| Nancy Pelosi reiterates support for embryonic stem cell research Washington DC, Jan 8, 2009 / 04:05 am (CNA).- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has described herself as an "ardent, practicing Catholic," has again reiterated her support for funding embryonic stem cell research (ESCR). Her remarks were published January 4 in the International Herald Tribune, discussing Democratic proposals to implement funding legislation to overturn policies set by the Bush administration. "I myself would favor legislation, so it is the law," she said. Speaker Pelosi, a San Francisco Democrat, has been criticized by bishops and other Catholics for her misleading remarks on Catholic teaching and ethical duties towards unborn human life, the California Catholic Daily reports. In her August 2008 interview with Meet the Press, she said the point at which life begins has been "an issue of controversy" over the history of the Church. Among other prominent prelates, Cardinal Justin Rigali of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities and Bishop William Lori of the USCCB's Committee on Doctrine issued a joint statement that said the Speaker "misrepresented the history and nature of the authentic teaching of the Catholic Church against abortion." Last September, San Francisco Archbishop George Niederauer invited Speaker Pelosi to converse with him about her Catholic faith and her positions in conflict with Catholic teaching. "Let us pray together that the Holy Spirit will guide us all toward a more profound understanding and appreciation for human life, and toward a resolution of these differences in truth and charity and peace," he said. There has been no report concerning whether Speaker Pelosi has conversed with the archbishop, the California Catholic Daily reports. Speaker Pelosi's latest remarks on embryonic stem cell research come as the incoming Congress and the Obama administration are expected to lift restrictions on its funding. In 2001, President George W. Bush signed an executive order prohibiting federal funding of research on embryonic stem cells, excepting 60 existing stem cell lines from embryos which had already been destroyed. In June 2007, another executive order authorized the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institutes of Health to fund stem cell research only if the cells were produced by methods that do not create, destroy, or harm human embryos. Bush vetoed ESCR funding bills in 2006 and 2007. Justifying his 2007 veto, he said "If this legislation became law, it would compel American taxpayers -- for the first time in our history -- to support the deliberate destruction of human embryos." "I made it clear to Congress and to the American people that I will not allow our nation to cross this moral line," he added. "Destroying human life in the hopes of saving human life is not ethical -- and it is not the only option before us." In June 2008 the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops reiterated the teaching of the Church on ESCR, saying "Harvesting these 'embryonic stem cells' involves the deliberate killing of innocent human beings, a gravely immoral act." Source: Catholic News Agency Source URL: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com Publish Date: January 8, 2009 Link to this article: http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090108_5.htm |
January 8, 2009
Nancy Pelosi's Support for Embryonic Stem Cell Research
Obama Appoints Lawyer Who Helped Kill Terri
| Terri Schiavo's Brother Responds after Obama Appoints Lawyer Who Helped Kill Terri to High Position In an interview with LifeSiteNews.com today, Bobby Schindler, the brother of Terri Shiavo, expressed his disappointment that Barack Obama had appointed the same lawyer who spearheaded the effort to have Terri killed via dehydration to a top position in his administration. "Sadly, the appointment of Attorney Thomas Perrelli as an associate attorney general is what many of us have feared in regards to a Barack Obama presidency," said Schindler. "Not only does it appear that Pres-elect Obama has no regard for the value and dignity of human life, but it also appears the same holds true for those he is appointing to be part of his administration." The appointment of Perrelli to the Department of Justice comes as little surprise to those familiar with his advisory position on Obama's transition team, as well as his fundraising efforts. Perrelli helped raise half a million dollars to aid Obama's presidential campaign last year. But Perrelli, the managing partner of Washington's Jenner & Block law firm, is most well-known for his leading role in the Terri Schiavo case, in which he represented Michael Schiavo as Schiavo fought to remove the feeding tube of his disabled wife against the wishes of her family. Perrelli worked closely with attorney George Felos, an infamous supporter of legalized euthanasia. Perrelli was instrumental in helping Schiavo overcome the bill Congress had passed to allow Terri's case to reach federal courts. The bill was one that Obama had supported, but, since then, the President-elect has insisted several times that he was mistaken to support the Congressional effort to grant Terri's family another chance to save her life. "It wasn't something I was comfortable with, but it was not something that I stood on the floor and stopped," said Obama during a debate last year. "And I think that was a mistake, and I think the American people understood that that was a mistake. And as a constitutional law professor, I knew better." Contact: Kathleen Gilbert Source: LifeSiteNews.com Source URL: http://www.LifeSiteNews.com Publish Date: January 7, 2009 Link to this article: http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090108_6.htm |
IFRL NEWS SHORTS FOR THURSDAY
| IFRL 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. Federal Judge Rules City Violated Pro-Lifers' Free-Speech Rights A federal judge has ruled the city of Findlay violated the free-speech rights of an anti-abortion organization when it barred the group from demonstrating in July 2007. U.S. Northern District Court Judge Jack Zouhary found the city's permit requirement for events to be unconstitutional. As a result, the judge found the city liable to Pastor Matthew Trewhella, Michael Marcavage and other volunteers from a group known as Missionaries to the Preborn. According to its Web site, the pro-life advocacy group, based in Milwaukee, regularly travels around the United States spreading the message that abortion is murder. The group sought only $1 in damages in its federal lawsuit against the city, former Mayor Tony Iriti and Police Chief Bill Spraw, but it did request reimbursement of attorney fees. Those fees are expected to exceed $25,000. http://www.thecourier.com/Issues/2009/Jan/07/ar_news_010709_story1.asp?d=010709_story1,2009,Jan,07&c=n Obama Considers Clinton's FDA Chief to Head Agency Again Jane Henney, who ran the Food and Drug Administration when the abortion pill RU-486 pill was approved, is among those being considered for FDA chief under President-elect Barack Obama. An Obama representative asked Henney, who headed the agency from November 1998 until January 2001 under President Bill Clinton, if she was interested in the job, and she said yes, according to a person familiar with the matter. Henney, 61, a professor of medicine at the University of Cincinnati, declined to comment when reached by telephone. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=awl2h_OIPsio Event Featuring Planned Parenthood Speaker Moved After Complaints The leader of Indiana's Planned Parenthood organization was scheduled to speak at the South Bend Chocolate Cafe on Friday, but news of her appearance got a not-so-sweet reaction from some of the company's customers. Betty Cockrum, president and chief executive of Planned Parenthood of Indiana, is the guest speaker at the League of Women Voters' "Lunch with the League" event. Typically the monthly event is held in the Rockne Room of the South Bend Chocolate Cafe. Calls came largely from women, Tarner said, including people associated with the University of Notre Dame and out-of-town customers. http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090107/News01/901070137 Jacqueline Kasun, Pro-life and Anti-Population Control Activist and Author, Passes Away Pro-life advocates in Humboldt County California and across the United States are mourning the loss of prolific pro-life author and activist Jacqueline Kasun. Kasun, known especially for her book "The War Against Population," passed away at the age of 84 on January 1. Kasun was born in 1924 in Watts California. She did her undergraduate studies at UCLA and U.C. Berkeley, going on to earn a PhD in economics from Columbia University in 1956. According to a tribute written in 2007 by Jacqueline's son, Walter, Kasun entered the male-dominated field of economics at a time when there were more women doctors and physicists than economists. Kasun would go on to use her knowledge of economics to defend and promote a conservative, free market model of economics. She would also put her expertise to use in defending the cause of life. http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jan/09010713.html Medical Expert Says that Contraceptive Pill is Causing Global Rise in Male Infertility An eminent doctor writing for the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano has stated that hormones from the contraceptive pill are causing a significant rise in male infertility in western nations. Pedro Jose Maria Simon Castellvi, President of the International Federation of Catholic Medical Associations (FIAMC), writes that "we have sufficient data to affirm that one of the reasons for the not insignificant rise in male infertility in the west (due to increasingly fewer sperm in men), is the environmental contamination caused by 'the pill'." "We are confronted with a clear anti-ecological effect that demands further explanation from the manufacturers," continued Castellvi, who also noted that the abortifacient and carcinogenic effects of the contraceptive pill are also well known. http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jan/09010701.html Doctors Who Refuse Assisted Suicide "Genuinely Wicked" says UK Bioethics "Philosopher Queen" Speaking to a group in Belfast last night, Mary Baroness Warnock, a leading voice in British bioethics, said that doctors who refuse to cooperate in assisted suicide are "genuinely wicked." Following a theme of previous comments in which she said that the elderly and people with dementia have a "duty to die," Warnock said, "There are doctors, we know, who don't pay any attention [to a patient's desire for suicide]. "But that seems to me a genuinely wicked thing to do – to disregard what somebody had quite explicitly said, that he wants to die – not to be resuscitated in certain circumstances and in certain circumstances to be helped to commit suicide. "I believe that if someone is diagnosed as having the beginnings of Alzheimer's or dementia, at that stage it is a positive duty that doctors should talk to them about what will happen when the moment comes where they reach steep decline." http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jan/09010706.html |
January 7, 2009
'Safe, Legal and Rare?'
'Safe, Legal and Rare?'
'If President Obama goes through with this unprecedented promotion of abortion, then pro-choicers will need to amend their mantra.'
NOTE: This column first appeared Dec. 31, 2008, on the Web site of Grove City College's Center for Vision & Values.
The common mantra of pro-choice politicians is that they do not favor abortion. Quite the contrary, they want abortion to be "safe, legal, and rare." Pro-choicers generally hold to this position; thus, as they are quick to note, they are not "pro-abortion" but "pro-choice."
I've personally tried to respect that formulation, and typically refrain from referring to pro-choicers as "pro-abortion." That being the case, the latest actions by the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC) are deeply troubling, as are the promises of the incoming president, both of which go hand in hand. Let me explain.
RCRC is a coalition of religious groups and denominations that support legalized abortion. The group comes to this view from a range of religious backgrounds, from Christian to Jewish to Unitarian Universalist. Though the vast majority of Christian denominations firmly reject RCRC and its teachings, some mainline denominations have formally joined the coalition's "pro-choice" gospel, including the Episcopal Church, the United Methodist Church, Barack Obama's United Church of Christ, and several Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA) groups.
At this time of year, as millions of American Christians mark the moment that God entered the world as a baby in a manger, RCRC is pushing President-elect Barack Obama to enact the most radical abortion agenda in the history of humanity.
It began with RCRC's elation over Obama's election. The group immediately sent out a press release to congratulate this "pro-choice man of faith." "[Obama's] message that 'America is one nation' holds great promise for defusing the culture wars over abortion that have too often distracted us," stated RCRC. "We urge President-elect Obama to be a Pro-Faith, Pro-Family, Pro-Choice president: to uphold Roe v. Wade and reproductive choice, [and] foster respect for diverse views about abortion."
And how might RCRC suggest that Obama defuse the culture wars and the bitter divide over abortion? How does RCRC recommend that Obama show his "respect for diverse views about abortion?"
RCRC encourages Obama to plow full-steam ahead with, in effect, unrestricted abortion-on-demand at all stages of pregnancy, aided and abetted by taxpayer funding, with abortion promotion at home and abroad, and, possibly — albeit unbelievably — with the stunning elimination of freedom-of-conscience exemptions for medical personnel who choose not to participate in abortion procedures.
Specifically, RCRC is exhorting Obama to make good on his July 17, 2007, promise to Planned Parenthood and sign the Freedom of Choice Act. FOCA, as readers of my past columns know, would nationalize abortion and overturn countless reasonable abortion restrictions agreed to by bipartisan legislatures — Democrats and Republicans working together — all over America. It would be the single most significant step in likely launching unrestricted federal funding of abortion at all stages of pregnancy. Obama told Planned Parenthood that signing FOCA would be the "first thing" he would do as president.
FOCA is disturbing in so many ways. Most shocking, however, is the fear that FOCA would eliminate conscience exemptions enabling doctors and nurses to not participate in abortion procedures. This is a classic American tradition, and it is truly breathtaking to imagine that some abortion-rights supporters are so radical and so uncharitable that they could even consider something so coercive. The Catholic bishops in particular are aghast at this prospect; they would shut down the nation's huge number of Catholic hospitals before submitting to this madness.
Yet, RCRC wants FOCA. But it doesn't stop there. The letter also urges Obama to repeal the Hyde Amendment, which, as LifeNews.com aptly puts it, "prohibits the direct funding of almost all abortions and is credited with stopping hundreds of thousands of abortions since the 1970s."
