Full Undercover Video Released of WI Planned Parenthood Covering Up Child Sex Abuse

Full Undercover Video Released of WI Planned Parenthood Covering Up Child Sex Abuse



Live Action has made public the full, unedited video from an undercover investigation released last week of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Milwaukee, WI. The footage shows clinic staff counseling a purportedly 14-year-old statutory rape victim not to tell anyone about her 31-year-old "boyfriend" and coaching her how to obtain an abortion without her parents' consent.
 
In Wisconsin, sex between an adult and a minor under age 16 is a felony, and health care professionals are required to report such cases to law enforcement immediately.
 
Last week, Planned Parenthood Wisconsin CEO Teri Huyck called the videos "highly edited" and accused Live Action of manipulating footage to make a "false and inflammatory" video. "Assuming this patient gave us her name, we would report it," Huyck said. "The so-called patient in this case did not provide identifying information. In fact, she refused."
 
On the contrary, the full footage includes Planned Parenthood staff taking down a full name for the girl, "Janelle Marion," and a birth date, in order to help her obtain a judicial bypass waiver for her abortion.
 
Live Action has released nine similar videos from five other states as part of its "Mona Lisa Project." Two weeks ago, the Alabama Department of Health, announced it had placed a Birmingham Planned Parenthood on probation after a state investigation, prompted by a Live Action video, found 9 legal violations.
 
Lila Rose, the 21-year-old president of Live Action, calls on Wisconsin state authorities to move forward on a probe of the abortion provider. "Planned Parenthood has clearly violated public trust by covering up sexual abuse. Now their CEO Teri Huyck is lying to the public about this cover up. Wisconsin Law enforcement must hold Planned Parenthood accountable to the law. And Wisconsin lawmakers must put an end to the millions of dollars of taxpayer subsidies Planned Parenthood receives."
 
Live Action sent full footage from the Milwaukee clinic to the Wisconsin Attorney General and Milwaukee District Attorney last week.

Click here to view the full footage.

Contact: Lila Rose
Source: Live Action
Publish Date: March 1, 2010
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Illinois Federation for Right to Life

2600 State Street, Ste E

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Phone: 618-466-4122

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E-mail: mail@ifrl.org

 

Obama Pushing for New Radical Feminist Agency at United Nations

Obama Pushing for New Radical Feminist Agency at United Nations



The Obama administration has endorsed a proposal to create a new U.N. bureaucracy dedicated to restructuring relations between the sexes along radical feminist lines. The new super-agency is supported by a consortium of feminist organizations called the Gender Equality Architecture Reform Campaign (GEAR).

The surprise move came late yesterday at the meeting of the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women, currently underway in New York. Both the Obama administration and the European Union immediately seconded the proposal to create a new U.N. super-agency, which thus appears to have a good chance of passage.

Radical feminists have long been discontented with the alphabet soup of relatively low-level offices and commissions that exist in the U.N. to advance their agenda. The new agency would amalgamate four existing entities--the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, the Division for the Advancement of Women, the United Nations Development Fund for Women and the United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women--into one super-agency. The Division for the Advancement of Women, in particular, has a universal UN mandate that would then be at the service of the new bureaucracy. To give the organization even more clout, an Under-Secretary-General, who would report directly to the U.N. Secretary-General, would head it.

The draft proposal urges that the agency be set up before the end of the current session of the General Assembly, and that it be dedicated to "gender equality" and the "empowerment of women." In the past, such code words have been used to justify such actions as admonishing Belarus for celebrating Mother's Day because this "reinforced traditional stereotypes of women." Even liberal Denmark has been chastised for having too few female generals in the ranks of its military. The supporters of the new U.N. agency revealingly refer to it as "Gender Architecture," or GEAR.

Radical feminists believe that such a super-agency would give them access to both the money and power they need to advance their agenda. "We need money, we need a billion dollars for this to be effective on the ground level," says Charlotte Bunch, the representative of GEAR. Bunch went on to note that this first billion would just be "catalytic," only what would be needed to get the organization off the ground.

"The pro-life pro-family movement should absolutely oppose the creation of a UN super-agency dedicated to radical feminist goals, which undermine marriage, weaken the family, and thus endanger children both born and unborn," says Steven Mosher, President of the Population Research Institute. "What is being proposed is a very powerful agency with a global mandate to restructure relations between the sexes. If the past is any indicator, it will be used to impose the lifestyle of Manhattan and Hollywood feminists on family-centered countries and cultures. It is cultural imperialism at its worst."

Contact: Colin Mason
Source: Population Research Institute
Publish Date: March 3, 2010
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Illinois Federation for Right to Life

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Phone: 618-466-4122

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E-mail: mail@ifrl.org

 

NEWS SHORTS FOR WEDNESDAY

NEWS SHORTS FOR WEDNESDAY

Chicago Tribune Examines Claims That Black Women Are Targeted For Abortions



The Chicago Tribune on Tuesday examined antiabortion-rights groups' charges that the abortion rate among black women is disproportionately high because abortion providers target this population, a claim disputed by abortion-rights supporters who say the higher rate reflects a greater number of unplanned pregnancies among black women. In Atlanta, Georgia Right to Life and the Radiance Foundation recently launched a campaign that includes dozens of billboards stating that "[b]lack children are an endangered species." The campaign also includes a Web site, toomanyaborted.com, that claims, "Under the false liberty of 'reproductive freedom,' we are killing our very future." The groups are part of an "increasingly vocal segment" of the antiabortion-rights community that claims black women are targeted for abortions as part of a white conspiracy to control the size of the black population.

Blacks represent 13% of the U.S. population but account for 37% of abortion procedures, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, the birth rate among black women is also higher than for other races. In 2006, the birth rate was 16.5 per 1,000 black women of childbearing age, compared with 14.2 per 1,000 for all women, according to CDC's National Center for Health Statistics.
Click here for the entire article from Medical News Today.


Pelosi Gets Final Word On Abortion Coverage At Health Summit



During Thursday's televised health care summit, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) "got the last word" on the issue of abortion coverage when she refuted House Minority Leader John Boehner's (R-Ohio) earlier comments on the issue, Roll Call reports. Boehner claimed during the discussion that the Democrats' reform proposals would provide public funding for abortion.

