First came this statement from American Life League on May 21:
The following statement was issued today by Judie Brown, president of ALL:
"American Life League has temporarily suspended the operations of our Rock For Life project. This is being done to allow us the flexibility to structure the organization in a manner that best fits the needs of the pro-life youth movement in the coming decades....
"As we go through our restructuring efforts, RFL chapters across the country will be served by ALL's associate program. RFL merchandise will continue to be available at our online store and by calling our resource department (866-LET-LIVE).
"ALL remains dedicated to serving the pro-life educational needs of the youth of this nation. We are grateful to all those fine individuals who have staffed and supported our RFL project in the past and expect to be able to issue further announcements on our plans for RFL later this year."
Then came this statement this afternoon via Facebook, meaning the following fellows are controlling that aspect aspect of RFL, at least for now (and according to the new website also controlling Twitter, YouTube, MySpace, and podcasts)...
Media Contact: Erik Whittington / 540-840-9764 Business Contact: Jeff White / 909-744-4479
Los Angeles, CA. "We are excited about this next phase in our ministry," said Erik Whittington, executive director of Rock For Life. "There have been many changes throughout the years with RFL but one thing stays constant - We will fight for the human rights of preborn individuals through music, education and action. Our work will not, and has not ever been suspended. We have many things planned and look forward to announcing them throughout the summer."
RFL and American Life League separated ways on Thursday, May 20th, 2010, ending an 11-1/2 year relationship that has seen the pro-life youth movement grow tremendously during that time. "We are thankful for the support American Life League has shown us throughout the years," said Whittington. "We wish them and all their staff the best as they work to defeat the culture of death in our country."
RFL began as a one-time concert event in the Fall of 1993 in Southern CA to raise funds for a pregnancy help center and raise awareness regarding the travesty of abortion. This event, hosted by Bryan Kemper - the Founder of RFL and the current President of Stand True Ministries - ended up being a huge success. This event, under the guidance of Jeff White, led to the official launch of RFL as a legal entity. Following the success of the first concert, including a story on MTV and a baby saved, RFL launched several more concerts and joined the Lollapalooza tour through out the summer of 1994.
In January of 1995 Erik Whittington joined forces with Bryan Kemper at the March for Life in Washington, DC. Erik had been doing pro-life booths at concerts in Portland, OR, while Bryan was starting RFL in Southern CA; realizing that their work was so similar they decided to combine their life-saving efforts.
"I too am excited about this new phase of ministry for RFL," said Bryan Kemper. "Music is a powerful tool that RFL has used successfully to raise awareness, raise funds and save babies from abortion. I am looking forward to a renewed friendship and partnership between RRL and STM."
To celebrate this exciting change, RFL will be hosting a concert during the Survivors Pro-Life Boot Camp June 28th in Los Angeles, CA. Stay tuned at TheRockForLife.com as this exciting news is developing quickly.
So the good news is Rock for Life, Stand True Ministries, and The Survivors have mended any broken fences, while the bad news is the RFL team and ALL have obviously parted company and are currently at odds over who owns the brand.
We pray that this ends amicably. The pro-life movement doesn't need another waste of money and energy over turf, such as we have seen with the struggle over the Operation Rescue brand.
According to Susan Armacost, Wisconsin Right to Life Legislative Director, the organization has been working with legislators for some time on this issue. "Polling has consistently shown that citizens do not want to subsidize abortion coverage or pay for abortions," said Armacost. "Obamacare requires federal agencies to subsidize and administer health plans that will pay for elective abortions. The law also opens the door to direct federal funding of abortion in Community Health Centers, hundreds of which are operated by Planned Parenthood - the nation's largest abortion provider," Armacost said.
"While state legislation cannot correct all of the abhorrent federal abortion provisions, we do have the ability to make sure that the state-based insurance exchanges are not spending tax dollars to subsidize abortion."
The Executive Order signed by President Obama, widely and inaccurately reported as prohibiting taxpayer abortion funding under the law, cannot overrule the abortion impact of the law.
Opt-out legislation cannot be introduced until January of 2011. As a first step in the campaign to enact opt-out legislation, Wisconsin Right to Life is promoting a petition to our new Governor, who will take office then, letting him know that hundreds of thousands of Wisconsin citizens want our state to opt-out of subsidizing abortions through health insurance. Click here for the petition.
In Part I, note how the story opens with an interesting turn on words, that Hodari "violated [Bruce's] right to choice" - by forcibly aborting her. Also note, as Citizen for a Pro-Life Society's Monica Miller wrote in an email, "The child is never called a "fetus"! Click here for the video.
NBC's written account of that story includes Bruce's charges against Hodari...
Count I - Lack of informed consent/Medical Malpractice Count II - Battery Count III - Misrepresentation/Fraud Count IV - Innocent Misrepresentation Count V - Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress Count VI - Ethnic/Gender Intimidation Count VII - Violating the Elliot Larson Civil Rights Act
I wouldn't put it past Hodari to have gone to Italy to escape justice, although sometimes he makes the stupidest comments I wonder about his cognitive abilities.
For example, in this next news clip Hodari tries to claim his now infamous "license to lie" quip made during his 2007 Wayne State University speech was only about life or death situations: "Never tell a patient, especially a woman, you're going to die. And in that respect, yes, we lie," he told the reporter.
So many things wrong with that, where to start?
First, the sexism: "especially a woman"? Excuse me? And that coming from an ob/gyn? 2nd, just how much experience does Hodari have treating dying patients? 3rd, as a matter of fact, medical professionals are typically not supposed to lie to dying patients about their status, particularly if they are asking.
4th, the original context of Hodari's "license to lie" statement indicates it had nothing to do with dying patients: "My wife says we doctors have a license to lie [audience laughs], and it's true, it's absolutely true. Sometimes you need to lie to a patient about things they want to do or no, much less now than in the past." Ironically, Hodari lied to the reporter about a comment he made about lying. Click here for the video.
