Life In Oregon

Lynda Harrington, Development Director

“The Babies are Coming!” announces the trailer for a newly-released film. A current box office hit, the movie “Babies” showcases four infants around the world as they develop in the womb and grow into toddlerhood. From Mongolia and Namibia to Japan and San

Francisco, the babies and their mothers poignantly demonstrate the developmental similarities in children in spite of their different cultural environments.

A movie for Standupgirl.com might also begin with the arrival of babies, as the innovative website has saved thousands of babies and their mothers from the horrors of abortion since its inception in 2000. These young mothers come to Standupgirl.com from all over the world, particularly from English-speaking countries, seeking the hope and courage to stand up and do the right thing. Many of them are pregnant and frightened, with no one else to turn to for help.

Standupgirl.com targets this population through the personal story of Becky, a young woman living in rural Canada. Becky faced an unplanned pregnancy and struggled with her decision. On Standupgirl.com, Becky shares her insight and compassion in a lov-ing, non-judgmental manner that encourages young women to email her for advice and support. Because the site has grown beyond all expectations, Becky now has eleven volunteer Standupgirls to help her

in responding to the young women through emails, chat rooms, forums and blogs.

In addition to the “Dear Becky” column, Standupgirl.com offers 3D and 4D ultrasound images of developing fetuses, toll-free confi-dential help-line information, quick answers to common pregnancy and fetal development questions, and a community of young women all needing each others’ support.

What began as a small, “back burner” project by the Oregon Right to Life Education Foundation has now become one of the top five abortion-related websites in the world, with over 2 million visitors each year and 17 million visitors since it began in 2000.

And, while advertising Standup-girl.com on Google is expensive, the payoff can be seen in research polling which indicates that the nation is becoming more pro-life, particularly young adults aged 18 to 29. Standupgirl.com is chang-ing hearts and minds in Oregon and around the world. Of course, numbers tell only part of the story. It is the personal stories of young women like Ziyanda that tug at our heartstrings:

“I knew nothing about babies and felt I wasn’t capable of bearing a child. I wrote to a member of Standupgirl who advised me to not abort. I decided to take her advice. Right there and then, I decided I was going to give my baby life because I read stories of girls who terminated their pregnancies and they were all feeling so down. I carried on with school even though I was pregnant. People teased me and passed snotty comments and

ugly stares to me. It broke my heart, but I tried to stay strong.

On December 18, I had a baby girl. After she let out her first cry, I knew I had done the right thing – all that I went through was worth it. I can’t stop admiring her toothless smile. Her eyes bring me peace and absolute joy. She is my everything.”

Congratulations, Standupgirl.com, for 10 years of changing hearts and saving lives!

Volume 18 • Number 3 June-August 2010

Oregon Right to Life4335 River Road N.Salem, OR 97303

Non-Profit Org.US Postage

P A I DSalem, OR

Permit No. 411

Upcoming EventsCounty FairsJune through AugustInformation on page 6

ORTLEF Annual AuctionSeptember 25Keizer, OregonInformation on page 8

$2,500 Media ScholarshipDeadline: Nov. 1, 2010Information on page 2

Order ORTL PAC Voter’s Guides now!Please order FREE copies of our pro-life voter’s

guides by September 1. To order, phone Lois or Drea toll-free

at 1-800-524-9271 or email ortlpac@ortl.org.This useful and trustworthy voter’s guide includes endorsements

and recommendations, along with information on life issues. It is an excellent tool to distribute to your friends,

family and community.

Celebrating 10 years of hope and courage on Standupgirl.com

From the moment of conception, a new and unique human is physically present. Whether started in a petri dish, a test tube, or inside its mother, that hu-man’s life will be continu-ous until natural death. He or she is programmed to set up shop in the mom’s womb until mature enough to live on the outside. Once born, this human moves through the stages of development. This is the natural continuum of life – unless interfered with.

The nature of that human’s dependence changes with his age or the circumstances in his life. In the womb, the needs are mainly shelter and food; out of the womb, we add clothing, then training and education in preparation for going out into the community. Some humans, because of old age, illness, or accidents may again become dependent. Each one, though, is the same human whose physical life started at its conception.

However, when we interfere with life – by intentionally ending it – we break life’s natural continuum. At Oregon Right to Life, we believe unnatural interference with human life – through abortion, infanticide, euthanasia, assisted suicide, and embryonic destruction for human cells – carries moral, ethical and spiritual costs to society. We endeavor to be a voice valuing all human life.

Oregon Right to Life is the largest organized pro-life voice in Oregon, made up of people of all ages and from all walks of life, who desire to protect innocent human life. We stand for the unborn. (Imagine having no voice in whether you want your cells or tissues to be used for research – especially when that donation will cost your life.) We advocate through legislative action, educa-tion, and compassionate support. Visit our website at www.ortl.org to see more fully the scope of what we are, what we do, and how you can be a part of saving lives.

We have an uphill battle as our government swells with pro-abortion appointees, and pro-abortion groups dominate the airwaves and finances. So, we engage all the more. Politicians who value human life need our support, the disabled need our advocacy, moms being pressured to abort need us to support and help empower them to choose life, and, of course, vulnerable

2 June-August 2010

from the PRESIDEnT

Life in Oregon is an official publication of Oregon Right to Life, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of the unborn and the sanctity of human life. Life in Oregon is mailed six times per year to 50,000 households. The subscription rate is $5 per year.

