President Barack Obama Pushing Abortion Hard at United Nations, Pro-Life Group Says
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- President Barack Obama has compiled a clear pro-abortion record during his short tenure as president that has raised the ire of the majority of Americans who are pro-life. However, one group that lobbies at the United Nations says Obama is pushing abortion hard in a much less obvious way. The machinations of the presidency and Congress receive significantly more media attention and Obama’s promotion of abortion has been evident for the public to see. But Austin Ruse, the president of the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute, a pro-life organization that lobbies at the United Nations, says Obama is pushing abortions in ways that receive less attention but could have more far-reaching effects. “Obama’s negotiators at the UN have already made aggressive pro-abortion and anti-family statements,” Ruse tells LifeNews.com. “Obama’s administration is gearing up to make a frightening new global attack on the unborn child.” Ruse and other pro-life groups were at the United Nations just two weeks ago when “the Obama administration made its UN debut by supporting language that has been used by UN agencies, UN committees, radical lawyers, and judges to impose abortion on reluctant countries.” He said he “watched in horror as the previous pro-life positions of the United States were overturned in an instant by radical feminists representing the new Obama administration.” “The US will now join the UN bureaucracy, Canada and the European Union as the most aggressive promoters of abortion all over the world,” Ruse explained. “This new pro-abortion coalition will actively seek to impose abortion on all the countries of Latin America, Africa, the Far East and even on the few remaining pro-life countries in Europe.” Full News Story at LifeNews.com
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- President Barack Obama has compiled a clear pro-abortion record during his short tenure as president that has raised the ire of the majority of Americans who are pro-life. However, one group that lobbies at the United Nations says Obama is pushing abortion hard in a much less obvious way. The machinations of the presidency and Congress receive significantly more media attention and Obama’s promotion of abortion has been evident for the public to see. But Austin Ruse, the president of the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute, a pro-life organization that lobbies at the United Nations, says Obama is pushing abortions in ways that receive less attention but could have more far-reaching effects. “Obama’s negotiators at the UN have already made aggressive pro-abortion and anti-family statements,” Ruse tells LifeNews.com. “Obama’s administration is gearing up to make a frightening new global attack on the unborn child.” Ruse and other pro-life groups were at the United Nations just two weeks ago when “the Obama administration made its UN debut by supporting language that has been used by UN agencies, UN committees, radical lawyers, and judges to impose abortion on reluctant countries.” He said he “watched in horror as the previous pro-life positions of the United States were overturned in an instant by radical feminists representing the new Obama administration.” “The US will now join the UN bureaucracy, Canada and the European Union as the most aggressive promoters of abortion all over the world,” Ruse explained. “This new pro-abortion coalition will actively seek to impose abortion on all the countries of Latin America, Africa, the Far East and even on the few remaining pro-life countries in Europe.” Full News Story at LifeNews.com Obama Administration Tells Local Police Pro-Life Advocates May Engage in Violence, Extremism
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Just months into his administration, President Barack Obama is already targeting pro-life advocates as the Obama administration has released a document that claims pro-life people may engage in violence or extremism. The new document comes on the heels of one in Missouri that caused a national uproar. In the new document, the Department of Homeland Security warned law officials about a supposed rise in "rightwing extremist activity," saying the poor economy and presence of a black president could spark problems. According to the Washington Times, a footnote attached to the nine-page report from the Homeland Security Office of Intelligence and Analysis say the activities of pro-life advocates is included in "rightwing extremism in the United States.” "It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single-issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration," the warning says. The White House, sensing political backlash, is already distancing itself from the report. White House spokesman Nick Shapiro said, "The President is focused not on politics but rather taking the steps necessary to protect all Americans from the threat of violence and terrorism regardless of its origins.” Full News Story at LifeNews.com
