by Pat Centner
(AgapePress) – The National Women’s Christian Temperance Union (NWCTU) is urging individuals to join them in sounding the alarm regarding the devastating lifelong effects experienced by infants whose mothers drink excessive alcohol during pregnancy.
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is the leading cause of mental retardation in the U.S. It is characterized by growth retardation, abnormal facial features and central nervous system problems. FAS is also a cause of numerous social disorders, juvenile delinquency, school dropouts, homelessness, unemployment and crime.
Recent findings indicate that one in eight women of childbearing age (18 to 44) reports “risk drinking” (seven or more drinks per week, or five or more drinks on any one occasion). Birth defects associated with prenatal alcohol exposure can occur in the first three to eight weeks of pregnancy, before a woman even knows she is pregnant.
Sarah Ward, president of NWCTU, asks concerned individuals to inform their female friends and acquaintances about Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and to pray that millions of unknowing women will become aware of its effects as a result of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Awareness Day.
This September 9 at 9:09 a.m. (all nines signifying the nine months of pregnancy), concerned people all over the world will ring bells to call attention to the desperate plight of those with FAS, and in hopes of preventing more precious infants from falling prey to this terrible illness.
Antichrist Billboard Sparks Catholic Church Uproar
by Allie Martin
(AgapePress) – The nation’s largest Catholic civil rights organization is criticizing an Oregon advertising company which recently accepted a billboard proclaiming the Pope as the Antichrist.
Officials with the Catholic League say they’ve tried numerous times to contact the Oregon-based Outdoor Media Dimensions to post a rebuttal to a sign along Interstate 5 near Medford. The billboard sparking the controversy reads “The Pope is the Antichrist … Free Proof” and offers a website for more information.
Louis Giovino of the Catholic League says concerned Catholics deserve equal time. “They’re claiming free speech. They’re saying free speech is the highest order here,” he says. “We’re showing here that it isn’t free speech because they won’t allow us to put up this billboard. So, they’re saying that it’s not just a matter of money that they’re putting up this billboard that says the Pope’s the Antichrist. So, they’re not entertaining this offer from us.”
The message is sponsored by Larry Weathers, a 50-year-old barber from Talent, Oregon, who says he will not take the sign down under any circumstances. Weathers is a member of the Seventh Day Adventist Remnant Ministries.
(This update courtesy of Agape Press.)