May 12, 2017

Pro-life scientist headlines at 44th annual Mother’s Day Dinner

REGIONAL
Story and photos by Carolee McGrath

 

AGAWAM – More than two-hundred people gathered at Chez Josef in Agawam for the 44^th annual Mother’s Day Dinner organized by the Pioneer Valley Massachusetts Citizens for Life (PV-MCFL), Thursday, May 11. Joel Brind, Ph.D., a professor of human biology and endocrinology from Baruch College of the City University of New York discussed his findings showing a link between the history of an induced abortion and the higher incidence of breast cancer.

“If a normal pregnancy is terminated before 32 weeks, the breast is left with many more vulnerable cells that turn cancerous,” Brind told Iobserve.

He added it’s an unpopular topic among mainstream scientists. He said the American Medical Society, the American Cancer Society, the U.S. National Cancer Institute and the Komen Foundation have stated there is no such link. But he countered saying the facts are politically inconvenient.

“Basically, our own tax dollars at work have been covering it up for decades. They’ve been covering up the fact that women who have had an abortion have a high risk for breast cancer,” said Brind.

Brind has been studying this issue since 1992 and is the co-founder of the Breast Cancer Prevention Institute. A Christian Jew, Brind said he hopes his research will help people.

“I basically prayed about it and asked the Lord how I could be useful to this,” he said.

The annual fundraising dinner supports the many pro-life programs sponsored by PV-MCFL. Before dinner, people had the chance to meet with different organizations, which help women in crisis choose life. PV-MCFL also organizes the annual bus trip to Washington, D.C. each January for the March for Life. The march is a peaceful, pro-life demonstration to bring attention to the somber anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision which legalized abortion.

“I was dumbfounded when the court said we need not resolve the difficult question of when life begins,” said attendee Linda Thayer, a retired science teacher and vice president of educational affairs for Massachusetts Citizens for Life. Thayer was a teacher at the time of the Supreme Court decision.

“Without conception, nothing happens. This is biology 101,” said Thayer who is pushing for legislation to teach high school students about fetal development in health class.

“I’ve spent the last 35 years of my life sharing fetal development with kids. What I do for Mass Citizens is guarantee that kids are learning prenatal development.”

Several awards were given at the dinner including Lifetime Achievement Awards to Anne Ryan and Dr. Cyril Shea and Mrs. Barbara Shea. Dr. Roberta Green and her husband Ralph Genella won Pro-Lifers of the Year award.

“The group of pro-lifers as a whole is an example. It’s a movement,” said Noah Kozub, who won the Pro-Life youth award. The eighteen-year-old is a member of St. Cecilia Parish and youth group.

Kozub, the oldest of seven children, has been attending pro-life prayer vigils and the March for Life in Washington, D.C. for several years. He credited the support he received from his youth group for his courage to stand for life.

“The whole youth group at St. Cecilia’s, we all do it together. I couldn’t have won this award without the opportunities they provide,” said Kozub. He and his fellow youth group members have attended the March for Life and attend the annual Good Friday pro-life prayer vigil outside of Planned Parenthood in Springfield.

Kozub also comes from an active pro-life family.

“All lives matter from conception to natural death,” he said. He added there’s strength in numbers.

“Find a group of kids who are like-minded. The more like-minded kids you’re around, the less personal courage it takes.”