Obama Selecting the Most Anti-Life, Anti-Family Radicals He Can Find for Administration

Obama Selecting the Most Anti-Life, Anti-Family Radicals He Can Find for Administration
 
President-elect unveils plans to dismantle federal legal protection for marriage
 
In light of further actual and rumored appointments, Obama's future presidential administration is steadily emerging as a regime ominously packed with Obama insiders who promise to help roll out the carpet for the President-elect's radical anti-life and anti-family agenda.
 
Media outlets recently named Arizona governor Janet Napolitano as Obama's probable choice for secretary of Homeland Security.
 
An early Obama supporter and campaigner, Napolitano firmly established herself as an extreme abortion supporter by vetoing the partial birth abortion ban, and in one month she vetoed four anti-abortion bills.  In 2005 NARAL warmly praised the governor for vetoing a bill that would have allowed Arizona pharmacies not to distribute the abortifacient morning-after pill due to a moral or religious objection.
 
Tom Dashcle has recently been named as the likely candidate for the next Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), an appointment Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council said gives pro-lifers a "frightening glimpse" into the new Cabinet.
 
The former Democratic Senate majority leader gained notoriety for his liberal views on abortion when he opposed the partial-birth abortion ban, endorsed taxpayer-funded military abortions, and supported taxpayer funding to provide morning-after pills to young public school girls.  Perkins also lamented that Daschle, a man with no experience in public health, is on track to become the ultimate authority on federal health issues.
 
One of the national co-chairs for Obama's presidential campaign, Daschle warmed early on to Obama and in 2007 gushed that the Illinois senator "personifies the future of Democratic leadership in our country."
 
Another likely future HHS member is Dr. Robin Alta Charo, a highly liberal professor of law and bioethics and former member of Clinton's Bioethics Advisory Commission, who was appointed to Obama's transition team Friday.  Charo had been a member of Obama's pre-election team, where she managed science and health policy matters.
 
Bioethicist Wesley J. Smith took Charo's appointment as a further sign that the Obama administration "is going to push full speed ahead" with destructive embryonic stem-cell research.  Charo once called Smith, who is a prominent pro-life advocate in the world of bioethics, a leader of "the endarkenment."
 
"We are entering very dark days," said Smith on the appointment.
 
Pro-abortion juggernaut Sen. Hillary Clinton, whose liberal views on just about every possible social issue are no secret, has also emerged as Obama's favored choice for Secretary of State.
 
Meanwhile, Mr. Obama is quickly establishing his public solidarity with the homosexual movement.
 
Obama recently laid out on his website a "civil rights agenda" that includes, to the satisfaction of homosexual lobbyists, the dismantling of legal protections for marriage.  He intends to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, the act that protects natural marriage that is currently enshrined in federal law, and accordingly opposes a federal Constitutional amendment to protect marriage.
 
Obama has also promised to expand "hate crime" enforcement and legislation by enacting the Matthew Shepard Act, which would allow a perceived bias against homosexuality to be prosecuted.  Obama will also enforce non-discrimination in businesses regarding homosexuality, which could force business owners to hire a certain quota of homosexuals.
 
Finally, Obama's website confirms that the president-elect will push to open adoption to homosexual couples, and make military service more available to homosexuals.
 
According to gay news outlets, officials in the president-elect's transition team have so far assigned 7 openly homosexual individuals to transition review panels, 3 of which were high-ranking Clinton administration officials.  Reports also say Obama is considering deputy campaign strategist and open homosexual Steve Hildebrand as the next Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, replacing Howard Dean.
 
Contact: Kathleen Gilbert
Source: LifeSiteNews.com
Source URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com
Publish Date: November 20, 2008
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/081121_1.htm

Obama picks abortion supporter Daschle to head HHS

Obama picks abortion supporter Daschle to head HHS

 

Tom Daschle has accepted the position of Secretary of Health and Human Services from president-elect Barack Obama.  Daschle's record of supporting anti-life initiatives is extensive enough that his bishop previously asked him to stop calling himself a Catholic.

 

According to FOX News, “two Democratic sources close to Daschle and with intimate knowledge of the decision” said on Wednesday that the former Senate majority leader has accepted the post.

 

As the new Health and Human Services chief, Daschle will be responsible for helping implement Obama’s promised government-run health plan.

 

What is little-known, though, is the fact that Tom Daschle has radically changed his beliefs on life issues since he first ran for office.

