The Bulletin Board:(Please SCROLL DOWN this page to find the article titled on this post in LARGE CAPITAL LETTERS. Thank you.)
ANSWERED PRAYER!! - "Miraculous Day' as US Ebola Patients Sent Home" - By Caitlin Burke, August 22, 2014;
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/healthscience/2014/August/American-Missionary-Recovers-from-Ebola-Virus/ "After nearly three weeks of intense treatment, testing and isolation, American Ebola patients Nancy Writebol and Dr. Kent Brantly are back with their families..."
Of course, let's CONTINUE PRAYING FOR AN END TO THE EBOLA CRISIS IN WEST AFRICA AND THE HEALING OF ALL THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN INFECTED.
PRAY FOR AMERICA: THANK GOD for His many blessings on America throughout it's history. May we then ask that AMERICA once again be a blessing TO GOD, by once again submitting to HIS will in our affairs - both personal and national - that He may truly "heal our land." (2 Chron. 7:14)
PRAY FOR THE PRESENT CONFLICT BETWEEN ISRAEL AND HAMAS TO END SOON BEFORE MORE INNOCENT LIVES ARE LOST ON BOTH SIDES.
PRAY FOR THE CRISIS HAPPENING NOW IN IRAQ (see post #907) Pray that allied forces will be able to drive the group ISIS back (see post #964)
"Not Everyone Happy with Religious Ambassador Pick," Caitlin Burke,July 29, 2014;
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2014/July/Obama-Taps-Rabbi-for-Religious-Freedom-Ambassador/ "President Barack Obama's decision to nominate Rabbi David Saperstein to the post of Ambassador for International Religious Freedom is drawing mixed reactions. Saperstein has spent his career in Washington focusing on social justice and religious freedom issues as an activist in the liberal reform branch of Judaism .... An estimated 76 percent of the world's population live in countries where religious freedom is restricted. Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States must take a strong stand against those violations. "Around the world repressive governments and extremists groups have been crystal clear about what they stand against, so we have to be equally clear about what we must stand for," Kerry said. "We stand for greater freedom, for greater tolerance, greater respect, for rights of freedom of expression and freedom of conscience," he said A key development in the 2013 report is the large number of displaced members of religious communities, including entire Christian communities in Syria and Iraq that have been forced to flee their homes because of persecution."
SIGN A PETITION TO THE UN FOR THE PROTECTION OF CHRISTIANS :" The church in Syria has shone brightly for 2,000 years. But today violence and persecution threatens its survival. Thanks to an incredible response, Open Doors is helping 8,000 families in Syria survive each month. We believe the signatures and prayers of 500,000 people will encourage the UN to act and protect the rights and lives of all Syrians, especially the vulnerable Christian community." Go to: http://lp.opendoorsusa.org/emails/nov-13-action/save-syria.html?utm_source=action&utm_medium=email&utm_content=button&utm_campaign=november
WORLD-WDE PRAYER REQUESTS:
LATEST SAHEED NEWS! May 22 - "Pastor Saeed Forcibly Returned to Prison after Beating" - By Caitlin Burke,CBN News, May 22, 2014;
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2014/May/Pastor-Saeed-Beaten-Sent-Back-to-Iran-Prison/ "Saeed Abedini, a U.S. pastor imprisoned for his faith, was severely beaten at an Iranian hospital before being returned to the brutal Rajai Shahr prison. His Iranian family claims the transfer was unexpected and the reason is unclear. But one of the guards involved in the transfer suggested recent Iranian nuclear talks could be a motive, the family said...""
We need to continue to pray for Pastor Saeed - that his health will improve and that he will be re-united with his wife and two young children who live in the United States. We also remain hopeful that in addition to getting the medical care he so desperately needs, that Iranian officials display the kind of humanitarian treatment that often accompanies the start of the Iranian New Year which began on March 21st. This is the time of year when the Iranian government frequently offers clemency to prisoners of conscience. [If you have not yet, please sign the petition for his clemency- http://beheardproject.com/saeed#sign]
/PRAYER ALERT- UKRAINE: As the Lord leads, please pray:
*For God to suppress President Putin’s ambitions to "restore" the Soviet empire.
*For the people of Ukrainen [esp. for the church 'to be THE church'] as they wait to see if the Russian troops will advance.
*About President Obama and to use wisdom in crafting our foreign policy, and wisdom for his advisers.
Continue to Pray for EGYPT - Continue to pray for the tense situation in Egypt and especially for the Christian believers who are being targeted with violence by Muslim Brotherhood members.]
Health writer Larry Bernstein of the Washington Post has written an excruciating column about how awful and painful it is to die by thirst. The article laments–as any civilized person would–the potential mass deaths by dehydration of the Yazidi at the hand of the butchers of ISIS in Iraq.
