OH federal court win on RU-486 could have national impact

     

A first-in-the-nation law that restricts the abortion industry's use of abortion-inducing RU-486 survived another round this week in a case that began 7 years ago. A federal district court in Ohio ruled that the law was "not vague" but could be readily understood by the abortion providers industry. Americans United for Life President and CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest noted that AUL has twice argued that position in two separate amicus briefs during the protracted legal battle and predicted the case would have "national impact."

"The abortion industry has cavalierly given abortion-inducing drugs to women against FDA protocols," said Dr. Yoest. "The courts affirmed the right of states to protect women by requiring proper use of these dangerous drugs. And AUL model legislation on the regulation of RU-486 has been made available nationwide with that protection."

The Ohio regulation in dispute requires abortion providers to comply with the FDA- approved protocol for the drug. On its own website, Planned Parenthood freely admits that RU-486 is given to women who are further along in their pregnancies than the FDA recommends. Ohio enacted the regulation in 2004 after women across the nation died or were severely injured following such "off-label" use of RU-486.

To read AUL's amicus briefs in support of the Ohio law, one before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, and one before the Ohio Supreme Court, click here. In both instances, AUL represented members of the U.S. Congress who supported the regulation, including current Speaker of the House John Boehner.

For more information on RU-486 and AUL's model act regulating abortion-inducing drugs, go here.

Source: Americans United for Life

State of Health Insurance Abortion Coverage Opt-Outs

     

Since the passage of Obamacare, officially titled the Paitient Protection and Affordable Care Act, many states have stepped in to fill the loophole allowing taxpayer funding of abortion.  They have accomplished this by passing laws prohibiting abortion coverage in health plans created through the state exchange program set up by Obamacare.  Arizona was the first state to do so in April of last year followed by four other states that session.  Eight more states have passed laws prohibiting abortion coverage in the 2011 session and eight additional states currently have such legislation pending.  The following chart and map gives details:

State	Bill Number	Date Enacted/Status
Passed in 2010:		Total: 5 states
Arizona	AZ SB 1305	4/24/10
Tennessee	TN SB 2686	5/05/10 (Democrat Gov. did not veto or sign, but allowed bill to become law without his signature.)
Mississippi	MS SB 3214	5/24/10
Louisiana	LA HB 1247	7/02/10
Missouri	MO SB 793	7/23/10 (same scenario as TN)
Passed in 2011:		Total: 8 states
Utah	UT HB 354	3/23/11
Idaho	ID S 1115	4/01/11
Virginia	VA HB 2434	4/06/11
Oklahoma	OK SB 547	4/20/11
Indiana	IN HB 1210	5/10/11
Nebraska	NE LB 22	5/18/11
Kansas	KS HB 2075	5/25/11
Florida	FL H 97	6/02/11
		Total passed: 13 states
Not Passed in 2011:
Minnesota	MN HF 201	Vetoed (5/25/11)
Montana	MT SB 176	Vetoed (4/4/11)
Arkansas	AR SB 113	Passed Senate  and House with amendments, then House did not transmit bill back to the Senate for them to concur before adjournment (2/2/11)
Georgia	GA SB 177	Same path as AR (4/12/11)
Rhode Island	RI S 87	Passed Senate (4/6/11)
Alabama	AL SB 202	Passed Senate  (5/24/11)
		Total: 6 states
Pending in 2011 session:
Pennsylvania	PN SB 3	Passed Senate
Ohio	OH HB 79	Reported out of House committee
Wisconsin	WI AB 154/SB 92	In committees of origin
Oregon	OR HB 3600	In House committee
Iowa	HF 576, HSB 57, SF 38	In committees of origin
Michigan	HB 4143/HB 4147	In House committee
South Carolina	SC H 3406/S102	In committees of origin
New Jersey	NJ A 3085	In Assembly committee
		Total: 8 states

Contact: Brianna Walden Source: FRCBlog

New Video from Personhood USA Asks 'Pro-life? What is it?'

     
 
Personhood USA has unveiled a new video that asks an important question of the pro-life movement; "What does it mean to be pro-life?" The group's latest contribution serves as both a moment of self-reflection and a call to action.
 
