Dan Rather to Headline Planned Parenthood Event Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota recently announced that former CBS anchorman Dan Rather will be its keynote speaker for a fundraiser dinner in Minneapolis, MN on October 13. Planned Parenthood announced Rather as their speaker, saying, "Dan Rather, the voice, heart and soul of American journalism, is one of the most recognized and renowned reporters of our time." The announcement goes on to chronicle Rather's coverage of significant world events as a reporter: including the JFK assassination, Watergate, and the war in Iraq. However, Rather's coverage of life issues makes the announcement that he will be supporting Planned Parenthood's dinner not surprising to many. Scott Fischbach, the director of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, told LifeNews.com, "For years viewers watched Dan Rather deliver the news of the day believing he was objective and fair, while the whole time he harbored anti-life views. "Clearly Dan Rather has never been objective, in fact his support of Planned Parenthood proves how radical his views truly are," Fischbach continued. "It is sad that Dan Rather has now agreed to raise money for the number one killer of unborn children in Minnesota, Planned Parenthood." During his time as a reporter, Rather repeatedly showed his anti-life bias in his coverage of specific stories. According to the Media Research Center, a conservative organization that tracks the bias of modern media, Rather identified abortion as a woman's right in a 1990 interview with Senator Paul Simon. "Senator Simon," asked Rather, "is there any doubt in your mind that [Souter's] views pretty well parallel those of John Sununu's, which means he's anti-abortion or anti-women's rights, whichever way you want to put it?" referring to nomination of David Souter to the supreme court. Further, Rather lauded Margaret Sanger, founder of planned parenthood, in 1998 on CBS's People of the Century. "One thing America didn't talk about early in the century was sex. Margaret Sanger changed that. She was a true revolutionary who went to jail for the crime of promoting birth control, a phrase she coined … For half a century, Margaret Sanger spoke passionately in favor of women's rights, taking on all the enemies of birth control, including the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church." Also, in 1993, when then-President Clinton overturned the Mexico City Policy that banned US foreign aid from going to organizations that actively supported abortion, Rather reported, "On the anniversary of Roe versus Wade President Clinton fulfills a promise, supporting abortion rights. ... It was 20 years ago today, the United States Supreme Court handed down its landmark abortion rights ruling, and the controversy hasn't stopped since. Today, with the stroke of a pen, President Clinton delivered on his campaign promise to cancel several anti-abortion regulations of the Reagan-Bush years." Source: LifeSiteNews.com Publish Date: October 1, 2009 Link to this article. Send this article to a friend. |
October 2, 2009
Dan Rather to Headline Planned Parenthood Event
Texas swimmer attests to adult stem-cell success
| Texas swimmer attests to adult stem-cell success Use of adult stem cells has helped a swimming champion continue to compete.  Lexi Spann, a swimmer for the University of Texas, suffered a serious shoulder injury which put her on the sidelines. Texas Alliance for Life talked with her. "It was already hard to deal with not swimming in the national championships," she shares, "but then to find out that I wasn't going to get to try out for the Olympics, which has been my life long dream, was extremely depressing." Spann's own adult stem cells were used to treat the injury. "They removed some of my own adult stem cells and then put them into my shoulder during the surgery," she explains. The competitive swimmer had to give her shoulder about three months to heal and let the adult stem cells work. Spann was pleased with the results. "I was surprised, because I missed some training because of my surgery," says Spann, "but I was able to, at trials, end up going right next to my best time [in the 100-meter breast stroke] -- so I was ecstatic to be at that point so fast." She was able to compete in the Olympic trials and then nationals just as if she were her old self. Texas Alliance for Life says Spann's case is another clear example that adult stem cells work in more than 70 diseases and medical conditions, while embryonic stem-cell research has produced no results. Contact: Charlie Butts Source: OneNewsNow Publish Date: Link to this article. Send this article to a friend. |
Murder - the cornerstone of China's 'family planning' policy
| Murder - the cornerstone of China's 'family planning' policy The president of the Population Research Institute says experts at the United Nations seem to be glossing over the facts behind China's methods of population control.  The director of the United Nations' Population Division is applauding China's family-planning policy that has been in effect for three decades. Hania Zlotnik, who is a citizen of Mexico, claims China's killing of 400-million unborn babies has helped reduce the world population. But Steven Mosher of the Population Research Institute tells OneNewsNow it goes much further than just limiting the number of children a husband and wife can have. "...[W]hat I find amazing is the bloodless way that people like Hania Zlotnik and others praise China's program," he states. "[They] talk about the numbers without ever going into the human rights abuses, the forced abortions, the labor shortages, the one-party dictatorship, the aging of China's population, the sex-selection abortions, the little unborn Chinese baby girls who are abandoned at birth. "There are [sic] a whole panoply here of moral and ethical issues raised and these people simply ignore it," Mosher laments. "I mean, they talk as if eliminating 400-million people from the face of the planet is a great victory." The purpose of the U.N.'s Population Division is to gather figures on the world's population. But Mosher says it is a problem when a population-control zealot becomes so openly pro-abortion when China's policies are actually hurting its future. Contact: Charlie Butts Source: OneNewsNow Publish Date: October 2, 2009 Link to this article. Send this article to a friend. |
NEWS SHORTS FOR FRIDAY
| NEWS SHORTS FOR FRIDAY (Referral to Web sites not produced by The Illinois Federation for Right to LIfe is for informational purposes only and does not necessarily constitute an endorsement of the sites' content.) Abortion Protester's Alleged Killer Deemed Unfit For Trial A Michigan man accused of fatally shooting an antiabortion-rights protester outside a high school last month has been deemed incompetent to stand trial and committed to the Michigan Department of Mental Health, the New York Times reports. Harlan Drake is charged with fatally shooting James Pouillion on Sept. 11 in what is believed to be the first slaying of someone protesting abortion rights. On Wednesday, Judge Terrance Dignan of the 66th District Court in Corunna, Mich., ordered Drake to begin psychiatric treatment. If rendered competent, a preliminary examination would be set to determine whether he could stand trial. Dignan wrote that "there is a substantial probability" that Drake, if provided a course of treatment, will be competent to stand trial, according to chief assistant prosecutor Sara Edwards. Click here for the full article. Terminally Nonjudgmental UK Doesn't Give a Fig About Saving the Lives of Suicidal People from Secondhand I wrote some time ago about the awful and tragic case of Kerrie Woolterton. Woolterson was badly mentally disturbed, so much so, that she now only wanted to commit suicide but repeatedly tried to by swallowing anti freeze. The last time she tried, she called an ambulance and then pinned a note on her chest that she didn't want treatment. Astonishingly, the physicians were so paralyzed by terminal non judgmentalism, they just stood by for a day and watched her die. Now a coroner's inquest has said they were right to do so. This means that saving the lives of suicide victims will not be attempted if they just put a note on their clothes saying they want no care. What a profound abandonment! This is where we have arrived in our attitude to suicide in Britain today. A disturbed young woman, with all the promise of adult life before her, is left to kill herself, because under her current circumstances she wants to… Click here for the full article. Irish Abortion, Military Could Decide EU Lisbon Treaty Vote Irish voters are going to the polls again Friday -- to vote on a treaty they rejected just over a year ago. 'No' placards questioned whether Ireland will lose its military neutrality, its anti-abortion laws and its minimum wage despite the EU assurances. Just over half -- 53 percent -- of Irish voters said 'No' to the Lisbon Treaty in June 2008 throwing the future structure of the European Union into doubt as all member states have to ratify the treaty before it can be adopted. Click here for the full article. Recent Polls Show Pro-Abortion Congress Out of Step with the American Public, Turning Deaf Ear to Public Opinion A new poll released today by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press and the Pew Forum on Religion and Life finds that more Americans are revealing that they are opposed to most or all abortions. The poll found that 45% of American's oppose abortion in most or all cases, up 4% from last year. "These results are unsurprising and track with earlier polling, including Gallup, and, most recently, a poll conducted by Rasmussen indicating that the majority of Americans are opposed to funding abortions in the healthcare bill," said David N. O'Steen, Ph.D., executive director of the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC). Click here for the full article. |
October 1, 2009
One electronic system for patient records
It is one disaster after the next for the UK's National Heath Service. Now, computer problems are hitting people where they hurt. Literally.
Thousands of people are being forced to wait six months or more for hospital treatment or tests because of problems with the £12.7 billion project to upgrade NHS computer systems.
More than 14,000 patients at a major London trust have already had to endure waiting times that exceed government guidelines. The trust was one of the first to install electronic patient records. Similar systems are being rolled out across England. The Department of Health says that nobody should wait more than 18 weeks to receive hospital treatment from the time they are referred by a GP, unless they choose to wait longer.
That last sentence alone tells us all we need to know about the NHS! Good grief. Oh, and Obamacare, as I understand it, wants one electronic system for patient records. It better have a lot of redundancy!
Stop Hyding!
Stop Hyding!
Henry Hyde fought hard, with passion – and his opponents respected him. He had everything we are searching for in our elected officials today. He was an authentic human being and Member of Congress – witnessing fearless humility in defense of life. If there was ever a "Godfather" of the pro-life movement, it was Henry Hyde.
One of his legacies is the Hyde Amendment, made into law in the face of intense opposition, which has prevented any Medicaid funding of elective abortions for thirty three years.
Now, many supporters of the current health care legislation designed to bring about the greatest increase in abortions since Roe v. Wade dare to claim that they are innocent of the federal funding of abortion because of the Hyde Amendment.
Sometimes, laughter dispels doubts better than any other method. And Henry Hyde had a great sense of humor!
That is why the SBA List created this video.
Henry Hyde fought hard, with passion – and his opponents respected him. He had everything we are searching for in our elected officials today. He was an authentic human being and Member of Congress – witnessing fearless humility in defense of life. If there was ever a "Godfather" of the pro-life movement, it was Henry Hyde.
One of his legacies is the Hyde Amendment, made into law in the face of intense opposition, which has prevented any Medicaid funding of elective abortions for thirty three years.
Now, many supporters of the current health care legislation designed to bring about the greatest increase in abortions since Roe v. Wade dare to claim that they are innocent of the federal funding of abortion because of the Hyde Amendment.
Sometimes, laughter dispels doubts better than any other method. And Henry Hyde had a great sense of humor!
That is why the SBA List created this video.
