Pro-Choicer Appointed to Key Vatican Pro-Life Think Tank

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Imagine how we would feel if Planned Parenthood appointed to its board of directors someone who:

Opposed late term abortion.

Affirmed that unborn children are full human persons at some point during pregnancy.

Used her credibility as a pro-choice feminist to discredit the central pro-abortion arguments.

How would we feel about that? I think we’d be excited. We’d see that as progress. We’d think that public pressure was moving the needle a bit in our direction. Even more encouraging if Planned Parenthood had fired the rest of its board. Purged it of purists. If empty spots on that board looked like they might go to other “moderates.”

Unexplained Purge at the Vatican’s Pro-Life Thinktank

Now flip that situation around, to see what is really happening. Pope Francis has purged the entire faculty of the Pontifical Council for Life. It was founded by Pope John Paul II as a thinktank and action center to combat what he called the “Culture of Death.” One of its first appointees (and its leader) was the great Dr. Jerome Lejeune. That pioneering researcher had discovered the genetic basis of Downs Syndrome. But Lejeune had been purged from mainstream academia and starved of research funds. Why? Because he opposed what he called the “genocide” aimed at unborn handicapped children. The Council for Life offered him a haven, a place full of allies, a nerve center where the fight for human life could be mapped out throughout the world.

Pro-Choice Philosopher Appointed

All wiped out. Gone. For reasons that are not public, the pope made a clean sweep of the Council for Life. Now he’s filling its positions again from scratch. So far he has reappointed a few of the solid people who were (for unknown reasons) dismissed. But he has made one pick so far that deeply troubles prolifers. As LifeSiteMews reported:

Among the 45 new members Pope Francis has appointed to the Pontifical Academy for Life is an Anglican minister who has argued that abortion should be legal until “18 weeks after conception.”

University of Oxford Professor Nigel Biggar, who was appointed to the Academy for a five-year term, stated in a 2011 dialogue with pro-infanticide ethicist Peter Singer that a preborn baby is “not … the same kind of thing as an adult or a mature human being” and therefore does not deserve “quite the same treatment.”

“I would be inclined to draw the line for abortion at 18 weeks after conception, which is roughly about the earliest time when there is some evidence of brain activity, and therefore of consciousness,” he said as reported by Standpoint magazine.

Then, one year later, when he was the keynote speaker for an event at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, he said that “it is not true that all abortion is equivalent to murder.”

…

Pope Francis began his overhaul of the Academy last year by creating new statutes, that among other things, no longer required that members sign a declaration to uphold the Church’s pro-life teachings. The Pope’s next move was to then remove all of the academy members while promising to make new appointments himself.

Former academy member Judie Brown wrote in an article earlier this year that she was shocked by what she called Francis’ move to “deconstruct” the Academy that was once considered a bastion of orthodoxy.

“The Pontifical Academy for Life is undergoing an overhaul by Pope Francis and his political operatives within the Vatican’s hierarchy, and it is one of the most heartbreaking events I have seen in my lifetime. But given the politics of the Vatican, it is not surprising,” she wrote at that time.

A Moderate on Abortion

Now, Biggar is not an extremist. (Unlike Paul Ehrlich, the population crank invited to a recent Vatican conference on biodiversity.) Biggar doesn’t favor abortion for all nine months, or forced sterilization. Biggar is well-known for opposing assisted suicide. That’s good to hear.

On abortion, he dates the beginning of life by the presence of brainwaves. That’s the same criterion we use for the end of life. If we protected all babies with brainwaves, many thousands would be saved. Many women do not even realize that they are pregnant by 18 weeks. For a secular intellectual unconvinced that man is made in the image of God, there is a certain internal logic here: Make brainwaves the “bookends” that mark off what’s fully human and alive from what is not yet or not any longer. Yes, it’s wrong. But it’s a long way from the Democratic Party’s support for abortion for all nine months for any reason.

So if Biggar got appointed to the Planned Parenthood board, that would be progress. It would mean that those leaders in the fight for untrammeled “reproductive rights” were losing confidence. They were responding to public pressure. Maybe they were ready to offer some compromise. Prolifers would rightly see it as blood in the water.

