LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report
Monday, December 14, 2009
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Current Headlines
• Senate OKs Omnibus Bill Funding Abortions in Nation's Capital, Obama to Sign
• Senator Sees Momentum Shifting Against Pro-Abortion Senate Health Care Bill
• President Obama's Approval Rating Falls to New Low Saturday and Sunday
• Abortion Advocates Back Down on Hyde Amdt During Health Care Debate
• NOW May Urge Senators to Oppose Health Care Bill With Abortion Funding
• British Pro-Life Disabled Rights Campaigner to Challenge Court Ruling
• Arkansas Sen. Lincoln Faces Pro-Life Group's Health Care Lobbying Ad
• Alberta, Canada Pro-Life Advocates Start Bid to Axe Govt-Funded Abortions
• Alaska Pro-Life Advocates Need Signatures for Parental Notif on Abortion
• New Zealand Right to Life Concerned by Report Showing Abortion Declining
• Northern Ireland Pro-Life Group Protests Illegal Abortions at Belfast Hospital
• Memphis Tennessee Diocese Upset Planned Parenthood Relocating Nearby
• Portland Archdiocese CCHD Office Admits, Stops Funding Pro-Abortion Group
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Senate Approves Omnibus Bill Funding Abortions in Nation's Capital, Obama to Sign
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The Senate approved an omnibus spending bill on Sunday that would lift the 13-year-long ban on directly paying for abortions in the nation's capital. The legislation, which President Barack Obama is expected to sign, also contains funding for Planned Parenthood and the UNFPA.
The Senate passed the bill, which funds several federal government departments, by a 57-35 vote, with Democrats backing the measure and most Republicans opposing it.
Passage of the measure today was no surprise given that Democrats won a filibuster battle on a narrow 60-34 vote that saw Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Thad Cochran of Mississippi and Richard Shelby of Alabama side with Democrats to move ahead to a vote on the bill. Those same three Republicans voted for the bill and three Democrats, pro-abortion Sens. Evan Bayh of Indiana, Claire McCaskill of Missouri and Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, all voted against it for other reasons.
Shelby voted for the bill even though he signed a letter along with 35 other Republicans saying they would filibuster it because of the abortion funding. Collins and Cochran did not sign the letter.
Democrats held open the vote to allow ailing pro-abortion Sen. Robert Byrd to come to the Senate to vote and for pro-abortion Jewish Sen. Joseph Lieberman to walk from synagogue to support it.
Several pro-life organizations called on members of the Senate to oppose the bill because it overturned the Dornan Amendment that has prohibited taxpayer funding of thousands of abortions in the District of Columbia. Full story at LifeNews.com
ACTION: Contact members of the House about the vote for the bill. See how your members voted here. Also, Contact members of the Senate at 202-224-3121 or http://www.Senate.gov and respond to their vote on taxpayer funding of abortions in the District of Columbia. Check the full story for vote tally in the Senate.
Senator Sees Momentum Shifting Against Pro-Abortion Senate Health Care Bill
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A Republican senator says momentum may be shifting against the pro-abortion health care bill in the Senate. Sen. Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee Republican and GOP conference chair, tells National Review Online that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is "all tied up in a knot." "All of the king's horses and all of the king's men may not be able to put 60 together again," says Alexander in a reference to the 60 votes Reid needs to break the filibuster. "With two weeks until Christmas, Democrats find themselves in the awkward position of trying to pass a 2,000-page bill — a bill which most of them admit they don't know much about. I'm not ready to make a prediction (on whether it will fail), but things aren't looking good for the majority leader. He surely doesn't have 60 votes yet, because if he did, he'd move to close debate." Alexander told NRO that momentum is moving against Reid, despite his efforts to get the pro-abortion bill approved. "The majority leader has been trying to create a sense of inevitability, but this debate is beginning to feel a lot like the 2007 immigration debate. The sense of inevitability is rapidly diminishing. Every new survey shows public support fading. CNN says that 61 percent of Americans are opposed to this bill," he says. Meanwhile, Senator Joseph Lieberman informed Reid today he will vote against the bill as it stands now. And with Senator Bill Nelson's (D-Florida) statement this weekend that he may be opposed and Sen. Ben Nelson, the Nebraska Democrat, saying he will vote no over abortion, pro-life advocates have a reason to look up.
