Saturday, April 03, 2004

WASHINGTON (BP)--Federal law now recognizes an unborn child as a victim when he or she is harmed or killed in a crime against a pregnant woman.

President Bush signed the Unborn Victims of Violence Act into law April 1. Federal law has not treated an unborn child as a victim when he or she dies as a result of an assault against or murder of the mother, even though 29 states have laws that recognize the illegal killing of an unborn child as murder in at least some cases.

"This omission in the law has led to clear injustices," Bush said before signing the bill. "The death of an innocent, unborn child has too often been treated as a detail in one crime but not a crime in itself.

"As of today, the law of our nation will acknowledge the plain fact that crimes of violence against pregnant woman often have two victims," he said. "And therefore, in those cases, there are two offenses to be punished."

Pro-life advocates applauded the president's action.

Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, commended Bush for signing a "just and compassionate bill into law." More...

Monday, March 29, 2004

"Facts of Life" star Lisa Whelchel, who played Blair Warner on NBC for nine years, shared a few facts from her own life on Sunday as the key speaker for Heartland Lutheran High School's annual fund-raiser.

Married to the Rev. Steve Cauble, Whelchel became part of the Christian speaking circuit approximately three years ago. She and her family toured the country in an RV for a year and speaking, Whelchel said, paid for the gas to keep them going.

Curt Fischer, Heartland Lutheran executive director, said a representative from the Christian Speakers Bureau had recommended Whelchel to him for the past three years.

"Lisa, as I understand it, has done a super job wherever she's been," Fischer said during a reception before Sunday's main program, "so we're really excited to have her here tonight."

Whelchel's focus on Sunday was the value of a Christian education as it applies to both school and the home. Whelchel home schools her three children, and prior to Sunday's program, said there were two messages she hoped her talk would get across.

First, she wanted everyone to know that they can give children a Christian education, day in and day out. Secondly, she wanted to encourage people to continue giving (as they did to the school on Sunday) because, "When they invest money in people, in children, it's a treasure stored in heaven." More...