LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report
Saturday, October 24, 2009
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Current Headlines
• House Democrats Likely Won't Allow Vote to Cut Abortion From Health Care Bill
• Democrats Request Nancy Pelosi Allow Vote to Axe Abortion in Health Care
• AP Confirms Hyde Amendment Doesn't Prevent Abortion Funding in Health Care
• Patrick Kennedy Says Bishops Not Pro-Life for Opposing Pro-Abortion Health Care
• Kennedy's Bishop Seeks Apology, Calls Him "Disappointment" on Abortion
• Rationing and Death Panels: End of Life Care Should Not End Life
• NBC Program "Law and Order" to Feature Killing of Late-Term Abortion Practitioner
• Ohio Report Shows Abortion Numbers Drop 4 Percent in 2008 to All-Time Low
• European Parliament Opposes Pro-Life Amdts to Stop Forced Abortion Funding
• Mississippi Runners Get Komen Refund After Seeing Planned Parenthood Gifts
• Nevada Activists Launch Personhood Amendment, Not All Pro-Lifers on Board
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House Democrats Likely Won't Allow Vote to Cut Abortion From Health Care Bill
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- It appears House Democrats will likely not allow a vote on an amendment that would strip abortion funding from HR 3200, the legislation that will meld the three health care "reform" bills into one. Although a coalition of pro-life Democrats is hoping for a vote, it appears none is forthcoming. Rep. Bart Stupak, a pro-life Democrat from Michigan, has been leading the way in an attempt to get an amendment that would remove the massive abortion funding and subsidies from the bill. However, in a new report issued today, the Associated Press makes it appear that's not going to happen. "Such an amendment would be almost certain to prevail, since it likely would attract the votes of most Republicans as well as some Democrats. So Democratic leaders won't let Stupak offer it," AP indicates. Stupak told AP that he sees an impasse with one of the top pro-abortion Democrats who chairs one of the committees that approved a version of the bill, Rep. Henry Waxman -- who also said there is a hangup. Abortion funding is still in the bill and, because it is, Stupak has said he will urge pro-life Democrats and Republicans to vote against the rules for debate on the health care bill. That is something the new AP report acknowledges is likely to happen, saying it appears pro-abortion Democratic leaders "may have to take the risk of letting Stupak try to block action on the underlying bill, which he intends to do by assembling 'no' votes on a procedural measure that needs to pass before debate can begin." 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.
Democrats Request Nancy Pelosi Allow Vote to Axe Abortion in Health Care
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Congressional pro-life Democrats have sent their third letter in recent months to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asking that she allow a vote on an amendment to strike the abortion funding in HR 3200, the health care bills. Now, in total, 38 Democrats have requested such an amendment. Rep. Alan Mollohan, a pro-life West Virginia Democrat, is the author of the latest letter, that 28 of his Democratic colleagues signed. The letter notes that, during his address to Congress on health care, President Obama stated that "no Federal dollars will be used to fund abortions." "As Democrats who oppose Federal funding to pay for abortions, we were heartened to hear of his commitment in this regard," Mollohan and his colleagues write. "While some assert that language contained in variations of H.R. 3200, America's Affordable Health Choices Act, is sufficient to preclude Federal funds being used for abortion, we do not agree," the Democrats say. "If eliminating Federal funding of abortion is sincerely the goal, then a simple solution would be to include the Hyde Amendment to the version of H.R. 3200 that comes to the Floor -- the intent and effect of which is understood by all Members." Full story at LifeNews.com
AP Confirms Hyde Amendment Doesn't Prevent Abortion Funding in Health Care
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- White House press secretary Robert Gibbs may want to add a Friday news story from the Associated Press to his to-do list today. The article disabuses Gibbs on claims he made in recent weeks saying the Hyde amendment prevent taxpayer-funding of abortion in the health care bills. The Associated Press acknowledges what pro-life groups have been saying all along -- that the Hyde amendment, which stops abortion funding in Medicaid, doesn't apply to these new health care bills. "Currently a law called the Hyde amendment bars federal funding for abortion - except in cases of rape and incest or if the mother's life would be endangered - and applies those restrictions to Medicaid," AP writer Erica Werner reports. "Separate laws apply the restrictions to the federal employee health plan and military and other programs." "But the Democrats' health overhaul bill would create a new stream of federal funding not covered by the restrictions," AP confirms. As LifeNews.com reported October 7, Gibbs said during a press briefing that, referring to the Hyde amendment, "there's a law that precludes the use of federal funds for abortion. That isn't going to be changed in these health care bills." Full story at LifeNews.com