 

Joseph Bottum, a native South Dakotan who writes for The Weekly Standard, relates that Daschle began his political career portraying himself as a staunch defender of life.

 

“In 1978, Tom Daschle had the nuns who taught him in grade school write a letter to voters in South Dakota swearing he would always fight against abortion.”

 

But by the time 2002 rolled around, Bottum reports that “he was penning fundraising letters for NARAL and giving fundraising talks for EMILY's List.”

 

Daschle’s work for pro-abortion groups has led the former bishop of Sioux Falls to speak out against him.

 

Although Bishop Robert Carlson had been in conversation with Daschle for years about his voting record and beliefs about moral issues, including a public argument over partial-birth abortion in 1997, it wasn’t until April of 2003 that things began to escalate.  At that point Bishop Carlson sent a letter to Tom Daschle telling him that he should removed all references to being a member of the Catholic Church from his congressional biography and campaign documents, Bottum reports.

 

Daschle responded to the letter from the floor of the Senate in Washington by accusing Bishop Carlson of acting in a way "more identified with the radical right than with thoughtful religious leadership."

 

In an interview with the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, Bishop Carlson expressed his shock at Daschle’s positions on the life issues. "NARAL claims him as one of their number-one supporters. I don't understand how he can be in touch with South Dakotans as much as he is, and yet consistently have a pro-abortion record."

 

Before he failed to be re-elected to the Senate in 2004, Tom Daschle had a 50 % NARAL rating. His mixed rating is the result of voting for a ban on partial-birth abortions and a vote for penalties for those who harm fetuses while committing a violent crime. On the other hand, Daschle voted to allow human cloning, expand research on human embryos and against banning privately funded abortions on U.S. military installations.

 

CNA attempted to reach South Dakota Right to Life for comment on Tom Daschle’s record but did not receive a reply before press time.

 

Source: Catholic News Agency

Source URL: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com

Publish Date: November 19, 2008

Link to this article:

http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/081120_1.htm

 

China relents: Woman will not be forced to have abortion

China relents: Woman will not be forced to have abortion

 

A woman who is six months pregnant will not undergo a forced abortion, despite being held for nearly a week in a Chinese hospital under threat of the procedure.

 

Arzigul Tursun, a mother of two, was released Nov. 18 from a hospital in Xinjiang, the vast northwest region of the world's most populous country, according to Radio Free Asia (RFA). "I am all right and I am at home now," Tursun told RFA shortly after her release.

 

The head of the local population control committee said Tursun "wasn't in good enough health to have an abortion."

 

As a Uyghur Muslim, Tursun is permitted to have two children under China's coercive "one-child" program. Government officials, however, had decided to enforce the population-control policy on her third child. She is 26 weeks into her pregnancy.

 

Tursun's deliverance from a coercive abortion came after two members of the U.S. House of Representatives, as well as the American ambassador to Beijing, urged Chinese officials to reverse course.

 

Republican Reps. Chris Smith of New Jersey and Joe Pitts of Pennsylvania made appeals on Tursun's behalf, and Smith sent a direct request to Zhou Wenzhong, China's ambassador to the United States. Smith also urged Clark Randt, U.S. ambassador to China, to intervene. Randt talked to a Chinese foreign ministry official, according to Smith's office, RFA reported.

 

Tursun's release "is great news for both her family and women throughout China," Smith and Pitts said in a joint written statement. "The decision to spare Arzigul and her child from the tragedy of forced abortion is, we hope, a sign that more women in China will be saved from this grave human rights abuse."

 

Of the local population-control official's comment that Tursun was not well enough for an abortion, Smith and Pitts said, "We know that abortion threatens women's physical and mental health, and we further recognize that abortion always destroys the life of a child. There are always two victims in every abortion, and we are relieved that this abortion did not take place."

 

China's population-control policy, which has been in place since 1979, has been marked by forced abortions and sterilizations. Infanticide, especially of females, also has been reported. In addition to abortions and sterilizations, penalties for violations of the policy have included fines, arrests and the destruction of homes.

 

China's policy generally limits couples in urban areas to one child and those in rural areas to two, if the first is a girl. Uyghurs, a Turkic-speaking ethnic group, and other minorities living in rural areas are allowed three children, but those from cities are permitted only two, according to Xinhua, China's official news agency, RFA reported. Tursun is from a rural area, but her husband, Nurmemet Tohtasin, is from a city.