Pelosi, specifically addressing Boehner by name, said that "the law of the land is there is no public funding of abortion." She added, "And there is no public funding of abortion in these bills, and I don't want our listeners or viewers to get the wrong impression from what you said." Pelosi added, "Certain things are facts about our bills that I cannot let the opposite view stand when they are stated."
Click here for the entire article from Medical News Today.


Utah Gov. Considers Bill To Allow Prosecution Of Women Who Seek Illegal Abortions



Utah Gov. Gary Herbert (R) is reviewing details of a bill (HB 12) that would allow criminal charges against women who seek illegal abortions, including self-inflicted attempts to end a pregnancy, with penalties of up to life in prison, the New York Times reports. The bill was approved 59-12 by the state House and 24-4 by the state Senate.

The legislation was prompted by the case of a pregnant Utah teen who paid a man to beat her with the aim of inducing a miscarriage. The fetus survived the attack, and the infant was adopted by a Utah couple. The attacker was jailed, but a judge dismissed charges against the teen because seeking an abortion is not illegal under Utah law. State Rep. Carl Wimmer (R), the bill's sponsor, said the legislation is designed to close that "loophole."
Click here for the entire article from Medical News Today.


Drug-Induced Abortions Now Offered in Springfield Illinois



Its a medicaton that's 97% effective and it's available now in Springfield. Planned Parenthood started offering medicated abortions this month. The procedure involves two doses of a drugs taken several days apart. It causes a woman to miscarriage. The medication is a big deal for the Springfield area. It's the first time a form of abortion has been available in the Capitol City. In the past - women traveled to Champaign or Peoria to undergo surgical procedures or to get the medication. Merle King of the Right to Life group in Springfield says this move will wake up pro-life protestors. "I think there's going to be a lot more prayer about this in the local community. I think you're going to see more people in prayer vigils at Planned Parenthood," says King.
Click here for the entire article from Illinois Home Page.


HPV Vaccine Blinds 16-Year-Old Girl



We report the course of a 16-year-old girl who presented with near complete visual loss associated with chiasmal neuritis and a biopsy proven tumefactive demyelinating lesion on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in association with a recent immunization against human papilloma virus. She had received her second vaccination against human papilloma virus 10 days prior to her presentation. There was no family history of demyelinating disease, collagen-vascular disease, or rheumatological disorders. In the context of prior vaccination in a 16-year-old girl, acute demyelinating encephalomyelitis is likely to explain the multifocal deficits.
Click here for the entire article from The One Click Group.

 

 

Illinois Federation for Right to Life

2600 State Street, Ste E

Alton, IL  62002

 

Phone: 618-466-4122

Web: www.ifrl.org

E-mail: mail@ifrl.org

 

Obama Proposal Limits Rights of Americans of All Ages to use Their Own Money to Save Their Own Lives

Obama Proposal Limits Rights of Americans of All Ages to use Their Own Money to Save Their Own Lives

 

The following statement may be attributed to Burke Balch, J.D., director of the National Right to Life Committee's Powell Center for Medical Ethics.

The February 22, 2010, Obama Administration health care proposal imposes premium price controls on ALL insurance plans, not just those for Medicare-eligible senior citizens.  That means that the right of Americans to spend their own money to get insurance plans less likely to deny treatment will be significantly limited.  People will not be allowed to spend their own money, if they choose, to improve the chances of saving their own family's lives.

It is basic economics that price controls force rationing.  (See http://www.nrlc.org/euthanasia/Q&AonHealthCarePriceControls.pdf )

Under the President's proposal, states and the federal government would be empowered to review and reject premiums charged by any health insurance plan, even the supposedly "grandfathered" plans that Americans now have.

Yet the Administration has the temerity, even now, to state, "For Americans with insurance coverage who like what they have, they can keep it.  Nothing in this act or anywhere in the bill forces anyone to change insurance they have, period."

It is as though a government, concerned about the high cost of restaurant food, imposed a price limit of $5 per meal, and then asserted that for those who like their restaurant food, nothing will force them to change their eating habits.  The reality, of course, is that restaurants would be unable to afford to offer meals at prices below the cost of their ingredients.  Consequently, about all restaurant-goers would be able to get would be fast food.

Similarly, when every premium increase is subject to veto by government officials, it means that instead of Americans making their own choices balancing the cost against the benefit in evaluating competing insurance plans, that decision will be taken out of their hands by bureaucrats whose principal duty is to hold health care spending down.  Denial of lifesaving diagnostic tests and treatment would surely follow.   This is rationing, pure and simple.

For the impact of the Obama proposal on Medicare and senior citizens, see http://powellcenterformedicalethics.blogspot.com/2010/02/obama-proposal-threatens-to-deny-senior.html

Contact: Burke Balch, J.D.
Source: NRLC
Publish Date: February 22, 2010
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Gene tests contribute to abortion

Gene tests contribute to abortion

AMAs prenatal screening seems to be resulting in selective abortions, and as some of the most devastating inherited diseases are declining, one doctor fears what this logic could mean in the future.
 


Dr. David Stevens of the Christian Medical & Dental Associations (CMA) tells OneNewsNow that the capability to screen children for genetic diseases is increasing -- "but unfortunately, we don't have new treatments. So what this has turned into is a search-and-destroy mission for most parents, essentially deciding their child has a life not worthy to be lived and it should be aborted."
 
Stevens feels this is a tragedy, and that the evidence behind the rising abortions can be found by looking around and seeing how few children with Down syndrome are birthed into the world. That "search-and-destroy" attitude is one, he believes, needs to be changed.
 
"It's never been more important as we head down this slippery slope, because if we can eliminate children because they have a long-term disability, then [people will argue] why can't we eliminate them for whatever reason -- they don't have the right color of hair," the CMA doctor wonders. "We're already beginning to see that now with these new genetic capabilities. One of the most dangerous places to be in this country is in a mother's womb."
 
If the culture of death is not changed to a culture of life, Dr. Stevens believes the next logical step might be for children to eliminate their aging parents because of their quality of life.

Contact: Charlie Butts
Source: OneNewsNow
Publish Date: February 23, 2010
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Celine Dion Has Lost Four Children to IVF

Celine Dion Has Lost Four Children to IVF



Quebec singing superstar Celine Dion admitted on the Oprah Winfrey Show Febrary 10 that she has undergone four unsuccessful attempts at in vitro fertilization (IVF).  Since the procedure requires at minimum one embryonic child to be implanted, at least four of her children created by IVF have died.  One of those children survived the transfer from the frozen state but was miscarried in 2009.

