Psalm 22 is a prayer for a woman in a crisis pregnancy

Mar 24, 2024 |
Psalm 22

Psalm 22It’s hard to believe Psalm 22 was written a millennium before Jesus was nailed to the cross. This messianic psalm, which describes the travails of David, surely prefigures Christ.

It is reminiscent of Psalm 51 which opens our Lenten season with Ash Wednesday, just as Psalm 22 is sung on Palm Sunday, setting the stage for Holy Week.

In Psalm 51, David has sinned deeply, and in his contrition, he promises God to redouble his efforts to “teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.”

In Psalm 22, he has been deeply persecuted by King Saul. He asks God to deliver him from death, and in return, he again promises to double down in his evangelization efforts by proclaiming God’s name in the assembly:

“You who fear the Lord, praise him!”

David uses rich imagery in describing his plight, which eerily foretells the crucifixion:

“All who see me scoff at me.”

“They have pierced my hands and feet; I can count all my bones.”

“They cast lots to claim my clothes.”

So when Jesus cries out, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” , He has allowed Himself to experience the isolation of the sinner as He takes all the sins of the world … onto Himself.

Sin separates us from God. And sin hurts.

The sin of abortion is particularly painful to women. These women often feel abandoned by a boyfriend, a husband, or their family, which can drive to the extreme in a crisis pregnancy.

In their isolation, many cry out,  “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me!”

But He hasn’t.

God has placed angels right here on earth to tend to women dealing with unplanned pregnancies. You’ll find them in compassionate crisis pregnancy centers like these:

Crisis Pregnancy Resources

Agapé

Alpha Women’s Center

Birthright

Davenport Hope and Healing Ministry (Davenport, Iowa)

House of Mercy

Informed Choices

Innervisions

Life Care Pregnancy Center ( Stuart, Iowa)

Pathways of Pella (Pella, Iowa)

Pregnancy Center of Central Iowa (Newton, Iowa)

Ruth Harbor Ministries

For a more complete list of pregnancy resource centers in Iowa, click here.

Do you know someone in a crisis pregnancy with the misguided notion that God has abandoned them? Share the resources above with them.

This weekend, the entire Catholic community sings this gut-wrenching psalm at our Palm Sunday Masses. The isolated and the abandoned hold a special place in the hearts of the faithful this weekend.

Christ is with the mother in crisis. Christ is with the baby in the womb. Help is available.

You are not alone.

Sidewalk Advocates training coming soon

Mar 23, 2024 |
Sidewalk Advocates

The mission of the Sidewalk Advocates organization is to train, equip, and support communities across the United States and the world in sidewalk advocacy: to be the hands and feet of Christ, offering loving, life-affirming alternatives to all present at abortion and abortion-referral facilities, thereby eliminating demand and ending abortion.

Our executive director, Maggie DeWitte, attended one of their trainings this year and was impressed by the practical, loving, and useful information she received. She learned powerful techniques that she was able to implement during the 2024 Spring ’40 Days for Life’ campaign.

Maggie wants to pass on what she learned has just been approved to to be a Sidewalk Advocates Trainer for Des Moines, Urbandale, and Ames Iowa. She is planning a sidewalk training class this summer 2024.

More details to follow. Stay tuned.

Happy World Down Syndrome Day 2024

Mar 21, 2024 |

Finding the Meaning of Life and Meaning in Life

~By Jacinta Hamilton~

You’re a precious masterpiece

A wonderous work of art

Molded by the Master’s hand

And cherished in His heart

 

You are God’s creation,

He’ll never let you break,

For you’re a special work of art

That only He could make.

(Unknown Author)

Gabriel

It is very clear that Gabriel loves birthdays. I mean really loves birthdays. And not just his own birthday. Anybody’s birthday. Really! If you don’t believe me, watch him light up when he sees decorations. Wrapped presents. Someone baking a cake. But the pinnacle…singing the Happy Birthday song AND of course blowing out the candles!