Life In Oregon/Oregon Right to Life 4335 River Road North, Salem, OR 97303

Phone: (503) 463-8563 • website: www.ortl.org • e-mail: ortl@ortl.org

Gayle Atteberry, Executive Director • Cindy Rahm, Editor

Printed by Eagle Web Press • Reprinted by Permission

Joan Sage, M.D. ORTL President

Congratulations to the first, second and third place winners at the recent ORTLEF Essay, Drawing and Oratory Contest:

Oratory contest: • Alexa Sleadd,

(pictured) Josephine County; Joelle Lucas, Multnomah County; Robert Johnson, Linn-Benton Counties.

Essay contest:• Grades 5-6: Hannah Bartlett,

Lane County; Eliza Rushton,

Baker County; Grace Herb, Linn-Benton Counties

• Grades 7-9: Mandee Bentz, Marion County; Celina Fuzi, Baker County; Kadijah Grice, Linn-Benton Counties

• Grades 10-12: Amanda Olson, Linn-Benton Counties; Chloe Anderson, Clackamas County; Elya Christman, Baker County

Drawing contest:• Kindergarten: Madeline Bauer,

Harney County; Daphne DeWitt, Malheur County; Mason Hill, Jackson County

• Grades 1-2: Austin Sigmon, Linn-Benton Counties; Jenna

Garner, Harney County; Faith Hans, Clackamas County

• Grades 3-5: Esther Edson, Mult-nomah County; Noel Sigmon, Linn-Benton Counties; Amanda Allender, Lane County

• Grades 6-8: Joshua Hans, Clackamas County; Elizabeth Short, Lane County; Karli Olson, Linn-Benton Counties

• Grades 9-10: Carley Roy, Harney County; Bethany Strang, Clackamas County; Kadijah Grice, Linn-Benton Counties

• Grades 11-12: Alexa Sleadd, Josephine County; Veronica Short, Lane County; Hyuna Na, Linn-Benton Counties

Congratulations to ORTLEF Contest winners!

“President” continued on page 6

Are you a college student with a firm belief in the sanctity of life from conception to natural death? Are you studying to enter the field of media communications through majors such as journalism, graphic design, writing and literature, cinema arts and communication, radio broadcasting, or similar

majors? If so, then we are looking for you!

The Oregon Right to Life Educa-tion Foundation is now offering a scholarship/internship for the college sophomore, junior, or senior who is certain of their major and desires to impact the world of media in a positive way for the

pro-life movement. The $2,500 scholarship award involves an internship with the ORTL Educa-tion Foundation in which you will have the opportunity to work in your chosen field of study.

For more information and to download a copy of the applica-tion, visit http://www.ortl.org.

ORTLEF $2,500 Media Scholarship!Application deadline: November 1, 2010

Elizabeth Graham (far left) was one of the speakers at this year’s Oregon Right to Life Conference. Ms. Graham, Director of Texas Right to Life, gave seminars on embryonic stem cell research and end of life issues. The conference, held at the Portland Airport Holiday Inn, was one of ORTL’s largest con-ferences and also featured Austin Ruse from CFAM, a pro-family group headquartered at the United Nations. Gayle Atteberry, Director of Oregon Right to Life, ORTL President Joan Sage, M.D., and Kate Ewald, ORTL Education Director are also pictured.

June-August 2010 3

POLITICAL FORumElection time means new faces

Though we are well into this election year, there are still times when a candidate’s name mentioned in news coverage or a conversation may make you stop and wonder, “Who is that?” The many new candi-dates this year seem to be the consequence of a new political awakening across the country. The great news is that many of them are pro-life! For election information, don’t forget to order our voter’s guides.

During the May primary, Oregon Right to Life PAC was actively involved in several races. After much research and deliberation, the PAC made a sole endorsement in both competitive primaries for the Republican nomination for U.S. Congress – Rob Cornilles in the first district and Scott Bruun in the fifth district. Both candidates won and are now working hard campaigning against pro-abortion incumbents Congressmen David Wu and Kurt Schrader.

In the state legislature, pro-abortion leadership controls both the Senate and the House. We are hopeful that we can elect more pro-life leg-islators after many defeats in 2006 and 2008. Unfortunately, one pro-abor-tion legislator, Bob Jenson (R-Pendleton) is likely to return after narrowly winning in Eastern Oregon’s House District 58. ORTL PAC-supported Mike Mathisen from Hermiston made a strong effort, but fell short by 198 votes.

In House District 55, which stretches from Eagle Point in Southern Oregon, through Klamath and Lake counties, all the way up to Prineville in Crook County, no candidate from the Democrat Party filed. Mike McLane won the Republican primary with the help of an endorsement from our PAC, which means he will be unopposed in his bid for state representative in November. Mike is well versed in pro-life issues and will be an outstand-ing advocate for life in the Oregon House.

In the Senate, Mary Kremer won a spirited primary election and now faces pro-abortion Senate Majority Leader Richard Devlin (D-Tualatin). Mary is one of an extraordinary group of pro-life candidates who have stepped forward to run for the state legislature this year. We have reason to be very optimistic!

Here at the office, we also have a new face. Michelle Knopp Maynard, who worked as deputy director for nearly seven years, has experienced exciting changes in her life this past year. While we will miss Michelle’s sig-nificant contributions to our political and educational efforts, she is moving into her new position of full-time wife and mom. Michelle will continue to serve on the PAC Board of Directors, providing very important continuity.

Andrea Westfall joined us in May. Read her very useful piece on Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan on this page. Andrea holds an un-dergraduate degree in Communications from Corban College and worked for several years with Select Impressions, a local pro-life printing company. Andrea also spent time in Nepal as a short-term missionary.

