Fox News Poll Confirms Gallup: More Americans Say They're Pro-Life on Abortion
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A new poll conducted by the Opinion Dynamics research firm for Fox News confirms the results of a new Gallup survey. Like the Gallup poll, the Fox News survey finds more Americans say they are pro-life than "pro-choice" on abortion and the number is the highest since 1997. The May 12-13 Opinion Dynamics survey asked respondents, "On the issue of abortion, would you say you are more pro-life or more pro-choice? It found 49 percent of Americans say they are pro-life while just 43 percent say they are "pro-choice." Another six percent said a little of both and two percent didn't know where they stood. The poll also found that Republicans take a pro-life position by a 69-27 percent margin, Independent voters have a pro-life view by a 51-40 percent spread and Democrats support abortion 57-34 percent. Republicans were least likely to say they held a combination of the two beliefs on abortion or that they didn't know where they stood. Nine percent of both Democrats and independents had mixed views or didn't know their position. The six point pro-life plurality is the biggest pro-life spread since April 2004, when the Opinion Dynamics survey showed a 47-44 percent pro-life margin. And the 49 percent pro-life showing is the highest since the polling firm started asking the question in polls in 1997. Full story at LifeNews.com
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A new poll conducted by the Opinion Dynamics research firm for Fox News confirms the results of a new Gallup survey. Like the Gallup poll, the Fox News survey finds more Americans say they are pro-life than "pro-choice" on abortion and the number is the highest since 1997. The May 12-13 Opinion Dynamics survey asked respondents, "On the issue of abortion, would you say you are more pro-life or more pro-choice? It found 49 percent of Americans say they are pro-life while just 43 percent say they are "pro-choice." Another six percent said a little of both and two percent didn't know where they stood. The poll also found that Republicans take a pro-life position by a 69-27 percent margin, Independent voters have a pro-life view by a 51-40 percent spread and Democrats support abortion 57-34 percent. Republicans were least likely to say they held a combination of the two beliefs on abortion or that they didn't know where they stood. Nine percent of both Democrats and independents had mixed views or didn't know their position. The six point pro-life plurality is the biggest pro-life spread since April 2004, when the Opinion Dynamics survey showed a 47-44 percent pro-life margin. And the 49 percent pro-life showing is the highest since the polling firm started asking the question in polls in 1997. Full story at LifeNews.com Potential Pro-Abortion Supreme Court Nominee Jennifer Granholm at White House
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, a potential Supreme Court nominee for pro-abortion President Barack Obama, will be at the White House on Tuesday. Although Obama administration officials say she will be present for an unrelated event, Granholm is on the president's high court short list. Granholm is a former federal prosecutor and Michigan attorney general and, although it is not certain if she will meet with Obama about the Supreme Court vacancy, she is one of the potential nominees. Granholm, if nominated, would potentially replace retiring pro-abortion Justice David Souter. The Michigan governor is also strongly supportive of abortion and has been a thorn in the side of pro-life advocates in the industrial Midwest state. In June 2008, Granholm vetoed a ban on partial-birth abortions for a second time. She claimed the bill needed a health exception even though the Supreme Court had already upheld a federal ban saying such an exception was unnecessary. In fact, physicians groups had indicated that late-term abortions pose problems for women's health and there is no reason to ever do the disputed abortion procedure to protect the health of women. In October 2003, Governor Granholm vetoed Senate Bill 395, the "Legal Birth Definition Act," which sought to prohibit partial-birth abortion. Full story at LifeNews.com
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, a potential Supreme Court nominee for pro-abortion President Barack Obama, will be at the White House on Tuesday. Although Obama administration officials say she will be present for an unrelated event, Granholm is on the president's high court short list. Granholm is a former federal prosecutor and Michigan attorney general and, although it is not certain if she will meet with Obama about the Supreme Court vacancy, she is one of the potential nominees. Granholm, if nominated, would potentially replace retiring pro-abortion Justice David Souter. The Michigan governor is also strongly supportive of abortion and has been a thorn in the side of pro-life advocates in the industrial Midwest state. In June 2008, Granholm vetoed a ban on partial-birth abortions for a second time. She claimed the bill needed a health exception even though the Supreme Court had already upheld a federal ban saying such an exception was unnecessary. In fact, physicians groups had indicated that late-term abortions pose problems for women's health and there is no reason to ever do the disputed abortion procedure to protect the health of women. In October 2003, Governor Granholm vetoed Senate Bill 395, the "Legal Birth Definition Act," which sought to prohibit partial-birth abortion. Full story at LifeNews.comAds Launched on Radical Records of Potential Obama Supreme Court Nominees