In 2001, Dion who was raised Catholic, acknowledged that her frozen embryos were indeed her children. "This frozen embryo that is in New York is my child waiting to be brought to life," she said at the time.

At the first announcement of Dion's pregnancy with IVF in 2000, pro-life leaders wondered if Dion had been informed that the procedure would necessarily cost the lives of some of the children created in the process.

While this aspect of the pro-life teaching of the Catholic faith may be difficult for the singer, Dion, by her own testimony owes her very life to that teaching.  Dion was the fourteenth child in her family and her mother was convinced against getting an abortion by a Catholic priest.  Describing the incident in a 2001 interview with London celebrity magazine Hello!, Dion said: "He told her that she had no right to go against nature. So I have to admit that in a way, I owe my life to that priest."

While the teaching of the Catholic Church on the matter is contained in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and has been stated by recent popes, bishops, particularly those in North America, have seldom addressed the issue.  American Life League President Judie Brown relates in her book - Saving Those Damned Catholics - that while it is official Church teaching, most Catholics in North America have no clue that artificial procreation is considered immoral, and priests regularly counsel couples that IVF is acceptable.

In 2008 Pope Benedict XVI reiterated the teaching of the Church on the matter, stating that IVF and its related practices of "the freezing of human embryos, embryonal reduction, pre-implantation diagnosis, stem cell research and attempts at human cloning" all "clearly show how, with artificial insemination outside the body, the barrier protecting human dignity has been broken."

The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains the Church's teaching against IVF (CCC 2377), noting that God intended the child to be brought into the world by the act of love between husband and wife.  Placing the child's creation in the hands of technology with IVF, it suggests goes against human dignity. 

Dion, the best selling Canadian recording artist of all time, has a special place in the hearts of many Canadians. Jim Hughes National President of Campaign Life Coalition Canada says he had hoped that Dion may yet have children with the aid of NaProTechnology, a revolutionary method to treat infertility naturally which has been shown to be more successful than IVF.

NPT, Hughes told LifeSiteNews, "will not only aid her to conceive naturally, if that's what God wants for her, but it will not cost her the lives of her children or a break with her faith."

Dion's openness to her faith remains strong.  In the Oprah interview she referenced her faith saying: "I think God has given me something to work with, a voice, and I'm just trying to serve the lyrics and the music to get messages through."


Click here for the video.

Contact: John-Henry Westen
Source: LifeSiteNews.com
Publish Date: February 22, 2010
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Obama's ‘New’ Health Care Plan Would Use Tax Dollars to Pay for Abortions

Obama's 'New' Health Care Plan Would Use Tax Dollars to Pay for Abortions



President Barack Obama unveiled his plan for health care reform on whitehouse.gov on Monday, but pro-life legislators and advocates said the "new" proposal mostly mirrors the Senate bill and, in particular, would allow for tax dollars to be used to fund health plans that cover abortion.
 
"The health bill passed by the Senate in December (H.R. 3590) had become, by the conclusion of the Senate amendment process, the most expansively pro-abortion bill ever brought to the floor of either house of Congress since Roe v. Wade," Douglas Johnson, legislative director for the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), said in a statement issued on Monday.
 
Johnson said Obama's bill will not include the same prohibitions set forth in the Stupak amendment--named after Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.)--which was part of the health care legislation passed earlier by the House of Representatives. Instead, Obama's bill allows federal funds to subsidize abortions through the structuring of programs and insurance plans.
 
"If all of the President's changes were made, the resulting legislation would allow direct federal funding of abortion-on-demand through community health centers, would institute federal subsidies for private health plans that cover abortion-on-demand, including some federally administered plans, and would authorize federal mandates that would require even non-subsidized private plans to cover elective abortion," Douglas said.



House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said the release of Obama's health care proposal ahead of Thursday's televised discussion among the president, Democrats, and select Republicans could be counterproductive. He also said pro-life legislators are committed to creating legislation that reflects what Americans want in health care reform.
 
"Republicans are also standing with the American people by calling for health care reform to protect human life and not use taxpayer money to fund abortion," Boehner said in a statement. "The Republican bill would codify the Hyde Amendment and prohibit all authorized and appropriated federal funds from being used to pay for abortion, which the President's proposal would allow."
 
"Pro-life Democrats in the House have already pledged to vote against this provision," said Boehner.  "Health care reform should be an opportunity to protect human life--not end it--and the American people agree."
 
When asked about the issue by ABC's Jake Tapper at Monday's press briefing at the White House, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said the president does not want to pay for abortions but does not want to limit women's choices.
 
 "And we're not looking to change what is the principle that has been in place for a very long time, which is federal dollars are not used to subsidize abortions," Gibbs said. "And I want to make sure that the provision that emerges meets that test---that we are not in some way sneaking in funding for abortions but, on the other hand, that we're not restricting women's insurance choices…."
 
Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, said that with today's release of the president's health care plan, he can no longer say it is Congress that is promoting federally funded abortions.
 
"Every time President Obama's spokesmen are asked about the Senate health care bill that authorizes federal funds for abortion, they reply that none of the bills put forth are the president's own," Donohue said. "Moreover, the president has said that he would never sign a health care bill that funds abortion."
 
"While it is true that the pro-abortion camp will not be happy with the president for not striking some restrictions it deplores, the fact remains that President Obama could have adopted the pro-life friendly language of the House bill," Donohue said. "The fact that he didn't is what matters most."

Contact: Penny Starr
Source: CNSNews.com
Publish Date: February 22, 2010
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Undercover Tape at WI Planned Parenthood Shows 10th Case of Child Sex Abuse Cover Up

Undercover Tape at WI Planned Parenthood Shows 10th Case of Child Sex Abuse Cover Up



New undercover footage shows staff at a Milwaukee, WI Planned Parenthood abortion clinic counseling a purportedly 14-year-old statutory rape victim not to tell anyone about her 31-year-old boyfriend and coaching her how to obtain an abortion without her parents' consent. The new video, ninth in a series from Live Action documenting similar behavior in 5 other states, comes amid recent controversy about Planned Parenthood's compliance with state laws regarding minors and abortion.

In the video, after hearing the girl is 14 and her boyfriend is "much older," the counselor says whether or not the situation will be reported by clinic workers "depends on the person you're disclosing that information to." When the girl says that her boyfriend is 31, the counselor tells her, "You don't have to say anything" about the statutory rape and instructs her, "Just give them the information that's needed." The counselor also confirms that the 31-year-old "boyfriend" will be paying for the abortion.

