Health Care Bill Promoting Abortion Will Get House Vote Next Week Despite Senate
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Despite a move by Senate leaders to postpone any vote on a health care bill that could promote abortion funding and coverage until September, the House will likely vote next week. The measure it will consider probably won't have any limits on abortion that pro-life groups are requesting. White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel told NPR today that the House will likely vote on its government-run health plan before it breaks for its August recess. After meeting with pro-abortion House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Emanuel told NPR, "their intention is to go next week and she is working toward that goal." Congress "can use the summer months to basically work out and iron out differences," he said. "Having a deadline focuses the mind," he said. Without abortion limits, a group of 40 pro-life Democrats are focused on defeating the bill. Combined with Republicans they would possibly have enough votes to stop either the rules for debate or the bill itself on the House floor. President Barack Obama had been pushing for Congress to complete its work on a bill before its traditional August recess, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced yesterday that a vote will not take place until afterwards. Full story at LifeNews.com
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Despite a move by Senate leaders to postpone any vote on a health care bill that could promote abortion funding and coverage until September, the House will likely vote next week. The measure it will consider probably won't have any limits on abortion that pro-life groups are requesting. White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel told NPR today that the House will likely vote on its government-run health plan before it breaks for its August recess. After meeting with pro-abortion House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Emanuel told NPR, "their intention is to go next week and she is working toward that goal." Congress "can use the summer months to basically work out and iron out differences," he said. "Having a deadline focuses the mind," he said. Without abortion limits, a group of 40 pro-life Democrats are focused on defeating the bill. Combined with Republicans they would possibly have enough votes to stop either the rules for debate or the bill itself on the House floor. President Barack Obama had been pushing for Congress to complete its work on a bill before its traditional August recess, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced yesterday that a vote will not take place until afterwards. Full story at LifeNews.comACTION: Contact members of the House and Senate and urge strong support for any amendment to exclude abortion from their health care bills. Call 202-224-3121 or go tohttp://www.House.gov and http://www.Senate.gov for specific contact information.
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Democrats May Take Health Care Bill to Floor, Deny Vote on Pro-Life Amendments
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Frustrated that pro-life Democrats are joining their Republican colleagues in objecting to a version of the House health care restructuring bill that would promote abortion funding and coverage, a pro-abortion committee chairman is threatening to deny votes on pro-life amendments to the bill. Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman, a pro-abortion Democrat from California, is upset that pro-life Democratic Rep. Bart Stupak has threatened to derail passage of the bill.Stupak made it clear this week that he and 39 colleagues are ready to stop the bill in committee or on the House floor if amendments are not added to make it abortion neutral. Frustrated that Stupak and his colleagues are blocking the bill and tired that negotiations are taking so long, Waxman said Friday he may bypass a committee vote and take it to the full House floor. There, two other pro-abortion health care restructuring bills are awaiting a debate and vote. "We're going to have to look at perhaps bypassing the (Energy and Commerce) committee because we've got to get moving on this legislation," said Waxman. "I hope we don't come to that conclusion." Waxman said he is runnint out of patience with the pro-life Democrats. "We're not going to let them empower the Republicans to control the committee," he said. "This this can't be an interminable discussion." Full story at LifeNews.comSenate Bill Would Force Taxpayer Funding of Abortions for Federal Employees
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Another bill in Congress overturns a longstanding pro-life policy preventing taxpayer funding of abortions in certain cases. The Senate Financial Services Appropriations bill, S. 1432, would have Americans fund abortions for employees of the federal government. When Congress adopts the funding bill each year, it has included an amendment from pro-life Rep. Chris Smith, a New Jersey Republican, to stop tax-funding of abortions for federal employees in their health care plans. However, a search of the new bill that Senate Democrats crafted finds the Smith Amendment prohibiting taxpayer-subsidized abortions through the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) has been deleted. The FEHBP covered 8 million people who work for the federal government and funding of their abortions would have the bill backing abortions with government money in two instances. The bill has already come under fire already from pro-life advocates because it, like its House version, would overturn the ban on taxpayer funding of abortions in the nation's capital. Leading pro-life advocates tell LifeNews.com that funding abortions in the FEHBP is particularly noteworthy in light of the ongoing debate on national health care reform. The FEHBP has been repeatedly used as an example of what a government-run health care system could become. Full story at LifeNews.comACTION: Contact members of the Senate at 202-224-3121 or http://www.Senate.govand oppose taxpayer funding of abortions for federal employees.
