Drugs used by millions of patients to control epileptic seizures must carry warnings about heightened risks of suicide, federal regulators said Tuesday. The Food and Drug Administration announcement comes almost a year after the agency first said patients taking the drugs have a slightly higher risk for suicide than those taking dummy pills. According to the new language, only about 1 in 500 patients face an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior while taking the drugs. The new warning emphasizes that the risks are about the same among all antiseizure drugs.
This week the John Paul II Archdiocesan Institute of Bioethics warned that a new bill being discussed in the Uruguayan Parliament will not provide sufficient guarantees to prevent euthanasia from being adopted.
In an official statement, the experts said that the law "manifests the laudable intention of avoiding unnecessary treatment, which consists of applying disproportionate therapeutic means that affect the quality of life of the patient without a reasonable hope of significant benefits in terms of health or survival."
"However, it has the grave defect of not putting the same care in avoiding the opposite extreme, that is, the omission of assistance to the patient in cases in which he could recover or save his life. This means that it does not give sufficient guarantees that it is not legalizing, in practice, euthanasia," the Institute stated.
Hollywood actor and political activist Danny Glover, in an exclusive interview with CNSNews.com, said that enacting the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) is consistent with civil rights. View the interview online at:
The Freedom of Choice Act, which would allow unrestricted abortion-on-demand nationwide and which President-elect Obama has said he would sign into law, is "absolutely" consistent with civil rights, Glover told CNSNews.com.
"Absolutely, there should be no limitations on a woman's right to choose whether she wants to abort that child or whether she wants to have that child," said Glover. "There should absolutely – I think around most of the places in the world there is a freedom of choice act. We don't even talk about it around other places in the world – in the modern world, in the Western world. Certainly – but absolutely I support that Act and a women's right to choose."
Glover was in Washington, D.C., to present the Olender Foundation's Advocate for Justice award to House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.), who is a sponsor of the Freedom of Choice Act.
The 2009 SpeakOut Illinois Conference, "Rekindle the Fire," will be held Saturday, January 31 at the Westin Lombard Yorktown Center
The program will feature talks by Fr. Thomas Euteneuer and Dr. Alveda King, plus the presentation of the Henry Hyde Leadership Award to Phyllis Schlafly. The Master of Ceremonies will be Christian radio personality Sandy Rios.
This year's conference program will again feature a concurrent program for highschool teens, TeenSpeak, presented by Generations for Life.
The Illinois Federation for Right to Life is a one of the sponsoring organizations of Speak Out Illinois.
Court records show the two abortionists are working together to conceal their crimes
Court records reveal that attorneys for late-term abortionist George R. Tiller of Wichita, who is currently embroiled in a criminal case that could cost him his career, has asked for copies of documents related to the prosecution of Planned Parenthood in Johnson County.
In a hearing scheduled for Thursday in Overland Park, Planned Parenthood attorney Pedro Irigonegaray has subpoenaed Johnson County District Attorney Phill Kline, who is prosecuting them on 107 criminal charges. In a twist, Tiller's attorneys filed a motion on Friday asking for a Sedgwick County judge to grant them all documents related to the Kline subpoena.
In addition, Tiller's defense is asking for copies of documents from Kline's Planned Parenthood abortion investigations that Kline provided to the Attorney General's office last week on the order of the Kansas Supreme Court.
"Planned Parenthood and Tiller are obviously working in tandem on a desperate fishing expedition for anything they can use to weasel themselves out of the criminal charges they both face," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. "Every judge that has reviewed the records has ruled that there is probable cause to believe that both Tiller and Planned Parenthood have violated the law. But they will stop at nothing to strip prosecutors of that incriminating evidence, and conceal their crimes from the public."
As Attorney General, Kline investigated both Tiller and Planned Parenthood. When Kline became the District Attorney of Johnson County, he continued his investigation of Planned Parenthood, charging them on 107 criminal charges.
Tiller's current criminal case was filed by the Attorney General's office after Kline move on. That case is currently in hiatus and scheduled to resume an interrupted hearing on a motion to suppress evidence on January 6, 2009, when Kline is expected to complete testimony that he began in November.
"The legal wrangling in these two abortion criminal cases is unlike anything we have ever seen before," said Newman, who has helped gain the prosecution of a number of abortionists around the nation. "It's almost like the prosecutor is the one on trial, not the law-breaking abortionists. We will continue to monitor these cases and pray that justice will prevail."