Our unique birthday tradition

With our immediate and extended family, it has always been a tradition that you must sing the Happy Birthday song twice. This is to Gabe’s advantage because his entire face creases into a big toothy smile, and he just beams with pure joy when we start singing. His attitude about the whole thing is what I think is so great. He genuinely doesn’t care whether or not it’s his birthday because he finds great happiness in celebrating the special days of others. So maybe you too can start a new tradition?! Sing once for the birthday girl or boy and a second time for the people who supported bringing that life into the world.

A role model

I firmly believe that Gabriel’s simple mindset is a gift. He truly is my role model. He is not tainted by the world. Gabriel’s life, and those of individuals with Down Syndrome and special needs, exemplify living in the world but not being of the world.

I took it for granted that this is a given, that everyone thinks this way. When Gabriel was born I was just very happy. It never occurred to me to think otherwise. To feel confusion and anxiety over an unexpected diagnosis of a child does not make you a terrible person. There will certainly be challenges, but in response, I can guarantee you that your special child was given to you by God to make you a better person.

This point should challenge the way we think about people with disabilities, especially the unborn. Every person is endowed with intrinsic human dignity at the moment of conception, regardless of extrinsic physical, mental, or developmental non-conformities. Don’t wait until your child grows up or does something great to recognize that they were perfect the day they were born. Many people have regrets about how they thought or felt towards the special needs person in their life because with time, they finally came to the realization that they actually wouldn’t want to change a thing.

A dialogue on Down Syndrome

I wrote the following narrative as a dialogue to counter the lies of the world with the truths of Down Syndrome.

The world’s narrative:

Palms with extra creases. Toes with extra space. Eyes spaced further apart. Unique facial features. Poor muscle tone.

My narrative:

Ten fingers. Ten toes. Blue eyes. Wide smile. Excellent hugger.

The world’s narrative:

Rejected.

My narrative:

Two feet, so happy to explore the world.

The world’s narrative:

Extinguished.

My narrative:

Little hands ready to be held.

The world’s narrative:

Unfortunate. Risky. Disappointment. Deficient. Slow.

My narrative:

Beloved. Unique. Special. Necessary. Valued.

The world’s narrative:

You don’t matter.

My narrative:

You matter little one…more then you’ll ever know.

Every life has a story

Every life that is eliminated leaves a void–a story deprived of the chance to be written. From womb to tomb, each person has precious, infinite value. From the moment of conception to their God given natural end, every life is special.

So many people are legitimately and genuinely searching. They are doing a lot of things right. Yet, as St. Augustine said, they are restless because we were all created with a God- shaped hole in our hearts. God alone can solve that piece. Let’s help everyone see that all people are worthy, for exactly who they are. This is how a person finds the meaning of life and meaning in life.

A blessing

There is nothing “down” about a Down Syndrome diagnosis. We are uplifted and inspired every single day by the way God created those with Trisomy 21 to live their lives. It is truly possible to view a Down Syndrome diagnosis as a blessing for a special few as a response to the world’s narrative on the contrary.

Go celebrate! Happy World Down Syndrome Day!

[Jacinta Hamilton is a 4th grade teacher and children’s ballet instructor in Iowa City, Iowa. She earned her B.A. in Elementary Education from the University of Iowa and is pursuing her Master of Education in School Administration from the University of Mary in Bismarck, ND. She is the oldest of the seven children in her family and is blessed to be the big sister of Gabriel, her little brother with Down Syndrome who has positively influenced all areas of her life and who inspires her in everything she does.]

The second legislative funnel…

Mar 18, 2024 |

The second legislative funnel passed this last week, and several pro-life bills made it through the committee process.  Through the next several weeks, these bills will be placed on the calendar for debate in the House and Senate.  Here is a list of the bills that survived the funnel that Pulse registered in support:

  • SF 2251 Expands Medicaid Coverage for One Year Post-Partum – passed Senate floor
  • HF2583 Expands Medicaid Coverage for One Year Post-Partum
  • SF 2252 MOMS (More Options for Maternal Support) Program- passed Senate floor
  • HF 2267 MOMS (More Options for Maternal Support) Program
  • HF 2276 Requires Zoning of Maternity Homes as Residential Property
  • HF 2617 Human Growth & Development to Include Life in the Womb

There was one bill that also survived the first funnel that Pulse was registered against:

  • HF 2584 Over-the-Counter Birth Control Without a Prescription, but this bill did NOT survive the second funnel and is therefore dead for this legislative session.

