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November 16, 2012
Pro-Life Events
National Day or Remembrance
Cities throughout America are getting set for the National Day of
Remembrance for Aborted Children.
The date, Saturday, September 14, marks the historic burial of hundreds of
bodies of aborted babies in Milwaukee 25 years ago. Eric Scheidler of the
Pro-Life Action League tells OneNewsNow 37 gravesites and 360 memorials for the
unborn have been discovered.
"We are going to these gravesites and other memorial locations for the
unborn victims of abortion to pray for our country, to pray for an end to
abortion and to mourn the loss of these children of God to abortion over the
years," he shares.
Those sites are listed on a special website.
In Illinois, some sites include: St. Mary Cemetery in Evergreen Park in
which Bishop Alberto Rojas, a Catholic Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago, and Carol
Rybacki, a representative of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign, will speak.
There is also a memorial at Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Hillside where Cardinal
Francis George of Chicago and Joe Scheidler will be attending and a memorial at
Resurrection Cemetery in Romeoville where Bishop Joseph Siegel, the Catholic
Bishop of Joliet, and national activist and blogger Jill Stanek, who is from the
far southwest suburbs of Chicago, will participate.
"You can go to AbortionMemorials.com and find those
locations and even volunteer to coordinate a memorial service," the pro-lifer
reports. "It can be anything from an elaborate service with pastors and with
special prayers and a program and maybe even invite the media, to simply going
out with a group of fellow committed pro-lifers to pray on that day in
solidarity with others around the country who are remembering the victims of
abortion," Scheidler suggests.
Those victims include the women who have aborted their children.
Event organizers are also asking people willing to set up memorials and
conduct a National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Children event either this
year or in the future to contact them for information on how to do so.
More than 56 million babies have died through abortion in America
_________________________________________________
Legislation
State Legislation
HB 3027: Amends School Code to dilute abstinence education
With the failure to pass SB 1619 in 2011, the bill sponsor amended another education bill (HB 3027) to become a similar and equally dangerous sex education bill. The State Senate passed HB 3027 with Senate Amendment 1 and sent it back to the House. Click HERE to send an email or a fax to your state representative.
HB 3027 should have died with the adjournment of the legislative session, but it was brought back for consideration by the House in 2012, so state reps need to be informed that they should oppose this dangerous bill. Focus on HB 3027 when you call.
Additionally, an equivalent bill (HB 4616) was introduced in 2012. Either HB 3027 or HB 4616 would amend the Illinois school code to remove most requirements to teach about abstinence until marriage from the section on "sex education" and instead require use of graphic "comprehensive" sex education. HB 4616 was sent to the Human Services Committee where it was not considered so it was returned to the Rules Committee so it should be dead.
HB 4085 (Ultrasound Opportunity Act)
Requires offering an opportunity to view an ultrasound of the baby before an abortion. Get details for HB 4085. Take action. (Dead for 2012)
HB 4117 (Ambulatory Surgical Treatment Center Act)
Expands the medical regulations that apply to abortion facilities, both ASTCs and any facility where 50 or more abortions are performed annually. Get details for HB 4117. Take action. (Dead for 2012)
Federal Legislation
Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act (PRENDA) (ban on sex-selection abortions)
Bill # S.3290
Original Sponsor:
David Vitter (R-LA)
Cosponsor Total: 33
(last sponsor added 07/23/2012)
33 Republicans
About This Legislation:
The Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act (or PRENDA, pronounced PREN-dah), S. 3290, would apply federal criminal penalties to any person who does any of the following four things: (1) performs an abortion knowing that such abortion is sought based on the sex of the child; (2) uses force or the threat of force to intentionally injure or intimidate any person for the purpose of coercing a sex-selection abortion; (3) solicits or accepts funds for the performance of a sex-selection abortion; or (4) transports a woman into the United States or across a State line for the purpose of obtaining a sex-selection abortion. The bill provides that a woman cannot be prosecuted or sued in connection with her own abortion.
Respect for Rights of Conscience Act
Bill # S.1467
Original Sponsor:
Roy Blunt (R-MO)
Cosponsor Total: 38
(last sponsor added 02/14/2012)
37 Republicans
1 Democrats
About This Legislation:
The Respect for Rights of Conscience Act (S. 1467), introduced by Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), would amend the Obama health care law ("ObamaCare") to prevent the imposition of regulatory mandates that violate the religious or moral convictions of those who purchase or provide health insurance. Specifically, the bill would exempt institutions or individuals from providing health coverage for any specific services that violate their religious or moral convictions, even if those specific services are otherwise mandated by federal regulatory mandates. This protection would apply, among other things, to any mandates involving abortion or abortion-inducing drugs. However, the bill does not authorize denial of health benefits to "individuals against their wishes on the basis of the individuals' age or expected length of life or of the individuals' present or predicted disability, degree of medical dependency, or quality of life." The House companion bill is H.R. 1179.
Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act (CIANA)
Bill # S.1241
Original Sponsor:
Marco Rubio (R-FL)
Cosponsor Total: 33
(last sponsor added 01/23/2012)
33 Republicans
About This Legislation:
The Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act (CIANA), sponsored by Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fl.), requires any abortionist to notify a parent before performing an abortion on a minor who is a resident of another state, unless the minor has already received authorization from a court in her home state, or unless the abortionist is already required to provide such parental notification by a current law in the state in which he practices. If the minor asserts that she is the victim of abuse, the abortionist must notify the appropriate state child abuse agency instead. The bill also would make it a federal offense to transport a minor across state lines for an abortion without fulfilling the requirements of a parental notification law in effect in the home state.
No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act
Bill # S.906
Original Sponsor:
Roger Wicker (R-MS)
Cosponsor Total: 37
(last sponsor added 07/13/2011)
37 Republicans
About This Legislation:
The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act (S. 906), is sponsored by Senator Roger Wicker (R-Ms.). This bill is identical to H.R. 3, which was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on May 4, 2011, by a vote of 251-175. The bill would establish a permanent, government-wide prohibition on federal subsidies for abortion and for health plans that cover abortion (with narrow exceptions). This policy would apply both to longstanding federal programs and to the new programs created by the health care bill signed by President Obama in 2010. The bill also would close certain loopholes that give tax-preferred status to abortion, and would codify and strengthen conscience protections for pro-life health care providers.
Protect Life Act
Bill # S.877
Original Sponsor:
Orrin Hatch (R-UT)
Cosponsor Total: 35
(last sponsor added 11/09/2011)
35 Republicans
About This Legislation:
On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed into law a massive health care restructuring bill (Public Law 111-148, sometimes called "Obamacare") that allowed certain federal agencies to subsidize and administer health plans that cover abortion on demand, and authorized federal subsidies for abortion in various other federal programs as well. The Protect Life Act (H.R. 358), introduced by Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), is an NRLC-backed bill that would repeal and/or correct all of the pro-abortion components of Public Law 111-148. The Protect Life Act is modeled on the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, which pro-life forces tried to attach to the health care bill during 2009-2010, but which President Obama and congressional Democratic leaders prevented from becoming part of the final, enacted health care law.
Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act
Bill # S.314
Original Sponsor:
Mike Johanns (R-NE)
Cosponsor Total: 18
(last sponsor added 02/10/2011)
18 Republicans
About This Legislation:
The Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act is sponsored by Senator Mike Johanns (R-Ne.). This bill would require every abortionist to provide, whenever a woman seeks an abortion past 20 weeks after fertilization, specified information about the capacity of her unborn child to experience pain during the abortion, after which the woman must either accept or refuse (by signing a form) the administration of pain-reducing drugs directly to the unborn child. The bill would apply to all abortions past 20 weeks, regardless of the method used. The bill also contains a number of proposed congressional "findings" regarding the scientific evidence that unborn children experience great pain during abortions at 20 weeks (and perhaps earlier), and cites a number of existing federal laws that seek to diminish the suffering even of animals, such as restrictions on how livestock are slaughtered and restrictions on the use of animals in medical research.
Abortion Non-Discrimination Act (ANDA)
Bill # S.165
Original Sponsor:
David Vitter (R-LA)
Cosponsor Total: 13
(last sponsor added 02/06/2012)
11 Republicans
2 Democrats
About This Legislation:
The Abortion Non-Discrimination Act (ANDA), sponsored by Senator David Vitter (R-La.), would prohibit health care providers from being penalized for declining to participate in providing abortions. The bill would cover individual health care professionals, hospitals, insurers, and other health care providers.
HB 3027: Amends School Code to dilute abstinence education
With the failure to pass SB 1619 in 2011, the bill sponsor amended another education bill (HB 3027) to become a similar and equally dangerous sex education bill. The State Senate passed HB 3027 with Senate Amendment 1 and sent it back to the House. Click HERE to send an email or a fax to your state representative.
HB 3027 should have died with the adjournment of the legislative session, but it was brought back for consideration by the House in 2012, so state reps need to be informed that they should oppose this dangerous bill. Focus on HB 3027 when you call.
Additionally, an equivalent bill (HB 4616) was introduced in 2012. Either HB 3027 or HB 4616 would amend the Illinois school code to remove most requirements to teach about abstinence until marriage from the section on "sex education" and instead require use of graphic "comprehensive" sex education. HB 4616 was sent to the Human Services Committee where it was not considered so it was returned to the Rules Committee so it should be dead.
HB 4085 (Ultrasound Opportunity Act)
Requires offering an opportunity to view an ultrasound of the baby before an abortion. Get details for HB 4085. Take action. (Dead for 2012)
HB 4117 (Ambulatory Surgical Treatment Center Act)
Expands the medical regulations that apply to abortion facilities, both ASTCs and any facility where 50 or more abortions are performed annually. Get details for HB 4117. Take action. (Dead for 2012)
Federal Legislation
Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act (PRENDA) (ban on sex-selection abortions)
Bill # S.3290
Original Sponsor:
David Vitter (R-LA)
Cosponsor Total: 33
(last sponsor added 07/23/2012)
33 Republicans
About This Legislation:
The Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act (or PRENDA, pronounced PREN-dah), S. 3290, would apply federal criminal penalties to any person who does any of the following four things: (1) performs an abortion knowing that such abortion is sought based on the sex of the child; (2) uses force or the threat of force to intentionally injure or intimidate any person for the purpose of coercing a sex-selection abortion; (3) solicits or accepts funds for the performance of a sex-selection abortion; or (4) transports a woman into the United States or across a State line for the purpose of obtaining a sex-selection abortion. The bill provides that a woman cannot be prosecuted or sued in connection with her own abortion.
