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Contents © 2003
by Jim Holman.
All rights reserved.

LITTLE NOTES
February 2003

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But, according to the story, on Sunday, December 15 on the Celebrations page of the U-T the silver anniversary of David Rea, owners of David's Coffee House in Hillcrest was announced.

On Dec. 23, a representative with the U-T's announcements section, confirmed that the couple's announcement had marked a change in U-T policy.


WRITING IN THE JANUARY 2003 ISSUE of "Connections," the newsletter of Call to Action of San Diego County, director-at-large Evi Quinn provided a recap of the dissident group's 2002 activities. In addition to conducting a "Day of Sharing" on the topic of gender issues last April and co-sponsoring a one-day conference in October with the pro-homosexual organization Dignity titled, "We Shall Not Be Silent," Quinn also reported the following:

"In July, we held our 3rd annual St. Mary of Magdala celebration with a Eucharistic Liturgy, followed by a Pot Luck Dinner. More than 60 signatures were obtained on a letter to Bishop Brom, explaining why the legitimacy of the 7 women ordained to the priesthood in Austria (and threatened with excommunication on this feastday), should be seriously considered and accepted by him. Another letter to the bishop a couple months later, from the CTA Board of Directors, expressing a desire to meet with him, produced a personal telephone response from him to our president. A one-hour meeting between the Bishop and our Board was the result. Kent Peters, Director of Social Ministry Office for the diocese, with whom CTA has been working on various social justice projects, was appointed liaison between CTA and the bishop."

Quinn added, "Throughout the year, CTA has joined the Interfaith Community for Worker Justice in various campaigns for exploited workers at Westfield Shopping Malls and the La Costa Spa and Resort. Attendance at meetings and participation in actions of the 'California People of Faith Working for the Abolition of the Death Penalty' has also become a commitment." However, Quinn did not mention any efforts CTA-San Diego made last year to help abolish abortion. Based in Chicago, Call to Action seeks to "incorporate women at all levels of ministry and decision making," "discard the medieval discipline of mandatory priestly celibacy," and "open the priesthood to women and married men."


CLERGY RE-ASSIGNMENTS announced in a recent issue of the Southern Cross is causing concern among some East County Catholics.

On January 9, the newspaper announced that effective February 1, Father Anthony Odozi, assistant pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Lakeside, will begin working full time in the diocesan tribunal. His replacement will be Father Scott McColl, the current pastor of Ascension parish in Tierrasanta and former pastor of St. Didacus in Normal Heights. Fr. McColl will join pastor Ron Buchmiller in shepherding the approximately 2000-family congregation.

During Fr. McColl's time at St. Didacus, the parish was known for its pro-homosexual activism. The October 9, 1997 issue of the Southern Cross reported that members of St. Didacus were "among the more than 12,000 runners and walkers who took part in the AIDS Walk San Diego '97 in Balboa Park on October 5." Joining St. Didacus that year were Santa Sophia in Spring Valley, St. Luke's in El Cajon, St. Patrick's in North Park, Christ the King and St. Jude's in San Diego. During a May 1998 "gay and lesbian support group" meeting at Santa Sophia parish, one of the homosexual participants remarked, "St. Didacus is so gay that same-sex couples kiss on the lips during the sign of peace." A few weeks later, a New Notes writer attended a Sunday morning Mass at St. Didacus, celebrated by Fr. McColl, where the homosexual kissing went on. (See "Poor St. Sebastian", News Notes, March 2000.)

Fr. McColl has also served as a board vice president of Stepping Stone San Diego, an organization whose mission is "To create, sustain and extend life-enhancing alcohol and other drug recovery and prevention services primarily to gays and lesbians in San Diego County." (See http://www.steppingstonesd.org and http://steppingstonesd.org.)

The Stepping Stone website, which is peppered with pro-homosexual pink triangle symbols, also states that Fr. McColl has pledged three olive trees valued at $1,000 each to the organization.

Among its outreach programs and services, Stepping Stone provides "Harm Reduction to Men who have sex with men (MSM)," including demonstration of "proper condom use."


