Family Research Council

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Dear Friends,

We at the Family Research Council hope you and yours have a Christmas season that is rewarding, memorable, and Christ-focused.

Perhaps few have captured the magnitude of the Incarnation better than poet Christina Rossetti. In the second verse of her poem, "In the Bleak Midwinter," she writes:

Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him

Nor earth sustain;

Heaven and earth shall flee away

When He comes to reign:

In the bleak mid-winter

A stable-place sufficed

The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.

He came as a baby, and went on to grow "in wisdom and stature" (Luke 2:52). That growth began in the womb: As science documents, babies in the womb are capable of absorbing much information. In the words of science writer Annie Murphy Paul:

The fetus, we now know, is not an inert blob, but an active and dynamic creature, responding and adapting as it readies itself for life in the particular world it will soon enter ... The recognition that learning actually begins before birth leads us to a striking new conception of the fetus, the pregnant woman and the relationship between them.

The Savior Who was virgin-born was unique: Fully God and fully man. Yet all infants share a remarkable commonality with Him--they are sacred to God. Whether in the womb or outside of it, they deserve protection in law and welcome in life. The Bible teaches it. Science proves it. The Incarnation vindicates it.

Merry Christmas,

Rob Schwarzwalder

Senior Vice President

Family Research Council

P.S. For a moving presentation on the sanctity and dignity of every person, watch FRC's lecture, "Down Syndrome: Death Sentence or Divine Smile," hosted by the Director of FRC's Center for Human Dignity, Jeanne Monahan.

Educational Freedom and Reform

Homeschooling

• "Homeschool still a popular option," Matt Sabo, The Daily Press

Legislation and Policy Proposals

• "Glenn Reynolds on the Education Bubble," Chris Gacek, Family Research Council
• "Fort Worth schools clarify rules banning Santa, gifts in class," Jessamy Brown, The Star-Telegram
• "How Many Hours do Public School Teachers Really Work?," Andrew G. Biggs, The American
• "The Higher Ed Bubble Is Bursting, so What Comes Next?," Glenn Harlan Reynolds, The Washington Examiner
• "Should Christians attend public schools?," Marcia Segelstein, WORLD Magazine
• "Mission creep in schools," D.C. Innes, WORLD Magazine
• "Grinding the Antitesting Ax," Eric A. Hanushek, Education Next
• "How to Rescue Education Reform," Frederick M. Hess and Linda Darling-Hammond, New York Times
• "The Excellence Gap: Our Public Schools are Shortchanging Their Best Students," Sol Stern, City Journal

Government Reform

Regulation

• "The Payroll Tax Holiday Is a Bad Bipartisan Idea," Alex Brill, The American
• "Regulation for Dummies," Opinion, The Wall Street Journal

Waste/Fraud/Abuse

• "White House touts progress fighting waste, announces new initiatives," Charles S. Clark, Government Executive

Health Care

Abstinence

• "Teens, MTV, and Pregnancy -- A Very Confusing Topic," Barbara Greenberg, The Huffington Post
• "Another Kind of Purity Pledge," Katelyn Beaty, Christianity Today
• "LET'S HONOR the AWKWARD FIRST KISS and the COMMITMENT Behind It!," Elwood "Sandy" Sanders, Virginia Right

Conscience Protection

• "The Costs of Taking Conscience," Michael Fragoso, The Public Discourse
• "Coercing Consciences," George Weigel, First Things
• "A question of conscience," Emily Belz, WORLD Magazine
• "At Belmont Abbey, Catholics Fight Back," Gerald J. Russello, Crisis Magazine

Health care reform: Political and Legislative efforts

• "In Sickness or in Wealth," Christopher J. Conover, The American
• "Natural Rights Trump Obamacare, or Should," Hadley Arkes, First Things
• "FDA Keeps Limits on Other 'Plan B' Contraceptive," Jennifer Corbett Dooren, The Wall Street Journal
• "The Church of Kathleen Sebelius," William McGurn, The Wall Street Journal
• "The Next Roe v. Wade?: Jennie McCormack's Abortion Battle," The Daily Beast
• "A Radical Restructuring of Health Insurance," Grace-Marie Turner, The Galen Institute

Homosexuality

• "Secretary of State Says Homosexual Behavior Trumps Religious Freedom," Kevin Theriot, Alliance Defense Fund
• "The Red Kettle menace," Janie Cheaney, WORLD Magazine
• "Pentagon defends sodomy rule change," Fox News

Human Life and Bioethics

Abortion

• "What Babies Learn in the Womb," Cathy Ruse, Family Research Council
• "12 New Jersey Nurses Stand Up to Obama's Abortion Crusade," Cathy Ruse, Family Research Council
• "Red Cross promoting abortion as a human right? Shame on WHO," Susan Yoshihara, Turtle Bay and Beyond
• "Is Planned Parenthood On The Ropes?," Michael Norton, Alliance Defense Fund
• "Bill would ban abortions based on sex, race; critics call it ploy to undermine broader rights," Associated Press
• "What babies learn before they're born," Annie Murphy Paul, CNN
• "The Sanctity of Human Life," David P. Gushee, Qideas
• "Eugenics in our time," Rod Dreher, The American Conservative
• "Margaret Sanger: 'Abortion is Dangerous and Vicious," George Marlin, The Catholic Thing

Bioethics and Biotechnology

• "You Will Always be With Me: Fetal Cells Cross Placenta and Stay with Mom for Life," Cathy Ruse, Family Research Council
• "Tiniest babies are growing up healthy despite odds," Lindsey Tanner, Associated Press
• "Wisdom, Not the Geek Squad," Robert Royal, The Catholic Thing

Euthanasia and End of Life Issues

• "Euthanasia: There is Always A "Next Step"," Wesley J. Smith, Secondhand Smoke

Stem Cell Research

To read about the latest advances in ethical adult stem cell research, keep up with leading-edge reports from FRC's Dr. David Prentice, click here.

