Facts of Life Email: January 20, 2005

CURRENT LIFE ISSUES:

u The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld Oregon 's one-of-a-kind physician-assisted suicide law, rejecting a Bush administration attempt to punish doctors who help terminally ill patients die. Justices, on a 6-3 vote, said the 1997 Oregon law used to end the lives of more than 200 seriously ill people trumped federal authority to regulate doctors. That means the administration improperly tried to use a federal drug law to prosecute Oregon doctors who prescribe overdoses. Then-Attorney General John Ashcroft vowed to do that in 2001, saying that doctor-assisted suicide is not a "legitimate medical purpose." Read the complete story at our news page!

u Robert Klein II, the campaign chairman who became the head of the state's stem cell agency's board, should step down from that job because of his failed leadership, the Center for Genetics and Society said Wednesday. The organization, which supports stem cell research but has frequently criticized the state's stem cell program, issued a report card Wednesday giving a grade of C- for a "very disappointing" first full year of operation of the research agency created by Proposition 71 in November 2004. This is the latest in a series of hang-ups for the CA Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), which was created in the passing of Proposition 71 in 2004. Funding for CIRM has been tied up due to a series of lawsuits. For more on stem cell research and Proposition 71, check out The Human Experiment!

u Thirty-three years after the U.S. Supreme Court decision which legalized abortion on demand, people from across America plan to gather in the nation's capital on Monday, January 23rd to show their opposition to the ruling. The annual March for Life is expected to draw tens of thousands of people of all ages, faiths, and nationalities. They share a common bond: a passion for protecting life at all its stages. The March for Life comes on the heels of a pro-life victory in the Supreme Court, where a unanimous ruling determined that a federal appeals court wrongly overturned a New Hampshire law that requires parental notification before a teen can have an abortion. The NH law is similar to the parental involvement laws in place in several states. For more statistics on abortion, check our information page!

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WHAT'S HAPPENING AT CPLC:

u Join with hundreds of pro-life Californians, at the annual CPLC Prayer Breakfast and Rally! This year's event will take place Tuesday, January 24th. The breakfast will be held at the the Grand, followed by pro-life workshops and a rally held at the Capitol. This event marks the 33rd anniversary of the Roe V. Wade decision and features great pro-life speakers and opportunities for involvement. Individual seats at the breakfast are $25, tables of ten are $250. All other events are free and open to all pro-life crusaders. You won't want to miss it! Call our office at 1-800-924-2490 for more information or go to www.californiaprolife.org/breakfast. 

u Plans are already underway for the 2006 CPLC Youth Oratory Contest! This unique opportunity is open to all high school juniors and seniors. Students research, write and present an original pro-life speech on abortion, euthanasia, infanticide, or embryonic stem cell research and compete for local, state, and national honors! Visit www.californiaprolife.org/speak for all the details!

JOIN THE ADVENTURE!
CPLC has a variety of educational resources for you to share with your community. Learn more about all the current issues and how to get involved!

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"The riders in a race do not stop short when they reach the goal. There is a little finishing canter before coming to a standstill. There is time to hear the kind voice of friends and to say to one's self: 'The work is done.'"
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

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California ProLife Council (CPLC) www.californiaprolife.org is the largest statewide organization in California solely dedicated to pro-life issues. CPLC is a non-sectarian, non-partisan, non-profit grassroots organization of pro-life groups and individuals in California dedicated to protecting and fostering the most basic value of our society-respect for LIFE itself. We seek to educate our community in regard to abortion, euthanasia, and infanticide, to identify and organize the pro-life population of the state into an effective team, and to restore respect for human life to public policy. California ProLife Council is the California affiliate of the National Right to Life Committee, Inc. www.nrlc.org