ears are also forming
during this week and the face starts to look human.
Source: “Science Sheds Light on Unborn
Human Life,” by John F. Cogan.
www.sfuhl.org
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(09/15/04) “In a surprising
development, international abortion advocates have admitted that using
misoprostol as an abortion drug is dangerous for women. The group came under
fire … for encouraging women to misuse the ulcer drug as an impromptu abortion
pill. …. Women on Waves (WOW) admitted that the makeshift abortion drug could
fail as much as 10 percent of the time, leaving women in dangerous medical
situations. …. ’There is a risk of heavy bleeding for which a woman will have to
be treated by a doctor, ’WOW said on its web site. …. …misoprostol is the second
part of the two-part RU-486 abortion drug….”
Source:
“Abortion Advocates Admit Impromptu Abortion Drug Dangerous for Women,” by
Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com, Sept.8, 2004.
www.lifenews.com/nat796.html
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(09/08/04) If the baby were born during the 6th
month of pregnancy and given special care, the child could survive.
Source: “Making an Informed Decision About Your Pregnancy”
brochure. published by Frontlines Publishing, Grand Rapids, MI.
1994.
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(09/01/04) “Who believes that abortion is
something other than killing? I think we are guilty of not trusting
the American people to be with us if we openly discuss every
aspect…. Any pretense that abortion is not killing is a signal of
our ambivalence….”
Source: Faye Wattleton, former Planned Parenthood president
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(08/25/04) A Pace University/Rock the
Vote poll of first-time voters released July 26, 2004 found that
“the overwhelming plurality of first-time voters (41%) report that
abortion should be legal only in the most extreme cases, such as to
save the life of the mother, rape, or incest. Another 13% say
abortion should be outlawed entirely. Twenty-one percent of voters
entering the rolls feel that abortion should be legal and generally
available, while 23% believe that regulation of abortion is
necessary, but that abortion should remain legal in many
circumstances. Adding these percentages, one could conclude that 44%
of first-time voters are pro-choice and 54% are pro-life.”
Source: “First-Time Voters:
You Never Forget Your First Presidential Election,”
A Pace University
Poll/Rock the Vote Survey Research Study, by Jonathan Trichter and Chris
Paige, July 26, 2004.
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(08/18/04)
The average duration of a pregnancy is 280 days, calculated from
the first day of the last menstrual period.
Source: A Child is Born, published by Delacorte
Press/Seymour Lawrence, New York, NY. c.1966; Eighth Printing 1980,
p.75.
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(08/9/04)
“Dr. D.G. McKay, a
stem cell researcher at the National Institute for Neurological Diseases and
Stroke, has called the promises of miracle cures from embryonic stem cells a
“fairy tale.” Others … say that the use of adult stem cells have shown far
greater progress – already curing some diseases and lessening the effects of
others. No patients have yet shown any benefits as a result of the use of
embryonic stem cells.”
Source: “First Lady Calls
John Kerry’s Stem Cell Research Claims ‘Ridiculous,’ ” Steven Ertelt,
LifeNews.com Editor,
www.lifenews.com , August 9, 2004.
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(08/03/04) On its “Nurturing
Community” page, under the heading of “Human Sexuality,” the General
Board of Church and Society website has a direct link to the
Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC).
Source: General
Board of Church and Society website (www.umc-gbcs.org
) – Nurturing Community – Human Sexuality – Religious Coalition for Reproductive
Choice
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(07/27/04) Fetal Development Fact: At 11 weeks after
conception, the baby can wrinkle his/her forehead, turn his/her head, and open
and close his/her lips.
Source: “What They Never
Told You About the Facts of Life” brochure. published by the Human
Development Resource Council, Inc., Norcross, GA. 2001
www.hdrc.org
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(07/20/04) “To find out that
you are pregnant when you didn’t plan to be is a big thing. You are
faced with an intense choice, possibly the most significant choice a
human being can face: have a child or have an abortion. There is no
compromise, no trial period, no thinking time. Either way your life
will dramatically change. You need all the support and knowledge you
can get. There is no turning back if you get it wrong. You have to
live with it for the rest of your life. It is beyond me why
pro-choice organizations would be against women being able to make
informed decisions.” Source: Ginger Ekselman, “A
chance, perhaps, to heal long after a mother’s traumatic choice,” Sydney
Morning Herald online, 7/19/04.
