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Capps Amendment 'Radical Departure' From Status Quo On Funding For Abortion Coverage, AUL President Writes In Opinion Piece
"Aggressive negotiations are under way" over funding for health insurance coverage of abortion services in the various health reform proposals in Congress, Americans United for Life President and CEO Charmaine Yoest writes in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece. Yoest claims that although Democratic leaders have said they want to "maintain the 'status quo'" on abortion coverage, the "reality" is that "maintaining what we have now isn't even on the table."
According to Yoest, to maintain the status quo, "a health care bill would have to explicitly prevent federal dollars from being used for elective abortions," but such provisions "were killed by all five committees that have handled health care reform bills this year." The "compromise in the works" on abortion coverage is a provision authored by Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.) that was included in the House Energy and Commerce Committee's health reform bill, she says. Yoest argues that the Capps amendment is "being sold on the false premise that it would maintain the status quo" because "otherwise the American people would not go along with it."
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Ireland Completes Ratification of Lisbon Treaty
Ireland completed its ratification of the EU's Lisbon Treaty, intensifying the pressure on the Czech Republic to overcome its objections and become the final member state to pass the treaty. Irish President Mary McAleese announced she had signed a special legal instrument following a Yes vote in this month's referendum. A statement from the president's office said she had "signed the Twenty-Eighth Amendment of the Constitution (Treaty of Lisbon) Bill 2009".
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Gender-Selective Abortion In India Is On The Rise
Last month the United States attended the UN Human Rights Council as a member for the first time, and not a moment too soon for girls in India. Though female infanticide and gender-selective abortion have been on the radar of human rights groups for decades, the situation is worsening in most areas of India, says the United Nations Population Fund. As the number of women seeking abortions worldwide has declined dramatically in the past decade, according to a new report. This is not the case in India, where the demographic imbalance of gender in India has reached epidemic proportions – due in large part to abortions.
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Gilbert Stem Cell Facility Near Completion
The state's first facility to collect stem cell-rich umbilical cord blood from hospitals in Arizona is nearing completion in Gilbert. The Celebration Stem Cell Centre, under construction adjacent to Mercy Gilbert Medical Center at Val Vista Drive and Loop 202, will serve as a cord blood donation bank and research facility that will offer genetic counseling, officials say. The center will also store cord blood for paying clients who want to preserve it for later use.
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Abortion, Sex Education Spark Debate Over Planned Parenthood Grant
A fight erupted over a $50,000 grant to Planned Parenthood for teen sex education at the Franklin County Board of Commissioners meeting yesterday. It's likely the first skirmish in a larger battle, previously aimed at state and federal lawmakers. "Our board wants us to be more engaged at the local level of government, more of a thermostat and less of a thermometer," said Michael Gonidakis, executive director of Ohio Right to Life. "My daughter is not yet 3, but I certainly don't want her learning from the nation's largest provider of abortion about how to use condoms at age 12. It shocks the conscience."
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Birth Control Claims Another Victim: Yaz Causes Pulmonary Embolism
The Swiss government is linking a woman’s death to popular birth control product Yaz made by Bayer Pharmaceuticals. The woman died of a pulmonary embolism in June, just 10 months after starting the hormonal contraceptive. Last month American Life League reported that Patti Kelly, 28, of Austin, Texas was diagnosed in August with multiple blood clots in both lungs. Her doctor told her that if she hadn’t come into the emergency room when she did, she “could have died instantly.” Her doctor attributed the blood clots to her use of hormonal contraceptives.
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