Of course, those pro-abortion groups are making no such appointments. Planned Parenthood, instead, is shoveling money to politicians like Kamala Harris. Before she was a U.S. senator, Harris prosecuted journalists. Why? For documenting Planned Parenthood’s crass trade in unborn baby parts.

A Loss of Nerve or Change of Direction?

No, it is the Vatican that is purging its ranks and appointing “moderates.” This institution under previous popes stood prophetically (and almost alone) against the destruction of unborn children for our sexual convenience. Catholic laymen led the fight against abortion. We were thrilled when millions of evangelicals discovered the issue and joined the fight. Even now, public opinion seems to be swinging in our direction.

But the Vatican under Francis wants to strike a different note of prophecy. Instead of resisting the culture of death, with his actions with the Pontifical Academy of Life the pope has struck a note of compromise. But not on all issues. He also boldly stepped forward … and condemned the very same things that secular progressives like to condemn:

An “unrestricted capitalism” that doesn’t even exist.

A future apocalypse caused by Westerners using our air conditioners.

A wave of “xenophobia” among nations already overwhelmed by immigrants and led by multiculturalists.

Without invoking (or imperiling) the infallible authority that Catholics believe a pope has, he can still make policy decisions that are very damaging indeed. (For more from the author of “Pro-Choicer Appointed to Key Vatican Pro-Life Think Tank” please click HERE)

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Parents of Idaho Girl Raped by Muslim Refugees Get New SICK Surprise

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By Derrick Wilburn. Last summer, five-year-old Jayla Peterson –yes, just five years old!– was raped and then urinated upon by three Muslim migrant boys, two from Iraq one from Sudan, in the town of Twin Falls, Idaho as one of the boys videoed the attack . . .

Of all the quotes and sayings from America’s founding, there’s one known to almost all of our citizens, it ends with “and justice for all.” Images of a blindfolded lady liberty holding the scales of justice (supposedly) symbolize the fact that the American judicial system does not see age, color or creed. The judge in this tragic case seems to have tossed all that, with a shocking decision on the guilt of the attackers and then a gag order for everyone involved. There’s a politically correct cover-up going on, and it’s despicable.

Pamela Gellar from Jihad Watch wrote the following account of the courtroom drama:

“Judge Thomas Borreson of Idaho’s 5th Judicial District ordered the little victim’s parents, Lacy and Levi Peterson, to say nothing to anyone – ever – about what was said in the courtroom Tuesday, or to disclose the sentence that he gave to the savage attackers. He did allow them to say that they were unhappy with the sentencing, but threatened to jail them for contempt of court if they disclosed why they were unhappy with it.

But even though the victim’s parents were not allowed to talk to me, there were twelve to fifteen people in the courtroom who saw and heard the whole sorry business. I was nevertheless informed of what happened by an anonymous source inside the courtroom – and the more I heard, the more I understood why this judge wanted to keep all the proceedings secret.

(Read more from “Parents of Idaho Girl Raped by Muslim Refugees Get New SICK Surprise” HERE)
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Pamela Geller Provides Account of Outrageous Sentencing for Sexual Assault of 5-Year Old Idaho Girl by Muslims

By Pamela Geller. Janice Kroeger, the Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, who was supposed to be trying these boys for their crimes, defended the boys and repeatedly attacked Lacy, the victim’s mother. A therapist for the boys was present, as well as a parole officer and a detective. Everything that was said was designed to portray the perpetrators as victims. Throughout the proceedings, they were repeatedly called victims, and the youngest one was called “the biggest victim of them all.”

The court heard all about how the attackers are doing well in school, and about how smart they are. They were praised for the supposed ordeal they had to go through. It was claimed that all three are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from having to go through courtroom proceedings.

After this lovefest, which lasted for five hours in the courtroom, all three boys were sentenced, one after the other. All three were given probation. They were not found guilty of rape, but of sexually lewd conduct.

