United for Life of MercedCounty Non Profit Org.
P. O. Box 3402 U.S. POSTAGE PAID
Merced, CA 95344-1402 Permit #608
Merced, California, 95340
Return Service requested
PLACE ADDRESS
LABEL HERE
United For Life
OF MERCEDCOUNTY
Telephone (209) 383-5222
P. O. Box 3402 Apr., 2018
Merced, CA 95344 #147-2 Circulation: 2,584 homes
Mothers’ Day Corsages
Mother’s Day is a time to reflect on the woman that gave us LIFE. She carried us for 9 months; then cared for us when we could not have survived without her. Here at UFL we pass out corsages to contact people in approximately 30 churches in the Merced County area. This contact person will pick up the corsages on Saturday, May 12th, the day before Mother’s Day, and make them available to the people for a donation of $5. If your church does not participate, we welcome you to contact us and begin this positive outreach. Kathy Thomas ph (209) 723-8912.
Our corsages go out not only to mothers, but to sisters, daughters, grandmothers, aunts, good neighbors and friends--all
in a celebration of life. Also, the donations received from this corsage project makes our participation in the many fairs and festivals listed below possible.
This is the second year we will be at the roomier location for assembling and pick-up of the corsages--Calvary Assembly Church near the corner of R Street and 10th Street in Merced. We will be working on them in the hall there from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., Saturday, May 12th.
Fairs, Festivals, & Church Events
It’s “Time to get to work” wherever people gather and information tables or booths are allowed. Out come the fetal models, multiple brochures, and small giveaways-- all with a beautiful pro-life message. Our booth volunteers include retirees, married couples, older teens, and many individuals all striving to get the pro-life, respect-life message out to the community. You are invited to join us at a booth. Just call the numbers below. We need to have at least two people during each time slot, and newcomers are paired with experienced volunteers.
To add a fair, festival or church event to the following list, please call 383-5222 & leave your message.
Merced County Spring Fair in Los BanosMay 2-6George & Linda826-0814
Chowchilla-Madera Co. Fair in ChowchillaMay 17-20Julia 559-665-2702
Spanish Prayer Group Annual Seminario-Dos PalosMay 19-20Rosalia810-6546
San Juan Diego Fiesta- St Jude’s LivingstonMay Rosemary722-6831
Merced County Fair in MercedJune 6-10Veronica383-0407
Atwater 4th of JulyJuly 4Message phone383-5222
Livingston 4th of July July Message phone383-5222
Sacred Heart Festival-MercedSeptemberMessage phone383-5222
Dos Palos Cotton FestivalSeptemberMessage phone383-5222
Los Banos Fall Street FaireSeptemberGeorge & Linda826-0814
Sweet Potato Festival-Livingston (Sept. 21-23)SeptemberMessage phone383-5222
Report on Past Events
January’s West Coast Walk for Life: After all these years, we managed to get two buses, not just one, to roll out from Merced to San Francisco this year! It is usually a wonderfully chaotic time –a combination of excitement, prayers, sadness acknowledging the tragedy of abortion, and hope and joy in being a part of so many people joining together to protect life. CBS News estimated 70,000 attended! Hopefully next year most of our people will go again and new folks will come so that two buses can roll out and return with people inspired to keep spreading the pro-life message locally!
Pro-Life Speech Contest: Congratulations to the five students who spoke on “Why I am Pro-Life” at our annual Pro-Life Speech Contest in March. It was heartwarming to hear all of them recite their stories and beliefs. First Place winner was Juliana Muncherian of Golden Valley Hi, second place was Yareth Cruz of El Capital Hi, and third place was Alexandra Rigo of Golden Valley Hi. Thanks, also, to our judges and all who helped with this event. . .
January’s Local Rally for Life: Over 100 braved the uncertain weather to attend our annual Pro-Life Rally at the Old Merced Courthouse steps on Jan. 22nd. The hour long rally flew by with the beautiful singing by Mrs. Gwen Amey, the powerful prayers, and the heartfelt speech by local momTamara McDonald, mother of Trent, a young man with Down Syndrome. Thanks to all who made that hour special by participating and coming to the Rally..
When Government Steps Between Parents and Child
Little Charles Gard caught the attention of world-wide media during his few precious months of life. He was born on August 4, 2016, in London, England. Charlie was diagnosed with Mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that usually ends in infant death.
This case became controversial because the medical team and parents disagreed about whether experimental treatment was in Charlie’s best interest.
