| 1. Appeals court upholds Texas law to ban abortion procedure, By Kevin McGill, Associated Press, August 19, 2021, 1:03 AM A Texas law outlawing an abortion method commonly used to end second-trimester pregnancies was upheld Wednesday by a federal appeals court in New Orleans. The 2017 law in question has never been enforced. It seeks to prohibit the use of forceps to remove a fetus from the womb — what supporters of the law call a “dismemberment abortion” — without first using an injected drug or a suction procedure to ensure the fetus is dead. Abortion rights advocates argued that the law, known as SB8 in court records, effectively outlaws what is often the safest method of abortion for women in the second trimester of pregnancy — a procedure medically known as dilation and evacuation. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/appeals-court-upholds-texas-law-to-ban-abortion-procedure/2021/08/18/f1601124-007b-11ec-87e0-7e07bd9ce270_story.html
___________________________________________________________ 2. It’s time to put a Surgeon General’s warning on chemical abortion pills, During COVID-19 the industry flourished, By Kristan Hawkins, The Washington Times, August 19, 2021, Pg. B4, Opinion Amidst a surge in COVID-19 caused by the highly transmissible Delta variant, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued an advisory against “health misinformation” that he says “can cause confusion, sow mistrust, [and] harm people’s health.” … The message from the Biden Administration seems clear: People base life-altering decisions upon the health information they consume, and controlling that information has the potential the save lives. But this purported concern for American lives is absent at Biden’s U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), where pregnant women and their children have been abandoned to the predation and rampant medical disinformation of chemical abortion pill vendors. … Things quickly went from bad to worse in the FDA’s world of chemical abortion pill regulation as the abortion lobby pounced on the COVID-19 pandemic to convince the FDA to introduce telemed or mail-order abortions nationwide, requiring only a remote communication between prescriber and patient before dispensing the drug. … This matters because a blood test and ultrasounds are the only methods of detecting potentially life-threatening or fertility-ending maternal risk factors.…Abortion drug manufacturer Danco clearly states in its medication guide: “About 2 to 7 out of 100 women taking Mifeprex will need a surgical procedure because the pregnancy did not completely pass from the uterus or to stop bleeding. … It’s time for the Surgeon General to issue a warning against death-by-mail. Kristan Hawkins is president of Students for Life of America, with more than 1,250 groups on college, university, and high school campuses in all 50 states. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/aug/18/time-to-put-a-surgeon-generals-warning-on-chemical/
___________________________________________________________ 3. As US bishops reject exemptions, Pope Francis dubs COVID-19 vaccine ‘act of love’, By Claire Giangravé and Jack Jenkins, Religion News Service, August 18, 2021, 11:33 AM Pope Francis issued a message on Wednesday (Aug. 18) encouraging Catholics to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, calling it “an act of love,” as part of a global effort to reduce the onslaught of the pandemic and convince vaccine skeptics. … Francis’ vaccine promotion comes amid a growing debate among U.S. Catholics over vaccines. https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/as-us-bishops-reject-exemptions-pope-francis-dubs-covid-19-vaccine-act-of-love/2021/08/18/b411f180-0039-11ec-87e0-7e07bd9ce270_story.html
___________________________________________________________ 4. Pope Francis saddened by ‘brutal attack’ which killed Catholic nuns in South Sudan, By Hannah Brockhaus, Catholic News Agency, August 18, 2021, 7:10 AM Pope Francis has sent his condolences after a violent attack on a group of Catholic religious sisters and others in South Sudan left five dead on Monday. “His Holiness Pope Francis was deeply saddened to learn of the brutal attack on a group of Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,” the Aug. 17 message said. A road ambush along a highway in South Sudan Aug. 16 resulted in the deaths of five people, including Catholic nuns, Sr. Mary Daniel Abud and Sr. Regina Roba. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/248718/pope-francis-saddened-by-brutal-attack-which-killed-catholic-nuns-in-south-sudan
___________________________________________________________ 5. Brazilian bishop resigns after leak of explicit video, By Christine Rousselle, Catholic News Agency, August 18, 2021, 4:01 PM Pope Francis accepted the resignation of the Bishop of São José do Rio Preto on Wednesday, five days after a sexually explicit video of the bishop was shared on the internet. Bishop Tomé Ferreira da Silva, 60, led the Diocese of São José do Rio Preto from November 16, 2012, until Aug. 18. His resignation was announced by the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/248724/brazilian-bishop-resigns-after-leak-of-explicit-video
___________________________________________________________ TCA Media Monitoring provides a snapshot from national newspapers and major Catholic press outlets of coverage regarding significant Catholic Church news and current issues with which the Catholic Church is traditionally or prominently engaged. The opinions and views expressed in the articles do not necessarily reflect the views of The Catholic Association. | 