Undercover footage from a second Indiana Planned Parenthood clinic shows an emerging pattern of abuse, as more clinic counselors evade their legal responsibility to report the statutory rape of young girls. The new footage is the second video in Live Action Film's "Mona Lisa Project," a series of investigations documenting how secret abortions keep young girls trapped in cycles of sexual abuse.
In the video, shot undercover this summer at a Planned Parenthood in Indianapolis, two employees state they "don't care" about the age difference between a 31-year-old man and the 13-year-old girl he was reported to have impregnated. A previously released video shot at a Bloomington Planned Parenthood showed similar results. Neither the Bloomington nor Indianapolis clinics reported the rape and both clinics counseled the 13-year-old to obtain a secret abortion across state lines where no parental consent laws applied.
At both clinics, Lila Rose, student journalist and president of Live Action, enters posing as a 13-year-old girl and discloses she is pregnant by a 31-year-old man. The Indianapolis staffer states, "We don't really care about who, what, the age of the boyfriend." She then sends Rose to a counselor, who after hearing about the 31-year-old also states, "I don't care how old he is." When Rose tells the counselor that her mother would be upset about the 31-year-old boyfriend, the counselor informs Rose that "the surrounding states don't have parental consent. I can't tell you anymore."
In Bloomington, the nurse declares, "I don't want to know how old he is" and instructs Rose to travel to an Illinois Planned Parenthood and say her 31-year-old boyfriend is only fourteen. Although the Bloomington clinic fired its nurse, Rose says this is not an isolated incident. "We have more videos documenting this pattern of law-breaking within Planned Parenthood. There are actual cases all across the country where their failure to follow state statutes has allowed predators to continue their sexual abuse of young girls."
On Monday, Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter launched an investigation of Planned Parenthood in response to the Bloomington footage. Indiana State Representative Jackie Walorski and right-to-life advocacy groups including American Life League publicly called for the investigation. In 2005, the Attorney General also sought the records of 84 Planned Parenthood patients under the age of fourteen who may have been victims of sexual abuse, but Planned Parenthood sued to prevent their release.'
Rose commends the Attorney General's efforts. "We applaud Mr. Carter's integrity and urge him to conduct a thorough and complete investigation, despite any political attacks Planned Parenthood may attempt against him personally or his office."
Rose challenges Planned Parenthood to cooperate. "Planned Parenthood must release files they have previously sued to keep private and allow state authorities to conduct a complete investigation." She adds, "Mandatory reporting laws are necessary for the protection of young girls, and Planned Parenthood must not be allowed to sabotage them."
City Attorney Calls Obstruction by Pro-Aborts "Creative"
More details emerged Friday of the scheme by government officials and abortion providers to silence pro-life advocate Walter Hoye of Berkeley. At a pre-trial readiness hearing in Oakland Superior Court, the Alameda County district attorney demanded that Rev. Hoye plead guilty to one misdemeanor count and agree to stay-away from a local abortion clinic for an unspecified period of time in exchange for dismissing three other bogus criminal charges against him. Rev. Hoye refused and will go to trial next week.
Rev. Hoye, who is African-American, feels a special calling to work for the end of the genocide-by-abortion taking place in the African-American community. As part of his efforts, he stands in front of an abortion clinic in Oakland with leaflets about abortion alternatives and a sign reading, "Jesus loves you and your baby. Let us help."
Rev. Hoye's peaceful witness enrages the cadre of clinic "escorts," who surround him to impede his movement, block his sign with large sheets of blank cardboard, and make raucous noise to drown out his quiet offers of assistance.
As this interference did not deter Rev. Hoye, the clinic then worked with Oakland city council members to pass a "Mother May I" ordinance, prohibiting approaching within eight feet of women entering abortion clinics without their consent. The penalty for illegally approaching a person to talk or hand out a leaflet is one year in jail and/or a $2000 fine.
On May 13, 2008, Rev. Hoye was arrested for allegedly violating the ordinance. One of the witnesses against him was an Oakland city attorney who was secretly watching from a car. In an e-mail to the clinic director, the city attorney said the escorts' use of signs to block Rev. Hoye "was creative and seemed to be effective."
The district attorney then expanded the complaint to include four counts, two for "unlawful" approaches and two for allegedly using "force, threat of force, or physical obstruction" against two of the clinic escorts. At a pre-trial hearing in July, Rev. Hoye's attorneys cross-examined these "victims." The escorts admitted that Rev. Hoye never used force against them, threatened them, or blocked them. They proudly testified that they routinely block Rev. Hoye to prevent patients from seeing his sign. Nevertheless, the DA has not dismissed the charges against Rev. Hoye.
