Obama embryonic stem cell policy change 'good for nothing' Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, the President of the Pontifical Council of Health Care, has responded to reports that President-elect Obama's future administration will reverse a federal ban on human embryonic stem cell research funding. Saying that the stem cells produced by the destruction of embryos "serve no purpose," he argued that embryonic stem cell research has not resulted in any significant cures so far and was "good for nothing." In comments made to reporters at the presentation of a conference on protecting children from diseases, Cardinal Lozano Barragan added that research on adult stem cells and umbilical cords has been shown to have "positive value," though he recognized they too were not a "panacea." Professor Alberto Ugazio, Coordinator of the Department of Pediatrics in the Child Jesus Hospital of Rome, supported the cardinal's remarks, saying according to SIR: "In the medical field, we are always amazed at the excessive fuss 'the media' are making over fetal stem cells whose ineffectiveness is proved." The speakers endorsed pursuing the results of research into "hematopoietic" stem cells derived from the spinal cord or the umbilical cord. In their view, skin stem cells, hepatic stem cells, and stem cells from other organs had also produced worthy research. The cardinal also accused the media of showing a "Malthusian mentality" to bring down the birth rate in poor countries, linking that mentality to embryonic research advocacy. "The Church, instead, reaffirms the concept that human beings cannot be used as means, even at their embryo stage. Human beings always have a purpose," he added. According to the Times Online, Cardinal Barragan said the Vatican would seek clarification of President-elect Obama's administration plans on the issue, saying he himself was not "fully aware" of the specifics. John Podesta, Obama's transition team co-chair, recently told Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace that the Bush administration's ban on embryonic stem cell research funding was "probably not in the interest of our country" and suggested Obama's administration would have a more permissive policy. Source: Catholic News Agency Source URL: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com Publish Date: November 12, 2008 Link to this article: |
November 12, 2008
Obama embryonic stem cell policy change ‘good for nothing’
Cord Blood Shows Promise for Repairing Babies' Hearts
Cord Blood Shows Promise for Repairing Babies' Hearts Researchers at University Hospital in Munich, Germany, say they soon may be able to use umbilical-cord blood to repair defective hearts in babies. The research was presented Monday to the American Heart Association. "In our concept, if prenatal testing shows a heart defect, you could collect blood from the umbilical cord at birth, harvest the stem cells and fabricate a heart valve that is ready when the baby needs it," said Dr. Ralf Sodian, who led the study. Sodian's research provides further evidence that life-destroying embryonic stem-cell research is unnecessary. Yet, President-elect Barack Obama is expected to move quickly to expand taxpayer-funded embryonic research by reversing a pro-life order from President Bush. Contact: Devon Williams Source: CitizenLink Source URL: http://www.citizenlink.org Publish Date: November 11, 2008 Link to this article: |
November 11, 2008
NEWS SHORTS FOR TUESDAY
NEWS SHORTS FOR TUESDAY
Disclaimer: The linked items below or the websites at which they are located do not necessarily represent the views of The Illinois Federation for Right to Life. They are presented only for your information.
D.C. Hospital Sues to Remove Boy, 12, >From Life Support
'The family of a 12-year-old New York boy is entangled in a legal fight with Children's National Medical Center over whether doctors can cease life support because they believe he is brain-dead. The dispute involves Motl Brody of Brooklyn, who was diagnosed with a severe form of brain cancer. The boy has been under the care of the Northwest Washington hospital for about six months. His tumor grew progressively worse, and doctors there pronounced him dead Tuesday night after tests showed no signs of brain activity. His parents, Eluzer and Miriam Brody, are trying to prevent the hospital from taking him off life support because they say their faith does not define death as cessation of brain function alone. The parents, Orthodox Jews, have retained a lawyer who says that the boy's circulatory and respiratory systems are functioning, although with mechanical and other assistance.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/05/AR2008110504602_pf.html
When Does Human Life Begin?
Resolving the question of when human life begins is critical for advancing a reasoned public policy debate over abortion and human embryo research. This article considers the current scientific evidence in human embryology and addresses two central questions concerning the beginning of life: 1) in the course of sperm-egg interaction, when is a new cell formed that is distinct from either sperm or egg? and 2) is this new cell a new human organism—i.e., a new human being?
http://www.westchesterinstitute.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=351:white-paper&catid=64:white-papers&Itemid=113
Texas Lawmakers Propose New Abortion Regulations
Women who want to terminate their pregnancy in Texas would be required to listen for the heartbeat and get ultrasound images made of the fetus before undergoing the procedure, under new anti-abortion measures proposed Monday. It was one of dozens of measures unveiled on the first day to file bills before Texas lawmakers meet in regular session early next year.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/081110/tx_legislature_bills.html?.v=1
Court Turns Down Appeal To Unseal Abortion Case
The U.S. Supreme Court has turned aside a publisher’s challenge to court decisions sealing from public view the case of a woman who said her employer fired her for having an abortion. The justices did not comment today on their order denying the appeal of The New York Law Publishing Company. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia upheld a trial judge’s decision to seal the case. The woman, identified only as Jane Doe in limited court filings that have been made public, has since settled the case with her employer. That may have affected the high court’s decision.
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/national/general/view.bg?articleid=1131363&srvc=rss
Disclaimer: The linked items below or the websites at which they are located do not necessarily represent the views of The Illinois Federation for Right to Life. They are presented only for your information.
D.C. Hospital Sues to Remove Boy, 12, >From Life Support
'The family of a 12-year-old New York boy is entangled in a legal fight with Children's National Medical Center over whether doctors can cease life support because they believe he is brain-dead. The dispute involves Motl Brody of Brooklyn, who was diagnosed with a severe form of brain cancer. The boy has been under the care of the Northwest Washington hospital for about six months. His tumor grew progressively worse, and doctors there pronounced him dead Tuesday night after tests showed no signs of brain activity. His parents, Eluzer and Miriam Brody, are trying to prevent the hospital from taking him off life support because they say their faith does not define death as cessation of brain function alone. The parents, Orthodox Jews, have retained a lawyer who says that the boy's circulatory and respiratory systems are functioning, although with mechanical and other assistance.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/05/AR2008110504602_pf.html
When Does Human Life Begin?
Resolving the question of when human life begins is critical for advancing a reasoned public policy debate over abortion and human embryo research. This article considers the current scientific evidence in human embryology and addresses two central questions concerning the beginning of life: 1) in the course of sperm-egg interaction, when is a new cell formed that is distinct from either sperm or egg? and 2) is this new cell a new human organism—i.e., a new human being?
http://www.westchesterinstitute.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=351:white-paper&catid=64:white-papers&Itemid=113
Texas Lawmakers Propose New Abortion Regulations
Women who want to terminate their pregnancy in Texas would be required to listen for the heartbeat and get ultrasound images made of the fetus before undergoing the procedure, under new anti-abortion measures proposed Monday. It was one of dozens of measures unveiled on the first day to file bills before Texas lawmakers meet in regular session early next year.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/081110/tx_legislature_bills.html?.v=1
Court Turns Down Appeal To Unseal Abortion Case
The U.S. Supreme Court has turned aside a publisher’s challenge to court decisions sealing from public view the case of a woman who said her employer fired her for having an abortion. The justices did not comment today on their order denying the appeal of The New York Law Publishing Company. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia upheld a trial judge’s decision to seal the case. The woman, identified only as Jane Doe in limited court filings that have been made public, has since settled the case with her employer. That may have affected the high court’s decision.
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/national/general/view.bg?articleid=1131363&srvc=rss
'The Dream' is Not Yet Fulfilled
'The Dream' is Not Yet Fulfilled
Dr. Alveda King, Pastoral Associate of Priests for Life and niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said today that the struggle for unborn children's civil rights will continue.
"The election of an African American president sends a powerful and historic message that what was previously unthinkable can become reality," said Dr. King. "The battle for equal rights has reached a major milestone, but Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream of full equality remains just a dream as long as unborn children continue to be treated no better than property."
"President-elect Obama has promised actions that will only increase the number of abortions. Pro-lifers, in turn, must promise to redouble our efforts to resist anti-life proposals, speak up for the babies, and, above all, pray," added Dr.King. "We must pray with persistence and love that, in God's time, what is now deemed unthinkable will become reality - that all our brothers in sisters, from conception to natural death, will be protected in law and welcomed in society. The elections are over. The pro-life battle begins anew."
Contact: Jerry Horn
Source: Priests for Life
Source URL: http://www.priestsforlife.org
Publish Date: November 10, 2008
Click here to link to this article.
Dr. Alveda King, Pastoral Associate of Priests for Life and niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said today that the struggle for unborn children's civil rights will continue.
"The election of an African American president sends a powerful and historic message that what was previously unthinkable can become reality," said Dr. King. "The battle for equal rights has reached a major milestone, but Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream of full equality remains just a dream as long as unborn children continue to be treated no better than property."
"President-elect Obama has promised actions that will only increase the number of abortions. Pro-lifers, in turn, must promise to redouble our efforts to resist anti-life proposals, speak up for the babies, and, above all, pray," added Dr.King. "We must pray with persistence and love that, in God's time, what is now deemed unthinkable will become reality - that all our brothers in sisters, from conception to natural death, will be protected in law and welcomed in society. The elections are over. The pro-life battle begins anew."
