by Kelli

In the case of abortion, Jewish law leans toward the modern pro-choice position, but also holds many powerful arguments for pro-life as well….

This decision, which is likely to appear in front of the Supreme Court, is yet another that ignores basic science.

~ Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz, claiming the pro-life movement “ignor[es] basic science” while admitting that Jewish sages ignore the science of human development, The Huffington Post, December 22

Editor’s Note: See this link for more information on embryonic development during the first 40 days after conception.

[Photo via The Jewish Week]

by Kelli

Marley and her daddy Jack Barr share their “Jingle Bells” duet to “help raise awareness for Down syndrome.”

On his website, Jack writes:

When my daughter was born, I told my wife I did not want her. I spent an entire year depressed because I believed everything society told me about having a daughter with Down syndrome.

Now she is the joy of my life. She is not a monster, she is not ugly, she is not retarded, and she is not a burden on our family. She is a beautiful little girl that brings joy to our daily lives.

I understand the fear of having a child that is different, so I want to encourage you to consider taking the road less traveled, and see the beautiful things a child with Down syndrome can show you.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/96gZjIm6WdQ[/youtube]

Email dailyvid@jillstanek.com with your video suggestions.

[Photo via CNN]

by Carder

Please buy my daughter. My husband is waiting for surgery fees in the hospital as his boss ran away. I would like to see my daughter and save my husband. Boss fled after industrial accident and we don’t have the money for treatment.

I’m willing to sell my child to save her father.

~ A sign held by Chinese migrant worker Ni Qiong (pictured) in desperation to help pay for her injured husband’s surgeon’s fees in China, The Daily Mail via POP Sugar, December 16

Here’s the third in the repeat of my Sunday series during the month of December of the fascinating abolitionist history behind some of our most beloved Christmas hymns. Pro-lifers identify closely with those 150 years ago who fought to free another oppressed class of people. Last week I posted the story behind “O Holy Night,” and the week before, “Go Tell It on the Mountain.” This week…

“I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”

In December 1863 poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was still grieving the death by fire of his wife Francis 2 years before when receiving word their oldest son Charles had been seriously injured as a Union soldier in the Civil War.

A fierce abolitionist, Longfellow awakened in despair that Christmas morning, unsure of both the fate of his son and his country. It was against this backdrop Longfellow wrote the melancholy poem “Christmas Bells” when hearing church bells peel throughout Boston proclaiming the birth of Christ. Two of the middle verses were later dropped to adapt the poem into a Christmas carol, which composer John Caulkin set to music. Those 2 verses give the current verse 3 (the last verse below) much more context:

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn
The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
“There is no peace on earth,” I said:
“For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!”

Read more on the history of “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” here and here.

I’ve also posted two memorable but very different renditions of this classic.

Pro-Life Action League has posted a video, “5 reasons to celebrate” (also below) the arrest of abortionist Naresh Patel (pictured right) last week in Oklahoma City:

1. Closes another abortion clinic

2. Shines light on corruption in abortion industry

3. Exposes abortion industry depravity

4. Helps pass tough pro-life laws

5. Puts other abortionists under pressure

Can you think of others?

[youtube]http://youtu.be/Mu7vQhw5XzU[/youtube]

“Imagine how poverty-stricken the state has to be, when in order for women to get health care they have to reach out to an organization that kills babies for a living?” Groen said. “How poverty-stricken do you have to be? That’s scraping the bottom of the barrel.”…

The representative, for his part, wasn’t surprised to hear the governor was rallying opposition to his legislation.

“They’re kissing cousins,” Groen said of Planned Parenthood and Democratic politicians.

~ Pro-life New Hampshire state Representative Warren Groen, on a bill he has introduced to defund Planned Parenthood, as quoted by the Concord Monitor, December 20

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

• Bound4Life is praying for a pro-life start to 2015, and asks others to do the same as two important cases will come before the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals:
  

  Both Arkansas and North Dakota’s State Legislatures have passed laws defining life as when a baby’s heartbeat can be detected. Now the appeals court will consider if the laws, passed by majority vote, are considered constitutional.

• The Leading Edge weighs in on the case of a New Zealand abortion provider who inserted an IUD without the consent of his patient. The woman was unaware of the IUD until three years later, when she was examined due to her difficulty becoming pregnant. Will there be an outcry from pro-choice advocates, as this woman was given no choice?
• A Culture of Life also weighs in on the case, saying abortion is never truly safe – especially not if an abortionist can get away with performing surgery on a patient without permission:
  

  If doctors are inserting IUDs without patient consent, what other dodgy practices are happening within New Zealand abortion facilities? What complications occur that we never hear about?

• ProLifeBlogs links to an Operation Rescue post on two emergency transports on the same day from Dr. Martin Haskell’s late-term abortion facility in Kettering, Ohio. On duty that day was Dr. Roslyn Kade (pictured right) who has no admitting privileges at any hospital. The facility also has no transfer agreement:
  

  “The Ohio Department of Health should refuse to renew the facility license of Haskell’s Kettering abortion clinic for the same reasons it shut down his Sharonville operation,” said [Troy] Newman. “Women continue to suffer life-threatening abortion complications without the guarantee that they will receive adequate or timely treatment. Ohio authorities shouldn’t wait until someone dies before taking action to protect women.”

[youtube]http://youtu.be/9yBFyXtrziw[/youtube]

[Photos via themirenaiudlawsuit.com and Operation Rescue]

by Kelli

Video of a father giving his two sweet children some early Christmas “gifts” in 2011 has gone viral recently, and it’s not hard to see why.

A little background from The Huffington Post:

Tim Cocker’s young son and daughter knew exactly what they wanted for Christmas: He wanted a watch inspired by the cartoon show “Ben 10,” and she wanted “Barbie Princess and Ken the King” dolls.

But when Cocker decided to surprise his kids by letting them each open a special gift two weeks before Christmas, the children got presents they weren’t at all expecting.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/zTpVI93hddY[/youtube]

Email dailyvid@jillstanek.com with your video suggestions.