LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report
Friday, December 18, 2009
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Current Headlines
Nelson Rejects "Compromise" on Abortion Funding in Senate Health Bill
President Obama Forces Americans to Pay for Abortions in Nation's Capital
Pro-Life Groups: Casey's Abortion-Health Care Compromise No Good
Nancy Pelosi: "Thank God" Senate Bill Funds Abortions, House Can Pass
Spain Parliament Votes to Approve Abortions Up to 14 Weeks
Bob Casey Faces More Pressure From Pro-Life Groups on Health Care
Planned Parenthood Transforms Choice on Earth Card Into Fundraiser
More Details Surface on Incident Involving Cop Intimidating Pro-Life Advocate
Doug Kmiec, Tell Barack Obama to Stop Taxpayer-Funded Abortions in DC
Ireland Supreme Court Rules Unborn Not Persons in Fertility Clinic Case
Woman Who Threatened Pro-Lifers With Knife at Abortion Ctr Pleads Not Guilty
California School Dist Wants to Cover Up Secret teen Pregnancy Test Incident
News: Virginia Infanticide, Ohio, Florida, Nevada, Australia, Abortion, ASCR
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Nelson Rejects "Compromise" on Abortion Funding in Senate Health Care Bill
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Senator Ben Nelson, who is quickly becoming the must-get 60th vote for Democrats to pass their pro-abortion health care bill in the Senate, is rejecting a proposed compromise aimed at attracting his vote. Sen. Bob Casey drafted the compromise, which has already been criticized by pro-life groups.
Casey's compromise, reportedly worked out with the Obama administration and pro-abortion Sen. Barbara Boxer, calls for funding abortions but allowing pro-life advocates to opt out of funding them.
The idea puts the onus on the backs of pro-life advocates to follow through on leaving the health care program's abortion funding component. It will still leave the federal government using taxpayer funds to pay for abortions -- an idea Nelson, a Nebraska Democrat, strongly opposes. As a result, he rejected the Casey compromise and says he is still a no vote on the bill and supportive of the filibuster.
Nelson told KLIN radio in Lincoln, Nebraska on Thursday that the language does not satisfy his concerns about abortion funding.
"Without further modifications, it isn't sufficient," he said. "There's a lot of improvement on the legislation but the basic question on funding for abortion hasn't been answered yet." This is not an issue where you can split the difference. That s what makes it so challenging," he said earlier in the day. Full story at LifeNews.com
President Obama Forces Americans to Pay for Abortions in Nation's Capital
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- President Barack Obama signed an omnibus government spending bill today that made it official -- Americans will be forced to pay for abortions in the nation's capital. The bill Obama signed overturns a 13-year-long ban on the practice and could lead to as many as 1,000 more abortions annually.
Though Obama campaigned on the promise of reducing abortions, he has repeatedly violated that pledge. Obama waited less than a week to overturn the Mexico City Policy sending taxpayer dollars to groups that promote and perform abortions overseas.
Closer to home, Obama's signature means the Dornan Amendment is no more and Americans will be forced to fund abortions in the District of Columbia, which already has one of the nation's highest abortion rates.
Rev. Thomas Euteneuer, president of Human Life International, condemned the bill and its abortion funding components.
"Our country is broke. We keep having to increase our debt limit so we can borrow more money. And we are now borrowing money so that our government can fund the killing of unborn children," he said. "I cannot imagine a scenario more shameful than that which we are now witnessing." Full story at LifeNews.com
ACTION: Send your complaints to Obama at http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
Pro-Life Groups: Casey's Abortion-Health Care Compromise for Nelson No Good
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Pro-life organizations say the so-called "compromise" that Sen. Bob Casey presented late Wednesday to Sen. Ben Nelson to get him to vote for the pro-abortion government-run health care bill is no good. The National Right to Life Committee says the language keeps abortion funding in the bill.
As LifeNews.com has reported, Nelson is quickly becoming one of the few remaining linchpins for the health care bill. The sponsor of an amendment to gut the abortion funding under the legislation, Nelson said he would support the filibuster of the bill if the abortion funding is not removed.
Attempting to find a compromise that satisfies pro-abortion lawmakers and Nelson alike, Casey emerged as a key negotiator and delivered preliminary language to Nelson that he, in turn, passed on to pro-life groups to review.
The verdict is in and National Right to Life legislative director Douglas Johnson says the language is "unacceptable."
"This is far cry from the Stupak Amendment," Johnson said in an email delivered to news outlets. "This proposal would break from the long-established principles of the Hyde Amendment by providing federal subsidies for health plans that cover abortion on demand. This is entirely unacceptable," he added. Full story at LifeNews.com
Nancy Pelosi: "Thank God" Senate Bill Funds Abortions, Says House Can Pass Bill
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- In yet another comment that will draw guffaws from pro-life advocates, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is thankful to God that the Senate bill include massive abortion funding. Pelosi also claims she has enough votes to pass a pro-abortion health care bill in the House, though that is disputed.