Contact: Jerry Horn
Source: Priests for Life
Source URL: http://www.priestsforlife.org
Publish Date: November 10, 2008
Click here to link to this article.
Pro-life Advocates Rally in Rome for Italian “Terri Schiavo”
Pro-life Advocates Rally in Rome for Italian "Terri Schiavo"
With a verdict expected this week by the Italian high court in the case of Eluana Englaro - who some are calling the "Italian Terri Schiavo" - pro-life Italians from up and down the peninsula held a torchlight rally in front of the Palazzo di Giustizia (Palace of Justice) in Rome on Saturday night.
The Catholic action group, Militia Christi, organised the rally to show support for Eluana. Demonstrators held torches, flags and banners, attracting attention of passing traffic and tourists on the historic Ponte Umberto, which spans the Tiber directly in front of the Palazzo.
Msgr. Ignacio Barreiro, the director of the Rome office of Human Life International told LifeSiteNews.com, "We are here to defend the life of Eluana Englaro."
"Now we are arriving to the end of the judicial road," he said. "No more appeals. It's a very serious problem because the highest tribunal could decide that feeding and hydration could be disconnected from Eluana. And it could constitute a precedent to other cases."
Eluana Englaro, 36, was severely injured in a 1992 car accident that left her in a state of minimal consciousness. However, she can breathe on her own and is not on a ventilator. Her "life support" has consisted of assisted feeding and hydration. Her father, Beppino Englaro, has been petitioning courts to remove his daughter's assisted nutrition and hydration since 1999.
In July, a lower court ruled that doctors could remove Eluana's food and hydration tube. The state appealed the decision, saying that the ruling against Eluana constituted an attempt to change existing law. While this argument was rejected, a ruling on the government's appeal from the Supreme Court of Cassation is expected tomorrow.
Eluana's father Beppino Englaro has stated that, although he is legally entitled to remove his daughter's food and hydration, he is not willing to proceed until all appeals are concluded.
Although media reports say that she is in a "persistent vegetative state" or a "deep coma," her supporters report that Eluana has moments of minimal consciousness. Despite this, the previous court ruled that it had been shown both that her coma is irreversible and that she has expressed her desire not to live if she were in a "persistent vegetative state." The Court of Appeal said the decision was "inevitable given the extraordinary duration of a state of permanent vegetation," and given that her "vision of life" was "irreconcilable with the total and irreversible loss of her mental faculties."
The decision will not only affect Eluana's life, Msgr. Barreiro said, but is a crucial one in the fight against legalised euthanasia.
The decision will set a precedent for many other similar cases that are ready to be argued; it could also have a strong bearing on a proposed bill on "living wills" which could establish the right to remove the food and hydration of patients.
"That's passive euthanasia," Msgr. Barreiro said. "It is a form of assisted suicide; and there is a risk of that in this law. That's why we are afraid that this law will serve as a Trojan horse to introduce in a limited way, passive euthanasia.
"It's a crucial decision because it could open the door to euthanasia in Italy."
About Eluana, Msgr. Barreiro said, "She is not in a deep coma, because she opens her eyes. But at the same time, that is irrelevant. We have to insist that it is irrelevant whether she is in a deep coma or gives some signs of being able to relate. Because any human being has a right to food, water and bed rest independent of his or her condition."
If the court upholds the father's request, "that would be a very negative antecedent," Msgr. Barreiro added.
Contact: Hilary White
Source: LifeSiteNews.com
Source URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com
Publish Date: November 10, 2008
Click here to link to this article.
With a verdict expected this week by the Italian high court in the case of Eluana Englaro - who some are calling the "Italian Terri Schiavo" - pro-life Italians from up and down the peninsula held a torchlight rally in front of the Palazzo di Giustizia (Palace of Justice) in Rome on Saturday night.
The Catholic action group, Militia Christi, organised the rally to show support for Eluana. Demonstrators held torches, flags and banners, attracting attention of passing traffic and tourists on the historic Ponte Umberto, which spans the Tiber directly in front of the Palazzo.
Msgr. Ignacio Barreiro, the director of the Rome office of Human Life International told LifeSiteNews.com, "We are here to defend the life of Eluana Englaro."
"Now we are arriving to the end of the judicial road," he said. "No more appeals. It's a very serious problem because the highest tribunal could decide that feeding and hydration could be disconnected from Eluana. And it could constitute a precedent to other cases."
Eluana Englaro, 36, was severely injured in a 1992 car accident that left her in a state of minimal consciousness. However, she can breathe on her own and is not on a ventilator. Her "life support" has consisted of assisted feeding and hydration. Her father, Beppino Englaro, has been petitioning courts to remove his daughter's assisted nutrition and hydration since 1999.
In July, a lower court ruled that doctors could remove Eluana's food and hydration tube. The state appealed the decision, saying that the ruling against Eluana constituted an attempt to change existing law. While this argument was rejected, a ruling on the government's appeal from the Supreme Court of Cassation is expected tomorrow.
Eluana's father Beppino Englaro has stated that, although he is legally entitled to remove his daughter's food and hydration, he is not willing to proceed until all appeals are concluded.
Although media reports say that she is in a "persistent vegetative state" or a "deep coma," her supporters report that Eluana has moments of minimal consciousness. Despite this, the previous court ruled that it had been shown both that her coma is irreversible and that she has expressed her desire not to live if she were in a "persistent vegetative state." The Court of Appeal said the decision was "inevitable given the extraordinary duration of a state of permanent vegetation," and given that her "vision of life" was "irreconcilable with the total and irreversible loss of her mental faculties."
The decision will not only affect Eluana's life, Msgr. Barreiro said, but is a crucial one in the fight against legalised euthanasia.
The decision will set a precedent for many other similar cases that are ready to be argued; it could also have a strong bearing on a proposed bill on "living wills" which could establish the right to remove the food and hydration of patients.
"That's passive euthanasia," Msgr. Barreiro said. "It is a form of assisted suicide; and there is a risk of that in this law. That's why we are afraid that this law will serve as a Trojan horse to introduce in a limited way, passive euthanasia.
"It's a crucial decision because it could open the door to euthanasia in Italy."
About Eluana, Msgr. Barreiro said, "She is not in a deep coma, because she opens her eyes. But at the same time, that is irrelevant. We have to insist that it is irrelevant whether she is in a deep coma or gives some signs of being able to relate. Because any human being has a right to food, water and bed rest independent of his or her condition."
If the court upholds the father's request, "that would be a very negative antecedent," Msgr. Barreiro added.
Contact: Hilary White
Source: LifeSiteNews.com
Source URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com
Publish Date: November 10, 2008
Click here to link to this article.
New Yorkers Respond to 'Abortion Changes You' Subway Ads
New Yorkers Respond to 'Abortion Changes You' Subway Ads
Men and women respond online with stories, poetry about their abortion experiences
An ad campaign stating that "abortion changes you" has been seen by hundreds of thousands of New York subway riders during the past month. And more than 1,400 New Yorkers have responded by visiting the Abortion Changes You website. In one ad, an Asian female shares: "I thought life would be the way it was before," while a tattooed male on another says: "I often wonder if there was something I could have done to help her."
Visitors to the website AbortionChangesYou.com have shared their experiences through stories, artwork, and poetry.
One woman shared: "I would like to thank you for listening to my story. I thought and at times felt like I was the only one who was going through this." Another wrote, "I'm 24, confused and alone... I felt like I was the only one suffering until I found this website on the train."
Another woman remarked: "I don't feel like what I did was wrong... but it wasn't always like this." She carried her secret for two years and didn't seek help. She experienced depression and difficulty in school until she told friends about her abortion. "They were going to be my support group... I finally felt like I could get over the abortion and move on with my life," she writes.
Family members shared experiences as well. One person shared the loss of two siblings because of abortion: "It hurt me deeply to know that I had a brother and/or sister who was taken from me... My mother spent many years grieving and healing."
New Yorkers also participated in other areas of the site. For instance, men and women are able to select from a range of emotions and share how they are feeling. The top feelings submitted in the last month were "ashamed", "angry", "alone", and "changed".
"I am glad that the ads have resonated with New Yorkers," says Michaelene Fredenburg, author of Changed: Making Sense of Your Own or a Loved One's Abortion Experience, and the creator of the ads. "Knowing that you are not alone and being able to talk about your experience is so important. Reaching out after my abortion was a turning point for me."
Contact: Ashley Walker, Christine Schicker
Source: The Maximus Group, AbortionChangesYou.com
Source URL: http://www.abortionchangesyou.com
Publish Date: November 11, 2008
Click here to link to this article.
Men and women respond online with stories, poetry about their abortion experiences
An ad campaign stating that "abortion changes you" has been seen by hundreds of thousands of New York subway riders during the past month. And more than 1,400 New Yorkers have responded by visiting the Abortion Changes You website. In one ad, an Asian female shares: "I thought life would be the way it was before," while a tattooed male on another says: "I often wonder if there was something I could have done to help her."
Visitors to the website AbortionChangesYou.com have shared their experiences through stories, artwork, and poetry.
One woman shared: "I would like to thank you for listening to my story. I thought and at times felt like I was the only one who was going through this." Another wrote, "I'm 24, confused and alone... I felt like I was the only one suffering until I found this website on the train."