 

After it appeared an abortion would be forced upon her, Tursun left the family's home in the village of Bulaq in Dadamtu township but returned under pressure, according to RFA. She was taken to Yining's Water Gate Hospital Nov. 11 and held there under guard. She escaped Nov. 16, but police recaptured her the next day at a friend's home. She was taken to another hospital, Women and Children's Welfare Hospital in the Ili district.

 

China's coercive program has helped produce a gender imbalance in the world's most populous country, with many girls being aborted in order to enable a male baby to be born later. China had 120 males born for every 100 females in 2005, according to the U.N. Population Fund, which U.S. researchers report has assisted the government's population-control program.

 

 

Contact: Tom Strode

Source: Baptist Press

Source URL: http://www.bpnews.net

Publish Date: November 19, 2008

Link to this article:

http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/081120_2.htm

 

Tiller's Attorney Loses Control in Court While Irrational Conspiracy Theories Abound

Tiller's Attorney Loses Control in Court While Irrational Conspiracy Theories Abound

 

Witness questioned about contact with Operation Rescue

 

Three witnesses took the stand on the third day of testimony in a hearing where late-term abortionist George R. Tiller is asking District Court Judge Clark Owens to dismiss 19 criminal charges against him based on "outrageous prosecutorial conduct."

 

Investigator Tom Williams testified for the third straight day about his involvement in an investigation of Tiller that began under former Attorney General Phill Kline.

 

Williams was questioned about his interview with Dr. Ronald V. Erkin, a retired psychiatrist who reviewed ten abortion records that had been obtained by Kline through a subpoena with the permission of the Kansas Supreme Court.

 

Dr. Erkin told Williams that he believed that the diagnoses of mental health conditions used to justify the post-viability abortions were not irreversible conditions as required by law.  However, he also told Williams that he believed that the definition of "irreversible" was a matter subject to debate.

 

In an affidavit supporting 30 criminal charges against Tiller, Williams referred to Dr. Erkin's opinion that Tiller's diagnoses were not substantial and irreversible conditions.  Monnat tried to persuade the court that Williams engaged in deception and outrageous conduct when he did not include Erkin's statements about the debate over the definition of "irreversible."

 

Disney and Monnat sparred throughout the day.  At one point, Disney rose to object to a question and Monnat lost control of his emotions and began angrily shouting in a tremendously loud voice over Disney's objections.  The outburst shocked courtroom observers.

 

"Monnat seems to process everything through a faulty filter of paranoia, which leads him to find evil motives behind every action of those who were investigating Tiller," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman.  "His frequent inflammatory questioning was obviously meant to play to the media in the courtroom.  Mr. Monnat needs to keep his day job because an Academy Award just is not in his future."

 

Monnat was also suspicious that Williams may have had contact with "anti-abortionists."  He asked Williams if he ever visited the Operation Rescue web site and if he ever interviewed OR representatives Troy Newman and Cheryl Sullenger or a number of other pro-life persons.  Williams could not recall doing so.

 

Also testifying was Jared Reed, a minor employee under Kline, and Eric Rucker who worked with Kline in both his tenures as Attorney General and Johnson County District Attorney. 

 

Thursday, witnesses could include Steven Maxwell, an attorney who worked for Kline during the Tiller investigation, and disgraced former Attorney General Paul Morrison, who resigned after his adulterous affair and attempts to impede abortion investigations became public.

 

The hearing is expected to be extended into next week.  If Tiller's motion to dismiss is denied, he is scheduled to stand trail on March 16, 2009.

 

Contact: Troy Newman, Cheryl Sullenger

Source: Operation Rescue

Source URL: http://www.operationrescue.org

Publish Date: November 19, 2008

Link to this article:

http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/081120_3.htm

 

Terri-Schiavo-Like Disabled Woman Allowed to Live after Parents Reconcile

Terri-Schiavo-Like Disabled Woman Allowed to Live after Parents Reconcile

 

A disabled woman's mother has reconciled with her ex-husband after having fought to remove her daughter's feeding tube, and after state legislation rescued the woman from death by dehydration. The woman’s mother now confesses that her daughter should be able to live.

 

Lauren Richardson suffered severe brain damage following a 2006 heroin overdose.  Richardson, who was pregnant at the time, was able to deliver a healthy baby girl in February 2007 while on life support.

 

Since then, Richardson has continued to require nourishment through a feeding tube.  While doctors claim Lauren is in a Permanent Vegetative State (PVS), her father contests that she is responsive to stimuli such as voice and touch, and not terminally ill.