—>JOIN US FOR THE “WOMEN OF WORTH” MUSICAL EVENT.

Olivia Rodrigo promotes death

Mar 15, 2024 |
Olivia Rodrigo
Olivia Rodrigo

Olivia Rodrigo

How could so much talent be squandered? Olivia Rodrigo is one of the hottest female singer/songwriters around. The twenty-one year old sensation is the #2 female pop singer in the world according to Ranker, trailing only Taylor Swift. Tragically, she is leveraging her celebrity to promote abortion.

Her musical mentor is Taylor Swift; her genre is teenage break ups, focusing not so much on love, but on love lost.

“Guts World Tour”

Ms. Rodrigo was in the news a couple of weeks ago with her announcement that some proceeds from her wildly successful “Guts World Tour” will be funneled to abortion activist groups, such as:

  • National Network of Abortion Funds
  • Fund Texas Choice
  • Jane’s Due Process

These are groups that help teens cross state lines to get abortions when their home state has laws protecting their unborn babies.

Ms. Rodrigo is a beautiful young woman with immense talent, including a soaring soprano voice and formidable song writing skills. She is a master of the power ballad, which apparently enthralls her young, impressionable fanbase. They made songs like “Good 4 U,” “Vampire,” and “Drivers License” into #1 hits on Billboard’s pop charts.

Squandered talent

These are songs with melodies that utilize more than three chords, unlike so many of the harmonically challenged songs being cranked out by her contemporaries. Hers really pull you in. And she demonstrates real potential as a lyricist, but then she squanders her talent with gratuitous use of profanity:

From “good 4 u”:

“You bought a new car and career’s really takin’ off,

It’s like we never even happened,

Baby, what the f*@# is up with that?”

From “Vampire”:

“Bloodsucker, fame f*@#er,

Bleedin’ me dry like a [Lord’s name] damn vampire.”

You get the idea.

The ‘f’ word and Lord’s name are peppered gratuitously throughout her lyrics. They reduce the overall artistry of her music, while influencing your daughters and granddaughters in ways that may not align with your values.

Olivia Rodrigo had this to say about her abortion initiative:

“ … before I pop onstage, I wanted to come on here and talk about something that I’m really excited about, which is the Fund 4 Good, which is an initiative I’m launching as part of the Guts World Tour. The Fund 4 Good works to support all women, girls, and people seeking reproductive health freedom. The fund will directly support community-based non-profits that champion things like girls’ education, um, support reproductive rights, and prevent gender-based violence.”

Reproductive ‘freedom’ = death

Ms. Rodrigo has been spoon fed Big Abortion’s propaganda, contorting reproductive rights into a license to kill inconvenient daughters and sons residing in the wombs of impressionable young women. Someone should inform that her that over half of women seeking abortions were pressured into it by boyfriends or family members. 

So much for reproductive freedom.

Abortion certainly isn’t “good 4 u,” your baby, your family, your community, your state, or your country. And it certainly isn’t good for your relationship with your Creator, in whose image you and your daughter are made.

So what can you do to help counter a misguided artist like Olivia Rodrigo? Support good art, art that celebrates Godly values and beauty.

Attend the WOMEN OF WORTH musical event

To that end, Pulse is hosting a musical event on April 14th with the theme of “Women of Worth.” It will feature a set of songs composed just for this event that honors the Blessed Mother, Ruth of the Old Testament, and especially Joan of Arc in a piece presented theatrically.

The event begins at 3PM on Sunday, April 14th, at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in West Des Moines, followed by a wine and cheese and cookie reception.

This event doesn’t just support Pulse Life Advocates, it also supports our friends at Mary’s Helping Hands.

If you’re not familiar with this incredible ministry, Mary’s Helping Hands provides hope, love, and support for expecting mothers who may need a helping hand with basic needs for their child’s first two years of life.

