LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report
Friday, October 23, 2009
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Current Headlines
• Pro-Life Group to Oppose Health Care Bill Rules if Abortion Amdt Blocked
• House Close to Votes for Pro-Abortion Health Care, But Senate Another Story
• Obama's Pro-Abortion Nominee to EEOC, Chai Feldblum, Faces Opposition
• President Bush Awarded by Canadian Pro-Life Group for Abortion Fight
• Pro-Life Canadian Student Placed in Isolation for Joining Abortion Day
• New Poll Has Obama Leading All Pro-Life Candidates in Potential 2012 Matchups
• NARAL Gaffe Has Petition Opposing Denying Seniors Tax-Money for Abortions
• Happiness Index Suffers as Abortion Industry Continues to Exploit Women
• United Nations Petition Against Abortion Re-Launched, Seeks 1 Million Signers
• New York Republican Scozzafava's Campaign Funded by Pro-Abortion Groups
• Kansas Pro-Life Group Says Abortion Prompts Change at Kansas Medical Board
• Michigan's Proposal 2 Not Creating Jobs, Advancing Research, Pro-Lifers Say
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Pro-Life Group to Oppose Health Care Bill Debate Rules if Abortion Amdt Blocked
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- In what is a preview of the next battle over health care and abortion in Congress, a pro-life group has issued a letter to lawmakers saying it will oppose the rules for debating the health care bill in the House if Democrats prevent a vote on an amendment to remove the abortion funding in the bill. Before the House debates HR 3200, Democrats must combine the three versions committees approved, all of which allow abortion funding, into one bill. Then, the House Rules Committee must draft the rules for debate on the legislation -- which may or may not include an allowance for an amendment to revoke taxpayer funding of abortions. If the panel disallows the amendment, the National Right to Life Committee says it will urge lawmakers to oppose the rules for debate. Every major pro-life group will likely follow suit and a collection of pro-life Democrats and Republicans will be forced to oppose the rules. If they get a majority vote, the House will be unable to debate the bill and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi may be forced to get her caucus to draft a new rule allowing the amendment. In its letter, NRLC says it "is strongly opposed to H.R. 3200" based on the current versions of the bill that all fund abortions. "Moreover, NRLC intends to oppose the Rule on H.R. 3200 and to score the roll call on the Rule, if – as we anticipate – the Rule fails to allow a vote on the Stupak-Pitts Amendment," to prevent abortion funding. Full story at LifeNews.com
ACTION: Contact Rep. Louise Slaughter and members of the House rules Committee and ask them to allow a vote on the Stupak-Pitts amendment to stop abortion funding in health care. Email Slaughter here and go to this link to find a list of the members of the committee. You can also call any member of Congress at 202-224-3121.
House Close to Votes for Pro-Abortion Health Care Bill, But Senate Another Story
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- House leaders triumphantly announced yesterday that they are close to having enough votes to approve a health care bill with a public option that includes abortion funding. However, the Senate is another story as lawmakers shy away from supporting the government option that expands abortion funding further. As LifeNews.com reported on Wednesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked her top lieutenants to conduct a vote count to determine where members of the party stand on HR 3200, which pro-life groups oppose. The results came back showing 210 of the 218 lawmakers needed to support the pro-abortion bill are on board. However, the Senate is a different ball game entirely because support for a bill with the public option is much weaker. As the Associated Press notes in a new story today, "Obama and Democratic leaders have modest leverage over several pivotal Senate Democrats who are more concerned about their next election or feel they have little to lose by opposing their party's hierarchy." Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas is one such senator who may not provide Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid the vote he needs from her to get to the 60-vote margin necessary to stop a filibuster. Full story at LifeNews.com
Obama's Pro-Abortion Nominee to EEOC Panel, Chai Feldblum, Faces Opposition
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Georgetown University law professor Chai Feldblum, the abortion advocate President Barack Obama named to serve on the Equal Employment Opportunity, is facing increasing opposition. Feldblum is a pro-abortion attorney who worked for the American Civil Liberties Union. If confirmed by the Senate, Feldblum would serve on the EEOC for five years and could decide cases that related to pressuring women employees to have abortions or pressuring pro-life advocates to allow abortions in insurance policies. Feldblum isn't known by most Americans, but she worked for the pro-abortion Human Rights Campaign Fund and, from 1986-1987, she clerked for Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun, the infamous judge who handed down the Roe v. Wade decision that has allowed more than 51 million abortions. Candi Cushman, an analyst for Focus on the Family, says Feldblum is outside the mainstream of American views. "Through these recent appointments, President Obama is pandering to activists," she said. "The president nominated Georgetown law professor Chai Feldblum to serve on a commission that enforces the nation's federal employment laws. This is disturbing." Full story at LifeNews.com
