Abortion

By LAURA ERNDE Staff Writer CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - A Franklin County midwife says she did not perform a 1994 abortion that left a Pennsylvania woman infertile. In a response to a lawsuit filed against her in Franklin County Court, Judith A. Mentzer says she believed Laurie Smith of Scotland, Pa., had had a miscarriage. "If I believed there was even a chance I had caused the death of an unborn child I would stop delivering children," Mentzer said through her attorney, Richard Morris of Shippensburg, Pa. In the court response, Mentzer said she acted as "as a reasonable midwife would act under the same or similar circumstances.

heatherk@herald-mail.com When Hagerstown mom Angelique Bowman first spotted the posters of bloody aborted fetuses Monday afternoon as she strolled down West Washington Street holding the hands of her sons Dushion, 2, and Thavies, 5, she was shocked. "I got a little annoyed because they are so graphic," said Bowman, 28. "I had my kids with me and I didn't expect to see that. " But a few blocks, some conversations with the protesters and a pamphlet later, Bowman said she was convinced that the images were "what it takes" to convey what the protesters call "the truth" about abortion.

By LAURA ERNDE Staff Writer Rachel Kennedy, 19, didn't plan to become a mother so young and in the middle of her college education. "It would have been real easy for me to consider abortion. I've been through the ringer and back," the Hagerstown woman said. Kennedy brought her 8-month-old son Christopher to the sixth annual Life Chain on Sunday to give hope to other women who find themselves in such desperate situations. About 350 people lined up along one side of Dual Highway in Hagerstown, holding signs like, "Abortion Kills Women," "Lord, Forgive Us and Our Nation" and "Abortion Hurts Women.

Women should have the power to make their own decisions as individuals. A woman's right to have an abortion sho uld be protected. If a woman feels she will not be able to care for her baby, she should have the right to terminate her pregnancy. Some might argue that women make choices that lead to their pregnancies and therefore they should accept responsibility for their choices. I believe having an abortion can be a responsible decision. Unfortunately, life doesn't always work so that all children can be born into good circumstances.

By LISA GRAYBEAL Staff Writer, Chambersburg CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - Franklin County women experiencing an unplanned pregnancy have Real Alternatives to turn to, a new state-funded crisis pregnancy service promoting options to abortion. Coordinated through Catholic Charities, the program provides free counseling and a variety of educational and supportive services for income-eligible mothers, fathers and family members of children from conception to 1 year of age. "There are lots of ways a pregnancy can become a crisis," said Carolyn George, counseling director in the Chambersburg office.

Abortion has become an increasingly demanding issue and many citizens spend countless hours rallying for support in their stand. Pro-life individuals are held together by one common concept - that all humans have an inherent right to life. More than 200 years ago, our Founding Fathers emphasized the honor and respect for human life by stating certain undeniable rights. These natural rights are universal and tie together all humans using the bind of life. It is imperative to understand that the fetus in a mother's womb, though unborn, is alive and is growing, developing and maturing.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - When it comes to putting his grandchildren on his knees, Robert Hepworth has a problem. He has 13 of them, all under five. Included are the McCaughey septuplets. The world's first surviving septuplets were born to his daughter, Bobbi McCaughey, and her husband, Kenneth, on Nov. 19, 1997, in Des Moines, Iowa. Hepworth spoke at the Pregnancy Ministries, Inc., 15th Annual Fund-Raising Banquet Thursday at the Lighthouse Restaurant. Nearly 300 people heard him tell of the changes the seven babies have made in the lives of his family.

The doubt of the benefit To the editor: A correction is needed for an Associated Press error! The Herald-Mail on page A10, carried the following statement in an AP article on Social Security earnings penalties: "...once they reach age 70, when the penalty no longer applies - their monthly benefits are adjusted upward to compensate for the losses. " Not so, according to SSA pubs and staffers. (1) Yes, when you reach 70 - the earnings penalty is finally eliminated.

chambersburg@herald-mail.com Hundreds of people lined streets in Tri-State area communities Sunday afternoon, silently participating in a nationwide Life Chain. Life Chain events were held in Hagerstown, Chambersburg, Pa., and Martinsburg, W.Va. In Chambersburg, the Life Chain was held for the 12th straight year, said Sherry Cline, an organizer. About 300 people stood along Lincoln Way East and Second Street from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. holding signs while they silently prayed to uphold the sanctity of pre-born life, all human life and the nation's future, Cline said.