"This is the key question as we examine where we have been in the last forty years and where we are collectively headed," said Keith Mason, Co-founder of Personhood USA. "The video not only helps answer this question, but we also hope it inspires lifelong pro-lifers and activates a new generation to rally in defense of the lives of every human being."
 
Since their humble beginnings in 2008, Personhood USA has provided support and assistance for grassroots groups campaigning for constitutional personhood amendments and personhood legislation. These measures seek to secure the God-given and natural right to life of every human being from our biological beginnings and throughout every stage of development.
 
Personhood amendments reached the ballot in Colorado in both 2008 and 2010. Residents of Mississippi are set to vote on a similar measure in November, Amendment 26, that would define the term "person," as used in the Mississippi Bill of Rights, to "include every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning or the functional equivalent thereof."
 
In 1973's infamous Roe v. Wade decision, Justice Harry Blackmun wrote, "If this suggestion of personhood is established, the appellant's case [for decriminalized abortion], of course, collapses." By filling this hole, personhood laws are on solid legal footing to end abortion and provide protections from emerging biotechnologies including abortion inducing drugs, human cloning, and deadly medical research.
 
"Clearly, we see now that the battle for human dignity has expanded to a range of issues all centered around a denial of the most basic of human rights," Mason continues. "The age-based discrimination perpetrated against the preborn is a 21st century issue that requires a return to very foundations of law and human rights: '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.'"
 
To view "Pro-life? What is it?" please visit www.PersonhoodUSA.com.

Contact: Keith Mason
Personhood USA

Abortion -- age-based discrimination

     

A new organization has been formed to educate college student on how to fight for the lives of unborn babies.
 
Mark Harrington, former head of The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform, has left after 12 years to create the new group, Created Equal.
 
"Unfortunately in today's world, equality means everything other than equality between the pre-born and the born," he laments. "So we felt that the name speaks well of what we're trying to communicate, and that is that abortion is simply aged-based discrimination."
 
Created Equal will be taking its outreach and training program to more university students to make sure that pro-life scholars are fully trained to carry the torch.
 
"We can have a gigantic presentation, such as The Genocide Awareness Project, but if we don't transfer that to the next generation, then we're not getting it done," Harrington explains. "So what we're going to emphasize is the transferability of the project so that students will carry on the work once we're gone."
 
He points out that members of the pro-life movement are aging, so the concept of life, as opposed to abortion, must be grasped by today's youth. Harrington and Created Equal are working to establish a succession plan to accomplish that.

Contact: Charlie Butts
Source: OneNewsNow

Jack Kevorkian Dead

     

Not by assisted suicide.  From the Detroit Free Press story:

Known as Dr. Death even before launching his fierce advocacy and practice of assisted suicides, Kevorkian, 83, died at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, where he had been hospitalized with kidney and heart problems. His attorney, Mayer Morganroth, said it appears Kevorkian suffered a pulmonary thrombosis when a blood clot from his leg broke free and lodged in his heart. With Kevorkian was his niece Ava Janus and Morganroth. "It was peaceful, he didn't feel a thing," Morganroth said.

Kevorkian was a disturbed man who, I fear, understood his society–and the media–all too well.  And that may be his legacy.  He perceived how far some will bend to rationalize even the most egregious wrongdoing or advocacy if the excuse is relieving suffering.  Time will tell if he was also a prophet of a dark utilitarian society to come.

What is the proper response to the death of someone like Kevorkian? We should, at least for the moment, set disputes aside and hope that in whatever comes next, he finds forgiveness and peace.  In this regard, Kevorkian was a death-obsessed atheist who zealously believed that when he died–nothing.  He now knows (or doesn't) whether he was right.

Contact: Wesley J. Smith
Source: Secondhand Smoke

 

Pro-life Group Asks MTV to Reconsider Decision to Yank Ads

     

Heroic Media is hoping MTV will have a change of heart and reconsider pulling a pro-life ad campaign from its airwaves.

"Heroic Media has asked MTV to reconsider the decision and allow Heroic Media and other organizations to make women aware of the availability of life-affirming resources," group spokeswoman Marissa Gabrysch told CNA on May 24.

The Texas-based pro-life group recently announced its We Can Help campaign, which was set to air for several weeks on the MTV and BET networks, starting May 2.