So we’re asking you to bring diapers, baby clothing up to size 2t, and nursery items to this event for Mary’s Helping Hands to distribute to their clients.

So while Olivia Rodrigo is handing out condoms and Plan B abortifacient pills at her concerts, Pulse is collecting diapers, baby clothes, and formula to help babies after they’re born, after they survive the best efforts of Big Abortion and their celebrity minions to abort them.

Pulse’s WOMEN OF WORTH Spring fundraiser will inspire you. We will use proceeds to educate a new generation on the sanctity of human life from fertilization to natural death.

Tickets are $10 each or $25 per family. Order yours online today at www.PulseForLife.org.

The risks of prescription-free birth control are real

Mar 11, 2024 |
prescription-free birth control

 

prescription-free birth control

STOP: prescription-free birth control is NOT a good idea

A poll conducted by the Des Moines Register shows that 79% of Iowans support Governor Kim Reynold’s proposal to make prescription-free birth control available to women over the age of eighteen.

Pulse Life Advocate’s executive director, Maggie DeWitte, testified before the legislature on our objections to the bill. Most Iowans are unaware of the real risks associated with hormonal birth control in the best of circumstances, much less when unsupervised by a doctor.

We reached out to a medical doctor for a “second opinion” on this issue: Thanks to Shannon Hood DO for a doctor’s perspective on the downside of over-the-counter, prescription-free birth control.

Physicians and pharmacists need to be in sync

Below is my opinion of Iowa Bill HSB642 coming to subcommittee soon:

During my 25 years as a Family Practice Physician at Mercy Clinics in Ankeny, I worked side by side with pharmacists.   We were a team.    However, during those years, a large pharmacy in town had an incentive to start patients on medications such as statins and Ace inhibitors (cholesterol and blood pressure lowering medications) due to new guidelines in the management of Diabetes.  The pharmacists would tell my patients that they needed to change their meds without consulting with me.  It created confusion and distrust on both sides.   Many times, there were reasons why the patient was not started on a new medicine, such as elevated kidney or liver labs, allergies, or previous failures on the medicines.     For good reason the pharmacy program eventually ended. 

Well-defined responsibilities

Both pharmacists and physicians are part of the healthcare team with well-defined responsibilities.  Pharmacists are trained to prepare, dispense and educate patients about medications.    Physicians (including mid-levels) are trained to obtain medical history and diagnose problems using physical exam and review of medical records.   In the proposed Iowa Bill’s situation, we would use diagnosis code ICD-10 Z40 for the initiation of contraceptive management.  There are algorithms and relative risk charts to review surrounding this diagnosis. 

The 4 problems with prescription-free birth control 

Problems I have with the Bill HSB642

  1. Blood Pressure is measured at first visit.    Will it be measured periodically during the standing order potentially lasting 27 months?     The hormonal birth control can raise blood pressure.  
  2. If a woman has a side effect with the first hormonal birth control, will the pharmacist continue to try another medication or refer to health care?   
  3. Key preventive care may be missed in the 27 months during the standing order.  This makes me think of the loss in preventive care during COVID. 
  4. Health is dynamic and constantly changing.   Over time a woman may find a breast mass, develop liver disease, start smoking, develop migraines with aura, gain significant weight, or have a primary relative die of a pulmonary embolism, thus making the hormonal birth control offered in this bill contraindicated.   Who is responsible for stopping the medication?  With this bill the pharmacists are not legally responsible if no action is taken and morbidity occurs.  

I do not agree with this Iowa Bill HSB642.    Primary healthcare providers diagnose and treat.   The treatment includes preventive care (the key to quality) and corrective action using the risk vs benefit problem solving model.    The Pharmacist model of education is complementary and important, but not the same.   

Forthright deceit

Mar 9, 2024 |
forthright deceit

forthright deceit

 

Presidents often use hyperbole on the stump. But at Thursday night’s 2024 State of the Union speech, the President went far beyond exaggeration in an address brazen in its deceit.

