Movie Trip

Please feel free to join LSPL in going to see the new movie, and Toronto Film Festival People's Choice Winner, BELLA this Saturday at 3:30!

The movie is playing at:
Wehrenberg Theatres Ronnie's 20 Cine South Lindbergh & Baptist Church RoadSaint Louis, MO 63126 Map

More info about the movie: https://webmail.law.wustl.edu/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.bellathemovie.com

Please come out and join some fellow radical (law school-wise) thinkers and waste a couple of hours!

Family, friends, relations, acquaintances, kinfolk and weird uncles are all welcome as well!

See you then!

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Official_Bella_Poster_-_Eduardo_%26_Tammy.jpg#file)
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)

For Those Who Care...

I figured we should make our Constitution available for all to see, so here goes:

CONSTITUTION OF LAW STUDENTS PRO-LIFE
AT WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS SCHOOL OF LAW

Purpose Statement

1. The purpose of Law Students Pro-Life is to bring together like-minded students in order to facilitate respectful discussion and debate of pro-life issues (especially in the context of the legal world), assist in disseminating information on pro-life issues, engage in service projects to improve and benefit the school and community, and provide a social outlet for students with similar views on pro-life issues.

Article I: Name

1. The name of the organization shall be Law Students Pro-Life at Washington University in St. Louis School of Law.

Article II: Membership

1. Membership in the organization is open to any and all students, faculty and staff; however, the voting membership of the organization shall be limited to recognized organization members in good standing who are current Washington University School of Law students.

2. A “recognized” member is one who registers with the organization.

3. “Good standing” shall be determined by a majority vote of the Executive Board.

Article III: Meetings

1. At least one meeting of the general body of all recognized and prospective members shall be held per semester, and in excess of one meeting, on an “as needed” basis, as determined by the Executive Board of the organization.

2. No meeting of the general body shall be held without at least three (3) days notice to the general body by e-mail.

3. Special meetings of only the Executive Board shall be held on an “as needed” basis, as determined by the Executive Board.

Article IV: Membership and Voting

1. The voting membership shall be comprised of all recognized members in good standing, one vote per member.

2. A majority of votes of said members present at a meeting and voting shall decide.

3. The presence of a majority of the voting membership present plus all Executive Board members shall constitute a quorum. A quorum is required only for amendments of this Constitution, and for certain Impeachment procedures per Article V, §6.

4. In the event of a tie in a vote of all recognized members in good standing, the vote of a majority of the Executive Board shall decide. In the event the Executive Board itself is divided equally on a vote, the President shall decide.

Article V: Executive Board

1. The administration of the affairs of Law Students Pro-Life shall be vested in the Trustees known as the Executive Board, who are also members of the organization.

2. The Board shall consist of: a President, three (3) Vice-Presidents in control of the Treasury, Publicity, and Events of the organization respectively.

3. Qualifications. Any recognized member in good standing is eligible to hold a position on the Executive Board.

4. Elections. Elections for Executive Board members shall be held at a general body meeting during the spring semester of the school year immediately preceding the school year in which the Executive Board will hold office.

5. Vacancies. A “vacancy” is found where no one will fill a given position on the Executive Board, or a current Board member is unable or unwilling to fulfill his or her duties. In such a situation, the Executive Board may or may not appoint a current member in good standing to fill the role vacated until the next Executive Board elections are held.

6. Impeachment of Board Members. Any Board member may be impeached by the coincidence of a unanimous vote of the remaining Board members, plus a two-thirds supermajority of all recognized members in good standing. In the event of the impeachment of a board member, said member shall be removed from office and the immediate election of a replacement officer shall commence.

Article VI: Duties of Board Members

1. President. The President shall: provide leadership to the group; serve a spokesperson and representative of the organization; generally promote the interests of the organization; and act as a liaison to the faculty advisor of the group; and handle other like duties.