If it stopped there, FOCA's recommendations would be devastating enough, but the group wants its vision to go global. The letter presses Obama to repeal the Mexico City policy that, beginning with President Reagan, spares American taxpayers from funding groups that perform or promote abortion overseas.
Similarly, RCRC wants Obama to fund the U.N. Population Fund's (UNFPA's) odious population-control agenda.
If RCRC gets what it is urging from Obama — which it likely will, since Obama favors these things and campaigned on them — abortion would skyrocket.
RCRC's actions constitute abortion promotion. This goes far beyond the mantra of "safe, legal, and rare." It goes way past the mere legalization of abortion enshrined in 1973 by Roe v. Wade. It also flies in the face of the standard pro-choice position that "I'm personally opposed to abortion, and would never support it myself, but I think it should be legal."
That's not what's happening here. People who voted that way on Nov. 4, 2008, actually voted, whether they know it or not, for pro-lifers like me to begin paying for abortions through my tax dollars. Their vote was not morally neutral; in fact, their vote will help generate a boom cycle for abortion clinics.
If President Obama goes through with this unprecedented promotion of abortion, then pro-choicers will need to amend their mantra. The new slogan will need to be "safe, legal, rare — and subsidized, and promoted, and without freedom of conscience …."
Paul Kengor is professor of political science at Grove City College and executive director of The Center for Vision & Values. His latest book is The Judge: William P. Clark, Ronald Reagan's Top Hand.
Contact: Dr. Paul Kengor
Source: CitizenLink
Source URL: http://www.citizenlink.org
Publish Date: January 6, 2009
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090107_1.htm
'If President Obama goes through with this unprecedented promotion of abortion, then pro-choicers will need to amend their mantra.'
NOTE: This column first appeared Dec. 31, 2008, on the Web site of Grove City College's Center for Vision & Values.
The common mantra of pro-choice politicians is that they do not favor abortion. Quite the contrary, they want abortion to be "safe, legal, and rare." Pro-choicers generally hold to this position; thus, as they are quick to note, they are not "pro-abortion" but "pro-choice."
I've personally tried to respect that formulation, and typically refrain from referring to pro-choicers as "pro-abortion." That being the case, the latest actions by the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC) are deeply troubling, as are the promises of the incoming president, both of which go hand in hand. Let me explain.
RCRC is a coalition of religious groups and denominations that support legalized abortion. The group comes to this view from a range of religious backgrounds, from Christian to Jewish to Unitarian Universalist. Though the vast majority of Christian denominations firmly reject RCRC and its teachings, some mainline denominations have formally joined the coalition's "pro-choice" gospel, including the Episcopal Church, the United Methodist Church, Barack Obama's United Church of Christ, and several Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA) groups.
At this time of year, as millions of American Christians mark the moment that God entered the world as a baby in a manger, RCRC is pushing President-elect Barack Obama to enact the most radical abortion agenda in the history of humanity.
It began with RCRC's elation over Obama's election. The group immediately sent out a press release to congratulate this "pro-choice man of faith." "[Obama's] message that 'America is one nation' holds great promise for defusing the culture wars over abortion that have too often distracted us," stated RCRC. "We urge President-elect Obama to be a Pro-Faith, Pro-Family, Pro-Choice president: to uphold Roe v. Wade and reproductive choice, [and] foster respect for diverse views about abortion."
And how might RCRC suggest that Obama defuse the culture wars and the bitter divide over abortion? How does RCRC recommend that Obama show his "respect for diverse views about abortion?"
RCRC encourages Obama to plow full-steam ahead with, in effect, unrestricted abortion-on-demand at all stages of pregnancy, aided and abetted by taxpayer funding, with abortion promotion at home and abroad, and, possibly — albeit unbelievably — with the stunning elimination of freedom-of-conscience exemptions for medical personnel who choose not to participate in abortion procedures.
Specifically, RCRC is exhorting Obama to make good on his July 17, 2007, promise to Planned Parenthood and sign the Freedom of Choice Act. FOCA, as readers of my past columns know, would nationalize abortion and overturn countless reasonable abortion restrictions agreed to by bipartisan legislatures — Democrats and Republicans working together — all over America. It would be the single most significant step in likely launching unrestricted federal funding of abortion at all stages of pregnancy. Obama told Planned Parenthood that signing FOCA would be the "first thing" he would do as president.
FOCA is disturbing in so many ways. Most shocking, however, is the fear that FOCA would eliminate conscience exemptions enabling doctors and nurses to not participate in abortion procedures. This is a classic American tradition, and it is truly breathtaking to imagine that some abortion-rights supporters are so radical and so uncharitable that they could even consider something so coercive. The Catholic bishops in particular are aghast at this prospect; they would shut down the nation's huge number of Catholic hospitals before submitting to this madness.
Yet, RCRC wants FOCA. But it doesn't stop there. The letter also urges Obama to repeal the Hyde Amendment, which, as LifeNews.com aptly puts it, "prohibits the direct funding of almost all abortions and is credited with stopping hundreds of thousands of abortions since the 1970s."
If it stopped there, FOCA's recommendations would be devastating enough, but the group wants its vision to go global. The letter presses Obama to repeal the Mexico City policy that, beginning with President Reagan, spares American taxpayers from funding groups that perform or promote abortion overseas.
Similarly, RCRC wants Obama to fund the U.N. Population Fund's (UNFPA's) odious population-control agenda.
If RCRC gets what it is urging from Obama — which it likely will, since Obama favors these things and campaigned on them — abortion would skyrocket.
RCRC's actions constitute abortion promotion. This goes far beyond the mantra of "safe, legal, and rare." It goes way past the mere legalization of abortion enshrined in 1973 by Roe v. Wade. It also flies in the face of the standard pro-choice position that "I'm personally opposed to abortion, and would never support it myself, but I think it should be legal."
That's not what's happening here. People who voted that way on Nov. 4, 2008, actually voted, whether they know it or not, for pro-lifers like me to begin paying for abortions through my tax dollars. Their vote was not morally neutral; in fact, their vote will help generate a boom cycle for abortion clinics.
If President Obama goes through with this unprecedented promotion of abortion, then pro-choicers will need to amend their mantra. The new slogan will need to be "safe, legal, rare — and subsidized, and promoted, and without freedom of conscience …."
Paul Kengor is professor of political science at Grove City College and executive director of The Center for Vision & Values. His latest book is The Judge: William P. Clark, Ronald Reagan's Top Hand.
Contact: Dr. Paul Kengor
Source: CitizenLink
Source URL: http://www.citizenlink.org
Publish Date: January 6, 2009
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090107_1.htm
Significant First Amendment Victory at the Obama Presidential Inaugural Parade
Pro-life Activists Secure Significant First Amendment Victory at the Obama Presidential Inaugural Parade
The Christian Defense Coalition has been issued a permit to conduct a pro-life vigil and display along the parade route during the Presidential Inauguration.
(A copy of the permit can be seen by going here.)
The permit was issued after discussions between the American Center for Law and Justice, who is representing the Christian Defense Coalition, and the National Park Service and the Secret Service.
The group plans to display 25 large signs on Pennsylvania Ave. showing the development of life from conception until birth.
(The display can be seen here.)
The Coalition feels it is important during the massive celebration at the Obama Inauguration that the voices of the 50,000,000 innocent children brutalized through abortion are loudly heard.
The Christian Defense Coalition applauds the National Park Service for issuing the permit and embracing First Amendment freedoms at the Inauguration.
This event marks a series of public pro-life activist events surrounding the Inauguration and the Roe v. Wade Memorial called The Birmingham Letter Project.
(For more information go to thebirminghamletterproject.com)
Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Director of the Christian Defense Coalition, comments,
"I first want to thank the National Park Service for respecting free speech and the First Amendment and issuing this permit to the Christian Defense Coalition.
"It is critical that moments after Barack Obama takes the oath as the 44th President of the United States he drive by a visible reminder of those who will have no voice or rights in his Administration. Those are the over 50,000,000 innocent lives that have been brutalized and lost through the violence of abortion.
"While millions will be celebrating along the Inaugural Parade route, we will be speaking 'truth to power' and calling for justice and equality for all Americans. Sadly , President-elect Obama is on the wrong side of history and human rights by embracing the most radical abortion policies of any President in American history.
"This display will also serve as a 'teaching moment' for the new President in helping him understand that life begins at conception and that social justice begins in the womb.
"Our hope and prayer is that President Obama will embrace equality for all Americans and work toward justice and ending this tragic war on America's children through abortion."
Contact: Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney
Source: Christian Defense Coalition
Publish Date: January 7, 2009
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090107_2.htm
The Christian Defense Coalition has been issued a permit to conduct a pro-life vigil and display along the parade route during the Presidential Inauguration.
(A copy of the permit can be seen by going here.)
The permit was issued after discussions between the American Center for Law and Justice, who is representing the Christian Defense Coalition, and the National Park Service and the Secret Service.
The group plans to display 25 large signs on Pennsylvania Ave. showing the development of life from conception until birth.
(The display can be seen here.)
The Coalition feels it is important during the massive celebration at the Obama Inauguration that the voices of the 50,000,000 innocent children brutalized through abortion are loudly heard.
The Christian Defense Coalition applauds the National Park Service for issuing the permit and embracing First Amendment freedoms at the Inauguration.
This event marks a series of public pro-life activist events surrounding the Inauguration and the Roe v. Wade Memorial called The Birmingham Letter Project.
(For more information go to thebirminghamletterproject.com)
Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Director of the Christian Defense Coalition, comments,
"I first want to thank the National Park Service for respecting free speech and the First Amendment and issuing this permit to the Christian Defense Coalition.
"It is critical that moments after Barack Obama takes the oath as the 44th President of the United States he drive by a visible reminder of those who will have no voice or rights in his Administration. Those are the over 50,000,000 innocent lives that have been brutalized and lost through the violence of abortion.
"While millions will be celebrating along the Inaugural Parade route, we will be speaking 'truth to power' and calling for justice and equality for all Americans. Sadly , President-elect Obama is on the wrong side of history and human rights by embracing the most radical abortion policies of any President in American history.
"This display will also serve as a 'teaching moment' for the new President in helping him understand that life begins at conception and that social justice begins in the womb.
"Our hope and prayer is that President Obama will embrace equality for all Americans and work toward justice and ending this tragic war on America's children through abortion."
Contact: Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney
Source: Christian Defense Coalition
Publish Date: January 7, 2009
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090107_2.htm
Tiller/Planned Parenthood Conspiracy to Break the Law
Hearing Reveals Tiller/Planned Parenthood Conspiracy to Break the Law
Disgraced former Attorney General Paul Morrison's ex-mistress also testified and adamantly denied outrageous claims that Kline told her to pressure Morrison to charge Tiller.
The hearing in a motion to suppress evidence against late-term abortionist George R. Tiller resumed today after a six week break. Tiller is charged with 19 counts of having committed illegal late-term abortions.
However, the casual observer might have thought that it was instead Kline who was on trial as he took the stand and testified for most of the day. Kline's successor, Paul Morrison, actually filed the charges that Tiller now faces.
Tiller's attorney, Dan Monnat, engaged in questioning that ran the gamut from boring and irrelevant to aggressive, offensive, and demeaning. Kline handled Monnet's sometimes insulting questioning with grace and dignity.
In testimony perhaps even less to Monnat's liking, Kline revealed that in April, 2006, he had gone to Shawnee County District Court Judge Richard Anderson because he had reason to believe that abortion records that he received through subpoena as Attorney General contained evidence of a conspiracy between Tiller and Planned Parenthood to violate the Kansas late-term abortion law. Nevertheless, Kline was ordered to return the Tiller records to then Attorney General Morrison.
Kline said that he found that Planned Parenthood had referred three women to Tiller for late-term abortions even though the women were over legal threshold of 22 weeks gestation, and that the women did not meet any of the exceptions to the Kansas ban on late-abortions since they had no physical or mental health problems. Judge Anderson later advised Kline to ask Morrison for the three records in question. Kline made the request, but Morrison refused it.
Late in the day Linda Carter took the stand. Carter was the former Director of Administration in the Johnson County District Attorney's office who admits to having an adulterous affair with Paul Morrison while he served as DA, and later while he served as Attorney General. Morrison resigned in disgrace after news of their affair became public. At that time, and again today in court Carter alleged that Morrison had pressured her to interfere in a Federal suit involving Kline, and that he wanted her to gather information about Kline's abortion investigations for the purpose of impeding them.