Casual viewers noticed less than forthright assertions by Mr. Biden on a wide array if issues. Pulse Life Advocates is particularly concerned with his remarks on the subject of abortion, a word, by the way, he refused to utter.

The transcript of his remarks on human abortion follow, accompanied by our comments:

***

In Vitro Fertilization

THE PRESIDENT: History is watching another assault on freedom.

PULSE: Actually, abortion is the opposite of freedom, since it kills a unique human being. The aborted girl’s freedom to grow, prosper, laugh, and fall in love are all negated, accompanied by a toll on her mother. Many women suffer physical, emotional, and spiritual consequences because of their abortion.

THE PRESIDENT: Joining us tonight is Latorya Beasley, a social worker from Birmingham, Ala. Fourteen months, 14 months ago, she and her husband welcomed a baby girl thanks to the miracle of I.V.F.

PULSE:  IVF may use miraculous technology, but is it wise? As the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops recently wrote, “we can understand the profound desire that motivates some of these couples to go to great lengths to have children, and we support morally licit means of doing so.The solution, however, can never be a medical process that involves the creation of countless preborn children and results in most of them being frozen or discarded and destroyed.”

THE PRESIDENT: She scheduled treatments to have that second child, but the Alabama Supreme Court shut down I.V.F. treatments across the state, unleashed by a Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

PULSE:  False. The Alabama Supreme Court’s decision had nothing to do with Roe v Wade or the Dobbs decision that overturned it, as they made crystal clear: “The parties to these cases have raised many difficult questions, including ones about the ethical status of extrauterine children, the application of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution to such children, and the public-policy implications of treating extrauterine children as human beings. But the Court today need not address these questions because, as explained below, the relevant statutory text is clear: the Wrongful Death of a Minor Act applies on its face to all unborn children, without limitation.”

THE PRESIDENT: She was told her dream would have to wait. What her family got through should never have happened. Unless Congress acts, it could happen again, so tonight, let’s stand up for families like hers.

PULSE: Let’s remember what happened in Alabama. Frozen human embryos were accidentally destroyed at a fertility clinic in Alabama, leading to law suits from two couples whose posterity had been destroyed. A trial court sided with the clinic, asserting that the embryos weren’t children since they weren’t in the mom’s uterus. The Alabama Supreme Court disagreed, leaving the ‘public policy implications’ to the legislature. That is why three Alabama IVF clinics suspended services, waiting for the legislature to sort things out, but another clinic continues to operate, negating the president’s assertion that the “Court shut down I.V.F. treatments across the state.”

THE PRESIDENT: To my friends across the aisle, don’t keep this waiting any longer. Guarantee the right to I.V.F. Guarantee it nationwide.

PULSE: It’s hard to take seriously the president’s characterization that pro-lifers are his “friends” when he sends SWAT teams into their homes, labels them as potential terrorists, and begins to monitor their churches.

Roe v Wade

THE PRESIDENT: Like most Americans, I believe Roe v. Wade got it right. I thank Vice President Harris for being an incredible leader, defending reproductive freedom and so much more.

But my predecessor came to office determined to see Roe v. Wade overturned. He’s the reason it was overturned. And he brags about it. Look at the chaos that has resulted.

PULSE: Roe v Wade got it wrong, because it allowed the unfettered killing of 65 million unique human beings, a direct contradiction to the unique Creed of our nation which recognizes immutable, God-given rights of LIFE, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. It specifically violates the essence of the Preamble to our Constitution which demands that we “secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our POSTERITY.”

THE PRESIDENT: Joining us tonight is Kate Cox, a wife and mother from Dallas. She’d become pregnant again, and had a fetus with a fatal condition. Her doctor told Kate that her own life and her ability to have children in the future were at risk if she didn’t act.

PULSE:  False. The Texas Court wrote that Ms. Cox’s doctor, did NOT state that her patient had a life-threatening situation: “The exception requires a doctor to decide whether Ms. Cox’s difficulties pose such risks. Dr. Karsan asked a court to pre-authorize the abortion yet she could not, or at least did not, attest to the court that Ms. Cox’s condition poses the risks the exception requires.”

