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.
Planned Parenthood Applauds Senate Legislation
Planned Parenthood is applauding the introduction of a bill in the Senate called the Prevention First Act, which life advocates say will do little to decrease abortions, as it claims — and will give more funding to the nation's largest abortion provider.
The legislation would improve awareness about contraception, restore affordable birth control and protect teens’ health.
But Carrie Gordon Earll, senior bioethics analyst at Focus on the Family Action, said bills like this falsely claim that greater access to contraception means fewer unintended pregnancies.
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000009024.cfm
Scientists 'Trick' Adult Stem Cells To Repair The Body
Scientists have tricked bone marrow into releasing extra adult stem cells into the bloodstream, a technique that they hope could one day be used to repair heart damage or mend a broken bone, in a new study published in the journal Cell Stem Cell. When a person has a disease or an injury, the bone marrow mobilises different types of stem cells to help repair and regenerate tissue. The new research, by researchers from Imperial College London, shows that it may be possible to boost the body's ability to repair itself and speed up repair, by using different new drug combinations to put the bone marrow into a state of 'red alert' and send specific kinds of stem cells into action.
http://www.nurse101.com/news/archives/000027.html
Pro-Abort Group to Remind Lawmakers Abortion Ban Proposals Fail
South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families wants to remind the Legislature that their constituents don't want another measure that bans abortion in the state. Post-election surveying by the group showed people want the focus to shift to preventing unintended pregnancies, co-chairwoman Jan Nicolay said Wednesday. "The people of South Dakota do not want government intruding into their personal medical decisions," she said. "We just think everyone should work together on that and not spend time with ballot issues."
http://www.argusleader.com/article/20090108/NEWS/901080301/1001/rss01
FDA Scientists Complain To Obama Of 'Corruption'
In an unusually blunt letter, a group of federal scientists is complaining to the Obama transition team of widespread managerial misconduct in a division of the Food and Drug Administration. "The purpose of this letter is to inform you that the scientific review process for medical devices at the FDA has been corrupted and distorted by current FDA managers, thereby placing the American people at risk," said the letter, dated Wednesday and written on the agency's Center for Devices and Radiological Health letterhead.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090108/D95J8N980.html
Madoff Fallout Drains Funding Of Abortion Advocacy Groups
Fallout from the exposure of investment manager Bernard Madoff’s massive $50 billion Ponzi scheme threw many individuals and charities into financial distress. The fraud has also deprived funding from several pro-abortion rights groups and projects. The Florida-based Picower Foundation, listed as the 71st-largest in the nation by the Council on Foundations, claimed assets of $1 billion, the New York Times reports. It was forced to close in December due to financial problems with its assets, which were managed by Madoff.
http://catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=14720
Prosecutor Focus on Basis of Tiller Charges in Closing Arguments
Prosecutor Barry Disney on Wednesday urged a judge to focus on the criminal charges against a Wichita abortion provider, not his lawyers' attempts to discredit them. Disney had been less vocal than George Tiller's lawyers the previous two days during a pretrial hearing that concluded Wednesday. He lodged an occasional objection and spent little time cross-examining witnesses, as Tiller's lawyers argued the case should be dismissed.
http://www.kansas.com/819/story/655472.html
