EXPERT ANALYSIS: AT LEAST ONE OF THE DC BABIES SHOWS SIGNS OF POSSIBLE PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORTION
from: LiveAction News

(5 Mar.) WATCH THE VIDEO! Several medical experts have told Live Action News that one of the aborted babies recently obtained outside an abortion facility in Washington, D.C., showed signs of a possible partial-birth abortion (PBA), an abortion method which is banned by federal law.

The term "partial birth" has been disputed, but it generally refers to killing babies while their lower extremities have been delivered from the mother’s cervix. Abortionists committing the procedure typically puncture the baby’s neck at or near the base of the skull and suction out his or her brain matter.

Baby girl #1 [warning: disturbing images] was found with her right eye open and apparent brain matter protruding from the back of her head. The eye is potentially bulging as a result of the high-powered suction utilized in PBAs.

Several medical experts have told Live Action News that one of the aborted babies recently obtained outside an abortion facility in Washington, D.C., showed signs of a possible partial-birth abortion (PBA), an abortion method which is banned by federal law.

The term "partial birth" has been disputed, but it generally refers to killing babies while their lower extremities have been delivered from the mother’s cervix. Abortionists committing the procedure typically puncture the baby's neck at or near the base of the skull and suction out his or her brain matter.

Baby girl #1 [warning: disturbing images] was found with her right eye open and apparent brain matter protruding from the back of her head. The eye is potentially bulging as a result of the high-powered suction utilized in PBAs.

At least one self-described pro-choice OBGYN – Dr. Forrest Smith – told Live Action News that he agreed baby girl #1 could have undergone a PBA. Similarly, two pro-life OBGYN's – Dr. Kathi Aultman and Dr. Ingrid Skop – said a PBA might have occurred.

"[Baby girl #1] appears to be in the late 2nd or early 3rd trimester," Aultman said in a statement to Live Action News. "She has some bruising of the face and some maceration of the skin, which could be consistent with death prior to the abortion. She appears intact and completely normal except for trauma to the neck, possibly from traction applied during the attempt to deliver the head."

Aultman added: "There appears to be an incision at the base of the skull, and the head has been decompressed by removing the brain. This is consistent with an Intact D&E [dilation and evacuation] or D&X [dilation and extraction]. If the baby was alive at the start of this procedure, it would be considered a Partial Birth Abortion and would be illegal."

Did baby girl #1 have anencephaly? Both self-described pro-choice and pro-life experts have speculated that baby girl #1 might have had anencephaly, a condition in which portions of the brain and/or skull are missing. Dr. Smith felt that baby girl #1 showed signs of the condition.

The first of baby girl #1's photos in Live Action News' story shows an abnormally small head. However, the second photo, as previously mentioned, shows a substantial amount of apparent brain matter protruding from her head – suggesting that her skull may have been compressed due to suction from a PBA. [read more...]

COMMENTARY: Reading this gruesome article turns my stomach. How long, O Lord, will You allow this genocide to continue? We rightly groan and grieve over the hundreds of people being killed every day in Ukraine, but we seem oblivious to the fact that every day, over 3,000 babies are killed in America.

LONGEVITY DOES NOT ALWAYS WORK IN YOUR FAVOUR IN THE UK
from: BioEdge.org

(19 Mar.) "Dying patients living longer than expected lose NHS funds" was the BBC headline. The NHS is the UK's government health service, which is publicly funded and free. But it appears that there are limits to its largesse.

When doctors determine that a person has only a short time to live, the NHS gives them fast-track support to enable them to live in a nursing home or at home. But in some cases, the BBC found in a special investigation, when the patient lingered on, funding is withdrawn, leaving them to pay the bills for extra care. This seems to happen to about 1,300 patients every year. According to the BBC's story:

"The fast-track continuing healthcare scheme pays for all an individual's palliative care needs and is not means-tested. To qualify, there must be evidence of a rapidly-deteriorating condition that may be entering a terminal phase. Guidelines state this should not be 'interpreted narrowly' as meaning only those with a 'short time frame of life remaining.' But in many cases where a patient remains alive beyond their prognosis, reviews are being used to decide on their continued eligibility – often taking place three months after their funding began."

