LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report
Thursday, October 8, 2009
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Current Headlines
• Obama Rep Falsely Claims Hyde Amdt Stops Abortion in Health Care
• Polls: Support Rising for Pro-Abortion Health Care Reform in Congress
• Komen for Cure Races as Research Shows Abortion-Breast Cancer Link
• Trial Begins Friday for Belkis Gonzalez in Florida Botched Abortion Case
• Supreme Court Allows Pro-Life Illinois Citizens to be Muzzled
• UN Human Rights Council Backs, Obama Opposes, Backdown on Abortion
• Chicago City Council OKs Abortion Bubble Zone Law Limiting Free Speech
• Designer Babies and Consuming Children: Stock-Smith Debate
• Texas Man Convicted of Attacking Woman Challenges Unborn Victims Law
• Connecticut Docs File Suit Seeking to Force State to OK Assisted Suicide
• ACLU Gets It Right in Defending Pro-Life Penn Student's Abortion T-Shirt
• Boston College Health Plan Covers Birth Control, Possibly Abortions
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Obama Spokesman Falsely Claims Hyde Amendment Stops Abortion in Health Care
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- White House spokesman Robert Gibbs mislead reporters today during his afternoon press briefing with a false claim that the Hyde amendment would prohibit taxpayer-funding of abortions in the Congressional health care bills. However, the long-standing law does not apply to the legislation. CNS News reporter Fred Lucas asked Gibbs, the top spokesman for President Barack Obama, about a letter the Catholic bishops recently sent Congress pointing out that each of the current health care bills includes abortion subsidies. "In a letter to senators last week the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said that, I'm quoting, 'So far the health-reform bills considered in committee, including the new Senate Finance Committee bill, have not met the president's challenge of barring the use of federal dollars for abortion,'" Lucas said. "Is that statement wrong?" Gibbs replied, "Well, I don't want to get me into trouble at church, but I would mention 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." "There have been several amendments that would explicitly bar [federal funding for] abortions that were rejected," Lucas responded. Gibbs replied, "Again, there's a fairly well-documented federal law that prevents it." However, the fairly well-documented federal law is the Hyde amendment and it only applies to the Medicaid program that provides health care funds for poor Americans. Full story at LifeNews.com
Polls Show Support Rising for Pro-Abortion Health Care Reform Plans in Congress
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Two new polls out this week show the support for the pro-abortion health care plans in Congress are is on the rise. The polling data showed opposition to the plans tanked during the month of August, but the numbers have gone up during the month of September as the focus has been somewhat less intense. The latest Associated Press-GfK poll released today finds opposition to Obama's health care remake dropped dramatically in just a matter of weeks. Americans are split 40-40 on whether to support the government-run health care plans that include abortion funding and mandates. That's good news for President Barack Obama and his pro-abortion colleagues as the same poll in September found Americans opposing the bills by a 49-34 percent margin. The AP poll found opponents remain more passionate in their convictions against the plans than supporters, but also noted that independents are less likely to oppose the health care bills than they were before. Also, opposition among older Americans dropped 16 percentage points as supporters of the plans have been trying to convince senior citizens that the plans do not include rationing, even though they do. Opposition from seniors fell from 59 percent in September to 43 percent now and 38 percent now support the bills, up from 31 percent. Full story at LifeNews.com
Komen for the Cure Races as Research Shows Abortion-Breast Cancer Link
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- With October as breast cancer awareness month, Komen for the Cure is sponsoring races and events across the country to raise awareness of the potentially fatal disease. However, Komen isn't providing women with information on a way to help prevent breast cancer by not having an abortion. Although abortion advocates, and Komen, dismiss the research, experts have clearly shown an abortion-breast cancer link. The upshot? Having an abortion increases a woman's risk of having breast cancer while carrying a pregnancy to term lowers it. A July study done on women in Turkey who had abortions found a 66 percent increased risk of contracting breast cancer as a result. Dr. Vahit Ozmen and his colleagues at the Istanbul Medical Faculty at Istanbul University and Magee-Women's hospital in Pittsburgh conducted the new retrospective study. They published their findings in the April 2009 issue of the World Journal of Surgical Oncology and examined women who, between January 2000 and December 2006, were admitted to clinics of Istanbul Medical Faculty for examination. The researchers said that their findings showed abortion was "significantly associated with increased breast cancer risk." Full story at LifeNews.com
