More U.S. Pro-Life Gains on the Horizon with State Opt-Out of Abortion Mandate

More U.S. Pro-Life Gains on the Horizon with State Opt-Out of Abortion Mandate

Group has heard from people in all 50 states asking how they can lobby lawmakers to take a look at opt-out bill



With Tennessee having become the first state to opt-out of the abortion funding mandate in the national health care reform, several more states are poised to follow suit this year, with many more to follow when their legislatures again reconvene.

Americans United for Life (AUL), a pro-life public-interest law and policy organization in the United States, developed draft legislation for states to exploit a provision in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Sec. 1303), which explicitly allows the state-run health insurance exchanges to prohibit public funds from subsidizing health insurance companies that offer co-pays for abortion.

At least five states this year have taken advantage of the opt-out provision to craft and submit bills for their legislatures, and AUL tells LifeSiteNews.com that is remarkable given that it has come very late in the legislative session for the states.

"I view our progress as very good, and we are very hopeful of seeing several states enact this [legislation] this year, and having a lot of states pass it next year," Daniel McConchie, Vice President of Government Affairs for Americans United for Life, told LifeSiteNews.com.

When LifeSiteNews.com first reported that AUL had developed and announced this draft legislation, representatives from at least 14 states had expressed interest and wanted to work to develop bills for their own legislatures. McConchie revealed that number has risen to about 25 states, where he has been working with state groups and lawmakers on the issue. He added AUL has also heard from individuals in all 50 states asking how they can lobby their lawmakers to take a look at the draft bill.

Tennessee is the first state that has passed a law banning insurance companies providing abortion coverage from participating in the health exchange, where they could benefit from public subsidies. Pro-life advocates have charged such a ban is necessary, because while federal funds under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act cannot directly pay for abortions, they end up leading to an expansion of abortion by a simple accounting trick. The federal subsidies help insurance companies maintain their bottom line and profits, while they just dip into private funds to pay for abortions.

In addition to the accounting trick, many individuals will be enrolled in abortion-covering insurance plans whether they support abortion or not, because only one plan in a state exchange has to be abortion-free, and since most individuals get their health insurance through their employers, they may end up with a health plan that covers abortions. Whether they like it or not, individuals enrolled in these plans will also have to pay at least one dollar into a fund that will go to subsidize abortions.

McConchie said there are different levels of interest in the states, but lawmakers in Mississippi have demonstrated the most enthusiasm. Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant is personally working with AUL to get legislation enacted in Mississippi's State House before the legislature concludes its business.

"They are actually suspending the rules of the Senate, which don't allow this kind of legislation," said McConchie. At the moment, the Mississippi Senate is in an extended session to resolve the budget. Nevertheless, "They are suspending the rules when they come back next week to allow this bill to be heard anyway."

Had Congress passed the health-care reform bill back in January, more states would be taking action because their legislatures would still be in session. But as McConchie pointed out, "Most states, they are only in two or three months out of the year."

Lawmakers from Utah, Virginia, Indiana, South Dakota, North Dakota, Texas are making preparations to bring such a bill before their respective legislatures, but since their sessions have already ended, they won't be able to take action until 2011.

Technically they have some leeway in time before they have to act. The state health-insurance exchanges do not go into effect until 2014.

In addition to Tennessee and Mississippi, Missouri and Oklahoma are considering similar legislation. A bill under consideration in Kansas takes the AUL legislation one step further, and would actually prohibit insurance coverage of abortion in all health plans, regardless of whether or not they are part of the exchange plans.

McConchie said Georgia may also possibly see some legislation offered, although they are very close to the end of its session. At the same time, he said they have to work with the fact that different State Houses also have different rules for what types of bills can and cannot be brought up toward the end of their sessions.

"It is not as if all 50 states could do something if they wanted to this year," said McConchie, pointing out that some states do not have sessions this year, such as North Dakota, Montana, Texas, and Oregon.

However he said, "For the percentage of states that can currently do something, that is significant."

McConchie said that AUL is very confident that more pro-life victories in ridding their states of the health care law's abortion mandate are just over the horizon.

"We suspect there are going to be significant prolife gains in the state legislatures - in part because of the mood in the country - and if that is the case it is going to open up more states to consider not only this, but additional prolife legislation," he said.

Contact: Peter J. Smith
Source: LifeSiteNews.com
Publish Date: April 14, 2009
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Reflections on the "Terri Schiavo Life & Hope" Concert

Reflections on the "Terri Schiavo Life & Hope" Concert

If I could have, I would have gone to the 1st annual "Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Concert." But National Right to Life was more than ably represented last Sunday at the fundraising concert to benefit the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation, by Executive Director David N. O'Steen, Ph.D., and State Organization and Development Director Jacki Ragan.


Country Western Star Randy Travis

Held at the Murat Center in Indianapolis, Indiana, the concert was life-affirming in the best sense of the term. Obviously, the reason there is a Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation is grim: Terri died when she was unjustly denied food and fluids as the result of a titanic legal struggle that went on for years and years.

But forged in that battle is a foundation that is dedicated to battling the mentality that people who are imperfect are "better off dead." And that love of life was on rich display three nights ago.


Collin Raye poured his heart out at
the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Concert.

Like almost everyone, I have enjoyed the music of Randy Travis and Collin Raye. Each is a music legend in his own right. Each performed for more than an hour. Each dedicated two autograph guitars, one of which was raffled off, the other auctioned to raise funds to help the foundation.

We've written about Collin Raye's powerful pro-life song in this space before.

As I explained at the time, the song "She's with me" was dedicated to his little granddaughter who is "very, very special" but is also very ill with a neurological condition no one has been able to diagnose. He tells us (click here for the video) that her symptoms first appeared when she was two, and that her condition is regressing.

That little one died on the Saturday before Easter and was buried a week ago today. Despite his grief, a mere four days later Mr. Raye traveled to Indianapolis to lift up the Schindler family and all those who came from around the country to show their solidarity.


Left to right: Bobby Schindler, Mary Schindler,
Suzanne Schindler Vitadamo, and John Condit,
one of the event organizers.

What a testimony to courage, to faithfulness, and to life.

Contact: Dave Andrusko
Source: NRLC
Publish Date: April 14, 2010
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Fetal-pain law puts pro-aborts in a world of hurt

Fetal-pain law puts pro-aborts in a world of hurt



If Nebraska's fetal-pain bill were ever signed into law, it would create a world of hurt for pro-aborts, pardon the pun.

Such a law would be as difficult for the other side to defend from a PR standpoint as were the Partial Birth Abortion Bans.