I want to close this post with excerpts from an email I received 2 days ago:
I had an abortion in -- of --. It was the worst thing that I have ever done. I went to Dr. Hodari's clinic near --. I did not understand the amount of pain that I would experience with this procedure, not only physical pain, but emotional as well.
When the procedure was about to begin the speculum was inserted and vacuum was turned on, I said I want to stop, I started yelling and crying. The "vacuum" was inserted, I was told to stop yelling and I needed to be quiet because I was scaring the other patients. I was told there is no stopping, it has to be finished, it's dangerous to stop. Two other women (staff) came in and held me down to finish.
For months after the procedure I cried almost every night, telling my unborn baby I was sorry. I felt like this clinic wanted my money and pushed the clients through. They don't have any true consultation....
It wasn't until the procedure was beginning that I realized the action/mistake that was about to take place. This is when I changed my mind. I am not against abortions, but it really struck my heart seeing this poor women on the television going through the same experience that I had, I know her pain and I feel for her....
It was the worst, most traumatic experience I have ever been through....
The Oklahoma Legislature has overridden the governor's veto of an abortion bill that would require women and doctors to complete questionnaires before the procedure could be done.
It is the third time this session the Republican-controlled House and Senate have overridden Democratic Gov. Brad Henry's veto of an abortion-related measure.
In the Senate, a handful of pro-life Democrats joined with Republicans on Tuesday to reach the votes needed for the override. The House easily voted for the override on Monday.
Another bill that the legislature passed over the governor's veto would require women to undergo an ultrasound and listen to a detailed description of the fetus before receiving an abortion. It is on hold because of a legal challenge.
On June 1, parents around the world will hug their children and spend time bonding with their families. A tradition dating back to the 1920s, the International Children's Day is a celebration of life and hope, a time to honor future generations. But for Chinese women, children and family come with a heavy cost.
China's response to a growing population was to enact a rash policy with far-reaching reproductive restrictions. The unintended effects and violent implementation of the One Child per Couple policy have permeated Chinese society. Under the One Child policy, more than 400 million babies have been "prevented" in China in the last 30 years--most of them girls. 400 million tiny futures brutally ended. 400 million voices never had the chance to laugh with joy. The real crime -- did mothers have another choice?
Join us on June 1 for a lunch panel discussion focused on the rights of children and women in China. Hear from Chinese rights experts about challenges to gender equality, the psychological trauma fostered in the absence of choice, grassroots initiatives for women and abandoned girls, and social alternatives facilitating reproductive rights. The panelists represent several organizations and backgrounds, including leadership at Tiananmen Square student demonstration for freedom in 1989. Now speaking out on behalf of justice for China's women, these panelists unite to promote the beauty of human dignity, choice and healing, and to suggest initiatives for empowering girls young and old. Won't you choose to learn more?
The attempt to save the life of an elderly woman in Brevard County, Florida, has failed.
Carrie Johnson, 83, suffered several strokes and was hospitalized, and Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel reports that even though Johnson's son and granddaughter objected, the hospital stopped giving her food and water.
"Liberty Counsel was able to get involved on this situation [by] working through the night [and] filing an injunction, and the judge on Saturday afternoon issued an injunction to reinsert the food and water," Staver reports.
The strokes had not harmed the patient to the point of certain death, but the Liberty Counsel attorney explains that unfortunately, the damage from lack of nutrition had already been done and Johnson died Saturday night.
"This elderly lady, who could do everything except for have food and water, was deprived of food and water. [She went] through a horrible death by dehydration, which causes your organs to dry up [and] your eyes to become like they have sand inside of them. This is a horrible way to die. People should not be treated like this," Staver contends.
He adds that unfortunately, this type of situation happens all over the country as people are being pushed to the side because "someone wants to get rid of them, and the hospital doesn't want to care for them." He says that represents callous disrespect for life -- which in this case, he believes, cost Johnson her life.
A lawsuit alleging that Planned Parenthood violated Aurora zoning and building code law can continue, a DuPage County judge ruled Friday. But it will do so without more than half the defendants originally named, including Mayor Tom Weisner and the city of Aurora. The suit was filed in February of 2008 by a group of local abortion protesters. It alleges that Planned Parenthood's clinic at 3051 E. New York St. was constructed in violation of several city zoning and building code laws. Click here for the entire article.
Law enforcement officers are confident a Wisonsin man who jumped a $750,000 bond more than two years ago for spiking his girlfriend's drink with an abortion-inducing drug will be brought to justice. Although Outagamie County's search for Manish Patel is not active, police say it's only a matter of time before he is captured. Patel, formerly of the Town of Kaukauna, was out of jail on a $750,000 bond in December 2007 when he disappeared. Police aren't sure if he is still in the U.S., in his native India or somewhere else. Click here for the entire article.
An Indiana family has filed suit against Carmel Clay Schools after they said a bus driver was caught on tape berating their daughter about her religious beliefs. Edward Zimmer said bus driver Betty Campbell harassed and caused emotional distress to his middle school daughter, Rachael, in November of 2008, 6News' Renee Jameson reported. He said the incident began during a ride home from school when his daughter told another student that she would never vote for President Barack Obama because of her anti-abortion and anti-homosexual beliefs. Zimmer said that led to an allegation that Rachael told other students that they would go to hell if they believed differently, something he said his daughter vehemently denies. Click here for the video. Click here for the entire article.
Mary Spaulding Balch of the National Right to Life Committee explains the purpose of the bill. "The more information the state has about a particular procedure and why a woman is seeking an abortion, the more the state is able to address some of the concerns that might arise," she says.
Balch expects Planned Parenthood to file a lawsuit to block the bill. "They don't want to report, they don't want us to know what's going on inside the abortion facility, they don't want us to monitor this procedure," she states. "It is the most underreported, unregulated procedure -- and yet it is one that is the most often performed in the United States." Click here for the entire article.