Trial Begins Friday for Belkis Gonzalez in Florida Botched Abortion Case
Miami, FL (LifeNews.com) -- The trial of Belkis Gonzalez, who was arrested on two felony counts related to the death of a baby in a botched abortion case, begins on Friday. In the botched abortion incident a young woman named Sycloria Williams went to the GYN Diagnostic Center abortion facility in Hialeah, outside Miami, for an abortion. She had laminaria inserted and went back the next day for the abortion but, instead, gave birth to a baby named Shanice. Abortion practitioner Pierre Renelique did not show up for a scheduled abortion, causing Shanice to be born alive. When that happened, Gonzalez allegedly stuffed the baby's body in a biohazard bag and tossed the bag on the roof when local officials stopped by to investigate after they received a tip. Gonzalez was charged with the unlicensed practice of a health care profession resulting in serious bodily injury, a second degree felony, and with tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, a third degree felony. If convicted of the charges, Gonzalez faces a minimum of one year in jail and a $1,000 fine. She could receive a maximum of 15 years in prison on the unlicensed medicine charge and five years for tampering with evidence. Full story at LifeNews.com
Supreme Court Allows Pro-Life Illinois Citizens to be Muzzled on Choose Life Plates
by Mailee Smith
On the heels of recent surveys demonstrating that a majority of Americans are increasingly identifying themselves as pro-life, the U.S. Supreme Court has allowed a lower court's decision muzzling the free speech rights of pro-life citizens in Illinois to stand. The State of Illinois has done nothing less than censor its pro-life citizens. Despite the fact that almost half of the states in the nation offer "Choose Life" license plates -- with another 14 states working on them -- the people of Illinois have been silenced. The case was Choose Life Illinois v. White. Even after Choose Life Illinois submitted over 25,000 names on its petition for "Choose Life" plates and complied with every written guideline provided in Illinois law, Secretary of State Jessie White said that he had no authority to issue the plates, claiming instead that the authority rested with the legislature alone. An interesting claim -- since the Illinois statute said no such thing. In fact, during the course of litigation, the Illinois legislature amended the applicable law to include a role for the legislature. In other words, the legislature saw that there was a hole in White's claims, and they "patched it up" for him. Full story at LifeNews.com
Geneva, Switzerland (LifeNews.com) -- The United Nations Human Rights Council has backed, and the administration of pro-abortion President Barack Obama opposed, a measure seen as backing down on abortion. Pat Buckley, who lobbies for the British pro-life group SPUC sees the measure as a positive development. The United Nations has long had a pro-abortion posture and gone as far as pressuring some nations to legalize or expand abortions. However, the Human Rights Council has backed a Russian resolution promoting traditional values that could be a way for the pro-life movement to advance its perspective on abortion. "In a rare break from its long term strategy of attempting to dictate newly-conceived so called 'rights' on everyone - such as the manufactured 'right to abortion' - the UN Human Rights Council has approved a resolution tabled by the Russian Federation," Buckley explained. Full story at LifeNews.comChicago City Council OKs Abortion Bubble Zone Law Limiting Pro-Life Free Speech
Chicago, IL (LifeNews.com) -- The Chicago City Council on Wednesday approved a bubble zone law that makes it harder for pro-life advocates to offer women alternatives outside an abortion center. The law is so onerous that the pro-abortion ACLU joined pro-life advocates in condemning it. Despite strong objection, members of the council voted 27-11 for the ordinance. Alderman Vi Daley of the 43rd district sponsored the measure that she said would bring the city in line with many other cities and states across the nation. The law would establish a 50-foot buffer outside the entrances of abortion centers and, within that zone, no one can come within an 8-foot zone to distribute literature, counsel or display a sign. "Women seeking any kind of medical service are routinely harassed," Daley claimed. "They are photographed, and they are followed." The law would subject pro-life advocates to a $500 fine for merely talking to women considering abortion outside an abortion facility. Full story at LifeNews.com
ACTION: Contact Mayor Daley at 312-744-3300 and members of the city council at http://www.cityofchicago.org/CityCouncil
Designer Babies and Consuming Children: Humanity=Artifact, Stock-Smith Debate
