Response to UN’s Claim of Access to Contraception as a Basic Human Right
The Pope Paul VI Institute offers a critique of some of the principal claims and conclusions set down in the 2012 Annual Report of the United Nations Population Fund. Visit www.popepaulvi.com/inthenews.htm to read the critique.
Pregnancy, Rape, and Abortion
This is our latest press release, and I would like to provide it to you for your information:
August 22, 2012 (Omaha, NEBRASKA) – According to Thomas W. Hilgers, MD, an obstetrician-gynecologist who directs a reproductive ultrasound center that specializes in the study of naturally-occurring ovulation events at the National Center for Women’s Health in Omaha, Nebraska, “the question of rape always stirs the emotions whenever it is introduced into the abortion debate. Unfortunately, the emotional impact of rape often clouds a legitimate and truthful discussion.”
In the State of Nebraska from the years 2005 through 2011, there were 26,521 abortions reported to the Nebraska Health & Human Services Division. Of those abortions, 65 were performed for the indication of “sexual assault.” This is a rate of 0.2% of all the abortions performed. Hilgers says, “In other words, 99.8% of all the abortions performed in the State of Nebraska (and this would be relatively representative of other states as well) are performed for reasons other than rape. It should also be pointed out that, during the same period of time, the abortions performed for the indication of ‘incest’ numbered two and the incidence was 0.01%.”
During this period of time, there were 4,111 forcible rapes and sexual assaults reported in the State of Nebraska for those 65 abortions. “Presuming that all of the forcible rapes have been reported, this is a pregnancy rate of 1.6%, which is considerably lower than one would expect for a random act of intercourse, the pregnancy rate of which should range from 2% to 4%,” said Hilgers. “This concurs with recent statements that the pregnancy rate from forcible rape and sexual assault is lower than it is in normal fertility. Furthermore, of those rape victims, 98.4% of them will not be helped in any fashion by abortion; and, for those who are aborted, they are then potentially confronted with a double dose of psychological trauma.”
Our studies of human ovulation by ultrasound (which number over 3,000 separate cycles) and also our study of the natural fertility system show that ovulation can be delayed by stressful events, and that this actually is quite common. Thus, the idea that a woman’s body can “shut down” ovulation and prevent pregnancy is also a true statement. Of course, this is not under the woman’s control. It is an effect of the complex mechanisms of human ovulation and its interaction with stress,” said Hilgers.
“We have the responsibility of finding the rapist and prosecuting him to the full extent of the law and being very firm about it,” Dr. Hilgers said. “We also have the responsibility to the woman who is the victim of rape. But when 98.4% of rape victims do not become pregnant but suffer the emotional trauma of the rape, then crisis intervention and support is extremely helpful and important. More emphasis on this type of support needs to be provided.”
Dr. Hilgers is an obstetrician-gynecologist who specializes in reproductive medicine and surgery. He is also the Director of a nationally accredited Reproductive Ultrasound Center and the Director of the National Center for Women’s Health in Omaha, Nebraska. He is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology in the Creighton University School of Medicine and the Director of the Pope Paul VI Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction.
Pope Paul VI Institute & National Center for Women’s Health
Follow Us in the News
Have you followed us in the news lately? We have had articles written about the Institute and about the Creighton Model System and NaProTechnology recently featured in the Chicago Tribune, Legatus Magazine, and Columbia Magazine!
Also, the NaPro approach to diagnosing and treating infertility will be the topic of discussion on the upcoming August 10th broadcast of Catholic Answers!
Follow the Pope Paul VI Institute and the Creighton Model System and NaProTechnology in the news at www.popepaulvi.com/inthenews.htm!
Education Program in Poland – Application Deadline
Application deadline for the Creighton Model medical consultant program in Poland is July 1st! For more information on the program and on how to apply, please visit http://www.popepaulvi.com/education2.htm. Application after July 1st is subject to late registration fees.
