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Abortion protest limits: Chicago says protesters must stay 8 feet from other people outside medical facilities
New law's supporters cite safety; foes cite free-speech concerns
Anti-abortion activists will have to stay at least 8 feet away from people outside medical facilities in Chicago under a measure the City Council approved Wednesday.
The so-called bubble zones will exist within 50 feet of the entrances to all health care centers. Those who venture closer to another person without consent could face a fine of $500.
Before the City Council voted 28-13 in favor, more than 100 people opposing the ordinance circled City Hall's front doors. Many of them held small American flags as they sang "Amazing Grace" and shouted "Praise God."
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Father Sues School District Over Son's Anti-Abortion T-shirt
He wore a T-shirt that only read "Abortion is not healthcare"
A father alleges in a federal lawsuit that his son's rights to free speech and religious expression were violated in September when Crossroads Middle School officials forced him to turn an anti-abortion T-shirt inside-out. William Boyer filed a lawsuit Monday on behalf of his son, identified as E.B., against the West Shore School District. He argues the New Cumberland boy's First and Fourteenth Amendment rights were violated when he wore a T-shirt that read "Abortion is not healthcare" to the Fairview Township middle school on Sept. 8 and was forced to turn it inside out.
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French Abortions Rise despite Increase in Contraception: Study
According to a new study by the French National Institute of Demographic Studies (INED), although the number of unplanned pregnancies in France has fallen, the number of abortions in such cases has increased, reports the Monde Actu 24h/24.
Unplanned pregnancies fell from 46% to 33% from 1975 to 2004, ostensibly due to use of contraceptives, according to the study, but the number of abortions of such pregnancies increased from 40% to 60% over the same period.
Over 40% of French women have an abortion at least once in their life.
The study says that women using contraception have a greater desire to control their fertility and thus are more likely to abort a child who is not consistent with their plans.
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Brain Activity Surge at Point of Death
Now this is interesting. Activity in the brain surges at the point of death. From the story:
A study of seven terminally ill patients found identical surges in brain activity moments before death, providing what may be physiological evidence of “out of body” experiences reported by people who survive near-death ordeals.
Doctors at George Washington University Medical Faculty Associates recorded brain activity of people dying from critical illnesses, such as cancer or heart attacks. Moments before death, the patients experienced a burst in brain wave activity, with the spikes occurring at the same time before death and at comparable intensity and duration. Writing in the October issue of the Journal of Palliative Medicine, the doctors theorize that the brain surges may be tied to widely reported near-death experiences which typically involve spiritual or religious attributes.
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American Pro-Lifers to Greet Spain's Prime Minister at White House
Zapatero seeks to radicalize Spain's abortion law
Spain's Socialist Prime Minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, will meet with President Obama at the White House on Tuesday, October 13. Zapatero will be met by Americans in solidarity with Spain's citizens against his attempt to increase abortions.
Zapatero recently proposed a bill to liberalize Spain's abortion law. The bill would allow 16-year-olds to get abortions without parental consent, increase abortion without restrictions to 14 weeks, and change abortion from a crime to a social "right."
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Pelosi Claims She’s Not Aware of Senate Plan to Pass Health Care Through Unrelated House Bill
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said she was not aware of a previously reported plan by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to attach a final Senate health care bill to an already-passed House bill in order to push the measure through Congress. Pelosi, in fact, said reporters knew more about the idea apparently than she does.
Under the plan, as previously reported by CNSNews.com, Reid would attach a final Senate health reform plan to H.R. 1586, a bill that currently taxes bonuses paid to bailed-out bank executives. If the effort survived a filibuster, Reid would then send it to the House, which could vote on it directly and then send to President Obama, bypassing the conference-negotiating process and the public scrutiny that comes with it.
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