The legislature in Washington state is considering a proposal that would regulate pro-life pregnancy clinics that provide services in problem pregnancies.
Paula Cullen (Life Services) According to Paula Cullen, executive director of Life Services of Spokane, what is happening in the state is part of a nationwide campaign pushed by abortion-advocacy groups that seek to steer women in an unplanned pregnancy to abortion providers instead of pregnancy centers.
"A bill has been proposed in the Washington state legislature to regulate pregnancy centers in a way that would be very chilling on our ability to do what we are called to do," Cullen explains. "It would require pregnancy centers to conform to standards defined by Planned Parenthood and NARAL, etcetera."
Those are the most prominent pro-abortion groups in the United States, and the Life Services executive director believes this legislation would force out of business the more than 45 pro-life clinics in the state that are providing $15 million in services to state residents without using tax dollars.
According to polls, the UK is becoming ever more assisted suicide friendly. From the story:
The public’s support for a change in the law on assisted suicide and euthanasia was uncovered by the YouGov poll following a succession of high profile court cases. Three quarters of those polled said the law should be amended to allow assisted suicide, a crime punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Even if the law was not changed, more than 80 per cent of the 2,053 people questioned said relatives of terminally ill people, who had made it clear they wanted to die, should not be prosecuted.
The disconnect shown by this poll result is rather astonishing. Assisted suicide has been pushed for the last year in the UK by cases that did not involve terminal illnesses. Debbie Purdy, for example, has non terminal MS. Her lawsuit to protect her husband from prosecution if he took her to Switzerland for assisted suicide led to the public prosecutor effectively decriminalizing–by promising not to prosecute–assisted suicides of the terminally ill, disabled, and those with degenerating conditions, so long as the deed is done by family or friends (proving, at least, that AS is not “medical”). Most recently, a woman who assisted the suicide of her chronically ill daughter (a bad case of chronic fatigue syndrome), was found not guilty of attempted murder–the wrong crime to charge, especially as she had plead guilty to assisted suicide–and is now in all the papers about how killing her daughter as an act of selfless love. Perhaps so, but that is easy to say by those really motivated to put the “beloved” out of their own misery–as was the case with George Delury’s doing away with his wife Myrna Lebov.
And now Terry Pratchett, a famous novelist–what is it with UK novelists these days?–has proposed literal death panels:
Sir Terry Pratchett, the author who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, is due to deliver a lecture in which he will call for assisted suicide “tribunals” that would give the terminally ill permission to end their lives. In the Richard Dimbleby Lecture, he will offer himself as a test case for just such a tribunal. The panels would include a legal expert in family matters and a doctor with experience of serious, long-term illness, who would determine whether sufferers were of sound mind.
The UK’s social structure is in serious trouble across a broad front–a growing crisis about which the pundits hand wring all the time. The recent UK plague of assisted suicide deaths–so reminiscent of the Kevorkian binge here in the 1990s–reflects that decline. Add in the UK’s quality of life-based health care rationing, and it doesn’t look good for the UK’s elderly, disabled, and otherwise expensive for whom to care.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Wednesday said that she could gather enough votes to pass the Senate's health care reform bill (HR 3590) if the upper chamber agrees to make several changes to the bill through reconciliation, CongressDaily reports. While speaking to reporters before President Obama's State of the Union address, Pelosi said her chamber is not likely to pass the Senate's bill in its current form, but "we can pass this thing" by using reconciliation and a two-track approach to "resolv[e] some of the issues." Although several moderate Democrats earlier in the week said they were against using reconciliation, Pelosi argued that the procedural maneuver was "established for this purpose."
Editor's Note: Reconciliation is a legislative process in the United States Senate intended to allow consideration of a contentious budget bill without the threat of filibuster. Reconciliation limits debate and amendment, and therefore favors the majority party. Click here for more...
ATTENTION Resdients in Lake, McHenry, Cook, DuPage and Will Counties
On Tuesday, March 9th, Lake County Right to Life is sponsoring a bus to the IFRL Pro-Life Legislative Day at the Illinois Capitol.
What: Pro-Life Legislative Day – Spring Session of IL General Assembly
Where: Springfield Illinois – At the Capitol, Lobby Day speakers AM - Hall of Flags in the Howlett Building Lobbying our legislators PM – At the Capitol Reception with our legislators – 5PM – State House Inn
Who: Day Sponsored by IL Federation for Right to Life Bus sponsored by Lake County Right to Life for NE Illinois attendees.
When: Tuesday, March 9 all day - Bring own brownbag snacks and drinks. 5 AM leave Lake County Pickup points TBD 11 PM return to Lake County
Cost: TBD - depends on numbers (probably around $40 pp)
Purpose: To be prepared if FOCA is reintroduced in the IL General Assembly To gather with others who wish to influence our culture To educate ourselves with knowledge about life issues To familiarize ourselves with our Capitol where our legislators work To learn the ropes of lobbying To influence our state representatives and senators To return home to share with enthusiasm what we’ve learned
This is our first attempt to sponsor a bus for committed pro-lifers and enthusiastic citizens. Please consider making this trip. You won’t regret the effort. Many of our members have never been to visit the Capitol. This is your chance to ride on a comfortable bus!
Family-Pac, Illinois’ leading pro-family, anti-tax political action committee, plans to file a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission against WSPY Radio in Plano, Illinois after station owner Larry Nelson refused to run an ad supporting State Senator Chris Lauzen in the Republican Primary on Tuesday.