Both pieces of legislation evoke vivid mental images of late-term preborn children being torn limb from limb.

But Nebraska's Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which indeed became law yesterday, ups the ante.

It bans all abortions past 20 weeks based on studies that babies assuredly feel pain at that point, corroborated by emerging protocols requiring surgeons who operate on late-term preborn babies provide them pain relief.

Abortions hurt the baby.

Pro-aborts did not see the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act coming and are scrambling to rebut. According to the Associated Press yesterday, although the "bill is sure to be challenged in court," no one is sure who will do the challenging. Neither Nebraska late-term abortionist LeRoy Carhart nor the Center for Reproductive Rights have determined whether they will participate. Pro-aborts are probably drawing for the short straw as I write.

Actually, our side didn't see Nebraska's fetal-pain act coming, either.

Ironically, it was prompted by the murder of late-term Kansas abortionist George Tiller.

In the aftermath, Nebraska late-term abortionist Leroy Carhart made several conflicting statements to the press indicating he aborted contrary to either the spirit or letter of Nebraska law that prohibits abortions when "the unborn child clearly appears to have reached viability, except when necessary to preserve the life or health of the mother."

According to Newsweek, Aug. 15, 2009:

    There are many circumstances that can bring a woman to seek a late-term abortion. But whether she is that suicidal rape victim or a well-heeled New Yorker who just discovered a fatal fetal defect, her options for ending the pregnancy are limited. Since Tiller's death, there are fewer than 10 doctors across the country willing to help. LeRoy Carhart is one of them.

But late-term abortions for fetal anomalies are disallowed by Nebraska law; and that Carhart will abort a mother claiming she is suicidal demonstrates its "mental" health loophole.

Meanwhile, Carhart told Newsweek "he won't, for example, do elective abortions past 24 weeks, because the fetus is likely viable."

But according to the New York Times on Dec. 3, 2009:

    Dr. Carhart has also begun performing some abortions "past 24 week," he said in an interview, and is prepared to perform them still later if they meet legal requirements and if he considers them medically necessary. …

    Dr. Carhart declined to provide specifics on how late in a pregnancy he would be willing to perform an abortion. … Dr. Carhart's fee schedule lists prices for abortions up to 22 weeks and 6 days (at that point, $2,100 in cash or $2,163 on a credit card), but notes that abortions after 23 weeks are available "after consultation with our doctor," and that abortions after the 27th week may take four days.

Carhart's sloppy big mouth prompted pro-life Nebraska Speaker of the Legislature Mike Flood to ask Nebraska Right to Life to help craft a new law to constrict Carhart, since the current late-term abortion ban clearly wasn't working.

That's when Mary Spaulding Balch of National Right to Life conceived the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.

The Associated Press calls the law both "groundbreaking" and "landmark."

It is both, attacking the Roe and Doe abortion decisions on two fronts: fetal viability and mental health. Nancy Northrup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights said "this would be like taking a huge hacksaw to [abortion] rights."

Hope so.

At this point the other side's primary argument is that the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists "knows of no legitimate scientific information that supports the statement that a fetus experiences pain at 20 weeks' gestation."

That's because ACOG is pro-abortion and automatically opposes any legislation limiting doctors' rights. But ACOG did not testify at any of the fetal-pain committee hearings nor has it publicly released any data supporting its claim that fetal pain is merely a notion.

Nebraska Right to Life submitted nine studies finding late-term babies feel pain. The only study the other side has is not a study at all but a 2005 "review" of previous fetal pain studies, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association by abortion activists. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer:

    But their seven-page article has a weakness: It does not mention that one author is an abortion-clinic director [Eleanor A. Drey], while the lead author – a medical student [Susan J. Lee, JD] – once worked for NARAL Pro-Choice America.

    AMA Editor in Chief Catherine D. DeAngelis said she was unaware of those facts, and acknowledged it might create an appearance of bias that could hurt the journal's credibility.

Just as the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court could not possibly have considered that someday abortionists would deliver a baby breech up the head, pierce her skull and suction her brains out, it had no way of knowing preborn babies can feel pain.

And just as with the Partial Birth Abortion Bans, pro-lifers will soon be asking the court to reconsider its previous decision based on additional new information.

Jessica Pieklo at Cure2.com wrote:

    On some level you have to hand it to anti-choice activists.  Their singular focus of preventing women from accessing reproductive health services illustrates a commitment to purpose that, frankly, progressives and even moderates seem unable to match. …

    [T]he Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act may just be the biggest showing of legislative hubris yet.

Thanks for the compliment, Jessica. But The Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act is merely another of our responses to the biggest showing of judicial hubris ever, the Roe v. Wade decision.

Contact: Jill Stanek
Source: WorldNetDaily
Publish Date: April 14, 2010
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NEWS SHORTS FOR THURSDAY

NEWS SHORTS FOR THURSDAY

WHO Chief Sides With Obama Over Abortion Access and Maternal Health



The head of the World Health Organization signaled Wednesday that the United States — not Canada — was on the right track over the question of supporting access to abortion services amid an international bid to improve child and maternal health. Dr. Margaret Chan tipped her hand just minutes after sitting next to International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda at a news conference at the United Nations, where the two women and other dignitaries joined UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in announcing the launch of the world body's new push to reduce maternal childbirth and pregnancy deaths. Chan described abortion as a "very complex, difficult and sensitive" issue, but went on to praise U.S. President Barack Obama for his position that women have a legal right to the procedure.
Click here for the entire article.


Wisconsin Justice Department Refuses to Release Abortion Protest Report



The Wisconsin Justice Department is refusing to release its copy of a threat assessment regarding groups participating in an abortion protest that occurred last year in Middleton. The report was compiled by US Homeland Security and shared with state DOJ and local law enforcement. Peggy Hamill with Pro-Life Wisconsin, one of the groups detailed, says they continue work for the release of the report.
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Republican-Majority South Carolina Senate Rejects Personhood Bill by 24-18 Vote

For the first time in the 12 years since personhood legislation was first introduced in the South Carolina Senate in 1998, a vote regarding the legislation occurred on the floor of the SC Senate today, April 13. Primary sponsor, Christian pro-life Senator Lee Bright (R-Spartanburg) moved to Recall the Personhood Bill, S.450, from Senator Glenn McConnell’s (R-Charleston) Judiciary Committee, where it has been intentionally blocked by McConnell’s hand-picked Judiciary Subcommittee chairman Senator Jake Knotts (Lexington). Senator Knotts has refused to even hold a public hearing on the bill. After a period of debate on Senator Bright’s Recall motion today, an opposing motion to Table the Recall motion was proposed, which passed 24 -18, thereby killing Senator Bright’s valiant effort to Recall S.450 from McConnell’s / Knotts’ Committees.
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Minn. Gov. Declares 'Abortion Recovery Month'; Experts Refute Bachmann's Health Reform Abortion Claims



Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) and Secretary of State Mark Ritchie have proclaimed April "Abortion Recovery Month," Politico reports. Pawlenty has made the declaration for the last two years.