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A conservative judicial watchdog group has launched a series of new ads that focus on the radical records of the potential nominees of President Barack Obama to the Supreme Court. The Judicial Confirmation Network shows how the members of Obama's short list are out of touch with Americans on abortion. While national polls show a majority of Americans are pro-life on abortion, the ads expose how the potential Obama high court picks are pro-abortion. JCN spokeswoman Wendy Long, who helped lead a grassroots effort to support President Bush's judicial selections, told LifeNews.com that everyone on Obama's short list is outside the mainstream. "With the bully pulpit of the presidency, Congress, and the media under the control of liberals, the American people are getting a giant deception about the the liberal judicial activist philosophy of nominees floated as frontrunners," Long said. "They are not moderates or centrists; they hard-left activists who would decide cases based on their feelings and their personal political agendas." Full story at LifeNews.com Poll Showing Pro-Life Majority on Abortion Shows Unified GOP, Ultrasound Success
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A national expert on opinion polls concerning abortion says the new Gallup survey showing a pro-life majority shows a more unified Republican Party. Michael New, a political science professor at the University of Alabama, also says the poll shows the success of ultrasound in changing the abortion debate. The new Gallup poll, released on Friday, showed 51 percent of Americans self-identify as pro-life while just 42 percent themselves as "pro-choice." New, who has authored numerous reports and scholarly papers on polling data and the affect of abortion laws on the number of abortions, says the Gallup survey partly reveals "the change in abortion politics over the past several years." New says the pro-life shift is helped by the educational impact of the pro-life movement. He believes that "improvements in ultrasound technology and pro-life emphasis on broadly supported incremental legislation have led to some tangible gains in public support for the pro-life position." Such legislation includes parental involvement, Right to Know laws and bans on taxpayer-funded abortions. New also thinks "the debate over the partial-birth abortion ban in the mid 1990s" is "the event which started shifting public opinion in a more pro-life direction." Full story at LifeNews.com
Father Frank Pavone: My Day at Notre Dame, Reflections on Obama and Abortion
by Father Frank Pavone
There was an eerie stillness and silence across the Notre Dame campus as my colleagues, a few of the seniors and I walked across the campus very early on the morning of Commencement Day. It was the calm before the storm of what we knew was an historic day. I started with a national Fox News interview along with Fr. Richard McBrien. We were asked our views of the Commencement. My message was: Everyone can imagine people they would protest speaking at a commencement: an avowed racist, anti-Semite, or advocate of terrorism. So the failure to object to one who is unwilling to call for an end to abortion is the failure to see that abortion is as bad or worse than those other evils. We have to stop trivializing abortion. Moreover, the university gave the President an honorary law degree. Law exists to protect human rights; but this president has admitted that he doesn't know when a child receives human rights. How can he defend human rights when he doesn't know who has them? After speaking to various media, I greeted people on campus who were coming from all over the country to stand with the courageous students who boycotted their own commencement and invited me to lead them in an alternate ceremony. Full story at LifeNews.com
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A national expert on opinion polls concerning abortion says the new Gallup survey showing a pro-life majority shows a more unified Republican Party. Michael New, a political science professor at the University of Alabama, also says the poll shows the success of ultrasound in changing the abortion debate. The new Gallup poll, released on Friday, showed 51 percent of Americans self-identify as pro-life while just 42 percent themselves as "pro-choice." New, who has authored numerous reports and scholarly papers on polling data and the affect of abortion laws on the number of abortions, says the Gallup survey partly reveals "the change in abortion politics over the past several years." New says the pro-life shift is helped by the educational impact of the pro-life movement. He believes that "improvements in ultrasound technology and pro-life emphasis on broadly supported incremental legislation have led to some tangible gains in public support for the pro-life position." Such legislation includes parental involvement, Right to Know laws and bans on taxpayer-funded abortions. New also thinks "the debate over the partial-birth abortion ban in the mid 1990s" is "the event which started shifting public opinion in a more pro-life direction." Full story at LifeNews.comFather Frank Pavone: My Day at Notre Dame, Reflections on Obama and Abortion
by Father Frank Pavone
There was an eerie stillness and silence across the Notre Dame campus as my colleagues, a few of the seniors and I walked across the campus very early on the morning of Commencement Day. It was the calm before the storm of what we knew was an historic day. I started with a national Fox News interview along with Fr. Richard McBrien. We were asked our views of the Commencement. My message was: Everyone can imagine people they would protest speaking at a commencement: an avowed racist, anti-Semite, or advocate of terrorism. So the failure to object to one who is unwilling to call for an end to abortion is the failure to see that abortion is as bad or worse than those other evils. We have to stop trivializing abortion. Moreover, the university gave the President an honorary law degree. Law exists to protect human rights; but this president has admitted that he doesn't know when a child receives human rights. How can he defend human rights when he doesn't know who has them? After speaking to various media, I greeted people on campus who were coming from all over the country to stand with the courageous students who boycotted their own commencement and invited me to lead them in an alternate ceremony. Full story at LifeNews.com 
