IFRL 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.
Judge Says Pro-Life Group's Suit Can Continue
Pro-Life Action League will be allowed to pursue parts of its defamation case against Planned Parenthood and the director of its Aurora clinic, a Kane County judge ruled Thursday. There were two counts in the initial suit, filed in 2007, claiming Planned Parenthood and clinic director Stephen Trombley libeled the anti-abortion group in letters to Aurora officials and in a newspaper advertisement by saying members of the PLAL had a history of violence. Judge Judith Brawka had dismissed those in September, ruling the comments were protected under the Citizens Participation Act because they were trying to influence elected officials. The CPA is intended to protect speech made by private citizens during consideration of government issues.
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=264737
Population Control: The Eugenics Connection
Has eugenics faded away with time, or has the pseudo science morphed and cloaked itself under new auspices? Were some of the original founders of population control efforts themselves eugenicists? How and when did eugenicists shift from Galton era ideals to Malthusian population control?
http://oldthinkernews.com/Articles/oldthinker%20news/population_control.htm
Bill Would Require Teens To Provide Proof of Counseling
A bill requiring girls to provide notarized proof they had been counseled was criticized as a new level of intrusion on personal privacy yesterday. The sponsor, Rep. Anthony DiFruscia, R-Windham, unveiled major amendments to his bill -- House Bill 62 -- just before its public hearing before the House Judiciary Committee. His bill would now allow doctors to act when it is medically necessary, even without proof of counseling. Courts have ruled that health exceptions are a crucial component of any bill that restricts access to abortion restrictions.
http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?articleId=a5545f22-ff21-458f-85ac-f66e7686421c&headline=Bill+would+require+teens+to+provide+proof+of+counseling+before+an+abortion
7 States Sue Over Bush Rule On Health Workers
Seven states sued the federal government Thursday over a new rule that expands protections for doctors and other health care workers who refuse to participate in abortions and other medical procedures because of religious or moral objections. Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal filed the lawsuit in federal court in Hartford on behalf of the states. They claim the federal rule, issued by the Bush administration last month and set to take effect Tuesday, would trump state laws protecting women's access to birth control, reproductive health services and emergency contraception.
http://www.sltrib.com/health/ci_11462914
US Missionaries Travel to Dominican Republic to Help Keep Abortion Illegal
Three different American pro-life organizations are sending missionaries to the Dominican Republic to stop the threat of legalized abortion. The Dominican Republic, currently abortion-free, is under siege by pro-choice groups to de-criminalize abortion. A group of young pro-life missionaries are traveling to the Dominican Republic during the memorial of the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision.
http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/466739178.html
Abstinence pledges still a good idea
Bristol Palin's pregnancy was disclosed just days after her mother was chosen as John McCain's running mate, and critics of abstinence education pounced on the news. If Christian parents, and the nation's schools, spent more time teaching contraception, critics said, Bristol wouldn't be in this pickle. Advocates for comprehensive sex education, already on a mission to convince states to reject federal abstinence funding, now had more ammunition.
Today, they're thrilled as they look forward to a more liberal Congress that will be inclined to cut funding for abstinence-only education. And they plan on reminding President-elect Obama of his campaign pledge to Planned Parenthood to eliminate abstinence programs, which total about $176 million in federal funding. (For a school district to access abstinence funding, its curriculum must emphasize that abstinence is the "expected standard for all school-age children" and that a "mutually faithful monogamous relationship in the context of marriage is the expected standard of human sexual activity.")
http://www.bpnews.net/BPFirstPerson.asp?ID=29668