by Evan Rosa
Does the fact that we can do something ever imply that we should do it? On September 18, I attended a debate in which this question is central. The topic: "Designer Babies: The Morality of Pursuing Perfection." The first time I heard the phrase "designer babies," my mind flashed to the terror of toddler pageants: overly made-up girls, forced into adulthood by parents who want to show off their "good stock." Totally creepy, and not far off the same path: the issue here is the making of our children in our own image. At this debate in particular, we were faced with genetic technology and its proposed use to determine what and how and who our children will be. The match-up for this event: Wesley Smith, bioethics watchdog and consultant to the CBC, arguing that genetically designing progeny is wrong, and Gregory Stock, PhD, CEO of Signum Biosciences, defending the practice of designing babies. It was a lively debate, on a tough, complex issue. Here I can only offer a brief (and hopefully fair) representation of both views, and then I'll offer some of my own thoughts. Full story at LifeNews.com
Texas Man Convicted of Attacking Pregnant Woman Challenges Unborn Victims Law
Austin, TX (LifeNews.com) -- A Texas man who became the second person convicted under the state's unborn victims law is challenging the pro-woman, pro-life statute in court. The law allows two charges when a criminal attacks a pregnant woman and kills her unborn child. Adrian Estrada, 23, was convicted in February 2007 of one count of capital murder for the death of Stephanie Sanchez and her baby, whom he fathered. Sanchez, 17, was three months pregnant on December 12, 2005, when her body was found in her family's home. She had been choked and stabbed 13 times by Estrada. During the trial, DNA evidence was presented to show Estrada was the father and he later admitted to the killings. Since Texas' Prenatal Protection Act passed in 2003, which was inspired by the deaths of Laci and Connor Peterson, numerous criminals have been successfully convicted of crimes of homicide for taking the lives of unborn children. Full story at LifeNews.com
Connecticut Doctors File Lawsuit Seeking to Force State to Allow Assisted Suicide
Hartford, CT (LifeNews.com) -- Euthanasia advocates are making Connecticut the next state where they hope a lawsuit would nullify the law against allowing assisted suicides. Unable to get state legislatures to approve bills to legalize the practice, they've filed suit in Montana and Connecticut is the next battleground. Lawyers for the pro-euthanasia group Compassion & Choices recruited two Connecticut physicians, Gary Blick of Norwalk and Ronald Levine of Greenwich, to push the lawsuit. The Fairfield County doctors are asking state courts to clarify the 40-year-old law that and asking that they prevent physicians form being prosecuted under it when they help patients kill themselves. The law says someone is guilty of second-degree manslaughter if "he intentionally causes or aids another person, other than force, duress or deception, to commit suicide." Kathryn Tucker, an attorney for C&C joined the doctors at a press conference today and told he Hartford Courant that the issue is ripe for the courts because they have never examined the law. Full story at LifeNews.com
ACLU Actually Gets It Right in Defending Pro-Life Penn Student's Abortion T-Shirt
by Maria Vitale
For once, the American Civil Liberties Union is right on a pro-life issue. A man in Pennsylvania, William Boyer, has filed suit against central Pennsylvania's West Shore School District, saying that school officials unfairly censored his son E.B. when they forced him to turn his pro-life t-shirt inside out. Commenting on the situation, the ACLU's Valerie Burch told the Patriot-News newspaper that the shirt was a form of political speech and it should have been protected. The Patriot-News quotes Burch as saying, "Student-speech law has developed a lot…but one thing that is still plain and clear as day is that political speech like the t-shirt…is highly protected, even within schools. I don't see how they can prohibit this." Full story at LifeNews.com
Boston College Student Health Plan Covers Birth Control, Possibly Abortions
Boston, MA (LifeNews.com) -- A pro-life watchdog group has uncovered evidence showing that student health insurance plan provided by Boston College, a Catholic school, includes coverage for "family planning services." The Cardinal Newman Society has confirmed that includes birth control but it may include abortions as well. CNS informed LifeNews.com today in a statement that birth control services are explicitly covered under the student health plan, Blue Care Elect Preferred (PPO). The plan is an optional plan for students provided by Boston College. Although elective abortion is not explicitly stated in the policy, Koster Insurance Agency, Boston College's insurance agent, could not rule out the possibility that abortions are covered by the policy. Full story at LifeNews.com
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