There seems to be great variation. In some areas, 80% of patients who had been reassessed were deemed no longer eligible; in other areas, only 20%. A lawyer told the BBC that the percentage of those who were no longer eligible seemed "exceptionally high."

In his opinion, the assessments were being used "often as a cost-saving exercise by the NHS designed to withdraw funding from as many people as possible, even where it might not be appropriate." [read more...]

COMMENTARY: While living for 17 years in post-USSR Russia and providing home health care for elderly and disabled Russians, we learned that when a Russian calls for an ambulance, the person answering the phone asks how old the former is: if older than 65, no ambulance is dispached. If you don't have money or "connections," you're left to die. Another article in BioEdge about assisted suicide tells of – "organizations [that] provide assisted suicide to those who are 'tired of life,' older than 'around 70 to 75 years' and not seriously ill."

UKRAINIAN CATHOLIC LEADER DENOUNCES 'HORRIFIC WAR CRIMES' IN BUCHA
from: Eurasia Review

(5 Apr.) The head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church on Sunday denounced "horrific war crimes" reportedly committed by Russian forces in a city near Kyiv.

In his daily video message on April 3, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk referred to images from the city of Bucha, around 15 miles northwest of the Ukrainian capital, and other newly liberated areas. "Literally a few tens of kilometers from the center of Kyiv, in the liberated towns, we see horrific war crimes," he said.

"Mass graves with hundreds of lifeless bodies. Executed people lying in the streets, sometimes with tied hands. Naked bodies of women which they did not have time to burn."

"Europe only saw such scenes in the liberation from the Nazis. Today Ukraine is seeing this, and it is so important that the whole world sees and hears it," the major archbishop said on the day that Ukraine's foreign minister accused Russian forces of conducting a "deliberate massacre" of civilians in Bucha.

News organizations reported that at least 20 bodies dressed in civilian clothing were found in a single street when Ukrainian forces retook the city following the withdrawal of Russian combatants.

The U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the images from Bucha as a "punch to the gut," while Germany's Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck said that "this terrible war crime cannot go unanswered." [read more...]

COMMENTARY: The horrors of Russian forces' atrocities in Ukraine is beyond my rational comprehension. After living in those countries 22+ years, I am driven to tears when I see and read the news reports and receive dozens of letters from former co-workers there. But I know that most people will simply shrug their shoulders – "so what," put it out of their minds and just go about their business.

ROBOTS GIVE STUDENTS AN ASSIST WITH COMMUNICATION SKILLS
from: Disability Scoop

(8 Apr.) MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. – Milo can dance, play, talk, walk and blink like most kids in Michigan City Area Schools. But he has one difference: He is a robot.

Milo helps students who have autism and communication challenges, as well as pre-K students with special needs in the district. A similar robot, Carver, is also in the classroom.

Michigan City Area Schools was part of an Indiana University research project to pilot Milo. Since then, the district received a grant and three more robots. Now there are two versions of Carver and Milo spread through Knapp, Pine and Joy elementary schools and Michigan City High School.

The robots were originally created to help students who have autism, but they can be used for any student who is struggling with communication. Milo and Carver work through the use of lessons. A special education teacher will choose a lesson from a tablet, and the robot will then speak to the student. On a separate tablet, the student is able to respond and answer.

Lessons could address how to say yes or no, or how to address emotions. There are a multitude of options for teachers to choose from. At Joy Elementary, Milo is primarily used to help with speech and language. Molly Trout, special education supervisor at MCAS, and speech assistant Mallorie Heflin worked with students recently at Joy Elementary to help them participate in group work and individual lessons with Milo.

One student had trouble deciphering whether to say "yes" or "no." Their lesson focused on Milo doing an action, such as closing his eyes, and the student answering what Milo did with a yes or no question. [read more...]

