NEWS SHORTS FOR THURSDAY
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.
The Catholic Crusade Against FOCA
The U.S. Catholic Church's crusade against the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) has all the hallmarks of a well-oiled lobbying campaign. A national postcard campaign is flooding the White House and congressional offices with messages opposing FOCA, and the Catholic bishops have made defeating the abortion rights legislation a top priority. In the most recent effort to stop the bill, Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia sent a letter to every member of Congress imploring them to "please oppose FOCA." There is only one hitch. Congress isn't about to pass the Freedom of Choice Act because no such bill has been introduced.
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1880451,00.html
Scientists Await Action On Stem Cells
At the National Institutes of Health, officials have started drafting guidelines they will need to start funding human embryonic stem cell research that has been off-limits for nearly eight years. At the University of California San Francisco, scientists are poised to dismantle the cumbersome bureaucracy they created to segregate experiments that were acceptable under the federal restrictions from studies that were not. At the Harvard Stem Cell Institute in Boston, graduate students and other scientists paid with federal grants are eagerly awaiting the day when they can contribute their eureka moments to projects that are forbidden under the current policy.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/18/AR2009021803174.html?wprss=rss_nation
Police Pulls Man Over for Pro-Life anti-Obama Sign
Oklahoma City Police Officer Confiscate Pro-Life Sign
An Oklahoma City police officer pulled over a man last week and confiscated an anti-President Barack Obama sign the man had on his vehicle. The officer misinterpreted the sign as threatening, said Capt. Steve McCool, of the Oklahoma City Police Department, and took the sign, which read "Abort Obama, not the unborn." Chip Harrison said he was driving to work when a police car followed him for several miles and then signaled for him to pull over. When the officer asked Harrison if he knew why he had been pulled over, Harrison said he did not. "They said, 'It's because of the sign in your window,'" Harrison said. "It's not meant to be a threat, it's a statement about abortion," Harrison said.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=12&articleid=20090219_298_0_ENIDAn35798
Pelosi Spins Meeting with Pope
After her meeting with the Holy Father this morning, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi released a statement highlighting the positive aspects of the meeting but ignoring the Pope's correction of her support for legal abortion.
In her statement, Pelosi says:
"It is with great joy that my husband, Paul, and I met with His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, today. In our conversation, I had the opportunity to praise the Church's leadership in fighting poverty, hunger, and global warming, as well as the Holy Father's dedication to religious freedom and his upcoming trip and message to Israel. I was proud to show His Holiness a photograph of my family's papal visit in the 1950s, as well as a recent picture of our children and grandchildren."
In contrast, the Holy See released a statement regarding the meeting noting that Pope Benedict spoke "of the requirements of the natural moral law" and also "the Church's consistent teaching on the dignity of human life from conception until natural death, which enjoin all Catholics, and especially legislators, jurists, and those responsible for the common good of society, to work in cooperation with all men and women of good will in creating a just system of laws capable of protecting human life at all stages of development."
http://www.ewtn.com/vnews/getstory.asp?number=93856
Catholic Church Continues Postcard Campaign To Rally Opposition To Freedom Of Choice Act
The Roman Catholic Church's postcard campaign to fight the Freedom of Choice Act is experiencing a strong response in the Chicago area, according to Catholic officials involved in the effort, the Chicago Tribune reports. The bill, if approved by Congress and signed by President Obama, would codify the abortion-rights protections in Roe v. Wade. Mary-Louise Kurey, director of the Archdiocese of Chicago Respect Life Office, said about 150,000 postcards have been sent to the 364 Catholic Chicago-area parishes in the archdiocese, and she continues to receive requests from churches for more postcards. Parishioners are given three postcards to sign, two of which are addressed to Illinois Sens. Dick Durbin (D) and Roland Burris (D) and one that is addressed to the person's congressional representative.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/139401.php
Florida House Calls for Criminal Charges in Case of Newborn Killed at Abortion Facility
The Florida House of Representatives has issued a letter to State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle calling for criminal charges to be filed against all involved in the death of a viable baby that was born alive at a Hialeah abortion clinic in 2007.
The baby, Shanice Denise Osbourne, was delivered by unlicensed abortion worker Belkis Gonzalez, who cut the baby's umbilical cord with a pair of office scissors, then, while she was moving and struggling to breathe, shoved her into a plastic bag and tossed her in the trash. Gonzalez later stashed the baby's body on the abortion clinic roof to hide it from authorities.
Abortionist Pierre Renelique did not show up for the scheduled abortion and arrived only after the baby had been delivered and killed. Last week, the Florida Medical Board revoked his medical license based on his negligence in this case. A civil suit was filed against those responsible for Shanice's death earlier this month.
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/feb/09021903.html