However, the ads – which provided practical information for women with unexpected pregnancies – were pulled after one airing.

MTV spokeswoman Jeannie Kedas told Fox News that the network cut the ads because of a controversial billboard campaign in New York City by a group with connections to Heroic Media.

On February 22, pro-life group Life Always displayed a prominent billboard depicting a young black girl beneath the phrase "The most dangerous place for an African American is in the womb." The ad was removed within days, despite the protests of pro-life supporters around the U.S., including Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of New York.

Although MTV claims that the billboard is the main reason behind the cuts, Bill Eisner – head of Nonbox, a brand agency representing Heroic Media – argues that the real issue is the ads' conflict with some of the promotions between the network and Planned Parenthood.

Although the television network has denied the connection, Eisner says one of his network sales representative confirmed that MTV president Stephen Friedman chose to nix the ads because of the projects currently in place with Planned Parenthood.

Eisner added that MTV did not inform Heroic Media its ads had been canceled, and that the pro-life group reportedly found out after being contacted by a reporter.

Despite having its spots canceled, Gabrysch said, "Heroic Media remains committed to airing positive messages that connect women with hopeful alternatives to abortion."

"Everything Heroic Media does is designed to reach women where they are," she added, noting that when a woman learns "about compassionate, positive alternatives to abortion, she'll choose life."

Source: CNA

Tom Roeser, Rest in Peace

     

Illinois conservative leader Tom Roeser will be laid to rest this Saturday, and Friday evening he will lie in state in Park Ridge.  Mrs. Lillian Roeser sends her appreciation to Illinois Review readers for the kind comments written about her husband. 

The Chicago Daily Observer provides these details:

Tom Roeser's visitation will be Friday, 4 to 9 p.m. at Nelson Funeral Home, 820 Talcott Road, Park Ridge. A funeral will be at 11 a.m. on Saturday at St. John Cantius Church, 825 N. Carpenter St. in Chicago followed by burial at Interment All Saints Cemetery, 700 N. River Road in Des Plaines.

In lieu of flowers, the Roeser family has requested that donations be made to the Haymarket Center, a comprehensive alcohol and other drug treatment organization on the Near West Side of Chicago, founded by Msgr. Ignatius McDermott and long supported by Tom Roeser.

ILLINOIS HOUSE HONORS CONSERVATIVE TOM ROESER

Sponsored by House Minority Leader Tom Cross and House Speaker Michael Madigan, HR 444 passed the Illinois House Tuesday to honor Illinois conservative icon, WLS-AM 890's Tom Roeser who passed away Sunday at age 82. Click here for more.

You Are Funding Forced Abortions in China through UNFPA

     

The following is submitted by Reggie Littlejohn, Founder and President of Women's Rights Without Frontiers:

You are funding forced abortions in China. So am I. Not only elective abortions. Forced abortions. It doesn't matter whether you are pro-life or pro-choice on this issue. No one can support forced abortion, because it is not a choice.

What do I mean by "forced abortions?" Here's a short video about a young, Chinese woman who was dragged off the street, strapped to a table and forced to abort at seven months (www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjtuBcJUsjY). You can read many more accounts of forced abortion, forced sterilization and infanticide under China's brutal One Child Policy here.

According to the Congressional-Executive Commission on China report, released on October 10, 2010, violators of China's One Child Policy continue to be victims of "forced sterilization, forced abortion, arbitrary detention, and other abuses."

The One Child Policy has also led to many other serious human rights violations. I'll name just three:

Gendercide. Because of the traditional preference for boys, girls are disproportionately subject to abortion, abandonment and infanticide.
 
Sexual Slavery. There are now an estimated 37 million more males than females living in China today. This severe gender imbalance is a powerful, driving force behind trafficking in women and sexual slavery from nations surrounding China.
 
Female Suicide. According to the World Health Organization, China has the highest female suicide rate of any country in the world. Approximately 500 Chinese women end their lives each day. Could this extraordinary suicide rate be related to the trauma of enduring a forced abortion or forced sterilization?