I hope all these new faces give you some idea of how many opportuni-ties we have to turn things around in Washington, D.C. and in Salem. It’s time to turn our attention toward November and focus on electing pro-life office holders who will seek to defend innocent human life.

Lois Anderson, PAC Director

Oba

maW

atch

President Obama recently named Elena Kagan to replace retiring Justice John Paul Stevens on the Supreme Court.

After she graduated from law school at Harvard, Kagan taught law at the University of Chicago and later served as White House Counsel for President Clinton. She taught at Harvard and later became the university’s dean. Obama then appointed her as Solicitor General, followed by her nomination to the Supreme Court.

Kagan campaigned for pro-abortion Michael Dukakis and financially contributed to John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, and Al Gore,

along with the National Partner-ship for Women and Families (NWPF), an organization whose goal is to “give every woman ac-cess to ... abortion services.” She argued against Supreme Court decisions that aimed to counsel women on abortion and fought to protect partial-birth abortion. While serving as White House Counsel, Kagan advised Clinton that making assisted suicide a federal crime would be “a fairly terrible idea.”

Pro-abortion Senator Barbara Boxer stated that Kagan “would be a very strong supporter of privacy rights because everyone

she worked for held that view.” The National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL), a strong supporter of Kagan, says, “Elena Kagan’s writings indicate a re-spect for women’s freedom and privacy as defined by Roe v. Wade and the writings are consistent with the pro-choice position adopted by the Clinton White House.”

Recently, Kagan said about a U.S. Supreme Court case involving the freedom of speech, “The First Amendment value of the speech is ‘clearly outweighed’ by its societal costs, the speech may be prohib-ited based on its content.”

Obama names Elena Kagan to Supreme Court

Stem cell researchLast year, President Obama

signed an executive order lifting the bans of embryonic stem cell research that former President George W. Bush had implemented. Overturning this order will be very difficult for any future pro-life president. Obama explained his actions saying, “We will vigorously support scientists who pursue this research. And, we will aim for America to lead the world in the discoveries it one day may yield.”

In March of this year, Obama went a step further and will now force taxpayers to pay for additional lines of embryonic stem cells for research. Researchers will now be allowed to clone human embryos and destroy them to harvest their stem cells for the destructive research.

$10 million taxpayer dollars to Kenya

Last month, President Obama’s administration ques-tionably spent an estimated $10 million in taxpayer funds

to assist Kenya in drafting its new constitution. The Kenya Broadcasting Corporation has confirmed that the Obama administration’s financial support of the process will fa-cilitate the new constitution’s elimination of many pro-life laws, making abortion legal in a largely pro-life country. Despite extreme opposition and persecution, Christian church leaders, along with the National Council of Churches in Kenya, are campaigning against the new constitution.

Medicare director nominee

In April, President Obama nominated Dr. Donald Berwick to be the director of his new Medicare and Medicaid Healthcare Program. Berwick aims to model American healthcare after Britain’s model of “a health system that is, at its core, like the world we wish we had: gener-ous, hopeful, confident, joyous and just.” He says America’s healthcare system is “toxic” and “fragmented” because of

its dependence upon consum-er choice. However, Britain not only has higher death rates among patients suffering heart attacks and breast cancer, but overall life expectancy in that country is much shorter than the average American’s. More than half of all UK patients must wait more than 18 weeks to receive any type of medical care, and every year 50,000 surgeries are canceled because patients become too ill while waiting for medical attention. Sarah Anderson, a resident of Britain and a worker at York Hospital, is devastated that her 68-year-old father is being denied the medicine needed for him to continue treatments for cancer due to his condition not being “exceptional.”

In reference to his own policy, Obama said, “The chronically ill and those toward the end of their lives are accounting for potentially 80 percent of the total health care bill out there ... There is going to have to be a very dif-ficult democratic conversation that takes place.’

4 June-August 2010

A “duty to die” Telemed abortions: a new Planned Parenthood strategy

Pro-abortion activists are always looking for new ways to expand abortion, despite their claim that they are concerned about women’s health. The latest strategy is to offer “telemed abor-tions” – where, by video conference, abortion-ists instruct women how to use the dangerous abortion drug RU-486, rather than assisting them in-person, on-site. Patients are then issued the drug, which has killed at least 13 women world-wide – perhaps as many as 40 – and injured at least 1,100 more according to 2006 FDA figures.

The pro-life organization Operation Rescue engaged in an undercover investigation of the telemed abortion scheme operated by Planned Parenthood of the Heartland in Iowa. Women participating in the telemed abortion process are never seen or examined by a licensed physician, which is required by Iowa law.

In early May, the state of Iowa announced it has begun an investigation into the new process. At least a dozen small Planned Parenthood of-fices in Iowa were administering RU-486 from abortion practitioner Susan Haskell via a telecon-ferencing hook-up from her office in Des Moines. Following the on-line conference, the abortionist pushes a button and a drawer containing the drugs opens electronically in the clinic where the patient is sitting. The patient takes one set of pills and is given instructions for taking the rest of the medication on her own at home.

Planned Parenthood charges insurance com-panies $1,000 for the abortion drug procedure – twice the cost of the abortion – which will drive up insurance prices for all consumers.

The uproar caused by these revelations has Planned Parenthood trying to back away from their previous reports and statements. That’s hard to do, however, when Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards was quoted in a May 20 interview with the Iowa Independent saying, “I think telemedicine is an incredibly important advance, particularly for women in rural areas ... It’s very safe and very effective. It’s an incred-ibly important option for women who decide to terminate a pregnancy.”

