The trend took root in the 1980s when ultrasound technologies made it easier for families to detect fetal sex early and to abort if it was not what the parents desired, said the analysis in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.Sons have traditionally been preferred over daughters in many parts of China, India and South Korea due to social, cultural and financial motivations. Sex-selective abortion is outlawed but can be difficult to enforce.The phenomenon was first spotted in South Korea in the early 1990s, when the sex ratio at birth (SRB) -- typically 105 male births to every 100 female births -- rose to 125 in some cities.Similar rises in male births were seen in China, "complicated by the one-child policy, which has undoubtedly contributed to the steady increase in the reported SRB from 106 in 1979, to 111 in 1990, 117 in 2001 and 121 in 2005," said the study.India has seen "sex ratios as high as 125 in Punjab, Delhi and Gujarat in the north but normal sex ratios of 105 in the southern and eastern states of Kerala and Andhra Pradesh," it added.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Midweek News Roundup: 03/31/11
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Laws that save lives
The study, “Analyzing the Effect of Anti-Abortion U.S. State Legislation in the Post-Casey Era,” evaluated abortion data from nearly every state over a span of 21 years, from 1985 to 2005 – a longer period than nearly any other peer-reviewed study. It contributes to a substantial body of social science research which finds that parental involvement laws and public funding restrictions are effective. New found in his study that data from both the Centers for Disease Control and the Guttmacher Institute provide solid evidence that Medicaid abortion funding restrictions, parental involvement laws and informed consent laws effectively lower abortion rates. His findings included that parental involvement laws reduce in-state abortion rates for minors by approximately 15 percent.With everything that's going on in Washington, D.C., it's easy to overlook state and local action. This study shows that our decades-long efforts to pass pro-life laws on the state level have been worth it. Of course, legislation is not and should not be the pro-life movement's sole focus. Many dedicated pro-lifers focus their work in arenas like education, direct aid to pregnant women and families, etc., and that's wonderful. But neither should we dismiss legislation as just a political game. We've long known, and this study now proves, that laws can make the difference between life and death. I hope that this study emboldens state legislators to take a stand for life!
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Lautenberg's shocking comment
So, what would our lives look like if we got what Lautenberg thinks we deserve? The freedoms enumerated in the Constitution include...
Freedom of speech. As we have seen time and time again, abortion advocacy groups love to censor pro-lifers. That effort would become far more dangerous if they had the power of the government behind them.
The right to vote. Disenfranchising pro-lifers would be an easy way to ensure that pro-abortion candidates lead the country.
Equal protection of the laws. Without equal protection, pro-lifers would be second-class citizens.
The right to life. The Fourteenth Amendment guarantees that the government cannot deprive us of our lives without due process. The absence of this protection would be catastrophic. (This is the same part of the Constitution that the Supreme Court refused to apply to the unborn in Roe v. Wade.)
Did Senator Lautenberg actually mean to say that pro-lifers ought to have none of the above liberties? Probably not-- from the context, he seemed to have only freedom of speech in mind (which is bad enough). But the implications of the words he chose show incredible hostility to supporters of prenatal rights. So much for toning down political rhetoric.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Let your voice be heard
Thursday, March 24, 2011
NYC pregnancy center burglarized
This is the second time this has happened in the past 12 months. They broke into our facility through the second story window, stole over $5,000 worth of equipment, and virtually destroyed the office.They're not exaggerating. As the following photographs show, it is currently impossible to serve any women at this location.
. . .
The rampage of these heartless criminals shattered windows, stole all of our audio visual equipment, destroyed displays and supplies, tore up the ceiling, doors, and floor. They even broke into our supply closet and stole our Pampers.




This is not a new tactic. When I lived in Miami, someone stole a sonogram machine, worth $35,000, from a pro-life pregnancy clinic in Hialeah.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Midweek News Roundup: 03/23/11
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Video: Secular Arguments Against Abortion

Monday, March 21, 2011
That time of the year
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Tomorrow: Secular Pro-Life at Carnegie Mellon
Tomorrow's presentation will be before a mixed pro-life and pro-choice audience, and the topic is "The Scientific Proof for the Pro-Life Cause." Of course, it's impossible to make all the secular arguments against abortion in an hour-long presentation, but it will serve as a helpful introduction to the big issues in medicine, law, philosophy, and human rights.
CMU is the second university to host a SecularProLife.org speaker. Last November's presentation at Liberty University focused on the changing demographics of the pro-life movement and how crucial it is to reach out to religious minorities.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Midweek News Roundup: 03/16/11
I really don't believe in abortion. It's like killing a baby? Well, I think that’s really sad, but everything happens for a reason. I don’t know how that would be a reason. I guess I haven’t been in that position, so I wouldn’t be able to judge that.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Planned Parenthood's child abuse scandals continue
It has since become clear that the Justice Department letter was a last-minute attempt by Planned Parenthood to cover its own behind. The individual clinics had plenty of time to contact the police, but almost all failed to do so.
“Out of seven clinic videos released, in only two cases (Roanoke and Charlottesville) has Planned Parenthood publicly said what local law enforcement they contacted,” he added. “When faced with a situation of suspected child sexual abuse, Planned Parenthood doesn’t have the luxury of deciding what cases to report and which ones not to. The law doesn’t give them that decision making power.”Incredibly, Planned Parenthood has decided in the midst of this scandal to speak out against proposed child protective legislation in Illinois. The new law would expand mandatory reporting to include counselors at reproductive health clinics. Currently, only medical staff are mandatory reporters, but it makes sense that counselors would be in a position to learn about abuse. Although Planned Parenthood has repeatedly shown that it doesn't mind breaking such laws, they'd prefer that the law not be passed in the first place.