Family-Pac Director Paul Caprio said the ad is similar to hundreds of ads he has run on stations throughout the state of Illinois for and against candidates for office over the last 20 years.
“I was shocked when my time buyer told me Nelson claimed he does not run ads critical of candidates sponsored by independent groups,” Caprio said. “This is an obvious attempt by Nelson to use his radio station to stifle opposition to candidates he supports.”
State records show that Nelson has contributed a total of $5,000 to Lauzen’s Primary opponent, Sean Michels, and has donated free air time and food to Republican Party committees and candidates he supports.
Kane County Conservative Coalition President Jon Zahm said Nelson is almost always on the side of insider and establishment country club Republicans who oppose reform.
“Nelson’s support for Ethan Hastert in the 14th District congressional race is a good example,” Zahm said. “Hastert, who lived in and ran for office in Chicago as recently as 2008, is running on his famous last name.”
Zahm revealed that Nelson is also backing politically connected lawyer Robert Pilmer for Judge against 1st Assistant State’s Attorney and respected prosecutor Michael Reidy.
Nelson is also working to re-elect liberal Republican Kay Hatcher against conservative Republican Keith Wheeler.
“When the major county radio news outlet is bought and paid for by a political insider, it stands to reason that many political insiders will get elected to local office to the detriment of local taxpayers,” Zahm added.
Caprio said Nelson has the right to support whom he chooses but “in this case Mr. Nelson is using the public airwaves to promote his private preferences while censoring views that vary from his own."
A CNN anchor told his viewers last week that he could not make out for certain whether there were more pro-life or pro-abortion advocates demonstrating at the 37th annual March for Life - despite the fact that conservative estimates place several hundred thousand pro-life protesters in D.C. that day, compared to a few dozen pro-abortion counter-demonstrators.
Noting that there was a rally on the Washington Mall, CNN’s Rick Sanchez asserted, “So as you might imagine there are both sides being represented.”
But Sanchez then surmised that both sides might have had comparable numbers present.
“Which side is represented the most Angie, do we know?” Sanchez then queried to his producer. “Do we know?” When there was no response, Sanchez went on to promise that CNN would “keep an eye” on the situation and report on the matter “fairly and squarely.”
While Sanchez was speaking, CNN footage gave the initial impression of equal pro-life and pro-abortion numbers by using two close-up video shots of the small cadre of pro-abortion advocates gathered in front of the Supreme Court building. Another frame showed a close-up of individuals holding aloft pro-life signs with pro-abortion advocates jockeying for footage by walking with their signs in front of the camera.
After the break, CNN then aired a shot that showed a small section of the vast sea of pro-life advocates that had choked the D.C. streets and rallied in force around the Supreme Court building, where the march ended.
At that point Sanchez hesitatingly said: “As far as we can tell, following this protest on this day, the bulk of the protesters that we have seen here – that doesn’t mean there aren’t others, because we haven’t gone out and counted them individually – seem to be anti-abortion activists. We’ve seen more pro-life signs than we have the others.”
Tim Graham, an analyst for the Media Research Center, asked in response: “How clueless can this reporter be?”
“It’s the same way every year: it’s tens of thousands of pro-lifers and there are seventeen pro-choicers at the court. That’s the way it works,” Graham told LifeSiteNews.com (LSN).
Graham pointed out that Sanchez’s remarks about the march were as flabbergasting as the recent Newsweek article that asked “where were the young women?” Graham quipped, “Well, where the heck were they (Newsweek)?” indicating that any honest reporter actually covering the march would have seen that largest demographic present at the march was young women.
Graham said that CNN’s Sanchez was not the only one guilty of “creating a false impression,” but that other mainstream outlets typically do the same by saying simply that “both sides marched.” He cited a Washington Post article on the march that dedicated half of its coverage to the pro-choice viewpoint, despite the fact that the march is a pro-life event, and is usually counter-protested by a mere handful of pro-aborts.
For a number of years, a small number of abortion advocates have counter-protested the March for Life at the Supreme Court building, in order to capture the attention of television crews and create the perception of strong or even equal numbers to pro-life advocates. Last year, a number of pro-life attendees said they saw that abortion advocates ceased their protests right when the television crews had packed up.
However, this year an attempt was made to blunt the pro-abort tactic by scheduling the testimonies of 45 post-abortive women from “Silent No More” from approximately 4 – 6 p.m. in front of the Supreme Court, with hundreds of pro-life marchers remaining in attendance. The LifeSiteNews.com reporter on the ground at 5 p.m. observed perhaps six pro-abortion demonstrators, who finally left before the testimonies ended, when only a FOX News Channel crew remained to cover the goings on at the Supreme Court.
However, the tactic seems to have done little to dissuade CNN from “fairly and squarely” understating the number of pro-life protesters present by a factor of several thousand.
Pro-life Congressman Chris Smith took his colleagues and the Obama Administration to task on the floor of the U.S. House on the eve of the 37th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, chastising them for promoting the abortion agenda when there is so much evidence for the harmful effects of abortion on women and their unborn children.
"How can so many seemingly smart, sane, compassionate and accomplished people — especially in politics — support, promote and if President Obama has his way in the pending health care legislation, lavishly fund with public dollars, the violent death of unborn children and the wounding of their moms by abortion," demanded the New Jersey Republican.
Smith described the pro-life movement as "the greatest human rights struggle on earth" and asked members of Congress, "How long will we permit the pro-choice cover-up and bogus safety claims to misinform, especially in light of the reams of evidence documenting serious injury to women who abort?"