Respect for Rights of Conscience Act
Bill # S.1467
Original Sponsor:
Roy Blunt (R-MO)
Cosponsor Total: 38
(last sponsor added 02/14/2012)
37 Republicans
1 Democrats
About This Legislation:
The Respect for Rights of Conscience Act (S. 1467), introduced by Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), would amend the Obama health care law ("ObamaCare") to prevent the imposition of regulatory mandates that violate the religious or moral convictions of those who purchase or provide health insurance. Specifically, the bill would exempt institutions or individuals from providing health coverage for any specific services that violate their religious or moral convictions, even if those specific services are otherwise mandated by federal regulatory mandates. This protection would apply, among other things, to any mandates involving abortion or abortion-inducing drugs. However, the bill does not authorize denial of health benefits to "individuals against their wishes on the basis of the individuals' age or expected length of life or of the individuals' present or predicted disability, degree of medical dependency, or quality of life." The House companion bill is H.R. 1179.
Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act (CIANA)
Bill # S.1241
Original Sponsor:
Marco Rubio (R-FL)
Cosponsor Total: 33
(last sponsor added 01/23/2012)
33 Republicans
About This Legislation:
The Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act (CIANA), sponsored by Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fl.), requires any abortionist to notify a parent before performing an abortion on a minor who is a resident of another state, unless the minor has already received authorization from a court in her home state, or unless the abortionist is already required to provide such parental notification by a current law in the state in which he practices. If the minor asserts that she is the victim of abuse, the abortionist must notify the appropriate state child abuse agency instead. The bill also would make it a federal offense to transport a minor across state lines for an abortion without fulfilling the requirements of a parental notification law in effect in the home state.
No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act
Bill # S.906
Original Sponsor:
Roger Wicker (R-MS)
Cosponsor Total: 37
(last sponsor added 07/13/2011)
37 Republicans
About This Legislation:
The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act (S. 906), is sponsored by Senator Roger Wicker (R-Ms.). This bill is identical to H.R. 3, which was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on May 4, 2011, by a vote of 251-175. The bill would establish a permanent, government-wide prohibition on federal subsidies for abortion and for health plans that cover abortion (with narrow exceptions). This policy would apply both to longstanding federal programs and to the new programs created by the health care bill signed by President Obama in 2010. The bill also would close certain loopholes that give tax-preferred status to abortion, and would codify and strengthen conscience protections for pro-life health care providers.
Protect Life Act
Bill # S.877
Original Sponsor:
Orrin Hatch (R-UT)
Cosponsor Total: 35
(last sponsor added 11/09/2011)
35 Republicans
About This Legislation:
On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed into law a massive health care restructuring bill (Public Law 111-148, sometimes called "Obamacare") that allowed certain federal agencies to subsidize and administer health plans that cover abortion on demand, and authorized federal subsidies for abortion in various other federal programs as well. The Protect Life Act (H.R. 358), introduced by Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), is an NRLC-backed bill that would repeal and/or correct all of the pro-abortion components of Public Law 111-148. The Protect Life Act is modeled on the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, which pro-life forces tried to attach to the health care bill during 2009-2010, but which President Obama and congressional Democratic leaders prevented from becoming part of the final, enacted health care law.
Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act
Bill # S.314
Original Sponsor:
Mike Johanns (R-NE)
Cosponsor Total: 18
(last sponsor added 02/10/2011)
18 Republicans
About This Legislation:
The Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act is sponsored by Senator Mike Johanns (R-Ne.). This bill would require every abortionist to provide, whenever a woman seeks an abortion past 20 weeks after fertilization, specified information about the capacity of her unborn child to experience pain during the abortion, after which the woman must either accept or refuse (by signing a form) the administration of pain-reducing drugs directly to the unborn child. The bill would apply to all abortions past 20 weeks, regardless of the method used. The bill also contains a number of proposed congressional "findings" regarding the scientific evidence that unborn children experience great pain during abortions at 20 weeks (and perhaps earlier), and cites a number of existing federal laws that seek to diminish the suffering even of animals, such as restrictions on how livestock are slaughtered and restrictions on the use of animals in medical research.
Abortion Non-Discrimination Act (ANDA)
Bill # S.165
Original Sponsor:
David Vitter (R-LA)
Cosponsor Total: 13
(last sponsor added 02/06/2012)
11 Republicans
2 Democrats
About This Legislation:
The Abortion Non-Discrimination Act (ANDA), sponsored by Senator David Vitter (R-La.), would prohibit health care providers from being penalized for declining to participate in providing abortions. The bill would cover individual health care professionals, hospitals, insurers, and other health care providers.