THE HEMLOCK SOCIETY, America's largest euthanasia advocacy organization, held a national convention at San Diego's Bahia Hotel January 9-12. Headlining the list of speakers was Dr. Philip Nitschke, Australia's "Dr. Death". Nitschke has gained notoriety for advocating teen suicide; encouraging the suicide of Nancy Crick of Queensland, Australia whose autopsy revealed that she was not terminally ill; developing a suicide machine, and for his dream of operating a suicide death ship in international waters. He was slated to unveil his suicide machine prototype at the convention, but Australian customs officials seized it from him at the Sydney airport on January 10 before he flew to San Diego. Australia has outlawed the export of goods intended for use in suicide. Euthanasia is currently illegal throughout Australia, as is involvement in assisted suicide.

News media interest in Nitschke's visit may well have been heightened by news of the machine's confiscation. The California Life Coalition sent out press releases publicizing that as well as its planned picket of the convention. The coalition reported an unusually high level of news media turnout for its January 10 picket: Associated Press; several local television stations, including Channel 17, a Spanish-language station; the San Diego Union-Tribune; two Australians who identified themselves as documentary makers; a woman who identified herself as a film maker from San Francisco, and a woman identifying herself as a researcher. Although the pro-lifers mustered only six picketers on January 10, the demonstration received lots of coverage.

By request of the Australian documentary makers, the coalition picketed again on Saturday, January 11, enabling the Australians to conduct lengthy interviews and accompany Missionary to the Preborn member Ron Brock in his pro-life truck, outfitted with anti-euthanasia signs. Seven pro-life picketers showed up on Saturday, three of whom had not participated on Friday. Susan Stern, the independent film maker, conducted several in-depth interviews on Saturday. She explained that she was researching the euthanasia issue for personal reasons, since her father had committed suicide two years ago upon being diagnosed with serious illness and hoped to have her documentary aired on television eventually. When Stern asked prolifers to comment on her father's decision, Pastor Adlai Mack expressed sadness that he had denied his family the opportunity to show him compassion during the dying process despite their willingness to do so. Channel 6 interviewed picketers on January 10 and 11; they were the only media outlet that interviewed them on both days.

The Life Coalition picketers at the Hemlock Society convention were encouraged when a few Hemlock members, all elderly, approached them for debate. Long conversations ensued, spirited but civil. The picketers held anti-euthanasia placards on the public sidewalk outside the Bahia and reported no interference from Bahia staff, Hemlock members, or police.

The Associated Press (January 12) reported that Nitschke spoke to approximately 200 convention attendees, "mostly senior citizens" and received "enthusiastic applause" for calling Dr. Jack Kevorkian "'a hero.'" Kevorkian is in prison for murder. According to the AP, Nitschke predicted that, as Baby Boomers grow older, support for euthanasia would grow. Both the AP and the Union-Tribune (January 11) quoted coalition director Cheryl Sullenger as describing Nitschke's suicide machine as "ghoulish." According to the U-T, she stated, "We think that life is a gift, and we think it's something that should be valued and protected."


ST. EPHREM'S MARONITE CATHOLIC CHURCH began construction on its long-planned Marian shrine, Mariam Mother of Life, in September last year. In 2001 the parish received approval for the project from the city of El Cajon. The shrine will comprise a 35-foot-high statue of the Virgin Mary standing atop arched steps located on the parish grounds in El Cajon. It will be visible from the new extension of Highway 125. "We decided that it would be a shrine where Mary is offering Jesus to the world, the greatest gift we can receive from her," explained Father Nabil Mouannes, St. Ephrem's pastor. It will be similar to the Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon, completed in 1908 in honor of Mary's Immaculate Conception, on the hill of Harissa overlooking the Mediterranean near Beirut.

The Maronite Church, one of the Catholic Church's eastern rites, is rooted in Lebanon and is distinguished by fervent Marian devotion. According to early Christian tradition, the Blessed Mother spent time in Lebanon with her Son, says Father Mouannes. Jesus began His public ministry in Galilee, which borders on Lebanon. There are Gospel references to people from Tyre and Sidon coming to hear Jesus preach and to Jesus visiting that region, which was then known as "High Galilee." According to Father Mouannes, it served as a refuge for Him when He was under severe political pressure within Israel. Moreover, some historians believe that the wedding feast of Cana took place in what is now southern Lebanon.