He dismissed the notion of "safe" abortion as "nonsense."
"Women deserve better. They, at the very least, deserve the truth," said Smith.
Young children can readily identify the humanity of the unborn child dismembered through abortion, pointed out Smith, and instinctively realize the grave injustice of abortion "with unclouded comprehension." That same realization recently seized Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood abortion clinic director, said Smith, when she "watched ultrasound imaging of an abortion in progress of a three month old unborn child."
"Self described as 'extremely pro-choice' but now pro-life, she said she watched an unborn child 'crumple' before her very eyes as the infant was dismembered and vacuumed to death by a hideous suction device 20-30 times more powerful than a household vacuum cleaner."
"'I could see the baby try to move away,'" Smith quoted Johnson as saying.
"Tragically, never again comes too late for the approximately 52 million babies slaughtered in Planned Parenthood clinics and abortion mills throughout America since the infamous holdings of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973," said Smith, who then told fellow members that that slaughter would end, "if we at long last awake from our slumber and combat the cruelty and injustice of abortion."
But the pro-life leader stated that pro-abortion forces have "more to cover-up than dead kids."
"Abortion hurts women, physically, psychologically, and the data strongly suggests that it even mal-affects children subsequently born to women who abort," he continued, saying at least 102 studies have yielded such findings.
One article from the London Times cited by Smith revealed that senior British doctors had "uncovered a clear link between abortion and mental illness in women with no previous history of psychological problems," showing that post-abortive women "have twice the level of psychological problems and three times the level of depression as women who have given birth or never been pregnant."
Another New Zealand study found that "78.6 percent of 15-18 year old girls who had abortions displayed symptoms of major depression compared to 31 percent of their peers. And that 27 percent of the 21-25 year old women who had abortions had suicidal idealization compared to 8 percent of those who did not have an abortion."
Women also should know about the possible link between abortion and breast cancer, said Smith. In particular he mentioned the 2009 study co-authored by a National Cancer Institute researcher who had first denied the link, but later affirmed that abortion increases the risk of breast cancer by 40 percent.
While Americans know that "prematurity and low birth weight are leading causes of disabilities in children," Smith pointed to 113 studies that showed one abortion raises the risk of preterm birth by 36 percent, and increases to "a staggering 93 percent after two or more abortions."
"All of this begs a serious question," Smith said in his concluding remarks. "Why then is the Obama Administration expanding this vicious assault on women and children — often by massively subsidizing pro-abortion non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to do the dirty work — in the United States, Africa, Latin America, everywhere.
"Maybe some politicians aren't so smart, sane, or compassionate after all."
In its new report "Stand and Deliver," the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) is demanding that governments, religious institutions and society at large provide "comprehensive sexuality education" for children as young as ten years old.
In a foreword, Bert Koenders of the Development Cooperation of the Netherlands, which helped fund the publication, asserts that, "Young people have the right to be fully informed about sexuality and to have access to contraceptives and other services. These rights are enshrined in various internationally agreed human rights convention and treaties, but – unfortunately – they are still not universally respected."
According to IPPF, as "young people are sexual beings," it should be self-evident that "sexuality education promotes individual well-being and the advancement of broader societal and public health goals." IPPF argues that "comprehensive sexuality education" must be mandatory in school, and governments must also ensure that this education is delivered to those young people who are out of school.
IPPF claims that "With young people as partners, today's adult decision-makers have the chance to recast sex and sexuality as a positive force for change and development, as a source of pleasure, an embodiment of human rights and an expression of self."
IPPF contends that comprehensive sexuality education is necessary to encourage young people's "self-esteem, thoughtful decision-making and negotiation skills and it helps them to develop satisfying and pleasurable sexual lives." Moreover, IPPF expounds that the "power" of comprehensive sexuality education "to challenge traditional gender roles" must not be underestimated.
The IPPF report stresses granting young people "unconstrained" access to sexuality education and services, "free from administrative restrictions and obstacles," like requiring health providers to obtain parental or spousal permission before providing contraceptives. IPPF demands that young people be able to "obtain the services they need and want, unconstrained by psychological, attitudinal, cultural or social factors."
IPPF targets religion and religious groups as one of the main barriers to adolescent access to sexuality education and sexual and reproductive "services." IPPF criticizes the fact that many religious teachings "deny the pleasurable and positive aspects of sex and limited guidelines for sexual education often focus on abstinence before marriage," which IPPF claims has been ineffective in many settings.
According to IPPF, religious institutions – like the Catholic Church and Islamic schools – need to be "pragmatic" to accommodate young people as "sexual beings" and amend their teachings to "find a way of explaining and providing guidance on issues of sex and sexual relationships among young people, which supports rather than denies their experiences and needs."
Sexual education has been a topic of heated debates at the United Nations, with many critics fearing that parental rights to educate their children will be violated. Just last year, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) released a set of sexual education guidelines that were met with such staunch resistance from conservatives that the organization was forced to take down the document from its website and review.
Critics expect more debates over "comprehensive sexuality education" to flare up in the coming months as UN Commission season gets underway.
A Wichita jury found 51-year-old Scott Roeder guilty of first-degree murder Friday for his admitted shooting of late-term abortionist George Tiller last May.
Roeder confessed to shooting the abortionist at point-blank range in the Reformation Lutheran Church, where Tiller, 67, was a parishioner. Tiller was renowned for his burgeoning late-term abortion business, one of few in the United States, where he boasted of having killed 60,000 children in the womb.