Contact the IFRL
Contact Information:
Illinois Federation for Right to Life
1300 S. 8th Street
Springfield, IL 62703
Phone: (217) 544-9700
Fax: (217) 241-5413
Web: www.ifrl.org
E-mail: office@ifrl.org
Illinois Federation for Right to Life
1300 S. 8th Street
Springfield, IL 62703
Phone: (217) 544-9700
Fax: (217) 241-5413
Web: www.ifrl.org
E-mail: office@ifrl.org
About the IFRL
1. What is the IFRL, Inc.?
The IFRL is the largest grassroots pro-life organization in Illinois. A non-profit organization, that serves as the state coordinating body for local pro-life chapters representing thousands of Illinois citizens working to restore respect for all human life in our society. The IFRL is composed of people of different political persuasions, various faiths and diverse economic, social and ethnic backgrounds. Since 1973 the Illinois Federation for Right to Life has been working to end abortion and restore legal protection to those members of the human family who are threatened by abortion, infanticide and euthanasia. Diverse though we are, we hold one common belief - that every human being has an inalienable right to life that is precious and must be protected. IFRL is dedicated to restoring the right to life to the unborn, and protection for the disabled and the elderly. The IFRL, Inc. is the Illinois Affiliate to the National Right to Life.
2. What does IFRL do?
Publishes IFRL News, the only statewide pro-life newspaper in Illinois.
Sponsors educational seminars and conventions to train volunteers and educate the public on the life issues.
Encouraging the creation and strengthening of pro-life affiliates throughout Illinois.
Serves as a communications center for the interchange of ideas and news of interest to pro-life people in Illinois.
Coordinates activities through its IFRL federal and state Political Action Committees, to elect pro-life candidates to state and federal office.
Provides knowledgeable individuals to participate in radio & television programs and public forums to discuss the life issues.
Testifies at legislative hearings on life-related bills.
Promotes programs and activities which increase respect for the dignity and value of every human life.
3. How does IFRL work?
The founders of IFRL wanted to be sure that the grassroots were involved in the decision making. A Board of Directors with a Director for each Congressional District meets quarterly. Membership in each CD elects their own Director. IFRL is the vehicle through which individual pro-lifers and their local organizations can be involved in lobbying, education and political action.
IFRL represents Illinois on the National Right to Life Committee's Board of Directors All Board members of IFRL are volunteers.
To do the work that must be done takes willing hearts, helping hands and money to pay for all of our efforts. With the continued growth of our local, state and national organizations we become stronger with each new member.
News Links for November 16th
Nevada Judge Refuses to Order Abortion for Mentally Challenged Woman
Vatican to address abortions in Catholic hospitals
Pro-life Catholic survives hearings on nomination as EU health minister
Fordham to host talk by Peter Singer, infanticide apologist
$5,000 Cash to Help Ohio Ban Abortion
Nevada court chooses life
Woman's death sparks new Irish debate on abortion law
Cardinal Dolan: no capitulation on HHS mandate
Intelligentsia Still Hearts "Eugenic Impulse"
Abortion politics: Kline's ethics case goes before KS Supreme Court
8th-Grade Health Class Squirms Throughout Entire Screening Of 'Miracle Of Abortion'
Planned Parenthood prosecution brings legal persecution
China Has Not 'Abandoned' One-Child Policy -- Think Tank
To Protect AND Serve: Why the Pro-Life Movement Needs Both
Unethical to uphold the law?
The professional fate of Phill Kline, Kansas's former attorney general, is now in the hands of the Kansas Supreme Court. A complaint was filed against him for trying to prosecute abortion providers.
A hearing was held yesterday before the state Supreme Court in the continuing effort to disbar Kline for alleged ethics violations. Dana Cody of the Life Legal Defense Foundation (LLDF) tells OneNewsNow Disciplinary Administrator Stanton Haslett has recommended that Kline's license be revoked.
"The disciplinary administrator and his deputy took things out of context, made conclusions inferring things like … they could get inside Phil Kline's head," Cody details. "There was really no evidence that he violated any ethical directive in his role as the state attorney general, or later on as the Johnson County district attorney."
In fact, the LLDF spokesperson tells OneNewsNow Kline did an excellent job as a prosecutor.
"He went after Planned Parenthood and George Tiller's clinic for not reporting statutory rape, for not protecting young girls who were victims," she reports. "It just appears to be a totally politically-motivated prosecution" that came about because the state was under the control of then-Governor Kathleeen Sebelius (D), a strong supporter of abortion and Planned Parenthood.
Sebelius is now U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services, and her appointees dominate the disciplinary administrators and the Kansas Supreme Court.
Contact: Charlie Butts
Source: OneNewsNow.com
Stop Dehydrating the “Unconscious!”
