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.
Obama's Court Pick 'Will' Ignite Abortion Fight
Obama's first Supreme Court pick could reignite the fight over abortion rights, forcing the new administration to engage on some of the thorny social issues it has largely been able to avoid during its first few months in office. Women’s and abortion rights groups began preparing for a tough confirmation fight within hours of the first reports that Justice David Souter would retire in June. “You cannot assume, and we do not take for granted, that this is going to be easy,” said Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America. Anti-abortion groups campaigned against Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who personally opposes abortion but vetoed a series of abortion restrictions as Kansas governor. The Senate confirmed Sebelius on Tuesday.
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New Hate Crimes Bill Criminalizes Words And Thoughts
Wednesday night, while Obama held his televised press conference marking his first 100 days in office, the federal hate crimes bill -- HR 1913, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 -- passed in the House of Representatives by a vote of 249 to 175. But not everyone believes this piece of legislation is a great idea. They are cautioning many supporters that such a law is a two-edged sword and may have unintended consequences that includes misuse by overzealous and politically motivated prosecutors.
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New Kan. Gov. Admits to Being 'Like Sebelius': A Baby Murderier
Gov. Mark Parkinson says his views on abortion are "very similar" to those held by former Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, but he acknowledges he hasn't studied an anti-abortion bill she vetoed before leaving office. Parkinson's comments largely confirm what groups on both sides believed about his position on abortion. They had assumed he supported abortion, like Sebelius, because he ran as lieutenant governor on her re-election ticket in 2006.
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Pro-Abort Newspaper Faces Shutdown
The New York Times Co. said last night that it is notifying federal authorities of its plans to shut down the Boston Globe, raising the possibility that New England's most storied newspaper could cease to exist within weeks. After down-to-the-wire negotiations did not produce millions of dollars in union concessions, the Times Co. said that it will file today a required 60-day notice of the planned shutdown under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification law.
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'Faith-Based & Community Initiatives' HHS Website Lists 'Family Planning Services' for Pro-Aborts to Apply for Federal Grants
The "Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (CFBCI), under the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, welcomes the participation of faith-based and community organizations as essential partners in assisting our country's neediest citizens." Below the heading "Funding Opportunities", pro-abort groups can scroll down the page where it says, "Family Planning Services -- This announcement seeks applications from [public] and [nonprofit private entities] to establish and operate voluntary family planning services projects, which shall provide family planning services to all persons desiring such services, with priority for services to persons from low-income families."
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Would You Abort an Unborn Child Because it Was The Wrong Sex?
It seems hard to believe but in India an estimated 750,000 baby girls are aborted just for being female. But Kulwant Dhaliwal, of Rosemoor Gardens, Appleton, is campaigning to stop female foeticide. “Female foeticide is such a big problem in India. People think girls are a burden but I try to change their mind,” said Mr Dhaliwal, “we have no right to kill someone.”
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Families Flying Toddlers to China for Stem-Cell Treatments
Driven mostly by hope, two California families will travel more than 6,000 miles to China for an experimental stem-cell treatment for their children. Aleesha and Michael Klomp of Hanford, California, say they don't need guarantees - they're willing to take a chance so their son Gryphon Klomp, 2, might walk and grasp a spoon some day soon. Fresno, California, mother Jennifer Schmidt has the same faith about the benefits of umbilical-cord stem-cell therapy for 2-year-old daughter Brooke Schmidt-Jordan.
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Conservatives Prepare for Supreme Battle
Conservative groups worked into the night Thursday -- after news broke that Justice David Souter would announce his retirement -- to arrange a conference call early Friday morning to talk strategy with representatives of more than 60 groups. Leaders on the call, such as Wendy Long of the Judicial Confirmation Network, told colleagues that one of their first challenges would be convincing activists there is a fight to be had. The conservative coalition, which formed to support President George W. Bush's Supreme Court nominees, is already targeting three potential Obama picks: Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Diane Wood.
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