Some have argued that Solicitor General Kagan managed to avoid a "paper trail" on abortion during her career; therefore, she will avoid difficult questions on the issue during her confirmation hearing. However, as Kagan herself stated, "a [Supreme Court] nominee . . . usually can comment on judicial methodology, on prior caselaw, on hypothetical cases, on general issues like affirmative action or abortion."[1] Furthermore, a deeper look reveals that Kagan has a sufficient paper trail to raise questions that must be answered.
- Kagan financially supported The National Partnership for Women and Families:
- Kagan has contributed money to the National Partnership for Women and Families, a pro-abortion organization with strong ties to Emily's List and NARAL.[2]
- NPWF describes themselves as a "national pro-choice group."[3]
- Kagan has extensively criticized the Supreme Court decision in Rust v. Sullivan, where the Court upheld the constitutionality of the Dept. of Health and Human Services' regulations that prohibit Title X family planning funds from being "used in programs where abortion is a method of family planning." This prohibition also applies to promoting and counseling on abortion:
- Kagan: "the Court [in Rust], to its discredit, announced that because the selectivity occurred in the context of a governmental funding program, the presumption against viewpoint discrimination was suspended"[4] (emphasis added).
- In other words, Kagan does not think that the provision of federal funding for a family planning program provides sufficient justification for the government to permit speech favoring childbirth while it prohibits speech promoting abortion.- Kagan: "[A] refusal to fund any speech relating to abortion would have been constitutionally preferable to the funding scheme that the regulations established."[5]
- In other words, Kagan believes that it is unconstitutional for the federal government to fund speech that promotes childbirth while prohibiting funding for speech that promotes abortion.
- In contrast, the United States Supreme Court has held that the government may "make a value judgment favoring childbirth over abortion, and . . . implement that judgment by the allocation of public funds."[6]
- Elena Kagan's characterization of Aharon Barak as her "judicial hero" raises serious concerns about her judicial philosophy, and whether she would issue decisions like Roe. v. Wade:
- In 2006, Elena Kagan, called Aharon Barak "my judicial hero. He is the judge who has best advanced democracy, human rights, the rule of law, and justice."[7] Barak is known as an unabashed judicial activist. The Hon. Justice Richard Goldstone, a former justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa and chief prosecutor of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia stated, "[Aharaon Barak] is unashamedly what, in U.S. terms, would be regarded as an 'activist judge.'"[8]
- In his book, The Judge in a Democracy, Barak says that to interpret law, "The judge may give a statute a new meaning, a dynamic meaning, that seeks to bridge the gap between law and life's changing reality . . . . The [wording of the] statute remains as it was, but its meaning changes, because the court has given it a new meaning . . . ."[9]
- Kagan has been dismissive of the harmful effects of abortion on women:
- Kagan is dismissive of the harmful effects abortion has on women's physical, emotional, and psychological health, calling them "widely contested."[10]
- Kagan has demonstrated hostility towards pro-life voters/candidates:
- Kagan: "I found it hard to conceive of the victories of these anonymous but Moral Majority-backed [candidates] . . . these avengers of 'innocent life'. . ." (emphasis added) (stated in an article about Republican gains in the 1980 election).[11]
- Kagan has worked for and financially supported pro-abortion politicians and officials:
- Kagan campaigned for a pro-abortion candidate (Michael Dukakis), clerked for pro-abortion judges (Judge Abner Mikva and Justice Thurgood Marshall), and worked for pro-abortion presidents (President Bill Clinton and President Barack Obama).[12]
- As Senator Barbara Boxer stated: "I have no reason to think anything else except that [Kagan] would be a very strong supporter of privacy rights because everyone she worked for held that view."[13] ("Privacy rights" is the rubric under which the Supreme Court imposed abortion on America.)
- Kagan has given campaign contributions to pro-abortion candidates, including President Obama, John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, and Al Gore.[14]
- Kagan recommended that President Clinton support a phony compromise to the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban, in spite of her implied belief that the ban was unconstitutional:[15]
- If Kagan believes that the Daschle amendment (the phony compromise), whose broad exceptions would have allowed every abortion, was unconstitutional, she would certainly be hostile to more restrictive legislation like the partial-birth abortion ban upheld by the Court in Gonzales v. Carhart, which did not contain the standard "health exception."[16]
- Kagan: "We recommend that you endorse the Daschle amendment in order to sustain your credibility on HR 1122 and prevent Congress from overriding your veto."[17] Supporting language that one believes is unconstitutional for political gain is unconscionable regardless of the branch of government in which one serves. Elena Kagan's responsibility was to uphold the Constitution. Her advice to President Clinton raises serious questions as to how she will interpret the Constitution if confirmed as a Justice on the Supreme Court.
- Elena Kagan argued in a memo to Justice Marshall that federal funding for programs that serve those in need of pregnancy-related care should be "off limits" to religious organizations:[18]
- The Supreme Court rejected Kagan's position in Bowen v. Kendrick.[19] In Bowen, the Supreme Court reversed the district court's ruling that federal grants to religious organizations under the Adolescent Family Life Act (AFLA) violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Notably, Justice Marshall dissented.
- While Kagan now attributes the opinions in her memo to Justice Marshall,[20] the express language in the memo states: "I think the (district court) got the case right."[21] Kagan does not argue that, based on Marshall's past opinions, he should support the lower court's decisions – Kagan states that she agrees with the lower court.
- It is disconcerting that as a clerk for a Supreme Court justice, she thought it was her role to manipulate Constitutional law to "advance his goals and purposes," as she stated in her hearing. This raises the troubling question of what she will expect from her own clerks as a Supreme Court justice – will she expect them to tailor their recommendations to "advance her goals"?