Scientists continue to communicate with people thought to be oblivious and without awareness. From the BBC story:
A Canadian man who was believed to have been in a vegetative state for more than a decade, has been able to tell scientists that he is not in any pain. It's the first time an uncommunicative, severely brain-injured patient has been able to give answers clinically relevant to their care. Scott Routley, 39, was asked questions while having his brain activity scanned in an fMRI machine. His doctor says the discovery means medical textbooks will need rewriting…
And here's something that is fairly typical:
Scott Routley's parents say they always thought he was conscious and could communicate by lifting a thumb or moving his eyes. But this has never been accepted by medical staff.
Time to start listening more to families!
People such as Routley are dehydrated to death every day in all fifty states and in many countries around the world by having their tube-supplied sustenance withdrawn–supposedly based on their lack of personhood. But don't expect this to stop the dehydration imperative. Bioethicists will merely say this is even more reason to kill them since they are aware of their profound disabilities and suffering. Indeed, that argument has already started.
And of course, the media will insist–as they do nearly every time such stories hit the news–that it has nothing to do with Terri Schiavo. No, I will never let it go!
Contact: Wesley J. Smith
Source: National Review
Abortion views differ radically -- even among liberals
People with pro-abortion and pro-life views aren't necessarily rigid or consistent in their views.
In direct contrast to common assumptions, not all evangelicals and conservatives believe abortion should be outlawed in every situation, and many liberals do not want abortion available in all circumstances. Ron Sellers of Grey Matter Research conducted a survey that found evidence of this.
"Only 28 percent of all Americans believe that abortion should be legal in every situation," he indicates. "Only 18 percent believe abortion should be illegal in every situation. Thirty-eight percent said there are some cases where it should be legal; others said it should not. And then 16 percent frankly said, I honestly haven't decided how I feel on this issue. I just don't know."
So Sellers says the survey stresses that people may lean in a particular direction but are not totally one-sided. Sellers is not surprised that 30 percent of those surveyed support sex-selective abortions.
"The attitude among some of the folks who believe that abortion should be legal is that it is not a life, it is not a baby -- it is simply a mass of cells," he explains. "I mean, from a moral standpoint, [they believe] it's really no different than the mother having a growth or a tumor removed from her body."
What did surprise Sellers, "in a sense, is the lack of constancy from those on both sides of the debate."
Contact: Charlie Butts
Source: OneNewsNow.com
UN report renews 'family planning' advocacy
A new report from the United Nations Population Fund declares that family planning is a global "right" for women, and calls for the removal of any social and financial obstacles to it.
"Every adult, adolescent and young person everywhere, regardless of sex, social status, income, ethnicity, religion or place of residence must be empowered to decide freely and responsibly how many children to have and when to have them," the document said.
On Nov. 14, the United Nations Population Fund released the report, titled "The State of World Population 2012." It is subtitled "By Choice, Not By Chance" and links family planning to international development.
In its analysis, the UNFPA called the July 2012 London Summit on Family Planning a "sign of progress."
The event, which the population fund hosted with the help of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, secured $2.6 billion in pledges from countries and foundations to provide family planning to 120 million women. It said $4.1 billion is needed to provide family planning to 222 million women who reportedly would use it but lack access to it.
The summit drew intense backlash, however, from critics ranging from the Vatican daily L'Osservatore Romano to global pro-life advocates.
Meghan Grizzle, research and policy specialist at the World Youth Alliance, and Greg Pfundstein – executive director of the Chiaroscuro Foundation – said the figure of 222 million women in need of family planning is "misleading" and likely overstated.
"Many women have access to contraception and choose not to use it. Social scientists and public policy experts identify women as having an unmet need for contraception even when those women have not expressed a desire to use contraception," Pfundstein and Grizzle said in a July essay published in Public Discourse.
Wendy Wright, interim executive director of the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute, in July charged that the summit marks "a new chapter in the population control movement." She said the summit would use the goal of helping poor women to secure permanent funding for abortion-promoting and population control groups.
Wright said that resources used for family planning could be better directed to providing access to basic health care and maternal health care.
In its new report, UNFPA included some population control advocacy and depicted access to family planning as a "sound economic investment."
It attributed the growth of some Asian economies to a family planning-driven demographic shift which caused the numbers of income-generating adults to be higher than those dependent upon them for support. The report predicted a $30 billion growth in the Nigerian economy if its fertility rate falls by one child per woman in the next 20 years.
The UNFPA report summary said family planning is "almost universally recognized as an intrinsic right" that should be "available to all." It said family planning should be promoted as "a right" which enables "a whole range of other rights."
The report does, however, include a favorable mention of family planning methods the Catholic Church does not recognize as sinful.
"Fertility awareness-related methods are also quite effective if used correctly," it said, citing Guttmacher Institute statistics indicating that these methods are only slightly more likely to result in pregnancy in the first year of use than condoms and are much less likely to result in pregnancy than no family planning method.
Source: CNA/EWTN News
Planned Parenthood: Millions in Medicaid Fraud, $15M for Obama Campaign
Apparently, Planned Parenthood is no longer content exploiting just women and children–so they've moved on to the federal government. Over the past several years, it seems the country's biggest abortion provider has also been running one of the country's biggest scams: a Medicaid racket that's ripped off millions of taxpayer dollars.