Another woman remarked: "I don't feel like what I did was wrong... but it wasn't always like this." She carried her secret for two years and didn't seek help. She experienced depression and difficulty in school until she told friends about her abortion. "They were going to be my support group... I finally felt like I could get over the abortion and move on with my life," she writes.
Family members shared experiences as well. One person shared the loss of two siblings because of abortion: "It hurt me deeply to know that I had a brother and/or sister who was taken from me... My mother spent many years grieving and healing."
New Yorkers also participated in other areas of the site. For instance, men and women are able to select from a range of emotions and share how they are feeling. The top feelings submitted in the last month were "ashamed", "angry", "alone", and "changed".
"I am glad that the ads have resonated with New Yorkers," says Michaelene Fredenburg, author of Changed: Making Sense of Your Own or a Loved One's Abortion Experience, and the creator of the ads. "Knowing that you are not alone and being able to talk about your experience is so important. Reaching out after my abortion was a turning point for me."
Contact: Ashley Walker, Christine Schicker
Source: The Maximus Group, AbortionChangesYou.com
Source URL: http://www.abortionchangesyou.com
Publish Date: November 11, 2008
Click here to link to this article.
'We cry without tears and we scream without a voice' at abortion clinics
Victim of abortion: 'We cry without tears and we scream without a voice' at abortion clinics
The author of the book, “I Aborted,” Esperanza Puente, said during a press conference last week that abortion clinics are inhumane, treat women as mere “customers,” and consider the babies they kill as mere “blobs of tissues” or “clusters of cells.”
According to the newspaper “El Dia,” Puente said the abortion clinic she went to exemplifies the inhumanity of such places. “The relationship between doctors and ‘clients’ is cold. Everyone thinks that those who go there are going to use a service they are paying for,” she said.
“In the waiting room, women cry without tears and scream without a voice,” she continued, “and the standard procedure is that women don’t see ultrasounds of the baby, which is considered to be a ‘cluster of cells’ or a blob of tissue, as one doctor in Madrid told a woman a few days ago.”
Puente stressed that in her case, as with many other women, “the psychologist doesn’t follow the law either, because he is not a specialist outside the clinic but rather is involved and only wants to get the woman to sign the informed consent papers as soon as possible, but he does not inform her of the scars the mother will bear for the rest of her life.”
Recalling the most difficult moments of her experience, including when “the nurse forgot about the remains of my child at my side,” she denounced “the lucrative business of the elimination of fetuses, which are used in cosmetics.”
Puente questioned whether the new abortion law under consideration in Spain would “provide complete information to women about the scars they will bear after an abortion.”
Source: Catholic News Agency
Source URL: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com
Publish Date: November 11, 2008
Click here to link to this article.
The author of the book, “I Aborted,” Esperanza Puente, said during a press conference last week that abortion clinics are inhumane, treat women as mere “customers,” and consider the babies they kill as mere “blobs of tissues” or “clusters of cells.”
According to the newspaper “El Dia,” Puente said the abortion clinic she went to exemplifies the inhumanity of such places. “The relationship between doctors and ‘clients’ is cold. Everyone thinks that those who go there are going to use a service they are paying for,” she said.
“In the waiting room, women cry without tears and scream without a voice,” she continued, “and the standard procedure is that women don’t see ultrasounds of the baby, which is considered to be a ‘cluster of cells’ or a blob of tissue, as one doctor in Madrid told a woman a few days ago.”
Puente stressed that in her case, as with many other women, “the psychologist doesn’t follow the law either, because he is not a specialist outside the clinic but rather is involved and only wants to get the woman to sign the informed consent papers as soon as possible, but he does not inform her of the scars the mother will bear for the rest of her life.”
Recalling the most difficult moments of her experience, including when “the nurse forgot about the remains of my child at my side,” she denounced “the lucrative business of the elimination of fetuses, which are used in cosmetics.”
Puente questioned whether the new abortion law under consideration in Spain would “provide complete information to women about the scars they will bear after an abortion.”
Source: Catholic News Agency
Source URL: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com
Publish Date: November 11, 2008
Click here to link to this article.
A Pro-Life Analysis of the 111th Congress
A Pro-Life Analysis of the 111th Congress
An analysis of the 111th Congress finds that while the overall election outcome was a negative one for the unborn child, there were some bright spots.
In the House of Representatives there were three physicians elected who ran as pro-life candidates: Parker Griffith (D-AL), Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Phil Roe (R-TN). Moreover, the election of Kathy Dahlkemper (D-PA) adds a pro-life Democratic woman to the House.
In terms of alteration of votes with new Representatives, the House will see a potential gain of seven votes expected to be more pro-life, a loss of 20 votes expected to be more pro-abortion, and 25 newly elected Representatives maintaining the same position as their retiring incumbents. (Click here for a chart of the House breakdown)
Pro-life votes in the Senate are likely to be reduced by five votes. In Colorado Mark Udall will replace Wayne Allard. In New Hampshire pro-abort Jeanne Shaheen will replace John Sununu. In New Mexico Tom Udall will replace Pete Domenici. In North Carolina Kay Hagen will replace Elizabeth Dole. And in Virginia Mark Warner will replace John Warner.
Source: LifeSiteNews.com
Source URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com
Publish Date: November 10, 2008
Click here to link to this article.
An analysis of the 111th Congress finds that while the overall election outcome was a negative one for the unborn child, there were some bright spots.
In the House of Representatives there were three physicians elected who ran as pro-life candidates: Parker Griffith (D-AL), Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Phil Roe (R-TN). Moreover, the election of Kathy Dahlkemper (D-PA) adds a pro-life Democratic woman to the House.
In terms of alteration of votes with new Representatives, the House will see a potential gain of seven votes expected to be more pro-life, a loss of 20 votes expected to be more pro-abortion, and 25 newly elected Representatives maintaining the same position as their retiring incumbents. (Click here for a chart of the House breakdown)
Pro-life votes in the Senate are likely to be reduced by five votes. In Colorado Mark Udall will replace Wayne Allard. In New Hampshire pro-abort Jeanne Shaheen will replace John Sununu. In New Mexico Tom Udall will replace Pete Domenici. In North Carolina Kay Hagen will replace Elizabeth Dole. And in Virginia Mark Warner will replace John Warner.
Source: LifeSiteNews.com
Source URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com
Publish Date: November 10, 2008
Click here to link to this article.
Obama transition team prepares to axe pro-life funding rules
Obama transition team prepares to axe pro-life funding rules
President-elect Barack Obama’s transition team is preparing the first actions of his presidency, planning to lift embryonic stem cell research funding restrictions and rules which prevent international organizations that receive U.S. aid from counseling women about the availability of abortion.
The latter rules, known as the “Mexico City Policy,” were developed under the Reagan administration, revoked by the Clinton administration, and restored by President George W. Bush’s administration.
Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America said her organization had been communicating with Obama’s transition staff almost daily. “We expect to see a real change,” the Washington Post reports.
John Podesta, Obama’s transition team co-chair, spoke about these changes on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace.
“I would say that as a candidate, Senator Obama said that he wanted all the Bush executive orders reviewed, and decide which ones should be kept, and which ones should be repealed, and which ones should be amended,” Podesta said.
Podesta characterized Bush’s stem cell research policy as “probably not in the interest of our country,” also naming oil and gas drilling policy and health care.
“There's a lot that the president can do using his executive authority without waiting for congressional action,” Podesta continued, “and I think we'll see the president do that to try to restore the — a sense that the country is working on behalf of the common good, that we're going to try to restore wages, give people the right kind of ways that they can build on their own lives, and when they work hard that they'll be rewarded for it.”
Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Director of the Christian Defense Coalition, responded to the reversal of the “life affirming executive orders” with a “profound sense of disappointment.”
“If Mr. Obama reverses the 'Mexico City Policy,' which forbids groups that receive American aid from counseling women about the availability of abortion, it would greatly increase abortions around the world. It would also create a scenario in which American evangelicals and Catholics would be paying for abortion referrals through their tax dollars.
“If President-elect Obama reverses this policy, it would show a complete and blatant disregard for the faith values of millions of American Christians as well as expanding the violence and tragedy of abortion worldwide. America should be exporting justice and human rights not brutality and violence.
“Is this what President-elect Obama means by hope and change?”
Mahoney charged that the reversal of the ban on federal funds for embryonic stem cell research would show “a lack of respect for social justice and the deeply held beliefs of millions in the faith community.”
“Embryonic stem cell research is the tragic destroying of human life and with modern breakthroughs in stem cell research is no longer needed. We invite President-elect Obama to step into the world of modern medical technology and move away from archaic barbaric medical practices.”
Contact: None
Source: Catholic News Agency
Source URL: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com
Publish Date: November 10, 2008
Click here to link to this article.
President-elect Barack Obama’s transition team is preparing the first actions of his presidency, planning to lift embryonic stem cell research funding restrictions and rules which prevent international organizations that receive U.S. aid from counseling women about the availability of abortion.
The latter rules, known as the “Mexico City Policy,” were developed under the Reagan administration, revoked by the Clinton administration, and restored by President George W. Bush’s administration.
Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America said her organization had been communicating with Obama’s transition staff almost daily. “We expect to see a real change,” the Washington Post reports.
John Podesta, Obama’s transition team co-chair, spoke about these changes on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace.