COMMENTARY: This school system has already developed several lessons for the robots to teach the special needs children. A lot of the students actually bond emotionally with the robots because a robot does not become impatient with a child's slow response. For some videos on how these robots were developed, go to Meet Milo!

BISHOPS OF THE POLISH ORTHODOX CHURCH: WAR IN UKRAINE "WICKED AND INCOMPREHENSIBLE"
from: Religious Information Service of Ukraine

(23 Mar.) Many clergy and faithful of the Polish Orthodox Church have become fully involved in helping refugees suffering from the Russian Federation's inhumane assault on Ukraine. This natural reflex of heartfelt unity with the helpless victims of the war corresponds with the official response of the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church (PAOC) formulated by the bishops at their meeting on 22nd March 2022.

It is to be hoped that this position will begin the process of separating the Polish Orthodox Church from its historical, political and financial connections and dependence on the Kremlin, which are detrimental to its unity and put into question the credibility of the Orthodox Church as a party to social and interfaith dialogue. The issue of recognising the Ukrainian autocephaly will be addressed during the visit of Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople to Poland - an invitation has just been extended by Polish President Andrzej Duda and Orthodox Metropolitan Sava of Warsaw.

The Orthodox Church of Poland joins the voices of Orthodox Christians worldwide who have defined a sacralisation of the 'Russky mir' ideology by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow as contrary to the foundations of Christianity, with a fundamentalist and racist background. The most important words of the communiqué of the Synod of Bishops of the Polish Orthodox Church are as follows:

On 24th February 2022, Russian troops unexpectedly invaded the lands of Ukraine and began hostilities. A difficult time of fratricidal fighting ensued, which continues to this day. As a result, citizens' normal lives were shattered, many innocent people were killed, and church and social life deteriorated. In addition, material goods are destroyed: temples, monuments, critical infrastructure and residential buildings.

War, in itself, is a great experience in the life of societies. Ukraine and all peoples of peace experience great pain; brotherly blood is shed, similar to Abel's blood due to the murder committed by his brother Cain. Millions of Ukrainian citizens are leaving their homeland. As a result, the nation is suffering, is in turmoil and is lost. As in the Old Testament and today, God calls out to all participants in warfare: "The voice of your brother's blood cries out to me from the earth" (Genesis 4:10).

The Holy Synod of Bishops of the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church, guided by this biblical truth, appeals to the authorities of the Russian Federation, headed by its President, to cease hostilities in Ukraine, viewing them as wicked and incomprehensible. It is difficult to understand why two fraternal, Orthodox and Slavic nations fight each other. Let us not destroy what our Fathers and Mothers have left us, beginning with the baptism of St. Prince Vladimir.

Almost a month after the war began, the lack of a common statement by the Orthodox bishops of Poland has aroused much controversy. The strong expectations of the faithful pointed to the need for the bishops when confronted with the evil that is war, to stop speaking the language of diplomacy and give a simple testimony of the Gospel. The silence of a part of the Polish Orthodox hierarchy has been perceived as in line with the political expectations of the Moscow Patriarchate, which has declared with satisfaction that the local Orthodox churches are taking "a balanced peaceful stance concerning what is happening." [read more...]

COMMENTARY:The Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church, although autonomous (autocephalous), had toed the Moscow Patriarchate's line that the war in Ukraine is just an unfortunate incident – "Now, boys, let's stop fighting, OK?" – instead of outright condemning the Moscow Patriarchate's complicity in these war crimes of mass murder and destruction. Thank God they have now come out against these horrifying atrocities.

PDA: THE PATHOLOGICAL DEMAND AVOIDANT PROFILE OF AUTISM
from: Disabled World

(8 Apr.) Autism and PDA. It's not what you think! This Autism Awareness Month, help spread awareness about PDA, the Pathological Demand Avoidant profile of autism. We know that autism is dimensional – it involves a complex and overlapping pattern of strengths, differences, and challenges that present differently from one individual to another.

In some ways, there are practically as many expressions of autism as there are autistic people. However, there are also some clusters of traits - formally called presentations, or profiles – that we see over and over again. One of those that we are just beginning to understand is Pathological Demand Avoidance Syndrome (PDA).