The position of GreatOrmondStreetHospital (GOSH), that was treating Charlie was that his brain was so irreversibly damaged and his illness terminal, that further treatment would be pointless. They decided that withdrawing life-support was in Charlie’s best interest.
The parents, on the other hand, had found an American neurologist, Dr. Michio Hirano from Columbia Medical Center in New York, who had an experimental form of nucleoside bypass treatment which gave them hope that the life of their baby could possibly be saved or at least extended.
According to the British law view (UN resolution 64/146), children have rights independent of their parents, and, when necessary, the court appoints a guardian to represent a child.
So, the legal guardian appointed to represent letter Charlie, to make matters even worse, turned out to be the chairwoman of Compassion in Dying, an organization that represents legalizing assisted suicide in the UK. Charlie’s parents were very concerned with how this woman’s personal agenda would affect their situation.
After listening to everyone, the judge ruled that it was not in Charlie’s best interest to continue on life support.
This changed, however, when the international spotlight illuminated how desperately ill Charlie was, how desperate his parents were to save him, and now people wondered, what was the UK going to do to help him?
This is when Pope Francis reached out to try to help this family. He said “to defend human life, above all when it is wounded by illness, is a duty of love that God entrusts to all.”
His words teach us that every life has intrinsic value and is irreplaceable. Humans, no matter how big or small, with or without physical or mental impairments, still need all the love, care, and protection we can provide.
Charlie’s case continued to garner attention. The Vatican’s BambinoGesuHospital offered to care for Charlie. President Trump reached out on behalf of the United States, and our Congress, with bipartisan unity, were able to efficiently grant Charlie Gard permanent U.S. residency, so that his parents could come here to seek treatment. Lastly, New YorkPresbyterianHospital also offered to admit Charlie in New York or provide the experimental drug treatment to GOSH in London.
Being under that International microscope gave Charlie more time as the lawyers’ argued and court dates went by. But through all this, Charlie’s parents were denied the right to parent their baby. Because of UN resolution 64/146,that gives children rights independent of their parents, it basically handed this child over to the government to decide-right along with their morals and values.
Since so much time had been wasted, while Charlie’s illness progressed, he finally reached a point where the experimental treatment could no longer help him in any way. Charlie’s parents were going to remove his life support.
The hospital refused to let the parents take their baby home to die. He had to go to a hospice care facility because the parents were not allowed to make that decision for him.
Little Charlie died the following day on July 28, 2017. He was 11 months and 24 days old..
------
Despite pressure, the U. S. has not yet ratified the U.N. Resolution on the Rights of the Child. The opposition to the U.N. resolution is based mainly on its reducing and in some cases eliminating parental rights—reducing the parents’ role to only giving advice.
Intriguing Headlines from National Right to Life’s April Newsletter
Why do babies kick in the womb? Babies don’t just kick to keep you up at night . . . .Scientists at Trinity College in Dublin found that babies move around because they are trying to develop strong joints and bones.. . . another recent study found that a baby’s kick has more than 10 lbs of force—more than hitting a tennis ball.!
Studies show babies can form memories in the womb: . . . .researchers at Helsinki, Finland asked a group of pregnant women to play a tract of the nonsense word “tatata” to their preborn child ever so often. Another group of pregnant women acted as the control group and did not play the track at all. After the babies were born, the researchers watched their brain activity while playing the track of “tatata” and found that those who had heard the sound while in the womb registered brain activity when they heard it after birth, while those who were not exposed to the sound in the womb did not register brain activity when they heard it after birth. Researchers concluded that a fetus’s memories last beyond birth...... (Originally posted at Live Action News)
Other Local Pro-Life Organizations:
AlphaPregnancyHelpCenter - You can contact Alpha at (209) 383-4700 or on line at Alphaphc.com.
Mary's Mantle Maternity Home, JMJ Maternity Homes: They can use financial aid and for volunteer information or to donate items please contact them at 209-769-7092 or
TrinityPregnancyResourceCenter - Phone is 559-665-7700, address is PO Box 518, Chowchilla, CA 93610
Notice of Next Meeting
The next meeting will be Thursday, May 3rd at 7:00 p.m. at the FirstBaptistChurch at the corner of M Street and Buena Vista in Merced. The address is 500 Buena Vista Drive. The meeting room is accessed by turning into the first parking lot entrance on Buena Vista after turning off of M St. It is in the first room, in the wing closest to Buena Vista Ave. Please feel welcome to attend!
Computer minded & have a little time? Call 383-0407 for information on helping keep up mailing list, etc).