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(07/13/04) “When it comes to
key issues that affect teens … several recent surveys found that
they are much more likely than their parents to hold conservative
viewpoints.
“The first poll, conducted
by the Gallup Organization in late August, revealed that 32% of kids
13 to 17 said abortion should be banned completely, compared to just
26% of adults. …. “In mid-December, another survey conducted by
International Communications Research on behalf of the National
Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy (NCPTC) showed that teens are a
lot less likely to be sexually active than most people believe: Out
of 1,000 kids between the ages of 12 and 19, 84% said they should be
taught to wait until they’re married to have children; 74% don’t
believe virginity is embarrassing; and 45% said their parents
influence their decisions about sex more than friends or other
people.”
Source: “Today’s teens conservative
on key issues,” Citizen Magazine, March 2004, p.9.
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(07/06/04) A new study published
in June in the “American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse” strengthens the case
for a causal connection between abortion and substance abuse.
This was the first medical study which compared
women with unintended pregnancies who had abortions to women who carried
unintended pregnancies to term. According to the study, women who had abortions
had higher subsequent substance use rates than both women who had never been
pregnant and women who carried their unintended pregnancies to term.
Lead author David Reardon
said, “These new findings … show that a history of unintended
pregnancy alone is not linked to higher rates of substance use. The
link only appears when the unintended pregnancy is aborted.”
Source: Elliot Institute, “Abortion or Birth of
Unintended Pregnancy Affects Subsequent Substance Abuse: New Study,” June
21.2004.
www.afterabortion.org
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(6/29/04)
Fetal Development: Tongue movements begin during the ninth week after
conception. Yawning starts from the middle of the ninth week to the middle of
the thirteenth week.
Source: “Science Sheds Light on Unborn Human Life,” by John F.
Cogan. www.sfuhl.org
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(6/15/04)
“Between the time the human being
begins as a single fertilized cell to the time it becomes an adult
(from fusion to maturity), 45 generations of cell division occur, 41
of which occur before
birth.”
Source: John
Stott, Decisive Issues Facing Christians Today, Grand Rapids,
Mi: Fleming H. Revell, 1990, p. 318.
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(6/8/04) “Nowhere do the
plain words of the Constitution even hint at a ‘right’ so sweeping
as to permit abortion up to the time the child is ready to be born.
Yet that is what the Court ruled. ….
“We cannot diminish the value of one category
of human life—the unborn—without diminishing the value of all human
life. ….
“I have often said that when we talk about
abortion, we are talking about two lives—the life of the mother and
the life of the unborn child. Why else do we call a pregnant woman a
mother? I have also said that anyone who doesn’t feel sure whether
we are talking about a second human life should clearly give life
the benefit of the doubt. If you don’t know whether a body is alive
or dead, you would never bury it. I think this consideration itself
should be enough for all of us to insist on protecting the unborn.
….
“My administration is dedicated to the
preservation of America as a free land, and there is no cause more
important for preserving that freedom than affirming the
transcendent right to life of all human beings, the right without
which no other rights have any meaning.”
Source: Ronald Reagan, Abortion
and the Conscience of the Nation, Human Life Review, Spring
1983. |
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(6/1/04) “It was
striking how frequently women … said, ‘If I’d only had one other
person to stand by me…’ They weren’t asking for magic solutions.
They were asking for a friend.”
Source:
Frederica Mathewes-Green, Real Choices :Offering Practical,
Life-Affirming Alternatives to Abortion, c.1994, Questar
Publishers, Inc., Sisters, OR, p.21. |
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(5/26/04) A recent
new Zogby poll, conducted April 15-17, 2004, found that 56% of
Americans feel that tighter restrictions should be imposed on
abortion. Eighteen percent said abortion should never be legal, 15%
said it should be legal only when the life of the mother is in
danger, and 23% said it should be allowed if the mother’s life is in
danger or in cases of rape or incest. Fully 74% of Americans are
against taxpayer funding of abortion.
