November 1, 2016 – Feast of All Saints (Solemnity)
 
In 1973 upon hearing about the abominable Supreme Court ruling on Roe V. Wade which ushered in the era of widespread legalized abortion in America, Fr. Paul Marx, O.S.B., the feisty Benedictine priest and prophet, founder of what later would become the most influential international pro-life organization in America, Human Life International and Population Research Institute, confronted his listeners in many of his early lectures in America with this question,”Abortion today, euthanasia when?”* He never tired, like the proverbial patriot, Paul Revere, of warning his listeners about the slippery slope we were falling into in America and the western world. (*Faithful for Life, Fr. Paul Marx, O.S.B., HLI, 1997)
 
Today is a fitting day to remember Fr. Paul Marx. St. Pope John Paul II honored him with the title, “Apostle of Life”. I’m confident that the good Benedictine padre, who taught us Catholic pro-life old timers about the threatening moral “slippery slope” in America, has been rewarded by his Savior for his priestly service and his stalwart pioneering spirit relentlessly defending the sanctity and dignity of life from the womb to natural death while among us members of the Church Militant on Earth.

 The slide down the slippery slope we are witnessing in our culture is growing steeper with  states passing laws to legalize assisted suicide. To date there are four states – California, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington. Montana and New Mexico are in the throes of legal battles right now. Colorado is currently voting to legalize assisted suicide. Since January 1994, there have been more than 175 legislative attempts in more than 35 states to legalize euthanasia/assisted-suicide.(Patients Rights Council Facts)

 Texas will not stop this juggernaut forever. Who ever thought same sex “marriage”  would be the law of the land and could it be far behind when federal  judges rule that  sexually confused individuals should have the constitutional right to mutilate themselves paid for by taxpayers in mandated government health care plans?

 Expect in the not too distant future challenges to restrictions on suicide by Right to Die advocates clamoring for the Supreme Court to declare physician-assisted suicide the law of the land. This is another reason why the Supreme Court is a Maginot line in the culture wars we are constantly entrenched in.

 Texas Leadership Coalition is proud to be fighting on the front lines defending our traditional  way of life that promotes the dignity and sanctity of all human life guided by our Christian moral ethics. We invite you and your families to attend the Pro-life Health Care Conference on November 19th at Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic Church.

 You may ask, “Is this necessary here in Texas”? Think again. Did you know that “Texas permits health care facilities to unilaterally decide to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining  (food and water) treatment even in situations where the patient’s decision maker wants such care“? (Patients Rights Council website).

 Terri Schiavo was starved to death in Florida in 2005. Fr. Frank Pavone, Director of Priests for Life, wrote on the 10th anniversary of Terri’s death, ““Terri had not received a drop of water in nearly two weeks. As I reached out my hand to touch hers, I could also reach it out to touch the vase of flowers that was next to her, and that vase was filled with water. The flowers were nourished; Terri was deprived of nourishment. Court orders saw to it that none of us could give her some of the  water that nourished the flowers.”

In 2013 thirteen year old  Jahi McMath suffered cardiac arrest following surgery to remove her tonsils and adenoids. She was placed on life support. Doctors at the Children’s Hospital in Oakland, California  pronounced her legally dead and petitioned to turn off her life support. Her family refused and a ferocious legal battle ensued. Earlier this year, her mother and family members posted details about her medical condition insisting she’s alive and growing. Her “body is growing normally and her organs have shown no signs of decay. They’ve posted videos showing Jahi responding to verbal directions to move her fingers”.

What now?

Did you know of the major metropolitan areas in Texas, San Antonio has the oldest population? San Antonio’s population over 65 years old: 11.3%, Ft. Worth: 10.3%, Dallas: 9.7%, Houston: 9.2%, Austin: 8.4% (Texas  Association of Counties, 2015)

Come to the conference! Your life or your loved ones’ lives may depend on it!
  
Learn about your rights as a patient or care giver in Texas. Much is at stake for you and your family. Right to Die advocates are lobbying the American Medical Association to support or declare their neutrality in allowing their member physicians to assist their patients in committing suicide. Are our doctors today still practicing the Hippocratic Oath? Details follow:
   
Texas Health Care in Crisis
 A Day Conference
 Saturday, November 19, 2016
 7:30 AM – 4:45 PM
Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic Church
 15415 Red Robin Rd. San Antonio, TX 78254

Topics, Speakers, What you will learn:
• Which advance health care  directives may save your life and those of your loved ones
• Facts about  ventilators, CPR, DNR Do not (Attempt to) Resuscitate Orders
• Learn about the best advance directive: Texas-specific Protective Medical Decisions Document
• Learn why the essence of “futile care” theory is involuntary euthanasia by omission
• Understand the Texas Medical Orders for Scope of Treatment (MOST)
• Death by dehydration a growing practice in Texas health care … and more

Holy Mass celebrated by Fr. Christopher Phillips (7:30 AM before Registration)
 Brain Death and Organ Transplantation – Bishop Rene Gracida
 What you need to know about the health care crisis – Julie Grimstad, Life is Worth Living
 Hospice Care Through the Eyes of A Nurse – Catherine Campbell, RN, BSN, CHPN
 The Face of Jesus in Hospital and Hospice Care – Deacon Robert Corea and Jesse Tovar
 The Gift of  Redemptive Suffering: Reflections of Dr. Alice von Hildebrand  – Stephanie Block
Medical Futility and the Texas Advance Directive Act – John Seago
 Patient Advocacy: Saving Lives One Person at a Time – Julie Grimstad
 
                                                             REGISTER ONLINE
                                   https://TLC.regfox.com/healthcareconference
                  $25 individual, $40 couple, $50 Family; Box Lunch Available $7,
                                            Clergy/Religious/Seminarians Free
                        Contact:  Phil Sevilla, 210-784-0518, info@texasleaders.org