In Wisconsin, sex between an adult and a minor under age 16 is a felony, and health care professionals are required to report such cases to law enforcement immediately. The law specifically includes abortion providers in this requirement.

Live Action, the youth-led pro-life nonprofit that produced the video, has previously released undercover footage in its "Mona Lisa Project" showing sexual abuse cover-up at Planned Parenthood clinics in California, Indiana, Arizona, Tennessee, and Alabama. The Alabama Department of Health put a Birmingham Planned Parenthood on probation two weeks ago after finding 9 legal violations during an investigation prompted by a Live Action video.

Twenty-one-year-old UCLA student Lila Rose, Live Action's president, says her organization's videos reveal a common trend of unethical counseling practices and disregard for the law at Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the U.S.: "In case after case, Planned Parenthood acts in contempt of its legal and professional obligations to report child rape. At a time when the Obama administration, through its new health care plan, is offering potentially billions of dollars to the abortion industry, state and federal lawmakers need to take notice of Planned Parenthood's lawlessness and make certain they receive no more taxpayer subsidies."

Live Action is also responsible for a recent video expose of biased counseling and medical misinformation at Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin. Wisconsin law requires that women be provided accurate medical information before undergoing an abortion.

"The evidence is now available for all to see that Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin ignores state laws that have been in place for years," Rose says. "Wisconsin law enforcement needs to follow the lead of other jurisdictions, investigate this corrupt organization, and enforce the laws that protect vulnerable women and their pre-born children."


Click here to watch the new video.

Contact: Lila Rose
Source: Live Action
Publish Date: February 23, 2010
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Euthanasia - support without understanding

Euthanasia - support without understanding



A new Angus Reid poll shows that 42 percent of American adults favor legalizing euthanasia, but that statistic may not be true.

Fifty-two percent believe legalizing euthanasia would leave vulnerable people without sufficient protection, but Rita Marker, director of the International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide (ITF), is not surprised by the results because most people do not fully understand the term.

Rita Marker (International Tasf Force on Euthanasia and Assited Suicide)"Assisted-suicide advocates and those who favor euthanasia by lethal injection don't want to really refer to assisted suicide, and they certainly don't want to refer to a lethal injection," Marker explains. "Instead, they use words like...'euthanasia,' or 'death with dignity' or their newest one, 'aid in dying.'"

So the ITF director believes that when people are polled, they have varied ideas about what euthanasia is -- and she adds that euthanasia advocates have been successful in recent years in muddying up the language.

"Our job, as people who recognize the dangers of assisted suicide, is to continue to educate people so that they realize that what is now being promoted is either being able to say a doctor has the power to prescribe an intentional deadly overdose of drugs, or a doctor has the power to actually administer a lethal injection to a patient," she contends.

Marker does not believe support for assisted suicide is increasing because the poll also reflects that people have compassion for those who might be victimized by it, and she concludes that assisted suicide is actually a danger to everyone.

Contact: Charlie Butts
Source: OneNewsNow
Publish Date: February 23, 2010
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NEWS SHORTS FOR TUESDAY

NEWS SHORTS FOR TUESDAY

President and House Leaders Urged to Protect Preborn
 


President Barack Obama and Republican lawmakers will each get a letter signed by pro-life leaders urging them to protect preborn children, ahead of the White House's health care summit scheduled for Feb. 25.

There are two drafts. The president will receive a letter addressed specifically to him, and the GOP leadership in the House will receive a separate letter.
Click here for the entire article from CitizenLink.


Budget Proposal Would End South Carolina Abortion Coverage



House budget writers went after teacher pay and incentives Monday as they scrambled for cash to balance a $5.3 billion budget. Meanwhile, the House Ways and Means Committee also adopted a budget provision that would end state health insurance payments for abortions after rape or incest or to protect the health of a woman. "I don't think we ought to be funding any abortions with the state health plan," said state Rep. Rex Rice, R-Easley.
Click here for the entire article from GoUpstate.com.


Planned Parenthood and children's sexual rights



The International Planned Parenthood Federation is the umbrella organization for 180 Planned Parenthood organizations around the world.  It recently released a report called "Stand and Deliver: Sex, health and young people in the 21st century."  The term "young people" refers to anyone over the age of 10.

The IPPF report includes a list of "Young People's Human Rights."
Click here for the entire article from OneNewsNow.


IVF babies carry added health risks, doctors warned



Children who are conceived by in vitro fertilization (IVF) face elevated risks of health problems that include birth defects, diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure, medical studies show. As the first generation of IVF babies reaches adulthood, there are also indications that they face a higher rate of infertility-- perhaps a genetic trait inherited from their parents. A doctor in the vanguard of IVF treatment says that parents are willing to accept the risk that their children might be infertile, reasoning that the children, too, can receive IVF treatment.
Click here for the entire article from Catholic World News.


Judge Strikes Down Oklahoma's 'Unconstitutional' Ban on Sex-Selective Abortion



A state judge has deemed Oklahoma's law banning sex-selective abortion unconstitutional, ruling that the law violated the state's single-subject rule for legislation.

Oklahoma County District Judge Daniel Owens claimed that his decision "has nothing to do with pro-choice or pro-life."

Instead, Owens argued the problem lay with the legislature including additional mandates in the law – such as one requiring abortionists to fill out comprehensive reports for an electronic database. The information was intended to give state health officials more information about why women choose abortion and their circumstances.
Click here for the entire article from LifeSiteNews.com.


Little Sympathy for Pro-Life Activist As Trial Starts for His Alleged Killer



In life, anti-abortion activist James Pouillon spent years trying to influence people in his small Michigan city with large signs of dead fetuses. In death, that combative style could make it difficult to find a jury for the trial of the man charged with killing him.
 
Jury selection was scheduled to start Tuesday in the first-degree murder trial of trucker Harlan Drake, who is accused of gunning down Pouillon outside Owosso High School on Sept. 11, then later shooting business owner Mike Fuoss.
 
But prosecutors have warned a judge that it will be "almost impossible" to seat jurors who haven't seen Pouillon's demonstrations or formed an opinion about him.
Click here for the entire article from CNSNews.com.

