LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report
Friday, October 9, 2009
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Current Headlines
• Pro-Life Group: Obama Rep's Comment Shows Prez Would Fund Abortions
• Vote on Pro-Abortion Health Care Bill Tues, Reid May Shut Out Pro-Lifers
• Poll: 23 Percent Donate to Breast Cancer Research, Funds Go to Abortion Biz
• Catholic Bishops Reinforce Abortion Concerns After Obama Admin Flap
• Democrats Attack Pro-Life Rep. Michele Bachmann on Abortion, Health Care
• Pro-Life Advocates Mark 20 Years Since UN Convention on Rights of the Child
• Abortion Activist Renews Bid to Kick Pro-Life Vatican Out of United Nations
• Chicago Pro-Life Advocates Ask Daley to Not Approve Abortion-Bubble Zone
• Washington Health Department Holds Regular Mtg With Abortion Businesses
• Ireland Adopts Lisbon Treaty But Pro-Life Guarantees Remain Suspect
• Georgia Abortion Practitioner Arrested in Road Rage, Punches Woman
• Wisconsin Newspapers Bashed for Censoring Pro-Life Ads on Abortion
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Pro-Life Group: Obama Rep's Comment Shows President Would Fund Abortions
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A leading pro-life group says a false statement from the top White House spokesman for President Barack Obama shows he's not serious about revoking abortion funding in health care. Obama press secretary Robert Gibbs mislead a reporter yesterday by saying the Hyde amendment will stop abortion funding. CNS News reporter Fred Lucas asked White House spokesman Robert Gibbs about a letter the Catholic bishops recently sent Congress pointing out that each of the current health care bills includes abortion subsidies. The letter said all of the health care bills in Congress fund abortions, but Gibbs claimed that wasn't the case. "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 bill," he said. Today, the National Right to Life Committee blasted Gibbs and said the remarks "once again demonstrated that the White House is a partner in an ongoing smuggling operation, which if successful will result in funding of abortion on demand by the federal government." The group said Gibbs "repeated a discredited claim made by President Obama himself." On August 20, Obama said, "There are no plans under health reform to revoke the existing prohibition on using federal taxpayer dollars for abortions. Nobody is talking about changing that existing provision, the Hyde Amendment. Let's be clear about that. It's just not true." Full story at LifeNews.com
Next Vote on Pro-Abortion Health Care Bill Tuesday, Reid May Shut Out Pro-Lifers
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The Senate Finance Committee has put off a vote on the fifth pro-abortion health care bill until next Tuesday. News of the decision comes at a time when speculation is rampant that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will use an unrelated bill to get the pro-abortion health care package through the Senate. The panel had been expected to vote on the Baucus bill this week, but Reid announced today that the vote would not take place until next week. Republicans, with the exception of pro-abortion Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe, will likely vote against the measure while Democrats will support it. There is a chance pro-abortion Democratic Sens. Ron Wyden and John Rockefeller, of Oregon and West Virginia, will not support the measure because they want the government-run health care option added to it. That would open the Baucus bill up to even more abortion funding. If the committee passes the Baucus bill, pro-abortion Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will have to combine the contrasting Baucus and Kennedy bills into one measure for the Senate to consider. He has called for votes on a combined bill sometime during the middle of the month. But new reports yesterday indicate it is possible that Reid will use H.R. 1586 -- an unrelated tax bill passed by the House in March -- as the vehicle to move the pro-abortion health care package in the Senate. Under a special procedure, Reid would offer an amendment to remove the entire language of the House-approved bill and replace it with the final legislation combining the Kennedy and Baucus bills. Full story at LifeNews.com
Poll: 23 Percent to Donate to Breast Cancer Research, Funds Go to Abortion Biz
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A new poll finds that 23 percent of Americans plan to donate money to go to support breast cancer research. But what these donors may not understand is a portion of what they give to the Komen for the Cure organization may wind up supporting the Planned Parenthood abortion business. A new Rasmussen survey released today shows 23% of adults plan to donate money toward breast cancer research this month. Another 60 percent have no plans to donate while 17 percent are unsure whether they will contribute. The Rasmussen poll showed 39 percent of Americans plan to purchase pink products from groups like Komen and another 9 percent say they will participate in a charity walk such as the Race for the Cure. When they support Komen, Americans may not be aware that Komen's own figures show it gave $711,485 from April 1, 2005 to March 31, 2006 to Planned Parenthood abortion businesses and at least $726,445 for 2006-2007. Full story at LifeNews.com