President Barack Obama's Approval Rating Falls to New Low Saturday and Sunday
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Over the weekend, President Barack Obama's approval numbers fell to new lows both Saturday and Sunday according to a Rasmussen Reports daily tracking poll. Overall, 46% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the President's performance. Fifty-three percent (53%) disapprove. Looking at the most passionate voters, the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Sunday shows that 23% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role while 42% Strongly Disapprove -- giving Obama a -19 rating among the most intense voters. The 23% who Strongly Approve matches the lowest level of enthusiasm yet recorded. Just 41% of Democrats Strongly Approve while 69% of Republicans Strongly Disapprove. Among voters not affiliated with either major party, 21% Strongly Approve and 49% Strongly Disapprove. Among those who consider the economy to be the most important issue, just 26% Strongly Approve of the President's performance while 39% Strongly Disapprove. Among those who consider fiscal policy issues the most important, just 1% Strongly Approve and 81% Strongly Disapprove. The President's Approval Index rating is -2 among voters under 30 and -29 among senior citizens. From an income perspective, the President's ratings are weakest among those who earn $40,000 to $100,000 annually. It's not just Rasmussen that finds Obama has lost support, a week ago even CNN found Obama's job approval rating fell 48%, confirming similar results from Gallup, Quinnipiac, and Hawkeye a week earlier.
Abortion Advocates Back Down on Hyde Amendment During Health Care Debate
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The pro-life movement lost the Senate debate and vote on stopping taxpayer funding of abortion in the health care bill. However, it may have scored a narrow victory of sorts in terms of the rhetoric of the debate. During both House and Senate consideration of the Nelson and Stupak amendments, in order to engender opposition to them from pro-life and moderate lawmakers, pro-abortion advocates went out of their way to claim the amendments were more aggressive than the Hyde amendment. "The Nelson/Hatch amendment would have gone far beyond the Hyde Amendment," Planned Parenthood went as far to say. Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri, said "we're not doing anything in this [bill] to change the Hyde law. The law, as it stands right now, says no federal money for abortions. I think most of the Senators are comfortable with that. The Stupak amendment goes farther and the Nelson amendment goes farther." Jill Stanek, a pro-life blogger and nurse, noticed these kinds of comments and said "claiming pro-lifers are reaching beyond the Hyde Amendment in our fight to prohibit public funded abortions in healthcare" abortion advocates have yielded "a fascinating point, one I think most of us missed." She added, "In the thick of the battle, we didn't see this concession. Although I've read recent calls from the abortion industry to rescind Hyde, which is re-perilized every year, it will be that much more difficult here on out, since so many pro-aborts, most importantly Obama, have labeled it abortion-neutral. In fact, these concessions might have brought permanent passage of the Hyde Amendment that much closer."
NOW May Urge Senators to Oppose Health Care Bill Even With Abortion Funding
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The pro-abortion National Organization for Women may still be opposing the Senate health care bill, even though senators defeated the Nelson amendment to prohibit taxpayer funds of abortions in it. Terry O'Neill, president of the so-called women's group bases its potential opposition on an incorrect assumption that the bill certifies the Hyde amendment, which prohibits abortion funding under Medicaid -- even though Hyde does not apply to the bill. "There are still anti-abortion provisions in this bill that are damaging to women," she told Raw Story. "The base legislation in the Senate essentially codifies the Hyde Amendment and that is a huge, huge problem for women." "With all due respect to our pro-choice friends in elected office who say the Hyde Amendment is settled law, a codification of Hyde is a basic health care statute -- it's not federal law," O'Neill added. "And even if it were, it's very wrong settled law."
British Pro-Life Disabled Rights Campaigner to Challenge Supreme Court Ruling
London, England (LifeNews.com) -- The following update comes from John Smeaton, the head of the British pro-life group SPUC: Alison Davis, the well-known pro-life disabled rights advocate, is heading a challenge to July's House of Lords judgment in favor of Debbie Purdy, the assisted suicide campaigner. SPUC supporters will know Alison well through her many years as co-ordinator of No Less Human, a group within SPUC representing the disabled. Alison's challenge, which is being backed by the Christian Legal Centre, is directed to the new Supreme Court, which has replaced the House of Lords judicial committee (the Law Lords sitting as a court) as the UK's highest court. Alison's submission calls on the Supreme Court "to reconsider and hear fresh argument on the case of Purdy," due to the apparent bias of Lord Phillips. Lord Phillips was the senior judge in the Purdy case and is now the president of the supreme court. He had given an interview to The Telegraph after the judgment in which he expressed personal sympathy for people seeking assisted suicide. The House of Lords judgment in favor of Debbie Purdy has now led to the director of public prosecutions (DPP) drafting guidance which undermines the right to life of disabled people. The DPP is conducting a public consultation on the draft guidance, which closes next Wednesday (16 December). SPUC has produced a briefing to help you respond to the consultation.
Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln Faces Pro-Life Group's Health Care Lobbying Ad
Little Rock, AR (LifeNews.com) -- Last week, the Susan B. Anthony List announced a radio campaign in Arkansas to highlight Senator Blanche Lincoln's (D-Ar.) votes on health care reform. "Senator Lincoln's vote to advance the Senate health care bill opened the door for the greatest expansion of abortion since Roe v. Wade," said Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser. "Even worse, just this week Lincoln opposed a measure to prevent the funding of abortion on-demand at Arkansas taxpayers' expense. You can't find greater common ground than the decision to restrict government funding for abortion on-demand. Yet Senator Lincoln continues to ignore the common ground and vote against Arkansas values." On November 20, 2009, Senator Lincoln was a pivotal vote in favor of the Senate's motion to advance the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act to the floor for consideration. On December 8, 2009, Lincoln voted to table the Nelson Amendment, which closely mirrors the Stupak-Pitts Amendment that passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 240-194. The measure would have maintained current policies excluding government funding for abortion and health plans that cover abortion in any new programs created through health care reform legislation. The Susan B. Anthony List ad campaign will run on news/talk and Christian radio stations across Arkansas. "Call Blanche Lincoln at 501-375-2993. Tell her putting Obama and Reid before Arkansas families and unborn life is wrong," it says.
Alberta, Canada Pro-Life Advocates Start Campaign to Axe Govt-Funded Abortions
Calgary, Albert (LifeNews.com) -- The Alberta Pro-Life Association has started a campaign in the Canadian province of Alberta to have abortion de-funded from Alberta Health Care, part of Canada's universal healthcare program. Alberta only has 3 million people but taxpayers are on the hook for every abortion performed, the organization says. LaRee Pickup, the director of the pro-life organization, talked about its efforts in a recent letter LifeNews.com received. "In 2007-08 there were 12,195 abortions (one baby aborted for every 5 live births)," she writes, yet "You and I as taxpayers paid between $6 and $8 million for these abortions." Pickup adds: "To top it all off, there is no medical reason given when a woman obtains a tax-funded abortion – and many women have more than one (as many as six to ten abortions). Doctors bill taxpayers for abortions, but are not required to record any reason, medical or otherwise. There is a huge lack of accountability." Pickup said her group has been very busy with the campaign -- fielding calls from media and people across the province, keeping up to date on life issues and coordinating communications and educational campaigns. She added: "As part of the De-funding Abortion campaign, many of you have met with your MLA's and contacted your church representatives. Thank you – it is imperative, particularly with the state of healthcare in our province."
Alaska Pro-Life Advocates Need Signatures for Parental Notification on Abortion
Juneau, AK (LifeNews.com) -- As of December 8, 31,000 signatures had been collected on a petition for a ballot initiative that would allow Alaska voters to decide whether abortion practitioners should be required to get consent from -- or at least notify -- parents before performing an abortion on a minor girl.
However, at least 11,000 more signatures are still needed in order to ensure that the initiative can be placed on next year's primary election ballot.
According to state law, 32,734 signatures are required but to make up for names that may be invalid for various reasons, organizers are seeking an additional 11,000. Alaskans for Parental Rights, the leading organization behind the initiative, said Catholic support for the initiative has made a large impact on the success of the petition drive.