- Given that she once stated that basic services for the needy are "so close to the central concerns of religion, all religious organizations should be off limits" from receiving federal funds, the question remains: what activity would she say is "too religious" for an organization to do using federal funds? Would she be hostile to public funding for pregnancy care centers?
Conclusion:
Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee should extensively question Kagan about her financial support of a pro-abortion organization, lifetime work for pro-abortion policy makers, troubling admiration for judicial activists, hostile views towards commonsense regulations of abortion, and her disapproval of federal funding for programs that help pregnant women simply because the recipients of federal funds are religious organizations. All of these raise serious concerns about Kagan's judicial philosophy and whether she will respect Court holdings that contradict her views.
References:
[1] Elena Kagan, Review: Confirmation messes, Old and New, 62 U. Chi. L. Rev. 919, 940 (Spring, 1995).
[4] Elena Kagan, Regulation of Hate Speech and Pornography after R.A.V., 60 U. Chi. L. Rev. 873 (1993).
[5] See Elena Kagan, The Changing Faces of First Amendment Neutrality: R.A.V. v. St. Paul, Rust v. Sullivan, and the Problem of Content-Based Underinclusion, 1992 Sup. Ct. Rev. 29 (1992) at 67-8.
[6] Rust v. Sullivan, 500 U.S. 173, 192-3 (1991) (citing Maher v. Roe, 432 U.S. 464, 474 (1977)); See also Harris v. McRae, 448 U.S. 297(1980).
[16] See Gonzales v. Carhart, 550 U.S. 124 (2007).
[17] See Memorandum, supra note 15.
[18]Memorandum from Elena Kagan to Justice Thurgood Marshall on Kendrick v. Bowen (1987) (Reproduced from the Collections of the Manuscript Division, Library of Congress) (hereinafter, "Marshall Memo").
[19] Bowen v. Kendrick , 487 U.S. 589 (1988).
[20] The Nomination of Thomas Perrelli to be Associate Attorney General; The Nomination of Elena Kagan to be Solicitor General of the United States, 111th Cong. 10 (2009).
Planned Parenthood has revealed a plan to expand its so-called "telemed" abortion process to clinics across the country over five years. The process allows a woman to obtain abortion pills via teleconferencing without an actual physical exam.
Cheryl Sullenger, senior policy advisor for Operation Rescue, said the plan would make abortion services more readily available, thus impacting the abortion rate.
"By expanding these abortions to all of these additional clinics," she said, "some in places where right now there aren't abortion services for hundreds of miles, we believe that's going to increase the number of abortions."
Derrick Jones, spokesperson for National Right to Life, said that while the "telemed" drug has been touted as an be-all, end-all drug for women to have an abortion, it's anything but safe.
"It's a multi-pill, multi-stage process," he said, "and it does have enormous physical risks."
On April 23 Ms. blog posted what it called the "10 worst abortion myths - and how to refute them."
That is a post in itself, and feel free to refute their refutations. I'm listing them on page 2. I notice they sometimes misstate our position. In other words, they invent their own myths and call them ours.
But my (Jill Stanek) challenge is to name one or more of the worst pro-abortion myths and refute them.
One of the other side's worst lies is highlighted in the National Right to Life ad on the right. (Click to enlarge.)
Following are what Ms. says are "some of the common myths about abortion"...
Myth 1: Even if the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, abortion would still be legal.
Myth 2: American women are able to have legal abortion on demand at any stage of pregnancy in all 50 states.
Myth 3: Women who have abortions are selfish and self-centered.
Myth 4: Abortions cause pain for the fetus.
Myth 5: Abortions are readily available across the country.
Myth 6: Abortion is a very dangerous procedure.
Myth 7: Abortion providers are in it to make a lot of money.
Myth 8: If a woman doesn't want to have a child, she should use contraception or abstain.
Myth 9: Women have multiple abortions rather than using birth control.
Myth 10: Many women who have had abortions are traumatized and suffer from "post-abortion stress syndrome."
Belgium has released statistics on euthanasia that are very telling.
A recent study shows that 30 percent of reported euthanasia cases in one region of the European country were performed without the patient's consent. Rita Marker of the International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide is not surprised. She believes that once euthanasia is considered a medical treatment, the practice of killing an ailing patient becomes normal and is done in spite of supposed safeguards against it.
Rita Marker (International Tasf Force on Euthanasia and Assited Suicide)"We're not talking here about a slippery slope. We're talking here about transforming everything. We're talking about jumping off of a precipitous cliff so the so-called 'safeguards' are only the window dressing," she contends. "Once you've transformed this into a medical treatment, it just is logical to say, 'Well, this person would really be better off with this treatment.' The treatment just happens to be death."
Currently, an average of two deaths are reported per day -- the number of euthanasia cases increased from 500 in 2008 to 700 in 2009. But Belgium media reports that interviews with doctors have revealed that only one-in-four cases are being accounted for. In some situations, ailing patients were killed even though the prognosis had not yet been reported.
Marker feels that nobody should be surprised by that statistic "because if someone is willing to kill a patient, why would they have any qualms about not reporting it?"
Oklahoma lawmakers in the state Senate are preparing for another duel with pro-abortion Democratic Gov. Brad Henry. Sources tell LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) that senators may attempt to override the governor's veto of an enhanced abortion statistics reporting law by Tuesday afternoon.
The embattled measure is designed to help the state's health and human services department gather statistical information on why women are seeking abortions, abortion-related complications, and whether abortion facilities are following standard safety protocols.
Late Monday afternoon, the Oklahoma House of Representatives overwhelmingly overruled Henry's third veto this year of Oklahoma pro-life legislation, by an 84–13 margin.
The Senate is heading for a Tuesday showdown, with the stakes being high for pro-life advocates. Unlike the House, which had votes to spare to reach its two-thirds veto-proof majority, the Senate cannot lose one of the thirty-two members that voted for the bill in the first round, in their override attempt.
The measure originally was approved with a 32-11 margin in the Senate, and a massive 88-8 margin in the House.