However, Tiller attorney Dan Monnat posited the outrageous claim that Kline had used the fear of the loss of her job to intimidate Carter into pressuring Morrison to charge Tiller. Carter adamantly and in the strongest terms testified that Kline did no such thing, and that Kline never discussed or hinted that he was aware that Carter was having an affair with Morrison until a month after the charges were filed.
"Monnat's accusation against Kline was thoroughly shot down by Carter," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman, who monitored the court hearing for most of the day. "Most of the questioning was just an attempt to smear Kline in front of the media. It was irrelevant to the criminal case against Tiller. Tiller's defense is more about smoke and mirrors than about the real issues of law. It seems like they are hoping no one really notices that it is Tiller, not Kline, that is charged with crimes."
Tiller was present throughout the hearing, but appeared slow and lethargic in his movements, almost as if he were heavily medicated.
The hearings are set to resume at 9 AM on Wednesday with Carter expected to continue her testimony.
Contact: Troy Newman, Cheryl Sullenger
Source: Operation Rescue
Source URL: http://www.operationrescue.org
Publish Date: January 6, 2008
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090107_3.htm
Disgraced former Attorney General Paul Morrison's ex-mistress also testified and adamantly denied outrageous claims that Kline told her to pressure Morrison to charge Tiller.
The hearing in a motion to suppress evidence against late-term abortionist George R. Tiller resumed today after a six week break. Tiller is charged with 19 counts of having committed illegal late-term abortions.
However, the casual observer might have thought that it was instead Kline who was on trial as he took the stand and testified for most of the day. Kline's successor, Paul Morrison, actually filed the charges that Tiller now faces.
Tiller's attorney, Dan Monnat, engaged in questioning that ran the gamut from boring and irrelevant to aggressive, offensive, and demeaning. Kline handled Monnet's sometimes insulting questioning with grace and dignity.
In testimony perhaps even less to Monnat's liking, Kline revealed that in April, 2006, he had gone to Shawnee County District Court Judge Richard Anderson because he had reason to believe that abortion records that he received through subpoena as Attorney General contained evidence of a conspiracy between Tiller and Planned Parenthood to violate the Kansas late-term abortion law. Nevertheless, Kline was ordered to return the Tiller records to then Attorney General Morrison.
Kline said that he found that Planned Parenthood had referred three women to Tiller for late-term abortions even though the women were over legal threshold of 22 weeks gestation, and that the women did not meet any of the exceptions to the Kansas ban on late-abortions since they had no physical or mental health problems. Judge Anderson later advised Kline to ask Morrison for the three records in question. Kline made the request, but Morrison refused it.
Late in the day Linda Carter took the stand. Carter was the former Director of Administration in the Johnson County District Attorney's office who admits to having an adulterous affair with Paul Morrison while he served as DA, and later while he served as Attorney General. Morrison resigned in disgrace after news of their affair became public. At that time, and again today in court Carter alleged that Morrison had pressured her to interfere in a Federal suit involving Kline, and that he wanted her to gather information about Kline's abortion investigations for the purpose of impeding them.
However, Tiller attorney Dan Monnat posited the outrageous claim that Kline had used the fear of the loss of her job to intimidate Carter into pressuring Morrison to charge Tiller. Carter adamantly and in the strongest terms testified that Kline did no such thing, and that Kline never discussed or hinted that he was aware that Carter was having an affair with Morrison until a month after the charges were filed.
"Monnat's accusation against Kline was thoroughly shot down by Carter," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman, who monitored the court hearing for most of the day. "Most of the questioning was just an attempt to smear Kline in front of the media. It was irrelevant to the criminal case against Tiller. Tiller's defense is more about smoke and mirrors than about the real issues of law. It seems like they are hoping no one really notices that it is Tiller, not Kline, that is charged with crimes."
Tiller was present throughout the hearing, but appeared slow and lethargic in his movements, almost as if he were heavily medicated.
The hearings are set to resume at 9 AM on Wednesday with Carter expected to continue her testimony.
Contact: Troy Newman, Cheryl Sullenger
Source: Operation Rescue
Source URL: http://www.operationrescue.org
Publish Date: January 6, 2008
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090107_3.htm
Call for end to abortion of handicapped babies
Handicapped call for end to abortion of handicapped babies
The president of the Spanish Commission of Representatives of Handicapped Persons, Luis Cayo, has called for a reform of the law that legalizes abortion in cases of fetal deformation.
Cayo said the aborting of handicapped babies is "immoral" because it is based on the belief that "persons with handicaps have less value." He said it the belief that "a handicap is a problem and (that abortion) is a way of getting rid of it" amounts to prejudice.
Pro-life advocates are calling for the arguments by handicapped persons to be taken into account by the committee that will study the reform of the current law on abortion, which has been called for by the Socialist government.
Source: Catholic News Agency
Source URL: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com
Publish Date: January 6, 2009
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090107_4.htm
The president of the Spanish Commission of Representatives of Handicapped Persons, Luis Cayo, has called for a reform of the law that legalizes abortion in cases of fetal deformation.
Cayo said the aborting of handicapped babies is "immoral" because it is based on the belief that "persons with handicaps have less value." He said it the belief that "a handicap is a problem and (that abortion) is a way of getting rid of it" amounts to prejudice.
Pro-life advocates are calling for the arguments by handicapped persons to be taken into account by the committee that will study the reform of the current law on abortion, which has been called for by the Socialist government.
Source: Catholic News Agency
Source URL: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com
Publish Date: January 6, 2009
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090107_4.htm
Obama-nation
America as the Obama-nation
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." -- The American Declaration of Independence (1776)
I think America has made a grave mistake electing Barack Obama as President. His commitment to the slaughter of innocents under the misguided and corrupt perception of women's right to choose abortion for their unwanted children could arouse God's judgement on the nation. Over 40-million children have been aborted ― with full sanction of the state ― since the infamous Supreme Court Roe v Wade decision of 1973.
Under the next administration, filled with abortion ideologues, it will truly be an Obama-nation where the brutality will not only continue but increase.
Make no mistake: God will not be mocked. America's abortion holocaust is a stench to the Almighty. The blood of millions of unborn children cries out from the ground, reaching heaven to indict America. God loves America but the killing cannot continue without provoking His wrath.
Thomas Jefferson said, "Indeed I tremble for m
y country when I reflect that God is just."
I have such love for the vision upon which America was founded, but I tremble too. The first Right mentioned in the Declaration of Independence is the "Right to Life." The Right to Life is the highest human right. It is the basis upon which of all other human rights are built. If the Right to Life is not guaranteed then all other human rights become arbitrary and uncertain. The second Right mentioned in the Declaration of Independence is "Liberty." Where is the liberty in abortion? Licence is vastly different from liberty; the abuse of freedom is not freedom. The third Right identified in the Declaration is the Right to the pursuit of happiness, not the right to happiness. The pursuit of happiness must never be sought on the backs of other human life. That is neither legitimate happiness or liberty ― it is the cruel tyranny of unbridled selfishness.
All these are "self-evident truths" that Barack Obama and his pro-abortion advisers, Cabinet and entourage deny. And the American people elected him! They knew this about Obama(or should have known this) and still, they put him into the White House.
Months before the 2008 election, Barack O
bama told a Planned Parenthood convention that the first thing he would do as President would be to sign into law a Freedom of Choice Act. He did not have the honesty to define the choice.
We know what the choosing is about. It is the so-called freedom to choice to kill one's own unborn child. It is nothing less than the choice between life and death. The is a choice to side with those who possess power over those who are powerless. The blood of millions upon millions of unborn child cries out to the Almighty. God may be patient but He has his limits.
Will Obama's Freedom of Choice Act extend to terminally/incurably ill people, or severely disabled? Why not? If America will legally enshrine the freedom to choose death for another, why not extend the freedom to choose death for oneself? There's a certain twisted flow to the dark logic in Obama's Freedom of Choice Act.
There are abortion clinics in cities across America to end the lives of unborn children. Why not clinics across the nation to assist the suicides of terminally or chronically ill people? Under the liberal ideal where autonomy and "choosing" reigns supreme, the extension is so easy to make. And if the Freedom of Choice Act is extended to the terminally/chronically ill and disabled ... then why not the mentally ill or severely depressed? Oh yes, the depressed person could say "My emotion pain is as intolerable as physical pain." And are you or I to say it is not?!
Do you see the predicament America is in? Things have gone too far. Abortion must stop and the drift toward acceptance of euthanasia must be stopped. America faces a very real risk of God's judgement! I believe that the next few years will prove to be pivotal for nothing less than America's heart and soul.
If the heart and soul America's founders envisioned dies a different America will emerge into the 21st Century. It will be different. You may not like the Obama-nation.
Contact: Mark Pickup
Source: Human Life Matters
Source URL: http://humanlifematters.blogspot.com
Publish Date: January 5, 2009
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090107_7.htm
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." -- The American Declaration of Independence (1776)
I think America has made a grave mistake electing Barack Obama as President. His commitment to the slaughter of innocents under the misguided and corrupt perception of women's right to choose abortion for their unwanted children could arouse God's judgement on the nation. Over 40-million children have been aborted ― with full sanction of the state ― since the infamous Supreme Court Roe v Wade decision of 1973.
Under the next administration, filled with abortion ideologues, it will truly be an Obama-nation where the brutality will not only continue but increase.
Make no mistake: God will not be mocked. America's abortion holocaust is a stench to the Almighty. The blood of millions of unborn children cries out from the ground, reaching heaven to indict America. God loves America but the killing cannot continue without provoking His wrath.
Thomas Jefferson said, "Indeed I tremble for m
y country when I reflect that God is just."
I have such love for the vision upon which America was founded, but I tremble too. The first Right mentioned in the Declaration of Independence is the "Right to Life." The Right to Life is the highest human right. It is the basis upon which of all other human rights are built. If the Right to Life is not guaranteed then all other human rights become arbitrary and uncertain. The second Right mentioned in the Declaration of Independence is "Liberty." Where is the liberty in abortion? Licence is vastly different from liberty; the abuse of freedom is not freedom. The third Right identified in the Declaration is the Right to the pursuit of happiness, not the right to happiness. The pursuit of happiness must never be sought on the backs of other human life. That is neither legitimate happiness or liberty ― it is the cruel tyranny of unbridled selfishness.
All these are "self-evident truths" that Barack Obama and his pro-abortion advisers, Cabinet and entourage deny. And the American people elected him! They knew this about Obama(or should have known this) and still, they put him into the White House.
Months before the 2008 election, Barack O
bama told a Planned Parenthood convention that the first thing he would do as President would be to sign into law a Freedom of Choice Act. He did not have the honesty to define the choice.
We know what the choosing is about. It is the so-called freedom to choice to kill one's own unborn child. It is nothing less than the choice between life and death. The is a choice to side with those who possess power over those who are powerless. The blood of millions upon millions of unborn child cries out to the Almighty. God may be patient but He has his limits.
Will Obama's Freedom of Choice Act extend to terminally/incurably ill people, or severely disabled? Why not? If America will legally enshrine the freedom to choose death for another, why not extend the freedom to choose death for oneself? There's a certain twisted flow to the dark logic in Obama's Freedom of Choice Act.
There are abortion clinics in cities across America to end the lives of unborn children. Why not clinics across the nation to assist the suicides of terminally or chronically ill people? Under the liberal ideal where autonomy and "choosing" reigns supreme, the extension is so easy to make. And if the Freedom of Choice Act is extended to the terminally/chronically ill and disabled ... then why not the mentally ill or severely depressed? Oh yes, the depressed person could say "My emotion pain is as intolerable as physical pain." And are you or I to say it is not?!
Do you see the predicament America is in? Things have gone too far. Abortion must stop and the drift toward acceptance of euthanasia must be stopped. America faces a very real risk of God's judgement! I believe that the next few years will prove to be pivotal for nothing less than America's heart and soul.
If the heart and soul America's founders envisioned dies a different America will emerge into the 21st Century. It will be different. You may not like the Obama-nation.
Contact: Mark Pickup
Source: Human Life Matters
Source URL: http://humanlifematters.blogspot.com
Publish Date: January 5, 2009
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090107_7.htm
Planned Parenthood Covers Up Ohio Incest
Planned Parenthood Covers Up Ohio Incest
According to a press release from the Idaho Values Alliance, Julia Piercey, who served as the Director of Education and Training for Boise's Planned Parenthood (PP) affiliate, will be named as a defendant in a civil suit against PP. Ms. Piercey allegedly broke Ohio state law by refusing to report the sexual abuse of a 16-year-old girl at the hands of her own father.