 

Richardson's mother, Edith Towers, had argued that her daughter would have wanted her feeding tube removed in such a state.  In a seeming re-enactment of Terry Schiavo's fate, a court had awarded Towers custody of her daughter, following the advice of doctors who claimed Richardson would not recover. 

 

But Lauren's father, Randy Richardson, appealed the decision, and pursued legal intervention on Lauren's behalf while attracting media attention to her case.  In July, he won the battle for Lauren's life when the Delaware House of Representatives passed a resolution making it illegal to remove the feeding tube of a non-terminally ill person such as Richardson. 

 

"It is against the public policy of this State and this State's interest in life, health and safety, for hydration and nutrition that is not harming a patient to be involuntarily removed from a non-terminal, apparently brain-incapacitated patient if doing so will cause the individual's death," said the resolution, which also explicitly named Lauren's case as the impetus for the legislation.

 

Towers, however, continued to fight for permission to remove the feeding tube until September when, because of religious conviction and heartfelt interaction with her ex-husband’s family, she decided to join cooperatively with Richardson’s father to care for their daughter and to drop the court request.

 

“Everyone deserves a chance to recover. Life should be protected - not destroyed,” said Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) Legal Counsel Matt Bowman about the case. “This change of heart and settlement has profoundly affected everyone involved. The miracle of life is not something that should be taken lightly.” 

 

Richardson's father teamed up with the ADF in January to convince judges to investigate Richardson's condition, which had been improperly placed in the PVS category - a diagnosis that has become increasingly undermined by the progress of medical science. 

 

Lauren Richardson wept emotionally when her mother informed her of the settlement and the reconciliation of her parents, confirming to the mother that her daughter is indeed aware and responsive. Both parents and their families continue to interact with her daily.

 

 

Contact: Kathleen Gilbert

Source: LifeSiteNews.com

Source URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com

Publish Date: November 20, 2008

Link to this article:

http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/081120_4.htm

 

Euthanasia approved in Terri Schiavo-esque case

Euthanasia approved in Terri Schiavo-esque case

 

The case of an Italian woman is reminiscent of Terri Schiavo, the Florida woman who was starved and dehydrated to death.

 

LifeNews.com reports Eluana Englaro, now 37 years old, has been in a so-called "vegetative state" for nearly 17 years following a car accident in 1992. Englaro's father went to Italy's top court and recently received permission to remove his daughter's feeding tubes and let her die.

 

Bobby Schindler of the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation tells OneNewsNow that Englaro's plight brings back painful memories of his sister. "This young girl [Englaro] is not dying," he notes. "She has a brain injury that has caused her to be dependent on others for her care, but the only thing she is needing to stay alive is basic care -- food and water -- which was exactly what was needed to keep Terri alive."

 

In the case in Italy, medical personnel have refused to turn off the equipment and euthanize Englaro. "They have refused to do what they believe is inherently wrong and evil, and I give them credit for standing for what they believe in by refusing to remove food and water from this young girl," Schindler contends.

 

Society, according to Schindler, needs to respect life from conception to natural death. "I think what is happening here is that we have become so comfortable from so many years of taking human life that we don't even look at things like this as being wrong anymore -- and that's what frightens me," he concludes.

 

Contact: Charlie Butts

Source: OneNewsNow

Source URL: http://www.onenewsnow.com

Publish Date: November 20, 2008

Link to this article:

http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/081120_5.htm

 

Project Reality closes its doors

Project Reality closes its doors

 

Parents, time to step up and influence your own kids' attitudes about sex.  Chances are they won't be getting that kind of talk at school from now on...

 

While the Illinois legislature never could garner enough votes to officially stop abstinence education programs and enact Planned Parenthood-backed, explicit sexually-detailed classes for kids from kindergarten and older, the Blagojevich Administration has starved out Glenview-based Project Reality.  The group, founded in 1985, at one time received $1.2 million annually in state funds and private donations, announced publicly yesterday it is shutting its doors December 15.