“I would say that as a candidate, Senator Obama said that he wanted all the Bush executive orders reviewed, and decide which ones should be kept, and which ones should be repealed, and which ones should be amended,” Podesta said.
Podesta characterized Bush’s stem cell research policy as “probably not in the interest of our country,” also naming oil and gas drilling policy and health care.
“There's a lot that the president can do using his executive authority without waiting for congressional action,” Podesta continued, “and I think we'll see the president do that to try to restore the — a sense that the country is working on behalf of the common good, that we're going to try to restore wages, give people the right kind of ways that they can build on their own lives, and when they work hard that they'll be rewarded for it.”
Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Director of the Christian Defense Coalition, responded to the reversal of the “life affirming executive orders” with a “profound sense of disappointment.”
“If Mr. Obama reverses the 'Mexico City Policy,' which forbids groups that receive American aid from counseling women about the availability of abortion, it would greatly increase abortions around the world. It would also create a scenario in which American evangelicals and Catholics would be paying for abortion referrals through their tax dollars.
“If President-elect Obama reverses this policy, it would show a complete and blatant disregard for the faith values of millions of American Christians as well as expanding the violence and tragedy of abortion worldwide. America should be exporting justice and human rights not brutality and violence.
“Is this what President-elect Obama means by hope and change?”
Mahoney charged that the reversal of the ban on federal funds for embryonic stem cell research would show “a lack of respect for social justice and the deeply held beliefs of millions in the faith community.”
“Embryonic stem cell research is the tragic destroying of human life and with modern breakthroughs in stem cell research is no longer needed. We invite President-elect Obama to step into the world of modern medical technology and move away from archaic barbaric medical practices.”
Contact: None
Source: Catholic News Agency
Source URL: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com
Publish Date: November 10, 2008
Click here to link to this article.
November 10, 2008
PRO-LIFE EVENTS
PRO-LIFE EVENTS
Bioethics Health Symposium
What is meant by the term Quality of Life? Speakers from the following Disciplines are scheduled to speak on Theology, Medicine, Sociology, Philosophy, Psychiatry and the Law. The cost is $30.00, which includes breakfast and lunch.
November 21, 2008
The day begins at 8:30AM to 5:00PM.
Location: UIC Forum
725 W Roosevelt - Room D
Click here to download a flyer for this event.
Click here to Register
If you know of, or are part of a pro-life organization having an event or attending an event including county fairs, please let us know about it and we will post in this newsletter and our website reaching over 250,000 people a month. E-mail us at: mail@ifrl.org or postal mail us at IFRL Pro-Life Events, 1104 Milton Road, Alton, IL 62002
Bioethics Health Symposium
What is meant by the term Quality of Life? Speakers from the following Disciplines are scheduled to speak on Theology, Medicine, Sociology, Philosophy, Psychiatry and the Law. The cost is $30.00, which includes breakfast and lunch.
November 21, 2008
The day begins at 8:30AM to 5:00PM.
Location: UIC Forum
725 W Roosevelt - Room D
Click here to download a flyer for this event.
Click here to Register
If you know of, or are part of a pro-life organization having an event or attending an event including county fairs, please let us know about it and we will post in this newsletter and our website reaching over 250,000 people a month. E-mail us at: mail@ifrl.org or postal mail us at IFRL Pro-Life Events, 1104 Milton Road, Alton, IL 62002
NEWS SHORTS FOR MONDAY
NEWS SHORTS FOR MONDAY
Disclaimer: The linked items below or the websites at which they are located do not necessarily represent the views of The Illinois Federation for Right to Life. They are presented only for your information.
Hospital Offering 4D Baby Movies
Pregnant women can buy four-dimensional (4D) images of their baby at an NHS hospital, which has become the first in Hampshire to offer the service. The 4D scans allow parents-to-be to see their unborn baby moving in the womb, even yawning and sucking its thumb. Standard ultrasound scans give a two-dimensional picture, which is often difficult to recognize. Lymington New Forest Hospital will charge up to £200 ($314) for the scans, which are also offered by private firms. Mothers-to-be having the scan will get a 20 minute DVD of the images. "It's brilliant," said expectant mother Jenny How.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/hampshire/7714956.stm
DA to Pursue Charges In Shooting Death Of Unborn Baby
The man who authorities allege used a chain saw and assault rifle to shoot into his estranged wife’s apartment, killing her boyfriend and the woman's unborn child, will be charged in the slaying of the 18-week-old fetus, the Clark County district attorney said. District Attorney David Roger said lawyers in his office reviewed the case and determined they will pursue an additional charge of “manslaughter, killing of an unborn quick child,” against 25-year-old William John Keck. Keck faced charges of murder, attempted murder, and battery with a deadly weapon resulting in bodily harm for the early-morning shooting Monday at the apartments of Fountains at Villa Cordova, 2800 S. Eastern Ave.
http://www.lvrj.com/news/breaking_news/33942059.html
Police Crack Down On 'Baby Farms'
Neighbors were suspicious of the daytime silence at the maternity clinic that came to life only after nightfall, though never suspected its disquieting secret - it was breeding babies for sale. But police raids have revealed a network of such clinics, dubbed baby "farms" in the local press, forcing a new look at the scope of people trafficking in Nigeria. At the hospital in Enugu, 20 teenage girls were rescued in May in a police swoop on what was believed to be one of the largest infant trafficking rings in Nigeria.
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_&set_id=&click_id=&art_id=vn20081110053602694C886962
Obama To Use Executive Orders To Reverse Bush Policy, Usurp Congress
President-elect Obama plans to use his executive powers to make an immediate impact when he takes office, perhaps reversing Bush administration policies on stem cell research. John Podesta, Obama's transition chief, said Sunday Obama is reviewing President Bush's executive orders on those issues and others as he works to undo policies enacted during eight years of Republican rule. He said the president can use such orders to move quickly on his own.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20081110/D94BO8P80.html
Abortion Fight Keys on South Dakota
South Dakota will be America's battleground in the passionate dispute about abortion rights for years to come, a result of easy ballot access and a committed force of local anti-abortion activists. That's the assessment of leaders of national advocacy groups on both sides of the issue, as well as some legal scholars who have watched from the outside for two election cycles as South Dakotans beat up each other up over ballot measures seeking to ban abortion. "This is a state that simply has eschewed abortion rights for years and years, and so this is the perfect forum to push this message," said Timothy Johnson, a political science professor at the University of Minnesota.
http://www.argusleader.com/article/20081109/NEWS/811090301/1001/rss01
Woman Facing Forced Sterilization Seeks Asylum
A woman who feared that deportation to China meant forced abortion or sterilization upon arrival at her homeland lost her bid for asylum in the United States. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Friday denied Xiu Mei Wei's request to reopen her case. A three-judge panel said that Wei failed to present ''material evidence'' that her case be reopened based on conditions in China or her personal circumstances, including her fourth pregnancy.
http://cbs4denver.com/coloradowire/22.0.html?type=local&state=CO&category=n&filename=CO--ChineseAsylum.xml
Video: Population Control: The Eugenics Connection
Has eugenics faded away with time, or has the pseudo science morphed and cloaked itself under new auspices? Were some of the original founders of population control efforts themselves eugenicists? How and when did eugenicists shift from Galton era ideals to Malthusian population control?
Click here to view part one of the video
Click here to view part two of the video
http://www.covenantnews.com/newswire/archives/048363.html
Adultery, Abortion-Cover-up Cost Doctor License For Two Years
Dr. Timothy J. Heyd, a Centerville osteopath whose license was suspended briefly in 2005 because he had an affair with a patient, has lost his license again after the state Medical Board learned he had sex with two other patients and lied to the board about his behavior. The 43-year-old Heyd, whose practice included 3,000 patients, begins a two-year suspension today, Nov. 8. The Medical Board issued the suspension Oct. 6, saying Heyd violated medical ethics by having sex with the patients, perjured himself during 2003 testimony before the board, failed to cooperate with the board investigation, and made false statements to secure a medical license. According to Medical Board records, Heyd met a nurse at Miami Valley Hospital, where they both worked, in late 1995 or early 1996. She became his patient and, in 1998, his lover. Heyd, who was married to his first wife and had two small children at the time, testified he broke off the affair in April 1998 but learned the following month that the patient was pregnant. Heyd accompanied her to the Women's Medical Center of Dayton in Kettering in June 1998 and, in a deviation from standard clinic practice, was present during the abortion. The clinic sent her post-operative report to Heyd's office, and he read and initialed it.
http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/11/08/ddn110808doctor.html
Disclaimer: The linked items below or the websites at which they are located do not necessarily represent the views of The Illinois Federation for Right to Life. They are presented only for your information.
