Help for Inquiring Young Minds.

As some of you head back to school, or send your kids off to fill their heads with knowledge, we'd like to make mention of the many pro-life materials the NRL Educational Trust Fund has available to help with those reports on government, current events, biology, or psychology.

Advances in the therapeutic use of non-controversial adult stem cells are rendering the perceived "need" for stem cells obtained from destroyed human embryos obsolete. The danger to human embryos, however, remains strong, as many researchers continue to seek state and federal funds for lethal experiments.

The Educational Trust Fund offers a 30-minute DVD titled Stem Cells and Cloning. An excellent primer, this is an easy-to-follow introduction to a complex topic. The DVD discusses what stem cells are, the difference between adult and embryonic stem cells, and the wholly misleading term "therapeutic cloning."

NRLC President Dr. Wanda Franz discusses the scientific interest in stem cell research, successes with adult stem cells, and the ethical implications of destroying human embryos for some hypothetical "potential" future benefit to others. This would be a perfect introduction to this subject in biology classes, or in government classes dealing with current events ($10no extra shipping!).

Another excellent resource is Angela Franks's Margaret Sanger's Eugenic Legacy. Pro-life chapters or individuals might consider purchasing copies and donating them to high school, college, and/or public libraries. Best suited for college or advanced high school students, the book discusses the eugenic philosophy behind the rhetoric that guided Planned Parenthood's founder and still guides many advocates of abortion, embryonic stem cell research, euthanasia, and assisted suicide ($15).

Another book that is recommended is unfortunately out of print at the moment is Women's Health after Abortion: The Medical and Psychological Evidence, which is available on the web page of the De Veber Institute, (www.deveber.org/publications2.html). This edition was published in 2003.

This book discusses a number of studies that demonstrate abortion's detrimental health effects on women, such as increased risk of breast cancer, infertility, substance abuse, and even suicide. Particularly useful is the discussion of the methodological limitations of much previous research in this field, limitations which could easily lead to erroneous conclusions about the safety of abortion. This can really help the pro-lifer answer the ridiculous claim that abortion is "safer" for the mother than childbirth.