THE PRESIDENT: Because Texas law banned her ability to act, Kate and her husband had to leave the state to get what she needed. What her family got through should have never happened as well. But it is happening to too many others.

PULSE: But is the intentional killing of a child who is disabled really what parents need? No, and it was especially ironic to see who was sitting next to Ms. Cox at the 2024 State of the Union address: Maria Shriver, whose family pioneered the Special Olympics. Pulse reached out to an Iowa dad whose son has the same condition as that as Kate Cox’s aborted child. Ryan Buck told us: “Trisomy-18 should not be a part of the abortion debate because it results in the medical discrimination of disabled children.” Maria Shriver should be ashamed of herself for being a part of this assault on less-than-perfect unborn human beings.

Reproductive death

THE PRESIDENT: There are state laws banning the freedom to choose, criminalizing doctors, forcing survivors of rape and incest to leave their states to get the treatment they need.

Many of you in this chamber and my predecessor are promising to pass a national ban on reproductive freedom. My God, what freedom else would you take away?

PULSE: The freedom to kill innocent human beings. And we believe our God agrees with us. Abortion has nothing to do with freedom and everything to do with reproductive death. And for the record, most states permit abortion exceptions for rape and incest.

THE PRESIDENT: Look, in its decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court majority wrote the following, and with all due respect justices, “Women are not without electoral, electoral power” — excuse me — “electoral or political power.” You’re about to realize just how much you got right about that.

PULSE: The Supreme Court is supposed to be independent of politics. But the president joined Senate Majority leader, Chuck Schumer, in making an implied threat to justices who continue to follow the Constitution instead of Big Abortion’s marching orders. We know the president’s threats have teeth (see above). And we know he is reluctant to protect justices who have pro-abortion mobs protesting on their front lawn (ask Justice Cavanaugh).

THE PRESIDENT: Clearly, clearly, those bragging about overturning Roe v. Wade have no clue about the power of women. But they found out when reproductive freedom was on the ballot. We won in 2022 and 2023, and we will win again in 2024.

PULSE: Actually, pro-life candidates who went on the offense on the Life issue smoked their competition last election cycle, as we have pointed out in previous posts.

THE PRESIDENT: If you, the American people, send me a Congress that supports the right to choose, I promise you, I will restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land again.

PULSE: This is the only true thing the president said on this subject. With the announced retirement of Senator Kyrsten Sinema, the end of the Senate filabuster will once again be in play. The Abortion Party has vowed to pass a number of pieces of legislation, including Medicare for All, which would nationalize abortion up until birth, remove conscience protections for Catholic doctors, nurses, and pharmacists, and require taxpayer funding to kill our posterity via human abortion.

Yes, the president was quite forthright in his deceitful 2024 State of the Union rant.

The medical discrimination of disabled children

Mar 7, 2024 |

By Ryan Paul Buck

Disabled children are being discriminated against, and many can’t see it. Three days after my son Alexander was born we received his diagnosis, Trisomy-18. The doctor told us 90% of kids don’t make it to the age of one, that he was likely to die, that feeding him was a choice. We learned that genetic abnormalities can require interventions like tracheostomies to prevent the child suffocating to death, or a gastrostomy tube to prevent their starvation, as their muscle tone can be low. Is it humane to abandon a child to suffocate or starve to death?

When I learned today that Joe Biden would be highlighting a Trisomy-18 abortion story to scold his political adversaries in his State of the Union address, my heart churred up the same anger I felt towards the doctors who treated us so callously in the hospital.

I vividly remember the tone in our interactions with our son’s doctors after he received his diagnosis. Conveying to us disdain and belittlement for advocating for treating a disabled child. I had always assumed the medical community would be motivated to treat a person. But what we experienced was the de-personing, the stripping of human rights immediately after a medical diagnosis was confirmed. To them our son wouldn’t live and therefore lost his right to live. They were WRONG. Our son can walk and communicate with us. Not only did our son deserve his life, but his life inspires joy and hope. He puts a smile on the faces of those who spend time with him. My son gives what the doctors didn’t, acceptance and acknowledgement of value in every person he meets. He treats every human as a human, and expresses his desire to share a smile.

