“But if the watchman
see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if
the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his
iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.” [Ezekiel 33:6]
“For we wrestle not against
flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers
of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
[Ephesians 6:12]
Presbyterians Week Headlines
[1] New
Christian Observer Articles for March 2021
[2] Democrat Representative Says
God’s Will “No Concern of This Congress”
[3] Bail
DENIED: Pastor Who Refused to Turn People Away from Church Jailed Until May
Trial
[4] 'A
Crucial Moment for Church Freedom in Scotland'
[5] Politicians
Hear Evidence Revealing Harms of DIY Home Abortion
---
[1] New
Christian Observer Articles for March 2021
New Christian Observer articles for
March 2021 include:
-- You
Don’t Need the Government’s Permission to Do That Which the Lord Commands –
by Ben Davis of Cauldron
Pool, a conservative and Christian website based in Australia;
-- Cancel
the “ Cancel Culture” Being Encouraged by Many of Our Schools – by Christian Observer Contributing
Editor Dr. Joe Renfro – “We need to stand up and seek to cancel the “Cancel
Culture” ideology that is present today in our society, which has to a great
extent been spawned from our educational systems. In a society there is
no way that culture itself can be canceled, but it certainly can be changed.
This is what those of the radical left are seeking. This is something not just
recently developing, but it something that has been in process over the past hundred
or years;”
Plus, links to ReVision
devotionals on the Fellowship of Ailbe website
by CO Contributing
Editor T.M. Moore.
+ Christian Observer, Post Office Box 1371, Lexington, Virginia 24450, christianobserver@christianobserver.org
[2] Democrat Representative Says
God’s Will “No Concern of This Congress”
The following is excerpted
from “Nadler,” ToddStarnes.com, Feb. 25, 2021: “Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL)
triggered a bunch of God-hating Democrats after he pointed out that God makes
people uniquely male or female. Steube said, ‘When men or women claim to be
able to choose their own sexual identity, they are making a statement that God
did not know what he was doing when he created them. ... The gender confusion
that exists in our culture today is a clear rejection of God’s good design.
Whenever a nation’s laws no longer reflect the standards of God that nation is
in rebellion against him and will inevitably bear the consequences. We are
seeing the consequences of rejecting God here in our country today.’ That
comment drew a fiery response from Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY). ‘What any
religious tradition describes as God’s will is no concern of this Congress.’
... May God have mercy on our nation...”
+ Way of Life Literature, Post Office Box 610368, Port
Huron, Michigan 48061, 519-652-2619, fbns@wayoflife.org
[3] Bail
DENIED: Pastor Who Refused to Turn People Away from Church Jailed Until May
Trial
Pastor Coates was denied
bail just one week after the same prison released a convicted child rapist,
forcing police to issue a warning to the public to stay vigilant as it's likely
the rapist will offend again.
The Canadian pastor who was
jailed after he refused to turn people away from his Alberta church will remain
behind bars until May after being denied bail.
Pastor James Coates of GraceLife church
will be imprisoned until his May 3-5, 2021 trial after he was arrested two
weeks ago and charged under the Public Health Act for violating public health
orders, including being over capacity and failing to adhere to social
distancing requirements.
[4] 'A
Crucial Moment for Church Freedom in Scotland'
A judicial review into
Scottish ban on gathered worship will start on Thursday 11 May 2021.
|
|
+ Christian
Concern,
[5] Politicians
Hear Evidence Revealing Harms of DIY Home Abortion
A cross-party group of
politicians from both houses of Parliament were last night (Thursday 4 March)
presented with evidence revealing multiple serious incidents of DIY home
abortion, including evidence of an average of 36 calls to 999 every month
following the taking of abortion pills at home.
Further evidence was presented on the increased demand for the abortion
reversal pill, with over 110 calls for help in the last 9 months. The expected
average per year is 10-20 calls.
DIY Abortions and Complications: The Evidence
Last night, Thursday 4 March, a coalition of pro-life groups backed an online
Parliamentary Briefing hosted by Lord Mackay of Clashfern, DIY
Abortions and Complications: The Evidence. The briefing was
well-attended by a cross-party group of politicians from both chambers of
Parliament and a number of other interested parties.
The briefing was organised in response to the government consultations in
England, Scotland and Wales, which have all proposed to make the temporary DIY
home abortion policy, introduced nearly a year ago in March 2020, a permanent
fixture. The policy was brought in despite assurances from the government that
there would be no change to abortion law. After extensive research from
multiple parties, which was last night presented to parliamentarians, various
groups have now found that the policy raises serious concerns about the safety
of women.