In the midst of this judicial mugging, every time Lacy’s lawyer tried to speak up, he was silenced. The little victim, Jayla, was never even mentioned once by Kroeger or the judge – or by the police or anyone else. Only Lacy mentioned her, when she made her statement. Lacy detailed how the poor girl is still suffering the effects of this attack: she is wetting the bed and having bad dreams, and more.

Yet when Lacy completed her statement, Kroeger lashed out not at the perpetrators or their parents, but at Lacy. She viciously tongue-lashed Lacy for a full fifteen minutes, until finally Judge Borreson had to stop her. (Read more from this story about the abused Idaho girl HERE)

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LGBT Community Celebrates 8-Year-Old Drag Queen

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The bawdy, homosexuality-infused world of female impersonators is celebrating an eight-year-old Montreal boy who performs as a “drag queen” under the stage name “Lactatia.” But pro-family critics say his parents and all adults who encourage the boy to participate in the lewd shows are guilty of “child abuse.”

Thanks to “gay” media, the cross-dressing boy, Nemis Quinn Mélançon-Golden, is becoming a social media star after appearing on stage in late May with vulgar drag queen “Bianca Del Rio” at the Montreal stop of the “Werq the World Tour.” Del Rio tells Nemis — wearing red eye-liner, lipstick, painted nails, a curly, blond wig and dressed in a black woman’s gown with sequins — that he is “[f—k—g] adorable.”

Like every other pro-family advocate shown the video of young Nemis in “drag,” Illinois Family Institute cultural writer Laurie Higgins was aghast at the specter of a young boy embracing the “drag queen” lifestyle, telling LifeSiteNews, “This is unambiguous and shameful child abuse. Through the ‘trans’ cult movement, evil is being promoted as good, and innocent women and children are the victims.”

Drag shows feature campy men dressing up as crude caricatures of women — with grotesque bouffant hairdos and gaudy dresses — engaging in catty, often sodomitic jokes slamming other “queens” and lip-syncing over-the-top impersonations of pop-culture divas like Cher and Britney Spears.

Historically an important part of “gay” culture, drag shows are now a fixture of urban entertainment, attracting both homosexuals and straights. (Read more from “LGBT Community Celebrates 8-Year-Old Drag Queen” HERE)

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Despite All Odds, One-Pound Baby Survives

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A baby born at 22 weeks and weighing only one pound and four ounces reached stability Monday after defying the odds of surviving.

Austin Douglas of England was born so early that his skin was translucent, organs visible, and ears and lungs undeveloped. He is the first baby to be born so early, weigh so little and survive.

Now, at 10 weeks old and after surviving two lung infections, his parents — Helen and Rhys — hope to take their baby home in the next month, reported Leicester Mercury.

Most full-term babies are born around 40 weeks, which means Douglas was only half way through full development when he was born.

Despite being only part way through the length of a normal pregnancy, his mother gave birth naturally at Leicester General. (Read more from “Despite All Odds, One-Pound Baby Survives” HERE)

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This Medication Could Reverse a Third of Abortions

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The abortion pill has been around for years and has become a highly common form of abortion.

Now, it appears an antidote medication has arrived, and it is already saving hundreds of babies.

The abortion pill (mifepristone, more commonly known as RU-486) has been shown in a new systematic review of literature to be effective at killing an embryo if given in doses ranging from 200 milligrams to 600 milligrams.

But an updated case series, soon to be published, will highlight the success rate of a little-known therapy called the “abortion pill reversal.” This therapy has a 60 to 70 percent success rate in reversing the effects of the abortion pill after it has been taken.

The therapy has already led to healthy births in 250 cases after mothers had taken the abortion pill, and there are currently 100 more pregnant women on this regimen after having taken the abortion pill and changed their minds.

U.S. medication abortions have been on the rise since 2000, when the Food and Drug Administration approved mifepristone under President Bill Clinton.

According to the Guttmacher Institute, medication abortions have increased from 6 percent of all abortions in 2001 to 31 percent in 2014, despite the overall decline in the number of abortions in the U.S. during that same period.

In addition, medication abortions account for nearly half (45 percent) of all abortions committed prior to nine weeks gestation.

