Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Rahm Emanuel, the pro-abortion Illinois congressman Barack Obama chose to become his White House chief of staff after capturing the presidential election, is facing pressure to resign. Emanuel is alleged to have discussed the names of possible replacement candidates for Obama's Senate seat in the Illinois pay-to-play scandal. The scandal could potentially threaten other high-ranking Obama officials and possibly the president-elect himself. It involves pro-abortion Democratic Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich reportedly asking for large donations or guarantees of jobs or board positions in return for naming a certain person to replace Obama in one of his state's two U.S. Senate seats. The Our Country Deserves Better PAC, a conservative group that spent millions running ads against Obama during the presidential campaign, is behind the call for Emanuel to resign before his first day on the job. "It's time for Barack Obama's Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, to resign," the group tells LifeNews.com in an email. "The Obama administration has told lie after lie about their involvement in the corruption scandal. Obama's camp was caught lying about their involvement, because wiretaps reveal, and have forced Obama to now admit, that his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel has discussed not just once but on several occasions who should get the Senate," the group adds. Full story at LifeNews.comAbortion, A Doctor's Conscience and Obama's Lack of Campaign Commitment
by Paul Weyrich
The President-elect appears to have stepped back from some of his campaign promises. That merely is speculation. We shall see. The President-elect did make a dogmatic statement regarding the so-called "Freedom of Choice" Act (FOCA). He said he will propose FOCA, which would eliminate all State and Federal restrictions upon abortion. It would purport to force Christian hospitals to perform abortions or close. It would demand that physicians perform abortions or give up their practice. Whatever happened to freedom of conscience? A hallmark of professionalism in the United States has been that we never force anyone to violate his or her conscience in the performance of a duty. That is the first line of defense of the pro-life movement. Even more than the Hyde Amendment, which has prohibited funding by the Federal Government of many abortions, the idea of freedom of conscience unites all parties in the pro-life movement, which has made progress since the passage of the Hyde Amendment. There hardly has been a Congress which made no progress on the right-to-life issue. And when progress was stymied at the Federal level, many restrictions were enacted at the State level. Most were tested in the Federal courts and were held to be constitutional. Full story at LifeNews.com
Planned Parenthood Employee Resigns After Abortion-Rape Coverup Video
Indianapolis, IN (LifeNews.com) -- A staffer at an Indianapolis Planned Parenthood abortion business has resigned after a video showed her covering up an apparent case of statutory rape. The resignation comes on the heels of the firing of a staff member at a Bloomington, Indiana Planned Parenthood following a similar expose' video. In total, three videos have appeared in recent weeks showing the nation's largest abortion business failing to protect young girls in cases of sexual abuse. In this most recent case, two Planned Parenthood employees say they "don't care" about the age difference between a 31-year-old man and the 13-year-old girl he was reported to have impregnated. "We don't really care about who, what, the age of the boyfriend," the unnamed Planned Parenthood staff member says. Planned Parenthood of Indiana spokeswoman Kate Shepherd has recently confirmed one of the two employees resigned. She also released a statement saying the abortion business is committed to following state law, which requires the reporting of any suspicions that an underage person has been a victim of sexual abuse. "It's always been our policy to report as the law requires," Betty Cockrum, CEO and president of Planned Parenthood of Indiana, said in the statement. Full story at LifeNews.com
A Christmas View of Abortion: The Bible's Clear, Indirect Pro-Life Message
by Andrew Tallman
"The Bible says nothing directly about abortion." Have you ever heard this claim before? I know I have. And the uncomfortable truth is that, in a certain sense, it's accurate. The deliberate termination of a pregnancy is not directly addressed anywhere in scripture. On the one hand, this could mean that the practice is merely a matter of personal choice, having been left alone by even God Himself. On the other hand, this could also mean that the culture for which the Bible was written was so deeply affirming of childbearing that the idea of aborting a baby would have been literally inconceivable to them. After all, there are no commands in the Bible to breathe, presumably because Jewish culture is staunchly pro-air. But even if the Bible doesn't quite give us a definitive proclamation on the overall question of abortion, that doesn't mean it says nothing relevant at all. One of the key points of contention in this debate is whether the fetus is a person and, if so, when in gestation this occurs. Most pro-lifers believe it's at conception, but those who believe abortion is morally acceptable think this happens at some later stage of pregnancy such as implantation, quickening, viability or birth. Until the other day, I would have said the Bible was somewhat indeterminate on this issue. But now, I would be as bold as to say that it plainly teaches us that a fetus is a person at most within the first four weeks of gestation and, more likely, even within the first few days after conception. If so, then Christians who haven't previously realized this would have to acknowledge that even early term abortions end the life of a person. And this would, in turn, affect the advice they give to others who might currently be contemplating abortion, even perhaps their own daughters. Let me show you what I found for the first time the other day. Full story at LifeNews.com
British Study Finds More Down Syndrome Babies Born, Survive Abortions
London, England (LifeNews.com) -- A recent study shows that more Down's syndrome babies are being born since pre-natal screening has become a common practice. A survey of 1,000 parents conducted by the Down's Syndrome Association found that 30% of parents who decided to keep their unborn child diagnosed with Down's syndrome believed that the quality of life for people with Down's syndrome had improved, approximately one third cited pro-life beliefs, and almost 20% doubted the accuracy of the test results. One-fifth of the respondents stated that they had personally known someone with Down's syndrome. One respondent stated, "I don't subscribe to the notion of the 'perfect human being' and found the idea of selecting one child in preference to another abhorrent." Integrated education, a feeling of support from family and friends, and the belief that the stigmatism of having Down's syndrome has been less in recent years were cited by respondents of positive changes.
New Delhi, India (LifeNews.com) -- A study conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health has found that the gender imbalance in India increases with income. The study found that higher income groups, as well as more educated households, have a higher male-female ratio. In a family where the head of household has completed their education, sons are 25 percent more prevalent, and higher income households are 14 percent more likely to have a son, compared to lower income households where there is only a 4 percent preference for male children. "Meanwhile, a son preference norm could simply be dormant among low income groups, as they do not possess sufficient resources to practice discrimination," said the study. Traditionally in Indian cultures, sons are preferred to daughters, but with modern medical technology, such as abortion, Indians can and, as the study's findings indicate, have used it to discriminate against women. Although the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act 1994 was passed to check misuse of pre-natal screening technology, the study's findings have shown the legislation to be ineffective. 'The sex ratio clearly signifies that the PNDT Act failed to check sex imbalance as the odds of having a boy increased to 10 percent in the period following the implementation of the Act. The odds of having a boy were seven percent in the pre-PNDT period,' said S.V. Subramanian, the lead author of the study.