Senate Health Bill would Become Even More Expansively Pro-abortion if Modified by the New Obama Proposals

Senate Health Bill would Become Even More Expansively Pro-abortion if Modified by the New Obama Proposals


 
Any member of Congress who votes for the final legislation proposed by President Obama will be voting for direct federal funding of elective abortion through Community Health Centers, and also an array of other pro-abortion federal subsidies and mandates.
 
The health bill passed by the Senate in December (H.R. 3590) had become, by the conclusion of the Senate amendment process, the most expansively pro-abortion bill ever brought to the floor of either house of Congress since Roe v. Wade.  The Senate bill, as passed, contained seven distinct problems pertaining to abortion policies.  (The bill passed earlier by the House, H.R. 3962, contained none of these pro-abortion components, thanks to adoption of the Stupak-Pitts Amendment on the House floor on November 7, 2009, by a vote of 240-194.)  President Obama today proposed "a targeted set of changes to" the Senate-passed bill.  None of President Obama's proposed changes diminish any of the sweeping pro-abortion problems in the Senate bill, and he actually proposes to increase the funds that would be available to directly subsidize abortion procedures (through Community Health Centers) and to subsidize private health insurance that covers abortion (through the premium-subsidy tax credits program). 
 
If all of the President's changes were made, the resulting legislation would allow direct federal funding of abortion on demand through Community Health Centers, would institute federal subsidies for private health plans that cover abortion on demand (including some federally administered plans), and would authorize federal mandates that would require even non-subsidized private plans to cover elective abortion. 
 
Here is one problem, offered for illustration:  The Senate bill, due to a last-minute amendment, provides $7 billion for the nation's 1,250 Community Health Centers, without any restriction whatever on the use of these federal funds to pay directly for abortion on demand.  (These funds are entirely untouched by the "Hyde Amendment" that currently covers Medicaid.)  Obama today proposed to increase that figure to $11 billion, but without adding a prohibition on the use of the funds for abortion.  (The House-passed bill would provide $12 billion, but in the House bill the funds would be covered by the Stupak-Pitts Amendment.)  Two pro-abortion groups, the Reproductive Health Access Project and the Abortion Access Project, are already actively campaigning for Community Health Centers to perform elective abortions.  In short, the Senate bill would allow direct federal funding of abortion on demand through Community Health Centers.  A memorandum documenting this issue in further detail is posted here:  http://www.nrlc.org/AHC/NRLCmemoCommHealth.pdf
 
The abortion-related differences between the House-passed and Senate-passed bills are far, far greater than one would gather from reading superficial summaries such as those published repeatedly in the mainstream news media.  These thumbnail sketches have tended to focus exclusively and superficially on certain provisions associated with Senator Ben Nelson.  NRLC believes that the Nelson provisions are unacceptable, but the pro-abortion problems in the Senate bill go far beyond the flawed Nelson provisions.  A letter from NRLC to U.S. House members, explaining the multiple pro-abortion components of the Senate-passed bill, is posted here:  http://www.nrlc.org/AHC/HouseLetteronAbortionProvisions.html
 
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)  produced a 13-page memorandum that throws the many unacceptable provisions of the Senate bill into stark relief, which is posted here:  http://www.usccb.org/healthcare/life_conscience.pdf
 
A substantial number of pro-life Democrats in the House, including some lawmakers whose names have not been mentioned on the various published lists, have told their constituents that they are not going to vote for the Senate-passed bill because of the abortion problems.  For pro-life Democrats, President Obama's proposal only makes matters worse. The only thing that would fix the Senate bill on abortion is permanent, bill-wide language that is functionally identical to the Stupak-Pitts Amendment adopted in the House on November 7, 2009.
 
The Obama proposal also would force rationing of lifesaving medical treatment, a matter that will be the subject of separate comment by the National Right to Life Committee.
 
Contact: Douglas Johnson
Source: NRLC
Publish Date: February 22, 2010
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Phone: 618-466-4122

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E-mail: mail@ifrl.org

 

Taxes prop up 'dying' abortion industry

Taxes prop up 'dying' abortion industry

2 decades sees 2 of 3 'clinics' shutter doors



A new report asserts the U.S. abortion industry is in significant decline, held together largely through the $300 million-plus that federal taxpayers deliver annually to its major player, Planned Parenthood.

"It is very clear that the only abortion group expanding its business is Planned Parenthood, and the only reason it can do so is with the help of our tax dollars," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman.

His organization last year launched Project Daniel 5:15, which monitors and reports on the status of abortion businesses across the country.

Operation Rescue's goal in listing the names and addresses of abortion businesses is to encourage pro-life activists to maintain a prayer and sidewalk counseling presence at the sites and act as "watchdogs over the abortion cartel."

Just last week, WND reported 167 of the locations are sites for the prayer- and fasting-based 40 Days for Life campaign of pro-life activism.

Newman told WND that in the last two decades, two-thirds of the abortion businesses in the nation have imploded.

"The only place we see any growth is with government subsidies," he said.

While Title X funding isn't supposed to go directly for abortions, it does pay the mortgage, light bills, staff salaries and the like, he said.

Stop Planned Parenthood, an effort of the American Life League, promotes a petition demanding that elected officials halt the flow of taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood, an organization launched by eugenics advocate Margaret Sanger.

The STOPP organization notes that recent annual federal tax subsidies to Planned Parenthood have been in the $320 million to $330 million range. From 1987 through 2003, the total was $2.7 billion.

The update to Operation Rescue's listing of abortion businesses confirms that five months ago there were 713 abortion business locations in the U.S., while that total now is 710.

The figures reflected the closure of five locations – or one a month – and the opening of new tax-subsidized Planned Parenthood megaclinics in Houston and Portland, Ore.

The assessment predicted smaller clinics in those areas would close as a result. The other five that closed, however, were not in those areas "and reflect a truer picture of the failing abortion industry," the report said. "The closures took place in Florida, Michigan, New York and Ohio."

"This news emphasizes the need to defund Planned Parenthood nationwide. Without being artificially supported with our tax dollars, Planned Parenthood would be closing clinics, not building new ones," said Newman.

Pro-life activists warn, however, of the potential of a massive new flow of federal tax dollars to abortion businesses through President Obama's proposed nationalization of health care.

Activists have been working to alert members of Congress to that danger and so far have built significant opposition to Obama's plans.

But even without the opposition, the $330 million annual federal taxpayer payments to Planned Parenthood make the difference between staying open and closing down for many of the locations operated under the organization's $1 billion annual budget, critics say.