Thomas Sowell

One of the many fashionable notions that have caught on among some of the intelligentsia is that old people have “a duty to die,” rather than become a burden to others.

This is more than just an idea discussed around a seminar table. Already, the gov-ernment-run medical system in Britain is restricting what medications or treatments it will authorize for the elderly. Moreover, it seems almost certain that similar attempts to contain runaway costs will lead to simi-lar practices when American medical care is taken over by the government.

Make no mistake about it, letting old people die is a lot cheaper than spending the kind of money required to keep them alive and well. If a government-run medical system is going to save any serious amount of money, it is almost certain to do so by sacrificing the elderly.

There was a time – fortunately, now long past – when some desperately poor societies had to abandon old people to their fate because there was just not enough margin for everyone to survive. Sometimes, the elderly themselves would simply go off from their family and com-munity to face their fate alone.

But is that where we are today?Talk about “a duty to die” made me

think back to my early childhood in the South, during the Great Depression of the 1930s. One day, I was told that an older

lady – a relative of ours – was going to come and stay with us for a while, and I was told how to be polite and considerate towards her.

She was called “Aunt Nance Ann,” but I don’t know what her official name was or what her actual biological relationship to us was. Aunt Nance Ann had no home of her own. But, she moved from relative to relative, not spending enough time in any one home to be a real burden.

At that time, we didn’t have things like electricity or central heating or hot running water. But, we had a roof over our heads and food on the table – and Aunt Nance Ann was welcome to both.

Poor as we were, I never heard anybody say, or even intimate, that Aunt Nance Ann had “a duty to die.”

I only began to hear that kind of talk decades later, from highly educated people in an affluent age, when even most families living below the official poverty level owned a car or truck and had air-conditioning.

It is today, in an age when homes have flat-paneled TVs, and most families eat in restaurants regularly or have pizzas and other meals delivered to their homes, that the elites – rather than the masses – have begun talking about “a duty to die.”

Back in the days of Aunt Nance Ann, nobody in our family had ever gone to college. Indeed, none had gone beyond elementary school. Apparently, you need a lot of expensive education, sometimes

including courses on ethics, before you can start talking about “a duty to die.”

Many years later, while going through a divorce, I told a friend that I was con-sidering contesting child custody. She immediately urged me not to do it. Why? Because raising a child would interfere with my career.

But my son didn’t have a career. He was just a child who needed someone who understood him. I ended up with custody of my son and, although he was not a de-manding child, raising him could not help impeding my career a little. But do you just abandon a child when it is inconvenient to raise him?

Much of what is taught in our schools and colleges today seeks to break down traditional values and replace them with more fancy and fashionable notions, of which “a duty to die” is just one.

These efforts at changing values used to be called “values clarification,” though the name has had to be changed repeat-edly over the years, as more and more parents caught on to what was going on and objected. The values that suppos-edly needed “clarification” had been clear enough to last for generations and nobody asked the schools and colleges for this “clarification.”

Nor are we better people because of it.

[Thomas Sowell is noted for his conservative views on social and economic issues. This col-umn appeared at www.lifenews.com/bio3099.html.]

Jackson County Right to LIfe has begun picketing the Ashland Planned Parenthood clinic on a regular basis. Planned Parenthood recently began to sell RU-486, the so-called “abortion pill”. The pro-life group has decided on an “info-picket”, one which informs those driving by that an RU-486 abortion is not as simple as “taking a pill”, but instead is a drawn-out, often painful, experience that always kills an innocent unborn child.

Avoiding discouragement

In my last column, I wrote about ways that pro-lifers can make their educational efforts more effective. One sugges-tion was to print pro-life website addresses like www.standupgirl.com or www.ortl.org instead of pro-life slogans on items like t-shirts, bumper stick-ers and Facebook and MySpace pages. Such websites can provide people with accurate information on life issues that they might not otherwise find.

Besides new ideas for merchandise or materials, there is another often overlooked idea to make pro-life outreach effec-tive – the simple, but crucial, need to support fellow pro-lifers in our work to defend innocent human life. People work harder and smarter when they are supported and told that what they have to contribute is valuable. We all need feedback from time to time to encourage us in our efforts. Because our work is the most important in the world, that is even more reason to remember to give and receive encouragement for what we do. If we don’t, we run the risk of succumbing to the idea that we shouldn’t try as hard because we are not being effective.

The following anecdote reveals the importance of maintaining a positive attitude, which has a direct influence on our efforts. The story is called Satan’s Garage Sale:

“Satan decided to have a garage sale. As people stopped by to look at the things he was selling, they wandered across the lawn and came to a large table covered with tools. One tool in particular caught their eyes because it was very old and very worn. Curious to find out what the tool was for, they called Satan over and asked him. He replied with a slow, sly smile, “Oh, that has been my best tool. I’ve used it over and over again through-out the years because it always works so well. It’s discourage-ment.’”

Pro-life work can sometimes be discouraging. However, I’ve noticed from personal experience, that it is less so if you are involved in local pro-life activities in your community. (Visit www.ortl.org to find a local Oregon Right to Life chapter or pregnancy support center.) Getting your pro-life news from a source other than the mainstream media networks will help you learn about pro-life victories nationwide and will help you feel connected to the millions of active pro-lifers who are united with you in the effort to defend innocent human life.

Good news! Local chapters need your help at fair booths in community fairs this summer. See the list in the Action Alert on page 6 for contact information and to sign up to help today.

