Free Republic

I spent a couple of pleasant days last week at the annual conference of the Catholic Medical Association, which met this year in Santa Barbara, California. Not a bad venue – Catholic medical professionals aren’t dumb. But the real pleasure was to be part of a group of 500 people that included doctors, nurses, pharmacists, chiropractors, medical ethicists, and others passionately committed not only to the healing arts, but to the Catholic faith.Yes, you read right, 500 of them, and that’s only those who were able to attend. If you get your impression of Catholic healthcare professionals today solely from...

EDITOR'S NOTE: Last year, for the first time, I attended SpeakOut Illinois. It was a dynamic and educational experience. I had the opportunity to meet like-minded individuals, including the leaders of pro-life organizations which fight for the rights of the innocent unborn. The event is designed to appeal to those who believe in the sanctity of life. I wholeheartedly encourage the growing number of Americans who now consider themselves pro-life to attend the event. -- Daniel T. Zanoza, Executive Director, RFFM.org SpeakOut Illinois 2010 Conference You are invited to attend the 2010 Conference which will feature three exciting speakers: PHILL...

Valley Springs attorney Brian Chavez-Ochoa, who worked with family members of Teri Schiavo several years ago in the nationally publicized case, went to work last week on a Fresno County case that has many similarities to Schiavo's but also one rather significant difference. "I think this is almost identical but for this fact: (Schiavo) was family versus family. This is government versus family," he said. Chavez-Ochoa said this may be the first time for litigation of just such a case. Janet Rivera was removed from tubes providing food and water for nearly two weeks. Last Tuesday, the Fresno County Superior...

Editor's Note: This is the third in a series of columns first posted on the Illinois Right to Life Committee's (IRLC) website [http://www.illinoisrighttolife.org/] written by Bill Beckman, IRLC's executive director. The RFFM.org re-posting of the column discusses "futile care," a method of medical evaluation whereby a physician makes the decision on whether a patient is "worthy" of life-saving treatment. This column warns readers of the need to monitor the care given to loved ones. Beckman tells a heart-breaking, but true story which, for a time, ended happily, but could have concluded in disaster with the induced premature death of Andrea...

(CNSNews.com) - The family of Terri Schindler Schiavo says the judge who ordered her starvation and dehydration -- a process that will begin on March 18 unless a higher court intervenes -- is "afraid of the truth," and is denying Terri's due process rights under state and federal law. "Never in my life have I seen a judge so afraid of the truth," said Pamela Hennessy, media representative for the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation in a statement Tuesday morning. "Why is it that admitted criminals are protected to every reasonable measure of the law," Hennessy asked, "while our disabled and...