International Pro-Life Leaders Come to US Capitol to Protest U.S. Anti-Life Policies

International Pro-Life Leaders Come to US Capitol to Protest U.S. Anti-Life Policies

      

FRONT ROYAL, Virginia - International Pro-Life leaders from Africa, Europe, South America, Asia and Oceania have come to the United State’s capitol to stand with Americans and protest the expansion of anti-life policies under the Obama administration.

The international leaders, who are associated with Human Life International (HLI), will speak at a conference on January 22 at the Washington Court Hotel in Washington, D.C. before joining the hundreds of thousands of other pro-lifers in the March for Life.

“America’s March for Life is now the world’s March for Life,” said Joseph Meaney, Director of International Coordination for HLI. “It has become the world’s pro-life protest because of the aggressive promotion of abortion and population control that is now official policy of the United States, thanks to the administration of President Barack Obama.”

“This is not only the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, which has led to the destruction of almost 50 million American children,” said Dr. Ligaya Acosta, HLI Regional Coordinator for Asia and Oceania. “This is now the anniversary of President Obama’s allowing Americans’ taxpayer funds to be used to promote abortion and other assaults on life in my own country of the Philippines, in Africa, in China … all over the world where 40 million babies are killed every year. It is wrong and we are here to tell him and Congress to stop paying to kill our children!”

Dr. Acosta was referring to President Obama’s January 23rd, 2009 reversal of the Mexico City Policy, which had, under the Reagan and both Bush administrations, restricted the use of federal funds to support any organization that promoted or performed abortion abroad. In December, this reversal allowed Congress to pass an omnibus spending bill, signed by President Obama, which included almost $700 million for abortion-promoting organizations internationally.

“We are tired of the arrogant American government trying to tell us how many children we should have,” said Emil Hagamu, HLI’s regional coordinator for English-speaking Africa. “President Obama is of Kenyan descent. How can he do this to his own people?”

“These aggressive policies are undeniably hurting America’s stature with the people of the world, even if they help America appeal to the cruel international elites who want to run everything,” said Raymond DeSouza, HLI’s coordinator for Portuguese-speaking nations. “When international aid is tied to abortion, it’s like holding a nation hostage, telling them that children are bad, which translates into hopelessness for the future. This is a terrible violence against the families and children of the developing world.”

Click here for information on HLI’s “The Fight for Life Around the World” mini-conference.

Source: LifeSiteNews.com
Publish Date: January 18, 2010
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Baby Blue Laces Campaign Raises Funds For Pro-Life Organizations

Baby Blue Laces Campaign Raises Funds For Pro-Life Organizations

   

Baby Blue Laces for Life is a new pro-life awareness campaign with the two-fold focus of encouraging pro-lifers to show where they stand on life issues, and to raise money for pro-life non-profit organizations and crisis pregnancy centers in financial need.

The founder of Baby Blue Laces for Life, David Pico, told LifeSiteNews.com that the campaign has quickly gained interest, exposure, and support from pro-life communities nationwide.

"By wearing shoelaces in a baby blue color with the words "Laces for Life" printed on them, pro-lifers have a soft, but highly visibly, and non-intrusive way to stand up for life," Mr. Pico explained. "Without saying a word, you can show the people with whom you come in contact each day that life is precious and worth standing up for."

"In addition to raising awareness through the laces," Mr. Pico added, "this puts the organization in a position to be able to raise proceeds as well."

"Going into 2010, Baby Blue Laces for Life looks to help fill in the gaps where donations have fallen due to economic downturn for pro-life non-profit organizations, and most importantly raise awareness for pro-life issues."

Baby Blue Laces for Life may be ordered from the organization's website here.

For more information contact:

David Pico, Director, Baby Blue Laces for Life
P.O. Box 25475
Colorado Springs, CO 80936 USA
Email: info@babybluelaces.org

Contact: Thaddeus M. Baklinski
Source: LifeSiteNews.com
Publish Date: January 18, 2010
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California Money Shifted to Adult Stem-Cell Research

California Money Shifted to Adult Stem-Cell Research
 


The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine is taking money allocated for embryonic stem-cell research and putting it toward ethical adult stem-cell research.
 
The California Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative passed in 2004. However, after five years and $3 billion, embryonic stem-cell research still offers no cures or therapies.
 
David Prentice, senior fellow for life sciences with the Family Research Council, said life was needlessly destroyed in the process.
 
"The reality is: real therapies and treatments come from adult stem cells," he said.
 
The institute gave nearly $230 million to 14 teams in October 2009 for adult stem-cell research, according to Investors.com.
 
One group, from UCLA and Children's Hospital in Los Angeles, is using the money to attempt to cure patients with sickle-cell disease by using their own blood-forming cells.
 
Contact: Roger Greer
Source: CitizenLink
Publish Date: January 15, 2010
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The abortion tragedy, in perspective

The abortion tragedy, in perspective



ALEXANDRIA, Louisiana - Fifty million is a huge number. So significant is the number that its very presence makes a huge impact.

If you had $50 million in your bank account you would be financially free. If you live 50 million minutes you will celebrate 105 birthdays.

In similar fashion, the absence of 50 million of anything can have staggering impact. On Jan. 22, 1973 the United States Supreme Court ruled that abortion on demand was legal in the U.S. Since that day, approximately 50 million unborn children have had their lives snuffed out.

The impact of abortion in America over the past 37 years means that 50 million people were never known. This fact is incredibly significant.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor .29 percent of the total American population are medical doctors and .78 percent are nurses. Apply these percentages to the number of babies aborted in the U.S over the past 37 years and there is quite an impact.