"The district attorney's office appears to be using these trumped-up charges as leverage to pressure Rev. Hoye into giving up his free speech rights," said Hoye's attorney Mike Millen. "The threat of four years in jail is a potent one, but my client is more interested in getting the truth out, both on the sidewalk and in the courtroom."
Rev. Hoye will be back in court on Friday, December 19, 2008, where a trial date will be set.
Susan B. Anthony List President Announces Launch of Grassroots Campaign Opposing $1.5 Billion in Federal Taxpayer Funds for Abortion Industry
Today the president of the Susan B. Anthony List announced a nationwide grassroots campaign to fight the abortion industry bailout detailed in the recent report from over 50 abortion-rights organizations submitted to the Obama-Biden transition team last week:
"President-elect Barack Obama spoke of finding 'common ground' on abortion policy, but abortion advocacy groups clearly see an open door," said Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser. "After a decade of commonsense restrictions on taxpayer funding, the abortion industry thinks it deserves a bailout from President-Elect Obama. Today the Susan B. Anthony List launched its 'Stop the Abortion Bailout' campaign to mobilize thousands of activists across the country. Americans will send letters to their Senators with the goal of securing the 41 votes necessary to sustain a Senate filibuster of the abortion bailout. We look forward to delivering the votes Senator McConnell needs to ensure our hard-earned taxpayer dollars stay out of abortionists' coffers, especially since national abortion numbers are already on the decline."
Susan B. Anthony List activists can send letters to their Senators as part of the "Stop the Abortion Bailout" campaign at www.sba-list.org/abortionbailout. The goal of the campaign is to secure the 41 votes necessary to sustain a filibuster against measures promoting federal taxpayer funding of abortion. The Susan B. Anthony List will deliver letters to Senators and pass along the names of Americans opposing the abortion bailout to pro-life Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Last week the Obama-Biden Transition Project posted a report compiled by over 50 abortion advocacy groups detailing extensive policy requests. The report, entitled "Advancing Reproductive Rights and Health in a New Administration," was posted on www.change.gov and calls for major policy reversals regarding abortion, including:
* One billion dollars in taxpayer funds for international abortion groups like International Planned Parenthood Federation and Marie Stopes International (p.19)
* 133% increase in funding for the Title X program, which funds Planned Parenthood clinics nationwide (p. 6). Groups call for increasing funds from $300 to $700 million in federal taxpayer funds.
* Repeal every budgetary rider restricting federal abortion funding, including the long-standing Hyde Amendment, which prohibits the use of federal taxpayer funds for abortion through the Medicaid and Medicare programs (p. 7).
* Expand taxpayer funding for abortions through the Peace Corps program. (p. vii)
The President-Elect also recently appointed several abortion advocates to his staff, including EMILY's List Executive Director Ellen Moran as White House Communications Director and former NARAL Legal Director Dawn Johnsen to his Justice Department Review Team. Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards was also named immediately after the election as part of an informal, trusted "kitchen cabinet" of advisors to the Obama transition team.
More than 60 organizations have issued a 55-page report advising the incoming Obama administration on the need to provide more money for abortion-related services. "Advancing Reproductive Rights and Health in a New Administration" calls for the most sweeping abortion-rights reforms ever envisioned. It not only wants more money to be spent, it recommends a host of regulatory changes, stressing the need to appoint judges who will implement its plans. Significantly, it endorses the Freedom of Choice Act, the most radical abortion-rights bill ever proposed.
Catholic League president Bill Donohue commented today on what the document says about religion:
"From the very beginning, the pro-abortion industry has not only opposed any religion which is pro-life, it has adopted a confrontational approach. This document is no different. For example, in the section on 'Comprehensive Sex Education,' it explicitly advises, 'Do not teach or promote religion.' It also launches a preemptive strike against a yet to be released regulation from the Department of Health and Human Services protecting the religious rights of health care workers. The document recommends that Obama rescind the 'Provider Conscience Regulation.'
"It is not surprising that this assault on religious liberty is being supported by groups like the Secular Coalition for America. But when religious organizations give their assent, it is troubling. Among the signatories are the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, Union for Reform Judaism, Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations and Women of Reform Judaism; an anti-Catholic front group, Catholics for Choice, also signed the report. Evidently, their passion for abortion rights is so extreme that it eclipses any interest in the religious liberty rights of others.
"Look for traditional Catholics, evangelical Protestants, Orthodox Jews, and others to come together in an unprecedented way."