The proclamation "encourages and promotes healing opportunities and raises awareness of the aftermath of abortion experienced by individuals and families," and it recognizes that "[a]bortion recovery programs help individuals heal by providing counseling, support groups, encouragement and education," according to the document.
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UK Scientists Clone 3-Parent Embryos



UK scientists have used nuclear transfer (cloning) technology to create 3-parent human embryos–one father and two mothers.

Despite the standard hype about curing disease using these cloning techniques, significant ethical concerns exist. First, the technique sacrifices two embryos — the smallest, most vulnerable humans — to create a third, recombined embryo, with two mothers and one father. It is not a possible cure, but germline genetic engineering and even eugenics, in that embryo manipulation moves us further down the slope not just of selecting children, but manufacturing them.

This technology, described below, is a further step toward tampering with the very essence of humanity, and demonstrates not just a contempt for life itself – all the embryos in this experiment were destroyed for science – but a profoundly dangerous and arrogant belief that we can tamper with the genetic makeup of our fellow human beings.
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Mother of Murdered Daughter, Unborn Grandson Calls for Renewal of Unborn Victims of Crime Bill

  

Mary Talbot, mother of Olivia Talbot who, along with her unborn son Lane, was murdered in 2005 by Jared Baker, has sent an email to supporters saying she intends to renew efforts to reintroduce the Unborn Victims of Crime Bill C-484 to Canada's Parliament.

The initiative follows a March 19 decision by the Supreme Court of Canada dismissing an appeal by Baker of his 2007 first-degree murder conviction for killing the then 19-year-old Olivia. Baker was not tried or convicted for the killing of Olivia's unborn child due to federal law, which does not consider a child in the womb a person.
Click here for the entire article.

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Meant to Be : Song From Would-Be-Aborted-Son to Mother

Meant to Be : Song From Would-Be-Aborted-Son to Mother



Songwriter Ryan Scott Bomberger described the song below, entitled Meant to Be, in the following way: "My biological mother was raped, yet despite her unspeakable pain, chose Life. This song simply says thank you for giving me a chance to love and be loved."

Even in response to the evil of rape, because of one loving mother, a voice is going forth on behalf of the many others that are "meant to be" but are facing extinction (Ryan is behind the "Black Children are an Endangered Species" initiative). Amen, Ryan! Run your race in the Lord! You were indeed "meant to be" for such a time as this.


Click here for the video.

Source: ProLifeBlogs
Publish Date: Marcus French
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Notre Dame adopts new statement and principles in support of life

Notre Dame adopts new statement and principles in support of life



The University of Notre Dame has issued an institutional statement affirming its commitment to the defense of human life in all its stages. It also has adopted new principles for the institution's charitable activity.

The formulation and adoption of the statement and principles were among recommendations made in January by the University's Task Force on Supporting the Choice for Life to Notre Dame's president, Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.

"I am grateful to the task force for recommending the creation of these documents and helping us compose them," Father Jenkins said. "The statement articulates what always has been the case: that Notre Dame fully embraces Catholic teaching on the sanctity of life. The new principles provide standards for the University and its representatives in making determinations on giving in a way consonant with our beliefs."

The charitable activity principles are not intended to apply to the personal giving of faculty, students and staff.

Notre Dame's statement on the defense of life reads:

"Consistent with the teaching of the Catholic Church on such issues as abortion, research involving human embryos, euthanasia, the death penalty, and other related life issues, the University of Notre Dame recognizes and upholds the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death."

Under the newly adopted principles on charitable activity, the University will seek to "direct its contributions to both persons and organizations so that they are not used to support research or activities that conflict with Catholic teachings. Should a question arise, Notre Dame will require written assurance that it can direct the use of its funds in ways that respect Catholic teachings. The University will monitor compliance. If ensuring appropriate use proves impossible or an organization consistently advocates research or other activities that conflict with fundamental Catholic moral principles, the University will withhold all further contributions."

While the University will continue to encourage faculty and staff members "to contribute their time and resources to efforts to eradicate poverty, disease, and other social ills, both within our community and beyond," the statement says, "these standards also govern authorized use of the University's name to promote any charitable organization or activity, whether by the University itself or by officers and deans who publicly identify their University positions with their charitable commitments."

The full text of the policy may be found online at http://president.nd.edu.

A document providing criteria for the implementation of charitable activity based upon the principles is forthcoming.

The Task Force on Supporting the Choice for Life was convened by Father Jenkins last September to consider and recommend ways in which the University can support the sanctity of life. The task force is co-chaired by Margaret Brinig, Fritz Duda Family Professor of Law, and John Cavadini, chair of the Department of Theology and McGrath-Cavadini Director of the Institute for Church Life. Its other members are Ann Astell, professor of theology; Kathleen Kelley, student; Mary Ellen Konieczny, assistant professor of sociology; Rev. William Lies, C.S.C., executive director of the Center for Social Concerns; and Rev. Mark Poorman, C.S.C., vice president for student affairs. Frances Shavers, chief of staff and special assistant to the president, and Todd Woodward, associate vice president for marketing communications, serve as task force liaisons.

Contact: Dennis Brown and Michael Garvey
Source: Notre Dame News
Publish Date: April 8, 2010
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Concern for fetal pain drives Nebraska to enact abortion ban at 20 weeks

Concern for fetal pain drives Nebraska to enact abortion ban at 20 weeks
 


Citing evidence that unborn children feel pain, Nebraska lawmakers on Tuesday passed a bill banning abortion at 20 weeks or later. Pro-life organizations welcomed the bill which was signed into law on Tuesday afternoon, saying it is in the best interest of the state to protect unborn children.

"The Nebraska legislature has taken a bold step which should ratchet up the abortion debate across the nation," commented Nebraska Right to Life director Julie Schmit-Albin. "What we didn't know in 1973 in Roe versus Wade ... we know now."

The Nebraska bill was in part intended to shut down Dr. LeRoy Carhart, one of the few late-term abortionists in the U.S.

According to the Associated Press, abortion was permitted in Nebraska based on "viability," an unborn child's ability to survive outside the womb. Determined on a case-by-case basis, this occurs at 22 to 24 weeks into gestation.

However, some jurists say that a broad health exception in fact allows abortion up to birth itself.