Hospital Offering 4D Baby Movies
Pregnant women can buy four-dimensional (4D) images of their baby at an NHS hospital, which has become the first in Hampshire to offer the service. The 4D scans allow parents-to-be to see their unborn baby moving in the womb, even yawning and sucking its thumb. Standard ultrasound scans give a two-dimensional picture, which is often difficult to recognize. Lymington New Forest Hospital will charge up to £200 ($314) for the scans, which are also offered by private firms. Mothers-to-be having the scan will get a 20 minute DVD of the images. "It's brilliant," said expectant mother Jenny How.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/hampshire/7714956.stm
DA to Pursue Charges In Shooting Death Of Unborn Baby
The man who authorities allege used a chain saw and assault rifle to shoot into his estranged wife’s apartment, killing her boyfriend and the woman's unborn child, will be charged in the slaying of the 18-week-old fetus, the Clark County district attorney said. District Attorney David Roger said lawyers in his office reviewed the case and determined they will pursue an additional charge of “manslaughter, killing of an unborn quick child,” against 25-year-old William John Keck. Keck faced charges of murder, attempted murder, and battery with a deadly weapon resulting in bodily harm for the early-morning shooting Monday at the apartments of Fountains at Villa Cordova, 2800 S. Eastern Ave.
http://www.lvrj.com/news/breaking_news/33942059.html
Police Crack Down On 'Baby Farms'
Neighbors were suspicious of the daytime silence at the maternity clinic that came to life only after nightfall, though never suspected its disquieting secret - it was breeding babies for sale. But police raids have revealed a network of such clinics, dubbed baby "farms" in the local press, forcing a new look at the scope of people trafficking in Nigeria. At the hospital in Enugu, 20 teenage girls were rescued in May in a police swoop on what was believed to be one of the largest infant trafficking rings in Nigeria.
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_&set_id=&click_id=&art_id=vn20081110053602694C886962
Obama To Use Executive Orders To Reverse Bush Policy, Usurp Congress
President-elect Obama plans to use his executive powers to make an immediate impact when he takes office, perhaps reversing Bush administration policies on stem cell research. John Podesta, Obama's transition chief, said Sunday Obama is reviewing President Bush's executive orders on those issues and others as he works to undo policies enacted during eight years of Republican rule. He said the president can use such orders to move quickly on his own.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20081110/D94BO8P80.html
Abortion Fight Keys on South Dakota
South Dakota will be America's battleground in the passionate dispute about abortion rights for years to come, a result of easy ballot access and a committed force of local anti-abortion activists. That's the assessment of leaders of national advocacy groups on both sides of the issue, as well as some legal scholars who have watched from the outside for two election cycles as South Dakotans beat up each other up over ballot measures seeking to ban abortion. "This is a state that simply has eschewed abortion rights for years and years, and so this is the perfect forum to push this message," said Timothy Johnson, a political science professor at the University of Minnesota.
http://www.argusleader.com/article/20081109/NEWS/811090301/1001/rss01
Woman Facing Forced Sterilization Seeks Asylum
A woman who feared that deportation to China meant forced abortion or sterilization upon arrival at her homeland lost her bid for asylum in the United States. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Friday denied Xiu Mei Wei's request to reopen her case. A three-judge panel said that Wei failed to present ''material evidence'' that her case be reopened based on conditions in China or her personal circumstances, including her fourth pregnancy.
http://cbs4denver.com/coloradowire/22.0.html?type=local&state=CO&category=n&filename=CO--ChineseAsylum.xml
Video: Population Control: The Eugenics Connection
Has eugenics faded away with time, or has the pseudo science morphed and cloaked itself under new auspices? Were some of the original founders of population control efforts themselves eugenicists? How and when did eugenicists shift from Galton era ideals to Malthusian population control?
Click here to view part one of the video
Click here to view part two of the video
http://www.covenantnews.com/newswire/archives/048363.html
Adultery, Abortion-Cover-up Cost Doctor License For Two Years
Dr. Timothy J. Heyd, a Centerville osteopath whose license was suspended briefly in 2005 because he had an affair with a patient, has lost his license again after the state Medical Board learned he had sex with two other patients and lied to the board about his behavior. The 43-year-old Heyd, whose practice included 3,000 patients, begins a two-year suspension today, Nov. 8. The Medical Board issued the suspension Oct. 6, saying Heyd violated medical ethics by having sex with the patients, perjured himself during 2003 testimony before the board, failed to cooperate with the board investigation, and made false statements to secure a medical license. According to Medical Board records, Heyd met a nurse at Miami Valley Hospital, where they both worked, in late 1995 or early 1996. She became his patient and, in 1998, his lover. Heyd, who was married to his first wife and had two small children at the time, testified he broke off the affair in April 1998 but learned the following month that the patient was pregnant. Heyd accompanied her to the Women's Medical Center of Dayton in Kettering in June 1998 and, in a deviation from standard clinic practice, was present during the abortion. The clinic sent her post-operative report to Heyd's office, and he read and initialed it.
http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/11/08/ddn110808doctor.html
Election of Obama a Disaster for Pro-Life Fight in EU and Africa
Election of Obama a Disaster for Pro-Life Fight in EU and Africa
The head of the Catholic Doctors’ Association of Kenya said last week that the election of Barack Obama as the new president of the US is a direct attack on the families and children of Africa. Dr. Stephen Karanja, a consultant obstetrician and gynecologist from Nairobi told LifeSiteNews.com that those in Kenya “who know what is good for their world,” had feared the election of Obama because of his pro-abortion and anti-family positions.
“We in Kenya know him (Obama) as a person who is anti-family,” Dr. Karanja said. “A person who would support abortion. In America they can do all right killing their babies. But they must not associate us with the people who would want our babies to be killed.”
In an interview at an international conference of obstetricians and ethicists in Rome, Dr. Karanja said that Africans are now under threat, with Obama having made his radical support for abortion without restriction a key point of his campaign. “Now we are in big trouble because of these Americans,” Dr. Karanja said.
Dr. Karanja expressed his frustration at the result of the US election: “They have no business electing a person who is going to destroy our countries. And that is what they have done. This is something that a lot of people don’t realize, that what these Americans do affects innocent people thousands and thousands of miles away.”
“The truth is that they have put a bad man in the most powerful office in the whole world. And are putting people outside your borders in danger.”
Africa, he said, has been “saturated” with contraceptives by US-based international aid organizations, pushing an anti-child, anti-family ideology. The anti-family efforts of many international aid organizations, however, were frustrated by the Bush administration, which severely restricted overseas funding for contraceptives and abortion. The election of Obama, on the other hand, has been hailed as a victory for many such organizations, such as International Planned Parenthood, which expect a massive influx of funding and support from an Obama administration.
90 per cent of those in Kenya polled over the last twenty years, said Dr. Karanja, hold abortion to be an “abomination.” “And therefore the people who want abortion in our country, 90 per cent of them would consider them an abomination.
“And that is what Americans are bringing to us: an abomination.”
Dr. Karanja described the work of US-based international aid organizations that have condoms, abortion and population control as the foundation of their work overseas: “Those organizations that come to our country ... we don’t need them. We don’t need them at all. They come in our country for the purposes of trying to sell an ideology to us, an ideology we do not need.”
“There is something in Africa we have that they should come and learn,” he continued. “Something called ‘respecting the family’ respecting the elders, respecting the children, hoping for the best, and not being ruled. And people from the west have a problem with this.”
The “one thing” that many Kenyans fear from Obama’s presidency, said Karanja, is the renewal of the attacks on the family and the unborn. “The only resource we have that is truly ours,” he said, “is our people.
“Don’t attack them and we’ll be alright. And this administration of Obama, is going to be a nightmare for our people.”
Contact: Hilary White
Source: LifeSiteNews.com
Source URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com
Publish Date: November 10, 2008
Click here to link to this article.
The head of the Catholic Doctors’ Association of Kenya said last week that the election of Barack Obama as the new president of the US is a direct attack on the families and children of Africa. Dr. Stephen Karanja, a consultant obstetrician and gynecologist from Nairobi told LifeSiteNews.com that those in Kenya “who know what is good for their world,” had feared the election of Obama because of his pro-abortion and anti-family positions.
“We in Kenya know him (Obama) as a person who is anti-family,” Dr. Karanja said. “A person who would support abortion. In America they can do all right killing their babies. But they must not associate us with the people who would want our babies to be killed.”
In an interview at an international conference of obstetricians and ethicists in Rome, Dr. Karanja said that Africans are now under threat, with Obama having made his radical support for abortion without restriction a key point of his campaign. “Now we are in big trouble because of these Americans,” Dr. Karanja said.
Dr. Karanja expressed his frustration at the result of the US election: “They have no business electing a person who is going to destroy our countries. And that is what they have done. This is something that a lot of people don’t realize, that what these Americans do affects innocent people thousands and thousands of miles away.”
“The truth is that they have put a bad man in the most powerful office in the whole world. And are putting people outside your borders in danger.”
Africa, he said, has been “saturated” with contraceptives by US-based international aid organizations, pushing an anti-child, anti-family ideology. The anti-family efforts of many international aid organizations, however, were frustrated by the Bush administration, which severely restricted overseas funding for contraceptives and abortion. The election of Obama, on the other hand, has been hailed as a victory for many such organizations, such as International Planned Parenthood, which expect a massive influx of funding and support from an Obama administration.
90 per cent of those in Kenya polled over the last twenty years, said Dr. Karanja, hold abortion to be an “abomination.” “And therefore the people who want abortion in our country, 90 per cent of them would consider them an abomination.
“And that is what Americans are bringing to us: an abomination.”
Dr. Karanja described the work of US-based international aid organizations that have condoms, abortion and population control as the foundation of their work overseas: “Those organizations that come to our country ... we don’t need them. We don’t need them at all. They come in our country for the purposes of trying to sell an ideology to us, an ideology we do not need.”
“There is something in Africa we have that they should come and learn,” he continued. “Something called ‘respecting the family’ respecting the elders, respecting the children, hoping for the best, and not being ruled. And people from the west have a problem with this.”