LifeSiteNews.com spoke with Tony Lauinger, chairman of Oklahomans for Life, who was busy counting votes on Capitol Hill Tuesday morning. He said it looked like pro-life advocates might have the votes to override, but indicated the pressure at the Capitol was intense. Planned Parenthood and abortion industry lobbyists were out in force, he said, putting heavy pressure to get just one legislator to cave and switch his vote from "yes" to "no" on the veto override.
Gov. Henry on Saturday vetoed HB 3284, The Statistical Abortion Report Act, which the state legislature had approved and sent to his desk on May 11.
The measure would require that abortionists fill out 37 questions reporting information on abortion procedures and medical safety protocols, and ask their clients for the reasons they were seeking abortion. The state health department would be tasked with deriving abortion statistics from the data, which could be publicly accessed through the Internet.
In a statement, the governor alleged that the legislation would be "forcing" women seeking abortion to submit to a "personally invasive questionnaire and posting the answers on a state website."
In his veto message, Henry particularly objected to the lack of an exemption for pregnant women who say they are victims of rape and incest, claiming it would add to "the trauma of an already traumatic event."
Many news outlets uncritically repeated the governor's claims that the bill was forcing women to fill out a questionnaire. However, the law actually places the burden of responsibility on abortionists to ask the list of questions, which women are free to decline to answer.
The data derived from the answers given would be entered statistically into an annual public report.
"Hopefully, this information will make it possible to address underlying problems in ways that could avoid the taking of an innocent human life," Lauinger told LSN in an e-mail on Monday afternoon, just a few hours before the House decisively acted to override the governor's veto.
Lauinger also lauded the fact that the measure mandates that the public have accurate data on abortion-related complications, which would help put to the test the claim that abortion is "safe, legal, and rare."
The abortion reporting provisions had been passed previously in an abortion-related omnibus bill that was later struck down by the state Supreme Court for violating the single-issue rule. That bill was then split up into a series of bills, all of which have now passed the legislature.
The governor has already vetoed two other abortion laws this year, with both vetoes overridden by the legislature. One measure expanded the state's informed consent law by requiring abortionists to perform an ultrasound on a mother seeking an abortion, and to show her the screen and give a description of her unborn child at its stage of development. Another prohibited "wrongful birth" lawsuits, preventing doctors from facing civil liability for failing to provide information that would have led a woman to seek an abortion.
As charity launches its first TV campaign, our correspondent speaks to a mix of patients in a typical day at its clinic in London. The smart, double-fronted terrace house in Bloomsbury does not look much like an abortion clinic. Pansies bloom in the window boxes and the paint is fresh on the sills and front door. The only things suggesting that this is a medical centre and not a large family home are the "Marie Stopes House" signs and a sophisticated entry-phone system. Inside, the scene is equally welcoming. Sofas and chairs are dotted around a bright reception room. Staff are cheerful and attentive. Click here for the entire article.
Gov. Haley Barbour has signed a new state law that bans public funding for most abortions under health exchanges that could be created under a federal health care overhaul. The new state law took effect when Barbour signed it Monday. When legislators passed the bill last month, opponents said it was a way to pander to conservatives because Mississippi has had a law since 2002 banning any federal, state or local tax dollars from being used for abortion. Click here for the entire article.
There is an interesting article in CNSNews about Obama's nominee to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Donald Berwick, who reveals his passion for central planning and all things socialized.The article links to a June 2009 interview with Berwick in Biotechnology Healthcare. Some snippets from the article: In a June 2009 interview in Biotechnology Healthcare, Berwick was asked: "Critics of CER (Comparative Effectiveness Research) have said that it will lead to rationing of health care." Click here for the entire article.
A patient at Planned Parenthood of Collier County was transported by ambulance today from the clinic on Creech Road to an area hospital, according to emergency medical personnel. The ambulance arrived at 12:50 p.m. and left with a patient on board a few minutes later, while a dozen abortion opponents were protesting on the sidewalk nearby. The clinic performs abortions only on Mondays. "We had a medical call and just transported someone to the hospital for evaluation," said Cherie Wilson-Watson, spokeswoman for Collier County Emergency Medical Services. Click here for the entire article.
"Yesterday, we asked the Senate Judiciary Committee to postpone the Kagan confirmation hearings if the Clinton Presidential Library fails to deliver important documents from Ms. Kagan's tenure in the Clinton Administration with enough lead time to allow Senators to thoroughly examine them. In a Senate floor speech yesterday, Senator Jeff Sessions said that he would have no choice but to ask for a delay if the documents are not delivered in a timely fashion. I applaud Senator Sessions for his leadership. The American people and their elected representatives need to have all of the facts available to them when weighing this critical, lifetime appointment to the United States Supreme Court." -- Dr. Charmaine Yoest, President & CEO of Americans United for Life. Click here for the entire article.
This year, birth control advocates are celebrating 50 years of decriminalized hormonal contraceptives. Pro-LIfers don't think half a century of contaminating our waterways is something to celebrate. Study after study has shown that hormonal estrogen in the water has severely damaged the ecosystem and our health.
Planned Parenthood services by computer link may be spreading
The pro-life ministry Operation Rescue has confirmed Planned Parenthood's program of dispensing abortion pills through tele-conferencing is scheduled to go nationwide within a few years.
The "tele-med" program already is operating in Iowa, where Operation Rescue has prompted authorities to launch an investigation.
The pro-life group has documented Planned Parenthood admission that it dispenses abortion pills via a tele-conference in which the mother-to-be never meets a physician.
Operation Rescue has reported "an abortionist sits in front of a webcam and pushes a button to electronically open a drawer in the faraway clinic containing the drugs."
"A licensed physician never physically examines the woman at any time," the report says.
Authorities question the procedures.
