Seeing is Believing

When an expectant mother casts her eyes on an image of the thumb-sucking bairn nestled in her womb, it’s difficult to deny the truth – the bundle in her belly is a living, breathing baby. Knowing this, protectors of the preborn are pushing to make it easier for any woman considering an abortion to first look at an ultrasound picture of the little one whose life depends on her mercy.

Click here to ask Congress to pass the Informed Choice Act.

Click here to sign the CMC petition

According to statistical research, a woman is 80 percent more likely to change her mind about an abortion if she has information that encourages her to reflect on the procedure ahead of time. For this reason, the Center for Moral Clarity supports the Informed Choice Act, H.R. 223, which would authorize the federal secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to nonprofit organizations for the purchase of ultrasound equipment.

Passing this bill would enable clinics nationwide to provide free examinations to pregnant women – and give them a peek through the window to the womb.

Along with funding grants for purchasing ultrasound equipment, the Informed Choice Act would:

• Require clinics to show the visual image of the fetus from the ultrasound examination to each pregnant woman with a general anatomical and physiological description of the fetus;
• Give each pregnant woman the approximate age of the embryo or fetus;
• Provide information on abortion and alternatives to abortion, such as childbirth and adoption, and information concerning public and private agencies that will assist in those alternatives.

“If we are to regain our equilibrium as a society, if we are to rescue our children from a downward spiral of violence, then we must recover our founding ideals,” said Pastor Rod Parsley. “We must resensitize ourselves to the dignity, integrity and sanctity of life by upholding it at every opportunity and in every situation. People matter.”

The U.S. Supreme Court decision in April upholding a federal ban on ghastly partial-birth abortions has invigorated people who love and revere the sanctity of human life. In addition to the Informed Choice Act pending in Congress, a variety of state legislation seeks to include ultrasounds as a prerequisite before a mother could kill her developing offspring.

South Carolina, which is the only state in the nation to recognize a fetus as a person, also could become the only state to require a woman to view an ultrasound before getting an abortion. Several other states are considering laws that would make ultrasounds available but would not make looking at them mandatory.

Of course, as much as the partial-birth ruling has motivated Bible-believing Christians, it has provoked abortion proponents. So it was no surprise that Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., wasted no time in reintroducing the Freedom of Choice Act, a measure to put a woman’s right to have an abortion in federal law.

In order to protect and preserve any rights, courageous leaders – in the press, in medicine, in law, in politics and in the church – have always recognized that they had to protect the fundamental rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Contemporary Christians can do no less.

Click here to ask Congress to pass the Informed Choice Act.

Source:  www.centerformoralclarity.net

Planned Parenthood an Inappropriate Field Trip

The library. The Boys and Girls Club. Planned Parenthood. What do these three entities have in common? They all were places children in a Manchester, N.H., YMCA program for at-risk middle-school students visited last week as part of a field trip to social service agencies in the city. Visiting an abortion mill is hardly an appropriate outing for middle-school children, particularly those who probably come from a fractured home life and are more susceptible to getting pregnant before marriage.

The counselor who spoke to the students said she did not mention abortion, but she probably didn’t mention abstinence, either. Nevertheless, New Hampshire Right to Life is asking for equal face time. Advocates for life should have had the opportunity to talk to the kids, and it’s troubling that the pro-life perspective is only now being considered as an after thought.

With all of the social service organizations in Manchester, why would the school district allow the YMCA to take a group of adolescents to Planned Parenthood as a school-sanctioned activity? Understandably, the field trip has caused quite a stir in Manchester.

Early Tuesday morning, the city school board voted for an investigation into last week’s field trip. School authorities were correct to call for the probe. When the investigation is completed, steps must be taken to make sure other programs that “help” youngsters don’t repeat the YMCA’s missteps.

It’s worth noting that the trip to Planned Parenthood doesn’t seem compatible with the YMCA’s mission. Keep in mind, YMCA is an acronym for Young Men’s Christian Association; and the organization claims” to put Christian principles into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind, and body for all.”

Abstinence is an important Christian principle, one that would serve at-risk youth better in the long run than an endless supply of condoms. Last year, New Hampshire was among the states where the General Assembly killed a parental notification bill. Thanks to the state legislature, parents no longer have to give permission for this kind of visit.

source:  www.centerformoralclarity.net

Give Parents and Students What They Want

Educating their children has always been a passionate issue for parents. Knowledge and character are two of the most important qualities any contributing member of society must possess, but public education has failed miserably at producing graduates who’ve mastered them.

Despite its good intentions, the No Child Left Behind mandate hasn’t fulfilled its mission, but some lawmakers are willing to change national policy. The Empowering Parents Through Choice Act, a bill introduced by Sen. Lemar Alexander, R-Tenn., proves someone on Capitol Hill has been listening to parents’ pleas.

Click here to ask your senator to support S. 1014, the Empowering Parents Through Choice Act.

If passed, parents nationwide would finally be allowed to pull their children out of failing schools, with the federal government’s blessing – and up to $4,000 in financial support. Instead of fighting for their lives in bathrooms or studying from outdated textbooks in inadequate facilities, inquisitive, bright kids can go to a place where they can learn.

Advocates for school choice understand that in far too many cases, the basic problem lies not with the student, but with inadequate government-run schools. Unfortunately, the patchwork of policies across the United States has left some children without the same access to a quality schools as their peers in states embracing choice. No child should be locked out and denied access to a successful future, and a good education is the proverbial key to opening doors.

Despite the perception that poor, minority or immigrant children don’t value education, there are stories coast to coast about the significant sacrifices families are willing to make for education’s sake. In South Carolina, for example, 16-year-old Rontrell Matthews doesn’t squander the money he earns making sandwiches at the local Subway in the afternoons. Instead of buying bling-bling or DVDs, his earnings contribute to the $400 tuition his parents pay for his schooling.