June-August 2010 5

EDuCATInG FOR LIFE

Kate Ewald ORTLEF Director

Penn Rettig II

As an experienced financial and estate planner, I have seen first-hand how many families work through the process of leaving their possessions, and ultimately their legacy, to their families and loved ones. Often, the priorities focus on leaving the maximum possible in-heritance to the children, with a secondary goal of minimizing transfer costs and any possible estate or inheritance taxes.

Occasionally, I will have the privilege of advising clients with substantial multi-mil-lion dollar estates. In these cases, clients will typically assemble a collaborative team including their attorney, accountant, and financial advisor to help illustrate the benefits and consequences of various advanced estate plan-ning strategies. Unfortunately, the analysis tends to focus on finding the absolute maximum dollar amount that can be left to heirs, with very little consideration of how to maximize the beneficial impact of those dollars, or pass on the family values that created and nurtured that wealth.

Most of us recognize that too much of anything is often not a good thing. The venerable “Oracle of Omaha” billionaire Warren Buffett put it this way: “Leave your kids enough so they can do anything, but not so much that they can do nothing.” Over decades of practice, I have seen the negative effects of leaving too much to heirs. Beneficiaries often have a very different relationship with wealth than their benefac-tors and, often, what was lovingly meant for good ends up resulting in misery and dissolution.

Fortunately, I believe there is a very simple solution, regard-less of your net worth and the current state of the tax code: Keep your values front and center. Ask yourself, “Why should the money do anything different after I’m gone than when I’m alive?” If you are a supporter of the rights of the unborn, as I am, and you

feel privileged to help support the critical work Oregon Right to Life is doing to reach our culture with the message of life, wouldn’t you want that work to continue even after you have “graduated” to your eternal reward? If you have substantial wealth or few heirs, seriously consider leaving a sig-nificant legacy to Oregon Right to Life or other causes you support. This world needs all the help that people of wisdom and faith can offer. If your estate is modest, and you have children you want to provide for, you can still do both, and you can do it simply and inexpensively.

Here’s how: In your will or trust, simply leave 50 percent of whatever amount you are giving to each ultimate beneficiary (those after any spouse has died) to the children, either held in trust or outright. Then – and this is crucial – take 10 percent of your estate and direct it to organiza-tions and ministries that share your values and seek to make the world a better place.

The sense of purpose and significance you will gain by di-recting just a tithe of your wealth to the best places is incredibly satisfying. I know because my wife and I have done it. “What about the children?” you ask. Don’t worry, we’ve got them covered too. After the 50 percent and the 10 percent are allocated,

take the remaining 40 percent and hold it for your children in trust for three years. Perhaps in a low-interest environ-ment it may take four years, but hold it in trust and with simple secure interest, that 40 percent should grow to approxi-mately 50 percent.

In sum, the children end up with 100 percent

of your estate (assuming no estate taxes and minimal settle-ment or probate costs if you have a revocable trust and not a will), they will have benefited by having a second chance at managing their inheritance wisely, and your legacy will have lasting and posi-tive impact on issues and missions that are closest to your heart.

If you or your attorney would like more detailed information on how to implement this type of strategy, you may call me at 541-344-7000.

[Penn Rettig II, CFP®, CFS, MBA, has practiced financial and estate planning in Eugene, Oregon for over 25 years. He is a Register Securities Principal and Branch Manager and offers security and investment advi-sory services through Multi Financial Securities Corporation, member FINRA/SIPC. He holds a Certified Financial Planner® Designation and a Masters Degree in Finance. Nothing in this brief article is intended as legal advice and you should consult with a qualified estate planning attorney for advice on any trusts or wills.]

Tithing your estate

6 June-August 2010

Use of fetal cells in vaccines Action AlertVolunteer for your county’s summer fair booth!

Oregon Right to Life needs your help with our pro-life educational displays at fairs around the state this summer. Please join this educational effort aimed at changing people’s hearts and minds about abortion and other life issues by volunteering at a fair booth in your community.

For more information, call our office at 503-463-8563 or contact one of the fair booth coordinators in your community:

• Turkey Rama – July 9-10; Leslie, 503-474-9092• Linn – July 15-18; Mary, 541-928-8706• Jackson – July 20-25; Cindy, 541-772-0657• Jefferson – July 21-24; Gari Lynn, 541-815-5823• Coos – July 27-31; Claire, 541-347-9280• Deschutes – July28-Aug 1; Susan, 541-548-9970• Curry – July 29-Aug 1; Lee, 541-247-6128 • Washington – July 29-Aug 1

Joanne, 503-453-3652• Clatsop – Aug 3-7; Jean, 503-338-3827• Douglas – Aug 3-7; Linda, 541-459-1440• Malheur – Aug 3-7; Marion, 541-473-3080• Wheeler – Aug 3-8; Sabine, 541-468-3211• Baker – Aug 4-7; Jay, 541-523-4851• Benton – Aug 4-7; Brenda, 541-758-7634• Crook – Aug 4-7; Carol, 541-447-7004• Yamhill – Aug 4-7; Theresa, 503-472-1256• Klamath – Aug 5-8; David, 541-273-0953• Tillamook – Aug 11-14; Jennifer, 503-842-7721• Clackamas – Aug 11-22; Kendra, 503-631-3939• Cottage Grove – Aug 13-15; Ann, 541-942-0580• Lane – Aug 17-22; Arline, 541-747-1079• State Fair – Aug 27-Sept 6; ORTLEF, 503-463-8563• Harney – Sept 7-12; Teresa, 541-573-2990

For a number of years, information regarding the use of tissue taken from aborted babies in the development of com-mon vaccines has circulated among pro-life individuals and groups. Recent research has documented that connection.