Further, state officials in Alabama have acted against the license of a Planned Parenthood operation in Birmingham for allegedly refusing to follow a state law to obtain parental permission for abortions on young children. And in Kansas, there are 107 criminal charges pending against a Planned Parenthood business for allegedly illegal abortions.

"It is despicable that at a time economic instability when 71 percent of the American people oppose tax-funding of abortion, that millions and millions in public funds are going to bolster the bottom line of abortionists, many of which are violating the law," said Newman.

"Once Planned Parenthood is stripped of its tax funding, we will see their abortion clinics close down like a row of falling dominoes. That is a short-term goal for the pro-life movement that is completely doable and will save countless lives," said Newman.

His organization has documented that in 1991 there were nearly 2,200 abortion clinics, compared to 710 today.

Contact: Bob Unruh
Source: WorldNetDaily
Publish Date: February 21, 2010
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Illinois - 'an island of abortion' for neighbors

Illinois - 'an island of abortion' for neighbors

Officials in Rockford, Illinois, have delayed action on a proposed "bubble zone" ordinance that would limit pro-life counseling at a local abortion clinic.
 


The city council was considering an ordinance that would keep pro-life demonstrators 100 feet away from the clinic and eight feet away from people entering the facility. Tom Brechja, president and chief counsel of the Thomas More Society, reports the city council delayed a vote on the ordinance for two months -- and that currently there are considerable numbers of young people going into the clinic because the state has no parental notification law.

"Of course, Illinois is an island of abortion in the Midwest," Brechja comments. "We draw folks from out of state. We see a parade of child predators bringing their young victims there to erase the evidence of their crimes in other states where parents have to be notified [of an abortion]."

According to the attorney, the owner of the Northern Illinois Women's Center, Rockford's abortion clinic, has hung rubber chickens by a noose in his window -- and among efforts to mock Christians displays a picture of Jesus with an obscene reference next to it.

"He's worn a devil's suit on occasion outside," Brechja illustrates. "He had a sewage truck brought up to threaten pro-life demonstrators, believe it or not. [He's] a horrible fellow."

The Thomas More Society president counts the vote delay as a limited victory. A final victory will be declared only if the ordinance is rejected, and Brechja says the Thomas More Society stands ready to provide legal protection for pro-lifers if it does pass.

Contact: Charlie Butts
Source: OneNewsNow
Publish Date: February 19, 2010
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University of Wisconsin Documents Reveal Taxpayer Funding of Abortion: Pro-Life Group

University of Wisconsin Documents Reveal Taxpayer Funding of Abortion: Pro-Life Group



An open records request has revealed that the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics (UWHC) has been funding medical students’ rotations at Planned Parenthood for training in abortion procedures, say Pro-Life Wicsonsin and Alliance Defence Fund. The groups contend that the setup may be a violation of state law prohibiting taxpayer funding of elective abortions.
 
“The mountain of evidence continues to build showing UW’s deceit,” said Peggy Hamill, state director of Pro-Life Wisconsin (PLW). “I challenge UW and UWHC officials to prove they have not violated state law.”

Statute 20.927 of Wisconsin law states, “No funds of this state or of any county, city, village, town or long term care district or of any subdivision or agency of this state or of any county, city, village or town and no federal funds passing through the state treasury shall be authorized for or paid to a physician or surgeon or a hospital, clinic or other medical facility for the performance of an abortion.”

Statute 20.9275 additionally prohibits spending state funds on programs that provide, encourage, or refer for abortions.
 
The medical students in the UW School of Medicine Ob/Gyn Department have two four-week rotations at Planned Parenthood, where they view and participate in abortions. (To view the signed contract between UW and Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, click here.) 

In a November 14, 2008 email, Carl Getto, M.D., stated, “UWHC has been paying for the [Planned Parenthood] rotation to date. We will continue to do so. Please let Planned Parenthood know.” Getto is the senior vice president of medical affairs at UWHC.

“As a UW graduate, I am deeply ashamed my alma mater is funding the destruction of innocent human life and training future baby killers,” said Virginia Zignego, communications director for Pro-Life Wisconsin. “UW’s blood runs red, indeed.”
 
Pro-Life Wisconsin and the Alliance Defense Fund have filed an additional open records request for any recent records regarding payments made between UW and Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin.

Last month, Pro-Life Wisconsin unearthed UW documents they said raised serious questions that a demand for in-house fetal body parts for research fueled the recent decision to perform late-term abortions at the Madison Surgery Center.  MSC is is jointly owned among UW Hospital and Clinics (UWHC), Meriter Hospital and the UW Medical Foundation.

Source: LifeSiteNews.com
Publish Date: February 22, 2010
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New Findings Cast Increasing Doubt on Terri Schiavo's Death

New Findings Cast Increasing Doubt on Terri Schiavo’s Death



During my family's battle to save my sister Terri Schiavo from death by dehydration, a tremendous amount of debate raged over whether or not she was in what the medical profession refers to as a persistent vegetative state (PVS).
 
Indeed, the PVS diagnosis was used as one of the deciding factors in whether my sister should live or die. It was the core catalyst in the court ordering the removal of Terri’s food and water.
 
When Terri’s husband first petitioned the circuit courts to remove her sustenance, my family was naive about PVS and what the diagnosis actually meant, and could not believe a court would ever order her food and water withdrawn. As the battle over my sister’s life progressed, however, we learned – the hard way.
 
The more anecdotal testimony we heard about the diagnosis of PVS, the more my family was convinced that Terri simply didn’t fit the profile and was never PVS. We also suspected such a diagnosis (typically made at the bedside) was seriously flawed.
 
This became very obvious by the way Terri interacted with my mother, not to mention the videos which clearly showed that Terri was able to track objects and follow simple commands.
 
I was oftentimes rather astonished at the number of different and opposing conclusions I heard from neurologists, physicians, speech therapists and so many other medical professionals who tried to determine whether or not Terri was in a PVS.
 
This is why a recent study published by the New England Journal of Medicine, regarding findings of awareness in patients previously diagnosed in a PVS, may be one of the most important to date.

The Journal’s report, released on Feb. 3, revealed that some patients who were believed to be in a PVS were actually able to understand and communicate. Through the use of functional magnetic resonance scanning (fMRI), researchers in the United Kingdom estimated that a percentage of those patients suffering from profound brain injuries possessed the capacity to comprehend and communicate in limited ways.
 