Building such a shrine is in keeping with the Maronite tradition of erecting a cross or a statue of Mary on almost every hill in Lebanon. Such shrines have never been "a sign of proselytism" or a form of ostentation, Father Mouannes explained. "Because we are a community that has been under persecution from the first day until today, we take refuge under her protection.... We call her mother of life because we want that, by coming and visiting her, a lot of lives will be saved from sin, from abortion, from ignorance, from terror, from spiritual terrors and from the new slavery: the thirst for false dreams, false happiness and idols."

One month after his arrival in San Diego in 1992, Father Mouannes met Elsie Fares (now deceased) and her brother Nasim Fares, local Maronite Catholics who shared his dream of building a large Marian shrine here and began assisting him. St. Ephrem's lacked a permanent place of worship from the mid-1970s until 1999, when it bought its building in El Cajon from a Lutheran church. Father Mouannes acknowledged the assistance of Daniel Dhaou and his brother George Dhaou in purchasing the property. The Dhaous credit Mary's intercession for saving their lives when their home was bombed during the war in Lebanon in the 1970s. Father Mouannes says that a statue of Mary in the Dhaous' home was unaccountably unscathed by the bombing.

Another parishioner singled out by Father Mouannes is Joe Sfeir, an architect who happened to join St. Ephrem's in 1999. He leads the parish shrine committee. According to a Cal Trans employee who studied the shrine site's location, it is located in the middle of a square in which the boundaries of San Diego, La Mesa, Santee, and El Cajon intersect.

When the shrine's construction started, Father Mouannes invited his parishioners to participate in the shrine's "spiritual construction" by fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays until the shrine is completed. The parish is also laying a spiritual foundation for the shrine by meeting two Wednesdays per month to pray the rosary and study St. Louis de Montfort's teachings. The parish plans to invite Cardinal Nasrallah Peter Sfeir, the Maronite patriarch, to attend the shrine's dedication after its completion, which is scheduled for March of this year. Donations for shrine construction expenses are welcome. For more information, contact St. Ephrem's Church, 750 Medford St., El Cajon, CA 92020, phone 619-697-3040.


AS PREVIOUSLY REPORTED in these pages, during its June 17, 2002 press conference on the clerical sex abuse scandal, the San Diego diocese refused to rule out the ordination of homosexuals. According to diocesan chancellor Monsignor Steve Callahan, unlike some dioceses, the San Diego diocese does not automatically exclude gays, since the concern during the screening process is "celibacy, not sexual orientation," according to the June 18, 2002 San Diego Union-Tribune. "If there is a history of sexual activity that is contrary to a celibate way of life, he is not a viable candidate," Callahan was quoted as saying.

The diocesan policy of continuing to ordain homosexuals is surprising on several levels. Even the secular press has acknowledged that most clerical-abuse cases concerned homosexual acts.

Plus, the Vatican has been clear on homosexual ordination. In 1961 the Vatican Congregation for Religious issued an instruction for religious orders: "Advancement to religious vows and ordination should be barred to those who are afflicted with evil tendencies to homosexuality or pederasty, since for them the common life and the priestly ministry would constitute serious dangers. Very special investigation is needed for those students who, although they have hitherto been free of formal sins against chastity, nevertheless suffer from morbid or abnormal sexuality -- to whom religious celibacy would be a continual act of heroism and a trying martyrdom."

Catholic News Service (March 6, 2002) reported that Vatican officials indicated that this document is still technically valid, but that "the Vatican is considering a reformulation of these principles, so that the message gets through more clearly to local churches." The same CNS article reported that in early March of 2002 Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls told the New York Times that "people with [homosexual] inclinations just cannot be ordained."

Another instruction on candidates for religious life was issued by the Vatican Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life in 1990, which stipulated that "those who do not seem to be able to overcome their homosexual tendencies, or who maintain that it is possible to adopt a third way, 'living in an ambiguous state between celibacy and marriage,' must be dismissed from the religious life."

Moreover, a December 5, 2002 Catholic World News report revealed that, in 1997, the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship "had circulated a letter to the world's bishops, proposing some guidelines for the selection of candidates for priestly ordination. Among the required characteristics were 'sufficient affective maturity and a clearly masculine sexual identity.'" Presumably Bishop Brom received this letter. The Vatican's use of precise language such as "masculine sexual identity" rather than merely requiring celibacy and disregarding sexual orientation (as does the San Diego diocese), raises the question of how the diocese justifies its expressed willingness to continue admitting and ordaining homosexual seminarians.