How does this affect us? Through UNFPA, we are helping finance the infrastructure used in coercive family planning in China. In 2001, the US stopped funding UNFPA on the basis that it is complicit in coercive family planning in China. In 2008, the US State Department reaffirmed that assessment, yet we restored funding in 2009.

Just last week, US citizens voted to cut UNFPA funding under the new YOUCUT program (majorityleader.gov/YouCut/P2_W1.htm).  Because of this vote, Rep. Renee Ellmers will introduce legislation to cut UNFPA, saving $400 million over the next ten years. The bill still needs to pass through committee and be passed by the House to become effective, so you still have time to contact your representative about it.

To sign an international petition against forced abortion and sexual slavery in China, click here.

Contact: Reggie Littlejohn
source: Women's Rights Without Frontiers

'Webcam' abortions? 4 states ban them

     

Nebraska Gov. David Heineman signed into law May 26 a bill to prohibit "telemedicine," or webcam, abortions in the state.

The Republican governor's signature made Nebraska the fourth state this year to enact legislation to address the abortion industry's effort to expand its business through videoconferencing. Kansas, Oklahoma and Arizona also have adopted measures to prevent the relatively new practice.

The law requires a woman using the two-step drug RU 486 for an abortion to take it in the physical presence of a doctor, thereby preventing a "telemed" abortion.

Planned Parenthood initiated "telemed" abortions in Iowa nearly three years ago and threatened to transport the technique to its centers in the neighboring state of Nebraska. As used by Planned Parenthood, a doctor in Des Moines or another city counsels by means of videoconferencing a woman seeking an abortion at another Planned Parenthood center in the same state. After he reviews sonogram images and visits with the woman, the physician can dispense the two-step abortion drug to her by pressing a computer button, thereby opening a drawer from which the woman in the remote clinic may remove the pills.

Heineman signed the bill into law only two days after the Nebraska Legislature passed it in a 38-9 vote.

"Huge kudos to the Nebraska Legislature for stopping [webcam] abortions before they get started in our state," said Julie Schmit-Albin, executive director of Nebraska Right to Life, in a written release.

Legislative efforts to protect the unborn did not fare as well in Minnesota. There, Gov. Mark Dayton vetoed three pro-life bills in two days.

On May 24, the Democratic governor rejected a measure in a larger Health and Human Services bill that would have prohibited human cloning for both research and reproductive purposes. In research cloning, the human embryo is destroyed, normally five to 10 days after its creation.

On May 25, Dayton vetoed two pro-life bills, one to ban abortions after 20 weeks' gestation based on scientific evidence a baby in the womb experiences pain by that point and another to prohibit state funding of elective abortions. Legislators fell short of veto-proof majorities in approving both measures.

Pro-lifers are "very disappointed," said Scott Fischbach, executive director of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, after the May 25 vetoes.

"These are reasonable provisions, not extreme, and have overwhelming support from Minnesotans and legislators," Fischbach said.

Contact: Tom Strode
source: Baptist Press.

House OKs pro-life changes to ObamaCare

     

The U.S. House of Representatives is working on making changes to ObamaCare, specifically when it comes to abortion funding.
 
In a 234-182 vote, the House recently approved the Foxx Amendment to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (aka ObamaCare), which would have set aside funds to be spent without congressional oversight. The amendment offered by Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (R-North Carolina), however, would make those discretionary funds reviewable by Congress each year.

"My amendment [says] that none of these funds could be used for elective abortions, and also that none of the funds could be used to train doctors for elective abortions," she explains. Also under the amendment, medical schools that discriminate against healthcare providers who refuse to do abortions because of their conscience will not receive funds.
 
But despite the House's approval, the prospect of passage in the Senate is slim, says the lawmaker -- and not just because of political correctness. Foxx points out that 23 senators are up for re-election, so they do not want to take a position on the issue.

"That's not the way it's supposed to be," she contends. "We have important business that needs to be done in this country, and the American people are not here simply to re-elect these people to a secure term so that they can sit around and contemplate their navels. We need work done by them."

Congresswoman Foxx argues the House's action reflects what voters say they want, especially in the area of no tax dollars for abortion.

