While many charitable organizations contribute to the betterment of our society, some, sadly, directly or indirectly advance the Culture of Death. Before deciding which charities you will support this year, please research how your money will be spent. The March of Dimes promotes prenatal research intended to inform parents of their unborn child's “defects” in utero so that they can choose whether or not to abort. The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation not only denies any link between abortion and breast cancer (which has been shown to exist in a majority of studies), but some of their affiliates support local Planned Parenthoods. The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation supports and aggressively lobbies for state and federal funding of embryonic stem cell research and human cloning.
March of Dimes
The March of Dimes (MOD) uses the advertising slogan “Saving Babies Together;” however, they are selective about which babies they wish to save. The MOD supports and promotes prenatal testing (such as amniocentesis) in order to detect “defective” children. Studies show that between 95% and 100% of “defective” children are aborted after being found to have some genetic abnormality, while another 1% of the children are miscarried as a result of the test. Is this “saving children together?”
The MOD also promotes pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), a process that screens embryos fertilized in vitro for various genes and/or diseases. The embryos that contain undesirable genes are destroyed instead of implanted into the mother's womb. The MOD 2002 Annual clinical genetics meeting featured a session where attendees could learn how to expand the use of PGD to detect more genetic diseases. They have also recently funded experiments involving human fetal tissue and embryonic stem cells. The MOD seems to work to ensure that “all babies will be born perfectly healthy” by destroying those who are not or cannot be perfectly healthy.
There is an alternative to the March of Dimes. The Michael Fund is dedicated to both scientific research for the prevention of genetic defects and the Pro-Life philosophy:
The Michael Fund
500 A Garden City Drive
Pittsburg , Pennsylvania 15146
Susan G. Komen
Over 75 percent of the studies conducted regarding abortion and breast cancer have shown that having an abortion is a risk factor for breast cancer. Despite the commendable efforts of The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation to promote breast cancer screening and awareness, the foundation refuses to acknowledge a connection between abortion and breast cancer.
When a woman becomes pregnant, her body undergoes a miraculous transformation in preparation for forty weeks of pregnancy and birth. A pregnant woman's hormone levels increase rapidly during this time by producing very high levels of estrogen and progesterone. This surge in hormones induces the breast cells to divide and start a maturing process (differentiation) whereby they are changed into mammary (milk-producing) glands. Once a woman has completed her pregnancy and given birth to her child, her breast cells finish the maturation process and become stable again. When a woman undergoes an induced abortion, however, she disrupts this natural process of differentiation, leaving the breast cells in a state of transition and thus more vulnerable to carcinogens. Girls and women who have induced abortions before their first full term pregnancy are at a much higher risk for breast cancer; the risk is even greater for younger girls.
A genuine concern for a cure for breast cancer should acknowledge the vast scientific data supporting the connection between induced abortion and breast cancer and support, rather than discredit, efforts to inform women considering abortion about the increased risk of developing breast cancer after an induced abortion.
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
Scientists and politicians have been asserting that embryonic stem cells are the easiest and most productive form of stem cells to use in research. Yet, even aside from the moral concerns, many problems with embryonic stem cells have surfaced, one being that the results from current research have been moderate at best and non-existent at worst. The leading corporation that funds embryonic stem cell research, The Geron Corporation, reports that embryonic cells might not be easy to manipulate and that these cells may actually produce tumors or other harmful growths when transplanted into patients – as has happened in animal trials using embryonic stem cells. Despite these scientific facts and moral problems, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) aggressively supports embryonic stem cell research (ESCR).
Unlike embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells have already shown amazing promise; therefore, scientists can save lives without compromising their moral integrity. (“Adult” refers to the age of the cell, not the age of the patient from whom the cell was taken.) Unfortunately, the JDRF vehemently insists on the potential of ESCR instead of focusing on the real results manifested with adult stem cell therapies and islet cell transplantation techniques. Due to the focus of the JDRF, many diabetes sufferers are cruelly misled and given false hope.
Pro-Lifers must always remain compassionate to the pain and suffering of those with disease and serious illness. In doing so, we must insist on choosing methods of research that do not rely on the destruction of human lives. By funding organizations and patronizing companies that do not support destructive research and other assaults on innocent human life, we can both restore a Culture of Life in our society and support ethical research.