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Just months into his administration, President Barack Obama is already targeting pro-life advocates as the Obama administration has released a document that claims pro-life people may engage in violence or extremism. The new document comes on the heels of one in Missouri that caused a national uproar. In the new document, the Department of Homeland Security warned law officials about a supposed rise in "rightwing extremist activity," saying the poor economy and presence of a black president could spark problems. According to the Washington Times, a footnote attached to the nine-page report from the Homeland Security Office of Intelligence and Analysis say the activities of pro-life advocates is included in "rightwing extremism in the United States.” "It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single-issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration," the warning says. The White House, sensing political backlash, is already distancing itself from the report. White House spokesman Nick Shapiro said, "The President is focused not on politics but rather taking the steps necessary to protect all Americans from the threat of violence and terrorism regardless of its origins.” Full News Story at LifeNews.comAdult Stem Cell Research Shows Further Insulin Independence for Type 1 Diabetes Patients
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- New research using adult stem cells is showing further insulin independence for Type 1 diabetes patients. The study, led by Richard Burt of Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, is the second in the last two years to show significant progress in diabetes using the noncontroversial stem cells. It showed patients receiving injections with adult stem cells were able to go as long as four years without having to rely on insulin shots. In a new paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Burt and his colleagues show how the majority of patients with type 1, or juvenile, diabetes who underwent a certain type of stem cell transplantation became insulin free. Several became insulin free for more than three years, with good glycemic control, and also increased C-peptide levels, an indirect measure of beta-cell function, according to the report they published in the April 15 issue of JAMA. A previous study found that the use of adult stem cells in 15 patients with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes resulted in the majority of patients becoming insulin free during the follow-up, which averaged about 19 months. The scientists used HSCT, hematopoietic stem cell transplant, which relies on a patient's own blood stem cells, and involves the removal and treatment of the stem cells and their return to the patient by intravenous injection. Patients remained continuously insulin free for an average time of 31 months -- with a range of 14-52 months. Full News Story at LifeNews.com
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- New research using adult stem cells is showing further insulin independence for Type 1 diabetes patients. The study, led by Richard Burt of Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, is the second in the last two years to show significant progress in diabetes using the noncontroversial stem cells. It showed patients receiving injections with adult stem cells were able to go as long as four years without having to rely on insulin shots. In a new paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Burt and his colleagues show how the majority of patients with type 1, or juvenile, diabetes who underwent a certain type of stem cell transplantation became insulin free. Several became insulin free for more than three years, with good glycemic control, and also increased C-peptide levels, an indirect measure of beta-cell function, according to the report they published in the April 15 issue of JAMA. A previous study found that the use of adult stem cells in 15 patients with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes resulted in the majority of patients becoming insulin free during the follow-up, which averaged about 19 months. The scientists used HSCT, hematopoietic stem cell transplant, which relies on a patient's own blood stem cells, and involves the removal and treatment of the stem cells and their return to the patient by intravenous injection. Patients remained continuously insulin free for an average time of 31 months -- with a range of 14-52 months. Full News Story at LifeNews.com Wisconsin Governor Removes Health Care for Pregnant Women, Unborn Children From Budget
Madison, WI (LifeNews.com) -- Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle is drawing criticism from pro-life advocates upset that he removed health care coverage for poor pregnant women and their unborn children from the state budget. Officials with Wisconsin Right to Life are calling on the state legislature to put the money back in place. Wisconsin had been one of a dozen or more states that had taken advantage of the Unborn Child Rule. During the Bush administration, President Bush displayed his concern for both mother and unborn child by putting an administrative rule in place allowing states to cover unborn children in the SCHIP program. The rule, in place since 2002, entitles the pregnant mother to receive health care as well as her unborn child and pro-life groups supported the rule saying it would help reduce the number of abortions for poor women who