Abortion advocates claimed that the bill is "flatly unconstitutional" and cannot survive a challenge without a change to three decades of court rulings.

"Courts have been chipping away at abortion rights … this would be like taking a huge hacksaw to the rights," Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, told the Associated Press. She and Carhart indicate they might challenge the law.

Backers of the Nebraska law say the 2007 U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding a late-term abortion ban allows the legislation because it suggests states have an interest in protecting fetuses. They also point to the evidence of fetal pain as a justification for the law.

The National Director of Priests for Life, Fr. Frank Pavone reacted to the signing of the bill into law, saying, "Until now, our laws have shown greater concern for laboratory animals and cattle that are slaughtered than for babies in the womb. With the Abortion Pain Prevention Act, Nebraska is beginning to change this. Every state should look to do the same."

The AP reports that it is unclear how many abortions would not be performed in the state because of the law.

Gov. Dave Heineman signed the Abortion Pain Prevention Act into law on Tuesday afternoon, along with a bill requiring a risk evaluation for women seeking abortions.

Kansas lawmakers have passed a bill meant to prevent Carhart from performing abortions in their state, but pro-abortion Gov. Mark Parkinson has not yet acted on the bill.

Source: CNA/EWTN News
Publish Date: April 13, 2010
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Doctor Shortage Looms Thanks to Health Care Law: Medical Association

Doctor Shortage Looms Thanks to Health Care Law: Medical Association



America faces a shortage of as many as 150,000 primary care physicians in the next 15 years, a threat directly aggravated by the new health care reform law, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).

The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that the AAMC projects a worsening shortage - despite an ongoing push by teaching hospitals and medical schools to boost doctors' ranks - thanks to the sudden influx of insured individuals under the new law.

Such a shortage could spell longer wait times and less access to health care, notes the WSJ.

While the new law includes some incentives to med students considering primary-care medicine, such as a 10% Medicare pay boost, the stream of new doctors will inevitably be strangled by a lack of medical resident positions across America. All medical students must complete a three-year residency to train in hospitals before becoming a full-fledged physician.

The Journal notes that doctors' groups had hoped that a provision to increase the number of funded residency slots would be included in the health care bill, but to no avail.

"It will probably take 10 years to even make a dent into the number of doctors that we need out there," Atul Grover, the AAMC's chief advocacy officer, told the WSJ.

The Associated Press reported Tuesday that 28 states are now considering broadening the authority of nurse practitioners to make up for the shortfall - a move the American Medical Association has reportedly condemned.

In addition, the problem of future doctors may be compounded by the present: an alarming poll conducted by The Medicus Firm just before the heatlh bill's passage in March found that "nearly one-third of physicians responding to the survey indicated that they will want to leave medical practice after health reform is implemented."

Eight percent of respondents in the poll said they would quit immediately, even if retirement age was nowhere in sight.

The doctor shortage may also be aggravated by a lack of new hospital space: CNSnews.com reported Monday that a provision in the health care bill cuts many doctor-owned hospitals out of Medicare and Medicaid payments, and because of it, more than 60 such hospitals in the planning stages across America have been cancelled.

Molly Sandvig, executive director of Physician Hospitals of America, told CNSNews.com that existing hospitals would suffer as well. "The existing hospitals are greatly affected. They can't grow. They can't add beds. They can't add rooms," said Sandvig. "Basically, it stifles their ability to change and meet market needs. This is really an unfortunate thing as well, because we are talking about some of the best hospitals in the country."

Aside from the doctor and hospital shortage, the National Right to Life Committee has already sternly warned that the bill's power grab, coupled with cost-saving measures, will undoubtedly lead to health care rationing in another respect. The health reform law, they note, bars senior citizens from using their own money to purchase private health insurance to supplement Medicare - despite the bill's massive cuts to the Medicare program.

NRLC contends that, under this restriction, seniors will have little or no option for treatment outside what Washington bureaucrats deem is adequatley cost-efficient: "Treatment that a doctor and patient in consultation deem needed or advisable to save that patient's life or preserve or improve the patient's health but which the government decides is too costly – even if the patient is willing and able to pay for it – will run afoul of the imposed standards," they wrote.

Contact: Kathleen Gilbert
Source: LifeSiteNews.com
Publish Date: April 13, 2010
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Taxpayers and Abortions

Taxpayers and Abortions



It's been nearly a month since Obamacare became law, and Americans of all political stripes are scrambling to understand its life-changing ramifications. For anti-abortion advocates, the new law, by subsidizing abortion with taxpayer dollars, represents the largest expansion of abortion since the Supreme Court handed down its infamous Roe v. Wade decision nearly 40 years ago.

But while Obamacare marks a unique development in abortion funding, it is hardly the first time Americans have been forced to underwrite the procedure. In fact, if you pay taxes or have a certain type of health insurance, you are already paying for other people's abortions.

Let me first dispel the myth that the new law does not cover abortion. Far from the president's promise to "maintain the status quo" on abortion, Obamacare allows direct federal funding of abortions in community health centers. It also authorizes taxpayer subsidies for health plans that cover abortions and forces families in many health plans to pay a separate fee specifically for other people's abortions.

Concerns over these facts among some Democrats prompted President Obama to issue an Executive Order that purportedly bars abortion coverage. But executive orders don't trump statutory law. Which is why abortion rights groups are celebrating the new law as a victory.

And it's why pro-lifers are crying foul. They correctly reference the roughly two-thirds of Americans (according to numerous polls) who oppose taxpayer funding of abortions. Trouble is, despite their aversion, most Americans already fund abortion in various ways.

The Hyde Amendment bans use of taxpayer funds for abortions under Medicaid. But Hyde includes exceptions for abortions in the case of rape, incest, and to save the life of the mother.

Plus, Hyde covers Medicaid regulations only at the federal level. Seventeen states and the District of Columbia fund abortions for low-income women, while 32 states pay for abortions in the cases of life, incest and rape, as required by federal Medicaid law. Several states even use taxpayer dollars to abort babies at risk of being born with "severe" disabilities.

The Mexico City Policy required non-governmental organizations to agree not to perform or promote abortions in other nations as a condition of getting federal funds. But President Obama revoked that law on his first day in office. Now hundreds of millions of dollars annually are being diverted to groups that push abortion on poor women abroad.

In March 2009, President Obama announced $50 million in taxpayer funds for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), a UN agency that has been criticized for promoting abortion and for working closely with Chinese population control officials, who force abortion and sterilization on their citizens.

Also last March, Obama overturned by executive order President Bush's limits on taxpayer funding of human embryonic stem cell (HESC) research, which destroys nascent human life. In December, the National Institutes of Health approved funding of 27 HESC lines from Harvard University used in diabetes-related pancreatic cell experiments.

