Sanctity of Human Life – Page 262

Abortion in Arkansas Falls to Lowest Level Since 1977

Jun 2, 2017Jerry CoxAbortionAbortion, Life, Pro-life, Sanctity of Human Life

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, June 2, 2017

Little Rock – This week the Arkansas Department of Health released its annual report regarding the number of
abortions performed in Arkansas.

Family Council President Jerry Cox issued a statement saying, “This report shows a lot of good news. The number of abortions in Arkansas fell by more than five hundred last year. Overall, the number has dropped by more than one thousand since 2014, and it has been cut in half since the early 1990’s.”

Cox credited a series of pro-life laws passed in recent years with much of the decline in abortion. “In 2015 Arkansas passed one of the best informed-consent laws in the nation. It ensures women are given all the facts about abortion up front, including information about abortion’s risks, consequences, and alternatives. According to these reports, nearly five hundred women chose not to have abortions after being given this information.”

The report also indicated Arkansas did not export quite as many abortions to other states last year as in previous years. “Abortion proponents should celebrate these numbers as well,” Cox said. “They have maintained for over forty years that abortion ought to be safe, legal, and rare. The fact that abortion is becoming increasingly rare in Arkansas is something everybody ought to celebrate.”

Cox said Family Council will continue working to end abortion in Arkansas. “While we are glad the number of abortions continues to fall, it’s important to remember that the vast majority of these abortions were performed on healthy women carrying healthy babies. Abortion is a tragedy. We intend to continue working to end abortions in Arkansas.”

Family Council is a conservative education and research organization based in Little Rock, Arkansas.

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“Surprising” Study on Assisted-Suicide

Jun 1, 2017Jerry CoxEuthanasia and Assisted Suicide, LifeAssisted Suicide, Life, Pro-life, Sanctity of Human Life

You may have heard about efforts in other states to legalize assisted-suicide–sometimes misnamed “aid in dying” or “death with dignity.”

A few states, such as Oregon, Washington, California, and Colorado, have passed laws letting doctors prescribe deadly drugs to people with serious illnesses.

Supporters claim doing so helps terminally-ill people end their suffering–that assisted-suicide is for those who are enduring excruciating pain at the end of their lives. However, a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine last week is challenging that claim.

Researchers in Canada–where assisted-suicide is legal–found that people inquired about assisted-suicide not because of excruciating pain, but because they are dissatisfied with their lives in the wake of their illness.

As one researcher put it, “Their quality of life is not what they want. They are mostly educated and affluent — people who are used to being successful and in control of their lives, and it’s how they want their death to be.”

Some people have called this study “surprising,” but it really shouldn’t be. A study conducted in Oregon in 1999 concluded, “the decision to request and use a prescription for lethal medications . . . was associated with views on autonomy and control, not with fear of intractable pain or concern about financial loss.”

So why should Christians be concerned about any of this? Well, here are two thoughts:

First, just like abortion, assisted-suicide fails to acknowledge that God is the creator and giver of life. Human life is sacred, and no sickness gives us an excuse to end someone’s life prematurely.

Second, Christians are called time and again to help those who suffer. However, the proper way to eliminate suffering is not to eliminate people who are suffering; that is one of the lies on which assisted-suicide is founded.

If we are going to be salt and light in a dark world, we need to be able to speak the truth on issues like assisted-suicide.

Ten Reasons to De-Fund Planned Parenthood

May 18, 2017Jerry CoxAbortionAbortion, Life, Pro-life, Sanctity of Human Life

Our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom have put together a list of ten reasons the government should stop funding Planned Parenthood. They are:

Planned Parenthood engages in the sale of body parts harvested from aborted babies.
Failing to report sexual abuse of young girls.
Failing to provide women with proper care.
Promoting risky sexual behavior in children.
Misusing taxpayer funds.
Killing children in the womb.
Possibly utilizing illegal abortion methods.
Disregarding the safety of women and children.
Failing to uphold safe health standards.
Using abortion to fund extravagances.