In the case of Charlottesville, Planned Parenthood claimed it contacted the local Albemarle police but a police official reported to the media that he have no record of a child sex abuse report coming from Planned Parenthood.
This position is so extreme that even NARAL-- which backs partial-birth abortions, taxpayer funding of abortions, and other extraordinary pro-abortion measures-- disagrees. NARAL initially opposed the measure, but backed off, apparently after moderate pro-choicers flooded their email inbox.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Scatterbrained Sunday: Spring break news
BryanKemper.com, a youth-focused Christian pro-life blog, was hacked. Over a year's worth of content was deleted. They're working on recovering the posts, but may not be able to recover the comments to those posts.
Speaking of which, Kristan Hawkins of Students for Life of America has a spot-on editorial at LifeNews.com about the role of the internet in the pro-life movement:
Today, over 60% of young people get their news online. The majority of young people spend more than 7 hours per day connected to online media via their phone, ipod, or computer, often multi-tasking on sites such as Hulu, YouTube, and Facebook.Students for Life recently launched a new website, AbolishAbortion.com, where you can donate your Facebook status, find internships, and lots of other cool stuff.
People of all generations turn to Google for answers, even for the most difficult questions. I’ve seen hearts and minds change on abortion because of these simple searches, when a student searches the words “unborn baby” and sees a 3D ultrasound a proud parent posted on YouTube or when a scared young girl finds a pro-life pregnancy help center when searching the word “abortion.”
Via the White Rose Project, if you only have four minutes and eighteen seconds to make the case for defunding Planned Parenthood, this is the video for you:
Finally, Illinois has abolished the death penalty. Students for Life of Illinois praises the move as "a step in the right direction," but says it's high time the right to life apply to the unborn as well. Illinois' 23 abortion facilities kill 40,000 unborn children annually.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Midweek News Roundup: 03/09/11
Friday, March 4, 2011
Upcoming events
1) There will be a webcast on Tuesday, March 7 at 9pm Eastern. Pre-register here.
2) Students for Life, Live Action, and other youth-focused groups are sponsoring a video contest for pro-lifers between the ages of 14 and 25. In five minutes or less, share why Planned Parenthood should be defunded. First prize is $1000! Submissions are due Monday at midnight. Learn more here.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Pregnancy clinics have less 1st Amendment protection than Westboro?
How ironic and sad that the New York City Council would choose that same day to enact limitations on pro-life speech.
The new ordinance requires pro-life centers to "warn" their clients that they opppose abortion. Supposedly, this is in the mothers' interests. But no parallel requirement exists to inform women at "pro-choice" clinics that the counseling there is skewed toward abortion. In fact, 97.6% of pregnant women served by Planned Parenthood wind up getting abortions-- and that's according to Planned Parenthood's own data.
The aim of New York City's new ordinance is simple: get rid of the abortion businesses' main competition by discriminating on the basis of viewpoint. Never mind that NYC already has a ridiculously high abortion rate. Never mind that similar legislation has already been found unconstitutional in Maryland. In the minds of extreme abortion advocates, providing women in crisis pregnancies with alternatives to abortion is such a bad thing that it should actually receive less protection than WBC's despicable anti-gay protests at military funerals!
A lawsuit to vindicate pro-life advocates' First Amendment rights is no doubt forthcoming. Stay tuned.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Midweek News Roundup: 03/02/11
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Stereotypes
A week ago, Jill Stanek’s weekend question was about one of my pet peeves, sidewalk counselors who yell. I’ve never seen an experienced counselor do this in person (and the only people who I’ve ever seen attempt it were immediately ostracized and soon went away). However, because yellers do exist, there is a certain stigma to sidewalk counseling. I’m proudly pro-life and can be vocal about this (in a pleasant way) if necessary. I don’t talk about sidewalk counseling. Yes, my closest friends and family know that I sidewalk counsel, but it’s not something I advertise.
I don’t tell people what I do on Saturday mornings. Work knows that I have a “club meeting,” which is technically true. Other members of Bama Students for Life are there, we’re a club, we’re meeting. It’s not technically a lie. But I could tell my boss that I really can’t work because, hey, I’m trying to save some lives. She’s pro-life, she should understand, right? Unfortunately, the stigma against sidewalk counselors doesn’t seem to be limited to just pro-choicers. It’s fairly common among moderate pro-lifers, too.
I should know. When I first joined the BSFL, I never intended to sidewalk counsel. It was just too extreme an action for me to take, right there with marching and waving signs. I knew that abortion was wrong, I was willing to sedately help to make it illegal, but I didn’t think I would be willing to tell a woman that I even disagreed with her choice. At that point, I saw sidewalk counselors as crazy people, yelling at and condemning women, spitting hellfire and brimstone (not that I had met a sidewalk counselor before).
But after I had been part of the club for a while, I figured that the counselors I knew were pretty normal. I decided to go once and see what it was like. I wanted to be more involved and sidewalk counseling really seemed like the only option at the time. When I arrived, I met several extremely nice and caring individuals. Each experienced counselor I’ve met has been compassionate and calm with women seeking abortions. That first day, I saw such tragedy that my position on sidewalk counseling completely changed. One woman I saw go into that clinic was obviously and heavily pregnant. She must have been about 20 weeks along and she showed every week of it. Still, the counselors never yelled at her. They begged, they cajoled, they offered financial aid and other services. But the entire morning, they remained calm, never once raising their voices. We have to project, this is true. Our voices have a long way to travel, but we never yell.
Yellers have a lot to answer for. It accomplishes nothing. Women only block the yelling out. They already think of us as sign-wielding fanatics, screaming our heads off about nothing, intent on controlling their lives. Women aren’t going to stop unless we can show them compassion. Yellers just continue to provide ammunition for these misconceptions about sidewalk counselors. They are our worst stereotype and it is shameful that we still have them around.