President George W. Bush Awarded by Canadian Pro-Life Group for Abortion Fight
Saskatoon, Canada (LifeNews.com) -- A Canadian pro-life group gave former President George W. Bush an award yesterday honoring his pro-life record and recognizing his fight against abortion. The Saskatchewan Pro-Life Association presented the president with the award while he was in town to give an address. The group said in a statement that it "had the distinct privilege to present a humble word of thanks to President George W. Bush for his very public determination to protect the unborn while he served two terms as President of the United States." Bush received the Humanity of the Unborn Child Pro-Life Award and a plaque that states it is "presented with sincere gratitude to President George W. Bush on the occasion of your visit to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada on October 21, 2009." The award is presented "in recognition of your resolve and initiatives in the protection of human life" and features a quote from Pope Benedict XVI saying, "Openness to life is at the center of true development." The group posted a laundry list of pro-life accomplishments on its blog and highlighted them in the statement honoring Bush. Full story at LifeNews.com
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Pro-Life Canadian Student Placed in Isolation for Joining Abortion Awareness Day
Petersborough, Canada (LifeNews.com) -- The story of a pro-life student in Canada is generating concerns for the pro-life group that sponsored the recent Pro-Life Silent Day of Solidarity. Jennifer Rankin arrived at Peninsula Shores ready to participate in the event but found herself placed in isolation. Hundreds of thousands of pro-life advocates joined the silent day on Tuesday wearing red tape on their mouths or red armbands to protest the millions of abortions that take place in Canada and the United States. Rankin joined them by wearing red tape and preparing to pass out a flier to anyone who asked her why she would remain silent throughout the school day. Instead, a school principal alerted police and met Rankin and her mother at the entrance where she told them that the protest is not welcome at the school. Ultimately, school officials allowed Rankin into the building but kept her in isolation away from other students. Full story at LifeNews.com
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A new poll has pro-abortion President Barack Obama leading all of the potential Republican presidential candidates he may face in a 2012 re-election bid. The new Public Policy Polling survey comes after a new Rasmussen poll showing Mike Huckabee faring the best with Republican voters. Obama would defeat four of his potential opponents and the survey shows Huckabee again faring the best out of the Republican candidates he could face. PPP finds Obama with a 47 to 43 percent lead over Huckabee, the pro-life former Arkansas governor, with 10 percent undecided. Against Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who campaigned as a pro-life candidate, Obama holds a 48-40 percent lead with 12 percent undecided. Obama has a larger lead over former Arkansas governor Sarah Palin, 52-40 with 8 percent of voters undecided. Full story at LifeNews.comNARAL Gaffe Has Petition Opposing Denying Seniors Tax-Money for Abortions
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Given the normal seriousness of the abortion debate and how the practice kills children and hurts women, there are few times when pro-life advocates can get a good chuckle. They received that today thanks to a NARAL gaffe that has the pro-abortion group wanting tax-funded abortions for America's senior citizens. NARAL is on the attack against pro-life advocates like the Family Research Council, which is trying desperately to keep taxpayer funding of abortions out of the Congressional health care bills. The pro-abortion group has a petition seeking signatures from abortion advocates. Some 32,000 people have signed the document, which reads: "Anti-choice extremists at the Family Research Council are launching an outrageous media and lobbying campaign claiming that Congress' health-care reform bills will deny seniors the medical care they need in order to pay for abortion." Thomas Peters of the American Papist blog noticed the blooper and informed LifeNews.com. "Yes, you read that correctly -- NARAL is worried that seniors might lose their medical coverage for abortion," he chided. Full story at LifeNews.com
Happiness Index Suffers as Abortion Industry Continues to Exploit Women
by Maria Vitale