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- While most of the nation's political attention over the weekend was focused on President Barack Obama's speech at the University of Notre Dame, the chairmen of the Republican and Democratic parties debated on national television for the first time, and they touched on abortion issues. GOP chair Michael Steele, a pro-life former Maryland lieutenant governor, told Meet the Press that he thinks it was wrong for Notre Dame, as a Catholic college, to honor Obama. Obama said there are "two separate issues" -- one concerning whether Notre Dame should have invited Obama and another about whether it should have given him an honorary degree. "And that's where Catholics draw the line. It's not about the president speaking at the university, it's the fact that the institution is saying that we confer, you know, our favor on you and by extension a lot of the values that you represent and hold, because they are tied together in many respects," he said. Current Virginia governor Tim Kaine, who doubles as the national spokesman for Democrats, continued to take a pro-abortion position. He had no problem with Notre Dame honoring the pro-abortion president. "I'm a Catholic. I've got two brothers who are Notre Dame grads and feel very close to that community. I'm very happy that they've invited the president and that they are honoring him with a degree today because I think that his career merits it, and I think most Catholics agree," Kaine contended. Full story at LifeNews.comNotre Dame Will Become Symbol of Pro-Life Catholic Dissent After Obama Scandal
South Bend, IN (LifeNews.com) -- Now that the University of Notre Dame has chosen to honor pro-abortion President Barack Obama, the fallout appears likely to begin. One key Catholic writer says Notre Dame will become the symbol of pro-life Catholic dissent following the Obama scandal. Notre Dame was deluged with opposition as soon as the announcement reached the public that it would not only invite Obama to give its commencement speech but bestow upon him an honorary degree. Its president, Father John Jenkins, as Deal Hudson notes in a new editorial, "defended the choice with arguments that should make a freshman blush." He and the mainstream media glossed over the way in which Notre Dame violated the directions of the nations Catholic bishops to not give a platform to abortion advocates. And, on that platform, President Obama used his graduation speech to give his disingenuous call for "middle ground" on abortion and to promote embryonic stem cell research that violates the pro-life teachings of the Catholic Church. "But at the end the day, the party's over and Notre Dame will pay for the piper for many years to come," Hudson says. "What is the price? Notre Dame has become the symbol of dissent in the Catholic Church." Full story at LifeNews.com
South Bend, IN (LifeNews.com) -- Now that the University of Notre Dame has chosen to honor pro-abortion President Barack Obama, the fallout appears likely to begin. One key Catholic writer says Notre Dame will become the symbol of pro-life Catholic dissent following the Obama scandal. Notre Dame was deluged with opposition as soon as the announcement reached the public that it would not only invite Obama to give its commencement speech but bestow upon him an honorary degree. Its president, Father John Jenkins, as Deal Hudson notes in a new editorial, "defended the choice with arguments that should make a freshman blush." He and the mainstream media glossed over the way in which Notre Dame violated the directions of the nations Catholic bishops to not give a platform to abortion advocates. And, on that platform, President Obama used his graduation speech to give his disingenuous call for "middle ground" on abortion and to promote embryonic stem cell research that violates the pro-life teachings of the Catholic Church. "But at the end the day, the party's over and Notre Dame will pay for the piper for many years to come," Hudson says. "What is the price? Notre Dame has become the symbol of dissent in the Catholic Church." Full story at LifeNews.com Indiana State Senators Tell Lugar, Bayh: Oppose Pro-Abortion Dawn Johnsen
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Thirty Indiana state senators have signed a letter urging their two U.S. senators to oppose the nomination of abortion advocate Dawn Johnsen. President Barack Obama has appointed the controversial Indiana University professor to head the Office of Legal Counsel. In that position, Johnsen, who has been condemned for comparing pregnancy to slavery, would provide legal advice to Obama and administration officials. She has also come under fire for comparing pregnant women to "fetal containers," labeling pregnant women "losers in the contraceptive lottery," and comparing pro-lifers to the Klu Klux Klan. Johnsen is a longtime abortion advocate and worked for one of the leading abortion advocacy groups. She was the Legal Director for NARAL from 1988-1993 and has also worked for the ACLU, a pro-abortion legal group. Despite her controversial statements and abortion advocacy, she has the support of Senators Evan Bayh, who is considered a moderate Democrat, and Richard Lugar, a Republican who frequently votes pro-life. Full story at LifeNews.comUniversity of Wisconsin Hospital Sued for Denying Disabled Patients Medical Care