2. Vice-President of the Treasury. The Vice-President of the Treasury shall: prepare and submit to the Executive Board for approval a budget proposal; submit an approved budget proposal to the Student Bar Association according to its deadlines and format; maintain the financial records of the organization and accept responsibility for the deposit and withdrawal of funds for organizational needs; report on the financial status of the organization at meetings as needed; and handle other like duties.

3. Vice-President of Publicity. The Vice-President of Publicity shall: co-ordinate and execute various means of promoting specific activities of the organization as well as the organization in general; handle emailing announcements to members and the student body at-large when necessary; maintain and update the website of the organization as needed; and handle other like duties.

4. Vice-President of Events. The Vice-President of Events shall: organize member only extracurricular events; organize extracurricular events open to the entire student body; organize and facilitate community service projects; assist in set-up and organization of meetings; and handle other like duties.

Written and respectfully submitted by the 2007-2008 Executive Board:

Steven Wichmer, President;
Hilary Reid, Vice-President of the Treasury;
Alana Hake, Vice-President of Publicity;
Michele Marxkors, Vice-President of Events.

Approved on September 17, 2007

The International Warm Fuzzies

From LifeSiteNews.com:

UNICEF Participates in Conference With 35 Sessions Promoting Abortion

Three daily opening plenaries each feature leading international abortion advocates
By Samantha Singson NEW YORK, October 12, 2007 (C-FAM.org)


A two-and-a-half day UN-sponsored conference scheduled for next week is billed as addressing maternal and child health but focuses primarily on promoting abortion. The conference schedule shows that out of 98 sessions some 35 of them focus on abortion while only two address newborn health. Entitled “Women Deliver”, the conference will take place in London October 18-20.

Co-chaired by the Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations Asha-Rose Migiro, the conference is scheduled to have in attendance the executive directors of UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) deputy executive director as well as leading abortion providers such as the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), Marie Stopes, Ipas and abortion advocates from across the globe.

Even though a 2004 UNFPA report states that the best way to reduce maternal mortality is through the presence of skilled birth attendants and emergency obstetrics, both of these issues are only minimally addressed at the upcoming conference. Caesarian births, peri- and post-natal care, stillbirths and its related complications are similarly downplayed and obstetric fistula, a health problem that prompted a splashy UNFPA awareness campaign, is addressed just twice.

Child mortality is comparatively absent from the program. There are no sessions that address primary child health issues such as vaccine availability, clean water and safe sanitation, availability of basic nutritional supplementation such as prenatal vitamins and children’s vitamins, or the training of village health workers in spotting protein calorie malnutrition and provision of foodstuffs to combat protein calorie malnutrition.

According to the schedule, each of the three daily opening plenary sessions highlights reproductive rights with leading abortion advocates.

Family Care International’s Fred Sai, chief architect of the “Safe Motherhood” movement which tried to link abortion rights to maternal mortality, is scheduled for the first day. The second day’s plenary session features Frances Kissling, former president of "Catholics" for a Free Choice, and Gill Greer, director-general of the IPPF. On the final day of the conference, the plenary session is entirely devoted to top abortion providers, Ipas and Marie Stopes International, who will be seeking to bolster publicity and support for their own abortion rights conference taking place in London on the heels of the Women Deliver conference.

A representative of a pro-life NGO told the Friday Fax, "If UNICEF and the other organizers cared more about maternal and child health they would focus on the top killers of women and children. It is clear to us that this conference is more about promoting abortion than it is about dealing with the issues that most women face every day."

UNICEF and UNFPA officials still publicly maintain that their agencies do not take positions on abortion.

First Meeting!

Just a note to all the Wash U law students out there: we will be having our first general body meeting of the semester on Thursday, Oct. 4 at 12:00pm in Room 306. Some sort of food and drink will provided - preliminary reports suggest Papa John's, but this is subject to revision, so stay tuned. All Wash U law students are welcome to come and learn about our goals and plans for the fall semester.