The complaint alleges that:
Ms. Fairbanks' father had not only abused her since she was 13, he got her pregnant at age 16, at which point he brought her to the Planned Parenthood affiliate in Cincinnate where Ms. Piercey, as the Vice President of Education and Training, was in charge of training Planned Parenthood's employees. She was responsible to ensure that they understood their legal duty to report knowledge or suspicion of the sexual abuse of minors.
Alarmingly, a note in Ms. Piercey's own handwriting reveals that Planned Parenthood had adopted a "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy with regard to the sexual abuse of minors.
Despite the fact that Ms. Fairbanks informed Planned Parenthood's staff that she had been forced to engage in sexual acts, Planned Parenthood staff did not report the suspected abuse to law enforcement officials, as they were required to do under Ohio law.
Since the Southwest Ohio PP went ahead and performed the abortion requested by Ms. Fairbanks' father to cover up his crime, and did not report the abuse of Ms. Fairbanks' to authorities, the incest continued. In fact, Ms. Fairbanks' continued to be abused for another year and a half. It was stopped only when Ms. Fairbanks' confided in her future college basketball coach, and he reported the abuse to authorities.
No thanks to Planned Parenthood, the father is now in prison.
Unfortunately, that is not the only case that Ms. Piercey's clinic covered up. In another similar situation, a 21-year-old soccer coach started a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old girl on his team, impregnated her, and took her to the same clinic for an abortion. He claimed to be her brother (despite a different last name) and paid for the abortion using a credit card. PP never even bothered to verify whether or not her parents had given consent to the abortion or tried to find out how old the girl's sexual partner was.
Eventually the coach was found out and spent three years in prison for sexual battery - again with no thanks to PP.
Amazingly enough, Ms. Piercey's clinic did not report a single instance of suspected sexual abuse from January 1, 2000 through December 31, 2004. The latter case is tied up in court right now because PP is resisting requests to divulge statistical information on the number of abortions it performs.
The bad news is that Ms. Piercey now serves in that same capacity for the Boise, Idaho, PP affiliate.
There seems to be a pattern of failing to report minor sexual abuse going on here. Bryan Fischer, Executive Director of Idaho Values Alliance, says "It's hard not to suspect that Planned Parenthood avoids reporting requirements for the crassest of reasons: money. Doing abortions on minors is a gravy train for them, and they don't want a little think like obeying the law to interfere with that. If adult perpetrators know they'll get reported, they will be less inclined to bring minors in for abortions. And abortions represent big money for Planned Parenthood."
Source: OneNewsNow
Source URL: http://www.onenewsnow.com
Publish Date: January 7, 2009
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090107_6.htm
According to a press release from the Idaho Values Alliance, Julia Piercey, who served as the Director of Education and Training for Boise's Planned Parenthood (PP) affiliate, will be named as a defendant in a civil suit against PP. Ms. Piercey allegedly broke Ohio state law by refusing to report the sexual abuse of a 16-year-old girl at the hands of her own father.
The complaint alleges that:
Ms. Fairbanks' father had not only abused her since she was 13, he got her pregnant at age 16, at which point he brought her to the Planned Parenthood affiliate in Cincinnate where Ms. Piercey, as the Vice President of Education and Training, was in charge of training Planned Parenthood's employees. She was responsible to ensure that they understood their legal duty to report knowledge or suspicion of the sexual abuse of minors.
Alarmingly, a note in Ms. Piercey's own handwriting reveals that Planned Parenthood had adopted a "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy with regard to the sexual abuse of minors.
Despite the fact that Ms. Fairbanks informed Planned Parenthood's staff that she had been forced to engage in sexual acts, Planned Parenthood staff did not report the suspected abuse to law enforcement officials, as they were required to do under Ohio law.
Since the Southwest Ohio PP went ahead and performed the abortion requested by Ms. Fairbanks' father to cover up his crime, and did not report the abuse of Ms. Fairbanks' to authorities, the incest continued. In fact, Ms. Fairbanks' continued to be abused for another year and a half. It was stopped only when Ms. Fairbanks' confided in her future college basketball coach, and he reported the abuse to authorities.
No thanks to Planned Parenthood, the father is now in prison.
Unfortunately, that is not the only case that Ms. Piercey's clinic covered up. In another similar situation, a 21-year-old soccer coach started a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old girl on his team, impregnated her, and took her to the same clinic for an abortion. He claimed to be her brother (despite a different last name) and paid for the abortion using a credit card. PP never even bothered to verify whether or not her parents had given consent to the abortion or tried to find out how old the girl's sexual partner was.
Eventually the coach was found out and spent three years in prison for sexual battery - again with no thanks to PP.
Amazingly enough, Ms. Piercey's clinic did not report a single instance of suspected sexual abuse from January 1, 2000 through December 31, 2004. The latter case is tied up in court right now because PP is resisting requests to divulge statistical information on the number of abortions it performs.
The bad news is that Ms. Piercey now serves in that same capacity for the Boise, Idaho, PP affiliate.
There seems to be a pattern of failing to report minor sexual abuse going on here. Bryan Fischer, Executive Director of Idaho Values Alliance, says "It's hard not to suspect that Planned Parenthood avoids reporting requirements for the crassest of reasons: money. Doing abortions on minors is a gravy train for them, and they don't want a little think like obeying the law to interfere with that. If adult perpetrators know they'll get reported, they will be less inclined to bring minors in for abortions. And abortions represent big money for Planned Parenthood."
Source: OneNewsNow
Source URL: http://www.onenewsnow.com
Publish Date: January 7, 2009
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090107_6.htm
Health Secretary Nominee Daschle Largely Pro-Abortion
Voting Record of Health Secretary Nominee Daschle Largely Pro-Abortion
President-elect Obama's Secretary of Health and Human Services, former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), held an overwhelmingly pro-abortion rights voting record while a U.S. senator, according to voting records as far back as 1994.
In 2003, as well as in 1999, Daschle supported a Senate decision endorsing the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion.
Daschle also voted for federal funding of abortions on a number of occasions. In 2003, he voted for an amendment that would repeal President Reagan's "Mexico City Policy" and allow funding for abortions –and abortion counseling -- abroad.
In 1999, he voted to kill an amendment that would prohibit taxpayer dollars to fund abortions covered by federal health insurance plans.
In 1997, Sen. Daschle voted for an amendment that would remove the Hyde Amendment provisions from the bill S.947. The Hyde Amendment prohibited states from using S-CHIP (State Child Health Insurance Program) funds to pay for health plans covering abortions, except in cases where the life of the mother was at stake.
Daschle did vote pro-life at times. The former Senate majority leader voted for H.R.1003 in 1997, a bill restricting the use of federal funds for assisted-suicide purposes.
He also voted three times against partial-birth abortion -- twice for the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act (H.R. 1122) when it was vetoed by President Clinton during the 105th Congress, and once again in 1999 (for S.1692.)
However, Daschle also voted against a partial-birth abortion ban once in 1995 and again in 1996, when the same bill (H.R.1833) returned to the Senate after being vetoed by President Bill Clinton.
"I, frankly, question why we are debating and voting on this bill so close to the election," he said, when the bill was being discussed again in September 1996. "Mr. President, I don't know of anybody in this chamber that condones (this) practice."
He added: "Is there ever a time when the procedure, regardless of whether it has been accurately described or not, should be used?"
The senator said that he could not allow his wife and daughters to be impaired should the chances occur that foregoing partial-birth abortion would harm them.
"We ought to be reasonable people and able to come together to find some compromise in allowing for a lasting solution outlawing elective procedures -- outlawing this detestable practice whenever it is done for convenience -- but recognizing at the same time that a daughter's life and a daughter's health is worth giving her the opportunity to use whatever measure necessary to protect her," Daschle said.
According to the National Right to Life Committee's legislative scorecards, Daschle scored 27 percent pro-life during the 108th Congress (2003-04); 0 percent during the 107th Congress; 11 percent during the 106th Congress; and 20 percent during the 105th Congress.
However, the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL) gave him a rating of just 50 percent as of 2003.
In addition to voting on issues such as partial-birth abortion and funding of abortions, Sen. Daschle supported abortions in U.S. military medical facilities, as well as a bill in 1994 that prohibited peaceful obstruction outside abortion clinics.
The bill, Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act of 1994 (or FACE Act), was created to allow persons access to medical clinics and facilities, and the like. Any obstruction such as violent intimidation or peaceful obstruction was considered unlawful. Daschle voted for the bill.
Contact: Matthew Hadro
Source: CNSNews.com
Source URL: http://www.CNSNews.com
Publish Date: January 7, 2009
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090107_5.htm
President-elect Obama's Secretary of Health and Human Services, former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), held an overwhelmingly pro-abortion rights voting record while a U.S. senator, according to voting records as far back as 1994.
In 2003, as well as in 1999, Daschle supported a Senate decision endorsing the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion.
Daschle also voted for federal funding of abortions on a number of occasions. In 2003, he voted for an amendment that would repeal President Reagan's "Mexico City Policy" and allow funding for abortions –and abortion counseling -- abroad.
In 1999, he voted to kill an amendment that would prohibit taxpayer dollars to fund abortions covered by federal health insurance plans.
In 1997, Sen. Daschle voted for an amendment that would remove the Hyde Amendment provisions from the bill S.947. The Hyde Amendment prohibited states from using S-CHIP (State Child Health Insurance Program) funds to pay for health plans covering abortions, except in cases where the life of the mother was at stake.
Daschle did vote pro-life at times. The former Senate majority leader voted for H.R.1003 in 1997, a bill restricting the use of federal funds for assisted-suicide purposes.
He also voted three times against partial-birth abortion -- twice for the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act (H.R. 1122) when it was vetoed by President Clinton during the 105th Congress, and once again in 1999 (for S.1692.)
However, Daschle also voted against a partial-birth abortion ban once in 1995 and again in 1996, when the same bill (H.R.1833) returned to the Senate after being vetoed by President Bill Clinton.
"I, frankly, question why we are debating and voting on this bill so close to the election," he said, when the bill was being discussed again in September 1996. "Mr. President, I don't know of anybody in this chamber that condones (this) practice."
He added: "Is there ever a time when the procedure, regardless of whether it has been accurately described or not, should be used?"
The senator said that he could not allow his wife and daughters to be impaired should the chances occur that foregoing partial-birth abortion would harm them.
"We ought to be reasonable people and able to come together to find some compromise in allowing for a lasting solution outlawing elective procedures -- outlawing this detestable practice whenever it is done for convenience -- but recognizing at the same time that a daughter's life and a daughter's health is worth giving her the opportunity to use whatever measure necessary to protect her," Daschle said.
According to the National Right to Life Committee's legislative scorecards, Daschle scored 27 percent pro-life during the 108th Congress (2003-04); 0 percent during the 107th Congress; 11 percent during the 106th Congress; and 20 percent during the 105th Congress.
However, the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL) gave him a rating of just 50 percent as of 2003.
In addition to voting on issues such as partial-birth abortion and funding of abortions, Sen. Daschle supported abortions in U.S. military medical facilities, as well as a bill in 1994 that prohibited peaceful obstruction outside abortion clinics.
The bill, Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act of 1994 (or FACE Act), was created to allow persons access to medical clinics and facilities, and the like. Any obstruction such as violent intimidation or peaceful obstruction was considered unlawful. Daschle voted for the bill.
Contact: Matthew Hadro
Source: CNSNews.com
Source URL: http://www.CNSNews.com
Publish Date: January 7, 2009
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090107_5.htm
NEWS SHORTS FOR WEDNESDAY
NEWS SHORTS FOR WEDNESDAY
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.
Federal Court Sides with Life Advocates
A federal court has ruled that Findlay, Ohio, violated the First Amendment rights of life advocates when police officers threatened them with arrest for engaging in pro-life speech.
"Christians shouldn't be penalized for expressing their beliefs," said Matt Bowman, legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF). "Exercising your First Amendment rights is not a crime. The government has no right to harass and threaten citizens for exercising their First Amendment rights in public."