The same CWN article reported that, in a May 16, 2002 letter, Cardinal Jorge Medina Estevez, then prefect of the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship, stated, "Ordination to the diaconate or priesthood of persons with homosexual tendencies is absolutely unadvisable and imprudent, and from a pastoral point of view, extremely risky." The letter, which was subsequently published in the CDW's November-December 2002 bulletin, responded to an unidentified bishop who sought clarification regarding the Vatican's policy on ordaining men with homosexual tendencies. The above-mentioned December 5 Reuters article indicated that the cardinal additionally declared, "Therefore a homosexual person or a person with homosexual tendencies, is not qualified to receive the sacrament of Holy Orders."

On October 8, Catholic News Service reported that the Vatican is drafting a document containing directives which will bar men with a homosexual orientation from admission to seminaries and priestly ordination, based on Church teaching that this condition is objectively disordered. The document is being written by Vatican's Congregation for Catholic Education and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and will be binding on the universal Church.


LOCAL CATHOLICS CAN USUALLY COUNT on St. Joseph's Cathedral for Masses that are faithful to official liturgical norms and homilies free of heterodox influences, in addition to its generous provision of daily and Sunday Masses and frequent availability of confession. On Epiphany Sunday, January 5, Father Leo Brogan's homily marked a significant departure. Father Brogan has been serving as a supply priest for St. Joseph's for the past few months, frequently at the 12 noon Mass on Sundays. Brogan described the Wise Men's gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the Christ Child as "silly" and impractical and said that "wise women" would have given more useful gifts. According to Father Brogan, since Joseph and Mary were poor, they might have attracted the attention of "the police" if it were openly known that they had that much gold, frankincense was used to scent royal palaces and therefore of little use for a poor household, and myrrh is an oily substance from which perfume is made; its use in ancient Jewish burial customs was not mentioned. Neither did he discuss the symbolism of the Magi gifts or provide any context for his comments that would have softened their initial bluntness. Father Brogan continued by asking parishioners to examine what sort of spiritual gifts they bring to Jesus and suggested, among other things, that they should try to cultivate more patience and whine less about problems.

News Notes reporter Anne Knight spoke after Mass to Father Brogan. She expressed appreciation for his insights on spiritual gifts and his service to St. Joseph's but told him that she found his characterization of the Wise Men's gifts as "silly" to be disturbing and irreverent. Knight explained she had always been taught that gold, frankincense, and myrrh were given in recognition of Jesus' kingship. Father Brogan's response was that she was entitled to her opinions. Knight challenged his view that the Magi's gifts were impractical, since there is speculation that the Holy Family may have used them to finance their flight and stay in Egypt, precisely because they were poor, a fact emphasized by Father Brogan, and may well have had no other means of affording it. Father Brogan replied that he viewed such speculation as "wishful thinking." Knight relayed her concerns about Father Brogan's homily to a parish receptionist by telephone on January 6. The receptionist commented that St. Joseph's faces difficulties in finding supply priests to cover its Masses.


A ST. CHARLES BORROMEO PARISHIONER who complained to News Notes about an anti-death-penalty speaker hosted by the parish last fall was surprised by a speaker at Mass in January. At the 10 am Mass on January 12, Father Holtey introduced Margot Kyd, a volunteer speaker for the San Diego County-based Life Resource Network. Kyd told the story of her sister's crisis pregnancy and the happy outcome of her decision to give birth and give up her child for abortion. Kyd emphasized the value of sacrificial, self-giving love. She concluded her talk by explaining that abortion destroys a child created by God and leaves the men and women involved in abortion deeply scarred. The parishioner described Kyd's presentation as polished, inspirational, and well received by the congregation. He commented, "I have to give Father Holtey a lot of credit for bringing in an excellent pro-life speaker and focusing attention on the abortion issue."


THE UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO held "Coming Out Awareness Week" October 7-11, 2002 as part of its annual campus celebration of October as "Gay and Lesbian History" month.

The week's events included a "Coming Out Panel" held at the University Center on October 9 where people were invited to "hear and share coming out stories," and a "Coming Out Rally" in front of the University Center the next day, where "Individuals will be invited to speak on stage about the importance of coming out of the closet as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered, and as a supporter," according to an e-mail announcement from USD Pride president Melissa Espinal.