Senate committee votes to restore $50 million in funding for abstinence education
Senate committee votes to restore $50 million in funding for abstinence education
The Senate Finance Committee voted to restore funding for abstinence education through Title V state grants Sept. 29 after Sen. Orrin Hatch, R.-Utah, added an amendment to reinstate $50 million per year in abstinence funding that President Obama had cut from his budget proposal to Congress.
The 12-11 vote Tuesday night came despite the committee's chairman Sen. Max Baucus, D.-Mont., arguing that abstinence education doesn't work. Two Democrats, Kent Conrad of North Dakota and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, joined all 10 committee Republicans in voting for the amendment to the health care reform bill.
"Committee members courageously put politics aside in favor of the health and well-being of the American families," the National Abstinence Education Association said in a statement issued after Finance Committee session. "Tonight's vote is a show of support for valuable and proven abstinence education that has made such a difference in the lives of so many teens, while also supporting parents who soundly endorse such programs," NAEA said.
The measure still must pass the full Senate and the House. The Associated Press reported that Baucus introduced an alternate measure that also passed the Finance Committee by a 14-9 vote. The Baucus amendment would make money available for education on contraception and sexually transmitted diseases, among other things, in addition to abstinence, AP said.
As the legislation moves forward, lawmakers will have to reconcile the two measures, the AP report noted.
Valerie Huber, NAEA's executive director, said recent research analysis demonstrates that school-based abstinence education is more successful in positive behavior change than so-called comprehensive sex education, which Baucus is pushing.
"It is encouraging that the hard work of grassroots constituencies from across the country have prevailed to ensure these common-sense programs will continue," Huber said Sept. 29. "While the amendment still needs to pass a Senate floor vote, tonight's decision is a significant step in the right direction for the optimal health of America's youth."
Hatch, hailing the committee's vote, said abstinence education works.
"My amendment restores a vital funding stream so that teens and parents have the option to participate in programs that have demonstrated success in reducing teen sexual activity and, consequently, teen pregnancies," Hatch said.
In the past, abstinence education funding was extended along with funding for the Transitional Medical Assistance or TMA program, which extends Medicaid to families struggling to get off welfare, but Obama removed it in his budget proposal to Congress.
"My first choice would be to not have the federal government involved in any way in these types of education programs and leave these discussions in the proper environment of the home with family members," Hatch said.
"However, if the federal government is going to spend money on educating people about sexual decisions, the absence of an abstinence-only education program has negative health consequences for our nation's most vulnerable citizens: teenage pregnancy is a leading contributor to poverty, which in turn leads to poor health outcomes for mothers and children; sexually active teens are more likely to experience mental health issues such as depression or attempted suicide; and sexually active teens are more likely to suffer health consequences such as increased rates of infection with sexually transmitted diseases," Hatch said.
Contact: Erin Roach
Source: BP
Publish Date: September 30, 2009
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The Senate Finance Committee voted to restore funding for abstinence education through Title V state grants Sept. 29 after Sen. Orrin Hatch, R.-Utah, added an amendment to reinstate $50 million per year in abstinence funding that President Obama had cut from his budget proposal to Congress.
The 12-11 vote Tuesday night came despite the committee's chairman Sen. Max Baucus, D.-Mont., arguing that abstinence education doesn't work. Two Democrats, Kent Conrad of North Dakota and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, joined all 10 committee Republicans in voting for the amendment to the health care reform bill.
"Committee members courageously put politics aside in favor of the health and well-being of the American families," the National Abstinence Education Association said in a statement issued after Finance Committee session. "Tonight's vote is a show of support for valuable and proven abstinence education that has made such a difference in the lives of so many teens, while also supporting parents who soundly endorse such programs," NAEA said.
The measure still must pass the full Senate and the House. The Associated Press reported that Baucus introduced an alternate measure that also passed the Finance Committee by a 14-9 vote. The Baucus amendment would make money available for education on contraception and sexually transmitted diseases, among other things, in addition to abstinence, AP said.
As the legislation moves forward, lawmakers will have to reconcile the two measures, the AP report noted.
Valerie Huber, NAEA's executive director, said recent research analysis demonstrates that school-based abstinence education is more successful in positive behavior change than so-called comprehensive sex education, which Baucus is pushing.
"It is encouraging that the hard work of grassroots constituencies from across the country have prevailed to ensure these common-sense programs will continue," Huber said Sept. 29. "While the amendment still needs to pass a Senate floor vote, tonight's decision is a significant step in the right direction for the optimal health of America's youth."
Hatch, hailing the committee's vote, said abstinence education works.
"My amendment restores a vital funding stream so that teens and parents have the option to participate in programs that have demonstrated success in reducing teen sexual activity and, consequently, teen pregnancies," Hatch said.
In the past, abstinence education funding was extended along with funding for the Transitional Medical Assistance or TMA program, which extends Medicaid to families struggling to get off welfare, but Obama removed it in his budget proposal to Congress.
"My first choice would be to not have the federal government involved in any way in these types of education programs and leave these discussions in the proper environment of the home with family members," Hatch said.
"However, if the federal government is going to spend money on educating people about sexual decisions, the absence of an abstinence-only education program has negative health consequences for our nation's most vulnerable citizens: teenage pregnancy is a leading contributor to poverty, which in turn leads to poor health outcomes for mothers and children; sexually active teens are more likely to experience mental health issues such as depression or attempted suicide; and sexually active teens are more likely to suffer health consequences such as increased rates of infection with sexually transmitted diseases," Hatch said.
Contact: Erin Roach
Source: BP
Publish Date: September 30, 2009
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Spreading the word - embryos can be adopted
Spreading the word - embryos can be adopted
The National Embryo Donation Center has received federal grants to educate the public.
Much of the public is unaware that stored embryos can be adopted. Center spokesman Dr. Jeffrey Keenan tells OneNewsNow the first grant will be used to remedy that problem.
"[We will] harness the power of new media in order to expand awareness of embryo donation and adoption," he shares. "We'll be using media such as Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, Constant Contact, mass e-mails, Twitter, podcasts, webinars, and other web-based media."
While the outreach of the Knoxville, Tennessee-based center will primarily target those who are infertile, Keenan shares that it will also spread information among the general population.
"There are about a half-million frozen embryos in frozen storage in the United States. About 15 percent of the reproductive-age population in the United States is infertile, and embryo donation or embryo adoption is a wonderful option for infertile couples to build their family," Keenan adds.
The Center's medical director also notes those who have completed their family can donate remaining eggs for others. A second grant from the Department of Health and Human Services, Keenan says, will allow the organization to target professionals, such as doctors, with an awareness campaign.
Contact: Charlie Butts
Source: OneNewsNow
Publish Date: October 1, 2009
Link to this article.
Send this article to a friend.
The National Embryo Donation Center has received federal grants to educate the public.
Much of the public is unaware that stored embryos can be adopted. Center spokesman Dr. Jeffrey Keenan tells OneNewsNow the first grant will be used to remedy that problem.
"[We will] harness the power of new media in order to expand awareness of embryo donation and adoption," he shares. "We'll be using media such as Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, Constant Contact, mass e-mails, Twitter, podcasts, webinars, and other web-based media."
While the outreach of the Knoxville, Tennessee-based center will primarily target those who are infertile, Keenan shares that it will also spread information among the general population.
"There are about a half-million frozen embryos in frozen storage in the United States. About 15 percent of the reproductive-age population in the United States is infertile, and embryo donation or embryo adoption is a wonderful option for infertile couples to build their family," Keenan adds.
The Center's medical director also notes those who have completed their family can donate remaining eggs for others. A second grant from the Department of Health and Human Services, Keenan says, will allow the organization to target professionals, such as doctors, with an awareness campaign.
Contact: Charlie Butts
Source: OneNewsNow
Publish Date: October 1, 2009
Link to this article.
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Pro-Life Leaders to Set Up Large Display on the West Lawn of the United States Capitol Building to Oppose Taxpayer Funded Abortions in Health Care Reform
Pro-Life Leaders to Set Up Large Display on the West Lawn of the United States Capitol Building to Oppose Taxpayer Funded Abortions in Health Care Reform
Groups to set up 100 foot image of the number 71 on the Capitol grounds this Friday, October 2 at 12:00 P.M.
The number 71 represents the percentage of people in a national Zogby poll that oppose taxpayer funded abortions.
The display is to remind lawmakers to listen to the voice and wisdom of the American people
and embrace human rights and social justice.
The display is part of a national campaign organized by the Christian Defense Coalition called "Abortion is Not Health Care" which has sponsored a series of demonstrations, prayer vigils and rallies on Capitol Hill over the past several months to speak out against taxpayer funded abortions.
There will be a news conference on Friday, October 2, at 12:00 P.M. to discuss health care reform and abortion on the west lawn of the Capitol.
Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Director of the Christian Defense Coalition, states, "Americans intuitively know that abortion is not health care. They understand that health care should bring compassion, mercy and healing to those in need not violence and despair.
"We are displaying this large 71 on the lawn of the Capitol to remind lawmakers to listen to the voice and wisdom of the American people and embrace human rights and social justice.
"It would be tragic for Congress to force the American faith community to pay for the killing of innocent children through their tax dollars. The pro-life community will continue to be a loud and prophetic voice speaking out against abortion in health care during this entire debate."
Brandi Swindell, Founder of Generation Life and Director of Stanton Health Care, adds
"This display of 71 on the lawn of the United States Capitol is a visual reminder of what the American people already know and embrace. That is, abortion is not health care and public monies should never be used to crush human rights and diminish women.
"It is our hope over the next several weeks that Congress will listen to the American people and ensure that not one penny of taxpayer money will be used to pay for abortions."
Contact: Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Brandi Swindell
Source: Christian Defense Coalition, Generation Life
Publish Date: October 1, 2009
Link to this article.
Send this article to a friend.
Groups to set up 100 foot image of the number 71 on the Capitol grounds this Friday, October 2 at 12:00 P.M.
The number 71 represents the percentage of people in a national Zogby poll that oppose taxpayer funded abortions.
The display is to remind lawmakers to listen to the voice and wisdom of the American people
and embrace human rights and social justice.
The display is part of a national campaign organized by the Christian Defense Coalition called "Abortion is Not Health Care" which has sponsored a series of demonstrations, prayer vigils and rallies on Capitol Hill over the past several months to speak out against taxpayer funded abortions.
There will be a news conference on Friday, October 2, at 12:00 P.M. to discuss health care reform and abortion on the west lawn of the Capitol.
Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Director of the Christian Defense Coalition, states, "Americans intuitively know that abortion is not health care. They understand that health care should bring compassion, mercy and healing to those in need not violence and despair.
"We are displaying this large 71 on the lawn of the Capitol to remind lawmakers to listen to the voice and wisdom of the American people and embrace human rights and social justice.
"It would be tragic for Congress to force the American faith community to pay for the killing of innocent children through their tax dollars. The pro-life community will continue to be a loud and prophetic voice speaking out against abortion in health care during this entire debate."
Brandi Swindell, Founder of Generation Life and Director of Stanton Health Care, adds
"This display of 71 on the lawn of the United States Capitol is a visual reminder of what the American people already know and embrace. That is, abortion is not health care and public monies should never be used to crush human rights and diminish women.
"It is our hope over the next several weeks that Congress will listen to the American people and ensure that not one penny of taxpayer money will be used to pay for abortions."
Contact: Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Brandi Swindell
Source: Christian Defense Coalition, Generation Life
Publish Date: October 1, 2009
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Should Government Have E-Record of Every Woman Who's Had an Abortion?
Should Government Have E-Record of Every Woman Who's Had an Abortion?
Should doctors and hospitals be required by the federal government to maintain a national network of electronic health records for every individual in America that indicates, for example, whether that individual has had an abortion, a sexually transmitted disease, a mental illness or a drug problem?
Such a system has already been mandated by the stimulus law enacted in February, and politicians in Washington, D.C., would now prefer not to answer straightforward questions about it.
Americans should not let them get away with it.
The stimulus law provided for "the development of a nationwide health information technology infrastructure" that would include an electronic health record for "each person in the United States by 2014."
The law says these records should contain each person's "medical history and problems lists."
This system holding each American's "medical history and problems lists," the law says, will allow for "the electronic linkage of health care providers, health plans, the government and other interested parties to enable electronic exchange and use of health information among all the components in the health care infrastructure in accordance with applicable law."
When President Obama was pushing his health care plan earlier this year, he pointed to this system as a way the government would save money on health care—and indicated that a person's full medical history would be included in the system.
"You shouldn't have to tell every new doctor you see about your medical history, or what prescriptions you're taking. You should not have to repeat costly tests," Obama told the American Medical Association on June 15. "All that information should be stored securely in a private medical record so that your information can be tracked from one doctor to another—even if you change jobs, even if you move, even if you have to see a number of different specialists. That's just common sense. And that will not only mean less paper-pushing and lower administrative costs, saving taxpayers billions of dollars; it will also mean all of you physicians will have an easier time doing your jobs."
At a town hall meeting in Annandale, Va., on July 1, Obama argued that the electronic-health-records system would also reduce medical errors.
"We have to build on the investments that we've made in electronic medical records," said Obama. "We already made those investments in the Recovery Act—because when everything is digitalized, all your records—your privacy is protected, but all your records (are) on a digital form—that reduces medical errors."
Speaking at AARP headquarters on July 28, Obama said the electronic-health-records network would substitute for people having to "relay their entire medical history" to each new health care provider.
"We're also working to computerize medical records, because right now too many folks wind up taking the same test over and over and over again because their providers can't access previous results or they have to relay their entire medical history, every medication they've taken, every surgery they've gotten, every time they see a new provider," said Obama. "Electronic medical records will help to put an end to all that."
On the face of it, the system created by Obama and Congress in February is designed to record when any person in America has diabetes, contracts strep throat, breaks an ankle—has an abortion, contracts HIV or suffers a nervous breakdown.
But when CNSNews.com video reporter Nicholas Ballasy specifically asked Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., last week whether people would be able to opt out of having abortions and STDs reported on their electronic health records, Kennedy said people would be able to do that.
"This is totally going to be up to the individual," Kennedy told Ballasy. "So, obviously, for the full effectiveness of the person, it's to their benefit to have everything on a record, but it's going to be totally up to the individual."
On Monday, CNSNews.com White House Correspondent Fred Lucas asked White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs whether he agreed with Kennedy that people would be able to prevent abortions and certain diseases from being listed on their electronic health records.
Even though Gibbs' boss has been promoting the system as one that will substitute for a person having to tell a new doctor about "every medication" they have ever taken or "every surgery" they have ever undergone, Gibbs said he had "no idea" whether someone would be able to keep abortions and some diseases out of the record.
"I'm not a health IT expert. I would direct you to somebody—I have no idea," said Gibbs.
If Obama's health care plan is enacted, not only will the government subsidize the health care of Americans making up to 400 percent of the poverty level, it will also know what health care Americans have gotten and are getting.
Liberals who used a bogus "right to privacy" to violate the right to life of unborn children now seek to annihilate the real right to privacy of everyone in their quest to socialize medicine.
Contact: Terence P. Jeffrey
Source: CNSNews.com
Publish Date: September 30, 2009
Link to this article.
Send this article to a friend.
Should doctors and hospitals be required by the federal government to maintain a national network of electronic health records for every individual in America that indicates, for example, whether that individual has had an abortion, a sexually transmitted disease, a mental illness or a drug problem?
Such a system has already been mandated by the stimulus law enacted in February, and politicians in Washington, D.C., would now prefer not to answer straightforward questions about it.
Americans should not let them get away with it.
The stimulus law provided for "the development of a nationwide health information technology infrastructure" that would include an electronic health record for "each person in the United States by 2014."
The law says these records should contain each person's "medical history and problems lists."
This system holding each American's "medical history and problems lists," the law says, will allow for "the electronic linkage of health care providers, health plans, the government and other interested parties to enable electronic exchange and use of health information among all the components in the health care infrastructure in accordance with applicable law."
When President Obama was pushing his health care plan earlier this year, he pointed to this system as a way the government would save money on health care—and indicated that a person's full medical history would be included in the system.
"You shouldn't have to tell every new doctor you see about your medical history, or what prescriptions you're taking. You should not have to repeat costly tests," Obama told the American Medical Association on June 15. "All that information should be stored securely in a private medical record so that your information can be tracked from one doctor to another—even if you change jobs, even if you move, even if you have to see a number of different specialists. That's just common sense. And that will not only mean less paper-pushing and lower administrative costs, saving taxpayers billions of dollars; it will also mean all of you physicians will have an easier time doing your jobs."
At a town hall meeting in Annandale, Va., on July 1, Obama argued that the electronic-health-records system would also reduce medical errors.
"We have to build on the investments that we've made in electronic medical records," said Obama. "We already made those investments in the Recovery Act—because when everything is digitalized, all your records—your privacy is protected, but all your records (are) on a digital form—that reduces medical errors."
Speaking at AARP headquarters on July 28, Obama said the electronic-health-records network would substitute for people having to "relay their entire medical history" to each new health care provider.
"We're also working to computerize medical records, because right now too many folks wind up taking the same test over and over and over again because their providers can't access previous results or they have to relay their entire medical history, every medication they've taken, every surgery they've gotten, every time they see a new provider," said Obama. "Electronic medical records will help to put an end to all that."
On the face of it, the system created by Obama and Congress in February is designed to record when any person in America has diabetes, contracts strep throat, breaks an ankle—has an abortion, contracts HIV or suffers a nervous breakdown.
But when CNSNews.com video reporter Nicholas Ballasy specifically asked Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., last week whether people would be able to opt out of having abortions and STDs reported on their electronic health records, Kennedy said people would be able to do that.
"This is totally going to be up to the individual," Kennedy told Ballasy. "So, obviously, for the full effectiveness of the person, it's to their benefit to have everything on a record, but it's going to be totally up to the individual."
On Monday, CNSNews.com White House Correspondent Fred Lucas asked White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs whether he agreed with Kennedy that people would be able to prevent abortions and certain diseases from being listed on their electronic health records.
Even though Gibbs' boss has been promoting the system as one that will substitute for a person having to tell a new doctor about "every medication" they have ever taken or "every surgery" they have ever undergone, Gibbs said he had "no idea" whether someone would be able to keep abortions and some diseases out of the record.
"I'm not a health IT expert. I would direct you to somebody—I have no idea," said Gibbs.
If Obama's health care plan is enacted, not only will the government subsidize the health care of Americans making up to 400 percent of the poverty level, it will also know what health care Americans have gotten and are getting.
Liberals who used a bogus "right to privacy" to violate the right to life of unborn children now seek to annihilate the real right to privacy of everyone in their quest to socialize medicine.
Contact: Terence P. Jeffrey
Source: CNSNews.com
Publish Date: September 30, 2009
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National Life Chain Sunday October 4
National Life Chain Sunday October 4
On Sunday afternoon, October 4, National Life Chain Sunday 2009 will occupy sidewalks in over 1450 U.S. and Canadian cities, as earnest defenders of human life seek God's divine help to end the legalized killing of preborn fellow citizens. Participation will rely heavily on pastors who deem abortion perilous to any nation and who, with humility and boldness, lead their worshippers to a time of solemn prayer, meditation, and public witness.
During an earlier age of spiritual darkness--the Jewish Holocaust, David Ben-Gurion addressed the silence and inaction of Israel's would be friends: "What have you done to us, you freedom-loving peoples, guardians of justice, defenders of the high principles of democracy and of the brotherhood of man? What have you allowed to be perpetrated against a defenseless people while you stood aside and let them bleed to death...? Why do you profane our pain and wrath with empty expressions of sympathy which ring like a mockery in the ears of millions of the damned in the torture houses of Nazi Europe?"
Today, 65 years later in America, Canada, and the other Western nations graced by Christendom, the blood of preborn fellow citizens pleads unceasingly to reluctant pulpits and pews: "Why do you pretend to oppose our mutilation yet readily acquiesce to powers local and national that deny us the meager mercies afforded slaughter animals? Why do you embrace an 'issue' instead of our humanity and betray us with trite condolences? For how long will you allow the corporate church to squander its integrity and withhold compassion? And for how long will you permit bloodguilt to accumulate against you, until denial and détente consume your freedom and comfort?"
Wrote Albert Einstein: "The world is too dangerous to live in--not because of the people who do evil, but because of the people who let it happen." Thus the truth of 2 Chronicles 7:14. With no tyrant to blame, is the Abortion Holocaust on our soil too real for us to grasp?