 

In order to meet the demands of the 120,000 high school students enrolled in their abstinence courses statewide, Project Reality fought, begged and pleaded for state funding. For the past couple of years, the Blagojevich Administration gradually turned off the funding spigot.  As the funding dwindled, the group cut staff and then shut its doors.  What's left of Project Reality's efforts will merge with Abstinence and Marriage Partnership, Project Reality's founder and long time director Kathleen Sullivan wrote yesterday:

 

A & M Partnership is hoping and planning to continue publication and promotion of our much sought after Game Plan and Navigator texts which many of you use. The merger will give A & M the ability to offer a broader selection of materials covering several school grades. Project Reality has built a substantial foundation of schools and organizations and was able to serve them through state and federally-funded grants over the years. These grants are no longer available to Project Reality, but we believe this new plan of operation will continue to expand the reach of abstinence education to the youth of our country.

 

This development is a huge victory for those who benefit from teenagers being sexually active:  abortion providers, HPV vaccine and contraceptive method makers.  It's a tragedy for parents who want their kids to be taught respect for sex and marriage.  It's a loss for those kids who've committed to waiting for marriage to begin sexual activity and need support and encouragement to stay focused on their studies and careers.

 

Illinois parents need to be aware that fewer and fewer schools will be offering abstinence education, and they, by default, will need to re-establish their parental role in providing direction and interaction to influence their own children's attitudes towards sex.  No longer can that topic be left to school teachers and counselors.

 

Source: Illinois Review

Source URL: http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/illinoisreview/

Publish Date: November 20, 2008

Link to this article:

http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/081120_6.htm

 

NEWS SHORTS FOR THURSDAY

NEWS SHORTS FOR THURSDAY

 

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.

 

True Love Waits gets more Africa funding

 

After successfully launching True Love Waits in six African countries a little over a year ago, the ministry has received an additional $350,000 to expand its abstinence-until-marriage message into two more countries. The funding was made available through LifeWay Christian Resources' A Defining Moment major-donor campaign.

 

An evaluation is underway to determine the two countries best suited for the expansion, said Jimmy Hester, cofounder of True Love Waits.

http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=29367&ref=BPNews-RSSFeed1119

 

 

Child-Rape Coverup at Center of Tiller Hearing

 

A 10-year-old girl who received an abortion became the center of a Kansas attorney general's argument to obtain patient records from a Wichita clinic. Here was a possible child-rape victim, officers for then-Attorney General Phill Kline told a Topeka judge in 2006 -- and a crime that abortion provider George Tiller didn't report, as required by law. They wanted to find out whether Tiller hadn't reported other crimes, and they needed his records to do that. The hearing is also making public for the first time details of a secret investigation conducted for three years by the state's top prosecutor against Kansas abortion providers. The case of the 10-year-old girl who received a late-term abortion has become the center of Tiller's defense team's argument. Documents produced by lawyer Dan Monnat showed: The girl came with her mother from another state, carrying a letter from their local prosecutor's office. The letter said the girl needed "an immediate medical procedure that (could) only be done" at Tiller's Women's Health Care Services clinic.

http://www.kansas.com/news/story/603723.html

 

 

Planned Parenthood Funds Held by City Council

 

Funding for eight youth programs hit a snag Tuesday as the inclusion of a Planned Parenthood-run program drew complaints from those who oppose the group's educational tactics and abortion services. The City Council was reviewing $500,000 for Community Youth Development program providers in the city's 78415 ZIP code. The city simply disburses these federal and state funds in coordination with the state Department of Family and Protective Services. The council was to vote on all of them together. The council members voted to delete the $30,000 for Planned Parenthood and approved the remaining funding for Boys & Girls Club of Corpus Christi, Communities in Schools, YMCA, YWCA, Youth Odyssey, Nueces County Mental Health Mental Retardation and Serco of Texas, a work force development company.

http://www.caller.com/news/2008/nov/18/planned-parenthood-funds-held/?partner=yahoo_headlines

 

 

30-Day Age Limit for `Child-Dumping' Law Advances

 

A 30-day age limit in the Nebraska [child-dumping] law appears headed for final approval. The state Legislature voted 41-6 Wednesday to give second-round approval to the limit. A final vote is expected Friday and then the bill will go to Gov. Dave Heineman, who has said he would support a 30-day age limit. If Heineman signs the bill, it would become effective immediately. "The rails are greased and the train's heading down the track," said state Sen. Tom Carlson. Thirteen other states have 30-day age limits. Most of the children dropped off at Nebraska hospitals since the law took effect in July have been preteens or teenagers as old as 17. A 15-year-old girl was left at a hospital by a relative, making her the 35th child abandoned under the law, state officials said Wednesday. The girl, a Nebraska resident, was dropped off Tuesday at a hospital in Grand Island. She was placed in a foster home. Hospital officials have said some of the children cried hysterically for their parents or guardians not to leave.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20081119/D94IA2DO0.html

 

 

Court Orders Approval of Ariz. ‘Choose Life’ License Plates

 

Order follows U.S. Supreme Court’s denial of state’s appeal

 

A federal court on Wednesday ordered the Arizona License Plate Commission to approve a specialty license plate featuring the words "Choose Life." 

