NEWS SHORTS FOR WEDNESDAY

NEWS SHORTS FOR WEDNESDAY Pro-Life Bills Advance in Three States   In legislatures across the nation, pro-life measures are on the move. Ultrasound legislation has been introduced in at least 14 states this session. West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin (D) signed the Ultrasound Option Bill into law Monday, making his state the 20th to enact provisions giving women the opportunity to view an ultrasound before an abortion. "Women deserve to have all of the facts at their disposal before making the life-and-death decision that will affect themselves and their unborn children," said Mary Spaulding Balch, National Right to Life director of state legislation. Click here for the entire article. Texas Doctors Opting Out of Medicare at Alarming Rate Texas doctors are opting out of Medicare at alarming rates, frustrated by reimbursement cuts they say make participation in government-funded care of seniors unaffordable. Two years after a survey found nearly half of Texas doctors weren't taking some new Medicare patients, new data shows 100 to 200 a year are now ending all involvement with the program. Before 2007, the number of doctors opting out averaged less than a handful a year. "This new data shows the Medicare system is beginning to implode," said Dr. Susan Bailey, president of the Texas Medical Association. "If Congress doesn't fix Medicare soon, there'll be more and more doctors dropping out and Congress' promise to provide medical care to seniors will be broken." Click here for the entire article. Louisiana Senate Backs Ultrasound Killing Regulation The Louisiana Senate has agreed that women seeking abortions should be required to get an ultrasound first. Backers of the bill say they hope the ultrasound could change a woman's mind and dissuade her from getting an abortion. The Senate voted 33-4 for the bill, sending it for debate in the House, where it is expected to pass. Democrat Sen. Sharon Broome, sponsor of the proposal, says the ultrasounds give women as much information as possible before they make such a "critical decision." Click here for the entire article. Sister violated more than Catholic teaching in sanctioning abortion, ethicist says A religious sister who was on a Catholic hospital panel that approved a direct abortion has excommunicated herself, the Diocese of Phoenix said on Tuesday. While one of the hospital's doctors has defended the sister, a Catholic ethicist says direct abortion is a "crime" against the unborn child who is killed. The abortion took place late last year at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix. The mother was 11 weeks pregnant and was seriously ill with pulmonary hypertension, a condition worsened and possibly made fatal by pregnancy, according to the Washington Post. An ethics committee which included doctors and hospital administrator Sr. Margaret McBride ruled that the abortion was necessary. Sr. McBride has been reassigned from her job as vice president of mission integration at the hospital. Click here for the entire article. Defund Planned Parenthood - Round 2 Another attempt to defund Planned Parenthood in Kansas is under way. For the second year in a row, the Huelskamp Amendment has passed both houses -- and after Governor Mark Parkinson's vetoed last year's attempt, this year's bill again awaits the Democrat's signature. Bill sponsor Senator Tim Huelskamp contends that the dollars need to stop flowing into Planned Parenthood coffers. Tim Huelskamp"Planned Parenthood in Kansas currently has over 107 criminal indictments against them that involve multiple felonies, and those are currently being discussed somewhere in the state Supreme Court," the sponsor reports. "But indeed, this is the type of organization that should not receive taxpayer funding, whether it's at the federal or state level." Click here for the entire article. Obama Urged to Issue Executive Order on Human Right to Ensure U.S. Compliance With U.N. Treaties The U.S. State Department is asking state and local human rights commissions to help it prepare an obligatory report to the United Nations on how the U.S. is advancing the human rights set forth in various treaties. The Human Rights at Home Campaign – a coalition of more than 50 U.S.-based groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and Amnesty International – on Wednesday applauded the State Department's "unprecedented outreach" to human rights commissions and agencies across the country. Click here for the entire article.