CAP: lesbian artificial insemination, embryonic stem cell research & Josh McDowell

In this issue:
	(1) Asleep at the Wheel (2) Give Up The Fight - Enough Already (3) Help Those in Louisiana (4) Josh McDowell Event

(1) Asleep at the Wheel

I often wonder how many Americans who profess a belief in God and support religious freedom remain asleep at the wheel. Many simply do not understand or recognize the very significant threats to religious freedoms raging in our nation today. Perhaps the most significant threat is the ongoing tug of war over whether a woman's so-called "reproductive freedom" and an individual's so-called "sexual freedom" trumps another person's religious freedom. I recently wrote about yet another atrocious California court decision that now requires California doctors to provide elective artificial insemination treatments to lesbians, regardless of the doctor's religious beliefs about sexuality or even the "making-of-life" techniques. Many faithful doctors believe you should not create life outside the womb, yet now a few judges are telling those doctors: "Too bad!" In Arizona, our state law requires a business, or even a Catholic hospital, to provide family planning services such as birth control pills to employees, regardless of the business owner's beliefs or institutional religious affiliations. Thankfully, the Bush Administration has proposed a rule implementing federal legislation that will prevent medical facilities from discriminating against doctors and other staff whose religious beliefs compel them not to perform procedures like abortion. The rule has Planned Parenthood in hysterics because it would deny federal funds to facilities that require their personnel to participate in abortions or distribute birth control pills or Plan B. Since Planned Parenthood rakes in over $300 million in government money every year, they have cause for concern. You can submit a comment in support of the proposed rule to: consciencecomment@hhs.gov. One should not have to surrender his or her religious beliefs in order to pursue a medical career. Hopefully, this new rule will continue to ensure that doctors, nurses, and other medical staff can freely practice their religious beliefs - even in the workplace.

(2) Give Up The Fight - Enough Already

If those advocating for embryonic stem cell research would exhibit a tiny bit of intellectual honesty, then they would give up the fight to secure federal funding and public support for using the tiniest among us - human embryos - for research purposes. The latest news out of Japan is that scientists now can create stem cells from wisdom teeth! This is the second research in the past year to discover an alternative to embryonic stem cells, while not one disease has been cured or even treated with embryonic stem cells. There's simply no need to experiment with human life in an ends-justify-the-means quest.

(3) Help Those in Louisiana

Over the weekend, we all held our breath as Hurricane Gustav slammed the Gulf Coast. Mercifully, the loss of life was very limited; however, the property damage was severe. Louisiana Family Forum, our sister organization in LA, reports that people are turning to churches in the area for help, just as they did after Hurricane Katrina. If you want to help, LFF recommends giving to PRC Compassion Network, rather than the Red Cross, because the Red Cross does not share resources with churches.

(4) Josh McDowell Event

This Saturday, September 6, noted apologist and author Josh McDowell will be speaking at Grace Chapel, 8524 E Thomas Road, in Scottsdale. Josh will be teaching four sessions, from 9 AM to 4 PM, geared toward building intentional relationships that transfer values and beliefs. If you've heard Josh McDowell speak before, you know that this event is well worth your time. If you haven't, this is a great opportunity to hear from a real living legend. To register, visit www.az4squareyouth.org.