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- When the Senate Judiciary Committee convenes on Tuesday to vote on the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court, pro-life Sens. John Cornyn and Orrin Hatch won't give her their support. Still, the panel is expected to approve her nomination to replace pro-abortion Justice David Souter. In a statement LifeNews.com received, Hatch, a Utah Republican, admitted he was very conflicted over his vote but said he can't support Sotomayor because she would become a judicial activist on the court. "Although Judge Sotomayor has a compelling life story and dedication to public service, her statements and record were too much at odds with the principles about the judiciary in which I deeply believe," Hatch said. Meanwhile, Cornyn, a Texas Republican, is also in the "no" column on Sotomayor. He said his negative vote comes “with regret and some sadness," and he called Sotomayor's record “generally in the mainstream." But he said “some of her decisions are cause of concern of liberal judicial activism.” And he said some of her public statements reflected “surprisingly radical view of the law.” Full story at LifeNews.comLawmakers Confirm House Health Care Bill Promotes Euthanasia Among Elderly
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Two Republican leaders in the House of Representatives are confirming reports that the health care restructuring bill the House is currently considering promotes euthanasia. A leading patients rights advocate is worried about the effects of the legislation. Betsy McCaughey, the former New York lieutenant government who is now a patient's rights advocate, notes that the government-run health care plan would require "end of life" counseling for seniors. The counseling, she says, would be focused on telling seniors how to end their lives sooner. In a statement sent to LifeNews.com House Republican Leader John Boehner Republican Policy Committee Chairman Thaddeus McCotter confirm those fears. "Section 1233 of the House-drafted legislation encourages health care providers to provide their Medicare patients with counseling on ‘the use of artificially administered nutrition and hydration’ and other end of life treatments,'" the pair say. That section "may place seniors in situations where they feel pressured to sign end of life directives they would not otherwise sign." "This provision may start us down a treacherous path toward government-encouraged euthanasia if enacted into law. At a minimum this legislative language deserves a full and open public debate – the sort of debate that is impossible to have under the politically-driven deadlines Democratic leaders have arbitrarily set for enactment of a health care bill," they state. Full story at LifeNews.com
Pro-Abortion President Obama's Approval Ratings Below 50 Percent for First Time
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The approval ratings for pro-abortion President Barack Obama have fallen below 50 percent for the first time, according to a new Rasmussen poll. The new survey follows a new poll from Gallup showing Obama's approval ratings at their lowest since he took over the White House in January. Rasmussen's new survey, released today, shows 49 percent of voters say they at least somewhat approve of his performance while 51 percent disapprove. "Today marks the first time his overall approval rating has ever fallen below 50% among likely voters nationwide," pollster Scott Rasmussen reports. Voters with the strongest feelings either way more intensely disapprove of Obama's record thus far, with 30 percent saying they strongly approve and 38 percent saying they strongly disapprove. The poll shows a strong partisan divide with 83 percent of Democrats saying they approve of Obama's performance to date and 80 percent of Republicans saying they disapprove. Among those not affiliated with either major party, just 37% offer a positive assessment. Full story at LifeNews.com
Beijing, China (LifeNews.com) -- The Chinese government is allowing more exceptions to the forced abortion family planning policy that prohibits couples from having more than one baby. Although the Asian nation is not getting rid of the controversial program, it is allowing additional exceptions for some couples. Thirty years after implementing the policy, which has resulted in forced abortions and sterilizations and massive human rights abuses, officials are now urging some couples to have a second child. The new rules encourage parents who both have no other siblings -- products of the one-child policy -- to have two children. Such parents are already eligible, but few take advantage of the exception and a new educational campaign by a city government hopes to change that. The new push for more babies is meant to counter one of the growing international problems -- underpopulation -- which has resulted in worker shortages in many nations and birth rates below replacement level. Shanghai, which has more than 20 million people, is leading the way with the new rules changes. But 22 percent of its residents are over the age of 60 and that number is already growing, signaling a sharp population decline in the next couple of decades. Full story at LifeNews.comScientists Create Mice Without Destroying Life With Embryonic Stem Cells
Beijing, China (LifeNews.com) -- In an advancement that could one day applies to humans and further reduce the need for embryonic stem cell research, scientists in China have created mice from reverted adult stem cells without having to destroy an embryo to obtain stem cells to use to create the mouse. Chinese scientists created live mice from mature skin cells that had reverted to an embryonic-like state through a process known as direct reprogramming. Pro-life advocates have hailed the process in humans because it allows researches to take ethical adult stem cells and turn them into an embryonic-like state. The only way to obtain human embryonic stem cells is by destroying human life. Although the process helps diffuse the embryonic stem cell debate, it gives rise to the cloning debate where animals, or potentially humans, could be cloned and killed for body parts or cells to treat others. Full story at LifeNews.comNorth Dakota Abortion Business Sues to Stop Women From Seeing Ultrasounds
Fargo, ND (LifeNews.com) -- A Fargo, North Dakota abortion business has filed a lawsuit to stop women from having the ability to see an ultrasound of their unborn children before the have an abortion. Gov. John Hoeven signed the measure into law in May after the state House easily approved the ultrasound measure. The House backed House Bill 1371, on a strongly bipartisan 77-9 vote in February and the Senate signed off on the bill in April. The measure is designed to help women learn the humanity of their unborn child and to consider abortion alternatives. While most abortion businesses do an ultrasound before an abortion is done on a woman and her unborn child, that doesn't mean the mother will have a chance to see it. Rep. Bette Grande, a Republican sponsoring House Bill 1371, hopes the bill changes that. However, the Red River Women's Clinic, the only abortion business in the state, filed a lawsuit to stop the law from taking effect on August 1. With help from the New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights, a pro-abortion legal group, the abortion center is asking for a temporary injunction against the ultrasound measure. Full story at LifeNews.com
Fargo, ND (LifeNews.com) -- A Fargo, North Dakota abortion business has filed a lawsuit to stop women from having the ability to see an ultrasound of their unborn children before the have an abortion. Gov. John Hoeven signed the measure into law in May after the state House easily approved the ultrasound measure. The House backed House Bill 1371, on a strongly bipartisan 77-9 vote in February and the Senate signed off on the bill in April. The measure is designed to help women learn the humanity of their unborn child and to consider abortion alternatives. While most abortion businesses do an ultrasound before an abortion is done on a woman and her unborn child, that doesn't mean the mother will have a chance to see it. Rep. Bette Grande, a Republican sponsoring House Bill 1371, hopes the bill changes that. However, the Red River Women's Clinic, the only abortion business in the state, filed a lawsuit to stop the law from taking effect on August 1. With help from the New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights, a pro-abortion legal group, the abortion center is asking for a temporary injunction against the ultrasound measure. Full story at LifeNews.comEncourage Friends to Sign Up for Free Pro-Life News From LifeNews.com