But our story is rare. With the Amniocentesis test that most moms get with the child still in the womb, it provides genetic screening without absolute certainty. Which prompts most doctors to recommend pregnancy termination with abortion for Trisomy-18, even in Catholic hospital systems (as our family learned).

We exist now in a world where many have become callus and cold. Some have turned from God with hardened hearts. This is a world where humans have usurped God’s values system for their own. Deciding who’s life is and isn’t worth saving and preserving. Since our son’s birth we have worked so hard to show that Trisomy-18 is compatible with life. It’s an uphill battle against what we found was a community head belief that Trisomy-18 meant certain death. And that same message is being affirmed again in the halls of the United States Congress by the 46th president in the State of the Union, for political points. A woman being honored for her choice to kill a child in the womb like our son, because of a diagnosis. A diagnosis used to assert the kind of life that would happen, deeming it not worth living. What about the choice and rights of the child? Does the child not have a right to life guaranteed in the US constitution?

Trisomy-18 should not be a part of the abortion debate because it results in the medical discrimination of disabled children. In our story, and the stories of hundreds of other families we have met with similar circumstances, the diagnosis changes the medical treatment opportunity for the child. In the case of the child spoken of in the State of the Union and many others, the diagnosis was his death sentence. God have mercy, please rescue this fallen world from such depravity.

Maggie DeWitte’s testimony on oral contraception at the state house

Mar 4, 2024 |
over-the-counter contraception

over-the-counter contraception

Pulse Life Advocates opposes a pending bill (HSB 642) before the Iowa legislature that would allow oral contraception to be sold over-the-counter without a prescription. Here Pulse Executive Director, Maggie DeWitte’s, testimony:

***

1. Oral contraception is dangerous.  The World Health Organization has classified combined hormonal contraception as a Group 1 carcinogen.  This is the same classification as tobacco, arsenic, and asbestos.  Women who use contraception for 11 years or longer are at a 210% increased risk of breast cancer. Contraceptives have been proven to increase the risk of blood clots, which can be fatal. They also have an increased risk of causing heart disease, especially in smokers. Lawsuits have been filed blaming the Patch for several deaths due to blood clots, heart attacks and strokes. The Food and Drug Administration has cautioned that the Patch carries a higher risk of blood clots than the birth control pill. These medications should not be prescribed by anyone except a medical doctor who has access to accurate medical records and the necessary medical tests. 

A study in 2014 in the Journal of Medical Hypothesis found a link between oral contraception use and prevalence in autism spectrum disorder.  

A study in 2016 linked birth control and depression.

A study in 2017 in the American Journal of Psychiatry documented an increased risk for suicide- nearly doubled for suicide attempts and more than tripled for successful suicide-among adolescent girls who use hormonal contraception.  

A study in 2019 revealed that women who use oral contraception had a smaller hypothalamus (a part of the brain) than women not taking the pill.  

We have an epidemic of STDs in the country and in Iowa.  Oral contraception does nothing to combat these rising numbers and leaves out the fact it provides her absolutely no protection from STD’s, some of which are life long and incurable.  

2. Hormonal Contraception is ineffective and gives women a false sense of security.  The New York Times published an article that stated that the fail rate is 38% by year five and that by year ten, 61 out of 100 women who use the pill will become pregnant. According to a March 2017 Guttmacher Institute study, “A substantial proportion of unintended pregnancies occur despite women’s and their partners’ use of contraceptives. In 2001, some 48% of women experiencing an unintended pregnancy had been using a contraception method in the month of conception.” In the same study Guttmacher also reported that “about half of pregnancies terminated by induced abortions in 2008 occurred during use of contraceptives.” So, you can give them the pills, but faulty or incorrect use makes them ineffective in reducing unplanned pregnancies.

3. This bill states it does not include any drug intended to induce an abortion.  Unfortunately, oral contraception can be abortifacient in nature. Most, if not, all hormonal birth control drugs and devices, including the Patch and the Pill, can act to terminate a pregnancy by chemically altering the lining of the uterus (endometrium) so that a newly conceived child (human embryo) is unable to implant in the womb, thus starving and dying. This mechanism of action is termed a pre-implantation chemical abortion. 