Dying of dehydration is an awful death. From the piece:
I’m not about to start ranking the horrors visited on the human body this summer, from Ebola in West Africa to bombs and bullets in Gaza and Israel. But thousands of particularly excruciating deaths may soon be added to the list by the Sunni extremists of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, the terrorist group that is sweeping through parts of Iraq and establishing its own state.As this barbarism continues.
Bernstein did some research: I asked Jeffrey Berns, president-elect of the National Kidney Foundation and a nephrologist at the University of Pennsylvania, what these children may be going through.“Thirst, as you probably know, is one of the most potent drives for behavior we have. It may be the most potent we have, more than even hunger,” he said. “People are going to be miserable.”
The body is about 60 percent water, and under normal conditions, he said…If it’s not replaced over time and dehydration becomes severe, cells throughout the body will begin to shrink as water moves out of them and into the blood stream, part of the body’s efforts to keep the organs in fluid. “All the cells will shrink,” he said, “but the ones that count are the brain cells. They don’t operate normally when they’re’ shrinking.”
Changes in mental status will follow, including confusion and ultimately coma, he said. As the brain becomes smaller, it takes up less room in the skull and blood vessels connecting it to the inside of the cranium can pull away and rupture. Without water, blood volume will decline and all the organs will start to fail, he said. Kidney failure will soon lead to disastrous consequences and ultimately death as blood volume continues to fall and waste products that should be eliminated from the body remain.
Yes, an awful, horrific death. Except when inflicted on people like Terri Schiavo? That can’t be right.
This is a biological process–yet conscious and unconscious disabled and elderly alike are made to die of thirst throughout the country and much of the Western world through removal of tube-supplied sustenance. How many times have we seen advocates for removing feeding tubes from the cognitively disabled sooooothingly assure us it is a peaceful, painless way to die? From a 2005 Chicago Tribune story about the pending death of Schiavo:
One of the main rationales of religious advocates and lawmakers seeking to keep Terri Schiavo alive through a feeding tube has been that removing her only source of nutrition and liquid would be cruel, leading to a “horrible and painful death,” in the words of one activist.
But many of the doctors and nurses who witness the consequences of removing such treatment from patients say withholding nourishment is a common—and largely painless—way of letting nature take its course for ill patients. They say many people near death actually choose to have their feeding tubes removed, which typically leads to a calm, peaceful death.
Yes, IF PEOPLE ARE ON THE VERGE OF DEATH BY CANCER or some other disease. In those cases, the death is not from thirst! But the people we are discussing here are not dying other than having their water and food taken away. That’s a huge difference. The same process described in Bernstein’s piece happens to them.
Oh, and notice what Berns said about the size of the brain after dehydration: Terri’s shrunken brain was touted as proof she could feel nothing. Remember?
People in cognitively disabled conditions may not be able to cry out and beg for food–although I know of at least one case where that happened–because they don’t have the ability. But that doesn’t mean on the inside, unless given powerful drugs–Terri Schiavo wasn’t given that courtesy–they aren’t feeling the same pain as those poor people on the Iraq mountain.
And now Compassion and Choices and other assisted suicide organizations push suicide by thirst and starvation (VSED). From the book, “Voluntary Stop Eating and Drinking: Some call us because they feel overwhelmed by the symptoms of chronic and progressive illnesses that fill their days with misery and suffering. There are also those who may not be seriously ill but are simply “done.” After eight or nine decades of life, they want information about ways to gently slip away in a peaceful and dignified manner. Shameful.
Add to that advocacy now for VSED-by-proxy that would force nursing homes to withhold oral sustenance to Alzheimer’s patients who asked to be starved and dehydrated to death in an advance directive–even if they willingly drink water and juices and eat food.
The elderly, the profoundly disabled, babies born with Down syndrome that have intestinal blockage, etc. are not a different species. They are people. Making them die of thirst is agonizing too. Those who push these kinds of deaths as merely “medical ethics:” Own it!
[bold and italics emphasis mine]
LifeNews.com Note: Wesley J. Smith, J.D., is a special consultant to the Center for Bioethics and Culture and a bioethics attorney who blogs at Human Exeptionalism.
ANSWERED PRAYER!! - "Miraculous Day' as US Ebola Patients Sent Home" - By Caitlin Burke, August 22, 2014;
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/healthscience/2014/August/American-Missionary-Recovers-from-Ebola-Virus/ "After nearly three weeks of intense treatment, testing and isolation, American Ebola patients Nancy Writebol and Dr. Kent Brantly are back with their families..."
Of course, let's CONTINUE PRAYING FOR AN END TO THE EBOLA CRISIS IN WEST AFRICA AND THE HEALING OF ALL THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN INFECTED.
