LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report
Thursday, December 17, 2009
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Current Headlines
• Ben Nelson Reviewing Compromise on Abortion Funding in Health Care Bill
• Senator Confirms Manager's Amendment Used to Persuade Nelson on Abortion
• Obama Admin Forces Americans to Pay for More Embryonic Stem Cell Research
• Pro-Life Group's Ad: Bob Casey, You're Not Your Dad on Abortion Health Care
• Joe Lieberman Alright With Forcing Taxpayers to Fund Abortions in Health Care
• Pro-Life Groups Sponsor Another Webcast on Pro-Abortion Health Care Bill
• Head of Christian Doctors Group Quits AMA Over Pro-Abortion Advocacy
• Pope Benedict XVI Speaks Out Against Abortion, Euthanasia, Genetic Testing
• I'm Against Abortion, But: A Pro-Life Response to the Pro-Abortion Claim
• Cop Cited for Intimidating Pro-Life Advocate at Chicago-Area Planned Parenthood
• Hurricane Katrina Causes Drop in Louisiana Abortions, But Numbers Rising Again
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Ben Nelson Reviewing Compromise on Abortion Funding in Senate Health Care Bill
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Ben Nelson is beginning to be considered the 60th vote Senate Democrats need to stop a filibuster against the pro-abortion, government-run health care bill. His objection to the bill is over the massive abortion funding currently contained in it, and he is now examining a proposed compromise.
The current Harry Reid health care bill paves the way for considerable taxpayer funding of potentially hundreds of thousands of abortions annually through the public option and affordability credits. Reid has a manager's amendment with changes to the bill that will be approved before the vote on the filibuster and bill itself are taken.
Senator Nelson floated an amendment to remove the funding from the bill and, because it was defeated, he has said he would vote against the bill and for the filibuster unless changes are made to cut the abortion funding.
Late Wednesday afternoon, Sen. Bob Casey, the Pennsylvania Democrat who is the only other Democratic senator to call himself pro-life, was working on a potential compromise to keep the other 59 members of the caucus supportive of the bill but pick up Nelson's vote.
CNN indicates Nelson has seen the proposed language and that they "look better than what's in the bill," but he said he still has to review it and wants pro-life groups to examine the language before making a commitment.
"I don't know at this point in time. Constituency groups haven't responded back yet," Nelson added, according to AP
The Associated Press indicated the "compromise" involves an attempt to separate private and public funds, but that is the current approach in the Senate bill modeled after the Capps amendment that pro-life groups and Nelson himself have rejected in the past. Full story at LifeNews.com
Senator Confirms Manager's Amendment Used to Persuade Nelson on Abortion
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The vote on the Senate pro-abortion health care bill is coming down to the wire and it is appearing likely that pro-life Nebraska Democrat Ben Nelson will be the deciding vote on whether to stop the filibuster against the bill. As pro-life advocates have worried, a manager's amendment may be used to persuade him.
At the end of the debate on the government-run bill, scheduled for next week before Christmas, senators will vote on cloture (to end the filibuster) and the bill itself (if the filibuster is defeated). Before they do that, they will vote on a manager's amendment -- a package of amendments sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid designed to keep Democrats in line for the bill.
The fear has been that the manager's amendment will be used to get Nelson to support the bill and the party on the filibuster vote. In an interview with National Review Online today, pro-abortion Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin confirmed this fear.
"I believe that we can find some common language on abortion," says Cardin. "I know that both sides are meeting and talking. What we want is language that's neutral, and I think the underlying bill has that. What we're doing now is working to clarify it." Full story at LifeNews.com
Obama Admin Forces Americans to Pay for More Embryonic Stem Cell Research
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The Obama administration on Monday forced Americans to pay for another round of embryonic stem cell research involving the destruction of human life. National Institutes of Health chief Francis Collins approved taxpayer funding of 27 more lines of embryonic stem cells.
The cells can only be obtained by destroying unborn children days after conception -- at which point human embryos are unique human beings.
The embryonic stem cells in question are 27 lines from Harvard University used in diabetes-related pancreatic cell experiments.
Embryonic stem cell research has yet to be tried in human patients because of its failure when used on animals. The cells cause tumors and prompt the immune system to reject them. However, adult stem cell research has resulted in cures or treatments for more than 100 different diseases and conditions.