If the percentages held true for the babies born between 1973 and 1983 (had these children been born they would now be between the ages of 27 and 37) 40,000 would now be practicing physicians -- if they hadn't been aborted.

Because nurses begin their careers earlier than doctors, if we take the children that would have been born between 1973 and 1988 (these children would now be between the ages of 22 and 37) 158,000 would have chosen nursing as a career.

Currently America is facing a serious shortage of both doctors and nurses. Some contend the situation may soon reach crisis levels. The shortage of health care workers the United States is now facing can be blamed, in part, on the fact that scores of potential doctors and nurses have been aborted since 1973.

The same statistics previously mentioned could be applied to every profession. Abortion has robbed our nation of scores of potential productive members of society.

America is currently facing critical economic issues. Cities, states and the federal government are looking at significant budget deficits. On the state and local level the reason can be traced to a decline in sales and income taxes. Federally, the issue is more complex, and a main reason is few tax dollars are being collected.

While there is no doubt that the fiscal policy of deficit spending has contributed mightily to America's economic woes, just imagine millions of more consumers and taxpayers contributing to the U.S. economy.

Of course some of the 50 million would have likely turned to crime and others would have died due to a variety of causes. However, the numbers would not be significant enough to mute the impact that could have been made had abortion not been legalized.

Some would argue that abortions would have continued even if the practice had not been legalized. Yes, illegal abortions would have continued. However, they would not have occurred at the rate of 1.2 to 1.4 million a year, which is has been the past 15 or so years. I would argue the number would have been a tiny fraction of that number.

Can you imagine the outcry from the environmental community if 50 million spotted owls had been mercilessly slaughtered over the past 37 years? How about if 50 million polar bears had been brutally destroyed? The clamor from environmental activists and their liberal friends would be deafening.

While birds and bears contribute to our world, their worth does not even compare to the infinite worth of a human being.

Fifty million is a huge number anywhere it is applied. When the number is 50 million babies that have been aborted in the past 37 years the number is not only incredibly significant, it is also tragic.

Contact: Kelly Boggs
Source: BP
Publish Date: January 15, 2010
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'Sarah's Choice' film

'Sarah's Choice' film 



NASHVILLE, Tennessee - Christian recording artist Rebecca St. James debuts as a lead actress in "Sarah's Choice," a pro-life film about a rising business executive who discovers she is expecting a baby outside of marriage.

The film, available on DVD from PureFlix Entertainment, follows Sarah as she faces pressure from coworkers who advocate aborting the baby and as she receives advice from her family to keep the child. All along, she's not sure whether she wants to marry the baby's father.

St. James said the script caught her attention because the pro-life message has become increasingly important to her over the years of speaking about sexual purity, a platform spurred by her signature pro-abstinence song "Wait For Me."

"I've spoken and sung at a lot of different crisis pregnancy center fundraisers, so I've known the need, but God really ignited my heart for the pro-life message this past year," St. James said.

She compared Sarah's Choice to Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" because the main character receives three visions of what life would be like if she chose not to abort her baby. In one vision, her daughter is six weeks old; in another, 6 years old; and in the third, she is an adult with a baby of her own.

"I think the message aligns with Christian values. That's probably the first thing that comes to mind," St. James said. "I've been singing now for about 16 years, and there's an audience that I really want to honor with the projects that I take on. So I make sure that it's something that is God-honoring. That's really key for me."

One of the reasons Americans are so interested in reality television, St. James said, is that they want to watch something that seems authentic. Though she hasn't been in the same situation as Sarah, St. James said she chose to accept the script for the movie because she could relate to the pain, fear and pressure Sarah faced.

"She really does want to do the right thing. She's got different voices that are speaking into her life. She's got some people in her life saying, 'Have an abortion.' She's got her mom, who's saying, 'Don't have an abortion.' Her sister, 'Don't do it.' She's got this boyfriend who she's not sure whether he's going to flake out on her or stand by her," St. James said.

Now that the movie is available nationwide, St. James hopes believers who watch it will reach out to people in their lives who might be facing a similar decision. From what they learn in the movie, they might be able to more effectively encourage their friends to choose life, she said.

"I know many that are going to watch this that have had an abortion in their past, and there's a very strong theme of redemption and forgiveness in the film," St. James said. "One of the characters has had an abortion, and she's struggling with grieving that loss. There's one scene in the film where an abortion recovery group is writing love letters to their unborn children in heaven and naming their child and then tying that love letter to a helium balloon and letting it go as a part of their grief therapy from their abortion.

"So my friend in the film, this character that has had an abortion, she ends up doing that at the very end of the film, and it's very, very moving," she said. "So I know the people that have already seen the movie at the different screenings that we've had, we have really seen that people that have had abortions are being ministered to through it and are moved. So I think it's going to be a real catalyst for healing for those that can relate directly to that character in the film."

St. James said the film even is appropriate for older children and teenagers who are at an age where they need to learn about choices and purity.

"It's going to promote questions that I think are very healthy for Christian parents to be talking to their kids about," she said. "The culture really speaks so many lies to kids through so much of media, through so many movies and TV and through things that are spoken about at school with kids today.

"It's unbelievable to me the things that I hear that young kids are hearing about at school. So I think if parents can get in early about God's way and the beauty of His way and His protection for us and the plan that He has in the Bible, that's wonderful," she said. "I think it promotes healthy questions that are good for dialogue within the family."

Months before she even knew about the audition for Sarah's Choice, St. James found herself at a crisis pregnancy center in Los Angeles with some friends. As she got involved in ministry there, she realized a need for movies and music that could support the pro-life message.

"I saw that there's very, very little that supports the pro-life message and what these people are doing at these crisis pregnancy centers to support these young girls in having their children," St. James said. "So I decided there's such a need here, and I really felt in my heart that God was going to lead me into talking about this message."