 

Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund and the Center for Arizona Policy represented the applicants for the plates, the Arizona Life Coalition.

 

"Pro-life groups shouldn't be discriminated against for expressing their beliefs," said ADF Senior Counsel Gary McCaleb.  "Many other groups have been allowed to participate in the Arizona specialty plate program.  The commission had no legitimate reason to selectively exclude this group.  We're pleased that the plates will soon be available to the public.”

http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/nov/08112003.html

 

 

Censorship of Pro-Life Information Begins on Pennsylvania Campus

 

Officials at Allegheny College in Pennsylvania refuse to run an advertising supplement on abortion in the student newspaper, "The Campus."

 

The 12-page advertising supplement "We Know Better Now," sponsored by Human Life Alliance, provides detailed information on pregnancy and the impact of abortions on student's lives.

 

"Our goal is to provide information on the humanity of the pre-born child and gruesome realities of abortion," stated Jo Tolck, executive director for Human Life Alliance.

 

At Allegheny College, officials for "The Campus" had already accepted payment for the November 13 edition when a local supporter noticed it did not appear in the paper.

http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/372748740.html

 

Stop Congress from using your money to fund worldwide abortions

Stop Congress from using your money to fund worldwide abortions

 

Newspapers from cities as far away as Melbourne, Australia are anxiously awaiting word on a Uyghur woman in China, six months pregnant with her third child. According to local reports, government officials tracked Arzigul Tursun down in her village and escorted her to a hospital where authorities ordered her to abort the baby against her will. Although guards had been stationed at the hospital, Arzigul managed to escape. After the police interrogated her family, the mother-to-be was recaptured yesterday in the home of some relatives. Her plight has sparked outrage in the international community, which is demanding her release.

 

In the past, the U.S. government -- at President Bush's insistence -- has withheld funding from groups like the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) for its supporting role in these coercive abortion policies. President-elect Obama has said he will restore U.S. funding to UNFPA. America will no longer be an innocent bystander of tragedies like this one. Instead, the U.S. will be knowingly funding forced abortions like Arzigul's with millions of taxpayer dollars. In an interview with the Obama campaign before the election, RH Reality check asked, "If elected President, would Sen. Obama, overturn the Global Gag Rule or reinstate funding for UNFPA?" A spokesman for the campaign responded, "Yes, Senator Obama would overturn the global gag rule and reinstate funding for UNFPA."

 

The new administration plans to funnel millions of dollars to UNFPA despite its support of China's savage one-child policy.

 

Right this minute, Congressional pro-abortionists are frantically pushing to restore $60 million of U.S. funding to U.N. abortionists! It’s urgent that you sign a Petition to Block Taxpayer Funding of U. N. Abortionists!

 

This effort needs 50,000 signatures. Please forward this petition to your family and friends. Together, we can send a message to our Representatives that we do not want our tax money to pay for abortion anywhere in the world.

 

Just click here to sign the petition.

 

Contact: Tony Perkins, Steven W. Mosher

Source: Family Research Council, Population Research Institute

Source URL: http://www.frc.org  http://www.pop.org

Publish Date: November 18, 2008

Link to this article:

http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/081119_1.htm

 

"That Which Was Destroyed Can Be Rebuilt

"That Which Was Destroyed Can Be Rebuilt"

 

Sometimes juxtaposing news stories makes for quite illuminating reading. Take an account from this morning's Washington Post, which we will talk about in Part One, and compare it with the powerful testimony of a former abortionist who is now described as "the most important pro-life leader in Serbia," which is the subject of Part Two.

 

The headline from the Post story is, "Some Abortion Foes Shifting Focus From Ban to Reduction." These "foes" are, of course, the same crew that helped persuade some unsuspecting souls that working with now President-elect Barack Obama would be more likely to shrink the number of abortion than having a pro-life administration led by Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin. On what basis, you ask? For three reasons, we're told.

 

(1) The old strategy of trying to "ban" abortions has failed; (2) although beholden in every imaginable way to the most entrenched elements of the pro-abortion movement, Obama will work to reduce the number of abortions; and (3) even if Roe v. Wade were overturned it would "only" mean that the issue would be returned to the states.

