NEWS SHORTS FOR WEDNESDAY
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.
Republicans Look to Use Abortion for Rebuilding GOP
President Barack Obama's pro-abortion agenda means the GOP will make the sanctity of life one of the foundations for rebuilding the party and regaining control of Congress and the White House, top Republicans told the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, D.C., last week. “We really are going to be the party of better solutions,” House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said. “There’s another issue where a better solution is already known, and that’s the issue that we’ve known about for thousands of years – that is the issue of life. We’re the pro-life party.” Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich told CNSNews.com at CPAC that the sanctity of life issue has been and will continue to be an important tenet of the GOP platform.
http://cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=44263
Abortion Loan Causes Drug Court Uproar
The Blair County Adult Drug Court lent $275 to a participant so she could have an abortion, creating a firestorm of controversy. District Attorney Richard Consiglio said he was so upset when he learned of the decision that he met with President Judge Jolene G. Kopriva, who oversees Adult Drug Court. He said if Drug Court ever again funds an abortion, he will refuse to recommend individuals for participation, "effectively shutting down Drug Court." Commissioner Terry Tomassetti said Monday afternoon that the commissioners want to review Drug Court funding and establish criteria for its use.
http://www.altoonamirror.com/page/content.detail/id/516649.html
Designer Baby Clinic In U.S. Sparks Controversy
A US clinic has sparked controversy by offering would-be parents the chance to select traits like (sex selection), the eye and hair colour of their offspring. The LA Fertility Institutes run by Dr Jeff Steinberg, a pioneer of IVF in the 1970s, expects a trait-selected baby to be born next year. His clinic also offers sex selection. UK fertility experts are angered that the service will distract attention from how the same technology can protect against inherited disease.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7918296.stm
Researchers Turn Skin into Stem Cells
A lab trick dubbed "piggyBac" enabled researchers to transform the skin of mice and humans into stem cells without the cancer risk that hampered the original breakthrough from a Japanese scientist, a study found. In the latest technique, reported today in the journal Nature, Canadian and Scottish teams used a genetic structure called piggyBac to ferry four genes into a skin cell. After triggering the cells to transform, the genes vanished without a trace, and with them went the risk that they could trigger cancer, said Andras Nagy, principal investigator at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute in Toronto. Meanwhile, a group of stem cell scientists at Edinburgh University’s Center for Regenerative Medicine had devised a way to merge four genes into one, what Nagy calls a “monster gene,” making it easier to shuttle them into a skin cell. Nagy went to Scotland, met members of this team, and they decided to join forces.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601124&sid=auDr495yHivg&refer=science
Senate Expected To Approve Sebelius As HHS Secretary Despite Conservative Opposition
Senate Republicans are not expected to present a serious challenge to President Obama's nomination of Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D) for HHS secretary, despite some social conservatives' concerns about her support for abortion rights, The Hill reports. The Hill reports that a group of conservative senators, including Kansas Sens. Sam Brownback (R) and Pat Roberts (R), issued a joint statement supporting Sebelius' nomination, but other conservatives, including Sens. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), are "expected to press Sebelius about her views on abortion." John Hart, a spokesperson for Coburn, said the senator -- a physician who opposes abortion rights -- will be "particularly interested in gauging her interest in prosecuting doctors who oppose her views on life issues." He added that Coburn "has noted that many practicing physicians ... will go to prison before agreeing to engage in medical practices they morally oppose" (Rushing, The Hill, 3/2).
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/141015.php
Conscience, Cash and the Culture of Death
Question: Under existing law, can a health-care institution run by pro-lifers that receives funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services refuse to hire an unrepentant abortionist simply because the institution’s administrators believe it would give scandal to the community to put on their staff a person who—in his own offices away from the hospital—has killed unborn babies for money?
Answer: Probably not.
In fact, it would be an unambiguous violation of longstanding law for a pro-life health-care organization that receives funding from HHS under the Public Health Service Act to refuse to hire an abortionist simply because he is an abortionist.
Sounds crazy, right? It has been the law of the United States since 1973.
http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=44451
