LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
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Current Headlines
• Obama Wants to Weaken Abortion Funding Ban in Health Care Legislation
• Harry Reid Promises No Abortion Funding in Health Care, Senate Battle Soon
• Media Web Site: Obama, Abortion Advocates Misrepresent Stupak Amdt
• Catholic Bishop Blasts Patrick Kennedy on Abortion After Mtg Postponed
• Planned Parenthood Fails to Silence Former Abortion Director in Court
• Pro-Abortion Rep. Woolsey Attacks Catholic Bishops on Stupak Amd
• Pro-Life Leader Chris Smith Chairs Hearing on China's Forced Abortions
• Man Admits to Killing Pro-Life Advocate Pouillon, Who Protested Abortion
• Baltimore City Council Votes Soon on Bill Attacking Pregnancy Centers
• Boston NBC Affiliate Won't Run Pro-Life Group's Ads on Abortion
• Shooter of Abortion Practitioner Tiller to Rely on Justifiable Homicide
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Obama Wants to Weaken Abortion Funding Ban in Health Care Reform Legislation
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- In an interview on Monday, President Barack Obama refused to support an amendment in the health care bill that would ban taxpayer funding of abortions. Obama said he didn't want to change the "status quo" on abortion and added there is "more work to do" on the bill.
"I laid out a very simple principle, which is this is a health care bill, not an abortion bill," Obama told ABC News. "And we're not looking to change what is the principle that has been in place for a very long time, which is federal dollars are not used to subsidize abortions."
Obama appeared to side with abortion advocates who claim the Stupak amendment in the health care bill somehow changes the current status quo on government abortion funding -- which, under the Hyde amendment and other pro-life provisions is mostly banned.
"There needs to be some more work before we get to the point where we're not changing the status quo" on abortion, Obama added. "And that's the goal."
Obama also sided with pro-abortion groups in saying he wanted to make sure "we're not restricting women's insurance choices," because he had promised that "if you're happy and satisfied with the insurance that you have, it's not going to change." Ultimately, he said he wanted to weaken the Stupak abortion funding ban so that "neither side feels that it's being betrayed." Full story at LifeNews.com
Harry Reid Promises No Abortion Funding in Health Care, Senate Battle Next Week
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said today that there will be no abortion funding in the Senate version of the health care reform bill. Meanwhile, the Senate is expected to begin its battle on the government-run health care bill as soon as Monday once Reid unveils the final legislation.
Last weekend, the House approved its health care bill after adopted the Stupak amendment to prohibit the massive abortion funding the bill previously contained.
The Senate has approved two different versions of the health care bill, the Baucus measure and the Kennedy legislation, both of which contain public funding for abortions.
But, when he unveils the merged bill, Reid tells Roll Call that it will not contain abortion funding. Reid said he expects an acceptable compromise to be reached on the abortion funding issue -- which leads one pro-life advocate to think he will include phony language that doesn't actually prohibit abortion funding.
"I expect that the bill that will be brought to the floor will ensure that no federal funds are used for abortion and that the rights of providers, health care facilities, like Catholic hospitals, will be protected, so I believe we can work that out, and we will" Reid said.
Douglas Johnson, the legislative director for National Right to Life, tells LifeNews.com he doesn't believe Reid will include a true funding ban in the vein of the Stupak amendment. Full story at LifeNews.com
Media PolitiFact Web Site: Obama, Abortion Advocates Misrepresent Stupak Amdt
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A media web site that serves as a watchdog for the claims made by politicians and political groups say abortion advocates are misrepresenting the Stupak amendment when they say it would prohibit women from paying for abortions with their own money in their own insurance plans.
The Stupak amendment was added to the House-approved government-run health care bill and it prohibits government funding under the measure.
Specifically, it makes sure that the public option and the affordability credits in the bill are not used to allow the government to pay for abortions with federal funds.
Pro-abortion groups and lawmakers, in an attempt to defeat the amendment and make it look worse than the Hyde amendment, which prohibits abortion funding under Medicaid, claim the Stupak amendment goes much further.