Patrick Kennedy Says Bishops Not Pro-Life for Opposing Pro-Abortion Health Care
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Congressman Patrick Kennedy has a message for the nation's Catholic bishops: You're not pro-life. That's the Rhode Island lawmaker's reaction to a promise from the bishops to vigorously oppose the health care bills in Congress unless amendments are added to remove abortion funding. Kennedy told CNS News in an interview that the Catholic Church is fanning "the flames of dissent and discord" by taking the position. "I can't understand for the life of me how the Catholic Church could be against the biggest social justice issue of our time, where the very dignity of the human person is being respected by the fact that we're caring and giving health care to the human person--that right now we have 50 million people who are uninsured," Kennedy told the conservative news outlet. "You mean to tell me the Catholic Church is going to be denying those people life saving health care? I thought they were pro-life?" he continued. "If the church is pro-life, then they ought to be for health care reform because it's going to provide health care that are going to keep people alive. So this is an absolute red herring and I don't think that it does anything but to fan the flames of dissent and discord and I don't think it's productive at all," he told CNS News. Full story at LifeNews.com
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Kennedy's Bishop Seeks Apology, Calls Him "Disappointment" on Abortion
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Congressman Patrick Kennedy's bishop didn't mince words in his response to remarks criticism the Catholic Church and saying its officials are not pro-life because they oppose the pro-abortion health care plans in Congress. Bishop Thomas Tobin called on Kennedy to issue an apology and said he is a "disappointment" because of his pro-abortion voting record. As LifeNews.com reported today, Kennedy told CNS News that in an interview that the Catholic Church is fanning "the flames of dissent and discord" by taking the position. Tobin took exception to his comments in an email to LifeNews.com. "Congressman Patrick Kennedy's statement about the Catholic Church's position on health care reform is irresponsible and ignorant of the facts," he said. "Congressman Kennedy continues to be a disappointment to the Catholic Church and to the citizens of the State of Rhode Island,' Tobin said. "I believe the Congressman owes us an apology for his irresponsible comments. It is my fervent hope and prayer that he will find a way to provide more effective and morally responsible leadership for our state," he concluded. Full story at LifeNews.com
Rationing and Death Panels: End of Life Care Should Not End Life
by Ken Connor
The subject of how best to honor and care for those facing death due to terminal illness or old age has always been controversial. As talk of "death panels" and "rationing" stirs debate over the government's proper role in health care, two new studies funded by the National Institutes of Health are lending new weight to the argument that, when it comes to providing end-of-life care for the elderly and terminally ill, sometimes less is better. The studies, featured in the New England Journal of Medicine, document how certain medical therapies implemented in the final months of a patient's life often cause emotional and physical stress and pain, effectively negating any positive benefits associated with such treatments. However, those worried that a government takeover of health care will result in health care rationing in keeping with Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel's "complete lives" theory view these studies with alarm—and for good reason. In a culture where "quality of life" is increasingly viewed as the predominant justification for abortion, assisted suicide, and even infanticide, there is a legitimate concern that these kinds of studies will be used by the government to advance policies that endanger society's most vulnerable members. Full story at LifeNews.comNBC Program "Law and Order" to Feature Killing of Late-Term Abortion Practitioner
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The NBC television program "Law and Order" is a popular one -- so much so that it has spin-offs that have been equally popular with large swaths of the American public. Maybe it is the content or the introductory pulsing theme music that attracts, but pro-life advocates may have one less (or one more) reason to watch. Tonight, the program will feature a plot line that, as the promotional says, is literally ripped from the headlines. Law and Order will feature an episode called "Dignity" that begins with the shooting death of a late-term abortion practitioner in his church. That's a not-so-removed reference to the summertime shooting of late-term abortion practitioner George Tiller, who was killed on a Sunday morning at the Lutheran Church (ELCA) he attended in Wichita, Kansas.