The solution? Four decades of lay pro-life leadership have seen no serious decline in annual abortions (surgical and chemical), and today lay leaders realize their inability to protect from deadly predators the most helpless church family members--the preborn sons and daughters. Wrote Afro-American pastor Clenard Childress regarding America's Holocaust and its enduring carnage: "The pew cannot do what the pulpit is suppose to do." In each city and town, the battle to end legalized abortion rests foremost with pastors who will equip themselves for spiritual warfare, plan wisely, mobilize their flocks, and stand boldly against the forces destroying our youth and culture.
While only a first step into pro-life activism, Life Chain is a serious step that tests our concern. It follows a strict Code of Conduct, is peaceful, and urges all family members, young and old, to attend. Pastors may add prayer topics to those listed on the back of Life Chain signs, and each pastor who prepares his people for prayer and witness is greatly valued. It is fervently hoped that God will anoint National Life Chain Sunday 2009 and use it mightily for His purpose and glory.
Click here to find a location near you.
Contact: Royce Dunn, Director
Source: Life Chain
Publish Date: October 1, 2009
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Send this article to a friend.
On Sunday afternoon, October 4, National Life Chain Sunday 2009 will occupy sidewalks in over 1450 U.S. and Canadian cities, as earnest defenders of human life seek God's divine help to end the legalized killing of preborn fellow citizens. Participation will rely heavily on pastors who deem abortion perilous to any nation and who, with humility and boldness, lead their worshippers to a time of solemn prayer, meditation, and public witness.
During an earlier age of spiritual darkness--the Jewish Holocaust, David Ben-Gurion addressed the silence and inaction of Israel's would be friends: "What have you done to us, you freedom-loving peoples, guardians of justice, defenders of the high principles of democracy and of the brotherhood of man? What have you allowed to be perpetrated against a defenseless people while you stood aside and let them bleed to death...? Why do you profane our pain and wrath with empty expressions of sympathy which ring like a mockery in the ears of millions of the damned in the torture houses of Nazi Europe?"
Today, 65 years later in America, Canada, and the other Western nations graced by Christendom, the blood of preborn fellow citizens pleads unceasingly to reluctant pulpits and pews: "Why do you pretend to oppose our mutilation yet readily acquiesce to powers local and national that deny us the meager mercies afforded slaughter animals? Why do you embrace an 'issue' instead of our humanity and betray us with trite condolences? For how long will you allow the corporate church to squander its integrity and withhold compassion? And for how long will you permit bloodguilt to accumulate against you, until denial and détente consume your freedom and comfort?"
Wrote Albert Einstein: "The world is too dangerous to live in--not because of the people who do evil, but because of the people who let it happen." Thus the truth of 2 Chronicles 7:14. With no tyrant to blame, is the Abortion Holocaust on our soil too real for us to grasp?
The solution? Four decades of lay pro-life leadership have seen no serious decline in annual abortions (surgical and chemical), and today lay leaders realize their inability to protect from deadly predators the most helpless church family members--the preborn sons and daughters. Wrote Afro-American pastor Clenard Childress regarding America's Holocaust and its enduring carnage: "The pew cannot do what the pulpit is suppose to do." In each city and town, the battle to end legalized abortion rests foremost with pastors who will equip themselves for spiritual warfare, plan wisely, mobilize their flocks, and stand boldly against the forces destroying our youth and culture.
While only a first step into pro-life activism, Life Chain is a serious step that tests our concern. It follows a strict Code of Conduct, is peaceful, and urges all family members, young and old, to attend. Pastors may add prayer topics to those listed on the back of Life Chain signs, and each pastor who prepares his people for prayer and witness is greatly valued. It is fervently hoped that God will anoint National Life Chain Sunday 2009 and use it mightily for His purpose and glory.
Click here to find a location near you.
Contact: Royce Dunn, Director
Source: Life Chain
Publish Date: October 1, 2009
Link to this article.
Send this article to a friend.
Protecting Access for Poor Patients, CMA Physicians Support Conscience Provisions in Alternative Healthcare Bill
Protecting Access for Poor Patients, CMA Physicians Support Conscience Provisions in Alternative Healthcare Bill
The 16,000-member Christian Medical Association (CMA, www.cmda.org), the nation's largest association of faith-based physicians, today voiced support for the conscience-protecting provisions in the "Empowering Patients First Act," a bill introduced by Rep. Tom Price (R-GA 6th). CMA contended that the protections are needed to avoid a potentially catastrophic loss of faith-based healthcare on which millions of poor patients depend.
In a letter sent to Rep. Price today regarding the bill (HR 3400), CMA CEO Dr. David Stevens noted, "The Christian Medical Association is very concerned that some in Congress and the White House appear to be pursuing a conscience-hostile approach to healthcare legislation, opposing amendment after amendment that would provide solid--not rhetorically deceptive--conscience protections.
"Lawmakers must realize that threatening or minimizing conscience protections holds the potential to create a catastrophic shortage of healthcare access, especially for poor patients. Our national polling (available online at www.Freedom2Care.org) reveals that 95 percent of faith-based physicians are prepared to leave medicine altogether rather than violate their conscientiously held ethical convictions."
Dr. Stevens wrote, "As you know, President Obama has announced plans to rescind the relatively new federal provider conscience regulation, which also provides for such a reporting mechanism. It is imperative, therefore, to enact legislation that protects conscience rights from the whims of any administration that might minimize the opportunity to address civil rights violations related to conscience."
Dr. Stevens thanked Rep. Price for recognizing the need for strong, true and broad conscience protections.
"The bill [Sec. 106 Part (d) of HR 3400] also provides a critical component of conscience protections. Many healthcare professionals encounter pressure to violate ethical codes on many issues besides abortion. HR 3400 addresses this reality by offering appropriately broad conscientious protection 'to accommodate the conscientious objection of a purchaser or an individual or institutional health care provider when a procedure is contrary to the religious beliefs or moral convictions of such purchaser or provider.'"
In his letter, Dr. Stevens also noted the benefit of designating the Office of Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as a reporting outlet for healthcare professionals experiencing discrimination for their conscientious stance on ethical issues.
"Besides protecting any individual or institutional health care entity from discrimination 'on the basis that the health care entity does not provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or refer for abortions,' the bill also provides the crucial implementation avenue needed to make such protection effective."
Contact: Margie Shealy
Source: Christian Medical Association
Publish Date: September 30, 2009
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Send this article to a friend.
The 16,000-member Christian Medical Association (CMA, www.cmda.org), the nation's largest association of faith-based physicians, today voiced support for the conscience-protecting provisions in the "Empowering Patients First Act," a bill introduced by Rep. Tom Price (R-GA 6th). CMA contended that the protections are needed to avoid a potentially catastrophic loss of faith-based healthcare on which millions of poor patients depend.
In a letter sent to Rep. Price today regarding the bill (HR 3400), CMA CEO Dr. David Stevens noted, "The Christian Medical Association is very concerned that some in Congress and the White House appear to be pursuing a conscience-hostile approach to healthcare legislation, opposing amendment after amendment that would provide solid--not rhetorically deceptive--conscience protections.
"Lawmakers must realize that threatening or minimizing conscience protections holds the potential to create a catastrophic shortage of healthcare access, especially for poor patients. Our national polling (available online at www.Freedom2Care.org) reveals that 95 percent of faith-based physicians are prepared to leave medicine altogether rather than violate their conscientiously held ethical convictions."
Dr. Stevens wrote, "As you know, President Obama has announced plans to rescind the relatively new federal provider conscience regulation, which also provides for such a reporting mechanism. It is imperative, therefore, to enact legislation that protects conscience rights from the whims of any administration that might minimize the opportunity to address civil rights violations related to conscience."
Dr. Stevens thanked Rep. Price for recognizing the need for strong, true and broad conscience protections.
"The bill [Sec. 106 Part (d) of HR 3400] also provides a critical component of conscience protections. Many healthcare professionals encounter pressure to violate ethical codes on many issues besides abortion. HR 3400 addresses this reality by offering appropriately broad conscientious protection 'to accommodate the conscientious objection of a purchaser or an individual or institutional health care provider when a procedure is contrary to the religious beliefs or moral convictions of such purchaser or provider.'"
In his letter, Dr. Stevens also noted the benefit of designating the Office of Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as a reporting outlet for healthcare professionals experiencing discrimination for their conscientious stance on ethical issues.
"Besides protecting any individual or institutional health care entity from discrimination 'on the basis that the health care entity does not provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or refer for abortions,' the bill also provides the crucial implementation avenue needed to make such protection effective."
Contact: Margie Shealy
Source: Christian Medical Association
Publish Date: September 30, 2009
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NEWS SHORTS FOR THURSDAY
NEWS SHORTS FOR THURSDAY
(Referral to Web sites not produced by The Illinois Federation for Right to Life is for informational purposes only and does not necessarily constitute an endorsement of the sites' content.)
Judge Blocks 'Informed Consent,' Some Other Provisions Of Ariz. Abortion Law, Allows Waiting Period
An Arizona judge issued a preliminary injunction late Tuesday blocking the implementation of some provisions of a new state abortion law requiring waiting periods and specific disclosures scheduled to take effect at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, the AP/Nevada Appeal reports. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Donald Daughton said that Planned Parenthood Arizona's challenge to the law established "a strong likelihood of prevailing on the merits" of the case if it goes to trial and that women face "the possibility of irreparable injury" if he did not grant some of the group's requests.
Daughton allowed the law's 24-hour waiting period to take effect but granted PPAZ's request to block a requirement that women receive in-person disclosures from a physician before abortion procedures. Daughton said that the so-called "informed consent" consultation is still required 24 hours prior to the procedure but that qualified staff can provide the disclosures over the phone.
Click here for the full article.
Eugenics Impulse Alive and Well on Supreme Court
As I have observed in these pages before, the United States Supreme Court has a very uneven record on the issue of eugenics. Indeed, one of the justices we lawyers are taught in law school to revere without question, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., was an uber-Darwinist and philosophical materialist who also happened to be, not coincidentally, a great admirer of the American eugenics project of the 1920's. In the infamous case of Buck v. Bell the court considered a Virginia law authorizing the forced sterilization of mentally challenged people. The state proposed to use the law to sterilize Carrie Buck on the ground that she was feeble minded and thus a genetic threat to society. The court upheld the law, and Ms. Buck was in fact forcibly sterilized, as were tens of thousands of other people across the nation after Buck v. Bell was decided.
Click here for the full article.