As I paused at the bookstore coffee shop counter to order an Italian soda, a provocative magazine cover caught my eye. One of the weekly newsmagazines of record, Time, advertised a piece on the state of the American woman. Looking up the article later online, I discovered that, since 1972, the female high school dropout rate has been cut in half; nearly half of all medical and law degrees are earned by women now; and half of all Ivy League schools currently are headed by women. Still, Time notes some setbacks: women earn 77 cents for every dollar earned by men; women only make up about 10 percent of all civil engineers; and women pay more than men for their health insurance. Perhaps most telling of all is this line from Nancy Gibbs' Time article: "Among the most confounding changes of all is the evidence, tracked by numerous surveys, that as women have gained more freedom, more education and more economic power, they have become less happy." Could it be that at least part of their unhappiness lies in the fact that women live in a culture that does not necessarily revere mothers? That they exist in a society that often tells women that the best prescription for what ails them is an abortion? Full story at LifeNews.com
United Nations Petition Against Abortion Re-Launched, Seeks 1 Million Signers
New York, NY (LifeNews.com) -- A coalition of pro-life organizations throughout the world have re-launched their effort to collect 1 million signatures for the Petition for the Unborn Child. The document supports the right to life of unborn children from global attacks launched by groups that want to create an international right to abortion. Groups from the United States, Poland, Spain and other European counties launched the petition last fall and gathered nearly 500,000 signatures for it. The signatures were presented to various ambassadors a the United Nations and at a UN press conference that was broadcast throughout UN headquarters. The groups included American pro-life groups C-FAM, Concerned Women for America, United Families International and the Polish Federation of Pro-life Groups and the Spanish Institute for Family Policy. "The purpose of the petition is to persuade UN member states to begin interpreting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as protecting the unborn child from abortion and also to recognize traditional marriage and the right of parents to educate their children," CFAM president Austin Ruse explained. Full story at LifeNews.com
New York Republican Dede Scozzafava's Campaign Funded by Pro-Abortion Groups
Albany, NY (LifeNews.com) -- The New York special election for Congress has become a cause of sorts for pro-life advocates because of the intricacies involved and the need for pro-life votes in Congress. But, abortion advocates are also weighing in and they are supporting pro-abortion Republican Dede Scozzafava. The election pits Scozzafava against Democrat Bill Owens, who is also pro-abortion, and pro-life Conservative party candidate Doug Hoffman. Because they normally don't have much of a chance to win and with one of the major party candidates typically having a pro-life stance, pro-life groups rarely support third party candidates. That is not the case in New York, where pro-life groups are decidedly in Hoffman's corner because both Owens and Scozzafava back abortion. Now, new reports indicate abortion advocates are backing Scozzafava. Full story at LifeNews.com
Kansas Pro-Life Group Says Abortion Prompts Change at Kansas Medical Board
Topeka, KS (LifeNews.com) -- The pro-life group Kansans for Life is not happy about the change at the head of the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts, the agency responsible for monitoring doctors and abortion practitioners. The group says it believes abortion politics has prompted the replacement of Jack Confer. When Confer was named to head the medical board, KFL and other pro-life groups had repeatedly asked it to hold abortion practitioners ore accountable for breaking state laws and putting women at risk with botched abortions. At the time of his death, the KSBHA had a complaint it was investigating regarding late-term abortion practitioner George Tiller and was close to revoking his medical license. Last Friday, the Board conducted a regular meeting and voted to dismiss the Tiller revocation petition KFL submitted due to his death. Full story at LifeNews.com
Michigan's Proposal 2 Not Creating Jobs or Advancing Research, Pro-Lifers Say
Lansing, MI (LifeNews.com) -- The University of Michigan today released details of the $6.8 million in federal stimulus-fund grants given to scientists for stem cell research. While economically-depressed Michigan needs the boost, Right to Life of Michigan has questions about the direction of the funding. "Ten out of the 11 grants awarded to the University of Michigan scientists do not involve human embryonic stem cells as material for the research," Right to Life of Michigan president Barb Listing told LifeNews.com today. "That is the good news, however, one grant does require human embryo stem cells to be used," she added. Full story at LifeNews.com
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