Ohio Report Shows Abortion Numbers Drop 4 Percent in 2008 to All-Time Low
Columbus, OH (LifeNews.com) -- With a combination of pro-life legislative and educational work to go alongside the efforts of crisis pregnancy centers, a new report shows Ohio abortions on the decline. The state government report indicates abortions dropped 4 percent in 2008 to an all-time low. The 2008 Report on Induced Abortions in Ohio released today by the Ohio Department of Health shows a significant downward trend in the total number of abortions done in the Buckeye state. The report shows 29,613 abortions were done in 2008, which is a four percent decrease from the 2007 number of 30,859. Since 1976, when the Ohio state health department made its first concerted effort to report abortion totals statewide, abortions have decreased by 23%. "We are winning the fight against those who push abortion as the first and sometimes only choice for women in crisis," Ohio Right to Life executive director Mike Gonidakis told LifeNews.com today. "While we take great joy that the collective efforts of Ohio's pro-life community are making significant strides in ending abortions, the total number is staggering." Full story at LifeNews.com
European Parliament Opposes Pro-Life Amdts to Stop Forced Abortion Funding
Strasbourg, France (LifeNews.com) -- Members of the European Parliament voted against amendments to the budget to revoke funding from groups that promote coercive abortions or involuntary sterilizations as part of their family planning programs in other nations. They had been asked by pro-life groups to support them. One amendment would "prevent any funds going to organizations or countries which are complicit in promoting family planning programs which include an element of compulsion (e.g. coercive abortion and involuntary sterilization)." Another would have opposed sex-selective abortion. "Projects funded by this budget title must not pursue gender-based eugenic discrimination, which is increasingly common in certain countries, or any other form of discrimination against girls (at any point after conception)," this second amendment read. In an email to LifeNews.com, the British pro-life group SPUC said the amendments "were partly motivated by opposition to China's one-child policy, which involves compulsory abortions, and to the abortions of unborn girls because of a cultural preference for boys in India." However, they both went down in defeat. Full story at LifeNews.com
Mississippi Runners Get Komen Refund After Seeing Planned Parenthood Gifts
Jackson, MS (LifeNews.com) -- Runner in Mississippi who had pledged funds for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure got their money back after learning that the breast cancer research group has made donations to the Planned Parenthood abortion business and denies the abortion-breast cancer link. A large group of Mississippi homeschoolers and their parents who frequently run for charitable causes signed up for the Komen race. But after learning that Komen chapters gave more than $700,000 to Planned Parenthood in one year alone, they backed out and asked for a refund. Steve Crampton of the homeschool cross-country running team "The Spartans" talked with the Internet web news site OneNewsNow. "We asked [the Komen Foundation] for our money back, [and] they agreed to refund us graciously," he said. Crampton told ONN that the pro-life runners came up with their own version of the race. Full story at LifeNews.com
Nevada Activists Launch Personhood Amendment, Not All Pro-Lifers on Board
Carson City, NV (LifeNews.com) -- Some pro-life advocates in Nevada have launched a bid for a state amendment that would confer personhood status for unborn children. But, not all pro-life groups are on board -- not because they oppose personhood but because they say the strategy is one that will waste time and money. Richard Ziser, a longtime pro-life activist in Nevada is launching a signature drive in order to get enough signatures to place the measure on the state ballot. If he gets enough signatures, the measure would appear on the 2010 and 2012 statewide election ballots. Ziser has started a group called Personhood Nevada designed to support the measure. "The whole purpose of the petition is the protection of human rights and civil rights for all humans," he said. "We are talking about the full spectrum of life from the beginning to the end." Full story at LifeNews.com
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