by Kelli

They aren’t scraping the bottom of the barrel yet…. There are numerous restrictions that can still be enacted in states, despite the fact that so many have become law over the past three years.

And they’re becoming more burdensome than we’ve seen before, eroding women’s rights by targeting abortion providers and shutting down clinics.

~ Elizabeth Nash, state issues manager for the Guttmacher Institute, as quoted by The Huffington Post, December 23

The article also states: “While 2011 went down in history as the worst year for women’s reproductive rights, 2013 has officially become the second worst, as Republican state lawmakers passed 70 new abortion restrictions into law across the United States.”

by Hans Johnson

The day after Christmas is that sullen day when holiday songs suddenly disappear from the radio. But for Britain and the Commonwealth Nations, it’s known as Boxing Day.

No, that’s not when gifts are boxed up to be returned to stores, but a tradition of giving Christmas boxes to those in service jobs.

But in Finland, a different sort of box is being given to new mothers – a box of baby care items which has been credited for the sharp drop in the country’s infant mortality rate.

After being emptied of supplies, the boxes are then used as ready-made cribs, much as has always been done: whether it be hotel dresser drawers, theater trunks, or – a manger.

Do you think such “starter kits” should be issued by the U.S. government as well? Or should this be left to CPCs, church groups, and other charities?

[youtube]http://youtu.be/PuE0D4pT6HA[/youtube]

Email dailyvid@jillstanek.com with your video suggestions.

by Kelli

It’s hard to reach the point where you wish your wife’s body would stop….

They don’t know how long the baby was without nutrients and oxygen. But I’m aware what challenges I might face ahead.

~ Erick Munoz, who is seeking to have his pregnant wife Marlise’s life support removed in Texas, where it is illegal to do so when a patient is pregnant, as quoted by ABC News, December 23

The Munozes have a one-year-old son together (Mateo, pictured) and Marlise is in her second trimester of pregnancy with their 2nd child. Erick has stated that Marlise did not wish to be kept alive artificially, though she never signed a DNR. According to doctors, their preborn baby has a “normal heartbeat.” (Video at link.)

by LauraLoo and Hans Johnson

First, LauraLoo’s favorite, back by special request… now four years in a row:

My Favourite Time of Year is a traditional style Christmas song which was written by Leigh Haggerwood. After three years of trying to persuade the record companies to back the project, he decided to do it himself. He gathered together 36 musicians which he collectively called The Florin Street Band and recorded the song at Trevor Horn’s studios in London.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H10f2w7T5CU[/youtube]

And a favorite from Hans:

Christmastime brings TV specials hosted by popular singers – usually to promote a Christmas album. But in its heyday in the ’60s and ’70s many performers, such as Andy Williams and Perry Como had a new special every year. One of my favorites that I saw “live on tape” was Bing Crosby’s in 1977. It featured a counterpoint duet with David Bowie: a memorable blend of baritone and tenor, and of two very different performers.

Sadly, Crosby passed away only a month before its airing. But it reminds us of the gathering of generations during the Holidays when, as another song says, “through the years we all will be together” whether in body or spirit.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/DiXjbI3kRus[/youtube]

Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday Jesus!

Email dailyvid@jillstanek.com with your video suggestions.

by Carder

Make no mistake, there are lots of Christians out there who are compassionate, who do take the need to be kind and loving to others to heart. Many of them, in fact, work in the world of reproductive justice.

But with the Christian right, stunts like the “empty manger” nonsense end up showcasing the mean-spirited and frankly irrational heart of reactionary politics wrapped up in religion. And the claims that these kinds of cruel actions are “just” an expression of faith and shouldn’t be criticized as the expressions of sadism that they actually are increasingly sound hollow.

~ Amanda Marcotte criticizing  “Would Planned Parenthood Have Aborted Jesus?” pro-life messaging, RH Reality Check, December 23

by Susie Allen, host of the blog, Pro-Life in TN, and Kelli

We welcome your suggestions for additions to our Top Blogs (see tab on right side of home page)! Email Susie@jillstanek.com.

• Live Action remarks on a blog, written by an abortion facility worker, that chastises pro-lifers for taking pictures of aborted babies and “exploiting” them. The worker believes that, in contrast, the clinic treats aborted aborted children “respectfully”:
  

  In my clinic, we wash off the tissue and examine it. It is treated respectfully and put with the woman’s first name into a container. We show it to patients if they ask to see it, and make sure they understand which part is the sac (later the placenta), which part the pregnancy if visible (after 9 weeks), and which part the lining of the uterus. People have been known to pray over it, write notes for inclusion, “baptize” it, etc etc.

  Some clinic staff have also been known to say a little prayer over it – thanking it for its sacrifice so that the woman could continue on the path she was on.

  That just makes it all better, then, doesn’t it? Premeditated murder spun as the “self-sacrifice” of the preborn child. Delusional.

• Judie Brown discusses Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) and warns that what can seem like patient-friendly forms might become your death warrant:
  

  POLST is no different than any other end-of-life care form, signed by someone who has the best intentions for his care being given in accord with natural law ethics, but overseen by another individual whose perspective is driven by motives that are not at all wholesome.

• Americans United for Life lists five takeaways from the recent annual report released by Planned Parenthood:
  

  1. Abortion remains a central component of Planned Parenthood’s business.

  2. After bullying the Susan G. Komen Foundation into lowering its grant standards and receiving “an outpouring of public donations,” Planned Parenthood’s “breast health services” continued to plummet.

  3. Life-ending drugs and devices are a growing portion of Planned Parenthood’s “contraception” services.

  4. Taxpayers continue to heavily subsidize the nation’s largest abortion chain.

  5. The abortion chain is spending millions to “refresh” the Planned Parenthood “brand.”

• Josh Brahm posts a video on how to address those on opposite sides of the abortion debate. Are “pro-life” and “pro-choice” the correct terms to use? Why is this important?

[youtube]http://youtu.be/BD7QXR1ABUM[/youtube]

[Photo via nj.com]

by Hans Johnson

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Zh-yR0pbmU[/youtube]

(Film from The Nativity Story)

Email dailyvid@jillstanek.com with your video suggestions.

by Kelli

But what if Jesus were to have embraced a “prochoice” worldview? What would that look like?

Instead we have… a Savior who saves the most wretched, the most defenseless and the most broken. He emblazoned Purpose on our hearts from the moment we were conceived. In Christ we have compassion, grace, mercy, love, forgiveness, hope and possibility personified.

~ Ryan Bomberger, The Radiance Foundation, December 17

[Graphic by The Radiance Foundation]