But that's not all. Planned Parenthood, which performs roughly 250,000 abortions a year, receives $300 million annually in taxpayer money.

Recent developments have only re-affirmed the Democratic Party's commitment to forcing taxpayers to pay for abortions. The 2010 Omnibus Appropriations bill includes a provision permitting the D.C. government to use local tax revenues to provide abortions, a move that reversed a long-standing prohibition.

And in February the Obama administration began requiring all U.S. military health facilities to stock the morning after pill (Plan B), which can cause an early abortion by preventing the embryo from implanting in the uterus.
Taxpayers underwrite abortion through the tax break provided to employers that sponsor insurance plans. But you may be surprised to know that nearly half of employer-sponsored health plans have policies that cover abortion, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Obamacare's abortion mandate is an abomination on many levels, not least because it further exposes the hollowness of the "pro-choice" position. But don't kid yourself: If you pay taxes (and in many cases if you have employer-sponsored health coverage), your hard-earned money is already contributing to the destruction of innocent human life.

Contact: Daniel Allott
Source: The American Spectator
Publish Date: April 14, 2010
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Organ Donor Wishes Recorded Incorrectly for 800,000 Britons

Organ Donor Wishes Recorded Incorrectly for 800,000 Britons

  
As many as 800,000 people on the UK organ donor register may have had their preferences about which organs they wished to donate recorded incorrectly according to the BBC.

The foul-up concerns UK residents who gave details of which organs they were willing to have removed after their death on the application to renew their driver's license.

Stephen Banks, 27, from Redditch, Worcestershire, told the BBC he was shocked to discover that upon his death, his eyes could be made available for donation - against his wishes.

He said that while filling out the form to renew his driving license in February he indicated he was happy to donate all his organs - apart from his eyes. Subsequently he received a letter from the National Health Service (NHS) Blood and Transplant Authority thanking him for donating all of his organs including his eyes.

"I feel a bit embarrassed to call up and say, 'I want my eyes back,'" Banks said.

Health Secretary Andy Burnham said errors in recording donors' preferences began appearing over ten years ago.

"It would appear to relate to a technical error going back to 1999 and this was how data was transferred between the DVLA (Driving and Vehicle Licensing Authority) and the blood and transplant service. That has now been corrected," he said.

A consequence of the data-handling errors is that the NHS Transplant Authority has confirmed 21 cases in which organs may have been taken from donors without their prior consent.

A spokeswoman for NHS Blood and Transplant told the Sunday Telegraph, "We are aware of issues with the records with a small proportion of the people who signed up to the NHS organ donor register. There are a small number of cases, 21 over the past six years, where the person has died and their preferences may not have been correctly recorded.

"We are taking it very seriously and are urgently investigating the situation. Our priority is in ensuring that the families of those who may have been affected are contacted."

Joyce Robins of the patient advocacy group Patient Concern commented, "This government has got an absolutely dreadful record when it comes to data, but it is horrific that such sensitive details were handled in such a careless way."

The admission by the NHS of the mishandling of organ donors' data exacerbates the lack of confidence Britons have in the organ transplant system.

In 2008 the British government's considered a "presumed consent" scheme for organ donations; but this was later put on the back burner. But though the "presumed consent" plan was withdrawn, the recommendations of the government task force that was assigned to review the question of how to increase organ donations alarmed pro-life advocates, who warned they could increase threats to the lives of vulnerable patients who may have organs removed from their bodies before they are dead.

The task force said that a patient becomes a potential donor "when a decision has been taken - in the best interests of the patient - that further active treatment is no longer appropriate and should be withdrawn."

"The terms 'treatment' and 'best interests' are the key phrases," said John Smeaton, head of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, at the time, "because they have become code words for passive euthanasia by dehydration."

Contact: Thaddeus M. Baklinski
Source: LifeSiteNews.com
Publish Date: April 14, 2010
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Human Life Alliance Releases 20th Anniversary Edition of 'She's a Child Not a Choice'

Human Life Alliance Releases 20th Anniversary Edition of 'She's a Child Not a Choice'



Human Life Alliance (HLA) has released the 20th Anniversary edition of "She's a Child Not a 'Choice'"-- a tabloid designed to increase personhood awareness among pro-lifers and educate others on the dangers of abortion.

Differing from previous HLA publications, the new "She's a Child Not a 'Choice'" places a spotlight on the personhood of the preborn child.

"HLA believes acknowledging the personhood of all human beings involves recognizing the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for everyone," stated executive director Jo Tolck. "While many abortion supporters recognize the humanity the preborn child, they still refuse to acknowledge these children as persons, under the law, who should be afforded the same rights and privileges as children outside the womb."

"She's a Child Not a 'Choice'" covers topics such as stem cell research, in vitro fertilization and eugenic abortion. It also includes personal testimonies from post abortive individuals as well as a section highlighting support for families of preborn children with an in utero diagnosis of physical disabilities.

"We are thrilled that HLA has created this publication," said Keith Mason contributing author and co-founder of Personhood USA. "We intend to use it in our mission to establish personhood laws in 40 states."

Previous HLA material focused on educating young people, who support abortion or do not have a strong opinion on its danger to women's health. The new "She's a Child Not a 'Choice'" will help all people recognize the destructive realities of abortion and explore developing pro-life issues.

HLA also hopes to equip pro-lifers and encourage informed debate with abortion supporters.

"One of the worst things you can do as a pro-lifer is to be uninformed on the issues," said Ms. Tolck. "Without being prepared to present solid answers to question on personhood and the humanity a preborn child, we greatly diminish the pro-life message."

HLA intends to distribute this new resource in churches and public venues across the county in cooperation with other pro-life organizations.

Contact: Joe Langfeld
Source: Human Life Alliance
Publish Date: April 14, 2010
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NEWS SHORTS FOR WEDNESDAY

NEWS SHORTS FOR WEDNESDAY

White House Considering Up To 10 Supreme Court Nominees, Officials Say



On Monday, White House officials said President Obama is seriously considering 10 possible nominees to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, and they denied reports that the pool is narrowed to three top contenders, the Washington Post reports. Media outlets have reported that Obama likely will select one of three candidates: Solicitor General Elena Kagan, D.C. Court of Appeals Judge Merrick Garland and Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Diane Wood.