Though the results of this study may bring new hope to patients with severe brain injuries, the latest findings also suggest that the PVS diagnosis may be more flawed than previously believed. Already, documented research has brought into question the veracity of the PVS diagnosis. The New England Journal of Medicine’s February report may be something of a call to action.
 
Indeed, it is bittersweet for my family when we read such findings that question the PVS diagnosis. It exonerated the courageous individuals who placed their careers and reputations on the line to voice opposition to my sister’s court-ordered dehydration.
 
The doctors and neurologists who examined Terri and evidence presented in the legal battle have often been dismissed as “quacks” for suggesting Terri may have been aware, cognizant and functional. For them, such new findings must weigh particularly heavy on their hearts.
 
Despite the New England Journal of Medicine’s report, most in the mainstream media obstinately refused to admit that Terri’s death was a mistake.
 
Perhaps that is because they have a stake in the story: Throughout the legal battle, most of the media repeatedly ignored or glossed over the dozens of affidavits from some of the most prominent neurologists and medical professionals in the nation, stating Terri may have been misdiagnosed.
 
Many pleaded for the judge, George Geer, to permit similar new brain scanning technology to better determine Terri’s true neurological condition. They, along with my family, were inexplicably refused.
 
As we saw in Terri’s life and death, what these laws have created is a hostile and often fatal set of circumstances for non-dying patients who live with profound brain injuries and cognitive disabilities – based on tragically suspect diagnoses.
 
It is utterly vital for disability rights and pro-life advocates to lead the charge that demands our legislators enact appropriate laws to protect the life and liberty interests of vulnerable persons.
 
It is also because of the results of this latest study and the traditionally high failure rate in the PVS diagnosis that we need to stop using it as a guideline to kill those in these so-called PVS conditions.
 
There are many in the legal and medical profession who choose not to see what we saw in Terri’s behaviors and what these imaging studies reveal about the human brain. It is incumbent upon all of us to ensure that the lives of vulnerable people are not needlessly ended by flawed diagnostic practices, careless legislation or the idea that a person with a disability must prove themselves worthy of life’s most ordinary needs: food and water.

Contact: Bobby Schindler
Source: LifeSiteNews.com
Publish Date: February 19, 2010
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Shipments of Medical Aid to Haiti Delayed by Massive Condom Overload

Shipments of Medical Aid to Haiti Delayed by Massive Condom Overload



The flow of medical supplies waiting to be distributed to tens of thousands of earthquake victims in Haiti was delayed for weeks by a massive supply of condoms dominating the space of the main storage facility there, an eyewitness with insider information has told LifeSiteNews.com (LSN).

The central pharmaceutical supply center, known as PROMESS (Program on Essential Medicine and Supplies), is home to the operations of the World Health Organization (WHO)/Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in the area. "Without PROMESS we would have had a second catastrophe," Dr. Alex Larsen, Haitian Minister of Health, said at the PROMESS warehouse recently.

However, the glut of condoms at that same warehouse delayed the massive influx of aid pouring in from around the world, according to an inside source, and may have cost lives. The source reported that shipping containers of medical supplies were unable to be unloaded, sorted and distributed since an enormous supply of condoms clogged the facility till early February, when the condoms could be removed.  The condoms were estimated to take up about 70% of the space in the 17,000 sq. ft. warehouse.

The supplies pouring into the region are enormous.  Reliefweb reports that “from 16-21 January alone, 483,091 kg of pharmaceutical supplies and 4,990 kg of non-pharmaceutical health supplies, like rubber gloves and masks, arrived at Port-au-Prince airport.”

Nicholas Reader of the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said he was "not aware" of the problem, and directed LSN to the World Health Organization for more information.  Paul Garwood, the communications officer for emergencies and humanitarian affairs at the World Health Organization, also said he was unaware of the issue.  Garwood forwarded the request to colleagues in Haiti, who have not responded as of press time.

While WHO officials are not speaking specifically about the condom clog, they have in more general terms admitted logistical hardships in dealing with the influx of supplies.

"Trying to both respond to the massive health needs in Haiti following the quake and organize the large volume of supplies entering the country has been a great challenge," according to WHO/PAHO representative in Haiti, Dr Henriette Chamouillet.

The scenario of medical supply buildings in the developing world taken up mostly by condoms and severely lacking in health care supplies is not new. 

When Canadian General Romeo Dallaire returned from Rwanda in the aftermath of the Rwandan Massacre he noted in a 1996 speech that military personnel referred to UN and other foreign aid as "covering the country with rubber."

Dallaire explained that tons of condoms and other contraceptives were being shipped to and distributed around the region in quantities far beyond what the population could use and in place of much more needed food, medicine and other critically needed aid. Medicine stores, he said, were filled with contraceptives and extremely short of any supplies to treat wounded Rwandans.

With business-savy ingenuity some in the developing world have turned the condom dumping by the West to their advantage.  The BBC reported in 2004 that in one Indian city alone 600,000 condoms a day were used in the sari-weaving industry.  Sari weavers use the lubrication in the condoms to soften the loom's shuttle making weaving faster, without risking stains to the silk.

The United Nations strategy of massive promotion of condoms as the primary solution to the AIDS crisis is reflected even in recent reports, with no sign of letting up.

For cultures which value life, and family, the condom push into their cultures is highly offensive.  Carol Ugochukwu, President of United Families of Africa in Enugu, Nigeria, commented in a 2000 interview noting that Western delegations at the United Nations were trying to "exterminate the whole race" with their promotion of condoms.

Ugochukwu expressed exasperation that Canada, the US and Europe wasted most of the time at UN conferences trying to gain approval for homosexuality while the needs of African women such as food, shelter, and clean drinking water were largely ignored.  "[B]ig organizations," she said, "spend so much money, but when they find out you are dealing with all that [dying children and mothers] they are not interested. You have to say you are dealing with reproductive rights before you are given support."

Ugochukwu concluded, "[Westerners] now come in with condoms - condoms are everywhere! They spend so much money on condoms and they make our children promiscuous. They say it will stop AIDS - but it is getting worse! It makes no sense to me."

