LifeNet

St. Nicholas and Christmas

Merry Christmas!

A brief essay - and neat picture - from Ethika Politika

Nicholas committed his single most notable act of charity in his youth: He provided dowries anonymously and out of his own inheritance for three young women who would otherwise have had no way to support themselves over the long term other than slavery or prostitution. By providing dowries, Nicholas made it possible for these young women to avoid the worst indignities of desperation. He had no desire to scold the young women or their father for their circumstances or for the terrible choices that they were contemplating. He gave them—without question, condition, or lecture— a way out of their desperate circumstances, and, when he was caught and confronted, he explained simply that he wanted the credit to be given to God.

Governor Cuomo vetoes help for adoptive families

Thanks to Ed Mechmann for sending us this.

An "Albany Update" press release from New Yorker's for Constitutional Freedom. Can you follow Cuomo's logic?

Governor “Grinch” Steals Christmas From Foster Care Kids

Albany, NY –The Adoption Tax Deduction Bill (S.3382-A – Hassell-Thompson/A.2378-B – Crespo), which would provide a personal income tax deduction for all fees and expenses incurred in connection with the adoption of a child in New York’s foster care system during a given tax year, has been vetoed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Rev. Jason J. McGuire, Executive Director of New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms, made the following remarks:

“Gov. Andrew Cuomo has failed thousands of adoption-eligible foster children across New York by vetoing the Adoption Tax Deduction Bill. This bill would encourage adults to adopt children from the foster care system, and would mitigate financial concerns that might otherwise prevent families from considering adoption. While the Governor claims that cost concerns make it advisable for this bill to be considered within the budget process, his argument does not hold water. First, the slight amount of tax revenue that the state might lose due to adoption tax deductions would likely be more than offset by the savings realized due to decreased foster care costs. Second, the Department of Health has proposed to provide Medicaid funding for elective surgeries for transgendered persons, and plans to make this change not through budget negotiations or legislation, but through a rulemaking process. If so-called ‘sex reassignment’ surgeries can receive taxpayer funding outside of the budget process (and without any action by the Legislature), adoptive parents should be able to receive tax deductions outside of the budget process. Better yet, the Governor ought to jettison the taxpayer-funded surgeries and use those funds to provide tax deductions for adoptive parents. Where are the Governor’s priorities?”

“Gov. Cuomo should remember that his decision regarding the Adoption Tax Deduction Bill has made it more difficult for foster children in New York to be united with ‘forever families.’ We were hoping to encourage these kids with an early Christmas gift, but the State of New York has a Grinch for governor.”

Abortion rate declines to lowest since Roe v. Wade

From Lifenews.com, and other sources.

Abortions at a Record Low Since Roe vs. Wade

The government’s latest report confirms the good news reported by Guttmacher earlier this year. That not only the number of abortions in the U.S. have dropped to lows not seen since the earliest days of legal abortion in America, so, too, have abortion rates and abortion ratios.

The 730,322 abortions reported to the federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in 2011 do not include any from California, Maryland, or New Hampshire, which did not make them available. Guttmacher reported 1,058,470 for the same year.

>>>>>>

... abortions from California or other states missing since 1998 might have given us somewhat higher rates. When numbers from California were available, the abortion rates for the U.S. were about 2 to 3 points higher than those calculated without them. But that does not change that the 2011 abortion rate of 13.9 has dropped by nearly half (44.4%) from what it was at its high point in 1980: 25 abortions per thousand women of reproductive age.

Likewise, the abortion ratio (the number of abortions for every 1,000 live births) is at a historic low, with 219 abortions for every thousand births (Ed. Note: This would put the abortion rate at 18%). [1] The same caveat mentioned above about missing California numbers applies here. But the enormous drop from 359.2 abortion for every 1,000 births in 1980 to the 219 for every 1,000 for 2011 cannot simply be explained by missing states with high abortion proclivities.

CDC versus Guttmacher

Around Thanksgiving every year, the CDC publishes its annual report of national abortion data. This year’s report “Abortion Surveillance – United States, 2011″ issued November 28, 2014 (it takes the government a few years to collect and process the state data), shows the number and rate of abortions dropping by 5% over the previous year. The ratio of abortion to live births declining by nearly as much, 4%.

The Guttmacher Institute’s report, issued earlier this year, showed similar significant drops in the number of abortions, though starting from higher numbers. As we have explained, Guttmacher surveys abortion clinics directly while the CDC relies on state health reports, meaning Guttmacher’s numbers will always be higher than CDC’s.

 

 

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe - December 12th

Named Patroness ofthe Unborn by Pope John Paul II in 1999.

"The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground" (Gen 4:10).

Here is an interesting history:

Our Lady of Guadalupe “Patroness of the Unborn”