Understand Planned Parenthood's agenda. Get "Marketing of Evil: How Radicals, Elitists, and Pseudo-Experts Sell Us Corruption Disguised as Freedom"
After complaints were filed by Operation Rescue with the Iowa Board of Medicine, authorities said they were looking into the procedure. According to the confirmation from Russell Bardin, chief investigator for the state board, the matter "will be investigated as soon as possible."
Now a new report from Operation Rescue reveals Planned Parenthood is making plans to take the procedure nationwide. OR President Troy Newman said the proposal comes as part of Planned Parenthood's "Strategic Plan for 2015," which was discussed recently at a meeting in Cedar Rapids.
The plan was uncovered during a protest against Planned Parenthood by the Pro-Life Action League, he said. Newman confirmed researcher Tara Shaver, who had helped uncover the original Iowa "tele-med" abortion plan, was in an interview with Iowa Public Radio with Planned Parenthood officials who announced their strategy to expand the procedure throughout Iowa and ultimately nationwide.
"If this push-button abortion scheme is allowed to spread, it will only increase the number of abortions at a time when abortion rates are falling and abortion clinics are closing," said Newman. "Not only will more babies die, but women will be placed in increased danger of serious medical complications or death, with no real emergency plan other than to make patients fend for themselves at whatever emergency room they can find."
He said that in addition to the social aims, "tele-med abortions are a cash cow for the abortion cartel."
He said Planned Parenthood in Iowa already is charging insurance companies twice the price of abortions provided to cash-paying patients.
"If this dangerous scheme is allowed to spread, it will increase health care costs for everyone," said Newman.
Operation Rescue Senior Policy Adviser Cheryl Sullenger had filed a complaint over the procedure, prompting the Iowa Medical Board's confirmation that it is looking into the "care and treatment" practices of abortionist Susan Haskell.
The complaint raised several concerns, including the fact that Iowa law allows only a licensed physician to do abortions. It also pointed out the Planned Parenthood of the Heartland procedure fell short of FDA-approved protocols for doctor's visits, no physician was present for the administration of abortion drugs and insurance companies apparently were overbilled.
WND reported when the new "tele-medicine" practice came under scrutiny from Operation Rescue.
The organization documented in a recording Planned Parenthood's explanation of its set-up.
"The physician doesn't actually come," the abortion company worker explains. "The physician who prescribes you the medication would be on a computer screen. You'll be on a computer screen. You can see each other and communicate. They're just not physically there.
"You would press a button that's on the screen, and a little box would open up with the medication in it."
Sullenger's report on the issue explained the "tele-medicine" procedures are "used legitimately in the medical field to lower the cost of consultations with specialists and exchange medical information between physicians electronically."
"However, tele-medicine, or care in absentia, was never meant as a replacement for the personal, hands-on examination by a physician," she said.
Operation Rescue discovered a dozen small Planned Parenthood offices around Iowa were handing out the dangerous abortion drug RU 486, Mifepristone, and companion drug Methotrexate even though the patients never had been examined personally by a physician.
Operation Rescue cited the eight abortion deaths and more than 1,100 serious complications that have resulted in the U.S. alone from the use of Mifepristone.
Planned Parenthood did not respond to a WND request for comment.
Senate hearings to vet Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan, who is known to favor taxpayer-funded abortion and same-sex "marriage," are set to begin June 28, according to reports.
Meanwhile, the William J. Clinton Presidential Library, part of the National Archives, has rendered about 168,000 pages of documents left behind by Solicitor General Kagan from her service as presidential assistant in the Clinton White House.
National Archives officials were reticent to say whether archivists will finish the daunting task of reviewing the material - which they say has to be read "line by line" - before the target date for the hearings, prompting some senators to complain that the process is being needlessly rushed.
Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., the highest-ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Wednesday that the June 28 deadline was "not my choice" and that more time should be allowed to scrutinize the nominee. "Our people would have preferred to have it after the July 4 [recess] because that lets us have a better hearing," Sessions told The Hill.
"We would be better prepared to ask better questions and know more clearly where the nominee is before the hearing starts ... But I don't have any choice."
A filibuster attempt to block the nominee, which would require every GOP member to oppose Kagan, is not expected: Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe has expressed satisfaction with Kagan's qualifications for the Supreme Court, calling her "highly talented."
Aside from the former Harvard Law dean's controversial move to ban military recruiters from campus in protest of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" rule against open homosexuals in the military, Kagan is not known for her outspokenness on political issues. However, documents unearthed from her college days show her proclivities falling squarely on the "progressive" end of the political spectrum.
The Daily Princetonian earlier this month noted that Kagan's "senior thesis, the editorials published under her tenure as editorial chairman of The Daily Princetonian and her campus activities, as well as the words of those who worked closely with her at Princeton, shed light on Kagan's commitment to political activism and her liberal beliefs."
In an opinion piece written for the 'Prince' in 1980, Kagan spoke candidly of her left-leaning sensibilities. "I absorbed ... liberal principles early," she said, as quoted by the Princetonian. In addition, she complained of the success of "anonymous but Moral Majority-backed ... avengers of 'innocent life' and the B-1 Bomber," and hoped the future would "be marked by American disillusionment with conservative programs and solutions, and that a new, revitalized, perhaps more leftist left will once again come to the fore."
Some eyebrows were raised by statements in Kagan's Princeton thesis, which outlines the New York socialist movement at the beginning of the 20th century. In that document the future Supreme Court nominee wrote: "Americans are more likely to speak of a golden past than of a golden future, of capitalism's glories than of socialism's greatness. Conformity overrides dissent; the desire to conserve has overwhelmed the urge to alter. Such a state of affairs cries out for explanation. ... The story [of the downfall of the New York socialist movement] is a sad but also a chastening one for those who, more than half a century after socialism's decline, still wish to change America. In unity lies their only hope."
However, acquaintances strongly countered conclusions that Kagan harbors socialist sympathies; Sean Wilentz, the Princeton history professor who served as Kagan's thesis advisor, insisted that Kagan "is about the furthest thing from a socialist. Period."