decide to have an abortion for financial reasons or lack of health care during pregnancy. However, Governor Doyle, in his proposed budget, has included various changes to BadgerCare Plus, the state program to provide health care to low income individuals. Wisconsin Right to Life tells LifeNews.com that, while BadgerCare Plus is a commendable program and the governor's revisions make more pregnant women eligible for benefits, the revision also calls for the deletion of benefits eligibility for the unborn child. "In the current law on BadgerCare Plus, there are numerous references to the unborn child and the unborn child's mother. By removing benefits eligibility for the unborn child, the practical results would be most disturbing," said Susan Armacost, the group’s legislative director. Full News Story at LifeNews.com
Madison, WI (LifeNews.com) -- Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle is drawing criticism from pro-life advocates upset that he removed health care coverage for poor pregnant women and their unborn children from the state budget. Officials with Wisconsin Right to Life are calling on the state legislature to put the money back in place. Wisconsin had been one of a dozen or more states that had taken advantage of the Unborn Child Rule. During the Bush administration, President Bush displayed his concern for both mother and unborn child by putting an administrative rule in place allowing states to cover unborn children in the SCHIP program. The rule, in place since 2002, entitles the pregnant mother to receive health care as well as her unborn child and pro-life groups supported the rule saying it would help reduce the number of abortions for poor women who decide to have an abortion for financial reasons or lack of health care during pregnancy. However, Governor Doyle, in his proposed budget, has included various changes to BadgerCare Plus, the state program to provide health care to low income individuals. Wisconsin Right to Life tells LifeNews.com that, while BadgerCare Plus is a commendable program and the governor's revisions make more pregnant women eligible for benefits, the revision also calls for the deletion of benefits eligibility for the unborn child. "In the current law on BadgerCare Plus, there are numerous references to the unborn child and the unborn child's mother. By removing benefits eligibility for the unborn child, the practical results would be most disturbing," said Susan Armacost, the group’s legislative director. Full News Story at LifeNews.com Nevada Pro-Life Group Opposes Ballot Bill to Make it Harder to Ban Abortions Someday
Carson City, NV (LifeNews.com) -- After working overtime to stop an ERA bill that could have expanded abortion and taxpayer funding, pro-life advocates in Nevada are taking on another piece of legislation. This time, they are working against a bill that would make it tougher to put constitutional amendments on the state ballot -- such as one they hope to use someday to ban abortions if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade. Don Nelson, the head of Nevada Life, talks with LifeNews.com about the latest. In 1990 Nevadans voted for Question 7 which prohibits the Nevada legislature from changing Nevada's abortion law. Nevada's radical abortion laws can only be changed by expensive initiatives.“That’s why we need to defeat SB 212,” Nelson says, adding that the bill “is written to make it harder and more expensive to place an initiative on the ballot in Nevada.” Taking away the ability to propose statewide constitutional amendments could make abortion almost permanently legal in the state, even if Roe is reversed. “Nevada's abortion laws are radical. They mirror Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton. That means that when Roe v. Wade is overturned, nothing will change in Nevada,” Nelson explains. “Abortion will be legal throughout pregnancy in Nevada as long as a doctor can be found to do it. We'll only be able to protect unborn children in Nevada law through expensive initiatives.” Nelson says SB 212 “needs to be defeated so that we and future generations of pro-life Nevadans can put petitions on the ballot to change Nevada's abortion laws and protect unborn children.” Full News Story at LifeNews.com
Carson City, NV (LifeNews.com) -- After working overtime to stop an ERA bill that could have expanded abortion and taxpayer funding, pro-life advocates in Nevada are taking on another piece of legislation. This time, they are working against a bill that would make it tougher to put constitutional amendments on the state ballot -- such as one they hope to use someday to ban abortions if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade. Don Nelson, the head of Nevada Life, talks with LifeNews.com about the latest. In 1990 Nevadans voted for Question 7 which prohibits the Nevada legislature from changing Nevada's abortion law. Nevada's radical abortion laws can only be changed by expensive initiatives.“That’s why we need to defeat SB 212,” Nelson says, adding that the bill “is written to make it harder and more expensive to place an initiative on the ballot in Nevada.” Taking away the ability to propose statewide constitutional amendments could make abortion almost permanently legal in the state, even if Roe is reversed. “Nevada's abortion laws are radical. They mirror Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton. That means that when Roe v. Wade is overturned, nothing will change in Nevada,” Nelson explains. “Abortion will be legal throughout pregnancy in Nevada as long as a doctor can be found to do it. We'll only be able to protect unborn children in Nevada law through expensive initiatives.” Nelson says SB 212 “needs to be defeated so that we and future generations of pro-life Nevadans can put petitions on the ballot to change Nevada's abortion laws and protect unborn children.” Full News Story at LifeNews.comIowa Woman Settles Case Against Hospital Over Medical Mistake Forcing Abortion