Although Roeder's attorneys had requested consideration of a lighter sentencing for Roeder, at the end of testimony on Thursday, Sedgwick County Judge Warren Wilbert ruled that only premeditated, first-degree murder could be considered as a charge. Roeder, who says he had stalked Tiller since 1999, now faces life in prison.
Immediately following news of the murder, pro-life organizations, both local around the world, issued strong condemnations of the deed that took Tiller's life.
"We are shocked at this morning's disturbing news that Mr. Tiller was gunned down," stated Operation Rescue, the pro-life group that had moved its headquarters to Wichita to fight Tiller's abortion business. "Operation Rescue has worked for years through peaceful, legal means, and through the proper channels to see him brought to justice.
"We denounce vigilantism and the cowardly act that took place this morning. We pray for Mr. Tiller's family that they will find comfort and healing that can only be found in Jesus Christ."
Phill Kline, the former Kansas attorney general who once investigated Tiller's practice, said he was "stunned by this lawless and violent act which must be condemned and should be met with the full force of law. We join in lifting prayer that God's grace and presence rest with Dr. Tiller's family and friends."
"Kansans for Life deplores the murder of Dr. George Tiller, and we wish to express our deep and sincere sympathy to his family and friends," stated executive director Mary Kay Culp. "We value life, completely deplore violence, and are shocked and very upset by what happened in Wichita today."
Other pro-life groups issuing condemnations included: the Chicago-based Pro-Life Action League, American Life League, Priests for Life, the Susan B. Anthony List, Canada's Campaign Life Coalition, the Family Research Council, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the U.K.'s Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, and the National Right to Life Committee.
I don't think the poster is at all cute; it's offensive. PETA is basically saying the Duggar kids shouldn't be here. And after learning of PETA's Houston campaign, I think its modus operande is clear. It designs provocative posters and billboards that get it lots of free press but that never get printed.
Third, TLC has announced it will air a special on January 31 about the events surrounding Josie's birth entitled, 19 Kids and Counting: Special Duggar Delivery. Click here for the preview...
People magazine is reporting an exclusive today, "Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar reveal Baby Josie."
It's 19 kids... and counting their blessings.
Seven weeks after baby Josie's surprise early arrival, her relieved parents Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar are talking to People about the tiny micropreemie, who is taking breast milk through a tube and weighs 2 lbs. 3 oz.
Born at 25 weeks to Jim Bob and Michelle, of the hit TLC reality series changing its name this week to 19 Kids and Counting, little Josie Brooklyn was a mere 1 lb. 6 oz. when she arrived Dec. 10, after Michelle was diagnosed with preeclampsia.
"Years ago, a baby this small wouldn't have lived an hour," says Jim Bob, 44. "We are so grateful for the ability to help her."...
He and Michelle, 43, have moved 17 of their other kids (their oldest Josh, 21, and his wife, Anna, 21, have a baby girl and live on their own) to Little Rock, AR, from their home in Tontitown, AR, to be closer to Josie, who remains in intensive care at AR Children's Hospital.
"It's a miracle she's doing so well," says Jim Bob. Agrees Michelle: "It is incredible what the doctors and nurses can do to save the life of this little person."
It has been an up and down saga of survival for tiny Josie. "Doctors tell us, 'never trust a preemie,' because you can't know what is going to happen," says Jim Bob. "It is a very day-to-day thing. It is the hardest thing we've ever been through."
Josie's difficult birth has brought the family closer together, say Jim Bob and Michelle, and they continue to be grateful for every moment they have with their new daughter.
"We don't know if there is going to be another big hill to go up," she says. "We are grateful for the wonderful days when she has been good. We know at any moment, things could change."...
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.)
A few weeks ago I had a truly edifying conversation with a Mrs. Slyvia Slifko, who helped to found Image Clear Ultrasound (ICU) in Akron, Ohio.
In 2004, after working for a number of years in a pregnancy resource center, Sylvia wanted to offer pregnant mothers considering abortion the opportunity to see their developing baby in ultrasound. Recognizing that location was critical Sylvia hoped to find an RV or van for a mobile sonogram unit. In a very short period of time and thanks to a generous donor, a number of pieces came together to make Sylvia’s hope a reality, including the purchase an RV, a sonogram machine, and the help of a retired MD and part-time Sonographer. Click here for the full article.
Matt Kennon The Call, abortion, pro-life.jpgDebuting on the country charts at #55 in October 2009, newcomer (although in his 40s) country singer Matt Kennon's song, The Call, is hopefully still gaining traction. In December Roughstrock named The Call one of the best singles of 2009, describing it as "powerful and proud"...
The song hinges upon 2 phone calls, 1 inadvertent and the other intentional. In the 1st verse a guy interrupts his best friend's suicide attempt with news of a party. In the 2nd verse a guy convinces a girlfriend to cancel her abortion because he decides he is ready to have a baby. On the surface, each of these verses has a few minor flaws. One has to wonder about a suicide attempt which can be so lightly derailed and, like most mainstream stories, we aren't supposed to question teenage parenthood as the superior choice for pregnant teens. However, Kennon sells it....
Groaning, grousing, gnashing of teeth--just a few signs of the angst some pro-abortionists are experiencing as they bemoan the fate of health care "reform." Before we examine "Futile Concessions," written by Michelle Goldberg for The American Prospect, the most important consideration to keep uppermost in our minds is that the battle is far from over.