HPV Vaccine Death Raises Wider Issue
The death of a 14-year-old British girl hours after she received the Cervarix vaccine that protects against human papilloma virus, the virus that causes cervical cancer, shows how difficult it can be to assess the risk of vaccines. The problem is especially timely now because of widespread fears about the supposedly untested vaccine against the pandemic H1N1 influenza virus. Although rare, adverse effects can be caused by vaccines. The U.S. government has established a program to compensate such victims. But adverse events also occur often in the absence of vaccination, and the tendency is to attribute these events to the vaccine even though there is no physical link.
Click here for the full article.
1300 March for Life in Berlin
This past Saturday, September 26, 1300 pro-life demonstrators marched through Berlin from City Hall to St. Hedwig's Cathedral hoping to bring an end to abortion in Germany.
The participants marched silently along the route, holding 1000 white wooden crosses as a sign of protest against abortion in Germany. The 1000 white crosses symbolized the estimated 1000 unborn babies killed in Germany each day.
Abortion is technically illegal under Germany's constitution, but the German Parliament passed a law in 1995 that eliminated any punishment for abortion in the first trimester. However, the law stated that before a woman could get an abortion, she must first receive counseling and be informed that the unborn child has a right to live.
The March, which was organized by Bundesverband Lebensrecht, an organization in Germany that acts as an umbrella for other pro-life groups, drew significantly more people than it did last year when reports estimated attendance to be at 800.
Click here for the full article.
Adult Stem Cells for ALSfrom FRC Blog by David Prentice
In the news recently was the FDA approval of a clinical trial for ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis; Lou Gehrig's disease) by the company NeuralStem. Actually, the recent news was release of the FDA hold on the trial; the FDA hold was placed on the trial back on 20 Feb 2009. NeuralStem uses immature, fetal neural stem cells. The hold was placed soon after news broke about an Israeli boy who developed tumors, four years after receiving fetal stem cells. Fetal stem cell "overgrowth" has been a problem before with other attempts, e.g. experiments at using fetal neural cells in Parkinson patients (published ref from 2001, also see refs from 2003 and 1996.)
All of the recent NeuralStem stories talk about this fetal stem cell experiment being the "first" stem cell trial for ALS. Apparently no one is aware of the adult stem cell literature, only fetal and embryonic.
Click here for the full article.
Civil Rights Battle for Sanctity of Life Expands to Include Marriage, Family and Parenting
On the beautiful campus of Hampton University in Virginia, a valiant group of multi-ethnic leaders gathered this week to discuss the state of marriage in America, specifically marriage in Black America; and to sign a related declaration at the site of the historical "Emancipation Oak" where freedwoman Mary Peak taught children of former slaves in 1981. It was noted by Dr. Alveda King, Director of African American Outreach of Priests for Life and Founder of King for America, that the marriage, family and parenting efforts also have the impact of lowering abortions because women who are supported by men who engage positively in marriage and fatherhood have help in bearing the burdens that parenthood can impose on a woman alone. "This fatherhood support, plus the awareness and support of social systems that support healthy marriages will have positive impact on negating abortions in our current civil right fight for the sanctity of life," said Dr. King.
Click here for the full article.
(Referral to Web sites not produced by The Illinois Federation for Right to Life is for informational purposes only and does not necessarily constitute an endorsement of the sites' content.)
Judge Blocks 'Informed Consent,' Some Other Provisions Of Ariz. Abortion Law, Allows Waiting Period
An Arizona judge issued a preliminary injunction late Tuesday blocking the implementation of some provisions of a new state abortion law requiring waiting periods and specific disclosures scheduled to take effect at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, the AP/Nevada Appeal reports. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Donald Daughton said that Planned Parenthood Arizona's challenge to the law established "a strong likelihood of prevailing on the merits" of the case if it goes to trial and that women face "the possibility of irreparable injury" if he did not grant some of the group's requests.
Daughton allowed the law's 24-hour waiting period to take effect but granted PPAZ's request to block a requirement that women receive in-person disclosures from a physician before abortion procedures. Daughton said that the so-called "informed consent" consultation is still required 24 hours prior to the procedure but that qualified staff can provide the disclosures over the phone.
Click here for the full article.
Eugenics Impulse Alive and Well on Supreme Court
As I have observed in these pages before, the United States Supreme Court has a very uneven record on the issue of eugenics. Indeed, one of the justices we lawyers are taught in law school to revere without question, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., was an uber-Darwinist and philosophical materialist who also happened to be, not coincidentally, a great admirer of the American eugenics project of the 1920's. In the infamous case of Buck v. Bell the court considered a Virginia law authorizing the forced sterilization of mentally challenged people. The state proposed to use the law to sterilize Carrie Buck on the ground that she was feeble minded and thus a genetic threat to society. The court upheld the law, and Ms. Buck was in fact forcibly sterilized, as were tens of thousands of other people across the nation after Buck v. Bell was decided.
Click here for the full article.
HPV Vaccine Death Raises Wider Issue
The death of a 14-year-old British girl hours after she received the Cervarix vaccine that protects against human papilloma virus, the virus that causes cervical cancer, shows how difficult it can be to assess the risk of vaccines. The problem is especially timely now because of widespread fears about the supposedly untested vaccine against the pandemic H1N1 influenza virus. Although rare, adverse effects can be caused by vaccines. The U.S. government has established a program to compensate such victims. But adverse events also occur often in the absence of vaccination, and the tendency is to attribute these events to the vaccine even though there is no physical link.
Click here for the full article.
1300 March for Life in Berlin
This past Saturday, September 26, 1300 pro-life demonstrators marched through Berlin from City Hall to St. Hedwig's Cathedral hoping to bring an end to abortion in Germany.
The participants marched silently along the route, holding 1000 white wooden crosses as a sign of protest against abortion in Germany. The 1000 white crosses symbolized the estimated 1000 unborn babies killed in Germany each day.
Abortion is technically illegal under Germany's constitution, but the German Parliament passed a law in 1995 that eliminated any punishment for abortion in the first trimester. However, the law stated that before a woman could get an abortion, she must first receive counseling and be informed that the unborn child has a right to live.
The March, which was organized by Bundesverband Lebensrecht, an organization in Germany that acts as an umbrella for other pro-life groups, drew significantly more people than it did last year when reports estimated attendance to be at 800.
Click here for the full article.
Adult Stem Cells for ALSfrom FRC Blog by David Prentice
In the news recently was the FDA approval of a clinical trial for ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis; Lou Gehrig's disease) by the company NeuralStem. Actually, the recent news was release of the FDA hold on the trial; the FDA hold was placed on the trial back on 20 Feb 2009. NeuralStem uses immature, fetal neural stem cells. The hold was placed soon after news broke about an Israeli boy who developed tumors, four years after receiving fetal stem cells. Fetal stem cell "overgrowth" has been a problem before with other attempts, e.g. experiments at using fetal neural cells in Parkinson patients (published ref from 2001, also see refs from 2003 and 1996.)
All of the recent NeuralStem stories talk about this fetal stem cell experiment being the "first" stem cell trial for ALS. Apparently no one is aware of the adult stem cell literature, only fetal and embryonic.
Click here for the full article.
Civil Rights Battle for Sanctity of Life Expands to Include Marriage, Family and Parenting
On the beautiful campus of Hampton University in Virginia, a valiant group of multi-ethnic leaders gathered this week to discuss the state of marriage in America, specifically marriage in Black America; and to sign a related declaration at the site of the historical "Emancipation Oak" where freedwoman Mary Peak taught children of former slaves in 1981. It was noted by Dr. Alveda King, Director of African American Outreach of Priests for Life and Founder of King for America, that the marriage, family and parenting efforts also have the impact of lowering abortions because women who are supported by men who engage positively in marriage and fatherhood have help in bearing the burdens that parenthood can impose on a woman alone. "This fatherhood support, plus the awareness and support of social systems that support healthy marriages will have positive impact on negating abortions in our current civil right fight for the sanctity of life," said Dr. King.
Click here for the full article.
September 30, 2009
Senators reject stronger language to protect unborn
Senators reject stronger language to protect unborn
Senators writing a healthcare overhaul bill on Wednesday rejected a bid to strengthen pro-life provisions already in the legislation, in a vote that could have far-reaching repercussions. The 13-10 vote by the Senate Finance Committee could threaten support for healthcare overhaul from some Catholics who back its broad goal of expanding coverage.
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, argued that provisions already in the bill to restrict federal funding for abortions needed to be tightened to guarantee they would be ironclad. But his argument failed to carry the day. One Republican -- Olympia Snowe of Maine -- voted with the majority. One Democrat -- Kent Conrad of North Dakota -- supported Hatch.
Click here for more...
Senators writing a healthcare overhaul bill on Wednesday rejected a bid to strengthen pro-life provisions already in the legislation, in a vote that could have far-reaching repercussions. The 13-10 vote by the Senate Finance Committee could threaten support for healthcare overhaul from some Catholics who back its broad goal of expanding coverage.
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, argued that provisions already in the bill to restrict federal funding for abortions needed to be tightened to guarantee they would be ironclad. But his argument failed to carry the day. One Republican -- Olympia Snowe of Maine -- voted with the majority. One Democrat -- Kent Conrad of North Dakota -- supported Hatch.
Click here for more...
Is Chicago Trying to Kill the Free Speech of Pro-Life Advocates
Is Chicago Trying to Kill the Free Speech of Pro-Life Advocates
Members of the Pro-Life Action League and attorneys from the Thomas More Society attended the Human Relations Committee meeting of the Chicago City Council TODAY at 9:00 AM (Central) Wednesday, Sept. 30. The Committee is considering an amendment to the Municipal Code to prohibit picketing within 50 feet of any medical clinic.
These organizations strongly suspect this amendment is aimed at preventing pro-life people from praying and reaching out to clients of abortion facilities with information on alternatives to abortion.
Pro-life activists routinely stand on the public sidewalk at the entrances to abortion clinics in Chicago to offer information to anyone seeking services at the abortion clinics. The groups know of no incidents of intimidation, harassment or threats as referred to in the amendment introduced on Sept. 9 by Alderman Vi Daley (43rd Ward).
A copy of the proposed amendment to the Chicago Municipal Code is available upon request. Please call or email Tom Ciesielka at 312-422-1333, tc@tcpr.net.