St. James encourages people not only to watch the movie but to show it in ministry settings, because it's a "powerful, moving, heartwarming film."

"It's very human. I think you will relate to the character in her pain, in the honesty of her heart in wanting to do the right thing but feeling like she's under a lot of pressure," St. James said.

Contact: Erin Roach
Source: BP
Publish Date: January 15, 2010
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NEWS SHORTS FOR MONDAY

NEWS SHORTS FOR MONDAY
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UK Mother Loses Baby After Being Given 'Abortion' Drug to Induce Labour



A leading teaching hospital is giving pregnant women an unlicensed abortion drug, Misoprostol, to induce labour despite being sued over the death of a baby. The death of Sofia Figus three days after she was born was caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain during a difficult birth. Her mother Anne Willicombe, 39, a university lecturer, was 12 days overdue when she was prescribed Misoprostol – a drug widely used in abortion clinics – to bring on contractions. Mrs Willicombe and her husband Roberto Figus are now suing the Homerton Hospital in east London for failing to monitor the baby in the womb and follow correct safety procedures which should have been put in place as a result of being given the drug. A midwife was sacked over the death.
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Pro-Life Marches In Two States: Maine, NH



CONCORD, New Hampshire - The anniversary of the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion prompted weekend demonstrations in northern New England capitals. In Concord, New Hampshire Right to Life organized a demonstration that drew about 300 people to the State House on Saturday. The group included politicians, clergy, activists and families. In Maine, abortion opponents formed a human chain around the Capitol building in Augusta on Saturday to mourn the 37th anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade decision.
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Pro-Life Protests Live on Outside Madison Surgery Center



Since news leaked one year ago that UW Hospital, its doctor group and Meriter Hospital were proposing to add abortion procedures to the surgery center, which they jointly own, opponents have kept up a near-daily presence at the site and begun measures intended to hurt the hospitals financially. Now a year later, with no abortion services yet offered, local anti-abortion activists say the issue has reinvigorated their movement, and they are taking at least partial credit for the delay.
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Pro-Lifers Take to Streets of Dallas



Opponents of abortion packed the pews and took to the streets in downtown Dallas on Saturday, marking the anniversary of the January 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision. Among those turning out was Jeslene Cruz of Dallas, who brought her two sweater-clad dogs along. "I'm very pro-life," Cruz said. "I want to change the law, and I want to change our culture." Last year's crowd was estimated at 5,000, and Farrell issued a challenge then that the number be doubled this year.
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Pro-Life Rally Draws Thousands to Downtown Portland



>From opposite sides of Southwest Sixth Avenue on Sunday afternoon came opposing views of Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion in 1973. Under a persistent winter drizzle, about 3,000 people gathered in Pioneer Courthouse Square to call for an end to abortion while approximately 125 abortion rights advocates stood across the street, chanting and shouting. For abortion foes, the rally actually began at 11 a.m. when they gathered at the site of the new headquarters for Planned Parenthood Columbia-Willamette, under construction at Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Beech Street. From there, they walked about three miles to Pioneer Courthouse Square.
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Bill Would Ban Insurance Coverage Of Abortion



ST. LOUIS - Anticipating possible federal changes in health care, state Sen. Scott Rupp, R-2nd District, of Wentzville on Tuesday filed a bill that would expand the state's health-insurance coverage ban on abortion. The bill, if passed, would prohibit any plans and policies offered through any health insurance exchange in Missouri from covering abortion. "We're not sure what kind of health care plan will come from the federal government, but this bill will make sure the citizens of Missouri will not subsidize abortions in policies offered through the health insurance exchanges currently being discussed in the pending federal health care bills," Rupp said in a prepared statement.
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Anti-Lifers Rip Latest Study - by their own people - on Abortion/Breast Cancer Link

Anti-Lifers Rip Latest Study - by their own people - on Abortion/Breast Cancer Link

As expected, pro-aborts did not take well to my WorldNetDaily.com column this week, "Top scientist finally admits abortion-breast cancer link."

In "The truth about breast cancer and abortion," RH Reality Check's managing editor Amie Newman relied heavily on one of the researchers publishing the study - to dispute the results of her own study:



According to one of the researchers and authors of the report, Kathi Malone (pictured above), "There are no new findings related to induced abortion in this paper because the results of these women were published previously."...

Dr. Brinton's co-researcher and co-author, Kathi Malone, is clear about what this and all peer-reviewed studies show thus far on the link between abortion and breast cancer: "The weight of scientific evidence to date strongly indicates that abortion doesn't increase the risk of breast cancer."...

As an aside, Louise Brinton's name is key in all this because she's the National Cancer Institute researcher who chaired the infamous 2003 panel of experts that concluded there was no abortion/breast cancer link.

Both are indeed listed as authors the study about which Newman is disputing, and importantly, Brinton identified herself with the NCI...



Newman wrote about Brinton...

But what is not true is that Dr. Louise Brinton has "changed" her position on the link between abortion and breast cancer, at least publicly, because there is no new information on this link.

So the first obvious question is, are Malone and Brinton calling the study bearing their name erroneous? (Read study pdf here. http://www.jillstanek.com/Abortion%20Breast%20Cancer%20Epid%20Bio%20Prev%202009.pdf) Are they denying these words from their own study, from the bottom of page 1160 and top of page 1161?



...and this, bottom of page 1162 and top of page 1163, from her own study?



Note this statement not only confirms that breast cancer is linked to abortion in the current study, it agrees with previous studies that came to the same conclusion.