The “one thing” that many Kenyans fear from Obama’s presidency, said Karanja, is the renewal of the attacks on the family and the unborn. “The only resource we have that is truly ours,” he said, “is our people.
“Don’t attack them and we’ll be alright. And this administration of Obama, is going to be a nightmare for our people.”
Contact: Hilary White
Source: LifeSiteNews.com
Source URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com
Publish Date: November 10, 2008
Click here to link to this article.
Kmiec pro-life strategy criticized as ‘implausible’
Kmiec pro-life strategy criticized as 'implausible'
Discussion continues over Pepperdine University law professor and pro-life Catholic Doug Kmiec's arguments on behalf of the pro-abortion rights President-elect Barack Obama. Ross Douthat, a political commentator writing on Slate.com, critiqued Kmiec while defending the pro-life political strategy focused upon appointing Supreme Court nominees to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Douthat expressed his astonishment at Kmiec's position, which he said seems to be "that the contemporary Democratic Party, and particularly the candidacy of Barack Obama, offered nearly as much to pro-lifers as the Republican Party does."
Critiques of Obama's abortion stand, which Kmiec labeled as "outright lies and falsehoods," were, according to Douthat, "more or less the truth." Obama's record can only be described as "very, very pro-choice," his positions involving a rollback of "nearly all the modest—but also modestly effective—restrictions that pro-lifers have placed upon the practice and/or appointing judges who would do the same," Douthat wrote.
While granting that anti-abortion voters might have reasons for voting for Obama despite his abortion position, Douthat argued "Kmiec's suggestion that Obama took the Democrats in anything like a pro-life direction on the issue doesn't pass the laugh test."
Douthat added that he believes Kmiec's suggestion that pro-lifers pursue a Human Life Amendment is "far more implausible" than working towards securing favorable Supreme Court justice nominees.
"The trouble with seeking common ground on abortion is that the legal regime enacted by Roe and reaffirmed in Casey permits only the most minimal regulation of the practice, which means that any plausible 'compromise' that leaves Roe in place will offer almost nothing to pro-lifers," Douthat continued on Slate.com.
Even "modest restrictions" that prevail in Europe, which Douthat claimed coincide with lower abortion rates, are "out of the question under the current legal dispensation."
"This, in turn, explains why the national debate inevitably revolves around the composition of the Supreme Court and the either/or question of whether a president will appoint justices likely to chip away the Roe-Casey regime or justices likely to uphold it."
Contact: None
Source: Catholic News Agency
Source URL: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com
Publish Date: November 8, 2008
Click here to link to this article.
Discussion continues over Pepperdine University law professor and pro-life Catholic Doug Kmiec's arguments on behalf of the pro-abortion rights President-elect Barack Obama. Ross Douthat, a political commentator writing on Slate.com, critiqued Kmiec while defending the pro-life political strategy focused upon appointing Supreme Court nominees to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Douthat expressed his astonishment at Kmiec's position, which he said seems to be "that the contemporary Democratic Party, and particularly the candidacy of Barack Obama, offered nearly as much to pro-lifers as the Republican Party does."
Critiques of Obama's abortion stand, which Kmiec labeled as "outright lies and falsehoods," were, according to Douthat, "more or less the truth." Obama's record can only be described as "very, very pro-choice," his positions involving a rollback of "nearly all the modest—but also modestly effective—restrictions that pro-lifers have placed upon the practice and/or appointing judges who would do the same," Douthat wrote.
While granting that anti-abortion voters might have reasons for voting for Obama despite his abortion position, Douthat argued "Kmiec's suggestion that Obama took the Democrats in anything like a pro-life direction on the issue doesn't pass the laugh test."
Douthat added that he believes Kmiec's suggestion that pro-lifers pursue a Human Life Amendment is "far more implausible" than working towards securing favorable Supreme Court justice nominees.
"The trouble with seeking common ground on abortion is that the legal regime enacted by Roe and reaffirmed in Casey permits only the most minimal regulation of the practice, which means that any plausible 'compromise' that leaves Roe in place will offer almost nothing to pro-lifers," Douthat continued on Slate.com.
Even "modest restrictions" that prevail in Europe, which Douthat claimed coincide with lower abortion rates, are "out of the question under the current legal dispensation."
"This, in turn, explains why the national debate inevitably revolves around the composition of the Supreme Court and the either/or question of whether a president will appoint justices likely to chip away the Roe-Casey regime or justices likely to uphold it."
Contact: None
Source: Catholic News Agency
Source URL: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com
Publish Date: November 8, 2008
Click here to link to this article.
Obama Expected to Join Forces with UN in Global Pro-Abortion Agenda
Obama Expected to Join Forces with UN in Global Pro-Abortion Agenda
The pro-abortion law group the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) has already called for President-elect Obama to renew America’s commitment to “reproductive rights” which, according to CRR, prominently includes a right to abortion. It is likely the new president will work almost immediately to correct what his ideological allies like CRR view as multiple mistakes of the Bush administration with regard to international social policy on this issue.
Obama has in the past spoken out against the so-called Mexico City Policy, which forbids US money from supporting groups overseas that promote or perform abortions. This is a Reagan era policy that was struck down during the Clinton years and resurrected on the first day in office of George W. Bush. No one should be surprised if Obama strikes this down on his first day in office and that US money will begin to flow again to pro-abortion groups overseas.
Obama has spoken out against US refusal to fund the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), a United Nations (UN) agency that promotes population control, fertility reduction, and abortion all over the world. UNFPA helped the Chinese government set up and run its one-child policy, which has resulted in upwards of 100 million abortions, many of them forced or coerced.
A US law called Kemp-Kasten mandates that US money cannot support groups that cooperate in coerced abortions. The US State Department has repeatedly determined that UNFPA is complicit in the coercive policies of the China government and has therefore refused funding for the past eight years. Congress has for many years voted to resume UNFPA funding and has been overruled by President Bush. It is expected that Obama will resume funding.
There is the question of UN treaties that the US has refused to ratify. These treaties include the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Convention of the Rights of the Child, the Kyoto Treaty on the Environment, the International Criminal Court and the Landmines Treaty. While various US presidents have signed some of these treaties, the Senate under both Democratic and Republican rule has ratified none of them. It is unclear that the left has enough votes in the Senate to meet the necessary two-thirds needed for ratification. Still critics fear that an Obama administration will try to move the Senate toward ratification. Obama’s UN and European allies will certainly pressure Obama to do so.
Although there was a frenzy of global UN conferences back in the 1990s, including such massive affairs as the Cairo Conference on Population and Development and the Beijing Conference on Women, the time of the Bush administration has been relatively quiet. There was a global conference on disabilities, a racism conference in South Africa, and a two-year negotiation on human cloning, but not much more. The left at the UN counseled quiet during the Bush years for fear of losing ground in the documents that would have come under negotiation. With an Obama administration this fear is removed and one can expect a veritable flood of UN conferences to be announced beginning as early as this year.
(Note: This article was first published by C-fam, http://www.c-fam.org)
Contact: Austin Ruse
Source: LifeSiteNews.com C-Fam.org
Source URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com http://www.c-fam.org
Publish Date: November 7, 2008
Click here to link to this article.
The pro-abortion law group the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) has already called for President-elect Obama to renew America’s commitment to “reproductive rights” which, according to CRR, prominently includes a right to abortion. It is likely the new president will work almost immediately to correct what his ideological allies like CRR view as multiple mistakes of the Bush administration with regard to international social policy on this issue.
Obama has in the past spoken out against the so-called Mexico City Policy, which forbids US money from supporting groups overseas that promote or perform abortions. This is a Reagan era policy that was struck down during the Clinton years and resurrected on the first day in office of George W. Bush. No one should be surprised if Obama strikes this down on his first day in office and that US money will begin to flow again to pro-abortion groups overseas.
Obama has spoken out against US refusal to fund the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), a United Nations (UN) agency that promotes population control, fertility reduction, and abortion all over the world. UNFPA helped the Chinese government set up and run its one-child policy, which has resulted in upwards of 100 million abortions, many of them forced or coerced.
A US law called Kemp-Kasten mandates that US money cannot support groups that cooperate in coerced abortions. The US State Department has repeatedly determined that UNFPA is complicit in the coercive policies of the China government and has therefore refused funding for the past eight years. Congress has for many years voted to resume UNFPA funding and has been overruled by President Bush. It is expected that Obama will resume funding.
There is the question of UN treaties that the US has refused to ratify. These treaties include the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Convention of the Rights of the Child, the Kyoto Treaty on the Environment, the International Criminal Court and the Landmines Treaty. While various US presidents have signed some of these treaties, the Senate under both Democratic and Republican rule has ratified none of them. It is unclear that the left has enough votes in the Senate to meet the necessary two-thirds needed for ratification. Still critics fear that an Obama administration will try to move the Senate toward ratification. Obama’s UN and European allies will certainly pressure Obama to do so.
Although there was a frenzy of global UN conferences back in the 1990s, including such massive affairs as the Cairo Conference on Population and Development and the Beijing Conference on Women, the time of the Bush administration has been relatively quiet. There was a global conference on disabilities, a racism conference in South Africa, and a two-year negotiation on human cloning, but not much more. The left at the UN counseled quiet during the Bush years for fear of losing ground in the documents that would have come under negotiation. With an Obama administration this fear is removed and one can expect a veritable flood of UN conferences to be announced beginning as early as this year.