Developing a vaccine involves collect-ing the actual virus, growing and altering it to make a weakened strain, and putting that strain into a serum to be administered into the body (most commonly by injec-tion). In order to develop the weakened strain, it must be grown in a medium or “cell culture.” These long-lasting cultures are called cell lines. The original cells that start these cell lines have been taken from a wide variety of sources, including monkey embryo and kidney cells, chicken and rabbit embryos and – tragically – aborted human babies. The two fetal cell lines that have been used in vaccine development came from cells taken from two aborted babies, in 1962 and 1966. Babies aborted today are not being used in vaccine prepara-tions.

While vaccines have saved many people from the disastrous effects of disease and saved millions of lives, there are obvious moral and ethical concerns regarding the use of aborted fetal tissue in vaccines.

Well-intentioned people, including those in the pro-life community, can hold differing views. What is not debatable is the impor-tance of researching and understanding the facts surrounding the development of these vaccines. Additionally, pro-life citizens should seriously consider efforts to persuade the producers of vaccines to eliminate using aborted fetal cells in their products in favor of ethically acceptable alternatives.

If you have concerns or questions re-garding this information, please address them with your physician prior to making any decisions regarding vaccinating your children.

For more information, visit the follow-ing websites:• www.rtl.org/prolife_issues/Life-

Notes/VaccinesAbortion_Fetal-Tissue.html

This site addresses the basic sci-ence involved, documentation of the abortion-vaccine connection, the moral/ethical questions about using abortion-tainted vaccines, and information about available alternative vaccines.

• www.soundchoice.org/certification.html

Sound Choice Pharmaceutical In-

stitute was founded to promote public awareness about the use of aborted fe-tal material in drug discovery, develop-ment and commercialization. This site give information on specific vaccines.

• www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jul/09072106.html

A scientist discusses the possibility of a link between increase in autism and the availability of vaccines made using human fetal cell lines.

• www.a l l .o rg /pdf /McDona ld -Paul2010.pdf

A new study by the Environmental Protection Agency published in Febru-ary confirming dates in the 1980s and 1990s as when autism diagnoses increased. The authors did not prove any environmental triggers. Oregon Right to Life president, Joan

Sage, MD, explains that, “There is no proof to date that vaccines cause autism. What is being found is that features of autism are often present long before a child gets the vaccines in question, possibly even from the womb.”

Also see:www.lifenews.com/nat6272.html

“President” continued from page 2

preborns need us to be their voice.I look forward to helping us remain a faithful and

effective voice as we lovingly, compassionately, and nonviolently advocate for all vulnerable humans from their conception to natural death.

[Dr. Joan Sage has served five years on the board of Oregon Right to Life and is the newly-elected presi-dent. She is a practicing pediatrician in Portland, with special interest in children with developmental disabilities. She has also been active for twenty years with the Pregnancy Resource Centers of Greater Portland, including serving on and chairing the board.]

The OSU chapter of Oregon Right to Life, under the

direction of students Jason Schnackenburg and Drew

Kawell, and with the assis-tance of Corvallis Right to Life

created an amazing pro-life display: the Abortion Memo-rial Wall. The wall, which has

11,861 names blazened on it, represent the unborn children

killed through abortion in Oregon during the year 2007.

The display was shown on the Oregon State University’s

campus, while OSU Right to Life students dialogued with

students who came to look at it. For information on how

you can borrow this wall for a display at your church

or event, email Irene at irenejohnso@gmail.com

Proponents of abortion often cite overpopulation as a reason for abortion. Check out these two-minute videos on

www.overpopulationisamyth.com.

June-August 2010 7

Virginia principal suspended over fetal models

The principal and a staff member of Oakwood Elementary School in Norfolk, Virginia have been put on administrative leave over an issue surrounding a plastic model of a 12-week old unborn baby. The scientifically-accurate four-inch fetal model was given to students by a staff member. An attached card describes the first trimester of fetal develop-ment, but there is no mention of abortion or religion on the card. The matter is being investigated by the school board. One board member called the model a “pro-life tool” and insisted it was “entirely inappropriate and unacceptable.” Since students are routinely sent home with lifelike dolls to teach them about the challenges of parenthood, it’s hard to understand the objection to the model of the unborn child – unless, of course, abortion proponents are fearful that in-formation on fetal development could infringe on the sacred right to abortion. Might seeing that 12-week old unborn babies have arms, legs, eyes and ears cause students to real-ize that it is, indeed, a baby? [www.lifenews.com/state5115.html; www.lifeissues.org, 6/4/10]

Abortion and maternal mortalityIn an unmistakable new strategy, international groups

such as the World Health Organization, the World Bank and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) are aggres-sively pushing their pro-abortion agenda. They say that third-world countries must have “safe” abortion, and they claim that requires legalizing abortion in countries that currently protect the unborn.

These pro-abortion organizations insist that legalizing abortion lowers maternal mortality (the number of deaths of mothers per 100,000 births). The Obama administration and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton support this claim, with Clinton asserting, “You cannot have maternal health without reproductive health. And reproductive health includes contraception and family planning and access to legal ... abortion.”

However, a University of Washington study published in the April issue of The Lancet, a British medical journal, shows maternal mortality declining worldwide due to clean water, clean blood and access to healthcare. Dr. Donna Harrison, president of the American Academy of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said the study “clearly demonstrates that worldwide legalization of abortion is unnecessary to bring about significant decreases in maternal mortality.”

Countries with low maternal mortality rates (such as Mauritius, Chile and Sri Lanka) have laws protecting the unborn. By contrast, countries with permissive abortion laws (such as Ethiopia, Guyana and Nepal) have high rates of maternal mortality.