Although the Pathological Demand Avoidance Syndrome (PDA) has become more and more widely understood in the UK, this clinical profile of autism is just at the precipice of being "discovered" by American educators, psychologists, therapists, and families. That's good (if belated) news for American individuals who may be impacted by it.

"Our understanding of autism is still evolving, especially in the U.S.," says Diane Gould, a Chicago social worker and founder of PDA North America, a new initiative that is working to bridge the PDA understanding gap on this side of the Atlantic.

As the UK-based PDA Society, from which PDA North America draws inspiration, explains on their website:

"We know that autism is dimensional – it involves a complex and overlapping pattern of strengths, differences, and challenges that present differently from one individual to another. In some ways, there are practically as many expressions of autism as there are autistic people. However, there are also some clusters of traits – formally called presentations, or profiles – that we see over and over again. One of those that we are just beginning to understand is PDA."

Unlike some of the more widely known autism profiles, PDA can sometimes present in a way that is quite different from what people think autism 'is supposed to look like.' This can lead to misdiagnosis or lack of a diagnosis altogether – especially in autistic women and girls, who are classically under diagnosed.

Unfortunately, this misdiagnosis can prevent people with the PDA profile of autism from accessing resources and support that could otherwise be life-changing for them and their families. [read more...]

COMMENTARY: From movies such as "Rain Man" many people have have a one-dimensional understanding of autism, but it can take many forms, ranging from genius to mentally retarded, and can manifest many different emotional states such as withdrawal, anger, or emotional detachment. Only now are the experts beginning to classify these various conditions as separate, distinct illnesses.

I've lived 22+ years in Central Europe during the communist era and in Russia during and after the collapse of the USSR, when my wife and I experienced ONE MILLION PERCENT INFLATION in Russia, people literally dying of heart attacks while waiting in long lines to exchange their "old Rubles" for "new Rubles" before the old Rubles expired and became worthless. We've seen people break down the doors of a grocery store when milk was being delivered in order to buy it before it's gone. I keep my ration card for tobacco and vodka as a reminder of that era.

These days, all sorts of people, mostly ignorant, are spouting all sorts of conspiracy theories and self-blaming explanations for the war in Ukraine. After spending much of my past 60+ years studying about, learning the languages, and living at a subsistence level along with the masses in those countries, I think that I have a fairly good understanding of what is taking place there and why: The Loss of Internalized Morality. In a Christian-based society, parents teach their children basic virtues such as "be kind," "tell the truth, don't tell lies," "respect other people's property," etc. Even though parents might not personally believe in Christ, they have absorbed this from our culture. But increasingly, this is fading away.

In the Soviet Union, however, such basic virtues were abandoned and people felt they had to be ruthless, tell lies, and steal simply in order to survive. What we consider to be normal business practices such as honoring one's contractual word, selling at a fair markup, paying taxes, etc. – these were thrown out the window when private business was declared to be criminal activity. The result of criminalizing business was that only criminals engaged in business, killing, stealing, practicing deceit, making enormous profit, and not paying taxes. Even since 1991's collapse Soviet Union when private business was legalized, the criminal mindset continues to dominate business and private ethics.

IN IRPIN, RUSSIAN "ORCS" BURNED THOUSANDS OF BIBLES. This photo of the fire-disfigured Bibles was posted on Facebook. "Irpin [a suburb of Kyiv]... Thousands of Bibles were burned by the horde... What else can you expect from Satanists... Russian false shepherds bless these demons for such deeds... These freaks are devil's servants, not servants of God," the commentary says.

Russian soldiers also executed the director of an Evangelical seminary in Irpin with a bullet to his head. A good friend of ours who has served in Irpin, Ukraine for several years, sent us the sad news of the seminary director's execution. How can you, especially someone who calls himself an Orthodox Christian, murder other Christians in cold blood simply because they don't adhere to your version of Christianity?

(Get this as a separate page at ARC-News-blog.blogspot.com).