By Christy Barritt

Abortion Clinic Worker Pleads Guilty to Murder

A former employee of a West Philadelphia abortion clinic pleaded guilty and was charged in connection with the 2009 deaths of a newborn baby and a woman undergoing a second trimester abortion.

Ten employees at the clinic have been charged so far, five of them pleading guilty to various charges. The clinic operator, 70-year-old Kermit Gosnell, is in jail and could face the death penalty. He’s been charged with eight counts of murder in the deaths of the woman and seven babies.

The clinic performed illegal late-term abortions, most for poor women in the community.

According to a grand jury report, live born babies were often killed at the clinic.

Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams called the clinic a “house of horrors.”

Courageous Movie Makers Don’t Seek Wealth

Courageous, a Christian themed movie that released in the fall, had phenomenal success at the box office, debuting in the number four spot nationally.

Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia produced Courageous and is also behind the films Fireproof, Flywheel, and Facing the Giants. Unlike most production companies that pocket the earnings of
their movies, Sherwood Baptist takes the profits of the films and pours them back into ministry. Since they began their entry into Hollywood, they’ve started multiple churches, aided the homeless, and done numerous other things to help the community.

Facing the Giants had a budget of $100,000 and brought in $10 million. Fireproof had a budget of $500,000 and brought in $33 million. Numbers are still being calculated on Courageous.

“Success for us is changed lives,” director Alex Kendrick told the New York Times. “It’s important to keep in mind we’re not Hollywood, we’re not trying to be Hollywood. We’re first a ministry.”

Top Companies Argue Against Defense of Marriage

Seventy businesses and cities signed a brief in November trying to strike down part of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act.

Their brief argues that the Defense of Marriage Act forces companies to discriminate and prevents their gay employees from receiving federal benefits other married couples receive.

Some of the companies who have joined forces include Levi, Microsoft, Google, Starbucks, Nike, Time Warner, and Xerox. The cities of Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts, as well as New York City, have also signed the brief.

If the lower court ruling is upheld, it will mean that the United States recognizes gay marriage.

Personhood Amendment Defeated in Mississippi 

In November, Amendment 26, also known as the Personhood amendment, was rejected by voters in Mississippi.

The amendment declared that life begins at conception and would have banned abortions statewide. Fifty-five percent of voters rejected the initiative, which would have also made it illegal to use contraceptives such as the morning-after pill.

Many felt certain that had the amendment passed, legal challenges would have ensued. The amendment would have conflicted with the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion in 1973.

Similar personhood initiatives have been consid-ered in Montana, Ohio, Florida, and Oregon.

Christy Barritt is an award-winning author, freelance writer, and speaker living in Chesapeake, Virginia. She and her husband Scott have two sons.  www.christybarritt.com