Catholic Bishops' Letter Reinforces Abortion Concerns After Obama Admin Flap
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The nation's Catholic bishops have sent another letter to members of Congress informing them that all of the health care bills still fail their test of not funding abortions. The letter comes after the Obama administration misled reporters in the answer to a question about abortion funding in the health care bills. The bishops urged Congress to "improve current health care reform legislation, expressing their "disappointment that progress has not been made on" the abortion funding concerns cited in their previous letters. The October 8 letter from Bishop William Murphy, Cardinal Justin Rigali and Bishop John Wester reiterated the bishops' main concern that no one should be forced to pay for or participate in an abortion. The bishops reaffirmed their commitment to working with Congress and the Administration toward genuine health care reform, but stated, "If final legislation does not meet our principles, we will have no choice but to oppose the bill." Their letter, provided to LifeNews.com, urged lawmakers to "exclude mandated coverage for abortion" saying they want the bills to "incorporate longstanding policies against abortion funding and in favor of conscience rights." "It is essential that the legislation clearly apply to this new program longstanding and widely supported federal restrictions on abortion funding and mandates, and protections for rights of conscience. No current bill meets this test," they noted. Full story at LifeNews.com
Democrats Attack Pro-Life Rep. Michele Bachmann on Abortion, Health Care
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The Democratic Party last month launched an Internet campaign it terms "Call 'Em Out" that is supposedly an effort to single out elected officials it claims are not leveling with the public. Its latest attack is on Rep. Michele Bachmann, a Minnesota Republican who has noted the abortion problems in the health care bills. Bachmann has pointed out how HR 3200, the main health care legislation in the House, could allow school-based clinics that could foster abortions without parental involvement. The DNC claims Bachmann is "spreading fear and lies." "Too many Americans live with the painful consequences of our broken health care system to let Bachmann's reckless lies go unchecked," the Democrats said in an e-mail. "So this week, we're calling her out." Bachmann spokesman Dave Dziok wrote in an e-mail to the Minnesota Star-Tribune newspaper that the pro-life advocate is not worried about the attacks. "Congresswoman Bachmann is used to the Democrats' name-calling," he said. "It's what they do when they can't connect with the people on their policies. And all year long they've been promoting ideas that are flat-out rejected by the American people." It also turns out there is truth to Bachmann's concerns as HR 3200 contains a section allowing the nation's biggest abortion business to enter public schools. Full story at LifeNews.com
Pro-Life Advocates Mark 20 Years Since UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
Geneva, Switzerland (LifeNews.com) -- The 20th anniversary of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child is taking place in Geneva, Switzerland this week and pro-life advocates are participating. They hope to direct attention to the rights of the unborn child and the pro-life language in the document. The 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is a comprehensive document to advance the cause and protection of all children throughout the world. The document quotes the 1959 Declaration of the Rights of the Child, which says in part: "The child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth." Article 6 of the document calls on nations to "recognize that every child has the inherent right to life." Full story at LifeNews.comAbortion Activist Renewing Bid to Kick Pro-Life Vatican Out of United Nations
New York, NY (LifeNews.com) -- In a column appearing in the liberal magazine Salon today, former "Catholics for a Free Choice" president Frances Kissling is renewing her bid to kick the pro-life Vatican out of the United Nations. Kissling is a relentless abortion advocate who dislikes that the Catholic Church advocates pro-life principles. Kissling tries to make the case that the Vatican isn't really a state and therefore shouldn't have permanent observer status at the United Nations. Deal Hudson, a prominent Catholic writer, offers his input on Kissling's column. "Kissling has been trying to get the Vatican booted from the UN for years," he notes. "Back in 1996, when I worked at the UN on behalf of some NGOs during the Beijing Conference on Women, she was there, giving workshops on the necessity of including abortion as a universal right, and complaining about the Vatican's influence," he recalls. "I even had a personal conversation with her at one point where it was made clear to me that she had an axe to grind when it came to the Church." Full story at LifeNews.com
Chicago Pro-Life Advocates Ask Mayor Daley to Not Approve Abortion-Bubble Zone