PRAY FOR AMERICA: THANK GOD for His many blessings on America throughout it's history. May we then ask that AMERICA once again be a blessing TO GOD, by once again submitting to HIS will in our affairs - both personal and national - that He may truly "heal our land." (2 Chron. 7:14)
PRAY FOR THE PRESENT CONFLICT BETWEEN ISRAEL AND HAMAS TO END SOON BEFORE MORE INNOCENT LIVES ARE LOST ON BOTH SIDES.
PRAY FOR THE CRISIS HAPPENING NOW IN IRAQ (see post #907) Pray that allied forces will be able to drive the group ISIS back (see post #964)
"Not Everyone Happy with Religious Ambassador Pick," Caitlin Burke,July 29, 2014;
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2014/July/Obama-Taps-Rabbi-for-Religious-Freedom-Ambassador/ "President Barack Obama's decision to nominate Rabbi David Saperstein to the post of Ambassador for International Religious Freedom is drawing mixed reactions. Saperstein has spent his career in Washington focusing on social justice and religious freedom issues as an activist in the liberal reform branch of Judaism .... An estimated 76 percent of the world's population live in countries where religious freedom is restricted. Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States must take a strong stand against those violations. "Around the world repressive governments and extremists groups have been crystal clear about what they stand against, so we have to be equally clear about what we must stand for," Kerry said. "We stand for greater freedom, for greater tolerance, greater respect, for rights of freedom of expression and freedom of conscience," he said A key development in the 2013 report is the large number of displaced members of religious communities, including entire Christian communities in Syria and Iraq that have been forced to flee their homes because of persecution."
SIGN A PETITION TO THE UN FOR THE PROTECTION OF CHRISTIANS :" The church in Syria has shone brightly for 2,000 years. But today violence and persecution threatens its survival. Thanks to an incredible response, Open Doors is helping 8,000 families in Syria survive each month. We believe the signatures and prayers of 500,000 people will encourage the UN to act and protect the rights and lives of all Syrians, especially the vulnerable Christian community." Go to: http://lp.opendoorsusa.org/emails/nov-13-action/save-syria.html?utm_source=action&utm_medium=email&utm_content=button&utm_campaign=november
WORLD-WDE PRAYER REQUESTS:
LATEST SAHEED NEWS! May 22 - "Pastor Saeed Forcibly Returned to Prison after Beating" - By Caitlin Burke,CBN News, May 22, 2014;
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2014/May/Pastor-Saeed-Beaten-Sent-Back-to-Iran-Prison/ "Saeed Abedini, a U.S. pastor imprisoned for his faith, was severely beaten at an Iranian hospital before being returned to the brutal Rajai Shahr prison. His Iranian family claims the transfer was unexpected and the reason is unclear. But one of the guards involved in the transfer suggested recent Iranian nuclear talks could be a motive, the family said...""
We need to continue to pray for Pastor Saeed - that his health will improve and that he will be re-united with his wife and two young children who live in the United States. We also remain hopeful that in addition to getting the medical care he so desperately needs, that Iranian officials display the kind of humanitarian treatment that often accompanies the start of the Iranian New Year which began on March 21st. This is the time of year when the Iranian government frequently offers clemency to prisoners of conscience. [If you have not yet, please sign the petition for his clemency- http://beheardproject.com/saeed#sign]
PRAY ALSO : - For comfort and peace for Saeed’s wife and children here in the U.S.\
- For a strong witness and testimony from Pastor Abedini in the prison where God has placed him
- For Christians around the world who are being persecuted for their faith in Christ
- For leadership from the White House and State Department in defending the freedoms of Abedini and other Americans
- GO TO SaveSaeed.org to sign a petition over 600,000 others asking for his immediate release
*For God to suppress President Putin’s ambitions to "restore" the Soviet empire.
*For the people of Ukrainen [esp. for the church 'to be THE church'] as they wait to see if the Russian troops will advance.
*About President Obama and to use wisdom in crafting our foreign policy, and wisdom for his advisers.
Continue to Pray for EGYPT - Continue to pray for the tense situation in Egypt and especially for the Christian believers who are being targeted with violence by Muslim Brotherhood members.]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"Media: Dying of Thirst is Excruciating Agony, Except if It’s Someone Like Terri Schiavo" - by Wesley J. Smith | Washington, DC | LifeNews.com | 8/11/14; http://www.lifenews.com/2014/08/11/media-dying-of-thirst-is-excruciating-agony-except-if-its-someone-like-terri-schiavo/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"Media: Dying of Thirst is Excruciating Agony, Except if It’s Someone Like Terri Schiavo" - by Wesley J. Smith | Washington, DC | LifeNews.com | 8/11/14; http://www.lifenews.com/2014/08/11/media-dying-of-thirst-is-excruciating-agony-except-if-its-someone-like-terri-schiavo/
"Media: Dying of Thirst is Excruciating Agony, Except if It’s Someone Like Terri Schiavo" - by Wesley J. Smith | Washington, DC | LifeNews.com | 8/11/14; http://www.lifenews.com/2014/08/11/media-dying-of-thirst-is-excruciating-agony-except-if-its-someone-like-terri-schiavo/
Health writer Larry Bernstein of the Washington Post has written an excruciating column about how awful and painful it is to die by thirst. The article laments–as any civilized person would–the potential mass deaths by dehydration of the Yazidi at the hand of the butchers of ISIS in Iraq.
