LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report
Thursday, September 17, 2009
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Current Headlines
• Baucus Health Care Bill Also Opens Door for Taxpayer-Funding of Abortions
• Analysis Finds Baucus Health Care Bill Contains Abortion Subsidies, Mandates
• Baucus Bill Pressures Doctors to Ration Health Care Via Financial Incentives
• No GOP Support for Baucus Health Care Bill Means Reconciliation Possible
• Study Shows One Abortion Ups Premature Birth Risk for Women by 36 Percent
• Slain Pro-Life Advocate Pouillon Remembered by Hundreds at Memorial Service
• Pro-Lifers Must be Realistic About How, When Roe Abortion Case Can be Reversed
• Kathleen Sebelius Won't Comment on Abortion Funding, Receiving Communion
• Family Says Man Who Allegedly Killed Pro-Life Advocate Jim Pouillon Depressed
• Operation Rescue President Says AP Story Won't Stop Abortion Opposition
• Disputed Virginia Poll Shows Pro-Abortion Deeds Catching Pro-Life McDonnell
• New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine Gets Backing of Planned Parenthood Abortion Biz
• Texas Pro-Life Group Backs Lt. Governor David Dewhurst for Re-Election Bid
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Baucus Health Care Bill Also Opens Door for Taxpayer-Funding of Abortions
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- With the two main health care bills in the House and Senate already including massive funding for abortions, pro-life advocates have been carefully watching to see whether the new bill presented by Sen. Max Baucus would fund abortions as well. Early indicates are that it does. Baucus, a Montana Democrat who is the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, had been working with a group of six lawmakers on the legislation but crafted the final bill on his own after losing their support. The measure, known as America's Health Future Act, comes in at 223 pages and the committee is expected to debate the bill and amendments to it -- which will likely included proposals to ban all abortion funding -- next week. The early analysis of the bill, according to pro-life advocates on Capitol Hill who have been in touch with LifeNews.com, is that the Baucus bill incorporates language that is very similar to the phony Capps amendment to H.R. 3200. That is the amendment the House Energy and Commerce Committee adopted that President Barack Obama and abortion advocates in Congress have been using to mislead the public into thinking abortions are not covered. Full story at LifeNews.com
ACTION: Contact members of the Senate Finance Committee and urge them to support amendments to make sure abortion funding and coverage are specifically excluded from the Baucus bill. You can find members of the panel here. http://finance.senate.gov/sitepages/committee.htm
Analysis Finds Baucus Health Care Bill Contains Abortion Subsidies, Mandates
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- An analysis from the National Right to Life Committee of the new bill Senator Max Baucus unveiled today finds massive abortion subsidies and mandates. The bill comes as an attempt to find compromise but hasn't earned Republican support in part because of the abortion funding. Douglas Johnson, the legislative director for NRLC, walked LifeNews.com through the Baucus bill provisions and explained how they allow government-funded abortions. The America's Healthy Future Act "contains an array of pro-abortion mandates and federal subsidies for elective abortion," he explained. "National Right to Life strongly opposes the legislation in its current form. We will work in support of amendments to eliminate the abortion mandates and federal abortion subsidies," he said. "The bill contains provisions that would send massive federal subsidies directly to both private insurance plans and government-chartered cooperatives that pay for elective abortion," Johnson explains. "This would be a drastic break from longstanding federal policy, under which federal funds do not pay for elective abortions or subsidize health plans that cover elective abortions." Full story at LifeNews.com
Baucus Bill Pressures Doctors to Ration Health Care Via Financial Incentives
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The initial analysis of the new Baucus health care bill in the Senate finds the measure includes massive abortion subsidies and mandates. However, an analysis from the National Right to Life Committee also reveals the bill contains health care rationing components. David N. O'Steen, the NRLC executive director, tells LifeNews.com that the measure has incentives for doctors to provide less medical care and penalizes physicians who don't. "With respect to rationing, the proposal contains a Medicare provision that, beginning in 2015, would severely financially penalize physicians who are in the top 10% of medical resource use," he explained. "This provision does not link funding to outcomes or quality; instead, it will force a 'race to the bottom' with relentless pressure on doctors to limit health care for their older patients," O'Steen adds. "On top of the significant Medicare cuts in the bill, this will gravely endanger the lives of America's senior citizens." Full story at LifeNews.com
No GOP Support for Baucus Health Care Bill Means Reconciliation Possible