Source: “Poll Reveals Americans don’t
want to Pay for Abortion,” LifeSite Daily News, April 30, 2004. (
www.LifeSiteNews.com)
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(5/19/04) At 11
weeks after conception, the baby is about 2-1/2 inches long and
weighs about ½ ounce. By the time a woman’s pregnancy "shows," the
baby is fully formed. All that is necessary now is time to grow and
mature in preparation for birth.
Source: "What They Never Told You About
the Facts of Life" brochure. published by the Human Development
Resource Council, Inc., Norcross, GA. 2001
www.hdrc.org
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(5/12/04) The United
Methodist Church's General Conference ended May 7. While most
of the petitions which interested Lifewatch failed, one
resolution of note passed.
Resolution
#40860
Ministry to those who regret a past abortion, urges
"pastors to become informed about the symptoms and behaviors
associated with post-abortion stress, and ... encourage[s] local
churches to make available contact information for counseling
agencies that offer programs to address post-abortion stress for
all seeking help." Anyone interested in gathering
information for pastors in their annual conference
should contact the Lifewatch office for suggestions in getting
started.There is also a
similar item,
#40857, which will be added to the Book of Discipline.
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(4/20/04) The United Methodist Church
holds its quadrennial General Conference April 27-May 7 in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. During General Conference, UMC
official policy for the next four years will be determined.
Lifewatch will be present to inform delegates and monitor votes
related to abortion and life. Your prayers are appreciated.
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(4/13/04) At one month old, the embryo
is 10,000 times larger than the original fertilized egg–and
developing rapidly. The placenta forms a unique barrier that keeps
the mother’s blood separate while allowing food and oxygen to pass
through to the baby.
Source: "The First Nine Months" brochure, published
by Focus on the Family, Colorado Springs, CO., c.1990.
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(4/06/04) The most recent data from
the Centers for Disease Control indicate that while 56% of all women
who obtained legal abortions were white, the abortion rate (the
number of abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44 per year) for black
women was 2.9 times that of white women. For every thousand black
women, 32 have abortions, as compared with 11 for every thousand
white women.
Source: "Black Americans and Abortion: The Real
Racial Disparity," National Review, 1/31/2003
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(3/30/04) The abortion drug RU-486
requires three doctor visits and costs about $550, according to
pro-abortion activists.
Source: "Drug bust," World Magazine, 10/13/2001, p.40
(3/23/04) Blood vessels begin to form about 13-18 days after
fertilization. On about the 20th day, the foundation of the brain,
the spinal cord, and the entire nervous system is established.
Source: "Science Sheds Light on Unborn Human Life,"
by John F. Cogan. www.sfuhl.org
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(3/16/04) "If it’s [abortion] such a
good idea, why is it shrouded in secrecy?"
Jennifer O’Neill, actress, Cover Girl Model, and spokesperson for
Silent No More Campaign
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(3/9/04) In a November Gallup poll, 72
% of American teenagers agreed that abortion is morally wrong.
One-third said abortion should be illegal in all circumstances,
compared with 17% of adults. Forty-seven percent said abortion
should be legal only under certain circumstances, while 55% of
adults believe that.
Source: "Growing their Own," World Magazine,
1/17/2004, p.31
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(3/2/04) In the brief span of two
months, the baby grows from a single cell at conception to a tiny
human with all organs present and functioning.
Source: "What They Never Told You About the Facts of
Life" brochure. published by the Human Development Resource Council,
Inc., Norcross, GA. 2001 www.hdrc.org
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(2/24/04) The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court
of Appeals has agreed to hear a request from the woman formerly
known as "Jane Roe" to reconsider the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court
decision Roe v. Wade. Norma McCorvey is seeking to have the decision
overturned, citing what she says is more than 30 years of evidence
that abortions are psychologically harmful to women. A decision by
the federal appeals court is expected in early March.
Sources: "Court to Consider Roe v. Wade Reopen
Request," AP, 2/20/04; "Appeals Court Will Hear Pro-Life Case to
Overturn Roe Abortion Decision," LifeNews.com, 2/19/04
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On day one of a woman’s pregnancy, the
fertilized egg contains the plans for every detail of human
development, including the child’s sex, hair and eye color, and
height.
Source: "Making an Informed Decision About Your
Pregnancy" brochure. published by Frontlines Publishing, Grand
Rapids, MI. 1994. |
 
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