Earlier this year, President Barack Obama issued an executive order overturning the limits President Bush put in place on any new embryonic stem cell research funding. Bush directed federal dollars mostly to adult stem cells that are already helping patients now.
The Obama administration already approved federal funding for 13 lines from Children's Hospital in Boston and, on October 12, the Harvard researchers submitted an application for funding of their lines. Full story at LifeNews.com
Pro-Life Group's Ad: Bob Casey, You're Not Your Dad on Pro-Abortion Health Care
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- As one of just two Democrats in the Senate to claim pro-life credentials, Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey could have an enormous impact on stopping a health care bill that contains massive abortion funding. Because he appears reticent to do so, the Susan B. Anthony List is running a new ad on him.
As Casey looks more inclined each day to support the pro-abortion health care bill -- which includes taxpayer funding of abortion and opens the door to forcing insurance companies to pay for them -- SBA's ad is coming into play.
The commercial contrasts the stalwart pro-life legacy of the late Governor Bob Casey, Sr. with the his son.
The Susan B. Anthony List ad, "Who Shall Live," will run in Casey's hometown of Scranton and Erie and the initial $40,000 ad buy runs today and tomorrow -- in advance of the expected vote on the health care bill next week. Full story at LifeNews.com
Joe Lieberman Alright With Forcing Taxpayers to Fund Abortions in Health Care
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Joe Lieberman, one of the critical votes in determining the outcome of the pro-abortion government run health care bill, came around yesterday and said he is about ready to support the bill. That, and his response to a recent interview, show he is fine with forcing taxpayers to fund abortions.
Lieberman yesterday said that, as a result of removing a Medicare expansion package from proposed changes to the bill, he is much more likely to support it.
However, Lieberman also recently talked with CNS News, which asked him whether he thought making Americans pay for abortions is "morally right."
CNS News asked Lieberman: "Do you think it is morally right to take [tax] money from pro-life Americans and give it to health plans that cover abortion? What is your opinion on that? Is it morally right?"
The Connecticut senator responded, "Oh, as somebody once said, that's a hard question to answer on one foot, but it happens all the time because we put money into a general pot and then it goes to things that some people support and some don't." "It's hard though, it's hard because it's a moral question," he added. Full story at LifeNews.com
Pro-Life Groups Sponsor Another Webcast on Pro-Abortion Health Care Bill
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Any pro-life advocates who missed last night's webcast sponsored by a slate of pro-life organizations will have another opportunity to hear from a different group of pro-life leaders giving the latest facts and information about the government-run pro-abortion health care bill.
Last night's broadcast, sponsored in part by LifeNews.com, featured members of the Stop the Abortion Mandate Coalition.
Tonight's broadcast is led by the Family Research Council and Focus on the Family and includes FRC president Tony Perkins and Focus founder James Dobson.
Senators Sam Brownback and Jim DeMint, Reps. Randy Forbes and Michele Bachmann, Lou Engle of The Call to Conscience, Bishop Harry Jackson of the High Impact Leadership Coalition, Pastor Jim Garlow of Skyline Church and Reverend Samuel Rodriguez of the National Hispanic Leadership Conference will join them.
FRC tells LifeNews.com the special one hour webcast is meant to "mobilize thousands of Christians and churches to join in corporate prayer over the health care overhaul bill."
They will "discuss and pray over significant concerns within the bill that will have far reaching consequences for the Christian community and our society." Full story at LifeNews.com
Head of Christian Doctors Group Quits AMA Over Pro-Abortion Advocacy
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The doctor who is the chairman of a national organization for Christian physicians and medical workers has resigned from the American Medical Association. Dr. David Stevens, the head of the 17,000-member Christian Medical Association, says the AMA has become a pro-abortion advocacy group.
Stevens told LifeNews.com on Tuesday that he is canceling his membership in the American Medical Association as a way of publicly protesting what he says is the AMA's control by special interests that do not represent most physicians.
The AMA has come under fire for endorsing healthcare overhaul legislation after closed-door negotiations with legislators even though it contains the largest expansion of abortion funding since Roe v. Wade.