Pro-abortionists may lament what they say they have already "lost," but we know it's never over until it's over. (If Plan B through Plan Y fail, pro-abortionists will scrounge around for a Plan Z.) More specifically, what they pretend has been shed along the way is either patently false or a reflection of the American people's views. Click here for the full article.
Did you have a chance to watch the State of the Union address last night? If you did, I hope you took the opportunity to stick around to listen to the Republican response.
Frankly, I could only watch President Obama's remarks intermittently. The speech was just awful: repetitive, redundant, unimaginative, and uninspiring. Hard to miss how many senators and representatives were stifling yawns.
You could label the address a "laundry list" of items but that would unfair to laundry lists.
Out of duty, I read the transcript this morning. It was even worse than watching the remarks delivered live. Click here for the full article.
Health Care Bill is Alive - Your help is still needed! After the election upset in Massachusetts, you may have heard reports that the abortion-laden health care reform bill is dead.
Don't believe it for a second.
The Obama administration and pro-abortion Congressional leaders in the House and Senate are working night and day to figure out how to ram through their health care legislation -- including government-funded abortions.
There are several options that Congressional leaders are looking into RIGHT NOW that could again put the lives of millions of unborn babies at risk.
The abortion industry has worked too long and too hard to let it all slip away now. They are redoubling their efforts to mandate health care that funds abortion -- and we must redouble our efforts as well.
You have heard it before, but your elected officials MUST continue to hear from you until the abortion mandate is no longer.
Many of you turned out in record numbers at pro-life events coast-to-coast last week, sending a clear message to our elected leaders and all of America: "NO Abortion in Health Care!"
Please don't let up now.
Action Items:
1.) Contact your two Senators and Representative and tell them: "NO Abortion in Health Care!" Get their contact info at...
2.) Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. Your elected officials and their staff read the newspaper regularly and a letter to the editor is a great way to get your message out. Go here for samples: http://stoptheabortionmandate.com/letter
In his first State of the Union address last night, President Barack Obama did not shirk from issuing a stubborn push for his top domestic priority - the struggling health care overhaul.
"Here's what I ask Congress, though: Don't walk away from reform. Not now. Not when we are so close. Let us find a way to come together and finish the job for the American people. Let's get it done. Let's get it done," said Obama, to cheers from Democrats in the chamber.
Liberal groups had hoped to hear firm support for the reform effort that would unleash federal funds for abortion and abortion providers. Planned Parenthood, which has been hit hard by the economic downturn, has lobbied aggressively for the bill to go through without Hyde-amendment restrictions on abortion funding.
But ever since Republican Scott Brown's victory in Massachusetts robbed Senate Democrats of a filibuster-proof majority last Tuesday, Democrats have been at a loss on how to push the massive reform effort past the GOP. The Massachusetts loss was widely interpreted not only as signaling deep national dissatisfaction with the overhaul, but also as a warning shot to pro-health care Democrats as they face their own re-election battles in November. Accordingly, some experts expected Obama to slim down his enthusiasm for the measure.
Instead, Obama's tone was unyielding. At the same time, the president was unclear as to how the Democrats might actually pass the reform, saying simply that Congress "should not walk away from" health care reform. Obama also apologized "for not explaining [the health care bill] more clearly to the American people" - an apparent nod to the dismal approval ratings the measure has suffered in national polls.
Though there is no clear path for the bill's success, congressional leaders also have not softened their stance. In an interview with Politico, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday indicated that House Democrats would be open to passing the health care overhaul in a two-part process that would circumvent a GOP filibuster. “We have to get it done,” said Pelosi. “What the process is doesn’t matter.”
Later in the speech, Obama elicited a murmur from Republicans when he claimed his administration has "excluded lobbyists from policymaking jobs, or seats on federal boards and commissions." However, while the Obama administration has purported to have in place a ban on hiring lobbyists, the ban has been "waived" for at least twelve lobbyists, seven of whom now occupy key posts in the White House.
The party-line rift scarring Capitol Hill was starkly visible throughout Obama's speech. After months of Democrats shutting frustrated Republicans out of negotiations on the health care overhaul, GOP members often sat motionless as wild cheers erupted from Democrats affirming Obama's fact claims and policy goals.
The president took the opportunity to cast himself as a peacemaker battling entrenched hostilities, and to chastise Republicans for standing their ground against the president's far-left policies.
"Now, I'm not naïve," he said. "I never thought that the mere fact of my election would usher in peace and harmony - and some post-partisan era. ... To Democrats, I would remind you that we still have the largest majority in decades, and the people expect us to solve problems, not run for the hills. And if the Republican leadership is going to insist that 60 votes in the Senate are required to do any business at all in this town - a supermajority - then the responsibility to govern is now yours as well."
The president also shook his finger at those who wage "a perpetual campaign" in Washington - days after the White House brought in Obama's former campaign manager, David Plouffe, to retool the president's message on health care.
Newly-installed Virginia governor Bob McDonnell issued the Republicans' response to Obama immediately after the address. McDonnell criticized the administration's large-scale government expansion and called for more power to be given to local levels of government.
"Today, the federal government is simply trying to do too much," said McDonnell. "Without reform, the excessive growth of government threatens our very liberty and prosperity."
McDonnell also criticized the Democrats' health care overhaul, saying: "All Americans agree, we need a health care system that is affordable, accessible, and high quality. But most Americans do not want to turn over the best medical care system in the world to the federal government."