According to the AP/Washington Times, the Associated Press has confirmed seven names under consideration. In addition to Kagan, Wood and Garland, the White House is reviewing Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D), Homeland Security Chief Janet Napolitano, former Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears and Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Sidney Thomas (Feller, AP/Washington Times, 4/12). According to the Post, Thomas is "relatively unknown but a favorite of liberal groups".
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Obama Advisory Panel to take Broad View of Bioethics



Obama last week announced the full membership of his bioethics advisory council, unveiling a more diverse body and one that is likely to have a greater impact on policy than its predecessor. In the past decade, ethical questions in science have made headlines on issues such as the patenting of human genes, financial conflicts of interest in biomedical research and risk assessments related to environmental exposure to chemicals. These issues were largely ignored by the bioethics commission established by President George W. Bush, which maintained a relatively narrow focus on stem cells, cloning and abortion. But all fall within the remit of the new Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues, as outlined by the executive order which established it in November 2009.
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Johnson & Johnson Drug Pushers, Caught up in Massive Conspiracy, Fraud Lawsuit



A lawsuit filed last week accuses Johnson & Johnson of conspiring with pharmaceutical consultant Omnicare in an effort to push J&J drugs on nursing home residents, and violating federal Medicaid laws in the process. As a result of the scheme, "residents were overcharged for their medications, had additional medications administered and were unlawfully switched to Johnson & Johnson drugs," all in the name of increasing revenue, according to the lawsuit. The suit, filed in federal court in California, says Omnicare -- which "occupies a 'dual' role of a dispensing pharmacy and consulting pharmacy" -- gave certain J&J drugs "elevated status as the default drug of choice" for thousands of nursing home patients. J&J allegedly gave Omnicare "performance rebates" -- essentially kickbacks -- in return for its services. This arrangement was memorialized in a 1997 "Supply Agreement" between the two companies, the suit states.
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Adult Stem Cells for Vascular Grafts



Researchers have used adult stem cells to create functional blood vessels that can function for bypass surgeries. The work was presented at the American Heart Association's Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology Annual Conference 2010. For many people undergoing bypass surgery, blocked arteries are replaced using another vessel from a different part of the body. But many patients don't have a suitable replacement vessel and synthetic grafts are used. However, the synthetic vessels often become clogged within a couple of years. Dr. Stephen McIlhenny and his group at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia have used adult stem cells from fat tissue to create functional blood vessels. Testing the process in rabbits, they grew adult stem cells on human vein scaffolds in the lab. Grafts were prepared using adult stem cells from each test rabbit, then the graft was put back into the individual rabbits so they received grafts containing their own cells, removing the risk of transplant rejection. After eight weeks, rabbits receiving the customized grafts fared better than those receiving synthetic grafts.
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Former Postulant in French Convent Arrested after Entering Toronto Abortion Clinics to Witness to Life



Mary Wagner from the Vancouver, British Columbia area has spent the past four years discerning her vocation in a Catholic convent in France, which she says she felt called to leave in order to share Jesus' love with those involved with abortion – a calling that has most recently landed her in a Toronto prison.

On Monday, March 29, during Holy Week, Mary entered the "Woman's Care" abortion facility where she said she was able to "speak to a few grieving Dads, whose partners had already gone in for their abortions, and let them know about project Rachael, a support system for post abortion parents."

She also had opportunity to talk to some of the waiting mothers, but she said they seemed already committed in their hearts to the deed they had undertaken.

"The darkness there was palpable," Mary observed.

After 45 minutes Mary said the police arrived and escorted her away from the facility.
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Two States Move Forward on Pro-Life Bills


 
Nebraska and Missouri lawmakers are entertaining several pro-life laws.

The Nebraska Women's Health Protection Act has already passed, making it the first state to require doctors to screen women for possible mental and physical issues before performing an abortion.

Today, legislators also passed the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (LB 1103), which would make it a felony for a doctor to perform an abortion after 20 weeks in Nebraska.

A hearing was held in a Missouri Senate committee Monday to amend a bill (HB 1327/HB 2000) that would require abortionists to notify prosecuting attorneys about abortions performed on women under age 17 and itt would ensure that women who are considering abortion have the opportunity to view an ultrasound of the child 24 hours before being scheduled for their procedure," he said.  "We're very optimistic that the measure will be adopted this year.
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Does this look like a baby to you?

Does this look like a baby to you?

Planned Parenthood: 'That's a burden that somebody's financially responsible for'

"There is no legs, no arms, no head, no brain, no heart. … There's not a baby at this point."

That's what an abortion counselor at a tax-funded Milwaukee, Wis., Planned Parenthood clinic reportedly told a woman who was six to eight weeks pregnant.

The following is an image of an unborn baby at seven-and-a-half weeks gestation:



In reality, by eight weeks, all of a baby's essential organs have begun to form. Elbows and toes are visible, and facial features – including the eyes, nose, lips and tongue – continue to develop. The ears take shape, and the brain begins to control each of the organs. The baby is just less than one inch long.

The youth-led pro-life group Live Action.org released the following video footage of the Planned Parenthood staffer providing medically inaccurate abortion counseling and pressuring a woman to have an abortion on Sept. 9, 2009:


The pregnant woman, identified as Sara, asks the counselor, "So you see the baby?"

The counselor responds, "There's not a baby at this point. You wouldn't be able to identify any parts of the fetus whatsoever. … [A]t this point, there's nothing developed at all. There's no legs, no arms, no head, no brain, no heart. At this point, it's just the embryo itself."

The conversation turns to the responsibilities of caring for a child. The Planned Parenthood counselor appears to try to talk Sara out of keeping the baby.

"There's still midnight feedings, diapers, money," she explains. "I mean, the state can help you with insurance, but after that babies do cost a lot and right now the economy's pretty bad, so …"

Sara informs the counselor that she doesn't have a job.

The staffer tells her, "Yeah, so I mean if you don't feel financially stable or you don't feel ready to have a baby, then I would go with abortion. But if you feel that you can wing it and do it, and you want to continue with the pregnancy, that's something that you'd really have to think about, you know."

The counselor stresses difficulties of adoption, adding, "What I say to the people that are against abortion, I say, you know, are you willing to take in all these aborted children and raise them yourself? You know, that's a burden that somebody's financially responsible for, and you're raising another person for 18 years."

The worker urges Sara to obtain an abortion as soon as possible, saying it will be cheaper to do it early and won't stress her out as much.

"I know that the commercials and the pictures and everything that are out there are just like horrible and they try to make it out to be this terrible thing like we're throwing babies out the back door into the dumpster," she explained. "It's nothing like that."

The worker tells Sara abortion involves a quick procedure, that the unborn baby has no "identifiable parts" and "women are early enough along where there is no fetal matter."