School choice is a hotly debated issue in South Carolina and elsewhere in America. In Ohio, the governor wants to pull the plug on the state’s fledgling school choice voucher program. The Center for Moral Clarity is collaborating with parents and like-minded organizations in a fight to maintain it.

Parents in New Jersey are anxiously awaiting a judge’s ruling, which will determine whether a class action lawsuit on behalf of students in failing schools can proceed in Superior Court. Mothers and fathers – taxpaying citizens – are suing for the right to use public funds to enroll their children at the school of their choosing.

Similar scenarios are playing out in other states, such as Utah, Minnesota and Florida. In Texas, a commission has recommended expanding school choice in that state, although a similar push for expansion died in New Mexico’s General Assembly at the end of its last legislative session.

All of this is offered as evidence to underscore the obvious: parents value the education provided in a religious environment, and they demand access to it.

Click here to ask your senator to support S. 1014, the Empowering Parents Through Choice Act.

Source:  www.centerformoralclarity.net

Seeing is Believing

When an expectant mother casts her eyes on an image of the thumb-sucking bairn nestled in her womb, it’s difficult to deny the truth – the bundle in her belly is a living, breathing baby. Knowing this, protectors of the preborn are pushing to make it easier for any woman considering an abortion to first look at an ultrasound picture of the little one whose life depends on her mercy.

Click here to ask Congress to pass the Informed Choice Act.

Click here to sign the CMC petition

According to statistical research, a woman is 80 percent more likely to change her mind about an abortion if she has information that encourages her to reflect on the procedure ahead of time. For this reason, the Center for Moral Clarity supports the Informed Choice Act, H.R. 223, which would authorize the federal secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to nonprofit organizations for the purchase of ultrasound equipment.

Passing this bill would enable clinics nationwide to provide free examinations to pregnant women – and give them a peek through the window to the womb.

Along with funding grants for purchasing ultrasound equipment, the Informed Choice Act would:

• Require clinics to show the visual image of the fetus from the ultrasound examination to each pregnant woman with a general anatomical and physiological description of the fetus;
• Give each pregnant woman the approximate age of the embryo or fetus;
• Provide information on abortion and alternatives to abortion, such as childbirth and adoption, and information concerning public and private agencies that will assist in those alternatives.

“If we are to regain our equilibrium as a society, if we are to rescue our children from a downward spiral of violence, then we must recover our founding ideals,” said Pastor Rod Parsley. “We must resensitize ourselves to the dignity, integrity and sanctity of life by upholding it at every opportunity and in every situation. People matter.”

The U.S. Supreme Court decision in April upholding a federal ban on ghastly partial-birth abortions has invigorated people who love and revere the sanctity of human life. In addition to the Informed Choice Act pending in Congress, a variety of state legislation seeks to include ultrasounds as a prerequisite before a mother could kill her developing offspring.

South Carolina, which is the only state in the nation to recognize a fetus as a person, also could become the only state to require a woman to view an ultrasound before getting an abortion. Several other states are considering laws that would make ultrasounds available but would not make looking at them mandatory.

Of course, as much as the partial-birth ruling has motivated Bible-believing Christians, it has provoked abortion proponents. So it was no surprise that Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., wasted no time in reintroducing the Freedom of Choice Act, a measure to put a woman’s right to have an abortion in federal law.

In order to protect and preserve any rights, courageous leaders – in the press, in medicine, in law, in politics and in the church – have always recognized that they had to protect the fundamental rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Contemporary Christians can do no less.

Click here to ask Congress to pass the Informed Choice Act.

Source:  www.centerformoralclarity.net

How do we earn our desk?

Back in September of 2005, on the first day of school, Martha Cothren, a social studies school teacher at Robinson High School in Little Rock , did something not to be forgotten.
On the first day of school, with permission of the school superintendent, the principal and the building supervisor, she took all of the desks out of the classroom.

The kids came into first period and there were no desks. They obviously looked around and said, “Ms. Cothren, where’s our desk?” And she said, “You can’t have a desk until you tell me how you earn them.”

They thought, “Well, maybe it’s our grades.”

“No,” she said.

“Maybe it’s our behavior.”

And she told them, “No, it’s not even your behavior.”

And so they came and went in the first period, still no desks in the classroom. Second period, same thing, third period too. By early afternoon television news crews had gathered in Ms. Cothren’s class to find out about this crazy teacher who had taken all the desks out of the classroom.

The last period of the day, Martha Cothren gathered her class. They were at this time sitting on the floor around the sides of the room. And she says, “Throughout the day no one has really understood how you earn the desks that sit in this classroom ordinarily.” She said, “Now I’m going to tell you.”

Martha Cothren went over to the door of her classroom and opened it, and as she did 27 U.S. veterans, wearing their uniforms, walked into that classroom, each one carrying a school desk. And they placed those school desks in rows, and then they stood along the wall. And by the time they had finished placing those desks, those kids, for the first time I think perhaps in their lives, understood how they earned those desks.

Martha said, “You don’t have to earn those desks. These guys did it for you. They put them out there for you, but it’s up to you to sit here responsibly to learn, to be good students and good citizens, because they paid a price for you to have that desk, and don’t ever forget it.”

Friends, I think sometimes we forget that the freedoms that we have are freedoms not because of celebrities. The freedoms are because of ordinary people who did extraordinary things, who loved this country more than life itself, and who not only earned a school desk for a kid at the Robinson High School in Little Rock, but who earned a seat for you and me to enjoy this great land we call home, this wonderful nation that we better love enough to protect and preserve with the kind of conservative, solid values and principles that made us

a great nation.

“We live in the Land of the Free because of the brave.”