Republicans have offered their own ideas for health care reform, noted McDonnell, "And our solutions aren't thousand-page bills that no one has fully read, after being crafted behind closed doors with special interests."
McDonnell also appeared to take a jab at the administration's deeply pro-abortion agenda, saying that “America must always be a land where liberty and property are valued and respected, and innocent human life is protected."
'When you don't tell kids to remain abstinent, they have more sex'
A new study shows American teen pregnancy and abortion rates are escalating – and while abortion advocates fault supporters of abstinence, one group is placing blame for the pregnancy boom squarely with Planned Parenthood-style sex education.
A study released today by the Guttmacher Institute, formerly a division of Planned Parenthood, shows teenage pregnancy increased by 3 percent in 2006 as 750,000 women younger than 20 – or 7 percent of America's teen girls – became pregnant. This trend follows a decade of declining pregnancies among teenagers.
Also in 2006, there were 42 births for every 1,000 teenage girls – 4 percent higher than 2005. Abortions increased by 1 percent from 2005 to 2006.
What caused the boom?
Planned Parenthood claims the culprit is abstinence-only sex education programs.
"This new study makes it crystal clear that abstinence-only sex education for teenagers does not work, and it should serve as a wake-up call to anyone who still believes that teenagers aren't sexually active or that abstinence-only programs curb the rate of teen pregnancy," Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards said in a statement. "We applaud President Obama and members of Congress who have recognized that abstinence-only programs do not work, and who are investing in medically accurate, age-appropriate sex education for our teenagers."
Heather Boonstra, Guttmacher Institute senior public policy associate, added, "After more than a decade of progress, this reversal is deeply troubling. It coincides with an increase in rigid abstinence-only-until-marriage programs, which received major funding boosts under the Bush administration. A strong body of research shows that these programs do not work."
However, the American Life League says that while the abortion provider seeks to portray the unsettling statistics as an indictment against the Bush administration 's abstinence policy, the timeline points to a different culprit – Planned Parenthood.
"This is not rocket science," American Life League Vice President Jim Sedlak said. "When you don't tell kids to remain abstinent, they have more sex and more of them get pregnant. Pregnancy rates go down when kids don't have sex."
American Life League pointed to the following trends as evidence that Planned Parenthood's sex-ed programs are to blame:
* Prior to 1990, teen pregnancy rates were increasing just about every year as Planned Parenthood's sex-ed programs dominated public and even private school sex-education courses.
* In the early 1990s, it became popular to teach the abstinence message to teens and preteens. Teen pregnancy rates began to fall. The Guttmacher Institute claims the decline was the result of more use of contraceptives among sexually active teens.
* By 1995, the federal government was funding an abstinence-only message while pregnancy rates continued to fall.
* By 2000, Planned Parenthood began lobbying the various states to refuse abstinence money and reduce abstinence programs and, predictably, in 2006, the teen pregnancy rate increased for the first time in 15 years.
* Today, partnering with President Obama, Planned Parenthood lobbying has succeeded in virtually cutting off abstinence-only funds.
State-level data are not yet available for 2006, but varied widely in 2005, according to the Guttmacher Institute report. The highest pregnancy rates were in New Mexico (93 per 1,000 women, ages 15 to 19), Nevada (90), Arizona (89), Texas (88) and Mississippi (85). The lowest rates were in New Hampshire (33), Vermont (40), Maine (48), Minnesota (47) and North Dakota (46).
In its 2008 study, the American Journal of Health Behavior reported that adolescent students who received abstinence education were one-half as likely as non-participants to initiate sexual activity after one year.
Additionally, a 2007 Zogby poll revealed more than twice as many parents said they preferred abstinence education to comprehensive sex education, once they learned facts about the two approaches.
However, the Obama administration slashed funding for abstinence education in its 2010 budget.
"We can only imagine how high the teen pregnancy rates will go," Sedlak said. "Planned Parenthood's reach extends far beyond their vice grip on the nation's classrooms. Their work can also be felt in pop culture, the internet, advertising and television – all excellent vehicles in their long-term goal to sexualize our children. Sadly it's working."
Feminism, women's liberation, and the idea that men and women are no different from each other have led many of us down dead-end roads -- often away from faith.
Lorraine Murray, in her book, Confessions of an Ex-Feminist (Ignatius Press, 2008), tells the story of her own walk down that road and back, with many illuminating lessons on everything from abortion to the anti-religious bias on college campuses.
Murray grew up in a Christian home, eagerly attending Mass at church, and absorbing what she was taught in the Catholic schools she attended. Against the advice of one of her teachers, she decided to study at a secular college, and it was there that her faith and her values began to unravel. As she describes it, up until then, she'd rarely run into people who didn't believe in God. In college, it seemed as though no one did. She writes that she began to equate becoming an adult with turning her back on God.
watch commentary icon smallShe lapped up feminist ideology and rejected the morality and values she'd been taught, including those about abortion. Like most of her peers, she began having relationships with men. But as an avowed feminist, she couldn't understand the emotional pain she suffered when the relationships ended. By her own admission, she was searching for Prince Charming, even though she knew she was supposed to be unconcerned with commitment.
After her mother's death while in graduate school, Murray, in her own words, "launched a vendetta against God," doing her best to convince her students that God didn't exist.
She offers interesting insight into how being a college professor allowed her to do that. "As my philosophy students tackled topics like the meaning of life and the existence of God, I knew that, ideally, instructors are supposed to remain neutral. But I also recalled, from my own college days, how skillfully some professors had dodged this expectation." She writes that there are innumerable ways professors let their students know what they want to hear: "a chuckle, a grimace, or a wink and a nod."