A similar video released in December from an Appleton, Wis., abortion clinic prompted Wisconsin State Sen. Glenn Grothman to call for an investigation of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin. Live Action reported that two leading embryologists also denounced Planned Parenthood's counseling, calling it "absurd and scientifically erroneous."

As WND reported, Live Action also released a video in February of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin failing to report sexual abuse of a woman who posed as a 14-year-old statutory rape victim. The staff also coached her on how to obtain an abortion without her parents' knowledge or approval, the group said.

Wisconsin law requires women to receive medically accurate information before obtaining an abortion.



Lila Rose, a 21-year-old UCLA student and Live Action's president, said the newly released footage further confirms the deceptive and manipulative practices of Planned Parenthood.

"Planned Parenthood has an abortion-first mentality that is driven both by ideology and the desire for money," Rose said. "Since women will often choose against abortion if they learn the scientific facts about the unborn child inside the womb, Planned Parenthood distorts basic facts in an attempt to perform more abortions."

The video is the second in Live Action's "Rosa Acuna Project," a multi-state undercover investigation into misleading abortion counseling by Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion chain in the U.S.

Contact: Chelsea Schilling
Source: WorldNetDaily
Publish Date: April 12, 2010
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Pro-abort supports National Safe Haven Day: "Show your concern over real babies"

Pro-abort supports National Safe Haven Day: "Show your concern over real babies"



Pro-abort Chicago Sun-Times columnist Neil Steinberg ran into a problem yesterday.

Steinberg wanted to promote National Safe Haven Day, today, which "raise[s] awareness of... local Safe Haven laws, with the intention of saving the lives of mothers and babies," according to its website.

Safe haven laws allow mothers to abandon their newborn babies (in IL up to 30 days old), no questions asked, at specified safe havens like fire stations and hospitals.

Why Steinberg supports safe haven laws:

    You never forget seeing a dead baby. This one was maybe a month old, perfect features, mouth slightly open, bluish skin, swaddled in a blanket, waiting its turn on a stainless steel table at the Cook Co. Medical Examiner's office....

    Nearly 20 years later, I can see the baby as if it were in front of me now. My buddy... and I were doing a profile of the first Cook Co. medical examiner, Dr. Robert Stein....

    I mention this, because when young women abandon their babies, it often means not only a slow, painful death for the baby - which would be bad enough - but also a grisly discovery for whatever poor person stumbles upon the baby too late. A dead baby is hard enough to see in the morgue, where you expect it. I can't imagine what it does to a person who opens a trash can and finds one.

Stein realized his rationale for supporting safe haven laws for born babies was inconsistent with his opposition to safe haven laws for preborn babies, so he tried to shut pro-lifers up at the pass...

    The clattering sound you hear is dozens of anti-abortion activists pounding away at their keyboards. "Dear Stinkberg," they write, "how can you even pretend to care about babies when you approve of women murdering their children in the uterus?? Please see the attached 12 color photographs of aforementioned diced children...."

8 week old aborted baby, center for bio-ethical reform.jpg

    And the answer - not that they are interested in an answer, but let's pretend - is that I, like most Americans, differentiate between actual, born-and-alive-in-the-real-world-now babies and the fertilized egg the size of the period at the end of this sentence that typically gets aborted.... [JLS note: Photo of 8-wk-old aborted baby at left.]

    Caring for actual babies is hard, and the state struggles to find enough foster homes to park them in. That's another reason why people gin up this outsized concern for other people's non-babies: It's easy. You can stand in the street holding a 5-foot photo of a tiny bloody foot, call it a day, tell yourself you've saved a lot of babies, when in reality you haven't changed one diaper. Merely professed your undying concern for proto babies, which hardly exist, and ignored a bunch of baby babies, who most certainly do exist and could use your help. And you felt morally superior to boot. Congrats.

    Just wanted to put in my two cents, because these people act as if nobody else thinks about these things except them. Most people give this matter careful consideration, even those who are dismissed as hell-bound whores murdering their infants.

    Respect for life means respecting those who are actually alive, even if they make decisions that go contrary to your personal religious scruples. It's a tough-to-grasp concept, I know, particularly if you don't even try to understand.

Jill Stanek responded to Steinberg in a comment:

    You never forget seeing a dead baby. This one was maybe 21-22 weeks old, perfect features, mouth slightly open, bluish skin, swaddled in a blanket, in my arms in a soiled utility room in the labor and delivery department at Christ Hospital on the southwest side.

    This baby had been aborted and survived. He was fully formed but his lungs weren't mature, so he died a slow, painful, 45-minute death of asphyxiation, while I held him and helplessly watched.

    Neil, you couldn't imagine what finding a dead baby does to the person who opens a trash can and makes the discovery. Imagine what it does to the person who witnesses the death.

    That was me, as I'm sure you've figured out by now. I'm a registered nurse who stumbled on the late-term abortion procedure called induced labor abortion at Christ Hospital in 1999.

    The abortion procedure, still practiced there and in many other hospitals and abortion clinics throughout the country, sometimes results in babies being aborted alive. Survivors are shelved to die or outright killed (click here) in such cases.

    State and federal Born Alive Infant Protection Act laws are meant to protect them, like Safe Haven laws, but they aren't being enforced. Will you help, Neil?

    I expect you won't. And that's ok. Just be honest with yourself, because you haven't been thus far. If you had actually ever looked at a photo of an aborted baby you couldn't possibly dismiss her as "the fertilized egg the size of the period at the end of this sentence that typically gets aborted." You're frankly ignorant, Neil.

    Since visuals appear to impact you so much, take time to educate yourself.

    Click here to watch beautiful videos of babies the age that are often aborted, 6-8 weeks, at the Endowment for Human Development website, which has been approved by National Geographic.

    Click here for a dose of reality, view photos of 7-week-old aborted babies.

    The photos of aborted babies look an awful lot like the dead born baby you saw, Neil - hands, fingers, feet, toes.

    The videos show babies this age have beating, 4-chamber hearts. They've had detectable brainwaves for a week.

    Be my guest to continue to spout pro-abort rhetoric, Neil.

    But debate the topic from an informed viewpoint, not one so obviously obtuse.

Contact: Jill Stanek
Source: jillstanek.com
Publish Date: April 13, 2010
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Pro-Life Group Marks 40th Anniversary of Earth Day with Campaign Celebrating Life

Pro-Life Group Marks 40th Anniversary of Earth Day with Campaign Celebrating Life

Encourages Americans to celebrate nature's greatest gift - human life

 

The pro-life group CatholicVote.org says it's time to use Earth Day to celebrate nature's greatest gift – human life.