4. If the intent of this bill is to reduce abortions, providing OTC birth control will not reduce abortions.  More contraception leads to more abortions, not less.  And frankly, we don’t have an access problem; birth control is readily available in the state of Iowa. This will undercut / damage the physician-patient relationship.  Any prescription medication carries risks, and a doctor should be monitoring those risks — it’s not the role of a pharmacist to monitor symptoms and they do not have access to the patient’s medical history.  And relying on a self-administered questionnaire is not reliable — people frequently do not remember the name or type of medication they have been on or currently on and would not know of the risks associated with that medication.’

America needs you, Joan of Arc!

Feb 29, 2024 |

Who is the most amazing saint in history? If you asked Mark Twain that question, his response would’ve been instant: Joan of Arc. Said the great writer, Joan of Arc is “the most noble life that was ever born into this world save only One.”

Joan of Arc really touched the heart of a cynical man who considered his 1886 novel, “Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc,” to be his masterpiece, despite his hostility towards Catholicism. He conceded that he had been “educated to enmity toward everything that is Catholic.” And yet he spent a dozen years researching and writing a most reverent and riveting narrative on the life of a 15th century peasant girl whose greatness was defined by her Catholic faith.

The essence of Joan of Arc’s saintliness

Mark Twain’s novel is more relevant than ever, because the essence of Joan’s saintliness is needed more than ever. And what is this essence? Faith. Trust. Courage.

Her life was a miracle. Born in lowly circumstances, Joan was uneducated but strong in her faith. At the age of 13, she began to hear voices from God. The voices included angels and saints who presented her with a directive: free France from English occupation.

The voices, which included those of the angels Michael and Gabriel, and Saints Margaret and Catherine of Alexandria, provided counsel to help Joan govern herself. But by the time she reached the age of seventeen, her voices’ directive expanded to liberating France from the English. And she did it, at a steep price. 

Joan’s courage is contagious

Pulse Life Advocates believe that Joan’s example of utter faith in God and the courage to trust his promptings are immediately relevant to our age. We see the need in the pro-life movement. Imagine: if a single Catholic teenage girl relying on nothing other than faith in God could liberate an entire country, just think what an entire Catholic community could do today.

You’re invited to the Women of Worth musical event

In order to inspire our local Catholic community, Pulse is hosting a musical event on April 14th with the theme of “Women of Worth.” It will feature a set of songs composed just for this event that honors the Blessed Mother, Ruth of the Old Testament, and especially Joan of Arc in a piece presented theatrically.

The event begins at 3PM on Sunday, April 14th, at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in West Des Moines, followed by a wine and cheese and cookie reception.

This event doesn’t just support Pulse Life Advocates, it also supports our friends at Mary’s Helping Hands.

If you’re not familiar with his incredible ministry, Mary’s Helping Hands provides hope, love, and support for expecting mothers who may need a helping hand with basic needs for their child’s first two years of life.

So we’re asking you to bring diapers, baby clothing up to size 2t, and nursery items to this event for Mary’s Helping Hands to distribute to their clients.

Pulse shares office space with these “women of worth,” and we see the difference they’re making in the world on a daily basis.

Women of Worth is an event

This isn’t just a concert, it’s an event. Be inspired by these ‘women of worth’ who changed the world. Be encouraged by the faith that reveals nothing is impossible with God, including an end to abortion.

The price for admission to “Women of Worth” is $10 per adult or $25 per family. Reserve your seats online at PulseForLife.org.

Just as Mary trusted totally in God, so did Joan, who said:

“Since God had commanded me to go, I must do it.”

If you’d like Joan’s courage, trust, and obedience to God to rub off on you, bring your entire family to the Women of Worth musical event. Joan’s message to modern man is simple:

“Act, and God will act.”

If this lowly peasant girl could captivate a crusty cynic like Mark Twain, imagine what her inspiring story will do to you!