Newman reiterated over and over that this study concluded nothing new as far as the ABC link was concerned, even quoting Malone, as I mentioned above, which leads me to wonder if Malone even read her own study. Newman wrote, for instance (italic emphasis hers)...

The only problem with reporting on this as if anything were new is that, well, nothing is new.

This paper simply took older information....

In fact, the only reason abortion was included at all was because it was a factor in the old studies....

Again, the study results released last year, on which Dr. Brinton was a researcher, do not include any new information on the overall risk of breast cancer among women who have had abortions....

[T]here is no new information....

Extremist, religious anti-choice web sites are using old data from an old study as proof of a cause and effect relationship even while the NCI and one of the study's own authors clearly state that over the course of years of research, including those old studies, overall evidence indicates no connection between the 2....

Newman is simply wrong.

Triple-negative breast cancer was only first described in published papers in 2007. It is an extremely aggressive form of breast cancer with a poor prognosis. It strikes women under 45, often African-American.

For this study researchers tested 897 saved cancerous breast tissue from 1,286 previously studied cases for triple-negative breast cancer. (See also the "Results" blurb above.) One reason? To assess "reproductive history" as it may relate...



The results concluded abortion raises the risk of triple-negative breast cancer by a ratio of 1.4, or 40%, the same as other breast cancers. This makes sense, given the etiology of breast cancer due to abortion...



A huge new finding of this study was that oral contraceptives are highly suspect as causers of triple-negative breast cancer. Newman noted in her close that this study "lay[s] the groundwork for... a possible connection between oral contraceptives and triple negative breast cancer."

This is absolutely true.

So a few questions.

Why did Newman so readily accept this study's conclusions on the contraceptive-breast cancer link but not the abortion-breast cancer link?

And where in the world has the National Cancer Institute been in the 9 months since this bombshell study was published on the contraceptive/cancer link? Is it again being held hostage by feminist ideologues?

Newman blamed "[e]xtremist, religious anti-choice web sites" as fanning the flames by broadcasting this study.

But Newman's problem isn't with us. Her problem is with the NCI, Brinton, Malone, and liberal feminists.

Contact: Jill Stanek
Source: jillstanek.com
Publish Date: January 15, 2010
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American Idol: 9th Child of 12, Daughter of Award Winning Pro-Life Blogger Advances to Next Round

American Idol: 9th Child of 12, Daughter of Award Winning Pro-Life Blogger Advances to Next Round



BOSTON, Massachusetts – Maddy Curtis, the 16-year-old daughter of an award-winning pro-life blogger, impressed American Idol judges on the show this week, who unanimously advanced her to the next round.

The opening segment featured a powerful testimony on her family of 12 children, and her brothers with Down syndrome - one biological and three adopted.

About her disabled brothers, Maddy said that, “I think some people are a little sceptical of down syndrome Those four boys bring out the best in every person they meet. They see the world in colors, and we need to see the world that way.”

The 16-year-old sang a beautiful rendition of Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah'.

Click here for the video of Maddy Curtis on American Idol.

Contact: Patrick B. Craine
Source: LifeSiteNews.com
Publish Date: January 15, 2009
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Study links depression, abortion

Study links depression, abortion

 

Another study in a line of scientific reports links depression and anxiety with abortion.
 
The study was done by New Zealand pro-abortion professor David Ferguson, who, according to Anglicans for Life president Georgette Forney, looks at the data and decides that it speaks for itself.
 
"When you look at the medical history of over 500 women, they realized that abortion leads to significant distress and that some of that distress will manifest itself in mental health problems or physical problems," Forney says.
 
However, the current healthcare reform measure approved by the Senate includes government-funded abortion, which could ultimately lead to more abortions. The pro-life leader sees irony in that.
 
"For a country that is seeking to prevent mental and physical health issues, and we're watching people who are overweight now and preventing diabetes and heart problems, here we are on the other side of it -- [and] because it's the issue of abortion, we can't touch it and it's okay that we're going to create additional health problems for women," the Anglicans for Life president contends.
 
The Silent No More Awareness campaign is trying to educate women about the health problems that accompany abortion and provide referrals for assistance. Forney adds that is because the pro-abortion groups refuse to recognize the harm and to help people deal with it.

Contact: Charlie Butts
Source: OneNewsNow
Publish Date: January 15, 2010
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Illinois Federation for Right to Life

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A March to Strike Abortion from Health Care

A March to Strike Abortion from Health Care



The annual March for Life event will focus on the Democrats' health care proposal, which includes federal funding of abortion.

More than 100,000 people are expected to gather in Washington, D.C., for the 37th annual March for Life rally on Jan. 22.
 
One primary message: no abortion funding in health care.
 
The pro-life march will follow Constitution Avenue, up Capitol Hill to the U.S. Supreme Court and Congress.
 
Kristan Hawkins, executive director of Students for Life, said this is a critical time in our nation's history, with Congress on the brink of passing a health care reform bill that would fund the destruction of human life.

"We are asking pro-life groups to unite around one clear simple message, 'No abortion in health care,'" she said. "We're asking all pro-lifers to make the sacrifice and come to Washington, D.C., next Friday, for the annual pro-life march."

She expects the media to pay special attention.

"Because abortion has been a key issue," she said." It's the single issue that's holding up the passage of health care reform in the Democratic-controlled Congress."