• "Keeping the Embryonic Stem Cell Hype Alive by Creating a False Impression," Wesley J. Smith, Secondhand Smoke
• "Stem cells: The cell division," Alison Abbott, Nature

Human Trafficking

• "Defeat human trafficking and slavery in the U.S.," Clark Eberly, The Washington Times

Women's Health

• "Monty Patterson learns about RU-486 the hard way," Julian Guthrie, San Francisco Chronicle
• "Talking Nunsense About The Pill," Alex Perrottet, Crisis Magazine

Marriage and Family

Adoption

• "Va. agency to take up final adoption rules," Zinie Chen Sampson, Associated Press
• "Racial Identity Important After Adoption," Hope Rurik, Kansas City infoZine

Family Economics

• "Who Qualifies for Charity?," Chuck Bentley, Crown Financial Ministries
• "Social Muddle," Jonathan Witt, The American Spectator
• "The Rich Are Getting Richer; So Are the Poor," Jarrett Skorup, The Center for Vision and Values

Family Structure

• "Contemporary Family Law: Divorcing Marriage from Children," Helen Alvare, The Public Discourse
• "Traditional Family Law: Connecting Marriage with Children," Helen Alvare, The Public Discourse
• "The Teening of America," Gerald Nachman, The American Spectator

Media

Pornography

• "Deviancy defenders," Daniel James Devine, WORLD Magazine
• "Expand child pornography laws," Opinion, NewsChief.com

Internet

• "Hey Google, Don't Be Evil?," Robert Morrison, Family Research Council
• "Human trafficking gets attention from Google," Chenda Ngak, CBS News

Religion and Public Policy

Religious Liberty

• "Bringing Religious Freedom Back into American Religious Freedom Policy," Thomas F. Farr, Cardus
• "The Most Important Religious Liberty Case of the Past Thirty Years," Michael Stokes Paulsen, The Public Discourse
• "Court Allows Two Constitutions, Gives Schools Room to Evict Church Groups," Alan Sears, Alliance Defense Fund
• "NYC Pastors Join With NYC Council members to Repeal Ban on Worship Services in Public Schools," Jordan Lorence, Alliance Defense Fund
• "'Freedom of access'," Tiffany Owens, WORLD Magazine
• "Federal Judge Tosses Suit to Block Brewer's 'Day of Prayer' Declaration," Howard Fischer, East Valley Tribune

Religion in America

• "Of Minas and Men: more thoughts on Jesus and the Occupy Movement," Tony Perkins, Family Research Council
• "The Bible and the Founding of Our Country," Rob Schwarzwalder, Family Research Council
• "Tim Tebow's Vocation," Thomas Haine, First Things
• "Atheist messages displace CA park nativity scenes," Associated Press
• "God and Moral Absolutes," Matthew O'Brien, The Public Discourse
• "Obama misses the real "Reason for the Season"," Andrew Schwartz, Bearing Drift

Secularism

• "Post Office Manager Throws Christmas Carolers Out into the Cold," J.P. Duffy, Family Research Council
• "Atheism and the Overton Window," Joe Carter, First Things

International

Israel

• "The Real War in Iran," Caroline Glick, The Jerusalem Post
• "An Ally No More," Caroline Glick, The Jerusalem Post
• "Israel Rift Roils Democratic Ranks," Ben Smith, Politico

International Economy and Family

• "Eurocracy Run Amuck," Samuel Gregg, The Acton Institute
• "China's "Superior" Economic Model?," Dr. Mark W. Hendrickson, The Center for Vision and Values

Religious Persecution

• "Religious freedom in China at lowest point since Tiananmen Square crackdown," CHINAaid
• "Christian Solidarity International issues Genocide warning for Christians in the Middle East," Mission Network News
• "In Egypt, they beat and kill Christians," Rod Dreher, The American Conservative

Sharia law -- U.S., foreign

• "Can Interfaith Dialogues Exist?," Ken Thomas, The Ashbrook Center
• "Elections in Egypt," Peter W. Schramm, The Ashbrook Center
• "Christian Persecution Expert Insists 'Islam Needs a Reformation'," Mark Hensch, The Christian Post

The Courts

Constitutional Issues

• "Nino: A Memoir," Hadley Arkes, The Catholic Thing

Judicial Activism

• "Why the Supreme Court Ruling Is an Opportunity for NYC Christians," Caleb Clardy, Christianity Today
• "Should Justice Kagan Recuse Herself from the ObamaCare Case?," Justin Shubow, The Federalist Society

Other News of Note

• "One builds, and one tears down: This Old House vs The Daily Show," Chris Marlink, Family Research Council
• "Likeability Is Not Character - And It is Character That Counts," Rob Schwarzwalder, Family Research Council
• "What Russia's Election was Really About," Leon Aron, The New Republic
• "Goodbye, America: More Recollections of Deer Seasons Past," Paul G. Kengor, The Center for Vision and Values
• "Are Real Women Liberal?," Suzanne Venker, National Review Online

Book reviews

• "Amiable Atheism," R. J. Snell, First Things
• "Standing in the Need of Prayer," Richard E. Morgan, Claremont Review of Books
• "Hungering for Violence," James Kirchick, Claremont Review of Books
• "Anne Rice's "Christ the Lord" to be a movie," Rebecca Cusey, Patheos