Contact: Ann Scheidler, Peter Breen and Tom Ciesielka
Source: Pro-Life Action League, Thomas More Society and TC Public Relations
Publish Date: September 30, 2009
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Members of the Pro-Life Action League and attorneys from the Thomas More Society attended the Human Relations Committee meeting of the Chicago City Council TODAY at 9:00 AM (Central) Wednesday, Sept. 30. The Committee is considering an amendment to the Municipal Code to prohibit picketing within 50 feet of any medical clinic.
These organizations strongly suspect this amendment is aimed at preventing pro-life people from praying and reaching out to clients of abortion facilities with information on alternatives to abortion.
Pro-life activists routinely stand on the public sidewalk at the entrances to abortion clinics in Chicago to offer information to anyone seeking services at the abortion clinics. The groups know of no incidents of intimidation, harassment or threats as referred to in the amendment introduced on Sept. 9 by Alderman Vi Daley (43rd Ward).
A copy of the proposed amendment to the Chicago Municipal Code is available upon request. Please call or email Tom Ciesielka at 312-422-1333, tc@tcpr.net.
Contact: Ann Scheidler, Peter Breen and Tom Ciesielka
Source: Pro-Life Action League, Thomas More Society and TC Public Relations
Publish Date: September 30, 2009
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Historic In-Depth Pregnancy Resource Report Spotlights Contributions of Heartbeat Affiliates
Historic In-Depth Pregnancy Resource Report Spotlights Contributions of Heartbeat Affiliates
Heartbeat International is proud to partner with Family Research Council and other life-affirming pregnancy center networks in the release of the groundbreaking joint services report, A Passion to Serve, A Vision for Life.
"This report shines a light on the positive contributions of pregnancy centers, maternity homes, adoption agencies, and pregnancy help medical clinics," said Heartbeat International President Peggy Hartshorn, Ph.D. "These faith-based community organizations, 40,000 volunteers strong, brighten a woman's future with the support she needs to bring new life into the world. This is one of the greatest volunteer service movements in the history of our country."
"We are pleased that this report spotlights ten Heartbeat International affiliates through stories that demonstrate sacrificial acts of love and service. These frontline lifesavers are strengthening their communities one heart at a time," said Hartshorn.
This combined services report, available at APassiontoServe.com, traces the history of concern and care for pregnant women in this country. It presents in detail, through statistical summaries, case studies and client stories, the extraordinary social service contributions made by pregnancy resource centers, detailing how centers are meeting the needs of women, youth and families.
Executive director of one of the spotlighted Heartbeat affiliates, Vivian Koob said, "The clients served by Elizabeth's New Life Center are overwhelmingly young, unmarried, impoverished, under educated, and minority. Elizabeth's New Life Center offers emotional support, medical information, spiritual direction, educational classes, material assistance, prenatal care, and mentoring at no cost to the client."
A former client whose poignant story in the report showcases one of Heartbeat's Oklahoma affiliates, Kendra Howerton said, "If it weren't for Stillwater Life Services, I honestly do not know where I would be today. The staff, board, and volunteers at this pregnancy center invested a great deal into my and my family's lives. The results of their investments are priceless."
The report also includes endorsements from public figures such as U.S. Rep. Daniel Lipinski (D-IL) who said: "The success rates and national expansion of these pregnancy care centers are a testament to their invaluable work in the lives of communities and individuals over the years. These networks provide services that are often unavailable elsewhere to expectant mothers."
According to Hartshorn, "The pregnancy resource movement is dedicated to empowering women with life-affirming alternatives so abortion is unwanted now and unthinkable for future generations."
Contact: Virginia Cline
Source: Heartbeat International
Publish Date: September 30, 2009
Link to this article.
Send this article to a friend.
Heartbeat International is proud to partner with Family Research Council and other life-affirming pregnancy center networks in the release of the groundbreaking joint services report, A Passion to Serve, A Vision for Life.
"This report shines a light on the positive contributions of pregnancy centers, maternity homes, adoption agencies, and pregnancy help medical clinics," said Heartbeat International President Peggy Hartshorn, Ph.D. "These faith-based community organizations, 40,000 volunteers strong, brighten a woman's future with the support she needs to bring new life into the world. This is one of the greatest volunteer service movements in the history of our country."
"We are pleased that this report spotlights ten Heartbeat International affiliates through stories that demonstrate sacrificial acts of love and service. These frontline lifesavers are strengthening their communities one heart at a time," said Hartshorn.
This combined services report, available at APassiontoServe.com, traces the history of concern and care for pregnant women in this country. It presents in detail, through statistical summaries, case studies and client stories, the extraordinary social service contributions made by pregnancy resource centers, detailing how centers are meeting the needs of women, youth and families.
Executive director of one of the spotlighted Heartbeat affiliates, Vivian Koob said, "The clients served by Elizabeth's New Life Center are overwhelmingly young, unmarried, impoverished, under educated, and minority. Elizabeth's New Life Center offers emotional support, medical information, spiritual direction, educational classes, material assistance, prenatal care, and mentoring at no cost to the client."
A former client whose poignant story in the report showcases one of Heartbeat's Oklahoma affiliates, Kendra Howerton said, "If it weren't for Stillwater Life Services, I honestly do not know where I would be today. The staff, board, and volunteers at this pregnancy center invested a great deal into my and my family's lives. The results of their investments are priceless."
The report also includes endorsements from public figures such as U.S. Rep. Daniel Lipinski (D-IL) who said: "The success rates and national expansion of these pregnancy care centers are a testament to their invaluable work in the lives of communities and individuals over the years. These networks provide services that are often unavailable elsewhere to expectant mothers."
According to Hartshorn, "The pregnancy resource movement is dedicated to empowering women with life-affirming alternatives so abortion is unwanted now and unthinkable for future generations."
Contact: Virginia Cline
Source: Heartbeat International
Publish Date: September 30, 2009
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Charges heat up in Planned Parenthood fraud case
Charges heat up in Planned Parenthood fraud case
Abortion business accused of 'misrepresenting' record
The arguments are getting hotter in a federal case in California that alleges Planned Parenthood, the nation's biggest abortion business, overcharged the federal government for services it provided in violation of the federal False Claims Act.
The law forbids government contractors from submitting "false or fraudulent" claims for payment and also authorizes private individuals to bring a legal action against the offenders to recover the overpayments.
According to the details of a statement from the American Center for Law and Justice, a district court opinion mishandled several issues in a case brought by a former Planned Parenthood staff member who is now a federal whistleblower.
The lower court dismissed the case, so the ACLJ is bringing the case to appeal, submitting a new brief that challenges Planned Parenthood's statements about the case.
The ACLJ said it filed an additional brief with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the multi-million dollar fraud case.
"Nationally, Planned Parenthood is a billion-dollar operation. We believe this case will show that Planned Parenthood has been soaking taxpayers even beyond the legal limits," said Jay Sekulow, chief counsel for the law firm. "The False Claims Act provides an important weapon in rectifying illegal runs on taxpayer dollars."
The allegation in the case is that Planned Parenthood affiliates in California illegally marked up the supposed cost of various birth control drugs when seeking government reimbursement, resulting in tens of millions of dollars of overbilling.
That extra money came from taxpayers' pockets, the case explains.
And the ACLJ confirmed state audits in both California and Washington state have found Planned Parenthood affiliates guilty of overbilling.
The ACLJ brief, filed just days ago, said Planned Parenthood was "misrepresenting" the record in the case and also "improperly" trying to add new arguments to the case as the appeal moves forward.
The newest filing also was posted online.
"This is a very complicated, highly technical area of the law," said Sekulow. "There is no way an ordinary citizen, no matter how just the claim or how egregious the fraud, could afford to take on a prominent law firm in a complex area of the law like this. We're very pleased that the ACLJ was available to provide the high-powered analysis a case like this calls for."
The ACLJ's opening appeal brief was filed in July, and it also has been posted online.
The organization earlier confirmed that the alleged overbilling involves tens of millions of dollars. The case was brought by a former Planned Parenthood worker against the business.
The overbilling reportedly came to light during a state audit of Planned Parenthood several years ago. The business president, Mark Salo, had notified branches about an audit plan, and Martha Swiller of Planned Parenthood of Los Angeles told staff members, "This is bad," the report said.
Source: WorldNetDaily
Publish Date: September 29, 2009
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Abortion business accused of 'misrepresenting' record
The arguments are getting hotter in a federal case in California that alleges Planned Parenthood, the nation's biggest abortion business, overcharged the federal government for services it provided in violation of the federal False Claims Act.
The law forbids government contractors from submitting "false or fraudulent" claims for payment and also authorizes private individuals to bring a legal action against the offenders to recover the overpayments.
According to the details of a statement from the American Center for Law and Justice, a district court opinion mishandled several issues in a case brought by a former Planned Parenthood staff member who is now a federal whistleblower.
The lower court dismissed the case, so the ACLJ is bringing the case to appeal, submitting a new brief that challenges Planned Parenthood's statements about the case.
The ACLJ said it filed an additional brief with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the multi-million dollar fraud case.
"Nationally, Planned Parenthood is a billion-dollar operation. We believe this case will show that Planned Parenthood has been soaking taxpayers even beyond the legal limits," said Jay Sekulow, chief counsel for the law firm. "The False Claims Act provides an important weapon in rectifying illegal runs on taxpayer dollars."
The allegation in the case is that Planned Parenthood affiliates in California illegally marked up the supposed cost of various birth control drugs when seeking government reimbursement, resulting in tens of millions of dollars of overbilling.
That extra money came from taxpayers' pockets, the case explains.
And the ACLJ confirmed state audits in both California and Washington state have found Planned Parenthood affiliates guilty of overbilling.
The ACLJ brief, filed just days ago, said Planned Parenthood was "misrepresenting" the record in the case and also "improperly" trying to add new arguments to the case as the appeal moves forward.
The newest filing also was posted online.
"This is a very complicated, highly technical area of the law," said Sekulow. "There is no way an ordinary citizen, no matter how just the claim or how egregious the fraud, could afford to take on a prominent law firm in a complex area of the law like this. We're very pleased that the ACLJ was available to provide the high-powered analysis a case like this calls for."
The ACLJ's opening appeal brief was filed in July, and it also has been posted online.
The organization earlier confirmed that the alleged overbilling involves tens of millions of dollars. The case was brought by a former Planned Parenthood worker against the business.