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000009001.cfm
Selling Abortion: Through Academia, The Press, and TV, Abortion Forces Peddled Their Cause
During the half-century from 1860 to 1910 in which America's rate of abortion declined sharply, The New York Times regularly reported on prominent physicians who did abortions. A story in 1884, "Two Physicians in Trouble," noted that two of the "best known physicians in Providence, R.I.," were on trial for abortion. A typical story in 1886, "DOCTOR INDICTED," detailed abortion charges against a highly regarded New Haven physician, Dr. Gallagher. A similar story about a well-connected doctor noted the abortion arrest of Philadelphia physician David Otway.
http://www.worldmag.com/articles/14860
Obama Pick for Surgeon General Is Pro-Vaccine Pusher With Ties To Merck
Barack Obama's choice for U.S. Surgeon General is reportedly CNN journalist Dr. Sanjay Gupta, a pro-vaccine pusher with ties to Merck. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is a strong proponent of the Gardasil HPV vaccine, and the television show he once hosted ("Accent Health") was primarily sponsored by Merck, makers of Gardasil. Get ready for a whole new mandatory vaccination push under the Obama administration, folks. It's the same scam that's been running under the Bush Administration, but now it's going to be disguised as "public health policy." Yep, all those vaccines are President Obama's way of caring for the American people, didn't you know?
http://www.naturalnews.com/News_000649_Dr_Sanjay_Gupta_Obama_Surgeon_General.html
Survival of premature baby of 23 weeks calls UK abortion laws into question
A premature baby born in Britain 23 weeks into pregnancy has been allowed to return home six months after her birth, prompting her parents to question the British laws which permit unborn children like her to be aborted.
Lexie Slater-Folksman weighed only 1 lb, 8 oz. at delivery. She was put on life support, her parents being warned that she might not survive, the Daily Mail reports.
Her eyes not having developed fully, Lexie required laser surgery when she was just one month-old. She also suffered collapsed lungs and spent weeks on ventilator equipment.
Lexie's parents, the 20-year-old Sarah Slater and her 25-year-old fiancé Richard Folksman, said their daughter's case proves that abortion laws are outdated and should be changed.
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=14698
Federal Fetus Law To Be Used In Murder Case
Man is accused of beating his pregnant girlfriend to death
Federal prosecutors in New Mexico believe they may be the first to use a 2004 law to charge someone with killing a fetus while causing the death or injury of the mother. Charges against Frederick Beach, accused of beating his pregnant girlfriend to death, include one under the Unborn Victims of Violence Act. U.S. Attorney Greg Fouratt said his office's research found "no other case in the country in which that section (of law) has been charged," the Albuquerque Journal reported Tuesday.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28438682/
Obama Selects Yet another Pro-Abortion "Catholic" for Leading Office
With the appointment of Leon Panetta as the new head of the CIA, president-elect Barack Obama has continued a trend of appointing pro-abortion "Catholics" to high-profile positions in his government. Some pro-life leaders fear that these highly public Catholic dissidents could deal a serious blow to the pro-life Catholic image in America.
Panetta, a practicing Catholic who teaches a course each year at the Jesuit-run Santa Clara University, accumulated a strong pro-abortion record as a California congressman, including co-sponsoring the Freedom of Choice Act in 1990. During his run as Clinton's Chief of Staff, he supported the president's veto of the partial-birth abortion ban.
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jan/09010603.html
Disclaimer: The linked items below or the websites at which they are located do not necessarily represent the views of The Illinois Federation for Right to Life. They are presented only for your information.
Federal Court Sides with Life Advocates
A federal court has ruled that Findlay, Ohio, violated the First Amendment rights of life advocates when police officers threatened them with arrest for engaging in pro-life speech.
"Christians shouldn't be penalized for expressing their beliefs," said Matt Bowman, legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF). "Exercising your First Amendment rights is not a crime. The government has no right to harass and threaten citizens for exercising their First Amendment rights in public."
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000009001.cfm
Selling Abortion: Through Academia, The Press, and TV, Abortion Forces Peddled Their Cause
During the half-century from 1860 to 1910 in which America's rate of abortion declined sharply, The New York Times regularly reported on prominent physicians who did abortions. A story in 1884, "Two Physicians in Trouble," noted that two of the "best known physicians in Providence, R.I.," were on trial for abortion. A typical story in 1886, "DOCTOR INDICTED," detailed abortion charges against a highly regarded New Haven physician, Dr. Gallagher. A similar story about a well-connected doctor noted the abortion arrest of Philadelphia physician David Otway.
http://www.worldmag.com/articles/14860
Obama Pick for Surgeon General Is Pro-Vaccine Pusher With Ties To Merck
Barack Obama's choice for U.S. Surgeon General is reportedly CNN journalist Dr. Sanjay Gupta, a pro-vaccine pusher with ties to Merck. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is a strong proponent of the Gardasil HPV vaccine, and the television show he once hosted ("Accent Health") was primarily sponsored by Merck, makers of Gardasil. Get ready for a whole new mandatory vaccination push under the Obama administration, folks. It's the same scam that's been running under the Bush Administration, but now it's going to be disguised as "public health policy." Yep, all those vaccines are President Obama's way of caring for the American people, didn't you know?
http://www.naturalnews.com/News_000649_Dr_Sanjay_Gupta_Obama_Surgeon_General.html
Survival of premature baby of 23 weeks calls UK abortion laws into question
A premature baby born in Britain 23 weeks into pregnancy has been allowed to return home six months after her birth, prompting her parents to question the British laws which permit unborn children like her to be aborted.
Lexie Slater-Folksman weighed only 1 lb, 8 oz. at delivery. She was put on life support, her parents being warned that she might not survive, the Daily Mail reports.
Her eyes not having developed fully, Lexie required laser surgery when she was just one month-old. She also suffered collapsed lungs and spent weeks on ventilator equipment.
Lexie's parents, the 20-year-old Sarah Slater and her 25-year-old fiancé Richard Folksman, said their daughter's case proves that abortion laws are outdated and should be changed.
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=14698
Federal Fetus Law To Be Used In Murder Case
Man is accused of beating his pregnant girlfriend to death
Federal prosecutors in New Mexico believe they may be the first to use a 2004 law to charge someone with killing a fetus while causing the death or injury of the mother. Charges against Frederick Beach, accused of beating his pregnant girlfriend to death, include one under the Unborn Victims of Violence Act. U.S. Attorney Greg Fouratt said his office's research found "no other case in the country in which that section (of law) has been charged," the Albuquerque Journal reported Tuesday.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28438682/
Obama Selects Yet another Pro-Abortion "Catholic" for Leading Office
With the appointment of Leon Panetta as the new head of the CIA, president-elect Barack Obama has continued a trend of appointing pro-abortion "Catholics" to high-profile positions in his government. Some pro-life leaders fear that these highly public Catholic dissidents could deal a serious blow to the pro-life Catholic image in America.
Panetta, a practicing Catholic who teaches a course each year at the Jesuit-run Santa Clara University, accumulated a strong pro-abortion record as a California congressman, including co-sponsoring the Freedom of Choice Act in 1990. During his run as Clinton's Chief of Staff, he supported the president's veto of the partial-birth abortion ban.
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jan/09010603.html
January 6, 2009
ACTION ALERT - Freedom of Choice Act
ACTION ALERT
The "Freedom of Choice Act": Most Radical Abortion Legislation in U.S. History. So says the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. On January 17& 18, 2008 (some Parishes are participating on January 24 & 25), every Parish in the United States will be distributing post cards to be filled out and mailed to their US Senators and US Congressman/woman asking them not to support FOCA as it is referred to. We, as a "People of Life and a People for Life", have a moral obligation to see that our families, councils, and friends are aware of this Act and that proper action is taken to ultimately lead to the defeat of this pro-death legislation!
A nationwide survey commissioned by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has found that four out of five U.S. adults (82 percent) think abortion should either be illegal under all circumstances (11 percent) or would limit its legality. Thirty-eight (38) percent would limit abortion to the narrow circumstances of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother; and an additional 33 percent would limit abortion to either the first three or first six months. Only 9 percent said abortion should be legal for any reason at any time during pregnancy.
We should not wait for the post cards nor should the post cards be all we do. We must flood the US Senate and Congress with our phone calls, letters, emails, and personal contacts to inform them of our thoughts about FOCA.
Recommended Actions: Contact your U.S. Representative and two U.S. Senators by FAX letter, e-mail, or phone. Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at: (202) 224-3121; or call Members’ local offices. Full contact info can be found on Members of Congress’s web sites, at: www.senate.gov and www.house.gov.
Message to all Members: “Please pledge now to oppose FOCA.” Those Members of Congress who have signed on as cosponsors of FOCA should be asked to remove their names from the bill. To check the list of current cosponsors, see: nchla.org/docdisplay.asp?ID=191.
"The proposed "Freedom of Choice Act" is not about freedom at all", says the chairman of the U.S. Bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities. Cardinal Justin Rigali, archbishop of Philadelphia, pointed out the faulty logic in the proposed act in a letter recently to all members of Congress. The act "would deprive the American people in all 50 states of the freedom they now have to enact modest restraints and regulations on the abortion industry.
"FOCA [the Freedom of Choice Act] would coerce all Americans into subsidizing and promoting abortion with their tax dollars. And FOCA would counteract any and all sincere efforts by government to reduce abortions in our country," the cardinal affirmed. Cardinal Rigali warned that the act is not a mere codification of the Supreme Court's decision to legalize abortion. Instead, it would affect anti-abortion laws and policies that are in effect because they do not conflict with Roe v. Wade. These include such things as policies to protect women's safety, parental rights and informed consent.
"The operative language of FOCA is twofold," Cardinal Rigali explained. "First it creates a 'fundamental right' to abortion throughout the nine months of pregnancy, including a right to abort a fully developed child in the final weeks for undefined 'health' reasons. No government body at any level would be able to 'deny or interfere with' this newly created federal right. "Second, it forbids government at all levels to 'discriminate' against the exercise of this right 'in the regulation or provision of benefits, facilities, services, or information.' For the first time, abortion on demand would be a national entitlement that government must condone and promote in all public programs affecting pregnant women."
The prelate included a legal analysis of FOCA's possible consequences with his letter to Congress. "Members of both parties have sought to reach a consensus on ways to reduce abortions in our society," wrote Cardinal Rigali. "However, there is one thing absolutely everyone should be able to agree on: We can't reduce abortions by promoting abortion. [...] No one who sponsors or supports legislation like FOCA can credibly claim to be part of a good-faith discussion on how to reduce abortions."
The media has reported that the new administration has made passage of FOCA one of its prime goals for change. Let us heed the words of Francis Cardinal George from his recent homily when he asked that we pray for the new President to recognize the folly in supporting such a goal. When the least of us is threatened, sooner or later it will effect us all; one way or another!
Thank you for your efforts in pursuing a Culture of Life. We pray the new year will bring success to restoring a true respect for Life.
The "Freedom of Choice Act": Most Radical Abortion Legislation in U.S. History. So says the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. On January 17& 18, 2008 (some Parishes are participating on January 24 & 25), every Parish in the United States will be distributing post cards to be filled out and mailed to their US Senators and US Congressman/woman asking them not to support FOCA as it is referred to. We, as a "People of Life and a People for Life", have a moral obligation to see that our families, councils, and friends are aware of this Act and that proper action is taken to ultimately lead to the defeat of this pro-death legislation!
A nationwide survey commissioned by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has found that four out of five U.S. adults (82 percent) think abortion should either be illegal under all circumstances (11 percent) or would limit its legality. Thirty-eight (38) percent would limit abortion to the narrow circumstances of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother; and an additional 33 percent would limit abortion to either the first three or first six months. Only 9 percent said abortion should be legal for any reason at any time during pregnancy.
We should not wait for the post cards nor should the post cards be all we do. We must flood the US Senate and Congress with our phone calls, letters, emails, and personal contacts to inform them of our thoughts about FOCA.
Recommended Actions: Contact your U.S. Representative and two U.S. Senators by FAX letter, e-mail, or phone. Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at: (202) 224-3121; or call Members’ local offices. Full contact info can be found on Members of Congress’s web sites, at: www.senate.gov and www.house.gov.
Message to all Members: “Please pledge now to oppose FOCA.” Those Members of Congress who have signed on as cosponsors of FOCA should be asked to remove their names from the bill. To check the list of current cosponsors, see: nchla.org/docdisplay.asp?ID=191.
"The proposed "Freedom of Choice Act" is not about freedom at all", says the chairman of the U.S. Bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities. Cardinal Justin Rigali, archbishop of Philadelphia, pointed out the faulty logic in the proposed act in a letter recently to all members of Congress. The act "would deprive the American people in all 50 states of the freedom they now have to enact modest restraints and regulations on the abortion industry.