New EWTN Appearance
Echoes of Our Choices, on Friday, January 20th at 6:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. CST, will feature neonatologist Robin Pierucci and will feature Dr. Tom Hilgers, pioneer of NaPro Technology. They will be addressing the underlying causes of infertility and the level of success women have had achieving natural pregnancies.
To view this program live online, visit EWTN Television and click on “Television” in the top black menu bar, then select “Live TV – English” and choose your viewing area.
An alternate show time will be 3:00 a.m. ET/2:00 a.m. CST.
Also, check out Dr. Catherine Keefe‘s radio interview on Spirit Catholic Radio Network’s Daybreak with TJ and Rachel (click the red “Listen Live” button at the top of the page). An interview with her will air this Tuesday, January 24th at 8:00 a.m. CST. She will be speaking about NaProTechnology and her trip to Colombia where she presented this new women’s health science.
VIDEO Now Available for Webcast of Dr. Hilgers’ Debate in Poland – NPT vs. IVF
The video of the NPT vs IVF debate is now available on teh web site listed below in the original post.
Thomas Hilgers, MD will be debating one of Poland’s leading IVF physicians on Friday, September 23rd (9:00 am CEST/ 2:00 am CST) following his Thursday, September 22nd (11:00 am CEST/ 4:00 am CST) lectures on NaProTechnology at the Polish Society of Perinatal Medicine meeting in Poznan, Poland. Both meetings will be broadcast live on the Internet. Tune in to hear the live webcasts of Dr. Hilgers as he presents the culture of life and the benefits of NaProTechnology at a conference for perinatologists in Poland.
To link to the live webstream, click here: http://tv.man.poznan.pl/Hilgers/index_1_en.html
This is an exciting opportunity for the physicians of Poland and for people around the world to hear about the medical, surgical, and ethical superiority of NaProTechnology to in-vitro fertilization. Thanks for your prayers as Dr. Hilgers speaks out for LIFE!!!
CHECK BACK HERE FOR THE LATEST UPDATES!
“FertilityCare for Young Women” Newsletter Has a New Look
One of our popular newsletters, FertilityCare for Young Women has a new look! This newsletter, started in 2009 by the Institute’s FertilityCare Center of Omaha, is specifically designed for college-aged and post-college-aged women. Many of the topics address issues that affect young women, their health, and their fertility. The pages are also filled with interesting biological facts in the Did You Know??? and the Fun Facts about Your Fertility sections. The articles serve to support young women in their commitment to chastity and true expressions of love. Also, women will find features on virtuous men and women who can serve as models of Christian virtue in contemporary life.
Be sure to read our latest issue and share this publication with the young women whom you know!
Now CLOSED! CEIBA Study
For more information:
Available Now! The NaProTechnology Revolution
Dr. Hilgers’ new book, “The NaProTechnology Revolution: Unleashing the Power in a Woman’s Cycle”, is now available! This book for the general public discusses many aspects of the new women’s health science of NaProTechnology. Full-color graphics embellish this great hardcover gem that should be on every woman’s or medical professional’s book shelf!
Record Numbers Complete Training
Record Number of Practitioners Complete Pope Paul VI Institute’s Training
For Immediate Release — April 11, 2011 (Contact: Sue Hilgers, Institute Advancement, (402) 505-8949, suehilg@aol.com)
(Omaha, Nebr.) From April 2-9, 2011, 107 women’s health practitioners from the U.S., Poland, Mexico, Nigeria, Ireland, New Zealand and Canada, gathered in Omaha to complete Education Phase II of the Pope Paul VI Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction’s training in the Creighton Model FertilityCare System and NaProTechnology. It is the largest number of practitioners to attend the Institute’s the annual training, which has been offered for 33 consecutive years.
The Pope Paul VI Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction is the leading education and research center in the United States in the area of natural regulation of human fertility and the development of morally and professionally acceptable reproductive health services. Dedicated to Pope Paul VI’s challenge to “physicians and health care professionals” and to “men of science,” it is a living memorial to the challenges placed before us by the Pope Paul VI in his encyclical letter Humanae Vitae (Of Human Life).