Contact: Charlie Butts
Source: OneNewsNow

National Right to Life Responds to Latest Guttmacher Report

'When tax dollars pay for abortion, you get more abortion'

    

On May 24th, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of 50 state right-to-life affiliates, disputed claims that restrictions on abortion "disproportionately affect" poor women.  The assertion was made in, "Changes in Abortion Rates Between 2000 and 2008 and Lifetime Incidence of Abortion, published online yesterday in the June 2011 issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology by researchers from  the Guttmacher Institute (originally founded as a special research affiliate of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America).

"Data showing an eight percent drop in abortion rates across the board from 2000 to 2008 are encouraging," said Randall K. O'Bannon, Ph.D., National Right to Life director of education and research.

"Guttmacher suggests that higher abortion rates among poorer woman and abortion restrictions are somehow connected, yet it's a thesis that goes undefended," O'Bannon further noted.  "How common sense regulations like right-to-know laws, which tell women about abortion's risks and alternatives which are better for both them and their unborn children, and similar protective measures, are supposed to hurt poor women is hard to fathom."

The overall downward trend seems to indicate that such laws, along with the assistance provided by pregnancy care centers, which provide lifesaving alternatives to abortion, are enabling more women to choose life for their unborn child. However, several states -- California, New York and at least a dozen others -- publicly fund abortion for poor women.  "While the abortion industry saw declines among most demographic groups, it just happened to see growth among women for whom states were covering abortion costs," observed O'Bannon. 

"The fact is, when tax dollars pay for abortion, you get more abortion," O'Bannon observed.

The Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), according to their own 2008-2009 annual report, showed over $1 billion in revenues, including $363.3 million in "Government Grants & Contracts" (an increase from $165 million in 1998).  At a time when the overall number of abortions has decreased, PPFA reports performing 332,278 abortions for the period covered in the 2009 report -- accounting for more than 27% of all abortions performed annually in the United States.

O'Bannon noted: "The abortion industry likes to argue that high abortion rates are due to insufficient government funding for 'family planning,' but the record seems at odds with that assertion.  As abortion industry giant Planned Parenthood has received hundreds of millions of tax dollars each year, abortions at their facilities have steadily increased at rates that very nearly match their increases in government funding."

"Ultimately, the report says less about pro-life laws and more about the aggressiveness of the abortion industry that, funded by tax dollars in many states, exploited poorer women during the recession and profited from their misery. If more women choose life for their unborn children as a result of pro-life legislative initiatives, the abortion industry knows that it will adversely impact their financial bottom line," O'Bannon concluded.

Contact: Jessica Rodgers
Source: National Right to Life

MTV's close ties with abortion giant

     

Though MTV has cancelled a pro-life group's ad because of its "tactics," it will continue its partnership with Planned Parenthood.
 
MTV has banned a media campaign of life-affirming, call-for-help commercials produced by Heroic Media, which were scheduled to run this month.

"The official reason that they gave us was that it was hard to separate Heroic Media's tactics from their commercials, and therefore they would no longer air any commercials from Heroic Media," explains president Bill Eisner of Nonbox, the agency that placed the ads.

He says those "tactics" refer to a media campaign that has stirred a degree of controversy and impacted African-Americans.

"The billboard campaigns certainly were legal [and] certainly were within their First Amendment rights of free speech," Eisner contends. "I think what's controversial about them is the billboards have a headline that says, 'The most dangerous place for an African-American is in the womb.'"

That is a reference to the fact that 36 percent of the abortions in the United States kill unborn black babies. But that is apparently offensive to Planned Parenthood, the biggest abortion-provider and referral service in the U.S. So MTV president Stephen Friedman cut the Heroic Media pro-life ads, suggesting they would cause conflict between the network and the abortion giant.

Contact: Charlie Butts
Source: OneNewsNow

John Stamos to Join Beach Boys for Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Concert

     

Actor, musician and "Full House" star John Stamos will join The Beach Boys during the June 12th performance at the Fraze Pavilion in Kettering, Ohio.

The Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network is delighted to announce that John Stamos will be joining The Beach Boys for the second annual Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Concert in Kettering, Ohio (near Dayton), Sunday, June 12th.