In 2016, the FDA under President Barack Obama expanded the timeframe for the use of mifepristone to 10 weeks gestation. That move put women’s health and safety at further risk, since the abortion pill regimen is less effective the further along the woman is and carries a higher risk of major adverse events.

With the increase in state pro-life laws placing limits on abortion, and with fewer abortionists now in the medical field, medication abortion has become a convenient alternative to surgical abortions for the abortion industry.

The industry is intent on making medication abortions more widely available. Just in 2014, medication abortions were available at 87 percent of all non-hospital abortion providers.

The Procedure

Medication abortions involve two drugs in order to fully abort the baby—mifepristone and misoprostol.

The first drug, mifepristone, acts to block progesterone, a hormone that not only allows the embryo to implant but also stimulates the delivery of essential nutrients to the growing baby within the mother’s uterus. Without progesterone, the baby starves to death and the placenta separates.

Misoprostol is then taken about 36 to 72 hours after taking the mifepristone, causing contractions that are meant to expel the dead baby.

This process may take a few hours or up to a few days. The mother delivers the dead baby at home without the supervision of a doctor.

In order to work, the abortion pill reversal technique must be started generally within the first 24 to 72 hours of taking mifepristone and before taking misoprostol.

This innovative procedure was discovered by Dr. Matt Harrison in 2006. He realized that if he gave women extra progesterone, it competed with the effects of mifepristone and could save the baby’s life by allowing nutrients to once again reach the growing baby.

Since 2009, Dr. George Delgado has also been involved in the abortion pill reversal. Delgado and others established the Abortion Pill Reversal hotline in 2012. Now, there are more than 350 providers nationwide who are equipped to do the abortion pill reversal technique.

A Growing Movement

The women who have undergone successful reversal therapy are amazing testaments to the efficacy of the procedure.

Take for example Rebekah Buell, who at 18 years old realized she had made a mistake soon after taking mifepristone in the spring of 2013.

The new option of a reversal allowed Buell to save and give birth to her healthy son Zechariah, who is now a precocious 3-year-old.

Andrea Minichini experienced a similar miraculous reversal. Minichini, then 21 years old, desperately searched for a way to save her preborn son from the moment she swallowed the first abortion pill under pressure from her doctor and her boyfriend.

Although she underwent the abortion pill reversal at approximately 48 hours after taking mifepristone, the progesterone therapy was successful, and she too gave birth to her healthy son Gabriel, a thriving 2-and-a-half-year-old today.

Thanks to courageous mothers and the ingenuity of doctors who are using medicine for good, 250 babies have been miraculously saved from the grip of abortion and have been born healthy. And as mentioned, there are 100 more pregnant women currently undergoing the abortion pill reversal technique.

The abortion pill reversal truly gives moms a second chance at choice and their babies a chance at life. (For more from the author of “This Medication Could Reverse a Third of Abortions” please click HERE)

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The Hopeful Feminism of ‘Wonder Woman’

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“Wonder Woman” is a feminist movie conservatives can embrace.

It’s a fun movie that truly embraces the “girl” in “girl power.” Yes, the heroine Diana is a powerful fighter—and she’s raised on an island of Amazons, all of whom seem to excel at hand-to-hand combat and shooting arrows.

But she’s also a woman who is thrilled when she catches sight of a baby. And while she’s not a mom herself, her genuine sorrow and pity when she realizes the plight of women and children living through World War I makes her as much of a “mama grizzly” as Sarah Palin. In fact, she starts fighting—ignoring the men who urge her to wait—precisely because she is unwilling to tolerate losing the civilians she sees suffering.

Nor does “Wonder Woman” contain any of the anti-men sentiments so many feminists seem to feel a need to embrace. Thanks to being a superhero, Diana Prince is, quite simply, a better fighter than the men she encounters—but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t appreciate their company or their own skills. (And yes, Diana fights—but no other woman in the movie is seen on the battlefield. There’s no attempt here to push a male-female army.)

In fact, in the ultimate crisis of the movie, Diana is roused to action because she’s inspired by a man.