Each year, the Pope Paul VI Institute offers two Education Phases for national and international students in the following programs: Practitioner Interns, Medical Consultants, Double Program Interns (Practitioners and Medical Consultants), Nurse Practitioners, Physicians Assistants, and Pharmacists.
Medical practitioners from around the world pose with Dr. Hilgers (back row, tan jacket)
at the Pope Paul VI Institute Education Phase II training conference in Omaha, April 2-9.
According to patient and conference attendee Joanna Najfeld of Warsaw, Poland, the Creighton Model and NaProTechnology is a revolution in women’s health.
“I strongly believe that all women deserve the empowerment that comes from self-awareness of their body, navigating their own fertility in an educated and reliable manner,” she stated. “I am going to work with couples and women, teaching them to track the symptoms of their cycles in order to navigate fertility and monitor health, and, if necessary, obtain the proper NaProTechnology diagnosis and effective treatment for infertility, miscarriages, premenstrual syndrome, post partum depression, ovarian cysts, abnormal bleeding, or whatever the problem may be. I am really looking forward to making this revolutionary FertilityCare service accessible to women in my country.”
Another attendee, Ezenkwele Ezi, an OB/GYN practicing in Enugu, Nigeria, plans to return to her country and become a medical consultant of NaProTechnology. Dr. Ezenkwele said the most striking thing she learned in the second education phase is the possible link between NaProTechnology and breast cancer.
“More research needs to be done in this area,” she explained, “but the results could possibly provide a solution to preventing the breast cancer, which would be an enormous achievement in medicine.”
Dr. Lewis D. Lipscomb, an OB/GYN practicing in Winston-Salem, NC, said that after attending Education Phase I in October, 2010, he decided to cease prescribing contraception and performing sterilization.
“I can finally go to work with a true sense of peace, knowing that I am practicing in accord with my faith, and helping to promote a culture of life, family values, and respect of sexuality,” he stated.
The Creighton Model FertilityCare System and the new women’s health science of NaProTechnology have been developed through a research and education effort coordinated and directed by Thomas W. Hilgers, MD, director of the Omaha-based Pope Paul VI Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction and clinical professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Creighton University Medical Center.
The Creighton Model FertilityCare System provides comprehensive, professional services through individualized follow-up, standardized teaching tools and ongoing research. The Creighton Model is a medically standardized modification of the Billings Ovulation method. It is the only education program in this field that meets the education demands of a newly emerging allied health profession and provides a case management approach to teaching.
Two organizations unite Creighton Model FertilityCare Centers nationally and internationally: FertilityCare Centers of America and FertilityCare Centers International.
A highlight of the training conference was the presentation of a “Fides Et Ratio” (Faith and Reason) medal awarded to Dr. Thomas Hilgers by the Polish Catholic Scholar’s Guild. Pharmacist and Pope Paul VI Institute faculty member, Janina Filipczuk of Toronto, Canada, received the medal for Dr. Hilgers in Poland on March 19. She presented it to Dr. Hilgers, “for his faithful service of the human person and its dignity, as well as the affirmation of human fertility.”
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Founded in 1985, the Pope Paul VI Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction has developed a new approach to women’s health care that embodies the best principles of medicine and offers superior treatments to women and challenges mainstream medicine, which relies on contraception, in vitro fertilization, and abortion. Through the Creighton Model FertilityCare System and NaProTechnology, its healthy, moral solutions to issues in women’s health care impact the lives of thousands of women, couples, doctors, medical students, priests, and babies nationally and internationally. More than 1,000 teachers and 300 physicians have been trained in the Creighton Model System.
Thomas W. Hilgers, MD
Senior Medical Consultant
Obstetrics, Gynecology, Reproductive Medicine and Surgery
Director: Pope Paul VI Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction
Clinical Professor Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Creighton University School of Medicine