John Stamos, best known for his work in television on the ABC sitcom Full House, is gifted on drums, keyboards, guitar, bass and various percussion instruments and has been performing on occasion with The Beach Boys since 1985. Stamos also has provided vocals on the song, "Forever," from the Beach Boys 1992 album, "Summer in Paradise" and directed the band's music video, "Hot Fun in the Summertime."

"We are just thrilled that John Stamos is planning on being there for this special concert event. It will only add to what is sure to be a fun and memorable evening for everyone coming to the concert," stated Director of Development, and Terri Schiavo's sister, Suzanne Vitadamo.

You can go directly to the Fraze Pavilion Box Office to purchase tickets, or go online to the Fraze Pavilion!

Terri and her legacy continue to touch and change lives every day thanks to the work of Terri's Life & Hope Network, a 501(c) (3) tax exempt organization, established to educate and assist families. Proceeds from ticket sales and sponsorships for this event will allow Terri's Life & Hope Network to continue advocating for the lives of vulnerable persons by serving as a resource for families needing counsel and support in the United States and throughout the world.

Contact: Wanda K. Willis
Source: w2 Event Solution

Support for abortion: the media has it wrong

     

A 2011 Gallup poll released this week caused quite a media stir. For the first time in recent years, Americans identifying themselves as "pro-choice" slightly outnumbered those who consider themselves pro-life. But a closer reading of the data reveals why the abortion lobby's spin of the data is actually misinformation.

The report concluded, "Majorities of Americans indicate some reluctance about abortion on both moral and legal grounds." In fact, the report indicated broad support for restricted abortion.

Key findings included facts such as:

51% of Americans believe abortion is morally wrong while only 39% believe it is morally acceptable.

60% of political Independents are evenly divided on the moral correctness of abortion, but tilt "fairly strongly toward restrictive abortion laws." In fact, 60% of Independents believe abortion should be legal in "few or no circumstances."

61% of all Americans believe that abortion should be legal in "only a few circumstances or no circumstances" while only 37% want abortion legal "in all or most circumstances."
Americans United for Life President and CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest observed that this study debunked a huge myth promulgated by the abortion industry.

"The American people support regulations and common sense checks and balances to protect women and girls' lives, and to respect the life in the womb," noted Dr. Yoest. "With 61 percent of the American people hoping for life affirming policy, AUL looks forward to partnering with them."

To read the entire poll, click here.

Source: Americans United for Life

Pro-choicers stepping up their game

     

NARAL Pro-Choice New York has revealed a national strategy aimed at shutting down pro-life pregnancy centers in urban areas and directing women to abortion providers.
 
Care Net is a national operation of pro-life centers designed to convince women to save their babies' lives. Spokesman Dean Nelson tells OneNewsNow the NARAL strategy is telling.

"Essentially what they hope to do is to connect with city council members [and] county council members in urban areas to try to place high restrictions and stiff penalties and fines on pregnancy centers," he explains.

So abortion proponents are looking for left-wing elected officials who might enact ordinances against the pro-life centers, in spite of the fact that a federal court declared similar ordinances in Baltimore unconstitutional.

"I was there in Baltimore, and I could not find one pastor in Baltimore that was supportive of this particular ordinance," Nelson accounts. "When you communicate to these leaders that these restrictions are trying to close down faith-based centers that are providing free services to women in need, they are actually...quite upset about it."

So he is hopeful Care Net will find that level of resistance when NARAL and its supporters try to force the restrictions on pro-life clinics.

Contact: Charlie Butts
Source: OneNewsNow

Defunding abortuaries not OK with feds

     

The federal government might attack Indiana's new law that defunds the state's abortion providers, but one pro-lifer is confident the measure will stand.
 
The Obama administration has 90 days to look over the law that would impact use of Medicare funds for abortion. Mike Fichter of Indiana Right to Life says indications are the federal government will not approve the changes.

"Well, it's not surprising that the most pro-abortion administration in the history of this country would come out strongly against Indiana's new law that defunds Planned Parenthood," he notes. "We certainly hope that Indiana will stand strong. We think our attorney general will do a wonderful job in defending this law and that Indiana will refuse to be intimidated by the federal government."

But Fichter also believes Indiana is being singled out.

"The defunding of Planned Parenthood in Indiana is sending a clear opportunity for other states to do the same, so I think you do see a federal administration that will be trying to make an example out of Indiana using strong-arm tactics to get the state to back off of this new law," the pro-lifer suggests.