Des Moines, IA (LifeNews.com) -- An Iowa nurse has settled a lawsuit she filed against the hospital she works at because, as a patient there, officials apparently made a mistake by not telling her she was pregnant before undergoing a medical procedure. The procedure likely caused damage to her unborn child and she felt compelled to have an abortion against her wishes. Kristy Oswald is a Catholic who opposes abortion but she felt obligated to have one after the incident at Iowa Methodist Medical Center.Oswald says officials at the medical center failed to inform her of a positive pregnancy test prior to a heart procedure in 2006. According to the lawsuit she filed, Oswald had a pregnancy test performed prior to the cardiac ablation -- which involves wires inserted through blood vessels into the heart to treat abnormal rhythms.Oswald's attorney Guy Cook filed the suit in Polk County District Court and said she was forced to have an abortion after learning the procedure likely hurt her baby. The suit indicated Oswald's cardiologist was also not informed of the pregnancy test results beforehand. On Monday, Cook indicated the case had been settled out of court for an undisclosed sum of money. The case had been scheduled to go to trial later this month when both sides agreed to conclude the case out of court. "The settlement brings closure to the family," Cook told the Des Moines Register. "The amount is confidential, but the Oswalds ... appreciate the hospital's acknowledgment of regret for the situation." Full News Story at LifeNews.com
Des Moines, IA (LifeNews.com) -- An Iowa nurse has settled a lawsuit she filed against the hospital she works at because, as a patient there, officials apparently made a mistake by not telling her she was pregnant before undergoing a medical procedure. The procedure likely caused damage to her unborn child and she felt compelled to have an abortion against her wishes. Kristy Oswald is a Catholic who opposes abortion but she felt obligated to have one after the incident at Iowa Methodist Medical Center.Oswald says officials at the medical center failed to inform her of a positive pregnancy test prior to a heart procedure in 2006. According to the lawsuit she filed, Oswald had a pregnancy test performed prior to the cardiac ablation -- which involves wires inserted through blood vessels into the heart to treat abnormal rhythms.Oswald's attorney Guy Cook filed the suit in Polk County District Court and said she was forced to have an abortion after learning the procedure likely hurt her baby. The suit indicated Oswald's cardiologist was also not informed of the pregnancy test results beforehand. On Monday, Cook indicated the case had been settled out of court for an undisclosed sum of money. The case had been scheduled to go to trial later this month when both sides agreed to conclude the case out of court. "The settlement brings closure to the family," Cook told the Des Moines Register. "The amount is confidential, but the Oswalds ... appreciate the hospital's acknowledgment of regret for the situation." Full News Story at LifeNews.com Mother Harvests Sperm of Dead Son, Raises Profound Ethical Questions in Novel Case
Dallas, TX (LifeNews.com) -- A Texas woman, Missy Evans, has harvested her dead son's sperm and hopes to find a surrogate and one day raise her son's child. It's a decision that ethicists say raises troubling questions; one called the potential offspring a “replacement child.” Nikolas Colton Evans had talked about how much he wanted to have a child, but the 21-year-old died after he was punched and hit his head on the ground in a fight. Evans isn't concerned about what others might think. She says she is only doing what her son would have wanted. "He would love me so much for doing this," she told the Associated Press. After a doctor told her that nothing more could be done for her son, Missy Evans came up with the idea of harvesting his sperm. She discussed the idea with her ex-husband, her older son and other family members, and said all supported her wish to help a part of Nikolas live on through his future offspring. She said her son once told her he wanted three sons and had already picked out names. She described Nikolas as an "old soul" who was wise beyond his years. "My son wanted to graduate from college. He wanted to have children. And someone took that away from him," she told AP. Evans had to go to court to get permission to harvest his sperm. On Tuesday, a Travis County probate judge granted her wish and ordered that local officials nearly freeze his body so experts could come in and take his sperm to allow a future birth.