Contact: Nima Reza
Source: CitizenLink
Publish Date: January 14, 2010
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Restoring Function after Stroke with Adult Stem Cells

Restoring Function after Stroke with Adult Stem Cells



A new study indicates that function can be restored long after stroke damage by stimulating adult stem cells in the brain. Scientists at UC-Irvine found that a natural growth factor called Transforming Growth Factor-alpha (TGFα) stimulates adult stem cells in the affected brain to divide, migrate through the brain, and repair the damage. Using a rat model for stroke, they injected the TGFα protein directly into the brain as much as 4 weeks after the stroke damage, and found 99% recovery. Darius Gleason, a graduate student who worked on the study, said:

“It’s becoming more and more clear that the brain is like any other organ: It has a lot of potential to regenerate. We are just emulating nature by giving a little nudge to what the brain is trying to do itself.”

In a new study just published, the group has shown that even nasal administration of TGFα can give significant recovery (70%). This non-invasive route could have great therapeutic application. Previously, German researchers showed nasal administration of adult stem cells was an effective delivery method. This new study shows that using only the stimulatory protein can also be very effective at stimulating the existing adult stem cells already present in the brain.

A clinical trial is currently under way in Houston that injects the stroke patient’s bone marrow adult stem cells into the circulatory system; the cells seem to migrate to the injured brain and stimulate repair. Early results from this trial are very promising for stroke treatment.

Contact: David Prentice
Source: FRCBlog
Publish Date: January 15, 2010
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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.)

EWTN promises ‘most complete coverage’ of March for Life events
 


Irondale, Alabama - The Eternal Word Television Network says it will offer the “most complete coverage available” for the 2010 March for Life in Washington, D.C. and for the Walk for Life West Coast in San Francisco. Coverage includes Masses, marches, rallies, interviews, panel discussions and speeches from pro-life speakers around the country.

Many of the events will also be broadcast on the internet.  More to come.
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Anti-Lifers Fear 'A Fair Trial' for Scott Roeder may Spur Abortion violence



WICHITA, Kansas - A judge's decision to allow a confessed killer to argue that he believes the slaying of one of the nation's few [sic] late-term abortion providers was a justified act aimed at saving unborn children has upended what most expected to be an open-and-shut first-degree murder case. Prosecutors have challenged the ruling that allows Scott Roeder to tell a jury that the fatal shooting of Wichita doctor George Tiller was voluntary manslaughter. Some abortion opponents were pleasantly stunned and eager to watch Roeder plead his case. Tiller's colleagues and abortion advocates were outraged and feared the court's actions give more than tacit approval to further acts of violence.
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Teenager Dies from Embolism Caused by Contraceptive



The Swiss Federation of Service to Patients (Patientenstellen der Schweiz) has called for a ban on one type of contraceptive pill after it was linked to the death of a 17-year-old German girl in a Swiss hospital last month. The girl, who died at the University Hospital of Basel, was taking a pill that includes drospirenone, a synthetic progestin compound used in newer brands such as Yaz, Yasmin and Yasminelle. This was the third grave incident reported in Switzerland this year involving such contraceptives. In each case, the woman suffered a pulmonary embolism.
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Hillary Seeks 'Murder by Abortion' as 'Basic Right'



In Washington last week, United States (U.S.) Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced that the United States would engage in a massive funding push over the next five years to promote “reproductive health care and family planning” as a “basic right” around the word. Clinton has previously stated for the record that this includes abortion. The plan includes potentially siphoning off funds currently directed towards fighting HIV/AIDs, tuberculosis and malaria. Commemorating the fifteenth anniversary of the controversial International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo, Clinton said there were only five years left to achieve ICPD’s goal that “all governments will make access to reproductive healthcare and family planning services a basic right.”
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Abortion becomes issue in Massachusetts race for U.S. Senate



Boston, Massachusetts - Abortion has become a live issue in the Jan. 19 special U.S. Senate election in Massachusetts. While both candidates generally support permissive abortion law, controversy has centered upon pro-life conscience protections, partial-birth abortion and the place of abortion in the health care bill.

State Sen. Scott Brown, a Republican, is running against Democrat Martha Coakley, the state Attorney General.

According to Massachusetts Citizens for Life, Brown opposes taxpayer funding for abortion and the so-called Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA). Unlike Brown, Coakley opposes a ban on partial birth abortion, parental consent requirements for minors seeking abortions, and favors taxpayer funding for abortion.

While Brown supports specifically exempting abortion from health care, Coakley opposes it.
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Illinois Federation for Right to Life

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'Personhood' to be theme at 2010 Roe anniversary

'Personhood' to be theme at 2010 Roe anniversary
 
Blackmun: If this is established, abortion 'rights' would, of course, 'collapse'



At the annual March for Life Jan. 22, pro-life groups will use the anniversary of the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision to raise the profile of "personhood."

The term is used by a movement in state legislatures to define unborn babies as persons, affording them the same guaranteed right to life as all other Americans.

Probably the first definitive statement on the idea came from Justice Harry Blackmun, who wrote the majority opinion for Roe v. Wade, when he said:

    "The appellee and certain amici [pro-lifers] argue that the fetus is a 'person' within the language and meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment. In support of this, they outline at length and in detail the well-known facts of fetal development. If this suggestion of personhood is established, the appellant's case, of course, collapses, for the fetus' right to life would then be guaranteed specifically by the [14th] Amendment."     

"The is the first real movement in 37 years since Roe that has got the abortion lobby on its back foot," Shaun Kenney, executive director for the American Life League, told WND today.

His organization's Training and Activism Week is among many events already assembled by pro-life organizations to promote life for the unborn.

"Folks are going out and putting referenda, or bills in state legislatures, that an [unborn baby] is, in fact, a human being," he said. "Currently Roe v. Wade set the bar [for being human] at the moment of birth."

He cited as an accomplishment Personhood USA's nomination by one of the nation's leading abortion industry advocates to its 2009 "Hall of Shame," for those who pose the greatest threat to abortion.