Anchorage Archbishop Roger Schwietz asked Catholics across the archdiocese to sign the petition, and he has strongly encouraged all 32 parishes in the archdiocese to support the drive from the pulpit and in bulletins and Web sites — and to host signature-gathering volunteers at church. Full story at LifeNews.com
New Zealand Right to Life Concerned by New Report Showing Abortion Declining
Wellington, New Zealand (LifeNews.com) -- The Abortion Supervisory Committee's new report shows abortions on the decline in New Zealand. While that is good news, Right to Life is concerned about the unlawful abortions authorised in 2008. The statistics for 2008 reveal that 98% of abortions performed were authorised on the grounds of serious danger to the mental health of the mother. This statistic has been constant since 1977. Justice Miller's judgement in the High Court in Wellington, in the judicial review of the Abortion Supervisory Committee, supported the conclusion that many of these abortions are unlawful. Justice Miller stated that "there is reason to doubt the lawfulness of many abortions authorised by certifying consultants. Indeed the Committee itself has stated that the law is being used more liberally than Parliament intended." Right to Life also said the ASCs response to the report is problematic. The group told LifeNews.com, "They are seeking to provide even greater access to chemical abortion by supporting the wider use of the toxic chemical Mifegyne RU486. This use of RU486, a 'human pesticide', in a pill form imposes an incredible psychological trauma on women, often leaving the mother to cope with aborted body parts from their baby."
Northern Ireland Pro-Life Group Protests Illegal Abortions at Belfast Hospital
Belfast, Northern Ireland (LifeNews.com) -- Northern Ireland pro-life group Precious Life staged a demonstration outside the Royal Jubilee Maternity Hospital in Belfast. The pro-life group protested against abortions which are carried out in the hospital. Precious Life says it will stage similar protests at other Northern Ireland hospitals in the New Year. The protests follow the release of official figures from the Department of Health in November which revealed that 92 abortions were carried out in Northern Ireland during 2008. Precious Life are calling for the circumstances behind the abortions to be opened to public scrutiny and investigated by the police. Director of the Precious Life, Bernadette Smyth said, "Abortion is illegal in Northern Ireland. It is a very serious offence to cause the death of an unborn child. The only defense medical staff have is to prove the death of the child occurred as an unintentional result of providing life saving treatment to the mother. We have evidence that unborn babies are being intentionally killed by abortion in the Royal Jubilee Maternity Hospital simply because they may be disabled. We held this protest today to expose this illegal practice."
Memphis Tennessee Diocese Upset Planned Parenthood Relocating Nearby
Memphis, TN (LifeNews.com) -- The Catholic Diocese of Memphis says the proposed new location for Planned Parenthood on Madison Avenue is too close to its high school. The Rev. Michael P. Joyce, chancellor for the diocese, wrote a letter to the Tennessee Health Services and Development Agency opposing the application that Planned Parenthood of Greater Memphis Region has filed to relocate from 1407 Union Ave. to 1750 Madison. The board for the state agency is scheduled to review the certificate of need application on Wednesday. Planned Parenthood is seeking authorization to move because the lease at its existing location is not being renewed. The lease expires Feb. 28. The new site is less than a mile from Planned Parenthood's existing Midtown location. But it is also around corner from the campus of Memphis Catholic High School. Barry Chase, the executive director of Planned Parenthood, said there will be no signs on the office building to indicate its presence there. Joyce, who wrote the letter of opposition, functions as the diocese's chief operating officer in his role as chancellor. "Our Catholic Church is strongly opposed to abortion and promotes respect for life from conception to natural death," Joyce wrote. "We believe the relocation of Planned Parenthood to the 1750 Madison property will be severely detrimental to our operations on a campus located within two-tenths of a mile of the 1750 Madison medical office building."
Portland Archdiocese CCHD Office Admits, Stops Funding Pro-Abortion Group
by Jim Welsh
After nearly one month of attempts to have Children First for Oregon (CFFO), a 2009 CCHD grantee, defunded for its public opposition to parental notification for minors seeking an abortion, the Archdiocese's Respect Life Office has grudgingly decided to remove CFFO from further consideration for Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) grants.
In early November, I alerted the Portland Archdiocese's Director of the Respect Life office, Matt Cato, that one of its 2009 grantees, CFFO, had publicly opposed, in 2006, an Oregon ballot measure (Measure 43) requiring parental notification for minors seeking an abortion. Archbishop Vlazny had strongly supported the ballot measure.
I also informed Cato that CFFO is an enthusiastic supporter of "school-based health clinics" which support the distribution of contraceptive information to junior and senior high school students. It was also discovered that CFFO is closely aligned with foundations whose websites openly support the distribution of contraceptives to minors.
I contacted other officials of the Archdiocese (including Archbishop Vlazny and the Chancellor, Mary Jo Tully) and the USCCB's CCHD office in Washington, D.C. regarding this matter. My queries went unanswered. Full story at LifeNews.com
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