Girl is Born Via In-Vitro Fertilization a Record 22 Years After Father’s Sperm is Frozen
Charlotte, NC (LifeNews.com) -- A former leukemia patient who had his sperm frozen as a teenager has fathered a baby after doctors successfully thawed his sample a record 22 years later. Chris Biblis was 16 when doctors told him that he needed radiotherapy that would leave him sterile and recommended before going ahead with the life-saving treatment that they put a sample of his sperm into cryogenic storage for future use. Now aged 38, he is celebrating the birth of a healthy baby daughter, Stella, who was conceived after scientists injected a defrosted sperm into an egg from his wife, Melodie, and implanted it in her uterus via in-vitro fertilization. The 22-year lapse between storage in April 1986 and conception in June 2008 is a world record, according to specialists at the US fertility clinic who carried out the procedure. “From my life being saved to being able to create a life, words just can’t describe where we are now,” said Mr. Biblis, of Charlotte, North Carolina, who has been free of leukemia since the age of 18. “I’ve got this bundle of joy to appreciate. It’s truly a miracle,” he told ABC News.
Media Bias: Seattle Times the Latest to Write One-Sided Piece on Assisted Suicide Refusals
Seattle, WA (LifeNews.com) -- The Seattle Times is the latest to write a one-sided news piece on the refusal of hospitals and doctors to engage in assisted suicide. Wesley J. Smith, a noted bioethics attorney and author provides the following comments: “This is standard operating procedure in the mainstream media these days, but it is always worth pointing out: The media are so wildly biased on some issues, they report about them as if there were only one side to the debate. Assisted suicide is fast becoming one of those monochrome issues from which opposing views are airbrushed out of the big picture as surely as Trotsky was erased from old photos of the Bolshevik Revolution by Stalin. In Washington, where many doctors and hospitals are refusing to cooperate with the killing agenda--as is their right under the law--pro assisted suicide campaigners are ramping up the pressure to coerce complicity. The Seattle Times, byline Laura Kate Zaichkind dancing a jig to the tune fiddled by Compassion and Choices (formerly Hemlock Society), has written a second story about pressure being placed on doctors to write lethal prescriptions. True to form, no contrary opinions are included.” Contact the newspaper by going to http://seattletimes.nwsource.
Scientist Sent Packing From MIT Over Opposing Embryonic Stem Cells Makes Adult Cell Progress
Boston, MA (LifeNews.com) -- A scientist sent packing from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for opposing embryonic stem cell research is moving ahead with adult stem cells. James Sherley, senior scientist at the Boston Biomedical Research Institute, is raising $25 million to establish a new not-for-profit adult stem cell technology center. The center would serve as a stem cell bank and a research, training, and development resource for stem cell technologies, Sherley said. Sherley said the center would partner with local biotech companies to do something unique. It would use any developed proprietary adult stem cell products to mass produce mature cells to meet a company’s specific needs. This includes offering a reliable source of a wide variety of adult stem cells beyond what is typically available, including pancreas, skeletal muscle, liver, kidney and skin cells. He said adult stem cells don’t produce tumors like embryonic ones, and their development for treatments is more mature than that of embryonic stem cells. “We’re not seeking investors who are motivated for profit,” said Sherley. “We’re looking for a kind of sponsor, and the ideal sponsor would be the state of Massachusetts.” Sherley was denied tenure at MIT after fighting for over two years to get it. Sherley has been an outspoken advocate against human cloning -- including the kind of therapeutic cloning his colleagues and other scientists want to use to create and destroy human embryos for their stem cells.
