Promoting Life Online
by Julie Zimmerman

(If you don't have time to read this now, please take note of the buttons on the right. They are free for the taking, for you to use on your Web site. Click on a button to pick up the html code.)

Dear Catholic Webmasters:

January 2003 marks the 30th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion across the U.S. Many people will mark the date by travelling to Washington, D. C. to participate in the annual March for Life, or by attending services at their local church. Those of us involved in Web ministry can commemorate the anniversary by making sure our sites promote the sanctity of human life.

For people committed to defending life, 2002 brought much good news. We learned that

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the rate of abortions in the U.S. dropped sharply in the late 1990s. The Department of Health and Human Services ruled that unborn childre—including those whose mothers are illegal immigrants—are eligible for health-care coverage. Maryland imposed a moratorium on the death penalty in 2002, following a moratorium imposed in Illinois in 2000, and the number of Americans who support the death penalty has declined since the mid-1990s.

But there is still much work to do. While the overall abortion rate was falling, abortions for poor women were on the rise. Oregon's assisted-suicide law remained in place despite challenges to it, and the call to support human cloning for research purposes grew louder in 2002. These challenges, and the keen interest the public has in them, make it important for us to address these issues in our online ministries.

Because people are online for vastly different reasons, it's a good idea that the pro-life resources you provide be aimed at a wide audience. For those in crisis, a hotline number or counseling service might be precisely what they're seeking. For others looking to educate themselves about an issue, fact sheets and editorials are appropriate. And prayers aimed at respecting life are always needed.

Here are a few ideas to get you started. I'd like to hear from you about yours.

1. For those wishing to travel to Washington, D.C., for the March for Life, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' site has extensive information on the event. For those who can't make it, the USCCB provides prayers for the anniversary.

2. Most cities and towns have a crisis-pregnancy center nearby, where women who are facing an unwanted pregnancy can find help and alternatives to abortion. The people at pregnancycenters.org have an extensive listing of centers at their site and have even provided the code you need to place a link to it on your site.

3. Women who have had abortions, and their male partners, often suffer mentally and spiritually for years afterward. Project Rachel provides outreach to them via telephone, e-mail or in one-on-one or group settings. For more information, visit their Web site.

4. Stem-cell research and human cloning are two life issues that are frequently in the news. AmericanCatholic.org has features on both stem-cell research and human cloning that include official Catholic teaching, editorials, papal comments and other resources. We also offer a death-penalty page.

As Americans mark this somber anniversary, let's all commit to working toward a day when life is respected from beginning to end.

Julie Zimmerman
Managing Editor
AmericanCatholic.org and sister sites

Next month: Looking Ahead to Lent (by John Bookser Feister)

Parish Site of the Month

Pax Christi, Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis
Pax Christi's newly redesigned site is beautiful, but its real strength lies in a feature called Hear the Word. Audio recordings of three homilies from last week are available, along with popular past homilies, Scripture reflections from lay people, a recording of the bell choir, and a five-part sung homily from January 2002. The pastor's written message and the site's inspirational reflections are other good features.

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ALTERNATIVES TO WAR WITH IRAQ
Kroc Institute Resources on Policy and Ethics
This timely page comes from the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame. It features research and commentary on the politics, strategy and ethics of intervention in Iraq, along with background material and proposals that stem from the institute's own research projects. The section on ethical concerns emphasizes the Catholic response to the threat posed by Iraq.

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