The climactic scene of “Wonder Woman” comes when Diana, who discovers she is actually a goddess, is urged by her brother Ares, another god, to allow war to continue.

Ares, who was the Greek god of war, urges her to see all the evilness and ill will in humanity and pushes her to realize that man doesn’t deserve peace and happiness. Humans, he essentially says, are so evil they merit the discord and horror of war.

Diana, who was not raised among humans, is certainly tempted by Ares’ argument. Her short time in the real world, a saga begun when a spy makes a crash landing in the ocean near the Amazons’ island, has been dispiriting. She’s realized that humans, far from being the wonderful creatures she originally thought they were, are decidedly a mixed bag—and sometimes not good at all.

In a way, Ares’ argument echoes some of the liberal themes we see in our modern conversation. Just consider the concern about humans’ impact on the environment touted regularly in climate change arguments, or the fears about overpopulation. Ares’ pessimism about whether humans contribute anything significantly positive to the earth seems to be a real mindset among some.

Yet Diana ultimately rejects it—because of the spy she met. That spy, Steve Trevor, is Diana’s love interest—but he’s also her introduction to the complicated emotional dynamics of the “good guys.”

Steve is not the starry-eyed idealist Diana is, and when she first is devastated by humans’ decisions, Steve ultimately concedes that she’s right: Some people may not deserve to be rescued or saved. But that doesn’t mean he won’t do it, anyway—and not long after, Steve knowingly and willingly gives up his own life to protect the lives of many others.

And is that sacrifice which makes Diana, even with her new understanding of mankind’s very real flaws, willing to fight Ares—and not settle for a world where humans are pushed into war and destruction.

I had my doubts about “Wonder Woman” going into the movie theater—especially since I’d read that the original Wonder Woman character was inspired in part by the niece of Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger.

I don’t know about the original comic-book character of the 1940s, but this version is instead someone who embraces life, including cherishing babies. In her horror at the destruction of war and her willingness to sacrifice for the lives of others, this Wonder Woman is very much a woman who shows, even at the cost of great sacrifices, that the lives of men and women are worth saving. (For more from the author of “The Hopeful Feminism of ‘Wonder Woman'” please click HERE)

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Christian Soccer Player Withdraws From Friendlies as US Team Is Set to Wear Gay Pride Jerseys

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A release from U.S. Soccer said [Jaelene] Hinkle, 24, who is a defender for the North Carolina Courage, was called into the national camp to play international friendlies against Sweden and Norway this month. She was not replaced on the roster after her withdrawal.

It is unclear if U.S. Soccer’s celebration of gay pride this month is related to Hinkle’s withdrawal but she wears her faith proudly on social media.

She proudly boasts Colossians 3:23 on Twitter which says: “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.”

“If you live for people’s acceptance, you’ll die from their rejection,” the tagline also notes.

She also converted a gay pride logo into a celebration of the cross on Instagram the same day the Supreme Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage in 2015 while sharing her thoughts on the decision. (Read more from “Christian Soccer Player Withdraws From Friendlies as US Team Is Set to Wear Gay Pride Jerseys” HERE)

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Gay Pride Month and the ‘Shot Heard Round the World’

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Quick quiz: According to statements published by the U.S. government, where was the shot fired that was “heard round the world”? Lexington and Concord, you say?

Good answer — but you’re only halfway there. There was another “shot heard round the world,” says the National Park Service. That one was in June 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in New York City, where two nights of rioting “led to the development of the modern LGBT civil rights movement.”

The Gay-Rights “Shot Heard Round the World”

You read that right. The U.S. government has co-opted Ralph Waldo Emerson’s deeply symbolic phrase to make the birth of the gay rights movement symbolically equal to the birth of our own country. To fill in the rest of the quotation:

The riots inspired LGBT people throughout the country to organize and within two years of Stonewall, LGBT rights groups had been started in nearly every major city in the U.S. Stonewall was, as historian Lillian Faderman wrote, “the shot heard round the world … crucial because it sounded the rally for the movement.”