Yet pro-life and pro-family advocates continue to express concern that Kagan is poised to introduce a solidly pro-abortion and homosexualist voice to the nation's highest court.
Tom McCluskey of the Family Research Council on Wednesday issued a letter to pro-abortion Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY), who had expressed concern over Kagan's pro-abortion credentials, assuring her that "she is as pro-abortion as you and other members of your caucus." McCluskey pointed out Kagan's strong support for taxpayer-funded abortion, a position that a solid majority of Americans as well as the Supreme Court in Rust v. Sullivan oppose.
"I look forward to the confirmation proceedings and seeing your concerns regarding the abortion issue raised. Americans can then see how far out of the mainstream this nominee is on the legality of elective abortions," wrote McCluskey.
The TX State Board of Education is embroiled in a battle over textbook content that, media reports claim, could dictate public school curricula nationwide. As the single largest textbook purchaser in the country, TX is a major decision-maker regarding content of books available on the market, since publishers naturally cater to their most lucrative client.
... and from Fox News, May 20:
The TX Board of Education has 5 Democrats, and 10 Republicans, 7 of whom vote as a conservative block.
What does that mean? They control what happens here....
[W]hen Democrats enjoyed an identical majority, they too manipulated the curriculum to fit their agenda.
The debate began when a review group of teachers recommended replacing Christmas with a Hindu holiday and removing partially or entirely Alexander Graham Bell, Albert Einstein, religious references, and Christopher Columbus....
... which brings us to yesterday and today, from MyFoxNY.com...
The TX Board of Education is putting the finishing touches on a final set of proposed social study standards. For months the 2 sides have been far apart on a number issues ranging from race to religion.
The divide grew with the introduction of new amendments Thursday, including one that says high school books should outline the practice of eugenics - the sterilization of a selected group of people.
The idea supported by early progressives like Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger [pictured above left]....
The board is set to vote Friday.
Here was one of the 2 changes proposed yesterday, the insertion of one little but potent word into the curriculum:
The justification given for the curriculum change is compelling. I don't know why anyone would oppose educating our children about this sordid component of U.S. history:
[F]rom War Against the Weak, by Edward Black, 2003:
In the first 3 decades of the 20th Century, American corporate philanthropy combined with prestigious academic fraud to create the pseudoscience eugenics that institutionalized race politics as national policy. The goal: create a superior, white, Nordic race and obliterate the viability of everyone else.
How? By identifying so-called "defective" family trees and subjecting them to legislated segregation and sterilization programs. The victims: poor people, brownhaired white people, African Americans, immigrants, Indians, Eastern European Jews, the infirm and really anyone classified outside the superior genetic lines drawn up by American raceologists.
The main culprits were the Carnegie Institution, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Harriman railroad fortune, in league with America's most respected scientists hailing from such prestigious universities as Harvard, Yale and Princeton, operating out of a complex at Cold Spring Harbor on Long Island.
The eugenic network worked in tandem with the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, the State Department and numerous state governmental bodies and legislatures throughout the country, and even the U.S. Supreme Court.
They were all bent on breeding a eugenically superior race, just as agronomists would breed better strains of corn. The plan was to wipe away the reproductive capability of the weak and inferior.
Ultimately, 60,000 Americans were coercively sterilized - legally and extra-legally. Many never discovered the truth until decades later. Those who actively supported eugenics include America's most progressive figures: Woodrow Wilson, Margaret Sanger and Oliver Wendell Holmes.
This is all just simple, sad, documented truth. Who would argue against teaching it? What would their arguments possibly be?
Human Life International, the world's largest international pro-life organization, has launched a new initiative within the United States dedicated to explaining the connection between contraception and abortion in the United States, as well as educating men and women on viable healthy alternatives to contraception and artificial fertility treatments.
"This new American initiative highlights what is true in both our personal lives and on the world stage -- namely that 'protecting life begins at home,'" said HLI president Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer of the initiative, called HLI America.
He added, "HLI America will bring Americans the truth about human life, the beauty of children and the devastating and harmful effects of contraception in America."
The new initiative is being led by Jenn Giroux, HLI America's new Executive Director. Giroux, a registered nurse for over twenty-four years, was the president and founder of the conservative organization Women Influencing the Nation (WIN).
"Americans have lost sight of our greatest resource: our children," said Giroux. "After 50 years of misinformation and lies concerning birth control and abortion, we aim to present the truth to the upcoming generation about the assaults that have taken place on new life and motherhood.
"That is why we will both highlight the beauty of children and expose the 'post contraceptive regret' that is prevalent among women today who mourn everyday for the children they chose to prevent or abort."
HLI America says they are dedicated to providing the most up-to-date materials showing not only the link between contraception and abortion, but also the health risks of contraception, and the often unseen effects contraception produces in women and their families.
The website for HLI America provides visitors with medical and statistical evidence linking use of the pill and other contraceptives to an increase in breast cancer, as well as other negative side effects, STD rates, marital infidelity, and failed marriages. It also educates about natural family planning as a beneficial and moral alternative to contraception.
In addition, the program will provide information and testimonials on "Post Contraceptive Regret" in men and women who wish they had opted for larger families instead of resorting to the pill, and will also help put in perspective the joy many married couples have in raising large families. HLI America highlights the Association of Large Families website to help combat the media stereotype that puts larger families in a negative light.
HLI America also intends to educate women and couples struggling with infertility about a counter-solution to in vitro fertilization (IVF). The program will highlight NaProTechnology in addition to other fertility treatments that aim to cooperate with nature, rather than IVF treatments, which have a low success rate and almost invariably result in the destruction of leftover human embryos.
