Health Reform Law Includes $250 Million For Abstinence-Only Programs
A "little-noticed provision" in the recently signed health care reform law (HR 3590) will grant $250 million over five years to state programs encouraging teens to remain abstinent until marriage as a way to prevent teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, the Washington Post reports. The provision, sponsored by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), offers "at least a partial reprieve" for abstinence-only programs, which faced a complete federal funding cutoff under President Obama's first two budget proposals. The health reform law also includes $75 million per year over five years for a new "personal responsibility education" program, which would fund programs that teach both contraception and abstinence.
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Two Southern States Take Action Against Abortion
The South Carolina Senate has passed H 3245, which requires a 24-hour waiting period before getting an abortion.
Oran Smith, executive director of the Palmetto Family Council, said he expects the State House to come up with its own version of the measure when it reconvenes in a couple of weeks.
The Georgia Senate passed SB 529, which bans coerced abortions and abortions based on gender preference or race. The bill now goes to the Georgia House.
"We think it's a good step forward towards protecting and affirming the sanctity of life at all stages," said Eric Cochling, vice president of public policy for the Georgia Family Council.
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Celebrate life by defending it against abortion, encourages pro-life expert
In a recent article for the newspaper, “El Grafico,” Mexican pro-life expert Carolina Beauregard applauded actions by 18 of the country's states to establish legal protections for the unborn and encouraged the remaining states to pass similar pro-life laws.
Beauregard, who advises several Mexican pro-life groups, wrote that the constitutional reforms protecting life in 18 Mexican states advanced with the overwhelming majority of political parties and strong support by the people. She added that support for the right to life is on the rise, despite efforts by some groups in opposition.
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Pro-Lifers Complain 'Moonlighting' Police Prevent Them From Gathering
Local police moonlighting at Planned Parenthood as baby killing security guards are harassing Prolifers
Abortion opponents are accusing town police of harassing them while they stand outside the Planned Parenthood facility, a charge Police Chief Joseph Petruch denies. "The police officers get on the PA system and go out of their way to harass us while we're praying," said Robert Kuna, a member of St. Patrick Catholic Church in Chesterton and Chesterton Right to Life, who complained to the Town Council during its meeting Tuesday night. He asked the Town Council why Merrillville police are being used as security for Planned Parenthood, whose office is located on Connecticut Avenue. Petruch said the off-duty officers are there to preserve the peace and he defended them from Kuna's harassment charges. "I met with my officers and back them 100 percent. We don't need someone from somewhere else to come here and tell us how to run our department," Petruch said.
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Judge Won't Drop Murder Charge In Fetus Death
An Idaho District Court judge has denied a defense motion to drop one of two murder charges filed against a 25-year-old Moscow man after his wife and unborn child died in June 2009. Silas Parks is charged with two counts of murder and one count of arson for allegedly strangling or suffocating Sarah Parks and then setting fire to their residence. Attorneys for Parks asked that the murder charge pertaining to his unborn child be dropped due to the early stage of the pregnancy. Sarah Parks was estimated to be 19 to 20 weeks pregnant.
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N.C. Eugenics Survivors Seek Justice
It has been 40 years since Elaine Riddick heard the words, but she still remembers them like yesterday: "The doctor told me I had been butchered." In 1968, at just 14 years old, Elaine became one of the thousands of victims of North Carolina's forced sterilization program. Quietly and efficiently operating from 1929 until 1974, the program's purpose was to weed out the "unfit" of society by stopping them from reproducing. Elaine is sitting in a quiet apartment high above the noise of Atlanta traffic. A well-dressed, poised and dignified African-American woman in her mid-50s, it is difficult to imagine her as the young girl that she describes.
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