Dying of dehydration is an awful death. From the piece:
I’m not about to start ranking the horrors visited on the human body this summer, from Ebola in West Africa to bombs and bullets in Gaza and Israel. But thousands of particularly excruciating deaths may soon be added to the list by the Sunni extremists of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, the terrorist group that is sweeping through parts of Iraq and establishing its own state.As this barbarism continues.
Bernstein did some research: I asked Jeffrey Berns, president-elect of the National Kidney Foundation and a nephrologist at the University of Pennsylvania, what these children may be going through.“Thirst, as you probably know, is one of the most potent drives for behavior we have. It may be the most potent we have, more than even hunger,” he said. “People are going to be miserable.”
The body is about 60 percent water, and under normal conditions, he said…If it’s not replaced over time and dehydration becomes severe, cells throughout the body will begin to shrink as water moves out of them and into the blood stream, part of the body’s efforts to keep the organs in fluid. “All the cells will shrink,” he said, “but the ones that count are the brain cells. They don’t operate normally when they’re’ shrinking.”
Changes in mental status will follow, including confusion and ultimately coma, he said. As the brain becomes smaller, it takes up less room in the skull and blood vessels connecting it to the inside of the cranium can pull away and rupture. Without water, blood volume will decline and all the organs will start to fail, he said. Kidney failure will soon lead to disastrous consequences and ultimately death as blood volume continues to fall and waste products that should be eliminated from the body remain.
Yes, an awful, horrific death. Except when inflicted on people like Terri Schiavo? That can’t be right.
This is a biological process–yet conscious and unconscious disabled and elderly alike are made to die of thirst throughout the country and much of the Western world through removal of tube-supplied sustenance. How many times have we seen advocates for removing feeding tubes from the cognitively disabled sooooothingly assure us it is a peaceful, painless way to die? From a 2005 Chicago Tribune story about the pending death of Schiavo:
One of the main rationales of religious advocates and lawmakers seeking to keep Terri Schiavo alive through a feeding tube has been that removing her only source of nutrition and liquid would be cruel, leading to a “horrible and painful death,” in the words of one activist.
But many of the doctors and nurses who witness the consequences of removing such treatment from patients say withholding nourishment is a common—and largely painless—way of letting nature take its course for ill patients. They say many people near death actually choose to have their feeding tubes removed, which typically leads to a calm, peaceful death.
Yes, IF PEOPLE ARE ON THE VERGE OF DEATH BY CANCER or some other disease. In those cases, the death is not from thirst! But the people we are discussing here are not dying other than having their water and food taken away. That’s a huge difference. The same process described in Bernstein’s piece happens to them.
Oh, and notice what Berns said about the size of the brain after dehydration: Terri’s shrunken brain was touted as proof she could feel nothing. Remember?
People in cognitively disabled conditions may not be able to cry out and beg for food–although I know of at least one case where that happened–because they don’t have the ability. But that doesn’t mean on the inside, unless given powerful drugs–Terri Schiavo wasn’t given that courtesy–they aren’t feeling the same pain as those poor people on the Iraq mountain.
And now Compassion and Choices and other assisted suicide organizations push suicide by thirst and starvation (VSED). From the book, “Voluntary Stop Eating and Drinking: Some call us because they feel overwhelmed by the symptoms of chronic and progressive illnesses that fill their days with misery and suffering. There are also those who may not be seriously ill but are simply “done.” After eight or nine decades of life, they want information about ways to gently slip away in a peaceful and dignified manner. Shameful.
Add to that advocacy now for VSED-by-proxy that would force nursing homes to withhold oral sustenance to Alzheimer’s patients who asked to be starved and dehydrated to death in an advance directive–even if they willingly drink water and juices and eat food.
The elderly, the profoundly disabled, babies born with Down syndrome that have intestinal blockage, etc. are not a different species. They are people. Making them die of thirst is agonizing too. Those who push these kinds of deaths as merely “medical ethics:” Own it!
[bold and italics emphasis mine]
LifeNews.com Note: Wesley J. Smith, J.D., is a special consultant to the Center for Bioethics and Culture and a bioethics attorney who blogs at Human Exeptionalism.
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