Shameful. The UK prosecutors have placed disabled, dying, and chronically ill suicidal people at tremendous risk by refusing to prosecute a clear case of assisted suicide. From the story:
A loving husband who helped his seriously ill wife commit suicide will not face legal action it was revealed today. In a landmark decision, the Crown Prosecution Service declared it would not be in the public interest to charge Michael Bateman with aiding or abetting suicide, despite sufficient evidence. The decision is the first , following a death in the UK, since Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer announced legal guidelines outlining the distinction between mercy killing and assisted suicide.
Mr Bateman 'freely admitted assisting' Margaret Bateman in relation to her death in October 2009 the CPS said. However, Bryan Boulter, reviewing lawyer for the CPS Special Crime Division, said: 'I concluded that a prosecution would not be in the public interest because Mrs Bateman, who had suffered from chronic pain for decades, had a clear and settled wish to commit suicide. Interviews with Mr Bateman and the couple's sons supported this. 'It was also clear that Mr Bateman was wholly motivated by compassion. He cared deeply for his wife and had taken care of her daily needs for several years. There was no evidence to suggest any motive other than compassion.
As in the George DeLury case, the cry of "she wanted to die" is easy to make. And even when the suicide facilitator thinks he or she is being loving, that should not permit flagrant violation of an important law. Alas. The lack of principle behind this quasi-decriminalization policy–and the hurricane power of emotional narratives today–have conspired to undermine the rule of law and abandon vulnerable people. The result will be more suicides that could have been prevented and an increased potential to mask elder and other abuses behind the benign mask of compassion.
In the aftermath of passage of the healthcare reform bill, a question arises as to whether the House Pro-Life Caucus has meaning anymore.
The effectiveness of the Caucus, which welcomes Republicans and Democrats, seemed shaky when the supposedly pro-life Bart Stupak (D-Michigan) deserted his stance, taking others with him by voting in favor of the healthcare reform bill. That measure calls for citizens to finance abortions.
David O'Steen, executive director of the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), does not think that move will impact the clout of the Caucus in the future.
"For those who will stand for pro-life principles and not flinch, the future is, I would think, very good," he comments. "I would think pro-life Republicans [and] pro-life Democrats can continue to work together on issues that come before Congress."
After pressuring Stupak into not running again and defeating the veteran Alan Mollohan of West Virginia in a primary race, the people have already weeded out two Democratic House members, notes the pro-life activist.
"Now for those who are pro-life on the easy votes but are going to leave the pro-life position when the vote becomes harder -- in the sense that when the party leadership really cracks the whip, as I think happened on the healthcare bill -- then of course it becomes more difficult," O'Steen adds.
So as long as Caucus members are not "fair-weather members and...will stick with the pro-life movement [through] thick and thin," the NRLC executive director believes they will continue working to defend pre-born babies.
There are many reasons to oppose socialism. There are many reasons to oppose euthanasia. But when a society has socialized health care, all the conditions are in place to create a perfect environment for euthanasia. To become public policy, euthanasia needs two things: an ideology and a mechanism. A radical ideology, however malevolent, is impotent without a mechanism. Government is the perfect mechanism because government is inherently coercive. It has the brute force to impose its will on the unwilling. Click here for the entire article.
The National Institute of Health has announced plans to set up a centralized Genetic Testing Registry, a move which supporters have hailed as an important step forward for medical research. But others are not so sure about its merits and are concerned about its potential for abuse. In fact, the NIH itself shows an awareness of this potential. In a 2001 article in The NIH Catalyst, currently posted on the NIH's own website, we read: "According to his definition of eugenics-interference with individuals' procreative choices in order to attain a societal goal-eugenics lingers in our society, perhaps more dangerous because it is not so obvious, cautioned Neal Holtzman, professor of pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore. Click here for the entire article.
The Nebraska Supreme Court has ruled that a 17-year-old Dakota County teen can have an abortion without telling her mother. The opinion released Friday reverses the decision of Dakota County District Court Judge William Binkard. He ruled that the girl was not mature and an abortion without parental notification was not in her best interests. The high court said the girl was clearly not dependent on the mother. The teen lives with her boyfriend and their 2-month-old son, owns a car, has two jobs and pays her own expenses. In Nebraska, children under 18 must notify their parents of planned abortions at least 48 hours before the procedures. Click here for the entire article.
An anti-abortion pregnancy center has sued Montgomery County over a law requiring it to post information about the care it provides, The Gazette reports. Centro Tepeyac Women's Center in Silver Spring believes the law is unconstitutional, said the center's lead attorney Casey Mattox. Mattox, with the Alliance Defense Fund, said the law restricts freedom of speech. Under the law, pregnancy centers that do not provide abortions or do not provide referrals to abortion clinics are required to post disclaimers stating the center "does not have a licensed medical professional on staff" and the "Montgomery County Health Officer encourages women who are or may be pregnant to consult with a licensed health care provider." Click here for the entire article.
DuPage Co. Judge Neal Cerne ruled today that TMS's zoning case can proceed. The judge denied PP's latest motion to dismiss and upheld the main count of the suit, that PP willfully violated local zoning and building laws during the development and buildling process of the Aurora mill.
Judge Cerne ordered the defendants to answer TMS's complaint within the next month.
Now the case gets juicy. TMS attorneys plan to subpoena PP and Aurora officials to testify under oath about the full details of the zoning and development process of the Aurora mill. Click here for the entire article.
Today, the Oklahoma legislature cleared a final legislative hurdle and will now send a bill to the Governor to opt the state out of the abortion mandate created by the new federal health care law. Americans United for Life applauds the Oklahoma legislature for becoming the 6th state to opt out.
"More than 70% of voters oppose the use of public funds for abortion; that's why the state-by-state opt out movement continues to gain momentum," said AUL spokesman Matthew Faraci. "Oklahoma's leadership on this issue serves as an example to other states looking to pass similar laws."
So far, the opt-out bills in Arizona and Tennessee have become law and bills in Florida, Mississippi, and Missouri are pending action by the state's governor. Click here for the entire article.