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Although the new Baucus health care bill could change enough after the Senate Finance Committee votes on amendments to it next week, no Republicans in the Senate have yet expressed their support for the measure. As a result, Senate Democrats are renewing talks about railroading through the legislation. The initial reading from pro-life groups about the Baucus bill is that it opens the door to abortion funding and, at minimum, amendments are needed to make sure that doesn't happen. And with pro-abortion Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine saying she also can't support the bill in its current form, speculation is rampant again that the reconciliation process will be used. That is a special budget procedure that prevents the minority party in the Senate from using its right to filibuster legislation. It is supposed to be reserved for economic emergencies, but Democrats may pull it out to railroad the health care bill through the chamber. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a pro-abortion lawmaker from Nevada, said Tuesday that he is prepared to used reconciliation to get a health care bill passed on a party-line vote if necessary. "We've always had a place at the table for Republicans. There's one there today. We hope it bears fruit," he said. "If we can't get the 60 votes we need, then we'll have no alternative but to use reconciliation." Full story at LifeNews.com
Study Shows One Abortion Ups Premature Birth Risk for Women by 36 Percent
Toronto, Canada (LifeNews.com) -- A new study by a Canadian researcher finds that women who have just one abortion increase the risk of having a premature birth in a subsequent pregnancy by 36 percent. The research is the latest in a long string of studies confirming the link between abortion and premature birth. With premature births leading to an assortment of physical and mental health problems for unborn children, the researcher says women should be told of the risk before having an abortion. Dr. Prakesh Shah, a professor at the Department of Pediatrics at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto is the main author of the new study, published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. He found that women who have just one abortion in either the first or second trimester of pregnancy, when abortions are most routinely performed, have a 35 percent risk of having a low-birth-weight baby in the next pregnancy and a 36 percent risk of having a baby born prematurely. The risk substantially increases for the millions of women who have had more than one abortion and become pregnant. In those cases, women having multiple abortions have a 93 percent risk of subsequently having a premature baby and a 72 percent risk of having an underweight baby. Full story at LifeNews.com
Owosso, MI (LifeNews.com) -- Hundreds of pro-life advocates joined with friends and family of James Pouillon to mourn the Friday shooting that saw a local man take his life. Pouillon was protesting abortion outside a local high school when Harlan Drake allegedly opened fire -- angry because Pouillon dared oppose abortion at the local high school. At the Owosso High School football stadium today, memorial service attendees cried and sang songs and remembered Pouillon, who was determined to spend as much time as possible holding his pro-life signs on the street. "Jim shouted to the world what he was living for," the Rev. David Knox during the service, according to the Lansing State Journal. "Well done Jim, well done." Pouillon's daughter, Mary Jo Pouillon, said she was surprised how many people turned up to pay her father respects. Full story at LifeNews.com| Shocking isn't it? But it's the truth and the truth can change minds. |
 Minds that think Choice is fair and good only to discover it's just an excuse to kill her baby. Connecting Choice to abortion will cause many to question its seeming fairness and open their minds to the truth that Choice kills. "Please visit Choicekills.com and consider sticking the truth on your bumper." |
Pro-Lifers Must be Realistic About How, When Roe Abortion Case Can be Reversed
by Clarke Forsythe
Last month, a federal court upheld South Dakota's law that women seeking abortion be informed "that the abortion will terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique, living human being." This is good news for people who believe women should have full information about abortion. But make no mistake: The South Dakota law will not, as some pro-lifers believe, pose a "challenge" to Roe v. Wade. The law is consistent with the trend in criminal and tort law toward protecting the unborn as human beings. In recent decades, legal protection of the unborn as persons has developed state by state through fetal-homicide and wrongful-death laws. Today, 36 states have fetal-homicide laws, 24 of which protect unborn children from the time of conception, and 38 states have wrongful-death laws, which protect unborn children at least after viability. (As a practical matter, however, the application of these laws has been limited by the U.S. Supreme Court to incidents other than abortion - e.g., vehicular homicide.) Over the past few years, a very different legal definition of "personhood" has been proposed in various states. These "personhood" proposals have the specific aim of "challenging" Roe, yet they are heading toward a brick wall, because they are based on a clear misreading of Justice Blackmun's language in the 1973 decision. Full story at LifeNews.com
Kathleen Sebelius Won't Comment on Abortion Funding, Receiving Communion
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- In a new interview with the Washington Post, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is making news more for what she won't say than what she revealed. She refused to say if she personally supports abortion funding in the health care bill and was silent on her status as a pro-abortion Catholic. The top Obama official confirmed in the Post interview that she supports abortion but hedged when asked, "Do you think that the federal government should do some federal funding of abortions, personally?" "Well, the President has made it pretty clear that Congress and the new health insurance plan will not provide federal funds for abortions," she responded. "Well, I know that. I was asking you what you thought," the Post interviewer said. "I am the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and I will support the President's proposal moving forward," Sebelius said in a second evasive reply. Full story at LifeNews.com