"I can no longer associate with or support an organization that is unscientific, unprofessional and controlled by special interests," Dr. Stevens asserted in a letter sent earlier this week to the AMA. Stevens is also advising the organization's 17,000 members to "carefully consider if they should continue their memberships in the AMA." Full story at LifeNews.com
Pope Benedict XVI Speaks Out Against Abortion, Euthanasia, Genetic Testing
The Vatican (LifeNews.com) -- In a Wednesday address, Pope Benedict XVI spoke out against abortion, euthanasia, and casual genetic testing that could lead to abortion decisions. The pontiff said more legislation is needed to protect human life from these very real threats and that laws are only just when they protect the vulnerable.
The only just laws "are those laws that safeguard the sacredness of human life and reject the acceptance of abortion, euthanasia and unrestrained genetic experiments," Benedict said.
Failure to recognize a respect for human life in the law leads to a "dictatorship of relativism which does not recognize anything definitive and leaves as the ultimate criterion only the self and one's own desires," he said.
He added a "an objective, unchanging truth accessible to human reason and that concerns practical action" exists -- something that guides pro-life people. Full story at LifeNews.com
I'm Against Abortion, But: A Pro-Life Response to the Frequent Pro-Abortion Claim
by Bryan Kemper
I'm against abortion, but...
I think the statement that bugs me most when talking to people about abortion is, "I'm against abortion, but..." I can actually respect someone's total pro-abortion position more than someone who tells me, "I'm against abortion, but..." It just makes no sense to me at all; how can they be against something as vile and deadly as abortion and have a "but"?
My first response to them is always to ask them first why they are against abortion. What is it about abortion that would make you start your statement with "I'm against abortion"?
It amazes me when they start telling me how killing a baby is so wrong, life is so precious and we should respect it, and babies are innocent and don't deserve to die. It would seem they have a firm grasp on the pro-life perspective, but. There it is, that little three-letter word that destroys the very foundation of what they just explained to me.
I am boggled at how in one breath you can call killing a baby murder and in the next breath you can justify this murder because you don't want to tell others what to do. I cannot fathom how someone can say that life is precious and should be protected then turn around and support "the choice" to destroy that very life. Full story at LifeNews.com
Cop Cited for Intimidating Pro-Life Advocate at Chicago-Area Planned Parenthood
Aurora, IL (LifeNews.com) -- A Chicago police officer was cited in a report for intimidating a pro-life advocate helping counsel women outside a Planned Parenthood abortion business in Aurora. The officer was written up for disorderly conduct after flashing his badge at the pro-life sidewalk counselor, who says he also brandished his gun.
Rachelle Crile, a 31-year-old Naperville woman had been outside the abortion center for about an hour when saw a car with two people that appeared to be heading to the facility.
Crile told the Fox Valley Sun newspaper that she approached the car with pro-life literature and that the man driving the car threatened her with a handgun. "I'm very shaken up. It's a very shocking thing to happen," Crile said.
The driver, a 41-year-old male and the passenger, a 31-year-old female, then went into the Aurora Planned Parenthood. After Crile contacted police, they entered the facility to question them. "(The driver) was an off-duty Chicago police officer," Aurora Police spokesman Dan Ferrelli told the newspaper. Full story at LifeNews.com
Hurricane Katrina Causes Drop in Louisiana Abortions, But Numbers Rising Again
Baton Rouge, LA (LifeNews.com) -- Hurricane Katrina claimed 1,800 lives and could have been responsible for as many as 700 more deaths. However, in the aftermath of the storm, Louisiana saw its abortion numbers plummet as fewer people remained in the state and abortion centers in the New Orleans area closed.
The latest available abortion statistics for the state showed good news for pro-life advocates. Abortions in Louisiana dropped from 11,224 in 2004 to 8,860 in 2005, a decline of 21 percent. Them, after Katrina, they dropped again from to 6,204 in 2006, another 24 percent reduction.
However, as the state recovers and rebuilds from the storm and attracts more residents, the abortion numbers are rising again. In 2007, the state saw 6,833 abortions, a 10.1 percent increase from the prior year.
Dr. Al Krotoski, the president of Hippocratic Resource, a statewide pro-life organization for physicians and pro-life medical workers, emailed LifeNews.com about the figures. "Although this is not necessarily the time of year to deal with this unpleasant subject, there is good news in regard to Louisiana," he said. "Since Hurricane Katrina's visit in 2005, reported abortions in our state have dropped quite dramatically." Full story at LifeNews.com
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