NEWS SHORTS FOR FRIDAY
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.
Battle Over Abortion Ban Draws Late Campaign Money
Two groups at odds over an initiated abortion ban have taken in more than $500,000 in combined contributions since campaign finance reports were submitted last week, new filings show. In the past 10 days, the South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families, the main group opposing Initiated Measure 11, has filed supplemental reports showing almost $316,000 in additional contributions. VoteYesForLife, the primary group advocating the measure, filed reports showing nearly $215,000 in additional contributions.
http://www.argusleader.com/article/20081031/NEWS/810310316/1001/rss01
Update: Virginia Court of Appeals' Arguments On Abortion Regulation
During the hearing, Virginia Solicitor General William Thro argued that the state law was almost identical to the federal ban. Judge Blane Michael -- who voted with Judge Diana Griboon Motz in the majority on the previous decisions by the three-judge panel -- said that unlike the federal law, the Virginia law is written in a way that a physician could face prosecution if he or she intends to perform a second-trimester dilation and evacuation procedure that turns out to be intact D&E if the fetus is expelled or partially expelled. He said, "When you put those two statutes together, they just don't look the same or read the same".
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/127486.php
Proposal 2 Is Embryonic Stem Cell Ballot Proposal To Michigan's Constitution
As a person living in a wheelchair with multiple sclerosis, I did my homework by researching the merits of Proposal 2, the embryonic stem cell ballot proposal because I would love to find cures and new treatments for diseases and illnesses. However, after carefully reading the ballot language of Proposal 2, I found that this measure as it was cleverly written by proponents, is not the cure that Michigan needs right now. Instead, Proposal 2 goes too far by placing an exemption on a new growing industry from future health, safety, or ethical oversight in our state Constitution.
http://www.freep.com/article/20081028/OPINION05/81028078/1068/OPINION
NC Group Running Abortion Ad Loses In Courts
A federal judge has refused to block election officials from enforcing disclosure rules on a group running an ad critical of Democrat presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama's record on abortion. U.S. District Judge Malcolm Howard denied a request for an injunction by a North Carolina group called the Committee for Truth in Politics. The group said it ran a television commercial in three states accusing Obama of voting against bills in the Illinois Senate that would have protected infants who survived late-term abortions.
http://www.wxii12.com/politics/17850036/detail.html?rss=gws&psp=news
Catholic 'Civil War' On Abortion Policy
A split has developed in the U.S. Catholic Church over abortion, with some bishops taking a harder line while some Catholics argue for a soft approach. Cardinal Edward Egan of New York, the leading Catholic prelate, declared abortion "no less heinous than what was perpetrated by Hitler and Stalin," the Boston Globe reported. The newspaper column was illustrated with a picture of a 20-week fetus. Bishops in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, have warned Catholics against voting for any politician who supports abortion rights. Others say the anti-abortion movement has failed to overturn the landmark Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court ruling or to win a legislative ban on abortion. They say trying to reduce abortions by preventing unwanted pregnancies convincing women not to end their pregnancies would be more effective.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/10/31/Catholic_civil_war_on_abortion_policy/UPI-58761225432063/