Contact: Susan A. Fani
Source: Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights
Document covers everything from suggested executive orders and presidential memorandums to legislative changes.
Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro-Choice America and more than 50 of their pro-abortion allies have laid out their priorities for the incoming president in a 55-page memo.
They reportedly were not happy when President-elect Barack Obama made the memo public on his Web site.
The document covers everything from suggested executive orders and presidential memorandums to legislative changes and regulatory initiatives.
"This document is really a road map to what we call the Obama abortion agenda, and it's a very radical agenda," said Douglas Johnson, legislative director for the National Right to Life Committee. "Regrettably, Obama has voted for a lot of these policies in the past or he's endorsed them during his presidential campaign, so I'm afraid this wish list is likely to be well-received."
The memo also calls for the slashing of abstinence funding and an aggressive abortion-friendly foreign policy.
Dawn Vargo, bioethics analyst for Focus on the Family Action, called the requests a bit surprising.
"It's ironic that our first African-American president would be so quick to support policies that would so negatively impact the African-American community," she said.
Almost half of African-American pregnancies end in abortion, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control. About 13 percent of U.S. women are black, yet they account for more than 35 percent of all abortions.
Thankfully, pro-life Americans can make their voices heard.
"Voters will have to be ready to take action on a number of bills throughout this Congress," Vargo said.
With Washington and Montana recently jumping on the assisted-suicide bandwagon, many health care professionals are taking a pro-life stand against assisted suicide and euthanasia.
Doctors and others can "Take the Pledge" to do no harm and stand against physician-assisted suicide.
Alex Schadenberg, spokesman for the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, said it's important for pro-life doctors to have support.
The first demonstration that a single adult stem cell can self-renew in a mammal was reported at the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) 48th Annual Meeting, Dec. 13-17, 2008 in San Francisco.
The transplanted adult stem cell and its differentiated descendants restored lost function to mice with hind limb muscle tissue damage.
The ability to isolate and then transplant skeletal adult muscle stems cells could have a wide impact in treating not only a variety of muscle wasting diseases such as muscular dystrophy but also severe muscle injuries or loss of function from aging and disuse.
The adult stem cells used in the study, conducted at Stanford University, were isolated from a mixed population of satellite cells in the skeletal muscle of mice.
A 12-year-old schoolgirl has been left paralyzed from the waist down by a mystery illness that came on 30 minutes after she was given the new anticervical cancer jab. Ashleigh Cave suffered dizziness and headaches soon after the vaccination at her school and then deteriorated rapidly, collapsing several times over the following days. A week later she was admitted to hospital after losing all strength in her legs and, two months on, there has been no improvement. Her mother Cheryl, 37, from Aintree, Merseyside, is blaming her daughter's condition on the human papillomavirus (HPV) jab, which was introduced in Britain in September as part of a government-funded vaccination program.
An Atlanta abortion clinic is facing a lawsuit over an abortion performed on a minor.
The boy and girl wanted to marry and have the child, but the mother of the 15-year-old's boyfriend insisted on an abortion, found a clinic that would do it, and sent them on their way. But Fenn Little, the girl's attorney, says there is a problem with that in Georgia.
"There's a parental notification law [that] requires parental consent for a minor to have an abortion -- and it requires some actual notice," he explains -- 24 hours notice, in fact.
The girl arrived at the clinic with a faked consent note forged by the boyfriend's mother on the day of the abortion. "[B]ecause it's a misdemeanor in Georgia to violate that notice law, [the solicitor] actually brought charges, and the lady was convicted and sentenced to the maximum term allowable [12 months]," says Little.
The president of Planned Parenthood has sent an annual report to donors, but the topic of abortion is nowhere to be found.
According to LifeNews.com, instead of focusing on abortion, Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards mentioned a rise in dispersing birth control, contraception, and other supposed legitimate medical services in the report. She also boasted about helping convince 11 more states to "decline federal abstinence-only funding, bringing the total to 26."
Jim Sedlak of American Life League finds it odd that Richards left out abortion, considering Planned Parenthood clinics perform 24 percent of the abortions done in America. "But they don't want to admit it. They don't want to talk about it," he notes. "They continually claim it is not a major part of their business, even though it provides a third of their clinic income."
The omission, according to Sedlak, is simply an example of Planned Parenthood's deceitful nature, adding that it creates a false image. "With the amount of abortions that Planned Parenthood does in the ever-increasing number of Planned Parenthood clinics that do abortions -- over 287 clinics do abortions in their own facilities -- and yet the organization's president doesn't even mention it," he adds. "How ridiculous that would be."