"FOCA [the Freedom of Choice Act] would coerce all Americans into subsidizing and promoting abortion with their tax dollars. And FOCA would counteract any and all sincere efforts by government to reduce abortions in our country," the cardinal affirmed. Cardinal Rigali warned that the act is not a mere codification of the Supreme Court's decision to legalize abortion. Instead, it would affect anti-abortion laws and policies that are in effect because they do not conflict with Roe v. Wade. These include such things as policies to protect women's safety, parental rights and informed consent.
"The operative language of FOCA is twofold," Cardinal Rigali explained. "First it creates a 'fundamental right' to abortion throughout the nine months of pregnancy, including a right to abort a fully developed child in the final weeks for undefined 'health' reasons. No government body at any level would be able to 'deny or interfere with' this newly created federal right. "Second, it forbids government at all levels to 'discriminate' against the exercise of this right 'in the regulation or provision of benefits, facilities, services, or information.' For the first time, abortion on demand would be a national entitlement that government must condone and promote in all public programs affecting pregnant women."
The prelate included a legal analysis of FOCA's possible consequences with his letter to Congress. "Members of both parties have sought to reach a consensus on ways to reduce abortions in our society," wrote Cardinal Rigali. "However, there is one thing absolutely everyone should be able to agree on: We can't reduce abortions by promoting abortion. [...] No one who sponsors or supports legislation like FOCA can credibly claim to be part of a good-faith discussion on how to reduce abortions."
The media has reported that the new administration has made passage of FOCA one of its prime goals for change. Let us heed the words of Francis Cardinal George from his recent homily when he asked that we pray for the new President to recognize the folly in supporting such a goal. When the least of us is threatened, sooner or later it will effect us all; one way or another!
Thank you for your efforts in pursuing a Culture of Life. We pray the new year will bring success to restoring a true respect for Life.
Obama Faces Pro-Life Opposition During Inauguration
Obama Faces Pro-Life Opposition During Inauguration Week
CWA Organizes Opposition to Obama's Freedom of Choice Act during March for Life
Two days after Barack Obama's inauguration, pro-lifers will be doubling their impact during the March for Life, the annual pro-life rally in Washington, D.C., held on January 22, the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. As tens of thousands gather to oppose the deadly Supreme Court decision that decriminalized abortion, Concerned Women for America (CWA) will be handing out snacks with information on how to oppose the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA), a bill supported by Obama. The next day, pro-lifers in Washington and around the country will be joining CWA's FOCA Lobby Day by contacting their congressmen - in person or by phone - urging them to oppose this bill that would eliminate every federal and state law that restricts abortion.
CWA will host an Open House on the morning of the March for Life. Pro-lifers will gather at CWA's office for refreshments and to stock up on FOCA Fact Cards to hand out at the March for Life.
On Friday, January 23, participants will meet at CWA's office to be briefed on FOCA and pair up with other pro-lifers. They will then travel to Capitol Hill to lobby congressmen and their staff. Those who cannot come to Washington are invited to call or visit their congressmen's district offices in their home states.
"Barack Obama promised that his first act as president would be to sign the Freedom of Choice Act, a radical bill that would nullify every pro-life law from parental notification laws to bans on federal funding of abortion. These common-sense regulations passed over the last 36 years enjoy a majority of support among Americans and save lives by reducing the number of abortions. Through CWA's organized efforts, congressmen will hear from their constituents that they should oppose FOCA or any attempt to undo any pro-life laws," stated Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women for America.
The schedule of events can be found at www.cwfa.org
Contact: Valerie Mosher
Source: Concerned Women for America
Source URL: http://www.cwfa.org
Publish Date: January 6, 2009
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090106_1.htm
CWA Organizes Opposition to Obama's Freedom of Choice Act during March for Life
Two days after Barack Obama's inauguration, pro-lifers will be doubling their impact during the March for Life, the annual pro-life rally in Washington, D.C., held on January 22, the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. As tens of thousands gather to oppose the deadly Supreme Court decision that decriminalized abortion, Concerned Women for America (CWA) will be handing out snacks with information on how to oppose the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA), a bill supported by Obama. The next day, pro-lifers in Washington and around the country will be joining CWA's FOCA Lobby Day by contacting their congressmen - in person or by phone - urging them to oppose this bill that would eliminate every federal and state law that restricts abortion.
CWA will host an Open House on the morning of the March for Life. Pro-lifers will gather at CWA's office for refreshments and to stock up on FOCA Fact Cards to hand out at the March for Life.
On Friday, January 23, participants will meet at CWA's office to be briefed on FOCA and pair up with other pro-lifers. They will then travel to Capitol Hill to lobby congressmen and their staff. Those who cannot come to Washington are invited to call or visit their congressmen's district offices in their home states.
"Barack Obama promised that his first act as president would be to sign the Freedom of Choice Act, a radical bill that would nullify every pro-life law from parental notification laws to bans on federal funding of abortion. These common-sense regulations passed over the last 36 years enjoy a majority of support among Americans and save lives by reducing the number of abortions. Through CWA's organized efforts, congressmen will hear from their constituents that they should oppose FOCA or any attempt to undo any pro-life laws," stated Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women for America.
The schedule of events can be found at www.cwfa.org
Contact: Valerie Mosher
Source: Concerned Women for America
Source URL: http://www.cwfa.org
Publish Date: January 6, 2009
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090106_1.htm
Pro-Life Message Needed
Pro-Life Message Needed as Economy Falters
The most recent abortion statistics released by the U.S. government find a slight drop in the number of abortions across the country. However, as the national economy continues to sour, some Planned Parenthood clinics are reporting an upswing in business.
A year ago, abortions accounted for 1 percent of business at Planned Parenthood clinics in Fresno, Calif. Now, it's around 3 percent.
Jenn Giroux, founder and executive director of Women Influencing the Nation, said during times of economic uncertainty, the conflict of interest found inside abortion clinics is even more disturbing.
“It is an absolute abomination that the abortion provider who stands to financially gain from talking a woman into an abortion is the one counseling the woman in a difficult time," she told CitizenLink.
Carrie Gordon Earll, senior bioethics analyst at Focus on the Family Action, acknowleged that higher unemployment and financial challenges may cause some women to consider abortion when otherwise they would not.
"And that makes the pro-life message of hope and support," she said, "even more critical during this time."
Contact: Roger Greer
Source: CitizenLink
Source URL: http://www.citizenlink.org
Publish Date: January 5, 2009
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090106_2.htm
The most recent abortion statistics released by the U.S. government find a slight drop in the number of abortions across the country. However, as the national economy continues to sour, some Planned Parenthood clinics are reporting an upswing in business.
A year ago, abortions accounted for 1 percent of business at Planned Parenthood clinics in Fresno, Calif. Now, it's around 3 percent.
Jenn Giroux, founder and executive director of Women Influencing the Nation, said during times of economic uncertainty, the conflict of interest found inside abortion clinics is even more disturbing.
“It is an absolute abomination that the abortion provider who stands to financially gain from talking a woman into an abortion is the one counseling the woman in a difficult time," she told CitizenLink.
Carrie Gordon Earll, senior bioethics analyst at Focus on the Family Action, acknowleged that higher unemployment and financial challenges may cause some women to consider abortion when otherwise they would not.
"And that makes the pro-life message of hope and support," she said, "even more critical during this time."
Contact: Roger Greer
Source: CitizenLink
Source URL: http://www.citizenlink.org
Publish Date: January 5, 2009
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090106_2.htm
Abortion restrictions enjoy significant support
Abortion restrictions enjoy significant support, survey finds
A national survey commissioned by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) reports that about half of U.S. adults support significant restrictions on abortion, while a supermajority supports restrictions forbidden under current constitutional law.
The survey of 2,341 U.S. adults was conducted on-line December 10-12 and fielded by Harris Interactive, a USCCB press release reports.
Only 11 percent of the poll respondents thought abortion should be illegal in all circumstances. However, 38 percent would limit legalized abortion to circumstances involving rape, incest, or danger to the mother’s life.
About 33 percent would limit abortion to either the first three or first six months of pregnancy, while only 9 percent oppose all restrictions on abortion.
Deirdre McQuade, assistant director for Policy & Communications at the USCCB's Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities, called the findings “remarkable.”
“Fewer than one in ten Americans support legal abortion for any reason at any time during pregnancy,” she said. “But that is precisely the current state of abortion law under Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decisions that made abortion legal throughout the nine months of pregnancy for virtually any reason.”
The survey also asked respondents about other restrictions on abortion. About 95 percent favored laws requiring that abortions be performed only by licensed physicians, while 88 percent favored informed consent laws. Around 76 percent favored conscience protection laws for pro-life doctors and nurses, while 73 percent approved of parental involvement laws in cases where a minor is seeking to procure an abortion.
Laws against partial birth abortion were favored by 68 percent of respondents, while 63 percent favored laws preventing the use of taxpayer funds for abortions.
“Support for these measures cuts across 'pro-life' and 'pro-choice' positions,” McQuade said, arguing “This research indicates how out of touch pro-abortion groups are with mainstream America.”
“These same widely-supported, constitutionally valid measures, some of which have been proven effective in reducing abortion rates, are now seriously threatened by abortion advocates and their allies in Congress," McQuade continued. "On behalf of children and their mothers, we will have to fight to keep such laws in place.”
McQuade warned about abortion proponents’ proposals which include passing the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) and repealing the Hyde Amendment and other provisions forbidding taxpayer funding of abortions.
"Most people agree we should work to reduce abortions, but you can't reduce abortions by promoting abortion and eliminating all the policies that have proven effective in reducing abortions," McQuade said. "The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will oppose all such threats to human life in whatever manner they are proposed."
Source: Catholic News Agency
Source URL: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com
Publish Date: January 5, 2009
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090106_3.htm
A national survey commissioned by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) reports that about half of U.S. adults support significant restrictions on abortion, while a supermajority supports restrictions forbidden under current constitutional law.
The survey of 2,341 U.S. adults was conducted on-line December 10-12 and fielded by Harris Interactive, a USCCB press release reports.
Only 11 percent of the poll respondents thought abortion should be illegal in all circumstances. However, 38 percent would limit legalized abortion to circumstances involving rape, incest, or danger to the mother’s life.
About 33 percent would limit abortion to either the first three or first six months of pregnancy, while only 9 percent oppose all restrictions on abortion.
Deirdre McQuade, assistant director for Policy & Communications at the USCCB's Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities, called the findings “remarkable.”
“Fewer than one in ten Americans support legal abortion for any reason at any time during pregnancy,” she said. “But that is precisely the current state of abortion law under Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decisions that made abortion legal throughout the nine months of pregnancy for virtually any reason.”
The survey also asked respondents about other restrictions on abortion. About 95 percent favored laws requiring that abortions be performed only by licensed physicians, while 88 percent favored informed consent laws. Around 76 percent favored conscience protection laws for pro-life doctors and nurses, while 73 percent approved of parental involvement laws in cases where a minor is seeking to procure an abortion.
Laws against partial birth abortion were favored by 68 percent of respondents, while 63 percent favored laws preventing the use of taxpayer funds for abortions.
“Support for these measures cuts across 'pro-life' and 'pro-choice' positions,” McQuade said, arguing “This research indicates how out of touch pro-abortion groups are with mainstream America.”
“These same widely-supported, constitutionally valid measures, some of which have been proven effective in reducing abortion rates, are now seriously threatened by abortion advocates and their allies in Congress," McQuade continued. "On behalf of children and their mothers, we will have to fight to keep such laws in place.”
McQuade warned about abortion proponents’ proposals which include passing the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) and repealing the Hyde Amendment and other provisions forbidding taxpayer funding of abortions.
"Most people agree we should work to reduce abortions, but you can't reduce abortions by promoting abortion and eliminating all the policies that have proven effective in reducing abortions," McQuade said. "The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will oppose all such threats to human life in whatever manner they are proposed."
Source: Catholic News Agency
Source URL: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com
Publish Date: January 5, 2009
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090106_3.htm
Birth Control Pill is Cause of Abortion and Cancer
Vatican Newspaper Publishes Article Detailing Birth Control Pill as Cause of Abortion and Cancer
The Vatican’s official newspaper has caused a media storm in the European press with an article asserting the abortifacient and carcinogenic effects of hormonal contraceptives.