Today, it appears that at least six states have been targeted by Cecile Richards's scheme, which reportedly conned the government with hundreds of thousands of bogus reimbursement claims.
One of those states–Texas–will be hearing its first arguments on the issue this week in U.S. District Court, thanks to former Planned Parenthood director-turned-whistleblower Abby Johnson. With the help of Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), she plans to expose at least 87,000 instances of fraud during her time as a clinic manager in Southeast Texas.
Based on her testimony and supporting documents, Planned Parenthood routinely submitted ineligible claims on everything from pap smears to STD and pregnancy tests. In fact, Johnson says her bosses at Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast were under so much financial pressure that they would repeatedly tell staff, "We must turn every call and visit into a revenue-generating client."
A ring of at least 10 clinics were falsifying patient charts, which they would "fix" and "cover up" before the auditors and inspectors came.
"People may hold different views about abortion," Johnson says, "but everyone can agree that Planned Parenthood should play by the same rules as everyone else. It certainly isn't entitled to any public funds, especially if it is defrauding Medicaid and the American taxpayer."
In states like Iowa, the plot was so sophisticated that clinics were getting $26.32 reimbursement checks for a $2.98 package of birth control. State and local governments have poured more than a billion dollars into Richards's group–and this is how she repays them? Twenty-eight million in stolen funds in Iowa, $6 million in Texas, $180 million in California, and similar allegations in New York, New Jersey, and Illinois.
And while we can't say exactly where the dollars went, evidence suggests President Obama's campaign was one of the biggest beneficiaries of Planned Parenthood's largesse. Thanks to this extra revenue from overbilling, Richards's group had the flexibility to spend a whopping $15 million to put Barack Obama back in the White House, where he can keep the money flowing to his favorite chain
Contact: Tony Perkins
Source: Ililnois Review
Acceptance of euthanasia heightens patients’ distrust of medical profession
Martin Cullen, an intensive care physician in Sydney, writes that the increasing acceptance of euthanasia has helped increase patients' distrust of doctors.
"I never cease to marvel how deeply some families of my patients distrust the medical profession," says Martin Cullen. "Between me and them is a wall of suspicion. I know how used car salesmen must feel."
"No longer do families assume that their loved one will be cared for," he continued. "Families feel they need to be advocates for their sick relative. They aggressively question all of my suggestions for care. I really can't blame them. In the Netherlands, where euthanasia has been legalized, non-voluntary euthanasia, aka murder, is no longer unknown."
"Nowadays when I bring bad news to families and tell them that death is imminent and that we can do no more, I expect resistance and hostility," he added. "Just a few weeks ago I was treating an elderly woman who was very sick. Her family told me that they believed that their father had been euthanased years before. They weren't going to let us doctors take their mother, too. They looked at me as if I were a murderer. It was very unsettling for me."
Source: CWN
Analysis: Guttmacher Institute Equates Abortion Limits With Forced Abortion
In June of this past year, photos of a Chinese woman and her dead child flooded the Internet, accompanied by the account of how Feng Jianmei was abducted from her home and forced to undergo a late-term abortion by local family-planning officials. Mrs. Feng's story spread across international news headlines and provoked outrage by national governments. The European Parliament issued a terse statement calling the incident "unacceptable."
A recent article makes the case that any law which restricts abortion--such as waiting periods or parental consent--is the equivalent of China's brutal forced abortion policy that victimized Mrs. Feng. The article from the Guttmacher Institute, the research arm of the abortion group Planned Parenthood, says this because both represent "coercion in reproductive decision making." According to their analysis, "forcing a woman to terminate a pregnancy she wants or to continue a pregnancy that she does not want both violate the same human rights."
The article equates legal restrictions on abortion to enforced abortion by drawing false parallels with regard to both the nature and intent of the laws being compared. The article's author notably contrasts the continuation of a pregnancy, rather than conception, with its termination. No mention is made of any government policy which provides for the forced impregnation of women, only those which protect a pregnancy which has already been established. While this may be in part due to the fact that no country has a policy which allows for government-sanctioned rape, it also attempts to change the context of the debate.
A large portion of the article focuses on United States laws such as those requiring counseling prior to abortion and blocking taxpayer funds from subsidizing abortions. According to the author's thesis, these policies, like the Chinese family-planning regulations, force women "either to have or to not have children for the greater good of those other than themselves." While the article provides examples of national policies providing incentives or deterrents to childbearing enacted in response to fears of population explosion or implosion, no mention is made of the good of the child itself. The Guttmacher article fails to acknowledge any possible motivations for restricting abortion outside of "pronatalist" efforts by leaders to increase national birth rates.
However, government policies intended to increase childbearing typically focus on factors existing prior to the conception of a child, such as increased maternity leave, tax incentives, and housing benefits, such as those introduced in Russia in the 1980s. While abortion rates in Russia have been declining since the 1970s, the pronatalist policies instituted by the government have been incentives to childbearing, not restrictions on abortion. However, while the Guttmacher article fails to explicitly define which policies encouraging larger families it deems coercive, it provides only the most extreme instances of forced abortion and sterilization as counter-examples.
