Dear Members and Friends,
On this inauguration eve, there is much that needs to be said, but I am almost -- not quite -- tongue-tied. Having put off writing this e-letter until the last possible moment in the search for encouraging words, I was rescued just yesterday by member Mardie who sent information about the First 100 Days Prayer Campaign. Nothing could be more encouraging than knowing we can join many other Christians in praying for President Obama's conversion concerning the right to life, etc. For more details, see the flyers at http://www.ahumbleplea.com/Docs/100Rosaries.pdf, which you may also print and distribute. There are two flyers: one for Catholics and one for non-Catholic Christians.
As you may know, my main area of pro-life work is combating euthanasia and assisted suicide (imposed death after a person is born). I have just finished helping rewrite a 12-page newspaper supplement called Imposed Death: Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide which is produced and distributed by Human Life Alliance. The updated supplement will be released in March, but you can still read the old version at www.humanlife.org. Physician-assisted suicide has been legally practiced in Oregon since 1997, but has recently been legalizedl in both Washington, by a vote of the people, and in Montana, by a judge legislating from the bench. Read all about these revolting developments in items 1 and 2.
Hopefully some of you will be in Washington D.C. for the March for Life. Dress warm. I'll be with you in spirit, spending January 22nd in adoration at St. Peter Catholic Church in Stevens Point, WI.
Finally, I leave you with the good news. On January 15th, President Bush proclaimed January 18, 2009 to be National Sanctity of Human Life Day. He declared, "The sanctity of human life is written in the hearts of all men and women. On this day and throughout the year, we aspire to build a society in which every child is welcome in life and protected in law. We also encourage more of our fellow Americans to join our just and noble cause. History tells us that with a cause rooted in our deepest principles and appealing to the best instincts of our citizens, we will prevail." Hear! Hear!
In the Sacred Heart,
Julie Grimstad
Executive Director
Item 1. Washington Voters Approve Physician-Assisted Suicide
On November 4, 2008, Washington became the second state to legalize PAS. 59% of voters approved Initiative 1000, modeled on Oregon's law. The new law is set to take effect in July 2009.
It is heartening to report that the Washington State Medical Association is outspoken in its opposition to PAS and Eastern Washington's largest hospital system, Providence Health and Services, will forbid physicians from helping patients die at any of its facilities. Compassion & Choices (C&C) and Death With Dignity National Center (DDNC), the groups that led the campaign, refuse to use the "s" word (suicide). They reject the term "physician-assisted suicide" and instead urge the use of more appealing terms like "death with dignity" and "aid-in-dying," but Washington's medical providers aren't stupid. Self-killing, even with a doctor's help, is suicide and legalization of assisted suicide does not turn a crime into a nice medical treatment.
Item 2. The Legalization of Assisted Suicide in Montana
On December 5, 2009, Montana District Court judge Dorothy McCarter ruled that the state law banning assisted suicide violates both the right to privacy guaranteed in the Montana constitution and the constitutional clause that reads, "The dignity of the human being is inviolable." The judge, in essense, found a "fundamental right" to die--that is, to commit suicide with a legally provided drug overdose. Whatever happened to the inviolable right to life?
Here are blogs explaining the situation in Montana:
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