Things to come?

The below link really provides a sense of the kind of future we may be looking at.

http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2011/legal-persectution.html

Good news/Bad news

The good news is that partial birth abortion bancpassed here in Michigan! The bad news is that Health and Human Services is looking to force pretty much everyone to provide contraceptive coverage in their health insurance. And yeah, I do mean pretty much everyone.
You can give the HHS a piece of your mind here: www.usccb.org/conscience
We don't have to procrastinate as the deadline for comments is September 30.

Another reminder

As you can see, the deadline for pre- registration is past but that doesn't mean that you can't come. There should be plenty of room for all. Also, we are allowing an hour lunch break and there are plenty of places to gra a bite both on and near campus. We'll be compiling that info into the folders that we'll be handing out at the conference.
Also, for those who can't come to the conference but would like to, we are going to be recording the proceedings and distributing them in some fashion. We'll keep you up to date.

Wow and thank you

We have had a tremendous surge in interest in the conference over the last two weeks.  A number of donations have come in or been pledged and we have signed up nearly a hundred people to attend so far with more likely to come.  We can't say how happy we are that there has been such interest and support for this event.
I also have to apologize for the infrequent updates.  Now that we have the food order placed and that stress is gone, we should be able to keep up with events a little better.

Extension

Due to a sudden surGe of interest, we're extending the pre-registration deadline to tomorrow night, that is the night of the 20th. So if you're kicking yourself for not getting signed up in time to get the lunch, you can stop kicking and send us your information at kofccultureoflife@gmail.com.

Registration Revision

Due to administrative difficulties, the online registration option is no longer available.  As I understand what happened, when we set up the account with Google Checkout, I designated the Conference as a non-profit charity, which it is.  However, it seems that doing that also designated the Conference as a 501-3(c) which it isn't.  In any case, Google's reviewers "discovered" that we aren't and deactivated the account.  Since the process was pretty cumbersome anyway we aren't going to attempt to set up a new account.  You can still register online by emailing us at kofccultureoflife@gmail.com.  Just let us know how many you wish to register and either send your check to the address below or just pay at the door.
Also, this is the last weekend to register early and get the free lunch if you've been trying to decide, now is the time.


Remember, the cost is $20 and $10 for students and free for clergy.  Students should submit a scan of their student ID.  Also, the pre-registration deadline is Sept 17 and the first 50 people to do so will be given a copy the Janet Smith Contraception, Why Not? CD.

Registration by mail:  Send a check made out to the Knights of Columbus Council 7115 and note with your name and menu choice, if registering before September 17 (again, see below) to:

       K of C 7115 Life Conference
       P.O. Box 231
       Zeeland, MI 49464

MENU
When you submit your registration email, please select one of the following as your meal.

Classic Caesar

tossed romaine hearts, romano and parmesan cheeses,
topped with croutons. Tossed with classic caesar dressing

Cashew Chicken Salad

crisp mixed salad greens, topped with roasted chicken, grapes
apples, celery, red onion, toasted cashews and dijonaisse chicken salad
served with your choice of dressing.

Veggie Muffuletta

marinated artichokes, oven roasted tomatoes, grilled zucchini and summer squash
with provolone cheese, lettuce and an olive tapenade

Avocado Turkey Club

honey roasted turkey breast with bacon
white vermont cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato
and avocado aioli on a pretzel roll

AQ Italian

ham, pepperoni and genoa salami stacked on rosemary ciabatta bread
with sliced banana peppers, kalamata olives, feta, shredded lettuce
tomatoes and an Italian vinaigrette

Chicken Bruschetta

grilled chicken breast on ciabatta
with balsamic marinated tomatoes
and fresh mozzarella


Feel free to email at kofccultureoflife@gmail.com or call Eric at 616-994-7466 with any questions.

Just a reminder

The deadline for pre-registration is this weekend so if you've been planning on attending but haven't signed up yet, now is the time to make sure you're able to get a free lunch.
We'll look forward to seeing you on October, 8.

This Weekend

This weekend, we're running a registration drive at our parish, Our Lady of the Lake in Holland.  So if you go there, be on the lookout for us after Mass.  Also, a thank you goes out to all the other parishes that have put up flyers and ran bulletin inserts.  A special thank you goes out to St. Isidore in Grand Rapids which is my Catholic alma mater so to speak and also one of the first parishes to actively support the conference.  Again, thanks to all, your help is greatly appreciated and has already made a difference.

Persecution

The other day, I came upon this story of a pro-life demonstrator getting arrested and beaten by police for basically no reason at all.  I come upon such stories on occasion and I thought it might not be a bad idea to collect them as a reminder of the environment we're in.  It seems especially appropriate given that 40 Days for Life is getting ready to kick off in a couple of weeks.  That said, it should be said that such instances are not extremely common and the worst that most of will ever endure is a insult shouted from a passerby.
In any case, let me know if you stumble across any of these stories and I will get them posted.