In their attempt to characterize restrictions on abortion in the United States as human rights violations comparable to forced abortion in China, the author completely ignores the argument that abortion itself is a violation of the human rights of the child, despite the fact that many Americans believe that life begins at conception.
Contact: Rebecca Oas, Ph.D.
Source: C-FAM
November 9, 2012
News Links for November 9th
Guttmacher Institute equates abortion limits with forced abortion
USCCB spokeswoman offers post-election reflection on unborn, poor, religious freedom
Violence erupts at pro-abortion demonstration outside Buenos Aires cathedral
Montana Passes Parental Notification
'Shocking image' sums up abortionist's work
Montana Approves Parental-Consent Law
Boston cardinal lauds rejection of assisted suicide bill
911: Bloody Botched 22-Week Abortion Second for Cleveland Abortionist in 5 Weeks
Assisted suicide loses
Massachusetts voters narrowly defeat assisted-suicide proposal
Why Assisted Suicide Lost in MA
Montana passes parental notification abortion law
Nevada Court to Force an Abortion?
Medical Emergency Colorado Planned Parenthood Makes 16 in 22 Months
Holder's Planned Parenthood connection
Time for a Statement
Many pro-life groups have issued statements regarding the election results. So perhaps it is time for the Illinois Federation for Right to Life to issue a post-election statement to our membership, affiliates and pro-life activists. Perhaps even past time. I have been thinking about what to say to you. I will not insult or offend you by even suggesting that giving up or giving in is something that you have seriously considered. I know you. That is not the spirit that governs your life. Your heart drives you to do what is right in the face of great adversity. You simply cannot turn away from confronting evil with good. So I know you will be on the front line defending innocent life at all costs no matter how dark the days may appear. You are the light, you must show up.
The Federation is and will always be a grassroots organization. The strength of this organization is our foundation. You are our strength. So I have concluded that it is not time for me to issue a statement to you but a time for me to seek wisdom from you. It is a time for questions.
The IFRL Board of Directors will meet soon. And we will begin a process of evaluation. It is time to think about new ideas, new methods and new strategies. We intend to do so. We want to hear from you. You are the past, the present and the future of the pro-life movement in Illinois. What do you think we need to do to change the direction of this state? What are your ideas? What has your experience taught you? Please write us. I am certain that together we will discover the answers.
We all worked hard. We gave our all. I am aware that it is tough to face the results. But we are tough. We live in a state that has turned its back on innocent life but we will not let that stand-ever. So we get up, brush ourselves off and march on proclaiming the eternal truth that life is sacred.
Give up? Not a chance.
Contact: Dawn Behnke
Source: Illinois Federation for Right to Life
Obamacare Lives
The people of the United States ensured an Obamacare future by apparently reelecting President Obama and maintaining a Democratic Senate. Here are the immediate consequences:
1. The IPAB will go into effect: As I have written, IPAB is the cornerstone of a planned bureaucratic state. The only way now to thwart that is pure obstructionism. First, by filibustering the nominations that President Obama will make to the Board. Not going to happen. Second, by defunding. Even though the House will stay Republican, I don’t see them taking that route on what, to most people, is an abstract issue.
2. The attack on religious freedom will continue: The Obama Administration is an implacable foe of faith operating outside the four walls of church or cloister. Don’t look for the president to offer religious institutions who oppose the free birth control rule anything other than lip service to accommodation of religious institutions. Businesses will be forced to take their cause to the Supreme Court. Don’t count on help there, as the technocratic statists control the court 5-4, perhaps 6-3. Eventually, we will see a free abortion rule.
3. The Mandate will now be carried out: States that have been resisting will now begin to cooperate with the Feds by establishing exchanges.
4. There will be death panels: In a centralized system, rationing is the cost containment method of choice. The UK shows us the future of the USA. Already, powerful liberal voices on health care such as the New York Times and New England Journal of Medicine, have called for it. It is going to become very scary to be considered unproductive.
5. Single Payer, here we come: Obamacare is going to eventually implode. That will also take down the private insurance market. The result, in about 10 years, will be single payer. And that is by design. Oh, and single payer’s inevitable outcome is health care rationing.
Obamacare isn’t just about health care. It is–as designed–a cultural bulldozer, forcing the left’s liberal social views on all of society. And at this point, I am not sure what can be done about it.
Contact: Wesley J. Smith
Source: National Review
HHS Mandate Lawsuit Count Reaches Milestone Monday
The number of lawsuits against the Obama administration over a rule forcing employers to provide insurance covering contraceptives and possible abortifacient drugs reached 40 this week, when a medical supply company in Minnesota filed a complaint on Nov. 5.
Stuart Lind, who owns Annex Medical, Inc., is a Catholic dedicated to “conducting business in a way that is pleasing to God and is faithful to Biblical principles and values,” according to court documents. He says the mandate is forcing him to violate his religious beliefs.
