What Teachers and Students Need to Know BEFORE School Begins

By Joe Landrum

Administrative Assistant for Public Information

        Believe me, students and teachers, I feel your pain as summer fades. But if we can reflect for a moment on the coming school year without becoming too depressed about the nearing end of summer, I wanted to alert you to some new resources and remind you of some of the best received materials the Educational Trust Fund has available that might help in your academic endeavors.

        First, let’s deal with books, DVDs, and videos. (Prices are in parentheses.)

        Heard of “stem cells”? Many have, as they’ve been all over the news. But as most pro-lifers know, you often don’t get the whole truth just by watching the news.

        The Educational Trust Fund has a new resource, a DVD titled Stem Cells and Cloning. Presented by NRLC President Dr. Wanda Franz, this is an excellent primer, a helpful introduction to a topic that can be mind-numbingly complex.

        This easy-to-follow presentation discusses what stem cells are, the key difference between adult and embryonic stem cells, and the use of cloning as one method to obtain embryonic stem cells—and why pro-lifers oppose that. Dr. Franz discusses the scientific interest in stem cell research, looking at the often overlooked successes with adult stem cells, as well as the often glossed-over ethical aspects of lethally extracting stem cells from human embryos.

        In contrast to adult stem cell research, embryonic stem cell research requires killing human embryos, whether those embryos were originally created to bring a child to birth or were created solely for research. This DVD can be a perfect introduction to this subject in biology classes, or in government classes dealing with current events ($10—no extra shipping!).

        Another new resource is Angela Franks’ Margaret Sanger’s Eugenic Legacy. Pro-life chapters or individuals might consider purchasing a copy or two and donating them to high school, college, and public libraries. This thoroughly researched and footnoted book is best suited for college or advanced high school students. Ms. Franks discusses the eugenic philosophy behind the rhetoric that guided Planned Parenthood’s founder, and still guides many advocates of abortion, embryonic stem cell research, euthanasia, and assisted suicide ($15).

        Another book that should be made available to public, high school, and college libraries is the extremely important Women’s Health after Abortion: The Medical and Psychological Evidence. Now in its second edition, this book, written by Elizabeth Ring-Cassidy and Ian Gentles, is based on over 500 articles that have appeared in medical and other journals.

        The authors discuss the documentation that demonstrates the detrimental effects of abortion, effects such as increased risk of breast cancer, infertility, substance abuse, and even suicide. Particularly useful is the discussion of the methodological limitations of much previous research in this field, limitations that could easily lead to erroneous conclusions about the safety of abortion. This can really help the pro-lifer answer the absurd but frequently cited claim that abortion is safer than childbirth ($16).

        Switching to end of life issues, the Trust Fund offers both a video and a book titled Death as a Salesman: What’s Wrong with Assisted Suicide. Both discuss the dangers posed by the growing acceptance of death as a “solution” to life that lacks “quality,” especially when fears of dying in pain, losing perfect control over one’s mental or physical capacities, or becoming a financial or emotional burden come into play.

        These can be an excellent resources for debate classes, as well as current events sections in government courses, as hospitals, nursing homes, legislatures, and courts continue to wrestle with this issue ($10 each; book and video together, $15).

        From books and videos, let’s move on to booklets and factsheets. As always, we have a baby’s first months, with pictures of babies in utero at various stages. Brief descriptions tell the reader what’s new at each developmental stage, but the pictures do most of the talking. These are small booklets, about the size of a CD, and would be great additions to high school biology classes dealing with human development (45 cents each, with quantity discounts).

        Abortion: Some Medical Facts presents the reader with brief descriptions of various abortion techniques, the time in pregnancy they are used, and possible complications. (The complete text is available on our web page at http://www.nrlc.org/abortion/index.html.) Like a baby’s first months, this can be useful in biology or health class (25 cents each, with quantity discounts).

        A newspaper insert titled The Choice I Made could be a great discussion starter for psychology classes willing to look at the psychological effects of abortion. (The complete text appeared in the December 2003 issue of NRL News at http://www.nrlc.org/news/2003/nrl12/index.html. Scroll down to the articles listed under “Special Supplement.”)

        Three young women discuss the choices they made, one to abort her child, one to bear and raise her child, and the third to offer another couple the chance to become parents. This resource provides valuable insight into the services available at pro-life pregnancy centers, information that might make people more comfortable with supporting or using the services of such a center (10 cents each).

        One overlooked resource librarians and educators might wish to consider is the Research Bulletin of the Association for Interdisciplinary Research in Values and Social Change. The Bulletin provides information from top researchers in their fields on the medical, psychological, and sociological aspects of abortion.

        The most recent issue deals with the considerable body of evidence showing a link between abortion and breast cancer. It also discusses the sociological factors that have led to the suppression of this information.

        Past issues of the Bulletin dealt with the effects of abortion on the family, the increase in self-destructive behaviors following abortion, and the perinatal hospice option for children in the womb who cannot survive. The range of topics makes this an excellent resource for a number of classroom discussions or essay assignments. The Bulletin is generally published four times a year, and a complete list of titles is available (membership in the association: $25 annually; single copies of back issues: $1).

        Finally, we have our factsheets—one-, two-, or four-page descriptions of a particular topic. (These are also available on our web page at http://www.nrlc.org/factsheets/index.html.)

        Topics include abortion statistics and trends, Planned Parenthood, the pain of the unborn, deaths from RU486, Supreme Court decisions, abortion’s impact on minorities, stem cell research, and the history of NRLC. These can be great introductions to different aspects of abortion, and jump start the class discussion. (Single copies of each are free, and you are free to make copies or download from our web page.)

        If your are interested in obtaining any of the above materials, or for information on quantity discounts, contact the Trust Fund at education@nrlc.org; (202) 626-8829; or write to 512 10th St., NW, Washington, DC 20004. Unless otherwise noted, add $3.95 shipping for orders under $20, or 20% for orders of $20 and over.