(Note: This article was first published by C-fam, http://www.c-fam.org)
Contact: Austin Ruse
Source: LifeSiteNews.com C-Fam.org
Source URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com http://www.c-fam.org
Publish Date: November 7, 2008
Click here to link to this article.
Subpoena List for Tiller's Upcoming Hearing Assures Courtroom Drama
Subpoena List for Tiller's Upcoming Hearing Assures Courtroom Drama
Operation Rescue will announce specific plans Tuesday for prayer and prophetic outreaches in conjunction with next week's hearing
Late-term abortionist George R. Tiller is scheduled to appear in court on November 17 for a week-long hearing of his motion to suppress evidence and dismiss 19 criminal charges of illegal late-term abortions brought against him last year by former Attorney General Paul Morrison.
Those already subpoenaed by Tiller's defense include seven high-profile figures, some of which have dominated headlines over the course of the last five years that Tiller has been under investigation.
According to court records, subpoenas have been issued to the following people:
·Former Attorney General Phill Kline, who originally was granted access to approximately 90 heavily redacted abortion records from Tiller and Planned Parenthood after a three-year battle in the Kansas Supreme Court.
·Former Attorney General Paul Morrison, who, after review of the abortion records left by Kline's investigation, filed 19 criminal charges against Tiller that are now the subject of the current action. Morrison resigned in disgrace after a sex and abortion corruption scandal surfaced.
·Judge Richard Anderson, the District Court judge who oversaw the redaction of the abortion records under the rules of the Kansas Supreme Court. He also found probable cause to believe that Tiller had committed 30 other crimes filed by Kline, which were later dismissed at the request of Tiller's friend, District Attorney Nola Foulston, on dubious jurisdictional grounds without being considered on their merits. Judge Anderson is resisting the Tiller subpoena and has filed his own motion to quash it and has requested a protective order.
·Thomas D. Williams, a special investigator in the Kline administration.
·Eric Rucker and Stephen Maxwell, Assistant Attorneys General under Kline who participated in the Tiller investigation.
·Assistant Attorney General Jared Reed, one of the prosecutors who were assigned to the current Tiller charges under Morrison and the current Attorney General Steve Six.
The court has reserved the entire week for the lengthy hearing where Tiller's attorneys will ask for the evidence of Tiller's criminal conduct contained in the abortion records to be suppressed and the case to be dismissed. If Tiller's motions fail, he faces trial on March 16, 2009.
Operation Rescue plans to monitor the hearings and will announce specific plans tomorrow, Tuesday, November 11, for series of prayer and prophetic outreaches in conjunction with next week's hearing.
Contact: Troy Newman, Cheryl Sullenger
Source: Operation Rescue
Source URL: http://www.operationrescue.org
Publish Date: November 10, 2008
Click here to link to this article.
Operation Rescue will announce specific plans Tuesday for prayer and prophetic outreaches in conjunction with next week's hearing
Late-term abortionist George R. Tiller is scheduled to appear in court on November 17 for a week-long hearing of his motion to suppress evidence and dismiss 19 criminal charges of illegal late-term abortions brought against him last year by former Attorney General Paul Morrison.
Those already subpoenaed by Tiller's defense include seven high-profile figures, some of which have dominated headlines over the course of the last five years that Tiller has been under investigation.
According to court records, subpoenas have been issued to the following people:
·Former Attorney General Phill Kline, who originally was granted access to approximately 90 heavily redacted abortion records from Tiller and Planned Parenthood after a three-year battle in the Kansas Supreme Court.
·Former Attorney General Paul Morrison, who, after review of the abortion records left by Kline's investigation, filed 19 criminal charges against Tiller that are now the subject of the current action. Morrison resigned in disgrace after a sex and abortion corruption scandal surfaced.
·Judge Richard Anderson, the District Court judge who oversaw the redaction of the abortion records under the rules of the Kansas Supreme Court. He also found probable cause to believe that Tiller had committed 30 other crimes filed by Kline, which were later dismissed at the request of Tiller's friend, District Attorney Nola Foulston, on dubious jurisdictional grounds without being considered on their merits. Judge Anderson is resisting the Tiller subpoena and has filed his own motion to quash it and has requested a protective order.
·Thomas D. Williams, a special investigator in the Kline administration.
·Eric Rucker and Stephen Maxwell, Assistant Attorneys General under Kline who participated in the Tiller investigation.
·Assistant Attorney General Jared Reed, one of the prosecutors who were assigned to the current Tiller charges under Morrison and the current Attorney General Steve Six.
The court has reserved the entire week for the lengthy hearing where Tiller's attorneys will ask for the evidence of Tiller's criminal conduct contained in the abortion records to be suppressed and the case to be dismissed. If Tiller's motions fail, he faces trial on March 16, 2009.
Operation Rescue plans to monitor the hearings and will announce specific plans tomorrow, Tuesday, November 11, for series of prayer and prophetic outreaches in conjunction with next week's hearing.
Contact: Troy Newman, Cheryl Sullenger
Source: Operation Rescue
Source URL: http://www.operationrescue.org
Publish Date: November 10, 2008
Click here to link to this article.
Abortion Groups Confident Obama Will Push His Pro-Abortion Agenda
Abortion Groups Confident Obama Will Push His Pro-Abortion Agenda
The leading abortion rights organizations in America say they are confident that Barack Obama will push for their full agenda, including passage of the Freedom of Choice Act, comprehensive sex ed and “reproductive rights” that include “affordable" birth control.
Planned Parenthood, NARAL (National Abortion Rights Action League) Pro-Choice America, and the Center for Reproductive Rights have each publicly congratulated the new president-elect on his victory.
“NARAL Pro-Choice America worked hard for our slate of pro-choice candidates across the country, including pro-choice Sen. Barack Obama, and that hard work resulted in the reaffirmation of our commitment to the values of freedom and privacy,” Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America said in a statement.
She added: “I’m proud that NARAL Pro-Choice America was the first major pro-choice PAC to endorse Obama for president.
Obama was the most pro-abortion presidential candidate in history.
In a speech to Planned Parenthood on the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade -- the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion – Obama said: “Throughout my career, I’ve been a consistent and strong supporter of reproductive justice, and have consistently had a 100 percent pro-choice rating with Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America.”
Obama also pledged to push for the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) as president. FOCA was introduced in 2004, “to prohibit, consistent with Roe v. Wade, the interference by the government with a woman’s right to choose to bear a child or terminate a pregnancy, and for other purposes.”
The proposal would overturn all existing state regulations on abortion and partial-birth abortion, if enacted.
Now it is up to the president-elect to make good on his promises, the abortion groups say.
In a three-page letter, the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) asked the president-elect to pursue other specific items on the abortion-rights agenda:
1. To stop funding abstinence-only education programs as part of the in the Title V Maternal-Child Health Block Grant and the Community-Based Abstinence-Education programs. CRR also wants the new administration to appoint agency heads “who will not allow politics to trump science.”
2. To appoint federal judges "committed to supporting established constitutional rights.” Specifically, the letter emphasizes the importance of judges who will preserve “reproductive rights.”
3. To send representatives to the U.N. who will promote abortion and “reproductive rights."
The center also wants Obama to repeal what it calls the “Global Gag Rule” – also known as the Mexico City Policy, a Reagan-era policy that forbids U.S. funding going to support abortion overseas – and to begin again to fund the U.N. Population Fund, a program which the Bush administration stopped funding because it supported forced abortion and sterilization programs overseas.
The abortion rights group asked that the administration direct the new Health and Human Services Secretary to reassess the FDA’s policy restricting over-the-counter access to so-called “emergency contraception.”
Planned Parenthood's agenda, meanwhile, is simple, its Virginia affiliate told CNSNews.com.
"Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia feel he (Obama) will improve access to quality healthcare for women, support and protect a woman’s right to choose, support comprehensive sex-education to keep our young people healthy and safe, and invest in prevention programs including family planning services and breast cancer screening.”
Contact: Matthew Hadro
Source: CNSNews.com
Source URL: http://www.cnsnews.com
Publish Date: November 10, 2008
Click here to link to this article.
The leading abortion rights organizations in America say they are confident that Barack Obama will push for their full agenda, including passage of the Freedom of Choice Act, comprehensive sex ed and “reproductive rights” that include “affordable" birth control.
Planned Parenthood, NARAL (National Abortion Rights Action League) Pro-Choice America, and the Center for Reproductive Rights have each publicly congratulated the new president-elect on his victory.
“NARAL Pro-Choice America worked hard for our slate of pro-choice candidates across the country, including pro-choice Sen. Barack Obama, and that hard work resulted in the reaffirmation of our commitment to the values of freedom and privacy,” Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America said in a statement.
She added: “I’m proud that NARAL Pro-Choice America was the first major pro-choice PAC to endorse Obama for president.
Obama was the most pro-abortion presidential candidate in history.
In a speech to Planned Parenthood on the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade -- the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion – Obama said: “Throughout my career, I’ve been a consistent and strong supporter of reproductive justice, and have consistently had a 100 percent pro-choice rating with Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America.”
Obama also pledged to push for the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) as president. FOCA was introduced in 2004, “to prohibit, consistent with Roe v. Wade, the interference by the government with a woman’s right to choose to bear a child or terminate a pregnancy, and for other purposes.”
