NEWS SHORTS FOR WEDNESDAY

NEWS SHORTS FOR WEDNESDAY
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Evangelicals: Abortion Tops Moral Issues List



Evangelicals have identified the greatest moral issues facing America today and topping the list is abortion. "The moral scandal of abortion tops my list...not because murder is worse than other moral evils, but because of the massive numbers of this killing field and intentionality of so many to put self-gratification, greed and political advantage above life itself," said Jeff Farmer of the Open Bible Churches in Des Moines, Iowa. Abortion, moral relativism and mistreatment of others almost came in a three-way tie as the top concerns among America's evangelical leaders, according to the survey released Monday by the National Association of Evangelicals.
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Scott Roeder Attorneys Subpoena Ex-Kan. AG Kline

Phill Kline subpoenaed to testify at Roeder trial



WICHITA -- Scott Roeder's defense said that it has subpoenaed former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline to testify at the murder trial in the shooting of a Wichita abortion doctor. Public defender Mark Rudy said the defense wants Kline to testify about his four-year criminal investigation of George Tiller's late-term abortion practices.
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Pro-Life Advocates Plan to Protest Opening of Largest Abortion Clinic in U.S.



A coalition of pro-life advocates and religious leaders plan to gather in Houston on Jan. 18 to oppose what is expected to be the largest abortion clinic in the country.

Planned Parenthood is renovating a former bank, turning it into a 78,000 square foot facility that will include a surgical wing equipped to provide late-term abortions.
 
“It’s an abortion super center,” Lou Engle, founder of the pro-life group The Call to Conscience, which is organizing the rally, told CNSNews.com.
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Most voters favor abortion ban for federally subsidized health plans



Washington D.C. - A new national telephone survey reports that a majority of American voters favor a ban on abortion coverage in federally subsidized health insurance plans, with 39 percent saying they strongly favor it.

About 53 percent of American voters surveyed by Rasmussen Reports said that they support the ban. Another 40 percent said they were opposed, with 26 percent saying they were strongly opposed.

A slight majority of those who strongly support the proposed health care plan were opposed to the provision on abortion funding, while 65 percent of those who strongly oppose the overall plan favor the provision.

Thirteen percent of respondents said they wanted mandatory coverage of abortion.

Overall, about 39 percent of Americans surveyed by Rasmussen support the health care legislation.
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Kansas Lawmakers Plan Bills Restricting Late Abortion, Despite Lack Of Providers In State



Lawmakers in Kansas plan to propose new laws restricting abortion late in pregnancy, despite last year's killing of George Tiller, the only doctor in the state to perform such procedures, the AP/Lawrence Journal-World reports.

Abortion-rights opponents hope to pass a bill that would require providers who perform abortion late in pregnancy to report more information to the state. The bill also would allow patients or others who believe that a procedure violated state law to sue a provider. A similar bill (S.B. 218) was passed last year, but it was vetoed by then-Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D), who supports abortion rights and is now HHS secretary. State Rep. Lance Kinzer (R) said he will use that bill as a starting point for a debate. Abortion-rights opponents maintain that the state's existing abortion restrictions and reporting requirements are not properly enforced.
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States Warn Congress of Possible Lawsuit Over Nebraska’s ‘Cornhusker Kickback’



Thirteen state attorneys general have sent a letter to Congress threatening legal action against health care reform unless a provision in the Senate bill given to Nebraska is removed.
 
The provision is known as the “Cornhusker Kickback,” because it gives Nebraska a permanent exemption from paying for Medicaid expenses that would be required of all the other states. This means that taxpayers in other states would be paying for an increase in Nebraska’s Medicaid population. Medicaid is a federal-state health care program for the poor.
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