Madison, WI (LifeNews.com) -- The University of Wisconsin Hospital faces a new lawsuit from disability rights advocates for allegedly withdrawing treatment from two patients with developmental disabilities. The patients had apparent cases of pneumonia, but one of them survived and another died after supposed medical neglect. In one case, the guardian of a patient pushed for treatment withdrawal and then backtracked. In the other, the parents of a disabled patient, pushed for withdrawal and the patient eventually died. Disability Rights Wisconsin has filed the lawsuit and notes that Wisconsin law does not allow withdrawal of treatment from patients unless they are dying or in a so-called "persistent vegetative state." According to a report in the Wisconsin State Journal, that is a prognosis that applied to neither of the patients. In its lawsuit, Disability Rights wants the University of Wisconsin Hospital to change hospital practices and pay it the $4,700 it spend investigating the cases, plus legal costs. Attorney Mitch Hagopian, of the disability rights group, told the Journal that he worries UW Hospital doctors are too quick to determine that disabled patients are beyond hope and prematurely ending appropriate medical care and treatment. Full story at LifeNews.comMinnesota Governor Pawlenty Signs Bill to Ban Taxpayer Funding of Human Cloning
St. Paul, MN (LifeNews.com) -- With the University of Minnesota reportedly pursuing human cloning for research purposes, Gov. Tim Pawlenty this weekend signed a bill that would ban taxpayer funding of the grisly practice. Signing the bill is the Minnesota governor's latest move that has earned him respect with the pro-life community. In recent years, advocates of embryonic stem cell research have ingenuously moved towards promoting and performing human cloning for dubious research purposes. Laboratories around the world are in competition to be the first to successfully clone a human being and the University of Minnesota’s Stem Cell Institute is believed to be pursuing human cloning as well. On Saturday, Pawlenty signed the taxpayer funding ban and the state pro-life group Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life told LifeNews.com it appreciates his move. “MCCL applauds Governor Pawlenty and the state legislature for establishing a clear ethical boundary which upholds the integrity of the human embryo and opposes the commodification of the human body,” MCCL director Scott Fischbach said. ACTION: Thank Governor Pawlenty by going to http://www.governor.state.mn.us / Full story at LifeNews.com
St. Paul, MN (LifeNews.com) -- With the University of Minnesota reportedly pursuing human cloning for research purposes, Gov. Tim Pawlenty this weekend signed a bill that would ban taxpayer funding of the grisly practice. Signing the bill is the Minnesota governor's latest move that has earned him respect with the pro-life community. In recent years, advocates of embryonic stem cell research have ingenuously moved towards promoting and performing human cloning for dubious research purposes. Laboratories around the world are in competition to be the first to successfully clone a human being and the University of Minnesota’s Stem Cell Institute is believed to be pursuing human cloning as well. On Saturday, Pawlenty signed the taxpayer funding ban and the state pro-life group Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life told LifeNews.com it appreciates his move. “MCCL applauds Governor Pawlenty and the state legislature for establishing a clear ethical boundary which upholds the integrity of the human embryo and opposes the commodification of the human body,” MCCL director Scott Fischbach said. ACTION: Thank Governor Pawlenty by going to http://www.governor.state.mn.Russia Birth Rate Up, But Abortion and Economy Still Devastating Population
Moscow, Russia (LifeNews.com) -- The Russian nation is desperately in need of people as the prevalence of abortions has caused such severe problems that it has ravaged the nation's workforce. While some government-sponsored efforts have helped, the troubled economy and continued abortions are crippling the country. Underpopulation is rampant in Russia, which is seeing worker shortages that are hampering the economy and companies across the country. The nation's population shrank by 12 million people in the last 16 years alone. The federal and local governments have sponsored everything from educational campaigns to contests to direct cash payments for parents of newborn children to spark a birth rate increase. Posters carry nationalistic slogans, such as a picture of a woman with three children and the words "Love for your nation, starts with the family." In January, President Dmitry Medvedev said the efforts had been successful, with the birth rate up 8 percent in 2008 and six percent in 2008. But it doesn't take a mantic person to see future declines resulting from a poor economy that is prompting Russian women to continue having abortions at high rates. Full story at LifeNews.com
Moscow, Russia (LifeNews.com) -- The Russian nation is desperately in need of people as the prevalence of abortions has caused such severe problems that it has ravaged the nation's workforce. While some government-sponsored efforts have helped, the troubled economy and continued abortions are crippling the country. Underpopulation is rampant in Russia, which is seeing worker shortages that are hampering the economy and companies across the country. The nation's population shrank by 12 million people in the last 16 years alone. The federal and local governments have sponsored everything from educational campaigns to contests to direct cash payments for parents of newborn children to spark a birth rate increase. Posters carry nationalistic slogans, such as a picture of a woman with three children and the words "Love for your nation, starts with the family." In January, President Dmitry Medvedev said the efforts had been successful, with the birth rate up 8 percent in 2008 and six percent in 2008. But it doesn't take a mantic person to see future declines resulting from a poor economy that is prompting Russian women to continue having abortions at high rates. Full story at LifeNews.com 