Interesting thoughts

 Follow this to an interesting post by Carl Olson.  Like him, I don't agree with everything said in the article he cites.  For one, it seems to assume a silver bullet arguement that will suddenly work for everyone.  And that attitude is exactly the wrong one to have.  If anything, it seems to mee that the multifaceted approach is the one that has borne the most fruit.

Our Speakers

Here is the last in the speakers series (until the next conference that is!).  Today, we have Al Kresta, the headliner for the event.  Below is the bio taken from Ave Maria Radio

Al Kresta is a broadcaster, journalist and author who is, first of all, a missionary. He draws upon his unique faith background to create what is, arguably, the most fascinating — and most spiritually constructive — talk show on radio today.

A 1976 honors graduate of Michigan State University, Al has also done graduate work in theology at both Catholic and Protestant seminaries. He became well known in the Detroit area for his program, “Talk from the Heart,” one of the top-rated Christian talk shows during the 1980s and 90s. When he began the program, Al was a Protestant pastor. The questions forced upon him as pastor, however, led him to return to the Catholic Church. His profound personal conversion to Christ and return to the Catholic Church is told in the best-selling anthology Surprised By Truth.

In 1997, Domino’s Pizza founder Tom Monaghan recruited Al to launch the media apostolate, Ave Maria Communications.

Abortion Really Does Hurt Women

A friend of mine passed this article along to me.  I'm going to go ahead and post it in its entirety to save you the trouble of following the link.

Largest ever study finds abortion increases risk of severe mental health problems by 81%

Thaddeus Baklinski

Thu Sep 01 16:13 EST

Abortion

LONDON, UK, September 1, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A new study published today in the British Journal of Psychiatry found that women who underwent an abortion experienced an 81% increased risk of mental health problems. The study also found that almost 10% of all women’s mental health problems are directly linked to abortion.

Conducted by Priscilla K. Coleman, Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Bowling Green State University, Ohio, USA, the study was based on an analysis of 22 separate studies and 36 measures of effect, that involved a total of 877,181 participants of whom 163,831 had experienced an abortion. The study took into account pre-existing mental health problems prior to the abortion.

“In order to avoid any allegations of bias,” Dr. Coleman explained, “very stringent inclusion criteria were employed. This means every strong study was included and weaker studies were excluded.

“Specifically, among the rules for inclusion were sample size of 100 or more participants, use of a comparison group, and employment of controls for variables that may confound the effects such as demographics, exposure to violence, prior history of mental health problems, etc.”

This makes Dr. Coleman’s study the most comprehensive of its kind to date.

“Given the methodological limitations of recently published qualitative reviews of abortion and mental health, a quantitative synthesis was deemed necessary to represent more accurately the published literature and to provide clarity to clinicians” Dr. Coleman stated in the report.

She said her research was focused on offering “the largest quantitative estimate of mental health risks associated with abortion available in the world literature.” This, she said, would give health care practitioners “an accurate synopsis of the best available evidence in order to provide women with valid information in order to make informed health care decisions.”

The research revealed that abortion was associated with a 34% increased risk for anxiety disorders; 37% greater risk of depression; 110% greater risk of alcohol abuse and 220% greater risk of marijuana use/abuse.

Abortion was also linked with a 155% greater risk of attempting to commit suicide.

“The strongest subgroup estimates of increased risk occurred when abortion was compared with term pregnancy and when the outcomes pertained to substance use and suicidal behavior,” Dr. Coleman observed.

“Calling into question the conclusions from traditional reviews,” the report concluded, “the results revealed a moderate to highly increased risk of mental health problems after abortion. Consistent with the tenets of evidence-based medicine, this information should inform the delivery of abortion services.”

Commenting on the results of the study, Pro Life Campaign of Ireland spokesperson, Dr. Ruth Cullen said, “These findings are extremely disturbing and completely undermine pro-choice claims that abortion alleviates mental health problems. In fact, the study further proves that the opposite is the case.”

“These findings cannot be ignored,” Dr. Cullen stated. “They raise very serious issues for everyone regardless of which side they are one in the abortion debate. The best interests of women can only be served by an honest and dispassionate appraisal of the facts.”

Dr. Mary L. Davenport, president of the American Association of ProLife Obstetricians and Gynecologists and medical director of Nigeria’s Magnificat Maternal Health Project, said the study, “sheds important light on the mental health of women,” and exposes the “egregious cover-up of abortion complications” that are an aspect of “the abortion distortion.”

“This review, which is larger than any study to date, contradicts the recent and biased and less systematic review by the American Psychological Association, which fails to find a relationship between mental health problems and abortion,” Dr. Davenport wrote today in the American Thinker.

“The new meta-analysis also contradicts the stance of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), which has been silent on the mental health impact of abortion in its official publications despite overwhelming evidence over the last two decades of abortion’s adverse effects.”

“By so powerfully linking abortion to mental health problems, the Coleman study helps us comprehend the magnitude of the damage done to entire nations by reckless, permissive abortion policies,” Dr. Davenport concluded.

An abstract of the study titled “Abortion and mental health: quantitative synthesis and analysis of research published 1995–2009” with links to the full text is available on the British Journal of Psychiatry website here.