Contact: John-Henry Westen and Kathleen Gilbert
Source: LifeSiteNews.com
Publish Date: February 21, 2010
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NEWS SHORTS FOR MONDAY

NEWS SHORTS FOR MONDAY

U-Nebraska Freshman Sponsors Pro-Life Billboard


Most college students consider themselves lucky when they save enough money each month to buy ramen noodles, but Taylor Wahl is trying to raise $650 per month to change minds. "I noticed that Lincoln does not have anti-abortion messages, but on my way to Fairbury I noticed seven in 45 minutes," said Wahl, a freshman education major at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Wahl wanted to show Lincoln women "if you’re pregnant, it's a baby." And the best way to show that, she decided, was a billboard.
Click here for the entire article from the Daily Nebraskan.


50 Lawsuits in Indiana Exposing Dangers of Birth Control



Over 50 women in Indiana are filing lawsuits against Bayer Pharmaceuticals charging that use of the company's Yaz and Yasmin hormonal birth control pills caused conditions ranging from gallbladder-related injuries to strokes. There are now over 25,000 similar reported cases across the United States. "We're seeing an increasing awareness of the very real health risks associated with hormonal birth control," said Marie Hahnenberg, project director of American Life League’s The Pill Kills project. "For years, criticism of birth control has been a sacrosanct topic, but the victims of hormonal birth control are too numerous to ignore any longer."
Click here for the entire article from the American Life League.


Bill Would Make `Penalty Enhancements' for Killing Pregnant Mom's Baby



A legislative committee has recommended approval of a bill that would enhance the penalty for anyone who intentionally kills a pregnant woman. The House Judiciary Committee on Thursday voted 6-3 in favor of House Bill 132, sponsored by Rep. Kathy Davison, R-Kemmerer. The bill calls for a penalty enhancement of up to 20 additional years in prison for second-degree murder involving a pregnant woman. Manslaughter and drug-induced homicide cases would see lesser enhancements. Gov. Dave Freudenthal in 2007 vetoed a bill that would have allowed a separate homicide count to be filed against anyone who killed a pregnant woman's fetus. His office says he supports Davison's current bill.
Click here for the entire article from WorldNow.


Feds `Tweak' Stem Cell Policy



The feds broadened the definition of a human embryonic stem cell on Friday, helping qualify several corporate and academic experiments for federal funding. Dr. Lana Skirboll, director of the Office of Science Policy of the National Institutes of Health, called the change technical and said it would be posted in the federal register for comment. Human embryonic stem cells are the body's master cells, taken from very early stage embryos when they are just a ball of cells. The current definition describes them as cells taken from the inner layer of a blastocyst -- a days-old hollow ball of cells. Skirboll said the new definition will include earlier stage embryos.
Click here for the entire article from Reuters.


Florida Lawmaker Wants Abortions Outlawed In His State



A legislator who has travelled the world as a Baptist minister wants Florida to ban abortion -- Rep. Charles Van Zant, R-Keystone Heights, cites the state and federal Constitutions, as well as the Declaration of Independence, in asserting that all people are "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, and that the first among these rights is the right to life." Nearly one-third of his "Florida for Life Act" is devoted to legislative "findings," including statements that life begins at conception and that the high court's 1973 and 1992 rulings were wrong. The bill also states that about 50 million abortions have occurred since the Roe v. Wade ruling 37 years ago. It contends that "the standard of decency of the people of this state has evolved" to a point that the people of Florida want the ruling reversed.
Click here for the entire article from First Coast News.


Judge Refuses To Pull Abortion Doctor's License



An administrative law judge in San Diego has refused to pull a physician's medical license amid accusations that the doctor violated a court order that forbids him from performing surgeries after an abortion patient's death. On Thursday, the Medical Board of California sought an immediate suspension of Dr. Andrew Rutland's physician's license, saying they caught him in an undercover sting "being ready, willing and capable of prescribing the necessary medications for an abortion, and determining whether the patient was a candidate for a medical abortion," the Los Angeles Times reported. The alleged violation took place at A Women's Choice Family Planning Clinic in Chula Vista.
Click here for the entire article from 10 News.

 

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The Impact of "KIDS"

The Impact of "KIDS"   I can't read something like "Testing Curbs Some Genetic Diseases," which ran in the Associated Press this morning, without thinking back to last January 22. The manner in which some genetic diseases has been "curbed" is through a vast expansion of genetic testing and aborting almost every child identified to have genetic mutations--or, in the case of Down syndrome, an extra chromosome. For the second year in a row, the NRLC offices were graced by the presence of a large contingent from "KIDS" (Keep Infants with Down Syndrome). And for the second year in a row Rep. Cathy McMorris Rogers (R-Wa.), who has a son with Down syndrome, met with and spoke to the group. I asked KIDS co-founder Eileen Haupt, who is the alternate director to the NRLC board from Vermont, to summarize the time together. Eileen wrote, "Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington State's 5th congressional district was the special guest at the KIDS event, bringing her 3-year-old son Cole, who has Down syndrome. Rodgers is the founder and co-chair of the Congressional Down Syndrome Caucus. The caucus educates members of Congress about Down syndrome and promotes policies that would enhance the quality of life for individuals with Down syndrome." "Rogers spoke about legislation in Congress affecting individuals with Down syndrome and others with special needs. She mentioned the Prenatally and Postnatally Diagnosed Conditions Awareness Act, which was signed into law in the Fall of 2008. This legislation requires families who have received a diagnosis of Down syndrome or other conditions be given up-to-date information, but now requires funding. Another piece of legislation that has been introduced is the ABLE (Achieving a Better Life Experience) Act of 2009, which establishes tax-exempt accounts for the care of family members with disabilities." My extended family is very familiar with children born with devastating genetic anomalies. I also have friends whose children have Down syndrome. So I know of what I speak and know how couples might be tempted to abort children found to have something like cystic fibrosis or thought to have Down syndrome. Those who fought their through these doubts and difficulties did so in no small reason because of their faith and because they were blessed with a support system of relatives, friends, and something like KIDS. God bless them all. Finally, what does it say to the children who evaded the screening? This is no small issue, both for it does to the children and how it coarsens us as a people. The Associated Press story I alluded to at the beginning includes a quote from Dr. Barron Lerner, a Columbia University medical historian, who wrote an article that appeared in the October 22, 2009, edition of the New England Journal of Medicine. "If a society is so willing to screen aggressively to find these genes and then to potentially have to abort the fetuses," he observed, "what does that say about the value of the lives of those people living with the diseases?" Contact: Dave Andrusko Source: NRLC Publish Date: February 17, 2010 Link to this article.   Send this article to a friend.