There’s history at Stonewall, to be sure. And its reach was indeed global. The month of June is now designated “Pride Month,” and almost 150 gay pride festivals are scheduled in cities around the world.

But what does this mean for true freedom?

The Depth of Our National Confusion

It’s worth noting that Lillian Faderman’s full quote read, “to many homosexuals, male and female alike, the Stonewall Rebellion was the shot heard round the world” (emphasis added).

I give her credit for identifying the group who might have seen it that way. The Park Service’s version leaves that out, making it a statement for us all.

I shudder to think of how celebrations in 2017 would have turned out if Stonewall had happened a week later that year, on July 4. As far as I can tell, the White House has never been lit up in red, white, and blue. We’ve all got images seared on our brains, though, of it lit up in the six rainbow colors of the gay rights movement.

This isn’t just happening on some obscure web page, in other words. The gay rights movement has become America’s new freedom movement. It perfectly depicts the depth of our national confusion.

Freedom Based in the Image of God

For there is “freedom,” and there is freedom.

There is the freedom for which our forefathers fought at Lexington, Concord and beyond. It was a view of liberty rooted in a biblical understanding of what it means to be human.

They knew that humans are made in the image of God. We’re not just today’s snapshot in some ever-changing course of evolution. Instead human nature is a stable, enduring, real. We have a moral nature based in God’s own character. We have a well-designed sexual nature, based in God’s plan for us as individuals, couples and families who build communities and cultures together. We have a destiny based on how we relate to God in Christ and to each other in accordance with God’s design for us.

Argue all you want about whether America was founded as a Christian nation, there’s no denying that our founders’ view of human nature that was deeply influenced by the Bible’s view of humanity. Even Thomas Jefferson, who was no Christian, knew at our inalienable rights come from our Creator. Not government, not courts, not even (later on) our Constitution.

Our founders fought for freedom from political tyranny that kept them from determining their own course. Their fight was never for the “freedom” to do whatever anyone chose, though. Quite the opposite. As Benjamin Franklin said, “Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.” Freedom was not merely the ability to do as one wanted; it was the ability to do as one ought.

Or Freedom Based in Making Ourselves Our Own Creators

That’s the freedom for which the shots were fired at Lexington and Concord. Stonewall’s freedom has almost nothing to do with that. With all thought of a Creator cast aside, “freedom” now means being able to create ourselves after our own wills. Not satisfied with your sex? Create yourself all over again! Not content with the morality that’s held the Western world together – in spite of various wars and injustices – for centuries? Call it off! Re-make marriage while you’re at it!

And why not? The view now is that nothing about us is fixed. We’re evolving, so we can make ourselves whatever we decide to be. The same goes for human purpose and moral standards: There’s nothing there but what’s evolved over the eons, but we can alter that, too, as we will.

Our Choice: Celebrating Freedom or Free Fall

We claim this as a new-found freedom. But we’re like the kite that yearned to fly high and away, free of the string it thought was holding it down. Freedom? No. Free fall.

Yet this is the freedom our own Park Service symbolically equates with Lexington and Concord. The patriotism of red, white and blue is being displaced by the spectrum of the gay rainbow.

America was never perfect. It took us way too long to recognize that human rights belong to everyone. Still we got there in law and (to an obviously lesser, yet still helpful, degree) in practice. The shots fired at Lexington and Concord led ultimately to our country becoming the world’s greatest champion for true freedom. The shot fired at Stonewall is leading us in another direction altogether.

The LGBT crowd will be celebrating their “pride” this month. That’s their choice. Our own Park Service seems to be saying everyone else is obliged to join them. I can’t think of anything else that so clearly shows the depth of our national confusion. (For more from the author of “Gay Pride Month and the ‘Shot Heard Round the World'” please click HERE)

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New Law Allows Govt to Seize Children If Parents Oppose Their ‘Gender Identity’

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Legislation passed by the Canadian province of Ontario has granted authorities the right to take children away from parents who refuse to accept their children’s “gender identity.” Critics of the new measure launched a petition aiming for a repeal of the “totalitarian” child abuse bill.