Her attitude about politics was much the same. Having become a staunch liberal, she writes that like many professors, she "assumed college was the place to challenge and dismantle traditions. Conservative thought, almost by definition, was the dragon to slay in the classroom, and few students had the courage to disagree with a strongly opinionated professor."
Nonetheless, she writes that she believes the "Hound of Heaven" was pursuing her, in ways large and small. She got married, and recounts about a memorable experience she had while spending time with her husband in Cedar Key, Florida. Anchored out in the gulf on a small boat, they suddenly heard a loud splash and saw the heads of two manatees pop out of the water. The manatees peered at them before disappearing underwater again. "The atheist in the boat," Murray writes, "stunned by their eyes, which seemed so deeply innocent and mysterious, now uttered a rather strange statement: 'It was like looking into the face of God!'" Later she would write in her journal that she believed she'd gotten a glimpse of God's face here on earth.
After dinner one night, the image of a nearby church flashed into her mind. She asked her husband to take a walk there with her to see it, and he did. Once home again, they talked about their childhood beliefs about God and religion. And she confided in him about her "perplexing feeling that 'someone' was calling me.'"
Both of them decided they wanted to explore further, and they met with a local Catholic priest. Kneeling in the church, Murray remembered the story of the Good Shepherd going after the one lost sheep. That night, for the first time in 20 years, she prayed: "Help me to believe."
Murray then movingly tells readers the story of the abortion she'd had years before. "No one," she writes, "had prepared me for the flashbacks, which began about a year after the 'procedure'....I would relive the experience....I started having upsetting reactions to babies....A question started plaguing me: How old would my baby have been now?"
Murray's "plaguing question" about how old her baby would be immediately reminded me of a post I read just last night on the pro-abort blog, My abortion & related incidents. This was written January 7, 9-1/2 months after eve had her abortion:
Murray described having upsetting reactions to babies. So did eve in this post written about 2 weeks after her abortion:
A couple other confessions from our pro-abort post-abortive friend, all in one paragraph, written 2 days after her abortion. Eve doesn't realize she's describing feelings of having been raped, which some post-abortive mothers say they do feel, as well as suspicions about an sexually exploitive and selfish boyfriend:
I fully expected eve to have broken up with her boyfriend by now, because over 90% of post-abortive couples split, but they are still together. I still say it's a matter of time.
Finally, eve demonstrates the schizophrenia of abortion-minded mothers and with refreshing candor expresses why over 90% of abortions are committed - for me, me, me. This was written last March 19, the day eve found out she was pregnant and almost 3 weeks before aborting:
Abortion is just the saddest thing ever.
One night, her husband, Jef, encouraged her to attend an Advent penance service, where confessions would be heard. It had been years since she'd been to confession, but reluctantly, she went. With tears streaming down her face, this former feminist and long-time defender of abortion told the priest what she'd done. He explained that just as Jesus had said on the cross, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34), Jesus would forgive her, too.
Lorraine Murray (author)Months later, however, Murray was still filled with self-recrimination about her abortion. She believed that God had forgiven her, but couldn't forgive herself. She started meeting regularly with a woman from a group called PATH (Post-Abortion Treatment and Healing), and after many months, began to heal. Years later she came across a quote in The Privilege of Being a Woman which reminded her of how this woman had helped her: "Those who devote their loving attention to [women who have had abortions] know that the wound created in their souls is so deep that only God's grace can heal it."
She and Jef began working with four nuns from the Missionaries of Charity, who had been sent to the U.S. to open a home for women with AIDS. "The nuns were the furthest thing from self-centered and the last people in the world to defend their rights or to assert themselves. In my days as an ardent feminist, I would have scoffed at how meek and unselfassuming they were. They weren't concerned about goals, accomplishments, or applause."
Another former radical feminist turned Christian, Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, helped Murray to understand the incompatibility of the two belief systems. "In a book review, [Fox-Genovese] suggested that radical feminists balked at the possibility that one could be both pro-woman and Catholic. She believed this was due to an inherent disconnect in feminism concerning the notion of service, which is the core of Christianity for both men and women."
The selflessness she'd seen in the nuns was antithetical to everything she'd believed as a feminist. They were about putting others first, not themselves. They were about service, not success.
Like so many of us, Murray took the tempting bait the world has to offer. But, as she puts it, the "Hound of Heaven" kept tugging at the line until finally she came home again.
Personhood Rocks Three New States Personhood has expanded into three new states, including Iowa, Virginia, and Kansas. Beginning on January 13, Virginia introduced HB 112, a bill to guarantee the constitutional rights of preborn children.
Shortly after, Iowa introduced HJR 2003 proposing a joint resolution for an amendment including a right to life for all men and women, irrespective of age. The same day, Kansas introduced a personhood amendment to the revisor's office.
"A two-thirds majority of both legislative houses is needed to pass the amendment and that can be a rather challenging endeavor, so it is of the utmost importance that Kansans voice their desire to see this measure passed," explained Keith Ashley, Personhood Kansas petition organizer.
Although attempting Personhood through several different avenues, all three call for a recognition of rights for preborn babies from the moment of their biological beginning.
"Personhood is a revolution of the pro-life movement," stated Keith Mason, co-founder of Personhood USA. "It challenges what's been done in the past, stimulates the movement's present, and eradicates the need for pro-life efforts in the future. Personhood is the best hope to end abortion in America."