On Thursday night, October 10, Espinal sent the following update to list members: "For all of you who have not been able to attend our events this week, I would like to tell you that they have been amazing!! It started with passing out pins with rainbow beads on Tuesday afternoon. Wednesday evening was our Coming Out Panel ... the energy in that room was infectious. People came out, people supported, including a faculty member ... it was awesome. Today was our Coming Out Rally in front of the UC!! We had a stage and mic. At least 3 people came out in front of a moderate crowd, and many others came up to voice support. The rally was powerful. Even a gentleman from USD dining came out!! I also had a girl come out to me after the rally. Thanks to all of you courageous folk who have come out this week, you rock. These are exciting days."

Capping off the week was a "National Coming Out Day" keynote address in Shiley Theater on Friday night, October 11, by James Dale. Dale is a former Eagle Scout and assistant scoutmaster from New Jersey who was expelled from the Boy Scouts of America in 1990 after publicly stating that he was a homosexual. Boy Scout policy bans avowed homosexuals and atheists from membership. Dale's case eventually reached the Supreme Court of the United States, where in June 2000 the justices ruled 5-4 that the Boy Scouts cannot be forced to admit open homosexuals and atheists.

As audience members entered the Shiley Theater, they passed literature tables containing voter registration forms and other pro-homosexual literature. A bright pink flyer from the California Democratic Party invited attendees to a "Pride Night" on October 17 to help get out the vote at San Diego Democratic Headquarters. Another flyer invited participants to a "Rally to Support our Gay Youth and Scouts" in front of Boy Scout headquarters in Balboa Park on Sunday, October 13. An inverted pink triangle titled "Open Zone" was offered for use in classrooms and other areas to designate a safe space for homosexuals (the pink triangle is a symbol of the homosexual movement), while a white paper answered the question "What is coming out?"

Inside the Shiley Theater -- decorated with tapestries depicting scenes from the life of Christ -- approximately 100 people, mostly college age, gathered.

USD "Pride" president Melissa Espinal opened the event by talking about the success of "Coming Out" week and the progress homosexual students have made pushing their agenda on the campus over the past decade: "We've had Dr. Alice Hayes, the president of USD, be quoted as discussing how it is that we can have a pride group on the campus.... And USD, I can say, is definitely a place where I feel safe but not where everyone feels safe. And that kind of goes for our general society today where people are getting killed; people are getting beat up; people are getting told, 'That's so gay.' Every day, I hear it every day, in classrooms ... and hallways here at USD. It's not a safe place, and we're working to change that.

"Since I've been here, this is my fourth year now, and I've seen things completely change, and that's in just a four-year time span. Things have improved so much, and it just goes to show that with education, and coming out both as a supporter or as a gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered, that people can see that this is something worth fighting for."

Espinal then introduced keynote speaker James Dale. In his talk, Dale recalled an incident where he once had to tell a young Boy Scout why he could not purchase a fundraiser item from him: "I remember, he came up to me and said, 'Will you buy this?' I said, 'No thank you,' because I didn't really want to go there with the kid. The kid asked 'Why?' I said, 'I'm sure you're a very nice kid, but I don't like your organization.'"

He said the child asked, "Why? It's the Boy Scouts. They're a good organization."

Dale answered, "Because I love my boyfriend. Because I love people of the same sex. The Boy Scouts discriminate against them."

Dale continued, "[The boy] was no more than 11. [He asked] 'So you like other guys? You two love each other?' The kid didn't have a problem with that. The problem had to do with the discrimination. The problem he had was that this 11-year-old kid could not understand why the Boy Scouts discriminate. And that's the wonderful thing here, is that kids do get it....

"In terms of religion, I think your being here at a Catholic university is very telling too," Dale told the audience. "I think it's really, really wonderful, because one of the things the Boy Scouts did in the case was they shrouded themselves in religion, that every religion thinks that homosexuality is immoral, which is not the case.

"The church that I grew up in, that my Boy Scout troop met in, the Lutheran church in New Jersey, the pastor of the church said -- and he said this publicly -- had he ever known the Boy Scouts discriminate, he would have never allowed them to use our church."

After Dale's speech, Espinal introduced "my good friend" Sherry Wright of The Center. Sporting hair dyed red, white, and orange and wearing a green jacket, Wright told the audience:

"Currently the Boy Scouts get 18 acres of precious Balboa Park land for one dollar a year, subsidized by your tax dollars.... But despite our Human Dignity ordinance here in the city, which prohibits the city from entering into business with organizations that discriminate on the basis of gender, religion, disability, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation, six out of nine city officials approved the lease for an additional 25 years last December....