The overbilling reportedly came to light during a state audit of Planned Parenthood several years ago. The business president, Mark Salo, had notified branches about an audit plan, and Martha Swiller of Planned Parenthood of Los Angeles told staff members, "This is bad," the report said.
Source: WorldNetDaily
Publish Date: September 29, 2009
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Holdren: Seize babies born to unwed women
Holdren: Seize babies born to unwed women
Proposed government force adoption if mother refused to get abortion
John Holdren
Obama science czar John Holdren stated in a college textbook that "illegitimate children" born to unwed mothers could be taken by the government and put up for adoption if the mother refused to have an abortion.
Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, argued that "illegitimate childbearing could be strongly discouraged" as a socioeconomic measure imposed to control population growth.
As previously reported, WND has obtained a copy of the 1970s college textbook "Ecoscience: Population, Resources, Environment" that Holdren co-authored with Malthusian population alarmist Paul R. Ehrlich and Ehrlich's wife, Anne. The authors argued involuntary birth-control measures, including forced sterilization, may be necessary and morally acceptable under extreme conditions, such as widespread famine brought about by "climate change."
On page 786, the authors wrote that one way to discourage illegitimate childbearing "might be to insist that all illegitimate babies be put up for adoption – especially those born to minors who generally are not capable of caring properly for a child alone."
Alternatively, the authors suggested unwed mothers might place their babies up for adoption, writing: "If a single mother really wished to keep her baby, she might be obliged to go through adoption proceedings and demonstrate her ability to support and care for it."
While observing that government-imposed coercive measures should be considered "only if milder measures fail completely," the authors acknowledged extreme ecological situations could justify governmental intervention with coercive population control measures,
"It would even be possible to require pregnant single women to marry or have abortions, perhaps as an alternative to placement for adoption, depending on the society," they write.
The U.S. National Center for Health Statistics reports that in 2005, 68.8 percent of all African-American babies were born to unmarried women, while 30.5 percent of all white babies and 48 percent of all Hispanic babies were born out of wedlock.
Regarding teenage mothers, the federal agency reports the figures in 2005 were 16.8 percent of all births for African-Americans, 13.9 percent for Hispanics and 9.2 percent for whites.
'General social deterioration'
The authors' wish to control births to unwed and teenage mothers appears to derive from their concern that overpopulation leads to "general social deterioration."
For instance, on page 838, they wrote the following: "If some individuals contribute to general social deterioration by overproducing children, and if the need is compelling, they can be required by law to exercise reproductive responsibility – just as they can be required to exercise responsibility in their resource-consumption patterns – providing they are not denied equal protection." (Italics in original text.)
Nor do the authors see any constitutional protection for the right to bear children.
"Some people – respected legislators, judges, and lawyers included – have viewed the right to have children as a fundamental and inalienable right," the authors continued on page 838. "Yet neither the Declaration of Independence nor the Constitution mentions a right to reproduce."
In a similar fashion, the authors argued that a right to privacy did not extend to an unlimited right to have children, elaborating on page 838 that, "Where the society has a 'compelling, subordinating interest' in regulating population size, the right of the individual may be curtailed. If society's survival depended on having more children, women could be required to bear children, just as men can constitutionally be required to serve in the armed forces. Similarly, given a crisis caused by overpopulation, reasonably necessary laws to control excessive reproduction could be enacted."
Coercive population control
Holdren and the Ehrlichs concede compulsory population control measures if implemented to prevent disasters resulting from uncontrolled population growth will be distasteful to those with moral objections.
Arguing that voluntary measures of family planning and birth control might not be enough, Holdren and the Ehrlichs wrote on page 783 that compulsory birth control methods would need to be implemented when "massive famines, political unrest, or ecological disasters make their initiation imperative."
In further defining this "disaster exception" in which compulsory methods including forced abortions and sterilization might become acceptable, if not necessary, Holdren and the Ehrlichs wrote on the same page: "In such emergencies, whatever measures are economically and technologically expedient will be likeliest to be imposed, regardless of their political or social acceptability."
And again, continuing on the same page, the authors wrote of compulsory population control measures: "Policies that may seem totally unacceptable today to the majority of people at large or to their national leaders may be seen as very much the lesser of evils only a few years from now."
On page 784, the authors conclude the section by commenting: "Given the family size aspirations of people every, additional measures beyond family planning will unquestionably be required in order to halt the population explosion – quite possible in many DCs [developed countries] as well as LDCs [less developed countries]."
In a section of the textbook on pages 786-789 devoted to considering "involuntary fertility control," Holdren and the Ehrlichs discuss a variety of methodologies, including: an effort in the 1960s to vasectomize all fathers of three or more children in India; an effort in China to sterilize mothers after their third child; the development of a long-term sterilizing capsule that could be implanted under the skin and removed when pregnancy is desired; the government issuance of a license entitling a woman to a given number of children; and adding a sterilant to drinking water or staple foods.
While in the next sentence the authors are careful to say a "far better choice" would be to control population by the "milder methods of influencing family size," they also insist in the same sentence that efforts should be redoubled "to ensure that the means of birth control, including abortion and sterilization, are accessible to every human being on Earth within the shortest possible time."
In the last sentence of the section on "involuntary fertility control," the authors make clear even the most radical methods discussed in the section are morally acceptable to them under the write conditions of population emergency.
"If effective action is taken against population growth," the authors note, "perhaps the need for the more extreme involuntary or repressive measures can be averted in most countries."
"Compulsory control of family size is an unpalatable idea, but the alternatives may be much more horrifying," the authors concluded. "As those alternatives become clearer to an increasing number of people in the 1980s, they may begin demanding such control."
Among the crises resulting from overpopulation that Holdren and the Ehrlichs saw as justifying government-imposed involuntary fertility control measures were "ecological collapses of various kinds, large-scale crop failures due to ecological stress or changes in climate and leading to mass famine; severe resource shortages, which could lead either to crop failures or to problems or both; epidemic diseases; wars over diminishing resources; perhaps even thermo-nuclear war.
"The list of possibilities is long, and over-population enhances the probability that any one of them will occur," Holdren and the Erhlichs wrote on page 796. "Population control may be no panacea, but with it there is no way to win."
'Sustainable well-being'
The St. Petersburg Times' fact-check website, Politifact.com, argued that in his Senate confirmation hearings, Holdren disavowed "optimal population" targets, a central thesis of the 1970s textbook, as a proper role of government.
While Holdren may have abandoned "optimal population" targets as a principle of public policy, an address he gave as president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, subsequently published in Science Magazine in January 2008, shows he has adopted instead the standard of "sustainable well-being" as a guiding principle that could be utilized to set targets for acceptable population growth.
In that article, Holdren listed "continuing population growth" as a hindrance to realizing "sustainable well-being," a point he supported by footnoting Paul Ehrlich's 1968 book "The Population Bomb," thereby linking his current thinking with his 1970s-era thinking.
In that footnote, Holdren wrote that the "elementary but discomforting truth" of Ehrlich's 1968 book "may account for the vast amount of ink, paper, and angry energy that has been expended in vain to refute it."
Holdren's "sustainable well-being" appears a nearly identical concept to what is known as the United Nation's "Agenda 21", articulating the concept of "sustainable development" that is currently institutionalized in the Division for Sustainable Development of the U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
Contact: Jerome R. Corsi
Source: WorldNetDaily
Publish Date: September 30, 2009
Link to this article.
Send this article to a friend.
Proposed government force adoption if mother refused to get abortion
John Holdren
Obama science czar John Holdren stated in a college textbook that "illegitimate children" born to unwed mothers could be taken by the government and put up for adoption if the mother refused to have an abortion.
Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, argued that "illegitimate childbearing could be strongly discouraged" as a socioeconomic measure imposed to control population growth.
As previously reported, WND has obtained a copy of the 1970s college textbook "Ecoscience: Population, Resources, Environment" that Holdren co-authored with Malthusian population alarmist Paul R. Ehrlich and Ehrlich's wife, Anne. The authors argued involuntary birth-control measures, including forced sterilization, may be necessary and morally acceptable under extreme conditions, such as widespread famine brought about by "climate change."
On page 786, the authors wrote that one way to discourage illegitimate childbearing "might be to insist that all illegitimate babies be put up for adoption – especially those born to minors who generally are not capable of caring properly for a child alone."
Alternatively, the authors suggested unwed mothers might place their babies up for adoption, writing: "If a single mother really wished to keep her baby, she might be obliged to go through adoption proceedings and demonstrate her ability to support and care for it."
While observing that government-imposed coercive measures should be considered "only if milder measures fail completely," the authors acknowledged extreme ecological situations could justify governmental intervention with coercive population control measures,
"It would even be possible to require pregnant single women to marry or have abortions, perhaps as an alternative to placement for adoption, depending on the society," they write.
The U.S. National Center for Health Statistics reports that in 2005, 68.8 percent of all African-American babies were born to unmarried women, while 30.5 percent of all white babies and 48 percent of all Hispanic babies were born out of wedlock.
Regarding teenage mothers, the federal agency reports the figures in 2005 were 16.8 percent of all births for African-Americans, 13.9 percent for Hispanics and 9.2 percent for whites.
'General social deterioration'
The authors' wish to control births to unwed and teenage mothers appears to derive from their concern that overpopulation leads to "general social deterioration."
For instance, on page 838, they wrote the following: "If some individuals contribute to general social deterioration by overproducing children, and if the need is compelling, they can be required by law to exercise reproductive responsibility – just as they can be required to exercise responsibility in their resource-consumption patterns – providing they are not denied equal protection." (Italics in original text.)
Nor do the authors see any constitutional protection for the right to bear children.
"Some people – respected legislators, judges, and lawyers included – have viewed the right to have children as a fundamental and inalienable right," the authors continued on page 838. "Yet neither the Declaration of Independence nor the Constitution mentions a right to reproduce."
In a similar fashion, the authors argued that a right to privacy did not extend to an unlimited right to have children, elaborating on page 838 that, "Where the society has a 'compelling, subordinating interest' in regulating population size, the right of the individual may be curtailed. If society's survival depended on having more children, women could be required to bear children, just as men can constitutionally be required to serve in the armed forces. Similarly, given a crisis caused by overpopulation, reasonably necessary laws to control excessive reproduction could be enacted."
Coercive population control
Holdren and the Ehrlichs concede compulsory population control measures if implemented to prevent disasters resulting from uncontrolled population growth will be distasteful to those with moral objections.