 

What do we say in response? First and foremost, that every effort to help women but not "ban" abortion has been and will be fought by pro-abortionists tooth and nail.

 

Think of this way. The attempt to restore legal protection to unborn babies is a two-sided coin, as anyone who has looked at this for more than 30 seconds knows.

 

Our Movement is comprised of infinitely patient women and men who empathize with the daunting gauntlet women in crisis pregnancies must go through. That is why women-helping centers have been a major component of our outreach since day one. Those efforts have not banned a single abortion, but have offered women another option, and in the process saved countless babies.

 

But if you want to witness the Abortion Establishment go off the deep end, talk about the saintly work of crisis pregnancy centers which typically operate hand-to-mouth. I think they hate the women who heroically staff these facilities even more than they hate us.

 

In responding to a pro-abortion inquiry during the campaign, Obama said he would not support funding for these humanitarian efforts. What a prince of a fellow.

 

Likewise each and every legislative initiative to give women information and a few hours to pause for reflection–the equivalent of offering a cup of water to someone dying of thirst–is opposed with a ferocity disproportionate even by the Abortion Establishment's off-the-scale standards. Another example of an effort that doesn't ban a single abortion that evokes an all-hands-on-deck response from the likes of PPFA.

 

Just in case you forgot or never knew, Obama spoke to PPFA's political action arm last year. The first thing he said he would do as president is sign the adroitly named but completely misleadingly titled "Freedom of Choice Act." But he pledged more:

 

"So, you know where I stand. But this more is than just about standing our ground. It must be about more than protecting the gains of the past. We're at a crossroads right now in America--and we have to move this country forward. This election is not just about playing defense, it's also about playing offense."

 

He added, for good measure, "On this fundamental issue [of choice], I will not yield and Planned Parenthood will not yield."

 

You could not slide a piece of rice paper between the positions of Obama and PPFA.

 

Since I cannot know their hearts, I will assume for the sake of discussion that when these "abortion foes" dismiss the significance of overturning Roe v. Wade, they are sincere. The Abortion Establishment, much more attuned, knows better.

 

They are fully aware that Roe was a wreaking ball that smashed the abortion laws of all 50 states. But they also know that which was destroyed can be rebuilt.

 

Were the debate to return to the state legislatures and the democratic process, everyone on both sides of the abortion issue knows that the result would be a substantial decrease in the number of abortions. Everyone, that is, except "some abortion foes."

 

Contact: Dave Andrusko

Source: National Right to Life

Source URL: http://www.nrlc.org

Publish Date: November 18, 2008

Link to this article:

http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/081119_2.htm

 

Catholics' open letter asks Obama to reconsider FOCA support

Catholics’ open letter asks Obama to reconsider FOCA support

 

A group of Catholics has addressed an open letter to President-elect Barack Obama, professing an eagerness to cooperate with his administration while pleading that he reconsider his support for the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA).

 

The open letter, initiated by Henry C. Karlson III, has been signed by several prominent Catholic bloggers and commentators, including the Catholic apologist Mark Shea.

 

Praising Obama’s call to end harmful forms of partisanship, the writers of the letter said they too wanted to encourage people to “work together for the common good,” saying “It may change the hearts of many, and it might alter the path of our nation, shifting to a road leading to a better America.”

 

Citing Obama’s call for unity and his professed willingness to engage in dialogue with others, the letter turned to the issue of abortion.

 

“As men and women who oppose abortion and embrace a pro-life ethic, we want to commend your willingness to engage us in dialogue, and we ask that you live up to your promise, and engage us on this issue.”

 

The open letter cited Obama’s agreement to limit late term abortion with exceptions for the health of the mother, and his stated desire to work to reduce the actual number of abortions by alleviating those social issues which make women feel they have to abort.

 

“There is much we can do together,” the letter said. “There is much that we can do to help women who find themselves in difficult situations so they will not see abortion as their only option. There is much which we can do to help eliminate those unwanted pregnancies which lead to abortion.”

 

The letter then turned to Obama’s January 22, 2008 pledge to pass the Freedom of Choice Act as president. This commitment to FOCA, the letter suggested, “might well undermine your engagement of pro-life Americans on the question of abortion. It might hamper any effort on your part to work with us to limit late-term abortions.”

 

“FOCA does more than allow for choice,” the open letter argued. “It may force the choice of a woman upon others, and make them morally complicit in such choice.”