"Today, as you know, is Coming Out Day. It's about visibility, equality, and the celebration of people living their lives as who they are. What better way to honor Coming Out Day than by being visible at the polls on November 5? If you feel the sacrifices that James Dale made are significant, then I challenge you to honor those sacrifices by casting your ballot on November 5."


"THIS JUST PROVES what we've been thinking all along -- to me it's clear that there is targeting of Hispanic women," says Marcella Melendez, president of Hispanics for Life. Melendez is referring to the most recent report from the California department of health services on abortions paid for from public funds. The 31-page report contains this bothersome statistic: "Abortion services to Hispanic females accounted for 34 percent of fee-for-service abortions, exceeding the percentage of white females for the eighth consecutive year."

Whites, by contrast, accounted for just 26 percent of all government-paid abortions, even though they make up a much larger percentage of California's overall population. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that whites account for 46.7 percent of all Californians; Hispanics 32.4 percent.

Abortions performed on "undocumented aliens" accounted for 15 percent of all government-paid abortions in California, which the report notes is "up from thirteen percent in the previous year." Altogether, 6,995 abortions were performed on "undocumented aliens" at taxpayer expense.

The information comes from the state report "Medi-Cal Funded Induced Abortions 2000." Medi-Cal is a social welfare program of the state and federal governments that pays for medical care for those who qualify. Jan Rains, the statistician who prepared the report, said the 2000 report is the most recent available. The next report, which covers 2001, will not be finished "for two or three more months," she said.

Altogether, Californians paid for 45,794 abortions directly covered by Medi-Cal. The state paid an average of $322 per abortion. An estimated 29,415 more abortions were performed through "managed care" affiliates of Medi-Cal, but there was no estimate of the cost in the report: "Abortions performed for enrollees in health care plans, otherwise known as managed care, are included in this report only as estimates." The reason, the report notes, is that claims, with few exceptions, "are reported on a sporadic basis with an unknown level of completeness." The result: "It is not known exactly how many abortions these plans provided during 2000."

The only reliable numbers come from actual claims paid by Medi-Cal directly, and though limited in scope, they provide evidence of a disturbing trend -- in county after county, Hispanics make up a disproportionate share of women who have abortions paid for by the state. For example, in Fresno County, of the 1,588 Medi-Cal abortions, 289 -- or 18 percent -- were performed on white women, while 731 -- or 46 percent -- were performed on Hispanic women. According to the 2000 census, Fresno County is 39.7 percent white, 44 percent Hispanic.

Even in Imperial County, where Hispanics account for 72.2 percent of the population, Hispanic women accounted for more than 77 percent of all Medi-Cal abortions. That compares to 12.8 percent among whites, who account for 20.2 percent of the population.

In Los Angeles County (44.6 percent Hispanic, 31.1 percent white), Hispanic women accounted for slightly over 44 percent of all Medi-Cal abortions; in Santa Clara County (44.2 percent white, 24 percent Hispanic) almost 49 percent; in Madera County (46.6 percent white, 44.3 percent Hispanic) nearly 55 percent; in Monterey County (46.8 percent Hispanic, 40.3 percent white) more than 48 percent; in San Benito County (46 percent white, 47.9 percent Hispanic) more than 64 percent; and in Ventura County (56.8 percent white, 33.4 percent Hispanic), just over 50 percent.

One explanation offered by health professionals for the lopsided proportion of Hispanic women who get Medi-Cal abortions is socio-economic: they say that Latinas are more likely to be poor, and therefore more likely to seek state-paid medical care. But pro-lifers, while acknowledging that likelihood, suggest there is still a hidden agenda at work. "Many poor Hispanic women are pressured into aborting by social workers who believe the best way to solve the problems of the poor is by killing their unborn children," says Human Life International in its report "Important Facts About Latinos in the U.S."

"We have plenty of reports from the women themselves who tell us that they are being pressured," said Melendez. "They are being pressured by their social workers or by whoever they get their benefits from."

Altogether, 15,550 unborn babies of Hispanic descent lost their lives to tax-paid abortions in California in 2000. "I think it's shocking," said Melendez.. "The use of tax dollars makes everybody in California complicit."

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