With bus ads starting today in Chicago and next week in San Francisco and Seattle, CatholicVote.org is encouraging Americans to rethink how they celebrate Earth Day, and how to go about building a culture that respects the environment.  This April 22nd will mark the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.

"Our goal is to use Earth Day to get Americans to think more deeply about what it means to truly respect the Earth and creation," said Brian Burch, President of CatholicVote.org Education Fund.

"Prevailing environmental attitudes too often view humans as the enemy of nature. We believe the human person is God's greatest creation, and the Earth's greatest resource. Building up a culture of life is the single most important way to build a culture that respects the environment."

Burch said that, in order to "bring this balanced Catholic view of the environment to the streets," the group purchased ads broadcasting their message on over 50 buses in Chicago, San Francisco, and Seattle.

"Respect for the God's creation has a long history in Catholic teaching, long before it became popular with our secular culture," said Burch.

Pope Benedict XVI has been very vocal in support of proper stewardship of natural resources. Newsweek even dubbed him "the green pope."

Earlier this year, in his annual address to the Vatican diplomatic corps, Pope Benedict said: "If we wish to build true peace, how can we separate, or even set at odds, the protection of the environment and the protection of human life, including the life of the unborn?"

The pope has repeatedly emphasized that respect for the environment must be tied to a larger framework, with respect for the human person at its core.

In his recent encyclical, Pope Benedict XVI wrote: "If there is a lack of respect for the right to life and to a natural death, if human conception, gestation and birth are made artificial, if human embryos are sacrificed to research, the conscience of society ends up losing the concept of human ecology and, along with it, that of environmental ecology.

"It is contradictory to insist that future generations respect the natural environment when our educational systems and laws do not help them to respect themselves."

The bus ads, which can be downloaded at CatholicVote.org, will run for four weeks.

Source: LifeSiteNews.com
Publish Date: April 12, 2010
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Group Sues Administration on Embryonic Stem-Cell Research Expansion

Group Sues Administration on Embryonic Stem-Cell Research Expansion
 


Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) attorneys were in court today for oral arguments in a suit (Sherley v. Sebelius) alleging the Obama administration's embryonic research policy violates federal law.

The Dickey-Wicker Amendment, which must be passed by Congress each year, prohibits federal funds from being used to destroy human embryos for research purposes.  President Obama has opened up new stem cell lines which will mean the destruction of human life.

Steven H. Aden, senior legal counsel for ADF, said no one should be allowed to decide that life is worthless.

"Innocent life should not be treated like a commodity," he said.  "Although private sector funding of embryonic stem-cell research has been practically unlimited, it has failed to produce results.  In economic times like we are in now, why should the federal government use precious taxpayer dollars for this illegal and unethical purpose?"

Contact: Roger Greer
Source: CitizenLink
Publish Date: April 12, 2010
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Pro-abortion nominee Dawn Johnsen withdraws bid for Office of Legal Council

Pro-abortion nominee Dawn Johnsen withdraws bid for Office of Legal Council



Dawn Johnsen announced her decision last Friday to withdraw her bid for the White House Office of Legal Council, citing political delays and opposition. The law professor was outspoken in her advocacy for legalized abortion, including partial-birth abortion.

"Unfortunately, my nomination has met with lengthy delays and political opposition that… prevent OLC (the Office of Legal Counsel) from functioning at full strength," Johnsen said in a statement April 9. "I hope that the withdrawal of my nomination will allow this important office to be filled promptly."

Johnsen, who has faced criticism in the past for her strong pro-abortion stance, was nominated the first time by President Obama in 2009. Though her nomination was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee in an 11 to 7 vote, it eventually expired. Due to bureaucratic maneuvering, she never officially served in that position.

According the California Catholic Daily, the nomination has held back in the Senate Judiciary Committee four times due to a lack of consensus on a date for the full Senate to take up confirmation.

Because of the repeated delays, a letter from hundreds of law professors was signed on Feb. 1 and sent to Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), urging him to speed along Johnsen's nomination. Signatories of the letter included professors from Catholic universities, such as Santa Clara University, the University of San Francisco, and Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.

The Associated Press reported on Saturday that Johnsen's nomination had been stalled so long that she resumed teaching at Indiana University while commuting back and forth between Bloomington, Ind. and Washington D.C.

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List, in April 2009 called Johnsen's view on abortion  "bizzare."

"Dawn Johnsen does not represent mainstream America or the type of common ground abortion policy President Obama promised this nation," Dannenfelser said last April.

"Her bizarre characterizations of pregnancy as 'slavery' and mothers as 'losers in the contraceptive lottery' expose an unacceptable disdain for commonsense abortion restrictions and motherhood in general. Furthermore, Johnsen's opposition to existing federal restrictions like the ban on partial-birth abortion casts doubt on her ability to perform her duties faithfully as the head of the Office of Legal Counsel."

Source: CNA
Publish Date: April 12, 2010
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Josie Duggar Released from, then Readmitted to Hospital

Josie Duggar Released from, then Readmitted to Hospital

 

Josie Brooklyn Duggar, the preemie baby born at 25 weeks gestation to the Duggar family of TLC's "19 Kids and Counting," was released from the Arkansas Children's Hospital neonatal intensive care unit last Tuesday before being re-admitted on Thursday when her vital signs began to drop.

"Dr. Arrington told us to never trust a preemie," said Jim Bob Duggar, according to People magazine; Dr. Arrington is co-director of the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit. "That is really true."

Fortifiers had been added to the breast milk Josie drank to help spur her growth; these caused minor stomach issues.

"We realized early that it would be a long, unpredictable recovery," Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar wrote on their blog, "which is why we opted to stay in Little Rock close to the expert staff at Arkansas Children's Hospital."

"Currently, Josie is healthy and in stable condition; we hope to have her back with the family in the next few days. As always, our entire family is grateful for the continued prayers and support."

Josie Duggar was delivered prematurely by emergency c-section on December 10th, 2009, after doctors discovered that Michelle had preeclampsia, which can cause serious complications for both the baby and the mother.

She weighed approximately 1 pound and 6 ounces at birth; she now weighs approximately 4 pounds and 12 ounces.  Babies born at 25 weeks have about a 4 out of 5 chance of survival.

Most of the Duggar family is staying in a rental house in Little Rock until Josie is ready to go to their home in Tontitown, Arkansas.  Ironically, the home they are renting was once owned by the eugenicist founder of Planned Parenthood in Little Rock.

The Duggar family is well-known for their belief, as their website proclaims, that "children are a heritage of the Lord."  They have written a book about their experiences, including their decision to stop using artificial birth control.

Contact: James Tillman
Source: LifeSiteNews.com
Publish Date: April 12, 2010
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