 

Under FOCA, doctors and hospitals which otherwise would not perform abortions might be forced to do so “even if it went against their sacred beliefs,” the group of Catholics said.

 

“Such a law would undermine choice, and might begin the process by which abortion is enforced as a preferred option, instead of being one possible choice for a doctor to practice,” the letter continued.

 

“If FOCA can be postponed for the present, and serious dialogue begun with us, as well as with those who disagree with us, you will demonstrate that your administration will indeed be one that rises above partisanship, and will be one of change. This might well be the first step toward resolving an issue which tears at the fabric of our churches, our political process, our families, our very society, and that causes so much hardship and heartache in pregnant women.”

 

The letter also voiced concern about Obama’s statements that he might override some of President George W. Bush’s executive orders, encouraging him to have a dialogue with the American people on the matter and warning a change in policy would undermine the “political environment” he wishes to establish.

 

“Among those issues which concern us,” the letter explained, “are those which would use taxpayer money to support actions we find to be morally questionable, such as embryonic stem cell research, or to fund international organizations that would counsel women to have an abortion (this would make abortion to be more than a mere choice, but an encouraged activity).”

 

Calling on Obama to “set aside particular promises to a part of your constituency,” the open letter said such a move would show his plan to reject “politics as usual” and truly become “a change we need.”

 

The full open letter can be read at Henry Karlson's blog Vox Nova: http://vox-nova.com.

 

Source: Catholic News Agency

Source URL: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com

Publish Date: November 19, 2008

Link to this article:

http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/081119_4.htm

 

Adult Stem Cells used to Create "Living Bandage" for Knee Injuries

Adult Stem Cells used to Create “Living Bandage” for Knee Injuries

 

A team of scientists at Bristol University has created a living “bandage” from adult stem cells that can be used to heal common sport injuries.

 

Among the most common sport injuries in Britain, a nation of football (soccer) fans, is a tear in the cartilage of the knee. Every year, more than 80,000 people in Britain suffer tears to mensical cartilage. Repairs to knee injuries have until now been restricted to surgical treatments, including removal of cartilage and transplantation. The majority of meniscal tears are not suitable for repair and instead the torn piece is removed. Removal of the meniscus cartilage can lead to progressive, degenerative arthritis of the knee joint.

 

In the Bristol university experiment, cartilage-producing stem cells taken from 23 patients with knee injuries, were coaxed to grow and coat a sponge-like scaffold, made from hyaluronic acid - a compound that occurs naturally in cartilage. The scientists applied this cellular “bandage” to the inside of tears in knee cartilage in the lab.

 

After two weeks of growth, the cells and scaffold were inserted to fix tears of up to 11 square centimetres in the knee cartilage of the patients. The two halves of the tear grew back together. The team, led by Anthony Hollander, a professor of rheumatology and tissue engineering at Bristol University, told the New Scientist, “We found the cartilage matures well, even in patients with early osteoarthritis.”

 

In related news, Bristol University has reported that the world’s first tissue-engineered trachea (windpipe) has been created using a patient’s own stem cells. This tissue-engineered airway has all the “mechanical properties” that permit normal breathing, saving the life of the patient, a 30 year-old mother of two who suffered a collapsed airway following a severe case of tuberculosis.

 

Doctors considered removing the woman’s lung, but were concerned by the high risk of complications and high mortality rate with such a procedure. Instead, stem cells were obtained from the woman’s own bone marrow, grown into a large population and matured into cartilage cells. These were then “seeded” with tracheal cells. This procedure created a graft that was used to replace the patient’s left main bronchus.

 

Professor Macchiarini, lead author on the paper, said, “We are terribly excited by these results. Just four days after transplantation the graft was almost indistinguishable from adjacent normal bronchi. After one month, a biopsy elicited local bleeding, indicating that the blood vessels had already grown back successfully.”

 

In addition, the university said, the new trachea is free from the risks of immune system rejection seen with conventional transplanted organs.

 

A media release from the university said, “These remarkable results provide crucial new evidence that adult stem cells, combined with biologically compatible materials, can offer genuine solutions to other serious illnesses.”

 

Dr. Anthony Hollander said, “This successful treatment manifestly demonstrates the potential of adult stem cells to save lives”

 

Contact: Hilary White

Source: LifeSiteNews.com

Source URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com

Publish Date: November 19, 2008

Link to this article:

http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/081119_3.htm