Chicago, IL (LifeNews.com) -- Pro-life advocates have one last hope before a newly-proposed bubble zone goes into place that would revoke their free speech rights outside abortion centers. They hope Mayor Richard Daley will refuse to sign the new ordinance, which limits their ability to present women abortion alternatives. If Daley signs the law, it will go into effect on November 17. David Bereit, the director of the national 40 Days for Life prayer campaign outside abortion centers, which would be directly adversely impacted by the law, hopes he won't sign it. "Before this bad law goes into effect, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley has to approve it. We have a narrow window of time to convince the mayor to veto the Bubble Zone ordinance," he told LifeNews.com. Bereit urges pro-life advocates to call the mayor's office, which has set up an automated line to handle votes related to the bubble zone ordinance. From indications LifeNews.com has received from readers and other Chicago-area residents, they are flooding the line with phone calls. "If we don't push back hard against this clearly unconstitutional law, Planned Parenthood and the rest of the abortion industry will feel empowered to trample on the rights of pro-life free speech all across the country," Bereit warned. 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
Washington Health Department Holds Regular Meetings With Abortion Businesses
by Jonathan B
Would you expect that if you file a request with the state government as to how much an organization is receiving in state funds that the government would disclose your name to the organization in question? Well, if you're dealing with the Take Charge Family Planning program at the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), that's apparently what you should expect. In 2008, we submitted a complaint to the Attorney General's office regarding the late-term abortion clinic chain known as Cedar River Clinics. In the response to that complaint, Cedar River director Beverly Whipple indicated that she knew this writer had requested information from DSHS about payments (tax dollars) to her organization. There is no way Ms. Whipple should have known this. We had filed a "Public Disclosure" request with DSHS to find out how much money DSHS had given to Cedar River in previous years in the form of Medicaid insurance payments. Full story at LifeNews.com
Ireland Adopts Lisbon Treaty But Pro-Life Abortion Guarantees Remain Suspect
Dublin, Ireland (LifeNews.com) -- Voters in Ireland on October 2 accepted the Lisbon Treaty after they were given guarantees that the nation's pro-life laws would be protected. However, as Susan Yoshihara of the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute notes, those guarantees are not ironclad. "While some pro-life and pro-family voices hail the guarantees as a step forward, many analysts argue that the nature and extent of those guarantees are far from certain," she writes in CFAM's Friday Fax publication. Yoshihara notes Irish citizens voted 67% to 33% to adopt the Treaty of Lisbon after rejecting it only a year ago amidst fears about the erosion of national sovereignty on social issues. She and other pro-life advocates worry the "yes" vote "will eventually lead to intense pressure on Ireland from the European Union (EU) to liberalize its laws and policies on abortion." Full story at LifeNews.com
Georgia Abortion Practitioner Arrested in Road Rage Incident, Punches Woman
Atlanta, GA (LifeNews.com) -- A Georgia abortion practitioner displayed his pro-woman credentials Monday afternoon when he was arrested in a road rage incident that saw him punch a woman in the face. Sandy Springs police arrested Marietta-based abortion practitioner Daniel E. McBrayer, 58, after learning he assaulted a woman.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution indicated police conducted an investigation after a woman reported told police that McBrayer struck her. After a traffic altercation, McBrayer reportedly left his vehicle and walked up to her car and struck her in the face. Sandy Springs police Lt. Steve Rose told the newspaper that the woman, whose name was unreleased, was treated at a local hospital before heading home. Rose indicated the abortion practitioner turned himself into police on Wednesday night and was booked on a simple battery charge at Doraville Jail. He was released after posting a $1,500 bond and awaits a date in court, which has not been set. Full story at LifeNews.com
Wisconsin Newspapers Bashed for Censoring Pro-Life Ads on Abortion
Madison, WI (LifeNews.com) -- Two University of Wisconsin System school newspapers are drawing criticism for rejecting an advertisement supplement published by Minnesota-based Human Life Alliance. The pro-life advertising supplement, entitled "icare...", employs an environmental theme to explore the impact of abortion on students in the United States. HLA is well-known for its professionally-designed ad inserts that have educated millions of college students over the years. Both the UW-Oshkosh "Advance Titan" and the UW-Stevens Point "Pointer" have refused to run the educational supplement. Full story at LifeNews.com
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