And he further believes this situation exposes the administration's agenda -- the same one that ordered its Justice Department to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

Contact: Charlie Butts
Source: OneNewsNow

House OKs ban on abortion training funds

     

The U.S. House of Representatives approved May 25 a measure that would bar federal funding for the training of medical residents to perform abortions.

The House voted 234-182 for an amendment by Rep. Virginia Foxx, R.-N.C., that would have the following effects on a new program established by last year's controversial health-care reform law:

-- Prohibit the project, which helps teaching health centers form or enlarge residency programs, from funding abortions.

-- Ban money in the program from paying for the training of abortion doctors.

-- Bar health centers funded through the program from discriminating against residents and other health-care professionals who refuse to provide or refer for abortions.

The roll-call vote on Foxx's amendment broke down largely along party lines: 221 Republicans and 13 Democrats voted for the proposal, while 172 Democrats and 10 GOP members opposed it.

"Should taxpayers foot the bill for elective abortions or to train abortion doctors? I don't think so," Foxx said in a written statement after the vote. "If organizations want to provide elective abortions or train abortion doctors they need to find someone other than taxpayers to write the checks. Taxpayers should not be on the hook for subsidizing the abortion industry."

The Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission and other pro-life organizations supported Foxx's amendment.

Two leading abortion rights organizations -- the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and NARAL Pro-choice America -- sharply criticized the amendment.

Pro-life congressional members "will use any bill to launch attacks on a woman's right to choose," NARAL President Nancy Keenan said in a written release after the vote.

"Regardless of how one feels about legal abortion, reasonable lawmakers can agree that doctors should be as well trained as possible to deal with any medical situation that may arise," she said.

The reaction of Planned Parenthood and NARAL to the amendment "makes it crystal clear that they want the federal taxpayer to fund training of the next generation of abortionists," said Douglas Johnson, legislative director of the National Right to Life Committee. "In fact, pro-abortion activists are also trying to make it impossible to become certified in and to practice in some medical fields without participating in providing abortions."

Johnson called for stronger federal laws to protect pro-life medical providers against discrimination.

Foxx's amendment came to a bill, H.R. 1216, that would change the 2010 health care law's required appropriation for some graduate medical training programs to one that must be approved yearly by Congress. The House approved H.R. 1216 in a 234-185 roll call later May 25.

The 13 Democrats who voted for Foxx's amendment were Reps. Jason Altmire of Pennsylvania, Dan Boren of Oklahoma, Jerry Costello of Illinois, Mark Critz of Pennsylvania, Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Tim Holden of Pennsylvania, Dale Kildee of Michigan, Dan Lipinski of Illinois, Mike McIntyre of North Carolina, Collin Peterson of Minnesota, Nick Rahall of West Virginia, Mike Ross of Arkansas and Heath Shuler of North Carolina.

The 10 Republicans who opposed the amendment were Reps. Charles Bass of New Hampshire, Judy Biggert of Illinois, Brian Bilbray of California, Mary Bono Mack of California, Shelley Capito of West Virginia, Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania, Robert Dold of Illinois, Michael Grimm of New York, Richard Hanna of New York and Joe Heck of Nevada.

Source: Baptist Press

State legislatures OK more pro-life bills

     

State legislators continue to send pro-life bills to supportive governors for their signatures.

Measures restricting abortion are awaiting endorsement from the governors of Florida, Kansas and Texas. All the governors -- Florida's Rick Scott, Kansas' Sam Brownback and Texas' Rick Perry -- are expected to sign the bills, and all are Republicans.

The actions add to a variety of pro-life measures already signed into law in this year's state legislative sessions.

The Florida legislature passed five pro-life bills in the late days of its session -- four Scott is expected to sign and one that voters will consider. The measures sent to Scott will, according to a May 9 article by the Florida Baptist Witness:

-- mandate ultrasounds for women seeking abortions in their first trimester, although they can decline to view the sonogram images or hear descriptions of their unborn children.

-- prohibit insurance coverage of abortions in a future state exchange established by last year's federal health-care reform law.