Maternal mortality rates in El Salvador and Poland decreased by nearly half after those countries passed pro-life legislation. However, South Africa saw maternal deaths increase 20 percent following liberalizing their abortion laws, causing Planned Parenthood to admit that one cause of the “surge” in deaths was due to complications of legal abor-tion in that country. [Life Issues Connector, June 2010; www.

lifenews.com/int1510.html; www.lifenews.com/int1512.html]

Washington medical safety rules exempt abortion clinics

The Washington State Department of Health’s Medical Quality Assurance Commission (MQAC), charged with ensur-ing safe medical practices in Washington State, has drafted new rules to create accreditation or certification standards for office-based surgery centers (locations where surgeries such as oral surgery, foot surgery and plastic surgery are done outside of hospitals).

After working for nearly two years on the regulations, MQAC inserted language that not only exempts abortion centers from these regulations, but allows Planned Par-enthood and the National Abortion Federation to certify abortion clinics. That’s right, MQAC will allow the abortion industry to be self-accredited.

Doctors say there is no precedent in medical practice for self-accreditation, nor should there be. If the commission is truly concerned with the health and safety of women pa-tients, how is it that they allow Planned Parenthood, which receives $23 million each year in taxpayer dollars and was, in 2009, fined $700,000 for habitual illegal billing practices, to police itself? Organizations that receive taxpayer funding are usually subject to more oversight, not less. [www.lifenews.com/state5113.html; Family Policy Institute of Washington at www.fpiw.org]

Women who refuse abortion face violence, death

In what is becoming a national and international phenomena, women who refuse to have an abortion are becoming victims of violence and even death. A new report from the Elliot Institute, called Forced Abortion in America, calls the problem a “widespread epidemic.” Pressure to abort is commonplace, and surveys of women who have had abortions indicate that as many as 60 percent say they faced pressure from a partner, family or employer. Studies of death rates among pregnant women show that homicide is the leading cause of death.

Recent cases include an Ohio teenager who assaulted a pregnant teen, killing the unborn child he believes he fathered. A Florida Navy man was charged with first-degree murder of a pregnant woman who refused his request for an abortion. Several men have tried to poison wives or partners who refuse to have an abortion. A Utah man is accused of giving his girlfriend misoprostol (part of the RU-486 abortion drug combination) to force an abortion. She gave birth to a stillborn baby boy at 16 weeks. The man admitted he laced the mother’s food with the drug. A Seattle man killed his girlfriend and their infant daughter after she refused to have an abortion, claiming she was “trying to trap him with the pregnancy.” A high school junior was beaten to death with a bat by her 22-year-old boyfriend who wanted her to have an abortion. The list goes on ... [www.lifenews.com/state5078.html; www.lifenews.com/state4700.html; www.lifenews.com/state4683.html; www.lifenews.com/nat6356.html; Life News Connector, June 2010]

U.S. birth stats show abortion contributes to underpopulation

The National Center for Health Statistics recently released numbers from 2008 showing the U.S. birth rate falling two percent, and below the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman, demonstrating that the U.S. doesn’t have the overpopulation concerns some claim. With 52 million abor-tions since 1973 and more than 1.2 million abortions each year in the U.S., Steven Mosher, president of the Population Research Institute, says he is not surprised by the findings.

Calling children “the only future” a nation has, Mosher explained, “Children are an expression of hope in the future.” While there are a number of factors affecting popu-lation trends, Mosher mentions the recent economic climate. “With the downturn in housing prices, and the upswing in the unemployment rate, it is not surprising that many couples decided to defer having children until the economic downturn had corrected itself. We will, I predict, see a bigger drop in the birthrate in 2009, when the unemployment rate closed in on 10 percent.” Mosher attributes falling birthrates in Europe to the same reasons. He offered Greece as an example of a country where too few people are entering the work force to replace retiring workers, entitlement spending is increasing as tax revenues level off, and the government is technically bankrupt.

A new United Nations report called “World Population Ageing 2009,” finds that a global trend of fertility decline and population aging will have devastating economic and societal effects on the developing world, specifically among women who the UN targets to reduce fertility. [www.life-news.com/nat6232.html]

Adult stem cell transplant treats man with HIV

According to a report in the New England Journal of Medicine, a 42-year-old HIV patient with leukemia appears to have no detectable HIV in his blood and no symptoms after receiving an adult stem cell transplant from a donor who carries a gene mutation that gives natural resistance to the virus that causes AIDS. The report in the medical journal was the first official publication of the case, which was first reported in November.

“The patient is fine,” said Dr. Gero Hutter of Charite Universitatsmedizin Berlin in Germany. “Today, two years after his transplantation, he is still without any signs of HIV disease and without antiretroviral medication.” [LifeNews Report, 6/7/10 #4913]

Other News• Pro-life polling, youth more pro-life – www.lifenews.

com/nat6337.html; www.lifenews.com/bio3101.html• NPR ditches “pro-life” label – www.lifenews.com/

nat6195.html• Planned Parenthood and Komen connection – www.

lifenews.com/nat6360.html• Belgium: assisted suicide up 40% - www.lifenews.com/

bio3101.html

LIFE nOTES

8 June-August 2010

A new abortion pill introduced in Europe last year, ellaOne (also known as Ulipristal), has been give the go-ahead by an FDA advisory committee for use in the United States. While the pill is classified as emergency con-traception (a “morning after” pill), it works much like RU-486. Both drugs kill an unborn baby.