During the debate, pro-abortion Rep. Nita Lowey of New York set forth the pro-abortion position, saying Stupak "puts new restrictions on women's access to abortion coverage in the private health insurance market even when they would pay premiums with their own money."
Not so, says Politifact, the Pulitzer Prize-winning web site that is a project of the St. Petersburg Times newspaper in Florida, which calls the claims "false." Full story at LifeNews.com
Catholic Bishop Blasts Patrick Kennedy on Abortion After Meeting Postponed
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Bishop Thomas Tobin had his scheduled meeting with Congressman Patrick Kennedy postponed -- planned after Kennedy claimed the Catholic Church is not pro-life. Kennedy said that in an interview last week and was quickly rebuked by the bishop, who has issued a new scathing letter.
Kennedy told CNS News in an interview that the Catholic Church is fanning "the flames of dissent and discord" by taking the position that it opposed the health care bills in Congress because of their abortion funding.
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 said. Tobin called on Kennedy to issue an apology and said he is a "disappointment" because of his pro-abortion voting record.
The two planned to meet, but the Diocese of Providence announced this morning that the meeting had been "postponed," apparently at Kennedy's request.
That triggered a new scathing letter from Tobin sharing a "few reflections about your practice of the faith in this public forum" that will appear in the November 12 edition of the Rhode Island Catholic. Full story at LifeNews.com
Planned Parenthood Fails to Silence Former Abortion Center Director in Court
Bryan, TX (LifeNews.com) -- Planned Parenthood officials have failed in their bid to silence a former abortion center director who quit working for the abortion business after seeing an ultrasound of an abortion. They had pushed for a restraining order on Abby Johnson and a pro-life group that helped her conversion.
Johnson had been the director of the Planned Parenthood center in this southeast Texas city that is home to Texas A&M University.
She turned in her resignation on October 6 after years of a local pro-life group helping her see the problem with abortion. After the ultrasound, she decided to leave.
Planned Parenthood officials hit both Johnson and the Coalition for Life with restraining orders requiring them not to disclose information about the abortions done at its facility.
But, District Judge J.D. Langley issued a ruling today saying Planned Parenthood did not provide sufficient evidence that Johnson breached a confidentiality agreement concerning identity of an abortion practitioner who works at Planned Parenthood. Full story at LifeNews.com
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Another member of Congress is aggressively attacking the nation's Catholic bishops and this time it is pro-abortion Rep. Lynn Woolsey of California. The Democrats joins Rep. Patrick Kennedy, who is coming under heavy criticism for saying the bishops are not pro-life. Woolsey, the Democrat who is the co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, attacks the bishops in a Politico op-ed.
"I expect political hardball on any legislation as important as the health care bill," she writes. "I just didn't expect it from the United States Council [sic] of Catholic Bishops. Who elected them to Congress?"
"The role the bishops played in the pushing the Stupak amendment, which unfairly restricts access for low-income women to insurance coverage for abortions, was more than mere advocacy," she writes.
Woolsey complained that they "seemed to dictate the finer points of the amendment, and managed to bully members of Congress to vote for added restrictions." Full story at LifeNews.com
Pro-Life Leader Chris Smith Chairs Hearing on China's Forced Abortion Policy
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A panel of human rights activists testified at the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission today about how the Chinese government is abusing women and up-ending the traditional Chinese family. Pro-life leader Chris Smith led the hearing, which covered the Chinese one-child policy.
Rep. Chris Smith, a New Jersey Republican who is the ranking member of the Commission, chaired the hearing this afternoon.
Smith took the opportunity to call on President Obama to ensure that human rights do not take a backseat to economic issues during his state visit to China this week.
"Human rights are trivialized by China, and the United States has been sending a message that profits and money-making trumps human rights," Smith said. "As President Obama embarks on this trip, we appeal to him to seriously raise the plight of Chinese women." Full story at LifeNews.com
Man Admits to Killing Pro-Life Advocate Jim Pouillon, Who Protested Abortion
Owosso, MI (LifeNews.com) -- The central Michigan man who allegedly killed pro-life advocate Jim Pouillon as he protested abortion outside a local high school has admitted to the homicide. New court documents say Harlan Drake took his two nieces and a teen boy to school before repeatedly shooting and killing Pouillon and another man.