Del. Neil C. Parrott, R-Washington, has introduced a bill in the Maryland General Assembly that would prohibit abortions at 20 weeks gestation or later, except under some circumstances such as medical emergencies. The bill, known as the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, also has been introduced in the Senate by Sen. Edward R. Reilly, R-Anne Arundel. “Since children in the womb 20 weeks old or older feel pain … we should not allow abortions for children 20 weeks old or older,” Parrott said at a press conference Wednesday.

Adoption is always an alternative to abortion To the editor: Last week was the 40th sad remembrance of the Roe v. Wade legalization of abortion. A sea of humanity demonstrated in Washington, D.C., protesting this injustice to the unborn. Each year, the crowds swell more and more. It was estimated that 500,000 young people and families were there from about every state in the United States marching for life. They came by the busloads in very freezing weather. These unborn babies are the poorest of the poor because there is no protection for their lives to be saved, but in them lies the pure gold of love.

“You know, I cannot believe, on this debt ceiling, that the Republicans are so stubborn that they can't compromise on this bill to get the debt limit raised. It seems like the Republicans, Boehner, is catering to the Tea Party and these right-wing talk show hosts like Limbaugh and Sean Hannity.” - Hagerstown “I'm calling regarding the Hagerstown caller who said that they do not believe anyone who makes a million dollars or more a year does not need Social Security or Medicare.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The way abortions are covered under health care reform is a major obstacle to finalizing the legislation, even though the House and Senate both agree that no federal money should be used. The stumbling block is whether insurance plans that get federal money are completely barred from covering abortions, or whether they can cover it as long as they require customers to write separate checks for the procedure using their own money. Why does that matter? Because the House and Senate solved the dispute in different ways, neither of which makes everyone happy, and now they have to find a further compromise.

"I just wanted to say congratulations to the 11-12 All-Star Conococheague team, who won the Maryland state Little League title Friday in Waldorf, Md., and just want to wish them good luck in Bristol, Conn. " - Hagerstown "I'm growing tired of those who 'have' in this nation complaining, when there are more and more people out of work. It's time for the more fortunate to step up to the plate and help. At least for another year, we should come together by helping food banks, churches and goodwill organizations to provide the necessary support to get us through these difficult times.

HAGERSTOWN -- Barbara and Robert Shipley were downtown Monday afternoon when they came across the annual Defend Life Face the Truth Tour and asked organizers if they could join in the anti-abortion demonstration. Barbara Shipley referred to abortion as "ghastly. " Her son, Robert Shipley, said they believe abortion is murder. Angela Swagler, 19, of Erie, Pa., is one of the tour's organizers. The group of 23 tour members made its first stop Monday morning in Charles Town, W.Va.

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- There's drama in Hannah Dickerson's life. She's part of a Christian drama team touring the East Coast with an anti-abortion message, which it shares through a play called "The Sanctity of Life. " The Academy of Arts in Taylors, S.C., runs the six-week tour, which is scheduled to end Aug. 10 after 40 shows. It recently stopped in Hagerstown and Martinsburg, W.Va. In "The Sanctity of Life," Hannah, 17, plays a nurse in an abortion clinic. She said the play follows a college student who gets pregnant.

It was hard to ignore the papal bull condemning the slave trade, which was read to American Catholic leaders gathered in Baltimore in 1839. Pope Gregory XVI proclaimed that "no one in the future dare to vex anyone, despoil him of his possessions, reduce to servitude, or lend aid and favor to those who give themselves up to these practices, or exercise that inhuman traffic by which the Blacks, as if they were not men but rather animals, having been...