Personhood USA will continue to serve as a support system for Iowa, Virginia, and Kansas, as well as the 5 states currently collecting signatures, and the scores of states working on Personhood legislation.
Personhood USA is a grassroots, Christian organization founded to establish personhood efforts across America to create protection for every child by love and by law.
Personhood USA is committed to assisting and supporting Personhood Legislation and Constitutional Amendments and building local pro-life organizations through raising awareness of the personhood of the pre-born.
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.)
Visualize for a moment what would happen if San Francisco hosted a rally on the hot-button topic of abortion. How many people would you expect to show up to support each side? Well, considering that San Francisco is the city that regularly votes in overwhelming numbers for Nancy Pelosi and Barbara Boxer, two of the strongest abortion advocates in Congress, and that San Francisco is perceived as being among the most liberal cities in the nation, you would likely anticipate the pro-choice side to vastly outnumber the pro-life side at any rally. You couldn’t be more wrong. Because when the anti-abortion group Walk for Life staged a march in San Francisco last Saturday, January 23, they turned out an overwhelming and jaw-dropping 40,000 pro-life activists, who were met by a well-advertised counter-protest which managed to draw no more than 80 (that’s eighty, eight-zero) pro-choice advocates. Click here for the full article.
Detectives are investigating a Queens clinic where a 37-year-old woman was fatally injured while undergoing an abortion, officials said Tuesday. Alexandra Nuñez began bleeding heavily during the procedure at A1 Medicine in Jackson Heights on Monday, officials said. One of Nuñez's arteries was inadvertently severed and she went into cardiac arrest, according to police sources. She was taken to Elmhurst Hospital Center, where she died a short time later. Click here for the full article.
The Kentucky Senate on Monday voted 32-4 to approve a bill (SB 38) that would require physicians to show women an ultrasound and describe "the dimensions of the embryo or fetus and the presence of external members and internal organs, if present and viewable," the Louisville Courier-Journal reports. State Sen. Elizabeth Tori (R), lead sponsor of the bill, said it would not prohibit a woman from averting her eyes from the image.
The bill also would require physicians or someone they designate to meet with the patient in person at least 24 hours before the procedure to explain the process. Under current law, physicians can provide the information over the phone. Physicians who do not follow the bill's requirements could face a fine of as much as $100,000 for the first offense and up to $250,000 for subsequent offenses. Offenses would be reported to the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure. Click here for the full article.
A new report published online in Nature describes how Stanford scientists turned mouse skin cells directly into nerve cells, without any intermediate stem cell step. Starting with mouse skin cells in the lab dish, they added three nerve-specific genes using viruses. According to senior author Marius Wernig, the “induced neuronal cells” are fully functional. Click here for the full article.
The women of Operation Outcry support Tim Tebow and his mother Pam as they share their story in an ad sponsored by Focus on the Family during Super Bowl XLIV. Tebow's mother, Pam, had a difficult pregnancy and was advised to abort her son by her physician, but she obviously chose life for him rather than abortion.
Women of Operation Outcry are also courageously speaking out, sharing their personal stories, so that our nation will know the truth, "Abortion Hurts Women." Click here for the full article.
Twelve-year-old Emma MacDonald and her family know a few things about abortion. Last year, Emma wrote the music and lyrics to a song about how abortion has touched her mother and their family. Emma's mother Jennifer is an abortion survivor. Jennifer explains,
"My mom got pregnant with me when she was 18. Unmarried, still in high school, and alone she tried to abort me, but in 1967 abortion was still illegal. The 'procedure' didn't work and she was supposed to return the next week to try again. Being raised Catholic, she 'got the guilts' and didn't return. But for God's grace, I would have been thrown out with the trash.
"Some might say that my early life circumstances were a textbook case for abortion. Thankfully, God had other plans. Despite those many painful years, my adult life is filled with joy and meaning. My five children are alive today because God's grace spared their mother."
When asked how she came to write her song, Emma explains, "One night I woke up suddenly because of a gruesome dream about abortion. A few weeks later, I woke up singing the tune that is now 'You Are There.'" With the encouragement of several people, Emma recorded "You Are There" along with eight original instrumentals she has written. Emma reveals in her lyrics:
"On that day when my mama's mom tried to abort her God was there. Through His grace she was spared, She found those who would care, This gift of love is why I am alive. You were there, You were there, You were watching over us. By Your grace, we were born And my daddy's not alone."
The Christmas classic "It's a Wonderful Life" holds special meaning for Emma's father, David. In one scene, the angel Clarence remarks to George Bailey, "Each man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?" David agrees, "Certainly this applies well to our family. Abortion doesn't affect simply the lives of a mother and her unborn child, but future generations to come."
In a recent Illinois Review posting, it was written incorrectly that Senator Kirk Dillard had been endorsed by Illinois Federation for Right to Life in his bid for the GOP gubernatorial nomination. This is not the case. The IFRL website has been amended to remove questionnaire scores, which at one time indicated a 100% rating for Senator Dillard. That scoring, which has since been removed from the IFRL website to avoid further confusion, influenced the report that Sen. Dillard was highly rated by the prolife group.
The Judge who took herself off of case voluntarily now files ethics charges against "ND 88" attorneys for arguing she may have been seen as "biased" In an incredible turn of events, Judge Jenny Pitts Manier filed formal ethics charges against the ND88 attorneys, in response to their arguments that a reasonable person may perceive that the judge was biased against the "ND 88."