The Italian edition of L’Osservatore Romano carries an article this week on a report by the International Federation of Catholic Medical Associations (FIAMC) that was created to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of the encyclical Humanae Vitae, the document by Pope Paul VI that reiterated the Catholic Church’s teaching on artificial birth control.
Pedro José María Simón Castellví, the president of FIAMC, wrote that “the means of contraception violate at least five important rights: the right to life, the right to health, the right to education, all right to information (their spread is at the expense of information on natural resources) and the right to equality between the sexes (the burden of contraception falls mostly on women).”
“Curiously”, Castelvi wrote, this information on the abortifacient effect of the Pill “does not reach the general public,” despite being well-known to researchers.
The hundred-page report, published in German, is an analysis of scientific data on the effects of the Pill and includes three hundred bibliographic citations, mostly from specialized medical journals.
The report “clearly demonstrates” that anovulant, low-dose hormonal birth control pills work not only by preventing ovulation but also by causing the death of an already existing child in the uterine wall. This embryonic person, Castellvi wrote, “even in its early days, is something other than an egg or female germ cell.” From the embryonic stage, the child grows in a coordinated way and this development, unless prevented, “ends with its exit from the womb in nine months, ready to devour a litre of milk.”
The report also notes that the International Agency for Research of Cancer, an agency of the World Health Organization, reported in July 2005 that the oral preparations of combined estrogen-progestogens common in birth control pills are classified in a group of carcinogenic agents.
“The sad thing in all this,” Castelvi wrote, “is that if it is to regulate fertility, these are not the products required. The natural means of regulating fertility, ‘NFP’ or Natural Family Planning, are equally effective and also respect the person.”
Contact: Hilary White
Source: LifeSiteNews.com
Source URL: http://www.LifeSiteNews.com
Publish Date: January 5, 2009
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090106_4.htm
The Vatican’s official newspaper has caused a media storm in the European press with an article asserting the abortifacient and carcinogenic effects of hormonal contraceptives.
The Italian edition of L’Osservatore Romano carries an article this week on a report by the International Federation of Catholic Medical Associations (FIAMC) that was created to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of the encyclical Humanae Vitae, the document by Pope Paul VI that reiterated the Catholic Church’s teaching on artificial birth control.
Pedro José María Simón Castellví, the president of FIAMC, wrote that “the means of contraception violate at least five important rights: the right to life, the right to health, the right to education, all right to information (their spread is at the expense of information on natural resources) and the right to equality between the sexes (the burden of contraception falls mostly on women).”
“Curiously”, Castelvi wrote, this information on the abortifacient effect of the Pill “does not reach the general public,” despite being well-known to researchers.
The hundred-page report, published in German, is an analysis of scientific data on the effects of the Pill and includes three hundred bibliographic citations, mostly from specialized medical journals.
The report “clearly demonstrates” that anovulant, low-dose hormonal birth control pills work not only by preventing ovulation but also by causing the death of an already existing child in the uterine wall. This embryonic person, Castellvi wrote, “even in its early days, is something other than an egg or female germ cell.” From the embryonic stage, the child grows in a coordinated way and this development, unless prevented, “ends with its exit from the womb in nine months, ready to devour a litre of milk.”
The report also notes that the International Agency for Research of Cancer, an agency of the World Health Organization, reported in July 2005 that the oral preparations of combined estrogen-progestogens common in birth control pills are classified in a group of carcinogenic agents.
“The sad thing in all this,” Castelvi wrote, “is that if it is to regulate fertility, these are not the products required. The natural means of regulating fertility, ‘NFP’ or Natural Family Planning, are equally effective and also respect the person.”
Contact: Hilary White
Source: LifeSiteNews.com
Source URL: http://www.LifeSiteNews.com
Publish Date: January 5, 2009
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090106_4.htm
Leaders Call for President Elect-Obama to Stand for Life
Leaders Call for President Elect-Obama to Stand for Life, Liberty, and Family
A group of African Americans and other community leaders gathered in Atlanta today to discuss an agenda to be presented to President Elect Barack Obama regarding his first 100 days in office. The leaders agree that African Americans who are celebrating the upcoming inauguration of President-Elect Barack Obama should carry a pro-family/pro-community agenda to Washington, DC.
"African Americans, like many Americans are pro-life and uphold pro-creative marriage," said Alveda King, a spokesperson for the team. "As we see the dawn of a new year and a great milestone being passed, people across the country should let our new president know that we want babies in the womb protected and traditional marriage respected."
The accomplishment of an African American holding the nation's highest office will be of little value if the black community continues to be destroyed by the horrible plagues of society such as: abortion's harmful effects on our women and children, teen pregnancy, AIDS/HIV, childhood obesity, incarceration of our youth, poverty, attacks on fatherhood, marriages and the hosts of evil we face every day.
The genocide must end. We are one human race, and it's time to stand up for the truth. It's time to stand up for life, liberty, and family.
"We need to be a party with a purpose," added the group. "We need to let Barack Obama know that our children's lives are more important than the money and political support of the abortion lobby, and that of all of the other special interests groups that destroy our quality of life. This nation was founded upon life, liberty, and justice for all."
The group will release their "open letter" to Mr. Obama, members of Congress, state legislators and other officials on Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 10:00 A.M. at the Georgia State Capitol, room 125. The press is invited to attend.
Contact: Alveda King
Source: King for America
Publish Date: January 6, 2009
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090106_5.htm
A group of African Americans and other community leaders gathered in Atlanta today to discuss an agenda to be presented to President Elect Barack Obama regarding his first 100 days in office. The leaders agree that African Americans who are celebrating the upcoming inauguration of President-Elect Barack Obama should carry a pro-family/pro-community agenda to Washington, DC.
"African Americans, like many Americans are pro-life and uphold pro-creative marriage," said Alveda King, a spokesperson for the team. "As we see the dawn of a new year and a great milestone being passed, people across the country should let our new president know that we want babies in the womb protected and traditional marriage respected."
The accomplishment of an African American holding the nation's highest office will be of little value if the black community continues to be destroyed by the horrible plagues of society such as: abortion's harmful effects on our women and children, teen pregnancy, AIDS/HIV, childhood obesity, incarceration of our youth, poverty, attacks on fatherhood, marriages and the hosts of evil we face every day.
The genocide must end. We are one human race, and it's time to stand up for the truth. It's time to stand up for life, liberty, and family.
"We need to be a party with a purpose," added the group. "We need to let Barack Obama know that our children's lives are more important than the money and political support of the abortion lobby, and that of all of the other special interests groups that destroy our quality of life. This nation was founded upon life, liberty, and justice for all."
The group will release their "open letter" to Mr. Obama, members of Congress, state legislators and other officials on Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 10:00 A.M. at the Georgia State Capitol, room 125. The press is invited to attend.
Contact: Alveda King
Source: King for America
Publish Date: January 6, 2009
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090106_5.htm
Deception Elevated to an Art Form
Deception Elevated to an Art Form
Today (January 6) is the first day of the new Congress. The 111th Congress will be characterized by larger, stronger pro-abortion margins in both Houses, which will work in tandem with pro-abortion President-elect Barack Obama.
Chastened by past defeats, pro-abortion Democrats have elevated hiding their real agenda into an art form. As I thought of how best to illustrate our task, I thought of a three-dimensional paintings I saw over the weekend in a portrait gallery.
If you looked straight on, you saw one representation. But if you looked at the same painting from the right and the left side you were amazed to see an entirely different second and third representation, respectively.
Let's take a New York Times piece that ran over the weekend to illustrate my point. Pro-abortionists in Congress are supposedly figuring out the best way to grease the skids for massive federal funding of stem cell research that requires the deaths of human embryos. The particulars need not detain us here.
The Democrats want you to accept their "portrait" of the reasons the pro-life policy of President George W. Bush ought to be overturned and the floodgates to unbridled [and unethical] embryonic stem cell research opened. It includes
* "Democrats also say they hope to reduce the divisiveness of the debate by framing the stem cell policy as more of a health care issue with the potential to provide new treatments, and less of a fight that spills over into the abortion arena," according to Times reporter Carl Hulse.
* "Last year, it seemed that the human embryo dispute was about to become moot," with the results of ethically unobjectionable alternatives far outpacing paltry returns from embryonic stem cells (ESCs). But nonethess ESCs "are the gold standard," according to one researcher, because, well, you never know when you might need them.
But if you look at the stem cell picture from the side, you see a much different--and much more realistic--representation. For example, the nonsense about reframing "stem cell policy" [meaning the use of embryonic stem cells] as health care is as repetitious as it is untrue.
On December 30, reviewing the year in science, USA Today did a fine job pointing out several important (even historic) breakthroughs as well as other promising results. The only problem was that the way the explanation of this "crescendo of discoveries" read, the only conclusion the casual reader could reach is that they all came about from the use of ESCs. In fact none of them were.
All had to do with alternatives that avoided the need for stem cells from human embryos. In a word these are the only stem cell actually treating patients, and the only ones likely to treat patients in the near (or even far) future.
Likewise, it is true (as proponents of ESCs implied to Hulse) that techniques that turn the clock back on ordinary human skin cells so that they go back in time to become embryonic stem cells still have kinks to be worked out. But some of the major obstacles have already been overcome, and there is no reason to believe that what few remain won't be promptly taken care of. If there is a "gold standard," it is techniques that bypass human embryos altogether!
In the months to come we will see a steady litany of pro-abortion trickery. Our task will be to serve as the voice of truth so that the American public is not deceived. Be sure to come here and to National Right to Life News to be kept updated.
Contact: Dave Andrusko
Source: National Right to Life
Source URL: http://www.nrlc.org
Publish Date: January 5, 2009
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090106_6.htm
Today (January 6) is the first day of the new Congress. The 111th Congress will be characterized by larger, stronger pro-abortion margins in both Houses, which will work in tandem with pro-abortion President-elect Barack Obama.
Chastened by past defeats, pro-abortion Democrats have elevated hiding their real agenda into an art form. As I thought of how best to illustrate our task, I thought of a three-dimensional paintings I saw over the weekend in a portrait gallery.
If you looked straight on, you saw one representation. But if you looked at the same painting from the right and the left side you were amazed to see an entirely different second and third representation, respectively.
Let's take a New York Times piece that ran over the weekend to illustrate my point. Pro-abortionists in Congress are supposedly figuring out the best way to grease the skids for massive federal funding of stem cell research that requires the deaths of human embryos. The particulars need not detain us here.
The Democrats want you to accept their "portrait" of the reasons the pro-life policy of President George W. Bush ought to be overturned and the floodgates to unbridled [and unethical] embryonic stem cell research opened. It includes
* "Democrats also say they hope to reduce the divisiveness of the debate by framing the stem cell policy as more of a health care issue with the potential to provide new treatments, and less of a fight that spills over into the abortion arena," according to Times reporter Carl Hulse.
* "Last year, it seemed that the human embryo dispute was about to become moot," with the results of ethically unobjectionable alternatives far outpacing paltry returns from embryonic stem cells (ESCs). But nonethess ESCs "are the gold standard," according to one researcher, because, well, you never know when you might need them.
But if you look at the stem cell picture from the side, you see a much different--and much more realistic--representation. For example, the nonsense about reframing "stem cell policy" [meaning the use of embryonic stem cells] as health care is as repetitious as it is untrue.
On December 30, reviewing the year in science, USA Today did a fine job pointing out several important (even historic) breakthroughs as well as other promising results. The only problem was that the way the explanation of this "crescendo of discoveries" read, the only conclusion the casual reader could reach is that they all came about from the use of ESCs. In fact none of them were.
All had to do with alternatives that avoided the need for stem cells from human embryos. In a word these are the only stem cell actually treating patients, and the only ones likely to treat patients in the near (or even far) future.
Likewise, it is true (as proponents of ESCs implied to Hulse) that techniques that turn the clock back on ordinary human skin cells so that they go back in time to become embryonic stem cells still have kinks to be worked out. But some of the major obstacles have already been overcome, and there is no reason to believe that what few remain won't be promptly taken care of. If there is a "gold standard," it is techniques that bypass human embryos altogether!
In the months to come we will see a steady litany of pro-abortion trickery. Our task will be to serve as the voice of truth so that the American public is not deceived. Be sure to come here and to National Right to Life News to be kept updated.