The Senate bill, unlike the House government-run health care measure, funds abortions though the public option and affordability credits.
In a press conference with reporters late Wednesday, Pelosi talked about the differences between the House and Senate bills, some of which she liked and some disliked. But she appealed to a higher power in complementing one aspect of the Senate measure.
The Senate bill "doesn't have a public option, doesn't expand Medicare for the (age) 55 to 64 group, and has abortion language that is completely different from the House -- thank God."
Pelosi told reporters she believes the House can approve the Senate bill or a merged conference committee measure even without the Stupak amendment the House added on a large bipartisan vote to remove abortion funding. "We'll see now, won't we," she said. Full story at LifeNews.com
Spain Parliament Votes to Approve Abortions Up to 14 Weeks, 22 in Some Cases
Madrid, Spain (LifeNews.com) -- The Spanish Parliament today approved legislation to legalize abortions through 14 weeks for any reason and 22 weeks in some additional cases. Abortions are allowed in Spain already and the measure makes legal abortions official and will likely expand their already-growing numbers.
More than 100,000 abortions are already done in Spain every year as abortion centers use the mental health aspect of the current law to authorize the abortions, even though research shows abortions present women with a plethora of mental health problems.
The cabinet of the Spain government, headed by President Rodriguez Zapatero, has proposed a bill that would expand abortions and legalize them up to the fourteenth week of pregnancy.
In November, the proposal was approved in its first stage as ruling party Socialist Party was joined by five smaller parties to back the abortion expansion on a narrow majority of 180 to 163. Today, the vote in the 350-seat Congress of Deputies was 184-158 with one abstention, according to an AP report.
The measure now goes to the Senate, which is expected to approve the pro-abortion bill early next year. Full story at LifeNews.com
Bob Casey Faces More Pressure From Pro-Life Groups on Abortion-Health Care
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Pennsylvania senator Bob Casey is facing relentless pressure from pro-life advocates not to abandon his self-described pro-life views by supporting a health care bill that contains what would be the largest expansion of abortion funding since Roe v. Wade.
The Susan B. Anthony List has already run advertisements challenging Casey and urging him to support the filibuster and oppose the bill.
Now, CatholicVoteAction, a pro-life activist group for Catholics, announced the release of a new 60-second commercial that will begin airing in northeast Pennsylvania including in Senator Casey s hometown of Scranton.
The commercial urges Senator Casey to oppose any healthcare bill that would entangle American taxpayers in the financing of abortion.
Senator Casey is a fellow Catholic who knows what is right. But he s under tremendous pressure to support this abortion-laden healthcare bill, Brian Burch, the president of the pro-life group, told LifeNews.com.
We want Senator Casey to know that his fellow Catholics are looking to him to step up to the plate and do the right thing. We're looking to him for leadership to ensure that taxpayers will not be involved whatsoever in the financing of abortion. Senator Casey more than anyone else right now has the ability to be a hero to millions of Americans, he said. Full story at LifeNews.com
Planned Parenthood Transforms Choice on Earth Christmas Card Into Fundraiser
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- For years, the national Planned Parenthood abortion business has saddened Christians by co-opting Biblical text with its "Choice on Earth" Christmas cards. This year, Planned Parenthood has no offensive greeting cards to sell but it has transformed the cards into a fundraising campaign.
Under a "Choice on Earth" banner, Planned Parenthood Federation of America president Cecile Richards sent her donors an email today that looks back on 2009 and ahead to 2010.
"With so many changes, including a new president, the hope of health care reform, and even some big wins like overturning the global gag rule, some things definitely stay the same," she writes. "For example, everywhere I go women still tell me just how much Planned Parenthood has meant to their lives."
In an effort to draw attention away from its abortion business, Richards recounts the stories of women who went to its centers for pap smears and breast exams. Full story at LifeNews.com
More Details Surface on Incident Involving Cop Intimidating Pro-Life Advocate
Aurora, IL (LifeNews.com) -- More details are surfacing on a Wednesday incident that saw an off-duty police officer intimidate a pro-life advocate helping women outside the Aurora Planned Parenthood abortion center. A Chicago police officer was cited in a report for disorderly conduct for flashing his badge and possibly his gun.
Rachelle Crile, a 31-year-old Naperville, Illinois woman who had been outside the abortion center for about an hour when she 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 pulled out his badge and allegedly threatened her by displaying a handgun.
