Saturday, July 4, 2009

FROM LIFENEWS.COM: TODAY'S PRO-LIFE HEADLINES (Saturday)




Bipartisan Amdt Expected Tuesday to Stop Obama's Tax-Funded Abortions in DC
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- In a Thursday afternoon interview with members of various Catholic publications, President Barack Obama defended himself from criticism over his pro-abortion record. He said he supports a conscience clause on abortion but gave a joking response to a question about Notre Dame. According to a National Catholic Register report, Obama talked about his upcoming visit with Pope Benedict XVI and said he looked forward to taking with him about unrelated political issues. Father Owen Kearns, editor in chief and publisher of the Register, said each member of the Catholic press was allowed to ask one question and the most controversial came in regard to Obama's position on conscience clauses. Kearns told Register writer Time Drake that Obama tried to "dispel the worst" about what pro-life advocates say about his attempts to overturn the additional pro-life conscience protections President Bush put in place. "Well, I think that the only reason that my position may appear unclear is because it came in the wake of a last-minute, 11th-hour change in conscience clause provisions that were pushed forward by the previous administration that we chose to reverse," Obama said. Full story at LifeNews.com
ACTION: Contact members of the Appropriations Committee and ask them to restore the Dornan Amendment to stop tax-funded abortions in DC. Find a list of members here.http://appropriations.house.gov/members111th.shtml


White House, Senator Debate Papers Linking Sotomayor to Pro-Abortion Group
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The White House and a pro-life senator who is the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee are debating new papers linking Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor to a pro-abortion group. The papers show Sotomayor set policy for an organization that aggressively backs abortion. The papers could shed light on Sotomayor's judicial approach and her link to the Puerto Rican civil rights group and its pro-abortion position is concerning. Sotomayor served as a board member of the organization and has been described as actively involved in setting policy. It filed six different Supreme Court briefs all saying abortions should be unlimited and paid for at taxpayer expense. Sen. Jeff Sessions, an Alabama Republican, responded, "During her time there, the organization took extreme positions on legal issues ranging from the death penalty to abortion to racial quotas." Sessions said it was "absurd" for the White House to call the documents irrelevant. White House Counsel Greg Craig told AP that the papers and links to the group shouldn't affect Sotomayor because she didn't write the legal briefs nor did she approve them. Craig claimed there is "confusion about Judge Sotomayor's role with PRLDEF, and that confusion may account for" the opposition to her based on the group's pro-abortion agenda. Full story at LifeNews.com


Abortion Practitioner Alberto Hodari Fined $10,000 For Woman's Abortion Death
Lathrup Village, MI (LifeNews.com) -- Abortion practitioner Alberto Hodari, based in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan, has been fined $10,000 by a state board in connection with a woman's botched abortion death. One of Hodari's staff did an abortion on Regina Johnson and, afterwards, suffered respiratory and cardiac arrest. Staff at Hodari's abortion center allegedly failed to help her or call for an ambulance and she was deprived of oxygen for an extended time. She died a short time later at Hodari's Womencare clinic in Lathrup Village. Johnson's death is one of several women to have died over the years under Hodari's care. The September 17, 2003 abortion saw Milton Nathanson, then employed by Hodari, do an abortion on Johnson. She died the next day from "anoxic encephalopahy due to cardiac arrest" resulting from the abortion, according to official reports. In addition to Hodari and Nathanson, anesthesiologist Barry Thompson and the abortion clinic's nurse, Cathy Litchig were also implicated in Johnson's death. The Michigan Attorney General imposed the fine on Hodari on march 4, 2009, but information about it only recently became public. Monica Migliorino Miller, director of Citizens for a Pro-Life Society, informed LifeNews.com of the fine and talked with the pro-life news service about it. She said that "$10,0000 seems such a small penalty to pay for the death of a human being. To Hodari this is pocket money." 
Full story at LifeNews.com




Ohio Ruling Upholding Abortion Drug Safety Law Applauded by Pro-Life Groups
Columbus, OH (LifeNews.com) -- An Ohio Supreme Court decision saying abortion centers in the state could no longer put women's health at risk by not properly using the dangerous RU 486 abortion drug is earning praise from pro-life groups. The Alliance Defense Fund and Americans United for Life say the decision is good news. At issue was a state law making sure abortion businesses follow FDA guidelines when they give out the drug. “A woman’s life and health is worth more than Planned Parenthood’s bottom line,” Senior Legal Counsel Steven H. Aden told LifeNews.com Thursday. “This Ohio statute simply requires abortionists to abide by FDA-approved guidelines for the abortion drug RU-486, yet Planned Parenthood wants the freedom to exceed those guidelines when they wish to, even though there’s evidence that some women may even have died when the guidelines weren't followed. Planned Parenthood may say it cares about the health of women, but if that was true, it wouldn't be fighting against this law," he added. Americans United for Life president Charmaine Yoest told LifeNews.com that the ruling helps pro-life advocates win an important battle. "We applaud the Ohio Supreme Court for cutting through Planned Parenthood's self-serving rhetoric that it did not need to follow the protocol tested and approved by the FDA when administering RU-486," she said. Full story at LifeNews.com


Man Who Dropped Off Girlfriend for Abortion Pulls Gun on Pro-Life Advocate
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Senator Bob Casey, the self-identified pro-life Democrat from Pennsylvania, is giving pro-life advocates another reason to doubt that claim. In a new interview, Casey says that making sure abortions are not covered or paid for at taxpayer expense shouldn't stop passage of a health care restructuring bill. Casey's comments in the interview with CNS News appear to put him at odds with 19 pro-life Democrats in the House who recently told House Speaker Nancy Pelosi they couldn't support any health care bill that wasn't abortion neutral. Casey said he doesn't know why Congress should debate making sure a health care bill doesn't mandate abortion coverage. “It hasn't been an impediment, and I don't expect it to be and it shouldn't be. There is no reason why in a health-care bill we have to have another debate about that issue (abortion),” the senator said. Casey later defended his own position on abortion, which has been called into question following such votes as opposing the reinstatement of the Mexico City Policy, which stops funding of groups that promote and perform abortions abroad. “I think it is abundantly clear what my position is on the issue of abortion,” he added. Full story at LifeNews.com



Virginia Law Allowing Choose Life License Plates Goes Into Effect, Available Now
Richmond, VA (LifeNews.com) -- Motorists in Virginia now have a way to express their pro-life views and support adoption and abortion alternatives at the same time. A new state law allowing the purchase of Choose Life license plates went into effect yesterday and proceeds from the sales of the plates support those pro-life efforts. Virginia drivers pay an additional $25 to get the yellow affinity plates and $15 of that fee, after the first 1,000 plates are sold, goes to Heartbeat International to provide women with tangible pregnancy help and options. Senator Ken Cuccinelli was the sponsor of the Choose Life plate bill that pro-abortion Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine reluctantly signed in March"As of today, you can now purchase a "Choose Life" license plate by going to the DMV's web page," he told LifeNews.com. "The proceeds go to crisis pregnancy centers around Virginia to help women at an extremely difficult moment in their life. Thanks so much to all the volunteers who do so much work to help these expectant mothers cope with tough circumstances," he added. Full story at LifeNews.com

DMV Info on Choose Life plates -
http://www.dmv.state.va.us/exec/vehicle/splates/info.asp?idnm=CL

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