-- toughen limitations on underage girls seeking judicial bypasses for abortions without their parents being notified.

-- change the method of dispersing funds gained from the sale of Choose Life license plates.

The measure to go before Florida's voters in 2012 would amend the constitution to ban the use of state funds for abortions.

Bill Bunkley, the Florida Baptist Convention's legislative consultant, told the Witness legislators would accomplish nothing that would "leave a more lasting legacy in their tenure than the future babies they stood in the gap for these last few weeks. I am very proud of all of them."

In Kansas, the Senate gave final approval April 27 to legislation that will strengthen health and safety requirements for abortion clinics, according to The Wichita Eagle. Unannounced inspections would take place yearly after the measure takes effect.

In Texas, the House of Representatives provided final passage May 5 to a bill mandating that most women seeking abortions have an ultrasound at least 24 hours before the procedure and be given a verbal description of the child, the Southern Baptist TEXAN reported.

In other state actions:

-- The Minnesota House passed two pro-life measures May 6: 1) A ban on abortions after 20 weeks of gestation based on scientific evidence a baby in the womb experiences pain by that point and, 2) a prohibition on state funding of elective abortions.

-- North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue, a pro-choice Democrat, signed into law April 29 a bill which criminalizes violent acts against unborn children during crimes against their mothers.

contact: Tom Strode
Source: Baptist Press

Information Update in Embryonic Stem Cell Lawsuit

     

In the latest update regarding Sherley et al. v. Sebelius et al., the lawsuit challenging federal taxpayer funding of human embryonic stem cell research, a Motion was filed on May 18, 2011, to allow both sides to file supplemental briefs with the U.S. District Court.

This motion to provide additional information to the Court was agreed upon by both sides. A similar previous motion filed on May 9 was opposed by the Department of Justice.

The motions follow the April 29 decision by the Appeals Court to vacate the preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Lamberth in August 2010. While the Appeals Court ruling maintained the status quo regarding the flow of federal taxpayer funds for embryonic stem cell research, there are still a number of issues to be resolved, awaiting the decision of Judge Lamberth.

If the new motion is approved, both sides would be allowed to provide supplemental information in briefs due on or before June 24, 2011, and limited to 10 pages.

Contact: David Prentice
Source: National Right to Life

Pro-Abortion Judicial Nominee Goodwin Liu Blocked in Senate on near Party-Line Vote

     

The nomination of Goodwin Liu, named by President Obama to the powerful U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, was blocked in the U.S. Senate today on a near party-line vote.

Only 52 senators voted to "invoke cloture" (end debate) on the Liu [pronounced "loo"]nomination.  That was 8 votes short of the 60 that were required to advance the nomination to an up-or-down vote.

Of the 44 Republican senators who were present to vote, only one — Lisa Murkowski (Ak.) — voted in favor of advancing the Liu nomination.  Of the 52 Democrats who were present, only one — Ben Nelson (Ne.) — voted to block Liu.   The official roll call is here.

Liu, age 40, is a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley.  He has never served as a judge, but he has written and testified extensively on legal issues.

The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) had urged pro-life senators to oppose cloture on Liu's nomination.

"Liu is strongly committed to judicial activism and to an expansive judge-made 'right' to abortion," commented NRLC Legislative Director Douglas Johnson.  "Indeed, when John Roberts was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court, Liu published an opinion piece in which he specifically attacked Roberts as a threat to 'abortion rights.'"

NARAL Pro-Choice America conducted an extended lobbying campaign on behalf of Liu, calling him a "champion of the constitutional right to privacy."  In a press release issued after the vote, NARAL claimed to have generated 20,000 messages to senators in support of Liu's nomination.

Ed Whelan, president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, who has written extensively and critically regarding Liu's record, wrote on National Review Online on May 17, "Liu presents a volatile mix of aggressive left-wing ideology and raw inexperience.  He's the rare nominee who would threaten to make the Ninth Circuit worse than it already is."

Following today's Senate vote, Whelan noted that only one potential Liu supporter missed the vote, "so the Liu nomination appears dead."

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is one tier under the U.S. Supreme Court in the federal judicial system.  It handles appeals from federal district courts in California, Arizona, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Alaska, and some territories.

Source: National Right to Life