"We at Personhood USA are honored to be considered one of the top four threats to abortion in America," Keith Mason, co-founder of the organization, said after the National Abortion Rights Action League made the selection.


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"Preborn babies are human beings with a God-given right to live. NARAL is a greedy, bloodthirsty organization, but they have pegged us correctly – Personhood USA is working to outlaw abortion, recognizing the Personhood rights of every child in America," Mason said.

He said NARAL described Personhood USA as: "The group behind the anti-choice 'personhood' measures, Personhood USA, exists solely to establish legal rights for fertilized eggs and trigger legal battles over abortion that could go all the way to the Supreme Court. Not only could the strategy outlaw abortion, but it could even threaten birth control, stem-cell research, and in-vitro fertilization. Working to outlaw abortion makes Personhood USA a strong candidate for Hall of Shame of the year."

The group, a grassroots Christian coalition, was founded to establish personhood efforts across the nation.

WND reported earlier that the movement already has reached into 32 states, where citizens are working now to find sponsors for statutes or constitutional amendments.

The Los Angeles Times reported Sept. 28 that while personhood measures failed in Montana and North Dakota legislatures earlier this year, "the close votes alarmed supporters of legal abortion."

According to WND columnist Jill Stanek, pro-life legislators in Alaska, Arkansas, Hawaii, Indiana, Louisiana and Texas have also signaled their intent to introduce personhood statutes.

Kenney told WND, "This is a movement that's catching fire very quickly."

And it's the simplest strategy he's seen for ending abortion in America.

"The personhood amendment says there is a right to exist," he said. "There's very little else to be said."

The problem with the current definition promoted by abortion interests, that life begins at birth, is that it's a slippery slope, he said. He cited the issues of women's suffrage, slavery and even the eugenics laws of the early 1900s with which the U.S. has dealt.

"America's always been on the side of civil rights and justice," he said. "This has occurred for African-Americans, women, the underprivileged, those with mental disabilities. We're confident this will occur [again]."

He said his organization is focusing on education on the issue. But he also noted supporters are setting a goal of having more than 35 states either with referenda or legislative proposals for the concept of "personhood."

"The status quo certainly isn't working for the 51 million babies who have been aborted in the United States," he said.

Contact: Bob Unruh
Source: WorldNetDaily
Publish Date: January 12, 2010
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Sarah and Bristol Palin In Touch cover: "We're glad we chose life"

Sarah and Bristol Palin In Touch cover: "We're glad we chose life"

Wow, it can't get any more pro-life than this, the new In Touch magazine cover...



The tease, posted on the magazine's website today...

Bristol Palin didn't know what she was in for when she made the life-changing and controversial choice to have a baby at the young age of 18. But after she gave birth to her son, Tripp, in December 2008 - and broke up with her boyfriend, Levi Johnston - the reality of single motherhood quickly set in.



"I remember sitting on a black recliner, just bawling my eyes out," Bristol tells In Touch. "I was just rocking Tripp to sleep because he had been screaming for so long. I was just like, 'What am I going to do? This is as bad as it gets."

Though raising an infant has been challenging, Bristol has the unconditional love and support of her family - especially her mother, Sarah Palin.

After all, no one can better understand the complicated decision to have a baby under difficult circumstances. Just a year earlier, at the age of 44, Sarah carried her son Trig to term, even though she was told during a sonogram that he would be born with Down syndrome.

Now, the mother and daughter are sharing a unique experience - raising baby boys together under the same roof. In an exclusive interview at the family's home in AK on January 10, Sarah and Bristol plopped down on the teenager's bed and opened up about the joys and challenges of raising Tripp and Trig. With Trig's birth, Sarah's vice presidential run and Bristol's very public pregnancy during the campaign, "The last few years have been unreal and surreal," Sarah tells In Touch.

For the full exclusive, including heartwarming photos of the family and complete interview, plus the Palins' joys and challenges of raising their sons, check out this week's issue of In Touch, on newsstands Friday.

Of course, libs are aggravated...



But hey, Air America, "Pro-Life"? You're slipping. And it's always funny how "choice" is great unless it's the "choice" for life.

Here was a funny one, at ChicagoNow.com...



... just couldn't say the word, "LIFE."

Contact: Jill Stanek
Source: jillstanek.com
Publish Date: January 13, 2010
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GOD TV Calls Believers to Stand Up for the Unborn

GOD TV Calls Believers to Stand Up for the Unborn

Urgent LIVE broadcast this weekend focuses on prayer to end abortion in the USA.



GOD TV is to break with its regular schedule on Sunday to air 'TheCall Crisis' LIVE from Houston, TX, where one of the largest abortion facilities in the world, is being built. Hosted by Lou Engle, the four-hour program will focus on prayer for the right to life and the prevention of this 'super center' opening.

Thousands of Christians will be gathering to fast and pray in Texas over the next few days and GOD TV founders Rory & Wendy Alec are encouraging the GOD TV family across the globe to join them in intercession via GOD TV on Sunday January 17th at 7pm (Eastern) with a replay on Monday January 18th at 2pm (Eastern).

Broadcast direct from Grace Community Church in Houston, TheCall Crisis will feature various speakers. In addition to Lou Engle, these include: Sammy Rodriguez, Tony Perkins, Mathew Staver, Dr. Richard Land, Ken Blackwell and Bishop Harry Jackson.

"Thirty-seven years ago abortion was legalized in Texas; now let it begin to be reversed there," said Lou Engle, the founder of TheCall. "Who ever heard of such a thing as an 'abortion super center', God wants to raise up a massive prayer movement that will say 'No,' and who will be part of the answer as we fast and pray."

