NEWS SHORTS FOR FRIDAY

NEWS SHORTS FOR FRIDAY (Referral to Web sites not produced by The Illinois Federation for Right to LIfe is for informational purposes only and does not necessarily constitute an endorsement of the sites' content.) Abortion Protester's Alleged Killer Deemed Unfit For Trial A Michigan man accused of fatally shooting an antiabortion-rights protester outside a high school last month has been deemed incompetent to stand trial and committed to the Michigan Department of Mental Health, the New York Times reports. Harlan Drake is charged with fatally shooting James Pouillion on Sept. 11 in what is believed to be the first slaying of someone protesting abortion rights. On Wednesday, Judge Terrance Dignan of the 66th District Court in Corunna, Mich., ordered Drake to begin psychiatric treatment. If rendered competent, a preliminary examination would be set to determine whether he could stand trial. Dignan wrote that "there is a substantial probability" that Drake, if provided a course of treatment, will be competent to stand trial, according to chief assistant prosecutor Sara Edwards. Click here for the full article. Terminally Nonjudgmental UK Doesn't Give a Fig About Saving the Lives of Suicidal People from Secondhand I wrote some time ago about the awful and tragic case of Kerrie Woolterton. Woolterson was badly mentally disturbed, so much so, that she now only wanted to commit suicide but repeatedly tried to by swallowing anti freeze.  The last time she tried, she called an ambulance and then pinned a note on her chest that she didn't want treatment.  Astonishingly, the physicians were so paralyzed by terminal non judgmentalism, they just stood by for a day and watched her die. Now a coroner's inquest has said they were right to do so.  This means that saving the lives of suicide victims will not be attempted if they just put a note on their clothes saying they want no care.  What a profound abandonment! This is where we have arrived in our attitude to suicide in Britain today. A disturbed young woman, with all the promise of adult life before her, is left to kill herself, because under her current circumstances she wants to… Click here for the full article. Irish Abortion, Military Could Decide EU Lisbon Treaty Vote Irish voters are going to the polls again Friday -- to vote on a treaty they rejected just over a year ago. 'No' placards questioned whether Ireland will lose its military neutrality, its anti-abortion laws and its minimum wage despite the EU assurances. Just over half -- 53 percent -- of Irish voters said 'No' to the Lisbon Treaty in June 2008 throwing the future structure of the European Union into doubt as all member states have to ratify the treaty before it can be adopted. Click here for the full article. Recent Polls Show Pro-Abortion Congress Out of Step with the American Public, Turning Deaf Ear to Public Opinion A new poll released today by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press and the Pew Forum on Religion and Life finds that more Americans are revealing that they are opposed to most or all abortions.  The poll found that 45% of American's oppose abortion in most or all cases, up 4% from last year. "These results are unsurprising and track with earlier polling, including Gallup, and, most recently, a poll conducted by Rasmussen indicating that the majority of Americans are opposed to funding abortions in the healthcare bill," said David N. O'Steen, Ph.D., executive director of the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC). Click here for the full article.