Sometimes it is wrongly said that the Catholic Church opposes stem cell research. In fact the Church supports ethically responsible stem cell research, while opposing any research that exploits or destroys human embryos. 

Is legal abortion really safe for the mother?

Pro-lifers talk about the guilt and regret woman some-times feel, but is there any real evidence of dangers of abortion?

There is a great deal of evidence that abortion poses both physical and psychologycal risks to the mother. Physical complications, to name a few, include increased risk of future ectopic pregnancy, breast cancer, miscarriages, and premature birth. Psychological dangers include increased risk of self-destructive behaviors such as drinking, and drug abuse; relationship difficulties; and guilt, regret, and even suicidal ideation.

 

From the Silent No More Awareness Campaign come the voices of the men and women who have had abortions, and have come to regret it. They are the most powerful weapons we have in our fight to end abortion.  Please view the video and help spread their stories far and wide.

 

I Regret my Abortion: Click here

 

 

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Needs of Elderly

Pope Benedict XVI recently spoke on the needs of the elderly and the following are excerpts;* Human life is a gift from God and we are all called to safeguard it.* The elderly who are sick have a right to love, understanding and comfort from both the Church and family members.* In addition to pain relief the dying have a right to be respected and supported as they face the difficulties of the last stage of their lives.The Pope also reaffirms a request that Pope John Paul II made to scientists and doctors asking them to discover ways to prevent and cure the illnesses related to ageing without ever giving in to the temptations to resort to practices to shorten a sick and elderly life, practices that would be forms of euthanasia.

 

Know the Signs of Elder Abuse...

Every year, tens of thousands of elderly Americans are abused in their own homes, in relatives’ homes, and even in facilities responsible for their care.

You may suspect that an elderly person you know is being harmed physically or emotionally by a neglectful or overwhelmed caregiver or being preyed upon financially. By learning the signs and symptoms of elder abuse and how to act on behalf of an elderly person who is being abused, you’ll not only be helping someone else but strengthening your own defenses against elder abuse in the future.

Where does elder abuse take place?

Elder abuse tends to take place where the senior lives: most often in the home where abusers are apt to be adult children; other family members such as grandchildren; or spouses/partners of elders. Institutional settings especially long-term care facilities can also be sources of elder abuse.

At first, you might not recognize or take seriously signs of elder abuse. They may appear to be symptoms of dementia or signs of the elderly person’s frailty — or caregivers may explain them to you that way. In fact, many of the signs and symptoms of elder abuse do overlap with symptoms of mental deterioration, but that doesn’t mean you should dismiss them on the caregiver’s say-so.

The different types of elder abuse: Abuse of elders takes many different forms, some involving intimidation or threats against the elderly, some involving neglect, and others involving financial chicanery. The most common are defined below.

Physical abuse: Physical elder abuse is non- accidental use of force against an elderly person that results in physical pain, injury, or impairment. Such abuse includes not only physical assaults such as hitting or shoving but the inappropriate use of drugs, restraints, or confinement.

Emotional abuse: In emotional or psycho-logical senior abuse, people speak to or treat elderly persons in ways that cause emotional pain or distress.

Verbal forms of emotional elder abuse: include intimidation through yelling or threats, humiliation and ridicule, habitual blaming or scapegoating.

Nonverbal psychological elder abuse can take the form of ignoring the elderly person, isolating an elder from friends or activities, terrorizing or menacing the elderly person.

Sexual abuse: Sexual elder abuse is contact with an elderly person without the elder’s consent.

Such contact can involve physical sex acts, but activities such as showing an elderly person pornographic material, forcing the person to watch sex acts, or forcing the elder to undress are also considered sexual elder abuse.

Neglect or Abandonment by caregivers:

Elder neglect, failure to fulfill a caretaking obligation, constitutes more than half of all reported cases of elder abuse. It can be active (intentional) or passive (unintentional, based on factors such as ignorance or denial that an elderly charge needs as much care as he or she does).

Financial exploitation: This involves unauthorized use of an elderly person’s funds or property, either by a caregiver or an outside scam artist.

An unscrupulous caregiver might: misuse an elder’s personal checks, credit cards, or accounts- steal cash, income checks, or household goods -forge the elder’s signature- engage in identity theft.

Reporting Elder Abuse: If you are an elder who is being abused, neglected, or exploited, tell at least one person. Tell your doctor, a friend, or a family member whom you trust. Other people care and can help you.

You can also call Eldercare Locator at… 1-800-677-1116
The person who answers the phone will refer you to a local agency that can help. The Eldercare Locator answers the phone Monday through Friday, 9 am to 8 pm, Eastern Time.

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End of Life Issues

 Ordinary Means for health care must be taken for a reasonable hope of benefits, no serious danger of death and pain management.  Ordinary means are obligatory.  Food and water are always not health care issues.  Extraordinary Means for health care are optional on a case-by-case basis, for excessive hardship and pain and imminent death.  Euthanasia is never permitted.  There is no political right-to-die despite clever use of language for compassion and rights.  Hydration and nutrition are required.  Living Wills must be tailored on a case-by-case basis because most living wills are not helpful and are mostly right-to-die documents.  The best approach is to name a proxy who makes the decisions and give that person a power of attorney to make the medical decisions.  Properly prepared, they provide ethical advise and doctors and lawyers follow them.  Advance Directives are medical judgments for situations concerning care.  Unanticipated situation decisions ideally should be made by the person named in the power of attorney per prior discussions with the patient.