Go Directly To Jail.

It's what Virginia's Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli believes must happen in order to expose the tyranny of the HHS Mandate. From the LifeSiteNews.com article: "If citizens were jailed...it would 'provide an example of what tyranny means when it’s played to its logical conclusion.'" (Read the entire article HERE.)

Contact Your Congressmen!

PROBLEM: The US Department of Health and Human Services is now dictating that insurance companies that they must cover birth control and sterilization. Yep, on August 1 of next year our insurance companies will by law be another accomplice to sin. (CLICK HERE to read one of my previous posts on this same subject.)

What do we do to stop it? Each of us has two choices.

1. We can do nothing and be part of the problem.

2. We can do something, like write our congressmen, and fight evil.
CLICK HERE to find your representative.

CLICK HERE to find your State's senators.

Here is a sample letter for your convenience.

Dear Rep./Senator __________,

The 2010 comprehensive health care reform law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), poses new risks to religious freedom and rights of conscience. Most recently, the US Department of Health and Human Services has accepted the recommendations of the Institute of Medicine (that contraception and sterilization should be covered under PPACA) and is now requiring that by August 1, 2012 these services must be made available through insurance companies without a co-pay.

I do not support this measure, as it is in direct violation of my right to medical coverage that does not violate my religious beliefs or my conscience.

I therefore urge you to support The Respect for Rights of Conscience Act (H.R. 1179). I believe this will correct this problem by ensuring that those who participate in the health care system retain the right to provide, purchase, or enroll in health coverage that is consistent with their religious beliefs and moral convictions, and will ensure that PPACA does not create new pressures to exclude these participants from PPACA’s plans or programs.

Sincerely,

(your name here)

Please take the next ten minutes and do this little something. Even one simple letter can make a difference.

Pregnancy Not a Disease, Fertility Not a Pathological Condition

Still, the Institute of Medicine is treating them as such. The ramifications of this, if the federal government follows their recommendation, will mean that you, simply by paying for your insurance, will be an abortion provider by default.

From CatholicCulture.org's latest news:

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston has denounced the Institute of Medicine’s recommendation that the federal government require all private insurers to provide coverage for birth control and sterilization, without any co-payments on the part of the insured.

“I strongly oppose the Institute of Medicine's recommendation today that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate coverage of three particular practices in almost all private health plans: surgical sterilization; all FDA-approved birth control (including the IUD, ‘morning-after’ pills, and the abortion-inducing drug Ella); and ‘education and counseling’ promoting these among all ‘women of reproductive capacity,’” said the chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

“Pregnancy is not a disease, and fertility is not a pathological condition to be suppressed by any means technically possible,” the cardinal added. “The IOM report claims it would have good reason to recommend mandatory coverage for surgical abortions as well, if such a mandate were not prevented by law. But most Americans surely see that abortion is not healthy or therapeutic for unborn children, and has physical and mental health risks for women which can be extremely serious.”

Click here to read the rest of the press release. I don't know about anyone else, but I think this calls for some action...stay tuned.

Aborted Babies and Food Production--Hiding the Truth from Consumers!

Yes, you read that headline right. (I hope you've already read about this before in my post titled Senomyx: A Brand New Reason to Go Organic) Now Senomyx, a San Diego-based biomedical firm, is not just using the cells of aborted babies to develop flavor products that are found in processed foods, but is now hiding exactly who is using their Soylent Green.

Flavor company that uses embryo cells hides partner company names
by Kathleen Gilbert

LifeSiteNews.com) – A biomedical firm that uses fetal cell lines in flavor technology has removed from its website the names of organizations that use their products, according to the pro-life group Children of God for Life (COGFL).

Senomyx has been called out by the organization for using HEK-293 (human embryonic kidney) cells in the research and development of their artificial flavor enhancers, despite a pro-life consumer backlash.

Among Senomyx’s partnering companies is PepsiCo, which has been targeted for boycott based on its use of the flavor technology. In a recent response to customer letters, PepsiCo noted, “With respect to the flavor discovery research with Senomyx, we utilize techniques that have been the gold standard for several decades.”

COGFL responded, however, that the statement only further inflamed the public’s moral concerns.

“If this ‘gold standard’ is no big deal, then why are they trying so hard to hide the truth?” asked COGFL Executive Director, Debi Vinnedge. “PepsiCo and Senomyx have done everything in their power to trivialize what they are doing, when in fact what they are doing is only further damaging their public image.”

Click here to read the entire article.

Senomyx Update

Here's my post from a couple of weeks ago regarding Senomyx, a San Diego biotech company who uses the cells from aborted fetuses in flavor research.

While Ajinomoto Co. Inc., Kraft Foods Inc., Firmenich SA, Nestlé SA and PepsiCo has not abandoned their partnership with Senomyx, Solae quite a while ago has. Here is the article from LifeSiteNews.com.

YAY SOYBEANS

Senomyx: A Brand-New Reason to Go Organic

If nothing else has curbed your appetite for artificial food additives, this will probably do it. Senomyx, a San Diego biotech company, uses cells from aborted fetuses in flavor research. I first read about it at Aggie Catholics.

According to the Senomyx Website, their Corporate Collaborators are Ajinomoto Co., Inc., Kraft Foods Inc., Firmenich SA, Nestlé SA, PepsiCo and Solae. PepsiCo, Kraft & Nestlé are most likely breaking your heart.

The others, lesser known by the general public, are quite far-reaching.

*Ajinomoto is the world leader in manufacturing salt substitutes like MSG and the artificial sweetener aspartame.

*Firmenich is a manufacturer of designer perfumes, seasonings, food and beverage flavors & food enhancers, and of a relatively new sweetener, Splenda.

Solae, a joint venture between DuPont and Bunge Limited, was ironically named one of the world's most ethical companies in 2011. They call themselves the "world leader" in developing soy products and ingredients. If the product contains soy, chances are it's from Solae.

I think I'll clean out my cupboards after work today.

Venerable John Paul II and Bioethics

From "Personalistic Bioethics: The Dignity of the Human Embryo from the Moment of Fertilization" by Etsuko Akiba (published by The Institute of Oriental Philosophies' Journal of Oriental Studies, Vol 17, 2007)

“Pope John Paul II offered the following description in his “The Gospel of Life.” “From the time that the ovum is fertilized a life is begun which ... is the life of a new human being with his own growth. This has always been clear, and ... modern genetic science offers clear confirmation. It has demonstrated that from the first instant there is established the programme of what this living being will be: a person, this individual person with his characteristic aspects already well determined” (n° 60). That is, the fact that a person’s life begins at the time of fertilization is not something that Pope John Paul II decided, nor is it simply a theological doctrine or an ethical interpretation. It is the position taken from modern genetic science. Therefore, if we were to word this differently, we could say that if modern genetics had asserted that “the human life does not begin at the time of fertilization,” then the position of the Pope would also be different. This goes without saying. What we must acknowledge here is that the Pope is honestly incorporating the scientific truth into his position.

The human being is a “totality and unity as body and spirit,” an integration of these two, and thus in an early stage embryo, in which a new existence begins physically, it is thought that the spiritual soul is already present. Consequently, “the human being is to be respected and treated as a person from the moment of conception; and therefore from the same moment his rights as a person must be recognized.”

If you're up for some serious reading on bioethics, check out this entire piece. It's very long, but well worth the time. You might also pick up a copy of Evangelium Vitae.