Eric Scheidler, the director of the Pro-Life Action League, a prominent pro-life group that heads up local pro-life efforts in Aurora, provided LifeNews.com with more details of what happened.
"Rachelle Crile, one of our most committed sidewalk counselors, was threatened by an off duty Chicago police officer who pointed his gun at her from inside his minivan," he said. Full story at LifeNews.com
Doug Kmiec, Tell Barack Obama to Stop Taxpayer-Funded Abortions in DC
by Jill Stanek
For his phenomenal work convincing just enough Catholic voters that pro-abortion, pro-infanticide, pro-human embryo experimentation Barack Obama was actually pro-life, Catholic law professor Doug Kmiec was awarded an ambassadorship to the country of Malta, a group of Mediterranean islands off the southern coast of Italy.
Kmiec labored hard to earn that plum appointment, going so far as to rustle up a book, "Can a Catholic Support Him?" just seven weeks before the 2008 election.
Sitting in a Panera cafe with winter boots on in the aftermath of Chicago's first blizzard of the season, let me check Malta's weather right now. December being one of its coldest months, the daily average temperature is 65 degrees with five hours of sunshine. But I digress. Full story at LifeNews.com
Ireland Supreme Court Rules Unborn Children Not Persons in Fertility Clinic Case
Dublin, Ireland (LifeNews.com) -- The Ireland Supreme Court has ruled that human embryos -- unborn children just days after conception -- are not persons. The ruling came in a case involving a woman who wanted to implant the embryos and give birth to the children despite the wishes of her estranged husband.
Mary and Thomas Roche underwent in-vitro fertilization treatment in 2001 and the couple originally went to court in 2006 to decide the fate of the embryos, unique unborn children, who are stored in a fertility clinic in Rathgar.
The couple had already had children and the mother was left unable to have more after an operation to remove a cyst on her ovary led to the removal of most of that ovary.
After the surgery, the couple underwent in-vitro fertilization and six human embryos were produced in 2002. Three were successfully implanted and she gave birth as a result. The three remaining embryos were at the center of the dispute as Thomas Roche had refused permission for the implantation.
The five judges on the Ireland Supreme Court ruled, despite the clear pro-life protections for unborn children in the nation's Constitution, that embryos do not enjoy that protection. Full story at LifeNews.com
Woman Who Threatened Pro-Lifers With Knife at Abortion Center Pleads Not Guilty
Duluth, MN (LifeNews.com) -- A Minnesota woman who faces assault charges after she allegedly pulled a knife on two pro-life advocates who encouraged her not to have an abortion has plead not guilty. Officials charged Mechelle Tallulah Hall with second-degree assault and set her bail at $9,000.
The 26-year-old woman from Superior, Wisconsin told a judge in St. Louis County District Court Wednesday that she was wrong to pull the knife on the pro-life women.
According to the Duluth News Tribune, Hall will next appear in court on the charge on February 16 with a trial date of February 23.
The newspaper indicates she also apologized during her initial court appearance last month, saying I know what I did was wrong. The newspaper indicated the judge said that was not the appropriate time to talk about the facts of the case or enter a plea as to her guilt or innocence. During yesterday's hearing, Hall waived her right to another court appearance to challenge evidence against her. Full story at LifeNews.com
California School District Wants to Cover Up Secret teen Pregnancy Test Incident
Nevada City, CA (LifeNews.com) -- A California school district that received national condemnation when it pulled a 12-year-old girl out of class for a pregnancy test without her parents' knowledge or consent is trying to hush up details of the incident.
The district in Northern California has become so alarmed by media interest in a right to privacy lawsuit that it is now asking the court to order opposing attorneys not to talk to the media about the case.
The lawsuit is brought on behalf of a 12-year-old student in Nevada City who was allegedly pulled out of class and forced to take a pregnancy test by a school counselor.
Other students at Seven Hills Middle School in Nevada City have confirmed that, last spring, the girl was forced to take the pregnancy test. Following a public hearing, the minor's attorney, Matthew McReynolds of Pacific Justice Institute, a pro-life legal group, responded to questions from a local newspaper reporter who was present. Full story at LifeNews.com
Pro-Life News: Virginia Infanticide, Ohio, Florida, Nevada, Australia, Abortion, ASCR
• Virginia Woman Won't be Charged in Death of Her New Born Baby
• Nevada GOP Race to Replace Harry Reid Features Interesting Abortion Comments
• Ohio Right to Life Opposes 'Merit Selection' of Justices, Sends Letters Opposing
• Australia Man With MS Walks Again After Adult Stem Cell Treatment
• Florida Pro-Abortion Candidate Meek Gets NARAL Endorsement for Senate Seat
Full stories at LifeNews.com
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