Out of Ontario’s 86 legislators, 63 voted in favor of Bill 89 or “The Supporting Children, Youth and Families Act of 2017” on June 1.

The legislation replaces the Child and Family Services Act which used to govern child protection, foster care and adoption services in the province.

The new law includes “gender identity” and “gender expression” as factors to be considered by child protection services “in the best interests of the child.”

It deprives parents of their earlier right to “direct the child’s education and religious upbringing.” (Read more from “New Law Allows Govt to Seize Children If Parents Oppose Their ‘Gender Identity'” HERE)

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‘God Restores’: Olympic Gold Medalist Who Grieves After an Abortion Wants to Help Other Post-Abortive Women

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Four-time Olympic gold medalist in track and field Sanya Richards-Ross recently penned a memoir. In it she revealed that she had an abortion right before the 2008 Olympics. The experience left her feeling loss and grief. But after a moment when she experienced God for herself in Bejing, she began the healing process. Now she says God restores, and through her book hopes to help other women who’ve suffered loss because of abortion.

‘The Toughest Time of My Life’

Just before the 2008 Olympics in Bejing, Sanya Richards-Ross found out that she was pregnant. She was at the top of her game and was favored to win gold that year. She didn’t see a way to have a baby during the height of her career and chose to have an abortion. In her new book, Chasing Grace: What the Quarter Mile Has Taught Me About God and Life, Sanya opens up about what she called the toughest time of her life.

In an interview with Newsworthy with Norsworthy, Sanya said she wasn’t sure she wanted to include the abortion in her book at first. “I literally prayed about that for almost two years because it’s something that is really private. A lot of women don’t talk about it.” Sanya felt like she’d been chasing something her entire life, whether that was gold medals or the best version of herself.

God’s Grace

“Ultimately what I learned was, while I was chasing all these things, what really kept me going was God’s grace.” She decided to add the story of her abortion because “I felt like if I didn’t share the moment of my life where I did feel God’s grace the most I felt like it would’ve been disingenuous to my journey.” If it wasn’t for God’s grace, she wouldn’t have been able to recognize that the decision of her abortion didn’t define her. “I am the person I’m striving to be,” she said, “I have to work on it every single day.”

Sanya felt that if she won her race in the 2008 Bejing Olympics it would take her shame away. She’d just had the abortion and was on the brink of a breakdown. “But then,” she said, “there was another part of me that was like, ‘I don’t deserve this victory.’”

God’s Presence

Her experience with God’s presence came as she was getting off of a bus in Bejing just before the race. “I felt literally, emotionally, physically lost. God wrapped His arms around me … He just hugged me and told me He loved me and I was going to be okay.” It was then that she said she felt a peace that passes all understanding. “All of a sudden, I just felt like, Oh my God — God has already forgiven me. Now I’ve got to forgive myself.” It didn’t happen overnight for Sanya, but “it was the beginning of recovery for me.”

She spent time between the Bejing races with her family, talking to her parents and praying. She returned to the last race revived and energized. “I had an amazing experience running from behind and beating Team Russia, so I’m grateful for that.” She received a bronze medal for her individual race but won gold in her team’s relay. She went on to win Olympic gold in 2012 in the 400-meter race.

‘To Glorify God’

While she worried about how people would receive her story, “Ultimately, I did it to glorify God. To tell people that ‘You can come back from any decision no matter how hard it is to make or no matter what you thought about it in the past. You can still have God along with you along the journey.’”

‘God Restores!’

Sanya is continuing to heal from her abortion. She is now looking forward to the birth of her second child. Although she still tears up about her experience, she has a message for other post-abortive women: “God restores!” Every time she tells her story she heals a little bit more, she said. “Healing means ultimately understanding that God has forgiven you. I think when you do that, then it really helps you to process that, ‘Look, God doesn’t love the way I love, you know, He loves me unconditionally and we all make mistakes.’” (For more from the author of “‘God Restores’: Olympic Gold Medalist Who Grieves After an Abortion Wants to Help Other Post-Abortive Women” please click HERE)

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