According to CBN News, Planned Parenthood is set to open the super clinic in April, this year. It reports that this, the largest abortion facility in the USA, will comprise of a 78,000 square foot, six-floor building that includes a surgical wing equipped to provide late-term abortions. CBN also quotes Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood director turned pro-life advocate, as saying that the new clinic will target minorities.

"We are a voice rising out of Houston declaring that we don't want this'," says Lou Engle. "It's time to let the unborn go free and spare pregnant mothers the agony of guilt. US public opinion over abortion is shifting radically to pro-LIFE and we have to continue to stand against abortion and support adoption.

"May a great demonstration of compassion rise up in Houston which will launch a mass movement of pregnant mother care and adoption. God has a dream for every mother and child and a six-story massive abortion facility has never been a part of that dream. Let's end the nightmare and let the dream live."

GOD TV has previously aired many mass gatherings of TheCall from cities across America. TheCall Crisis now focuses on historic moments when believers have a brief window of time to mobilize.

GOD TV can be seen from coast to coast across the USA on channel 365 of DIRECTV as well as on select local cable stations in cities such as San Francisco. Online viewers can watch at www.god.tv, where many of GOD TV's programs are also available for video on demand viewing.

For more information about TheCall visit: www.thecall.com.

Contact: Jeffrey Levinson
Source: GODtv
Publish Date: January 14, 2010
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N. Illinois pro-life dinner to benefit 40 Days for Life campaign

N. Illinois pro-life dinner to benefit 40 Days for Life campaign



Rockford, Illinois - The January Life Breakfast group in Rockford, Illinois will hold a Respect Life Dinner on Friday to benefit the local 40 Days for Life campaign. Several local pro-life leaders will receive awards at the Friday evening event.

The White Rose Award for students or teens who demonstrate "outstanding activism" on pro-life issues will go to Jessica Foti and Theresa Gwardys, a press release from the January Life Breakfast (JLB) reports. The two serve as co-presidents of Voice for the Unborn, the pro-life student club at Boylan Catholic High School.

The Breakfast will bestow on Dr. Brian and Sandra Knabe and the Knabe family the Family Heritage Award, which recognizes families who reflect the "life ideal" by "opening their hearts to children."

The JLB was founded 14 years ago by Lutherans for Life and Kent and Jean Heise. Mrs. Heise is President of the Haven Network for Perinatal Death and Bereavement and a leader, speaker and activist in the pro-life and pro-family movement, a JLB press release says.

The Friday dinner is sponsored by the Respect Life Office of the Catholic Diocese of Rockford, Rockford Area Lutherans for Life, the World Congress of Families and The Howard Center for Family Religion & Society.

The JLB has scheduled next year's event for Jan. 13, 2011.

Additionally, the JLB announced an upcoming roundtable lunch with Nigerian pro-life leader Dr. Theresa Okafor. The lunch, presented by the Howard Center, will be held on Feb. 11 at Rockford's University Club. Its topic will be "Pro-Life Lessons that Africa Can Teach America."

Source: CNA
Publish Date: January 14, 2010
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$10,000 Reward Offered to Abortion Whistleblowers

$10,000 Reward Offered to Abortion Whistleblowers

Operation Rescue launches the Abortion Whistleblower campaign, seeking information that leads to the arrest and conviction of abortionists who are breaking the law



Operation Rescue announced today that it is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of abortionists who are breaking the law.

The campaign, known as Abortion Whistleblowers, is encouraging abortion clinic workers and others to come forward and tell what they know about abortion clinic abuses.

The Abortion Whistleblowers campaign will include a series of ads on the radio and on sites like Craig's List, Facebook, Youtube, and other social networking sites. It will also include direct mailings to each abortion clinic in the nation encouraging workers to come forward.

Last year, several former employees of late-term abortionist LeRoy Carhart came forward to tell media and pro-life groups of illegal activity at Carhart's Bellevue, Nebraska clinic. Three of them filed affidavits with the State Attorney General's office and the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, resulting in investigations of Carhart.

Other whistleblowers, including former clinic patients, have successfully come forward to tell of illegal acts, resulting in the following:

After years of exposure by Operation Rescue, at least nine victims of illegal abortionist Bertha Bugarin came forward. Bugarin is currently serving 6 years, 8 months for committing illegal abortions in two California counties. Three of her accomplices were also convicted. Bugarin had preyed on vulnerable women in Hispanic neighborhoods. Her chain of six abortion clinics is closed.
 
Employees of a business next door to a San Ysidro, CA, abortion clinic operated by Suresh Gandotra tipped off a newsman about an ambulance that had come to the clinic to transport an injured women. She later died injuries so horrific that the abortionist fled the country fearing murder charges. His dangerous abortion clinic closed.
 
Thirty-five women were involved in bringing 65 charges sexual abuse against Phoenix abortionist Brian Finkle. Seventy additional women came forward but were not part of the prosecution. Finkle, who was responsible for 20% of all abortions done in Arizona, is currently serving 35 years in prison for his crimes.

"We have yet to find an abortion clinic that complies with all laws," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. "We are encouraging clinic workers, former abortion patients, or anyone else who has knowledge that crimes have committed been at abortion clinics to contact us immediately. Their information could literally save lives and earn them a $10,000 reward."

Click here for information about how to participate is available at www.operationrescue.org, along with a video describing the program and a flyer that has already been sent to every abortion clinic in the country.

Contact: Troy Newman, Cheryl Sullenger
Source: Operation Rescue
Publish Date: January 14, 2010
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Study Finds Posttraumatic Stress Disorder after Abortions

Study Finds Posttraumatic Stress Disorder after Abortions



Men and women who felt they had inadequate counseling before an abortion, as well as those who disagreed with their partners about the decision to abort, were more likely to experience personal and interpersonal problems following the procedure, according to a new paper published in the medical journal Traumatology.

