Barack Obama Picks Pro-Abortion Senator Tom Daschle as Health Secretary
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- In his second major decision as the president-elect, Barack Obama has chosen pro-abortion former U.S. senator Tom Daschle of South Dakota as his Health and Human Services Secretary. Daschle will replace pro-life advocate Mike Leavitt, who has been working on protecting pro-life doctors and nurses. The former Senate Majority Leader reportedly accepted Obama's offer according to two Democratic Party sources. To become official, Daschle's confirmation requires an affirmative Senate vote. As the health secretary, Daschle will likely play a role in shaping Obama's health care plan, which has come under fire for possibly including abortion coverage or mandating that hospitals or insurance companies cover abortions. Daschle would also be in a key position to rescind the protections the Bush administration is expected to put in place any day now for pro-life doctors and medical centers. The Bush protections make sure medical facilities and medical personnel are not forced to be involved in abortions that violate their moral or religious views. The new HHS rules strengthen existing laws by providing for funding cuts for agencies or medical centers that violate them. Daschle has a long pro-abortion voting record as a member of Congress and was defeated by current pro-life Sen. John Thune in part because of the abortion divide. Full story at LifeNews.com
Obama Urged Not to Fund UNFPA After Chinese Woman Escapes Forced Abortion
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Now that the woman in northwestern China who was six months pregnant has escaped a forced abortion, pro-life advocates are restarting their plea for incoming president Barack Obama not to fund the UNFPA. They say the United Nations agency supports the family planning program that placed Arzigul Tursun in jeopardy in the first place. As LifeNews.com reported Tuesday, Tursun was released from a hospital where she had been held captive awaiting a planned forced abortion. Chinese officials admitted the abortion would jeopardize her health and let her go. Now leading pro-life advocates are pointing to the incident and the UNFPA's proven involvement in China's coercive one-child policy as a reason to continue de-funding the group as President Bush has done. In total, Bush has revoked $240 million in taxpayer funding for the pro-abortion group since 2002, but Obama has pledged to renew annual payments to the group. Rep. Chris Smith, a New Jersey congressman who led the efforts to lobby Chinese officials to release Tursun, says the incident makes it clear the UNFPA has done nothing to stop China from engaging in forced abortions. "To forcibly abort a woman while the world watches in full knowledge of what is going on would make a mockery of [Beijing's] claim that the central government disapproves of the practice, and of the U.N. Population Fund pretense that it has moderated the Chinese population planners' cruelty," Smith said. Full story at LifeNews.com
Forced Abortion Incident in China Proves Pro-Choice Groups Are Pro-Abortion
by Steven Ertelt
For years the "pro-choice" mantra has gone something like this: abortion should be between a woman and her doctor, we can't tell women what to do with their bodies, women have a right to choose, etc. Yet, a recent forced abortion incident in China proves so-called "pro-choice" advocates are nothing more than pro-abortion. Arzigul Tursun and her family understand the length to which the oppressive Chinese population control regime will go to keep to its limited birth quotas. Six months pregnant, Tursun found herself captive at a local hospital with the impending threat of a forced abortion. But what about groups like Planned Parenthood, NARAL, Emily's List and others who are "pro-choice" on abortion and supposedly represent women? They did nothing. None of the major abortion advocacy groups have issued as much as a press release backing Tursun's right to keep her baby let alone conducted interviews on her behalf. There is no indication they lobbied American or Chinese officials, or started petition drives or other campaigns on her behalf. Full story at LifeNews.com
Catholic Bishops' Warning to Obama on Abortion Just Start of Pro-Life Battle
by Dr. Paul Kengor
A potential big battle has begun, one of special interest to all Christians and guaranteed to generate a lot of attention from all Americans. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has issued a stern warning to president-elect Obama and his incoming administration, highlighting grave concerns over what will happen to unwanted, unborn human life. The statement was delivered at the end of the annual assembly that represents all American bishops i.e., the full American Catholic Church. It was issued by Francis Cardinal George of Chicago, president of the USCCB. The subject is the once unthinkable Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA), which Barack Obama promised will be the "first thing" he signs as president. As the bishops forcefully noted, FOCA would eliminate countless reasonable restrictions on abortion enacted by bipartisan legislatures, Democrats and Republicans working together over the past 35 years, including parental-consent laws and protection for babies who accidentally survive an abortion. FOCA, wrote the bishops, "would coerce all Americans into subsidizing and promoting abortion with their tax dollars." Every American would be complicit in paying for abortions you would have no choice. Full story at LifeNews.com