Medical risks of pills-by-post
Dr Dermot Kearney, of the Catholic Medical Association, first presented
attendees with the concerns for taking the two abortion pills – Mifepristone
and Misoprostol – either in clinic or at home. The recognised side effects of
using the pills can include haemorrhage, sepsis, sever paid and distress, and
psychological trauma. The risk of complication is much higher if the pills are
taken after 10 weeks’ gestation. However, gestation cannot be fully assured
unless there is proper clinical assessment.
However, Dr Kearney argued that on top of the medical risks already recognised,
taking these pills at home is further concerning because it enables coercion
and the surreptitious use of drugs to induce an abortion, with no assessment
made of the risk of abuse. The lack of a physical assessment also means that
gestation cannot be verified and ectopic pregnancies may be missed.
Demands for Abortion Pill Reversal
Dr Kearney also noted that the demands for abortion pill reversal have
sky-rocketed since the DIY abortion policy was first introduced.
Abortions have been proven to be reversable, particularly following a number of
studies in the USA, following the taking of drugs to counter the effects of
Mifepristone. This progesterone therapy is of no greater risk to the baby if it
survives the effects of the Mifepristone, and is of no risk to the mother.
Dr Kearney said that abortion pill reversal currently has between a 50-60%
success rate in the UK, but greatly depends on how quickly the woman asks for
help.
Dr Kearney was one of two medical professionals to set up an Abortion Pill Rescue Service in
the UK in April 2020, following the introduction of the DIY home abortion
policy. The service is available 24 hours a day – unlike abortion service
providers – and has seen over 110 calls for help in the last 9 months.
Systemic underreporting of DIY abortion complications
Kevin Duffy, an independent health consultant and former director at Marie
Stopes International (Now MSI Reproductive Choices), then presented findings
gathered from a number of freedom of information requests on complications
resulting from DIY home abortions.
Neither the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) or abortion providers
have successfully captured all the data about events that have taken place
after abortion pills have been posted. In the case of the DHSC, data collected
on the safety of the policy is based solely on information submitted from HSA4
forms.
Between April and June 2020, out of 23,061 medical abortions, the DHSC has
recorded just one complication.
However, after making freedom of information inquiries to the CQC and the NHS,
it became evident that complications were much more common. FOI requests found
that 6 hospitals had reported 69 complications following the taking of abortion
pills – this is five times higher than the DHSC states.
The FOI requests also found that an average of 36 calls per month were made to
999 emergency services following the taking of abortion pills, with an average
of 20 ambulance responses per month.
Meanwhile, abortion providers do not deem surgical interventions for incomplete
abortions to be a ‘complication’.
Between April and June 2020, 208 women were treated surgically in hospital for
the removal of retained products of conception.
Mr Duffy urged the DHSC to listen to all of the data, not just the HSA4 forms.
Devastating stories of home abortion
Finally, Rachel McKenzie of Rachel’s Vineyard, which supports women
post-abortion, shared the stories of two women who had devastating experiences
of DIY home abortions, showing the video of one woman, Kirsty.
Kirsty found out she was pregnant in April 2020, but was coerced by her partner
into contacting an abortion provider and taking the pills at home. She shared
of how she was too scared to take them at first, and by the time she eventually
did, she was past the 9 week 6 day legal limit.
Kirsty said: “The home abortion is made to think you are doing it in
the comfort of your own home. But instead, you have the memory of what you have
done in your own home forever. My home is no longer my happy safe space, it is
the place where I took away my child.”
Miss McKenzie shared how requests for help to Rachel’s Vineyard have increased
since the introduction of DIY abortion, with many more women now suffering
trauma from having been left to take these pills alone and with no follow up
care.
Andrea Williams, chief executive of Christian Concern, one of the groups
involved in backing the briefing, commented: “Abortion pills are
powerful drugs and the idea that women are receiving them through the post and
taking them without proper medical supervision hardly bears thinking about.
“The statistics speak for themselves, yet behind each of these figures are
women who have been neglected and failed by the abortion industry.
“Alarmingly, the government is now considering making this dangerous policy
permanent – without looking at all the evidence. Women deserve better than
this. Women deserve proper care.”
+ Christian Concern, 70 Wimpole
Street, London W1G
8AX, England, 020 7935
1488, Contact Page