Proponents are comparing the drug with the Plan B emergency contracep-tion pill. They want to blur the line between contraception and abortion. Supporters of ellaOne try to get away with calling the drug an emergency contraceptive by using the official American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology definition of pregnancy – not conception (union of the egg and sperm), but implantation (attachment

to the mother’s womb). In fact, the pill can abort an existing pregnancy even after implantation. Researchers behind ellaOne use the word “embryo-toxic” to describe it.

The goal of those promoting el-laOne is to first get it approved by the FDA for distribution by prescription and then, later on, over the counter – just as they did with emergency contraception. The ultimate goal is that anyone who asks will be given ellaOne without a prescription.

The American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG) sent a letter to the FDA urging it to not approve the pill, calling it an abortifacient of the same type as RU-486. The letter says ellaOne “raises serious health and ethical

issues,” including concerns about off-label use. AAPLOG is concerned that if the FDA approves the drug there will be no way to prevent women who are pregnant from taking it. The organiza-tion also points out that, “Adverse events reported during the clinical trials include a profile of increased infections and bleeding disturbances not surprisingly similar to the adverse events reported for mifepristone [RU-486]. The increase in infections is pre-dictable. Yet, even more disturbing are the reports of ovarian pain (common) and ovarian cyst formation in clinical trial participants. In three patients, the cyst formation did not resolve; which resulted in two cases of surgery; one exploratory surgery for ruptured cysts and one surgical removal of an ovary.”

ellaOne: new abortion pill

At least 11 states have passed pro-life legislation this year. Four additional states have passed bills in at least one house of the legislature. Activists on both sides of the abortion issue say this is an unusually high number of victories.

Several states are working toward opting out of at least some of the abor-tion funding in the President Obama’s new federal health care plan. Bills in Arizona, Tennessee and Mississippi have become law and similar bills in Florida, Missouri, Oklahoma and Loui-siana are pending action by the states’ governors. “More than 70 percent of voters oppose the use of public funds for abortion; that’s why the state-by-state opt out movement continues to gain momentum,” explained a repre-sentative from Americans United for Life. Legislators in a number of other states, including Wisconsin, Delaware, Georgia and Kansas are working to keep residents from paying for abor-tions.

The Oklahoma legislature passed seven laws, overriding three vetoes by Governor Brad Henry. One law requires women to undergo an ultrasound and be informed about fetal development before an abortion. While she may choose to avert her eyes, the ultra-

sound law “takes the burden away from the mother of having to request to see it,” says National Right to Life’s Mary Spaulding Balch. Balch explains the significance of the law by saying, “The harder you make it for the mother to view it, she’s not going to view it. Many women regret their abortions afterward [after viewing an ultrasound at a later time].”

Arizona, under new governor Jan Brewer (who became governor in 2009 after Janet Napolitano resigned to become the Secretary of Homeland Se-curity), has passed four laws including restrictions on coverage under health insurance exchanges, state employee insurance and Medicaid and a require-ment for stricter reporting requirements for doctors who perform abortions.

Nebraska banned all abortions after 20 weeks on the grounds that the fetus at that stage can feel pain. The law was introduced by State Senator Mike Flood after he heard comments by LeRoy Carhart, an abortionist who said he hopes to continue the work of the late George Tiller, an abortionist who performed late-term abortions for women from all over the country. Lawsuits are likely to be filed against the law.

Eighteen states passed or intro-

duced bills requiring counseling before abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute.

The greatest impact concerning the passage of pro-life legislation is being made at the state level. Often, laws passed in one state are subsequently introduced in legislatures in other states, which can set off court battles that have the potential for national consequences that can challenge or limit the scope of Roe v. Wade. Daniel S. McConchie of Americans United for Life explains, “Ninety percent of pro-life legislation happens in the states. While Congress is the main focus of attention for so many people in the country, state legislatures have the greatest impact on daily lives.”

Nancy Northrup, president of the pro-abortion Center for Reproductive Rights, calls the passage of pro-life bills “an avalanche.” She laments, “What’s different is that bills of serious consequence have actually passed. “Already, the center has brought suits to challenge six laws, more than in any other year since the 1990s.”

National Right to Life’s Mary Spaulding Balch concurs. “This is a good year as far as victories go. I do get the impression that the climate is friendlier.”

Pro-life legislative successes

Oregon Right to Life Education

Foundation 2010 Dinner & Auction

Saturday, September 25 Keizer Renaissance Inn

5188 Wittenberg Lane • Salem, Oregon

5:00 pm – Silent Auction 6:45 pm – Dinner

7:30 pm – Oral Auction

$35 per person

Proceeds benefit the educational programs and activities of Oregon Right to Life Education Founda-tion, including fair/special event booths, speakers’ bureau, pregnancy and newborn resource directories, brochures and pamphlets.

We need donations of items such as services, weekend getaways and rental homes, sports tickets, special dinner nights, crafts, toys and household items. Contributions are tax-deductible and donors are mentioned in our auction brochure.

To register, you may call 503-463-8563, email ortl@ortl.org or sign up online at www.ortl.org.

Fairy Tales Can Come

True

2010 OREGON RIGHT TO LIFEEducation Foundation

Benefit Raffle

$2,000.00Travel Certificate

$10.00 for a chance to win!

Only 900 Tickets Will Be Sold.

Drawing will be September 25, 2010during the auction at Keizer Renaissance Inn.

You need not be present to win. Ticket cost is not tax deductible.Taxes accrued from winning are the sole responsibility of the winner.

Contact: ORTLEF at 503 463 8563