Surprised

I've always been a big fan of Law & Order. I know the stories are unrealistic and the dialog treats the viewers like idiots. Also the show has been pushing more and more liberal viewpoint, some to the point where I get really offended. But I check the show out every so often.

I'm going to spoil this weeks episode, so stop reading if you're interested in watching it. Tonight the story centered around the murder of an abortion doctor. Surprisingly, very surprisingly actually, the show actually seemed to give a good pro-life argument, not a stupid one. Nor did they make fun of the pro-life argument. The show did its standard, where one or two characters take one side of the argument, and the others take the opposing side.

This show brought up more of the disturbing sides of this argument as well. It described in detail the horror of what is actually done in a late term abortion. It also gave a description of how a baby was killed after being delivered from a failed abortion attempt. I was shocked. I thought pro-choice people would not want to even touch that subject. Especially since our president voted to oppose a bill that would have required medical attention be given to such babies in Illinois. Finally, a woman testified about giving birth to a terminally ill baby. She described how blessed she felt for having the opportunity to hold her baby for 21 hours before she died. It was a very inspiring story that had a beauty to it, the kind of beauty found in the cross. The acting left something to be desired, but the effect the show was going for at this point was blatantly pro-life.

Finally, there were a few statements made that made it seem that Roe v. Wade was an 35yr old out of date court decision. They also made the statement that "most Americans are pro-life now."

There were arguments for the other side, but they didn't seem as effective. They were weak though, they could have portrayed it differently, but they chose not to.

Finally, the jury convicted the man who shot the doctor of murder, which I was happy about. Most people (not all) in the pro-life movement would not condone such violence.

So thank you Law & Order. I am shocked by NBC, I can't believe that episode actually aired.

Does this surprise anyone?

I saw one of those law commercials that fish for clients today, the kind where they say, "Have you had x happen to you, these people may be to blame and they might owe you money. Call us." They were looking for clients who have taken Yaz, Yasmin, and/or Ocella which are drugs for birth control. They say these may have caused a heart attack, stroke, pulmonary embolism, gallbladder problem, and/or deep vein thrombosis.

I'll leave aside my feelings of the litigiousness of our culture today. Does it surprise anybody that if you taking a drug to alter the way your body is supposed to work, it would cause problems? There is no need for such a drug. I'm sure there is a want, but no need. Changing the way your body is supposed to work is probably a bad idea.

Thank you Bishops

Praise God for courageous men and women who speak out against the evils of abortion. For this reason I'm thankful for our Catholic bishops who wrote this letter to Congress.

USCCB Letter to Congress, 2009-10-08

Dear Member of Congress:
On behalf of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), we are writing to express our disappointment that progress has not been made on the three priority criteria for health care reform that we have conveyed previously to Congress. In fact, the Senate Finance Committee rejected a conscience rights amendment accepted earlier by the House Energy and Commerce Committee. If final legislation does not meet our principles, we will have no choice but to oppose the bill. We remain committed to working with the Administration, Congressional leadership, and our allies to produce final health reform legislation that will reflect our principles.

We continue to urge you to
1. Exclude mandated coverage for abortion, and incorporate longstanding policies against abortion funding and in favor of conscience rights. No one should be required to pay for or participate in abortion. It is essential that the legislation clearly apply to this new program longstanding and widely supported federal restrictions on abortion funding and mandates, and protections for rights of conscience. No current bill meets this test.
2. Adopt measures that protect and improve people’s health care. Reform should make quality health care affordable and accessible to everyone, particularly those who are vulnerable and those who live at or near the poverty level.
3. Include effective measures to safeguard the health of immigrants, their children and all of society. Ensure that legal immigrants and their family members have comprehensive, affordable, and timely access to health care coverage. Maintain an adequate safety net for those who remain uncovered.

We sincerely hope that the legislation will not fall short of our criteria. However, we remain apprehensive when amendments protecting freedom of conscience and ensuring no taxpayer money for abortion are defeated in committee votes. If acceptable language in these areas cannot be found, we will have to oppose the health care bill vigorously. Catholic moral tradition teaches that health care is a basic human right, essential to protecting human life and dignity. Much-needed reform of our health care system must be pursued in ways that serve the life and dignity of all, never in ways that undermine or violate these fundamental values. We will work tirelessly to remedy these central problems and help pass real reform that clearly protects the life, dignity and health of all.

Sincerely,
Bishop William F. Murphy
Diocese of Rockville Centre
Chairman
Committee on Domestic Justice & Human Development

Cardinal Justin Rigali
Archdiocese of Philadelphia
Chairman
Committee on Pro-Life Activities

Bishop John Wester
Diocese of Salt Lake City
Chairman
Committee on Migration