The proposal would overturn all existing state regulations on abortion and partial-birth abortion, if enacted.
Now it is up to the president-elect to make good on his promises, the abortion groups say.
In a three-page letter, the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) asked the president-elect to pursue other specific items on the abortion-rights agenda:
1. To stop funding abstinence-only education programs as part of the in the Title V Maternal-Child Health Block Grant and the Community-Based Abstinence-Education programs. CRR also wants the new administration to appoint agency heads “who will not allow politics to trump science.”
2. To appoint federal judges "committed to supporting established constitutional rights.” Specifically, the letter emphasizes the importance of judges who will preserve “reproductive rights.”
3. To send representatives to the U.N. who will promote abortion and “reproductive rights."
The center also wants Obama to repeal what it calls the “Global Gag Rule” – also known as the Mexico City Policy, a Reagan-era policy that forbids U.S. funding going to support abortion overseas – and to begin again to fund the U.N. Population Fund, a program which the Bush administration stopped funding because it supported forced abortion and sterilization programs overseas.
The abortion rights group asked that the administration direct the new Health and Human Services Secretary to reassess the FDA’s policy restricting over-the-counter access to so-called “emergency contraception.”
Planned Parenthood's agenda, meanwhile, is simple, its Virginia affiliate told CNSNews.com.
"Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia feel he (Obama) will improve access to quality healthcare for women, support and protect a woman’s right to choose, support comprehensive sex-education to keep our young people healthy and safe, and invest in prevention programs including family planning services and breast cancer screening.”
Contact: Matthew Hadro
Source: CNSNews.com
Source URL: http://www.cnsnews.com
Publish Date: November 10, 2008
Click here to link to this article.
Seventh Circuit rules against the First Amendment
Seventh Circuit rules against the First Amendment
Claiming there is a difference between "content and viewpoint discrimination," the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals today issued a ruling against Choose Life license plates in Illinois. The court effectively ruled that content discrimination is not a First Amendment violation because the state can choose to exclude the "entire subject of abortion." In their view, prohibited viewpoint discrimination would only occur if one side of the subject was allowed, but not the other.
This ruling appears to be inconsistent with the rulings from other Federal appellate courts that required the issuance of Choose Life specialty plates when states rejected them based on message content, finding such actions to be viewpoint discrimination. Most recently in October 2008, appeal of a Ninth Circuit ruling was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court. This Ninth Circuit ruling recognized exclusion of one subject, when other subjects were allowed, as viewpoint discrimination.
Judge Richard Tallman wrote for the appellate court in its January 2008 ruling that the Arizona commission "clearly denied the application based on the nature of the message,” indicating discrimination based on the Pro-Life perspective of the plate sponsors. The concept of rejecting the "entire subject of abortion" was proposed by the state of Arizona, but rejected by the court.
Apparently, none of this precedent made any difference to the Seventh Circuit judicial panel. This is the same Circuit Court that effectively ignored an 8-1 Supreme Court decision in favor of Joseph Scheidler in the NOW v. Scheidler case. Scheidler needed to return to the Supreme Court to get an 8-0 ruling in his favor before the Seventh Circuit was willing to reverse the ruling against Scheidler, as clearly directed by the Supreme Court. Here we go again!
Related News…
Thomas Ciesielka, of the Thomas More Society…
We are very disappointed that the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago has reversed the decision handed down on January 22, 2007, by U.S. District Court Judge David Coar. Coar affirmed that Illinois violated the First Amendment rights of more than 25,000 Illinois citizens who signed petitions for Illinois' approval and issuance of 'Choose Life' specialty license plates. Proceeds were to be dedicated to funding adoptions throughout Illinois.
Illinois has approved an entire variety of other specialty plates for pet friendly, pro-organ donation, environmental issues and peace birds. No one ever sought approval or issuance of a "Pro-Choice" plate; we would have no objection to such a plate if sufficient persons signed petitions for it.
The court's decision today is in direct conflict with decisions of many other federal appellate and trial courts. We intend to ask for a rehearing, and failing that rehearing, we will pursue a review of the decision before the U.S. Supreme Court (click here for the entire article).
Contact: William Beckman
Source: Illinois Right to Life Committee
Source URL: http://www.illinoisrighttolife.org
Publish Date: November 7, 2008
Click here to link to this article
Claiming there is a difference between "content and viewpoint discrimination," the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals today issued a ruling against Choose Life license plates in Illinois. The court effectively ruled that content discrimination is not a First Amendment violation because the state can choose to exclude the "entire subject of abortion." In their view, prohibited viewpoint discrimination would only occur if one side of the subject was allowed, but not the other.
This ruling appears to be inconsistent with the rulings from other Federal appellate courts that required the issuance of Choose Life specialty plates when states rejected them based on message content, finding such actions to be viewpoint discrimination. Most recently in October 2008, appeal of a Ninth Circuit ruling was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court. This Ninth Circuit ruling recognized exclusion of one subject, when other subjects were allowed, as viewpoint discrimination.
Judge Richard Tallman wrote for the appellate court in its January 2008 ruling that the Arizona commission "clearly denied the application based on the nature of the message,” indicating discrimination based on the Pro-Life perspective of the plate sponsors. The concept of rejecting the "entire subject of abortion" was proposed by the state of Arizona, but rejected by the court.
Apparently, none of this precedent made any difference to the Seventh Circuit judicial panel. This is the same Circuit Court that effectively ignored an 8-1 Supreme Court decision in favor of Joseph Scheidler in the NOW v. Scheidler case. Scheidler needed to return to the Supreme Court to get an 8-0 ruling in his favor before the Seventh Circuit was willing to reverse the ruling against Scheidler, as clearly directed by the Supreme Court. Here we go again!
Related News…
Thomas Ciesielka, of the Thomas More Society…
We are very disappointed that the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago has reversed the decision handed down on January 22, 2007, by U.S. District Court Judge David Coar. Coar affirmed that Illinois violated the First Amendment rights of more than 25,000 Illinois citizens who signed petitions for Illinois' approval and issuance of 'Choose Life' specialty license plates. Proceeds were to be dedicated to funding adoptions throughout Illinois.
Illinois has approved an entire variety of other specialty plates for pet friendly, pro-organ donation, environmental issues and peace birds. No one ever sought approval or issuance of a "Pro-Choice" plate; we would have no objection to such a plate if sufficient persons signed petitions for it.
The court's decision today is in direct conflict with decisions of many other federal appellate and trial courts. We intend to ask for a rehearing, and failing that rehearing, we will pursue a review of the decision before the U.S. Supreme Court (click here for the entire article).
Contact: William Beckman
Source: Illinois Right to Life Committee
Source URL: http://www.illinoisrighttolife.org
Publish Date: November 7, 2008
Click here to link to this article
November 7, 2008
Future Obama abortion legislation will violate conscience rights
Future Obama abortion legislation will violate conscience rights, PRI president says
President-elect Barack Obama’s concessions to his pro-abortion rights supporters will include the appointment of abortion-friendly Supreme Court justices and the signing of legislative acts which mandate federal taxpayer funding for abortions, strike down “any and all” federal restrictions on abortion, and violate the rights of pro-life conscientious objectors.
So report Steve Mosher and Colin Mason in the Population Research Institute’s (PRI) Weekly Briefing released on Thursday.
The PRI’s briefing reports that Obama has pledged to pay for abortions with Americans’ tax dollars, such as in the Prevention First Act which he co-sponsored in the Senate. The bill will “increase funding for family planning and comprehensive sex education that teaches both abstinence and safe sex methods. The Act will also end insurance discrimination against contraception, improve awareness about emergency contraception, and provide compassionate assistance to rape victims.”
According to PRI, this language disguises the “ugly reality” that the legislation would “force insurance companies to fund, doctors to prescribe, and pharmacies to dispense, abortifacient contraceptives.”
Obama has also pledged to pass the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA), whose language states that it would prohibit the states from “interference with a woman's right to terminate a pregnancy prior to viability or . . . after viability where termination is necessary to protect the life or health of the woman” and prohibit so-called "discrimination
President-elect Barack Obama’s concessions to his pro-abortion rights supporters will include the appointment of abortion-friendly Supreme Court justices and the signing of legislative acts which mandate federal taxpayer funding for abortions, strike down “any and all” federal restrictions on abortion, and violate the rights of pro-life conscientious objectors.
So report Steve Mosher and Colin Mason in the Population Research Institute’s (PRI) Weekly Briefing released on Thursday.
The PRI’s briefing reports that Obama has pledged to pay for abortions with Americans’ tax dollars, such as in the Prevention First Act which he co-sponsored in the Senate. The bill will “increase funding for family planning and comprehensive sex education that teaches both abstinence and safe sex methods. The Act will also end insurance discrimination against contraception, improve awareness about emergency contraception, and provide compassionate assistance to rape victims.”
According to PRI, this language disguises the “ugly reality” that the legislation would “force insurance companies to fund, doctors to prescribe, and pharmacies to dispense, abortifacient contraceptives.”
Obama has also pledged to pass the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA), whose language states that it would prohibit the states from “interference with a woman's right to terminate a pregnancy prior to viability or . . . after viability where termination is necessary to protect the life or health of the woman” and prohibit so-called "discrimination
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)