Family Says Man Who Allegedly Killed Pro-Life Advocate Jim Pouillon Depressed
Owosso, MI (LifeNews.com) -- The family of Harlan Drake, the man who allegedly shot and killed Michigan pro-life advocate Jim Pouillon, says he suffers from depression. The development is very similar to what the family of Scott Roeder said after he allegedly killed late-term abortion practitioner George Tiller. On Friday, Drake killed local businessman Mike Fouss and then drove to where Pouillon was protesting abortion outside the local high school and shot him multiple times. Officials say Drake killed Pouillon because he didn't like how Pouillon would show pictures of babies killed in abortion outside to high school students. But Drake's family says he may have engaged in the shootings because he suffered from mental health issues. Full story at LifeNews.com
Operation Rescue President Says AP Story Won't Stop Abortion Opposition
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The head if Operation Rescue told LifeNews.com today that he is displeased with an Associated Press article that makes it appear as if the pro-life group is close to going under. Formerly an abortion protest group, OR now focuses on exposing and putting abortion practitioners out of business. OR and it pro-life allies Kansans for Life were close to getting late-term abortion practitioner George Tiller held accountable for potentially illegal abortions. But, just when the state medical board was close to finally taking action to suspend Tiller's medical license because of the problems, he was allegedly shot and killed by militia activist Scott Roeder. Because Roeder happened to have contacted Operation Rescue for information about Tiller and had the group's number in his vehicle, the pro-life group was erroneously tied to him. That, and a fundraising letter asking for support because of the summer doldrums, prompted the Associated Press to write a news article saying OR was close to its demise. Not so, Operation Rescue president Troy Newman tells LifeNews.com. Full story at LifeNews.com
Disputed Virginia Poll Shows Pro-Abortion Deeds Catching Pro-Life McDonnell
Richmond, VA (LifeNews.com) -- A new poll out of the state of Virginia, the location of one of two major off-year election contests, is showing Democrat Creigh Deeds closing the gap with Republican Bob McDonnell. However, the results are disputed because the survey only takes into consideration registered voters. Deeds, Virginia's Democratic nominee for governor who is pro-abortion, has supposedly narrowed the lead of his pro-life opponent to five percentage points, according to a new Clarus Research Group poll released last night. Deeds, a state senator, now trails former Attorney General Bob McDonnell 42-37 percent after lagging by double digits throughout the summer. Twenty percent of those polled remain undecided. However, the conservative publication National Review points out that "this poll is of registered voters, not likely voters" and is the first poll since June to not include only likely voters -- which yields more accurate results. Holly Smith, the political director for the Virginia Society for Human Life PAC, tells LifeNews.com that abortion is playing a role in the race. Full story at LifeNews.com
New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine Gets Backing of Planned Parenthood Abortion Biz
Trenton, NJ (LifeNews.com) -- The Planned Parenthood abortion business has come to the rescue of embattled New jersey Gov. Jon Corzine and his uphill re-election bid. Corzine has been struggling in the polls against Chris Christie, who is campaigning as a pro-life advocate, but he picked up the pro-abortion group's support today. Planned Parenthood's New Jersey Action Committee endorsed Corzine and running mate Loretta Weinberg today. The group called them "passionate advocates" for abortion and claimed that "anti-choice extremists" had endorsed Christie -- referring to New Jersey pro-life congressman Chris Smith. Independent gubernatorial candidate Christopher Daggett is also pro-abortion. The latest polls in the race show Christie in the lead but with Corzine closing. A Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey poll released Monday shows Christie leading Corzine by eight percentage points among likely voters, 47%-39% with 5% for Daggett. Full story at LifeNews.com
Texas Pro-Life Group Backs Lt. Governor David Dewhurst for Re-Election Bid
Austin, TX (LifeNews.com) -- A Texas pro-life group is squarely in the corner of Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst and says pro-life voters should make his name as he seeks re-election. The endorsement is important because the position, unlike in other states, is more important than the position of governor in some ways. "Texas Right to Life is thrilled that Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst will seek re-election," the statewide organization said in an email to LifeNews.com. "The Texas Right to Life Political Action Committee proudly endorses his re-election bid since Dewhurst has been a stalwart and effective defender of innocent human life in our state government," the pro-life group added. When he was sworn in as Lieutenant Governor in 2003, Dewhurst pledged to follow a pro-life agenda and TRTL says he has kept his word. Full story at LifeNews.com
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