House Republicans Elect Pro-Life Congressmen to Top Leadership Posts
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Republican members of the House of Representatives held their caucus elections on Wednesday and elected several pro-life advocates to top leadership posts. The elections are important for shaping the GOP message and response to the abortion advocates who control Congress. Minority Leader John Boehner, of Ohio, was re-elected to his top position over pro-life Rep. Dan Lungren of California. Boehner has compiled a 100% pro-life record on abortion and bioethics issues according to the National Right to Life Committee. Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia was chosen minority whip, the number two leadership position in the GOP caucus. NRLC also says Cantor has a 100 percent pro-life voting record on abortion and embryonic stem cell research funding. Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana became House Republican Conference chairman in a contest that saw him run unopposed. Pence is a former radio talk show host whose involvement in pro-life activities in his home state is longstanding. Full story at LifeNews.com
Adult Stem Cell Research Yields Major Success in Patient's Windpipe Transplant
London, England (LifeNews.com) -- The use of adult stem cells has ushered in another major success and, this time, doctors were able to use a patient's own stem cells to give a woman a new windpipe. Very few trachea transplants have been performed and this new procedure could become a new standard of treatment. The successful transplant again shows how adult stem cells are not only more ethical than their embryonic counterparts but more effective. They also underscore the opposition to and lack of a need for incoming president Barack Obama to force taxpayers to fund the use of embryonic stem cells that involve the destruction of human life as he has promised to do. Dr. David Prentice, a former biology professor at Indiana State University who is now associated with the Family Research Council, talked about the case's impact on the stem cell research debate. "This is another great advance underscoring the real success of adult stem cells in beneficial patient treatment," he told LifeNews.com. "Using the patient's own adult stem cells prevents the problem of transplant rejection, or the tumors that come with embryonic stem cells." Full story at LifeNews.com
Arizona Agency Must Move Forward on Choose Life License Plates, Court Says
Phoenix, AZ (LifeNews.com) -- A federal court on Wednesday ordered the Arizona License Plate Commission to approve the Choose Life license plates. The decision comes after the Supreme Court, last month, let stand a federal appeals court ruling saying Arizona pro-life advocates could have the specialty plates. The high court denied a writ of certiorari in the case of Arizona Life Coalition v. Stanton after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously overturned the September 2005 decision of U.S. District Judge Paul G. Rosenblatt. The appeals court had ruled that pro-life advocates would have their First Amendment rights abrogated by state officials preventing motorists from purchasing Choose Life license plates. Today, Judge Rosenblatt acted on the Supreme Court denial and issued a ruling telling the commission to move forward. Full story at LifeNews.com.
Corpus Christi, Texas City Council Revokes Planned Parenthood Funding
Corpus Christi, TX (LifeNews.com) -- Planned Parenthood continues to lose taxpayer funding across the country and the latest governmental agency to revoke it is the Corpus Christi city council in Texas. Members of the council pulled $30,000 in funding for the abortion business from the city's $500,000 youth development budget. The budget disperses state and federal taxpayer funds in conjunction with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. While the council approved funding for a host of other groups serving young people in the coastal city, they voted to delete the Planned Parenthood funding. Before the vote, it had been in place for the last four years. ACTION: There is no record of which members voted against the funding, but use the following web site to send members of the council a note thanking them for deleting the Planned Parenthood funding:
http://www.cctexas.com/?
Cheyenne, WY (LifeNews.com) -- A pregnant Cheyenne woman and her unborn child were killed on October 30 in an automobile accident that pro-life advocates say points to the need for a state unborn victims law. The man allegedly responsible for the accident will only be held accountable for killing Brenda Collins-Newman and not for taking the life of her child. Collins-Newman was killed when an apparently drunken Ronald Smith of Torrington hit her vehicle head on. Although news reports don't indicate how far along the pregnancy was, Brenda had already planned to name her baby boy Cian Charles. John Robinson, chief deputy attorney for Converse County, only has the ability to charge Smith with one count of aggravated vehicular homicide. Full story at LifeNews.com.