The documents said Harlan Drake confessed to killing James Pouillon and Mike Fuoss, a local businessman with whom he had a feud.
Drakes statement to police confessing the shooting are in an affidavit that was used to justify a search of his apartment and truck after the shootings, which took place on September 11. The affidavit was available Friday after having been sealed for 56 days.
Drake is charged with first-degree murder and gun violations, but his attorney is considering an insanity defense even though he has now been declared mentally competent to stand trial. Authorities have said Drake, 33, didn't like Pouillon's graphic signs and cited that as a reason for killing Pouillon. Full story at LifeNews.com
Baltimore, Maryland City Council Votes Soon on Bill Attacking Pregnancy Centers
Baltimore, MD (LifeNews.com) -- The Baltimore City Council will vote next week on a measure that attacks pregnancy centers by making them post signs saying they do not do abortions or provide contraception. Meanwhile, Montgomery County officials have proposed a similar measure that goes after the pro-woman centers.
The Baltimore proposal, which could get a vote November 16, contains no stipulations for abortion centers saying they don't provide alternatives.
Instead, City Council Bill 09-0406 would fine pregnancy centers $150 per day if they do not comply with the city ordinance.
Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and 10 members of the council are sponsoring a measure that pro-life advocates say is at the behest of Planned Parenthood and NARAL and is in the council's judiciary committee.
The Baltimore City Council vote is next week after the council's judiciary committee signed off on the proposal. Montgomery County Councilwoman Duchy Trachtenberg is behind the new legislation there.
They would be required to tell potential clients that they should go elsewhere for medical advice because Trachtenberg claims they are misleading women. Her measure makes them tell clients the pregnancy center isn't intended as "medical advice or to establish a doctor patient relationship" and that they should consult with a health care provider before making a decision about an abortion. Full story at LifeNews.com
ACTION: Contact the Baltimore City Council at http://www.baltimorecitycouncil.com/members.htm and members of the Montgomery County Council at this web site.
Boston NBC Affiliate Won't Run Pro-Life Group's Ads on Abortion, Health Care
Boston, MA (LifeNews.com) -- The Boston, Massachusetts NBC affiliate, radio station WBZ, has refused to sell time to a state pro-life group seeking to run ads asking that abortion funding be kept out of the health care bills in Congress. When asked to put in writing their reasons for declining the ads, the station declined.
Anne Fox, the president of Massachusetts Citizens for Life, the pro-life organization seeking air time to run the ads, told LifeNews.com they have aired without problem on other radio stations.
"These ads and similar ads have already aired on WRKO in Boston, WTAG in Worcester, and WHYN in Springfield," she said. "They address abortion, rationing, and denial of care based on age or disability."
Fox said the WBZ told her the ads were inaccurate but would still not say how so or why they would be denied even after she offer proof about the group's claims. "At first WBZ told me that we had to substantiate our 'claims'. Then, even as I offered to do so, they decided they would not take the ads," she said. Full story at LifeNews.com
ACTION: To complain, contact Chris Hill at chris.hill@CBSradio.com, write WBZ NewsRadio 1030, 1170 Soldiers Field Rd., Boston MA, 02134, or call (617) 787-7171
Sacramento City College Goes After Student Body President on Pro-Life Display
Wichita, KS (LifeNews.com) -- The man who stands accused of shooting and killing late-term abortion practitioner George Tiller plans to rely on a justifiable homicide defense in court. Scott Roeder told The Associated Press in a 30-minute phone interview that he was motivated to kill Tiller because he does abortions.
In the interview, Roeder admits to killing Tiller and plans to use the defense even though courts have traditionally rejected it. "Defending innocent life – that is what prompted me. It is pretty simple," the 51-yea-old former militia activists not affiliated with any pro-life groups, told AP.
Roeder also indicated he would kill another abortion practitioner if he is ever released from prison. "[E]ven if one changed her mind it would be worth it," he said from jail. "No, I don't have any regrets." Full story at LifeNews.com
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