Arguing that voluntary measures of family planning and birth control might not be enough, Holdren and the Ehrlichs wrote on page 783 that compulsory birth control methods would need to be implemented when "massive famines, political unrest, or ecological disasters make their initiation imperative."
In further defining this "disaster exception" in which compulsory methods including forced abortions and sterilization might become acceptable, if not necessary, Holdren and the Ehrlichs wrote on the same page: "In such emergencies, whatever measures are economically and technologically expedient will be likeliest to be imposed, regardless of their political or social acceptability."
And again, continuing on the same page, the authors wrote of compulsory population control measures: "Policies that may seem totally unacceptable today to the majority of people at large or to their national leaders may be seen as very much the lesser of evils only a few years from now."
On page 784, the authors conclude the section by commenting: "Given the family size aspirations of people every, additional measures beyond family planning will unquestionably be required in order to halt the population explosion – quite possible in many DCs [developed countries] as well as LDCs [less developed countries]."
In a section of the textbook on pages 786-789 devoted to considering "involuntary fertility control," Holdren and the Ehrlichs discuss a variety of methodologies, including: an effort in the 1960s to vasectomize all fathers of three or more children in India; an effort in China to sterilize mothers after their third child; the development of a long-term sterilizing capsule that could be implanted under the skin and removed when pregnancy is desired; the government issuance of a license entitling a woman to a given number of children; and adding a sterilant to drinking water or staple foods.
While in the next sentence the authors are careful to say a "far better choice" would be to control population by the "milder methods of influencing family size," they also insist in the same sentence that efforts should be redoubled "to ensure that the means of birth control, including abortion and sterilization, are accessible to every human being on Earth within the shortest possible time."
In the last sentence of the section on "involuntary fertility control," the authors make clear even the most radical methods discussed in the section are morally acceptable to them under the write conditions of population emergency.
"If effective action is taken against population growth," the authors note, "perhaps the need for the more extreme involuntary or repressive measures can be averted in most countries."
"Compulsory control of family size is an unpalatable idea, but the alternatives may be much more horrifying," the authors concluded. "As those alternatives become clearer to an increasing number of people in the 1980s, they may begin demanding such control."
Among the crises resulting from overpopulation that Holdren and the Ehrlichs saw as justifying government-imposed involuntary fertility control measures were "ecological collapses of various kinds, large-scale crop failures due to ecological stress or changes in climate and leading to mass famine; severe resource shortages, which could lead either to crop failures or to problems or both; epidemic diseases; wars over diminishing resources; perhaps even thermo-nuclear war.
"The list of possibilities is long, and over-population enhances the probability that any one of them will occur," Holdren and the Erhlichs wrote on page 796. "Population control may be no panacea, but with it there is no way to win."
'Sustainable well-being'
The St. Petersburg Times' fact-check website, Politifact.com, argued that in his Senate confirmation hearings, Holdren disavowed "optimal population" targets, a central thesis of the 1970s textbook, as a proper role of government.
While Holdren may have abandoned "optimal population" targets as a principle of public policy, an address he gave as president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, subsequently published in Science Magazine in January 2008, shows he has adopted instead the standard of "sustainable well-being" as a guiding principle that could be utilized to set targets for acceptable population growth.
In that article, Holdren listed "continuing population growth" as a hindrance to realizing "sustainable well-being," a point he supported by footnoting Paul Ehrlich's 1968 book "The Population Bomb," thereby linking his current thinking with his 1970s-era thinking.
In that footnote, Holdren wrote that the "elementary but discomforting truth" of Ehrlich's 1968 book "may account for the vast amount of ink, paper, and angry energy that has been expended in vain to refute it."
Holdren's "sustainable well-being" appears a nearly identical concept to what is known as the United Nation's "Agenda 21", articulating the concept of "sustainable development" that is currently institutionalized in the Division for Sustainable Development of the U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
Contact: Jerome R. Corsi
Source: WorldNetDaily
Publish Date: September 30, 2009
Link to this article.
Send this article to a friend.
14 Year Old British Girl Dies after HPV Vaccination
14 Year Old British Girl Dies after HPV Vaccination
Natalie Morton, a 14-year-old girl who attended the Blue Coat Church of England School in Coventry, died today, hours after being given Cervarix - the controversial cervical cancer vaccine manufactured for the UK market by Glaxo SmithKline.
Natalie was injected with the vaccine as part of the UK National Health Service's (NHS) immunization program directed at teenage girls with the purpose of protecting them against strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV), which is a sexually transmitted disease.
The NHS started the HPV vaccination program in April last year and has recorded 2,137 reports of adverse effects following the injection.
Health officials said today they are not sure whether Natalie had an extreme reaction to a standard vaccine, or whether the particular dose she was given was from a "rogue contaminated batch."
Either situation raises serious questions about the safety of the vaccine.
Dr. Caron Grainger, director for public health at Coventry city council, said an autopsy will be conducted to investigate if the vaccine played a role in Natalie's death.
"No link can be made between the death and the vaccine until all the facts are known and a post-mortem takes place," Grainger told the UK Daily Mail.
Mike Attwood, a spokesman for Coventry Primary Care Trust said: "An urgent investigation has been launched and while we wait for the results from the post mortem all vaccinations using the drug have been temporarily stopped."
The National Vaccine Information Centre (NVC), a private vaccine-safety group based in the US, reported that from 2006 as many as 11,900 girls and young women had reported adverse events after receiving the Gardasil vaccine, which is manufactured by Merck Pharmaceutical for use in the US and Canada.
These adverse events included such mild reactions as pain, fever, nausea, dizziness and itching, to serious effects such as Bells Palsy, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, and seizures. The number of deaths associated with the Gardasil vaccine by the NVC is between 32 and 45 in the US alone.
Contact: Thaddeus M. Baklinski
Source: LifeSiteNews.com
Publish Date: September 29, 2009
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Send this article to a friend.
Natalie Morton, a 14-year-old girl who attended the Blue Coat Church of England School in Coventry, died today, hours after being given Cervarix - the controversial cervical cancer vaccine manufactured for the UK market by Glaxo SmithKline.
Natalie was injected with the vaccine as part of the UK National Health Service's (NHS) immunization program directed at teenage girls with the purpose of protecting them against strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV), which is a sexually transmitted disease.
The NHS started the HPV vaccination program in April last year and has recorded 2,137 reports of adverse effects following the injection.
Health officials said today they are not sure whether Natalie had an extreme reaction to a standard vaccine, or whether the particular dose she was given was from a "rogue contaminated batch."
Either situation raises serious questions about the safety of the vaccine.
Dr. Caron Grainger, director for public health at Coventry city council, said an autopsy will be conducted to investigate if the vaccine played a role in Natalie's death.
"No link can be made between the death and the vaccine until all the facts are known and a post-mortem takes place," Grainger told the UK Daily Mail.
Mike Attwood, a spokesman for Coventry Primary Care Trust said: "An urgent investigation has been launched and while we wait for the results from the post mortem all vaccinations using the drug have been temporarily stopped."
The National Vaccine Information Centre (NVC), a private vaccine-safety group based in the US, reported that from 2006 as many as 11,900 girls and young women had reported adverse events after receiving the Gardasil vaccine, which is manufactured by Merck Pharmaceutical for use in the US and Canada.
These adverse events included such mild reactions as pain, fever, nausea, dizziness and itching, to serious effects such as Bells Palsy, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, and seizures. The number of deaths associated with the Gardasil vaccine by the NVC is between 32 and 45 in the US alone.
Contact: Thaddeus M. Baklinski
Source: LifeSiteNews.com
Publish Date: September 29, 2009
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Rockford Abortion clinic mocks pro-life demonstrators
Rockford Abortion clinic mocks pro-life demonstrators
An Illinois group wants the public to learn about some of the abuses pro-life demonstrators face.
The Northern Illinois Women's Center in Rockford is one of the most "anti-life and anti-Christian abortuaries in America." Rockford Pro-Life Initiative produced a video (Warning: Inappropriate for children) of the abortion clinic showing some of the "mocking, hateful, and grotesque" signs and exhibits in the windows of the facility. Frequent pro-life demonstrator Kevin Rilott describes some of them.
"Anything from Jesus hanging by a noose to a rubber chicken placed over the body of Jesus on a cross, to a sign that put the name of the abortion facility and put the number 50,000 under it. That's when they reached the 50,000th abortion and then they put the initials J.C. for Jesus Christ and the number 50, saying that Jesus has only been able to save 50," he says.
IllinoisPro-lifer George Lambert noted there have been streams of "vicious personal attacks, hatred for God, bigotry, racism, ridiculing people with HIV" for years at the facility. Rilott adds there have also been acts of violence as cars arrived at the clinic.
"In fact, the last incident was this summer, but there were two other occasions where abortion facility workers have actually hit pro-lifers on three separate occasions," he says.
Rilott concludes that if people are exposed to the kind of hatred and mocking of God in the video, they will have a better understanding of the steadfast faith and kindness of demonstrators.
Contact: Charlie Butts
Source: OneNewsNow
Publish Date: September 30, 2009
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An Illinois group wants the public to learn about some of the abuses pro-life demonstrators face.
The Northern Illinois Women's Center in Rockford is one of the most "anti-life and anti-Christian abortuaries in America." Rockford Pro-Life Initiative produced a video (Warning: Inappropriate for children) of the abortion clinic showing some of the "mocking, hateful, and grotesque" signs and exhibits in the windows of the facility. Frequent pro-life demonstrator Kevin Rilott describes some of them.
"Anything from Jesus hanging by a noose to a rubber chicken placed over the body of Jesus on a cross, to a sign that put the name of the abortion facility and put the number 50,000 under it. That's when they reached the 50,000th abortion and then they put the initials J.C. for Jesus Christ and the number 50, saying that Jesus has only been able to save 50," he says.
IllinoisPro-lifer George Lambert noted there have been streams of "vicious personal attacks, hatred for God, bigotry, racism, ridiculing people with HIV" for years at the facility. Rilott adds there have also been acts of violence as cars arrived at the clinic.
"In fact, the last incident was this summer, but there were two other occasions where abortion facility workers have actually hit pro-lifers on three separate occasions," he says.
Rilott concludes that if people are exposed to the kind of hatred and mocking of God in the video, they will have a better understanding of the steadfast faith and kindness of demonstrators.
Contact: Charlie Butts
Source: OneNewsNow
Publish Date: September 30, 2009
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