“This case follows the successful challenges of the (Health and Human Services) mandate by for-profit businesses in other states,” said Erick Kaardal of the Minneapolis-based law firm Mohrman & Kaardal, P.A., one of the attorneys representing Lind. “We are the first to file in Minnesota. We hope to have the Constitution applied to protect business owners’ religious liberties elsewhere.”
The Obama administration gave secular businesses until this past August to comply with the mandate. Faith-based organizations, including Catholic hospitals, universities and ministries, have a so-called “safe harbor” extension that gives them until August 2013 to find a way to comply.
Annex Medical refuses to adhere to the mandate and will drop its insurance plan altogether by Jan. 31, unless courts provide relief, the law firm stated.
Tom Janas, a businessman and entrepreneur, is another plaintiff in Annex Medical, Inc. et al. v. Sebelius. Earlier this year, Janas, who also is Catholic, sold his company, Roffe Container, Inc., to a competitor after learning he would be forced to violate his religious beliefs in order to comply with the HHS mandate. Janas plans to purchase another business in 2013, and is suing for relief from the mandate.
The 40 lawsuits against the Obama administration currently comprise more than 110 plaintiffs.
Last week, a federal court in Oklahoma heard arguments from Hobby Lobby, the largest corporation so far to challenge the mandate. The Becket Fund for Religious Liberties, which is representing Hobby Lobby, said a ruling on the request not to be forced to comply while the lawsuit proceeds is expected in the next few weeks. Should the court grant the request, Hobby Lobby would be the third company to receive temporary relief from the mandate.
Contact: Bethany Monk
Source: CitizenLink
Tyndale vs. HHS mandate
ADF today is in federal court in the nation's capital defending Tyndale House Publishers in the first post-election challenge to the HHS mandate.
Based on its biblical convictions, Tyndale objects to the requirement that it provide free insurance coverage for drugs that cause abortions. The Bible publisher actually filed suit October 2 on behalf of the Carol Stream, an Illinois-based organization that is owned by a foundation.
As OneNewsNow reported earlier, the largest privately held Christian publisher of Bibles, Christian books and biblical media is not considered "religious" -- even though it is a non-profit foundation that provides grants to meet physical and spiritual needs of people worldwide.
Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Matt Bowman tells OneNewsNow very serious constitutional issues are at stake.
"Bible publishers should be free to do business according to the book that they publish," Bowman contends.
"For the government to say that a Bible publisher is not religious is alarming. It demonstrates how clearly the Obama administration is willing to disregard the Constitution's protection of religious freedom to achieve certain political purposes."
The foundation that owns Tyndale distributes 96.5 percent of its profits to religious non-profit causes worldwide. Still, the publisher is subject to the mandate because the Obama administration rules for-profit corporations as categorically non-religious.
Contact: Charlie Butts
Source: OneNewsNow.com
Facing Another Four Years of Radical Anti-Life Policies, Pro-Lifers Must Not Give Up Hope
With the re-election of Barack Obama, the international pro-life movement faces more threats
As Barack Obama prepares for another term as America's president, Human Life International President Father Shenan J. Boquet is calling on pro-lifers around the world to stay vigilant, to pray, and not to give up hope.
"Under the most radical anti-life president America has ever seen, the U.S. taxpayers have funded a destructive foreign policy, which has already done great harm around the world," said Father Boquet. "But we must continue to fight for those who cannot defend themselves, and we cannot lose hope, because the Lord of Life is on our side.
"We need prayer now more than ever for our unborn brothers and sisters around the world facing death due to the policies of the Obama administration, and for those facing persecution for daring to spread the Gospel of Life," Father Boquet said. "May Our Lord Jesus Christ give us the strength to run the race and win the fight for life."
Contact: Stephen Phelan
Source: Human Life International
Fr. Pavone: Collision Course Now Assured; Time to Recommit
Father Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, issued the following statement about President Obama's re-election:
"The collision course of the Obama Administration with the Catholic Church could have been averted, but now it is assured instead.
"It is therefore time to recommit ourselves to the basics: a clear proclamation of the truth, an uncompromising fidelity to our principles, and an unwavering commitment to civil disobedience.
"Many in Church leadership failed to connect the dots between personnel and policy. They prayed and preached against the HHS mandate, but then were silent about the election, and called the police to remove citizens who leafleted the Church parking lot trying to inform voters about where the candidates stood on this issue.
"Meanwhile, the national pro-life groups have done outstanding work in this year's election, with initiatives, creativity, and energy as great as I have ever seen, and there is no doubt that the election results would have been far worse without that activity.
"The pro-life cause will prevail in America. In the elections of 2014, we will work for a pro-life Senate majority to further blunt the ability of President Obama to damage the cause of life.
"And in the meantime we will continue the cultural progress that is so clearly on the side of life, as more minds and hearts embrace the unborn, as more abortion mills close, and as more women and men speak up about how abortion harmed them.
Contact: Leslie Palma
Source: Priests for Life
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