Contact: Dave Andrusko
Source: National Right to Life
Source URL: http://www.nrlc.org
Publish Date: January 5, 2009
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090106_6.htm
UW and Meriter Hospitals Secretly Plan Late-Term Abortions
UW and Meriter Hospitals Secretly Plan Late-Term Abortions at Madison Surgery Center
Pro-Life Wisconsin demands answers…
Today the Washington, DC-based Alliance Defense Fund exposed secret plans of the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics (UWHC) and Meriter Hospital to provide a full range of second-trimester abortions at the Madison Surgery Center located at 1 South Park Street. The Madison Surgery Center is a joint venture of UWHC, the UW Medical Foundation, and Meriter Hospital.
UW Health physician Caryn R. Dutton, Obstetrics and Gynecology, will perform these late-term abortions. Dutton is also affiliated with Meriter Hospital and St. Mary’s Hospital.
Pro-Life Wisconsin State Director Peggy Hamill said of the proposal, “Pro-Life Wisconsin condemns the UWHC/Meriter Hospital plan to do late-term abortions at the Madison Surgery Center. We are appalled to learn that our own publicly-funded University of Wisconsin hospital and medical foundation is planning to directly participate in the dismemberment of second-trimester babies – babies that can suck their thumbs, turn somersaults in their mother’s wombs, and whose hearts are pumping gallons of blood every day.
It is likely these babies will become an in-house source of fresh, cheap fetal body parts for UW research activities.
How will this UWHC/Meriter plan accommodate existing state and federal laws that prohibit public funding of abortions and protect the conscience rights of our medical professionals? Medical staff at the Madison Surgery Center must be disheartened to learn that their esteemed, state-of-the-art surgical center will double as an abortion center.
Pro-Life Wisconsin demands answers and accountability from all partners of the Madison Surgery Center, namely the UW Medical Foundation, UW Hospitals and Clinics, and Meriter Hospital. We strongly urge them to abandon this morally reprehensible, potentially illegal plan. If it proceeds, the medical offices at 1 South Park Street can be assured of a constant pro-life presence outside their building as long as the killing continues.
We are asking all Wisconsinites alarmed by this plan to call the CEOs of these three medical institutions and express their strong opposition:
* Donna Katen-Bahensky, President and CEO, UW Hospital and Clinics: (608) 263-6400
Jeffrey Grossman, MD, President and CEO, UW Medical Foundation, (608) 263-7013
* Jim Woodward, President and CEO, Meriter Hospital, (608) 417-6000
Source: Pro-Life Wisconsin
Source URL: http://www.prolifewisconsin.org
Publish Date: January 5, 2009
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090106_7.htm
Pro-Life Wisconsin demands answers…
Today the Washington, DC-based Alliance Defense Fund exposed secret plans of the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics (UWHC) and Meriter Hospital to provide a full range of second-trimester abortions at the Madison Surgery Center located at 1 South Park Street. The Madison Surgery Center is a joint venture of UWHC, the UW Medical Foundation, and Meriter Hospital.
UW Health physician Caryn R. Dutton, Obstetrics and Gynecology, will perform these late-term abortions. Dutton is also affiliated with Meriter Hospital and St. Mary’s Hospital.
Pro-Life Wisconsin State Director Peggy Hamill said of the proposal, “Pro-Life Wisconsin condemns the UWHC/Meriter Hospital plan to do late-term abortions at the Madison Surgery Center. We are appalled to learn that our own publicly-funded University of Wisconsin hospital and medical foundation is planning to directly participate in the dismemberment of second-trimester babies – babies that can suck their thumbs, turn somersaults in their mother’s wombs, and whose hearts are pumping gallons of blood every day.
It is likely these babies will become an in-house source of fresh, cheap fetal body parts for UW research activities.
How will this UWHC/Meriter plan accommodate existing state and federal laws that prohibit public funding of abortions and protect the conscience rights of our medical professionals? Medical staff at the Madison Surgery Center must be disheartened to learn that their esteemed, state-of-the-art surgical center will double as an abortion center.
Pro-Life Wisconsin demands answers and accountability from all partners of the Madison Surgery Center, namely the UW Medical Foundation, UW Hospitals and Clinics, and Meriter Hospital. We strongly urge them to abandon this morally reprehensible, potentially illegal plan. If it proceeds, the medical offices at 1 South Park Street can be assured of a constant pro-life presence outside their building as long as the killing continues.
We are asking all Wisconsinites alarmed by this plan to call the CEOs of these three medical institutions and express their strong opposition:
* Donna Katen-Bahensky, President and CEO, UW Hospital and Clinics: (608) 263-6400
Jeffrey Grossman, MD, President and CEO, UW Medical Foundation, (608) 263-7013
* Jim Woodward, President and CEO, Meriter Hospital, (608) 417-6000
Source: Pro-Life Wisconsin
Source URL: http://www.prolifewisconsin.org
Publish Date: January 5, 2009
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090106_7.htm
NEWS SHORTS FOR TUESDAY
NEWS SHORTS FOR TUESDAY
Disclaimer: The linked items below or the websites at which they are located do not necessarily represent the views of The Illinois Federation for Right to Life. They are presented only for your information.
Studies Revolve Around 'Abortion' Drug
There is a new use for a drug that is supposed to help treat ulcers. But it has doctors concerned, because more women are apparently using the drug to have an abortion. There are multiple warnings on the bottle, and they couldn't be more clear. Pregnant women should steer clear of misoprostol, an ulcer medication that causes cramping and could cause miscarriage. But pharmacist Bob Rosenberg knows firsthand that some pregnant women try and buy the drug without a prescription to intentionally terminate a pregnancy.
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local&id=6586273&rss=rss-wabc-article-6586273
Burris denied seat in U.S. Senate to succeed Obama
Former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris announced his rejection for Barack Obama's Senate seat Tuesday in a bizarre rainy-day scene on the Capitol grounds as lawmakers awaited the gaveling of the 111th Congress into session.
Standing amid a huge throng of reporters and television cameras in a cold and steady rain, Burris, 71, declared that he had been informed that "my credentials are not in order and will not be accepted." (View video report)
He said he was "not seeking to have any type of confrontation" over taking the seat that he was appointed to by embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Politics/Default.aspx?id=375230
Adult Stem Cells Grow New Teeth
Wisdom teeth are a rich source of stem cells, and apparently they can be used to grow teeth on demand. From the story:
As long as there are hockey players, there will be niche markets for false teeth. But the real news about the future of dentures is that there isn't much of one.
Toothlessness has declined 60 percent in the United States since 1960. Baby boomers will be the first generation in human history typically to go to their graves with most of their teeth.
And now comes tooth regeneration: growing teeth in adults, on demand, to replace missing ones. Soon. It turns out wisdom teeth are prolific sources of adult stem cells needed to grow new teeth for you. From scratch. In your adult life, as you need them. In the near future. According to the National Institutes of Health.
http://www.wesleyjsmith.com/blog/2009/01/dont-buy-stock-in-denture-making.html
Dawkins Yearning for Human/Chimp Hybrid Again
I am not sure why some materialists are so fervently anti human exceptionalism. I suspect they believe that by humbling us into believing our lives are no more important than that of animals, it would undermine Judeo/Christiam moral philosophy in general and theism in particular. Some too, I think, wish to have us sacrifice ourselves to "save the planet," in pursuit of the neo- nature worship that seems to be growing.
This desire leads some materialists to yearn for scientists to find (or create) a human/chimpanzee hybrid that could interbreed with both species, and thereby "break the species" barrier. James Hughes yearned for such a hybrid to be manufactured through genetic engineering in Citizen Cyborg, because he wrote, it would prove humans are not special and undermine what he calls "human racism." Similarly, the crusading atheist and biologist, Richard Dawkins has repeatedly expressed the same desire, for example in supporting the Great Ape Project in an essay in the book of the same name in 1993. (The illustration on the left at the top of this post is a depiction of what such an animal might look from Dawkins' essay.)
http://www.wesleyjsmith.com/blog/2009/01/dawkins-yearning-for-humanchimp-hybrid.html
Retired Pontifical Academy for Life Head Launches New Pro-life Initiative
When the former head of the Vatican’s pro-life office retired, he moved directly into the work of “educating consciences” to help re-build a Culture of Life in the Catholic Church in Italy. Bishop Elio Sgreccia, in an interview with LifeSiteNews.com, explained that his work with the newly founded Ut Vitam Habeant (“That They May Have Life”) Foundation is the next natural step in a lifetime of work in the field of Catholic medicine and bioethics.
Bishop Sgreccia’s name will be familiar to long-time LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) readers, as the former president of the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Life. During his time in that position his became a familiar voice defending the right to life of the unborn and the vulnerable ill and elderly, from the heart of the Roman Catholic Church.
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jan/09010602.html
Disclaimer: The linked items below or the websites at which they are located do not necessarily represent the views of The Illinois Federation for Right to Life. They are presented only for your information.
Studies Revolve Around 'Abortion' Drug
There is a new use for a drug that is supposed to help treat ulcers. But it has doctors concerned, because more women are apparently using the drug to have an abortion. There are multiple warnings on the bottle, and they couldn't be more clear. Pregnant women should steer clear of misoprostol, an ulcer medication that causes cramping and could cause miscarriage. But pharmacist Bob Rosenberg knows firsthand that some pregnant women try and buy the drug without a prescription to intentionally terminate a pregnancy.
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local&id=6586273&rss=rss-wabc-article-6586273
Burris denied seat in U.S. Senate to succeed Obama
Former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris announced his rejection for Barack Obama's Senate seat Tuesday in a bizarre rainy-day scene on the Capitol grounds as lawmakers awaited the gaveling of the 111th Congress into session.
Standing amid a huge throng of reporters and television cameras in a cold and steady rain, Burris, 71, declared that he had been informed that "my credentials are not in order and will not be accepted." (View video report)
He said he was "not seeking to have any type of confrontation" over taking the seat that he was appointed to by embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Politics/Default.aspx?id=375230
Adult Stem Cells Grow New Teeth
Wisdom teeth are a rich source of stem cells, and apparently they can be used to grow teeth on demand. From the story:
As long as there are hockey players, there will be niche markets for false teeth. But the real news about the future of dentures is that there isn't much of one.
Toothlessness has declined 60 percent in the United States since 1960. Baby boomers will be the first generation in human history typically to go to their graves with most of their teeth.
And now comes tooth regeneration: growing teeth in adults, on demand, to replace missing ones. Soon. It turns out wisdom teeth are prolific sources of adult stem cells needed to grow new teeth for you. From scratch. In your adult life, as you need them. In the near future. According to the National Institutes of Health.
http://www.wesleyjsmith.com/blog/2009/01/dont-buy-stock-in-denture-making.html
Dawkins Yearning for Human/Chimp Hybrid Again
I am not sure why some materialists are so fervently anti human exceptionalism. I suspect they believe that by humbling us into believing our lives are no more important than that of animals, it would undermine Judeo/Christiam moral philosophy in general and theism in particular. Some too, I think, wish to have us sacrifice ourselves to "save the planet," in pursuit of the neo- nature worship that seems to be growing.
This desire leads some materialists to yearn for scientists to find (or create) a human/chimpanzee hybrid that could interbreed with both species, and thereby "break the species" barrier. James Hughes yearned for such a hybrid to be manufactured through genetic engineering in Citizen Cyborg, because he wrote, it would prove humans are not special and undermine what he calls "human racism." Similarly, the crusading atheist and biologist, Richard Dawkins has repeatedly expressed the same desire, for example in supporting the Great Ape Project in an essay in the book of the same name in 1993. (The illustration on the left at the top of this post is a depiction of what such an animal might look from Dawkins' essay.)
http://www.wesleyjsmith.com/blog/2009/01/dawkins-yearning-for-humanchimp-hybrid.html
Retired Pontifical Academy for Life Head Launches New Pro-life Initiative
When the former head of the Vatican’s pro-life office retired, he moved directly into the work of “educating consciences” to help re-build a Culture of Life in the Catholic Church in Italy. Bishop Elio Sgreccia, in an interview with LifeSiteNews.com, explained that his work with the newly founded Ut Vitam Habeant (“That They May Have Life”) Foundation is the next natural step in a lifetime of work in the field of Catholic medicine and bioethics.
Bishop Sgreccia’s name will be familiar to long-time LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) readers, as the former president of the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Life. During his time in that position his became a familiar voice defending the right to life of the unborn and the vulnerable ill and elderly, from the heart of the Roman Catholic Church.
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jan/09010602.html
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