Life Links 4/8/08

UPDATE 4/10: From a recent post on his blog, it appears the Newsweek reporter may taken liberties with Pastor Hamilton's position on abortion. It seems (from the blog post) that a more correct label for his position would be prolife-with-exceptions rather than pro-choice. I still haven't had time to listen to the audio of his sermon and I'm just starting to read the abortion chapter in his book which was recently made available online.

Newsweek has a small article entitled "How Would Jesus Choose" about a pro-choice Methodist pastor named Adam Hamilton who prefers to call himself "pro-life with a heavy heart" even though he believes abortion should be legal and available. The Newsweek article notes how Hamilton received a letter from his mother which mentioned how she was pressured to but refused to have an abortion when she was a teenager. The article doesn't note if the child who wasn't aborted was Hamilton or one of his siblings.

You can listen to a sermon on abortion by Hamilton from 2004 at the web site of the United Methodist Church.


Scientists from the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research have used induced pluripotent stem cells to treat Parkinson's in rats. According to MIT stem cell scientist Rudolf Jaenisch, "These cells are more readily available and much less controversial than embryonic stem cells. But they seem to have identical potential."

Could someone tell me again why proponents of embryonic stem cell research continue to push cells which are more controversial, less readily available and seem to have the same potential as cells which aren't controversial and are more readily available?


Italian pro-choicers who dislike a political candidate running on the slogan "Abortion? No thanks" showed their distaste by hurling "eggs, tomatoes, oranges, bottles and coins" at Giuliano Ferrara, a devout atheist.

Stay classy Italian pro-choicers.