Researchers Catherine T. Coyle, Priscilla K. Coleman, and Vincent M. Rue - all experts in the after-effects of abortion - collected data via online surveys from 374 women who had a prior abortion and 198 men whose partners had experienced elective abortion. 

The results found that women who expressed dissatisfaction with their pre-abortion counseling tended to have relationship problems, such as obsessive intrusion, avoidance, and hyperarousal - and also tended to describe the full diagnostic criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  Men with the same pre-abortion experience reported similar interpersonal trauma.

When the individuals reported that their partner disagreed with the decision to abort, women were more likely to report PTSD and intrusion tendencies, while in men such disagreement was linked with PTSD, intrusion, hyperarousal, and other relationship problems.

The researchers pointed out that few studies have examined men's psychological responses to elective abortion, although the procedure has been commonly linked to subsequent feelings of anger, anxiety, guilt, grief, and powerlessness in men.

"Although men are involved with conception and abortion, they are not routinely offered abortion counseling," they write.  "Despite the call for greater inclusion of and attention to males in abortion clinics, little has changed.  Most men who accompany women for abortion do not receive counseling and are left alone to wait."

David Reardon, Executive Director of the Eliott Institute, told LifeSiteNews.com in an email Wednesday that the results of the study confirmed the importance of legislation to enforce better regulations on abortion, such as Missouri's Negligent Screening Act (HB1236). HB1236, sponsored by Rep. Cynthia Davis, would mandate that women seeking abortion be evaluated for risk factors for adverse psychological effects following an abortion, such as whether she is being coerced or pressured into the procedure.

"Without such legislation, it is nearly impossible for women who suffer psychological injuries from a coerced or unsafe abortion to hold the abortionist liable for even gross negligence in regard to pre-abortion screening and counseling," said Reardon.

"Proper screening and counseling will reduce abortion rates, especially among women being pressured into unwanted or unsafe abortions, and will also reduce the rate of psychological illness associated with abortion," he continued.  "But the only way to that goal is to remove the barriers which prevent women from holding abortionists liable for negligent screening and counseling."

Contact: Kathleen Gilbert
Source: LifeSiteNews.com
Publish Date: January 13, 2010
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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.)

New Hampshire Defeats Assisted Suicide



I just received private word that the New Hampshire Legislature rejected assisted suicide 242-113.  Excellent. Let's keep holding the line as we push back with medical non cooperation in Washington, Montana, and Oregon.  The battle continues.
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Abortion Coverage Remains Among Major Questions In Health Reform Talks

Although more extensive negotiations on abortion coverage issues likely will not occur until more is known about a final health reform bill, opposition to the Senate bill (HR 3590) from antiabortion-rights House members, Roman Catholic bishops and other groups threaten to put House leaders in a "jam," Roll Call reports. Coverage of abortion in health plans that receive federal subsidies is among several unresolved differences in the House (HR 3962) and Senate versions of the legislation. A group of antiabortion-rights House members led by Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) are opposed to allowing insurance plans that receive federal subsidies to cover abortion services, while abortion-rights supporters are threatening to vote against any bill that includes Stupak's language.
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Abortionist Eugene Glick is dead

At age 80, abortionist Eugene Glick died on January 10 in Chico, CA.



Glick segued from obstetrician to abortionist in part, according to the New York Times, after watching his then girlfriend, now widow, get an infection after illegally aborting their baby in 1951.

Glick started by committing illegal abortions in the 1960s after graduating medical school, as quoted from Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health...

In a 2003 PRCH documentary, Glick described a patient he saw after she attempted to self-abort...

Click here for the video.

I started looking for ways to circumvent the law. When I first got involved, it was for personal friends or people I knew who were having a problem. The first abortion that I remember performing was on a woman who was a girlfriend of my best friend. She was able to walk out about an hour later. They were both desperate not to be pregnant.
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Obama's TSA Nominee Characterized Groups That Were Domestic Security Threats as 'Anti-Abortion' and Having 'Christian Identity'



Errol Southers, who President Barack Obama has nominated to head the Transportation Security Administration, described groups that were a domestic security threat as being "anti-abortion" and "Christian-identity oriented."
 
The TSA, an element of the Department of Homeland Security, is responsible for the security of the nation's transportation systems, including commercial air travel. Southers made the remarks in question in a 2008 video interview with the Videojug.com Web site.

Click here for the video.
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UN: Elderly to Outnumber Children for First Time in 2045

A new report from the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs concludes that the number of elderly people worldwide will outnumber children for the first time in 2045, forecasting the start of a "demographic winter" some experts say could constitute the biggest international crisis in the coming century.

According to the report, "World Population Ageing 2009," 22% of the world's population will be older than 60 years within forty years - a jump from 11% in 2009, and 8% in 1950.

A trend of low birth rates perpetuated worldwide with the ascendancy of contraception and abortion has caused the elderly population to increase by 2.6% per year - three times faster than the overall world population growth.  The 60+ age group will triple its size at the beginning of the millenium, reaching 2 billion by 2050.
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Christendom College Closes to Protest Abortion at March for Life



Christendom College, a private Catholic college located in Virginia, says that it will close its doors on Friday, January 22 and its Student Activities Council will charter busses enabling the entire student body to attend the 2010 March for Life in Washington D.C.
 
"This is one of my favorite things about Christendom," said Cyrus Artz, a senior and President of Students for Life. "This college recognizes our responsibility to the unborn and enables the entire College community to participate each year in one of the most important witnesses to the value of human life." 
Click here for the full article.