LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report
Friday, December 4, 2009
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Current Headlines
• Senate Backs Mikulski Amdt, Could Make Insurance Plans to Cover Abortions
• Senate Vote Coming on Nelson Amdt to Cut Health Care Abortion Funds
• Ben Nelson Will Filibuster Senate Health Care Bill if Abortion Funding Remains
• Bob Casey Won't Say if Abortion Funding Will Prompt No Vote on Health Care
• Pro-Life Groups Disappointed Obama Funding Embryonic Stem Cell Lines
• Judiciary Cmte Approves Another Obama Pro-Abortion Judge, Louis Butler
• Skeptics Hope European Court Impartial in Ireland Abortion Case
• Religious Leader Tells Planned Parenthood Abortion a "God-Given Right"
• Pro-Abortion UNFPA Wants Billions for Family Planning as Cairo Done
• Woman Charged Who Threatened Pro-Life Advocates With Knife
• Daily Iowan Paper Implies Catholic Docs Dumb on Abortion-Breast Cancer
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Senate Backs Mikulski Amdt, Could Require All Insurance Plans to Cover Abortions
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Senators approved an amendment to the government-run health care bill today that could call abortion "preventative care." They voted 61-39 in favor of the Mikulski amendment that could make it so every health care plan in the United States would have to cover abortion.
Sen. Barbara Mikulski, a pro-abortion Maryland Democrat, offered Amendment No. 2791 dealing with federally mandated coverage of "preventive care."
Though most of the discussion on the amendment centered on a mammogram coverage problem in the bill, it presents significant concerns for pro-life advocates. The Mikulski amendment would essentially open the door to defining abortion as "preventative care" and could result in mandates to private insurance plans that they define abortion as such and provide coverage of it.
The Mikulski amendment would be placed into the "individual and group market reforms" section at the very beginning of the Senate health care reform bill requiring global "reforms" that would affect all health care plans. These requirements will bind every health plan in the nation aside from whether or not a given plan seeks to meet or does meet the requirements of a "qualified health plan" eligible to participate in the exchange.
Ultimately, if the Mikulski amendment becomes law, and if pro-abortion HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius defined abortion to be "preventive care," then every health care plan would have to cover abortion, and without charging any copayments. Full story at LifeNews.com
ACTION: Contact your members of the Senate and tell them your thoughts on how they voted on the pro-abortion Mikulski amendment. Click here to see how your lawmakers voted.
Senate Vote Coming on Nelson Amendment to Cut Health Care Abortion Funds
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The Senate was looking to vote soon, possibly as early as Friday, on the Nelson amendment that would remove the massive abortion funding contained in the Senate government-run health care bill. However, Senate leader Harry Reid ditched those plans later in the day.
Sen. Orrin Hatch, the Utah Republican who is co-sponsoring the amendment with Nelson, told CNN that Ried was pushing Nelson too hard to bring it up faster than he wanted.
"He (Nelson) is being pushed very hard by his side to bring it up before it's ready to be brought up," Hatch said. "To do really good legislation around here, you need to make sure people who agree with you are on board and the outside groups feel good about it. There's a lot of work I need to do and he needs to do."
Nelson himself indicated that he is not finished writing the legislation yet and wanted more time to finish crafting it and to receive input. Nelson said he "did not feel rushed by Reid and blamed the delay on the complexities of writing the highly technical abortion language," according to CNN.
When the Senate does finally vote, the question will be whether the amendment will get 60 votes to overcome a pro-abortion filibuster. Full story at LifeNews.com
Ben Nelson Will Filibuster Senate Health Care Bill if Abortion Funding Remains
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Senator Ben Nelson, a pro-life Nebraska Democrat, confirmed again today that he will filibuster the Senate government-run health care bill if it contains abortion funding. Nelson is sponsoring an amendment along with Sen. Orrin Hatch, that would remove the funding from the bill.
Nelson and Hatch, a Utah Republican, have an amendment that would be similar to the Stupak amendment the House adopted to revoke abortion funding.
Nelson told reporters today he will not vote for cloture, the motion that could be presented later this month to end debate. "I will not vote to take it off the floor," said Nelson.
The lawmaker cautioned that he doesn't know how the vote on his Stupak-type amendment will play out, though most political observers suggest it will not get the 60 votes needed for passage. "Now I don't know that it's going to come down to that, because I don't know that Stupak's not going to pass, number one," he said.
"Number two I don't know what kind of alternative legislation may be offered as an alternative bill. I don't know what the next steps are, but I've made it clear that whatever is finally considered has to have that language in it," Nelson explained. Full story at LifeNews.com
Bob Casey Won't Say if Abortion Funding Will Prompt No Vote on Health Care
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- If pro-life advocates are going to be successful in preventing the 60 votes needed to approve the pro-abortion health care bill in the Senate, they could use the help of Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey, a self-declared pro-life Democrat. However, Casey won't say if abortion funding in the bill will prompt him to vote no.
Last month, the outgoing head of the pro-life committee at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said there is "no way" Catholic members of Congress can vote for a health care reform bill that includes abortion funding.
During a press conference at the National Press Club on November 20, CNS News asked Cardinal Justin Rigali, the archbishop of Philadelphia if it would be a "mortal sin" for any Catholic to vote for the bill.
Rigali said Catholic members of Congress need to vote with a well-informed conscience that reminds them abortion is "absolutely wrong" and there is "no way in the world" a health care bill deserves support if it funds abortions.
Now, CNS News has asked Casey if he agrees with Cardinal Rigali's statement that pro-life Catholics can't vote for a pro-abortion health care bill. Casey won't respond either way.
"I'm not going to comment on what he [Rigali] has said in particular," Casey said on Tuesday. Full story at LifeNews.com
Pro-Life Groups Disappointed Obama Admin Funding Embryonic Stem Cell Lines
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The Obama administration's announcement yesterday that it will force taxpayers to spend $12 million to fund embryonic stem cell research isn't going over well with pro-life groups. They say the decision funds the destruction of human life and takes away from successful adult stem cell studies.
Americans United for Life president Charmaine Yoest noted how, "Despite years of research, human embryonic stem cells have yet to be used in real therapies for patients."
"On the other hand, adult stem cell research-- ignored by the Obama administration-- has proven effective and is already being used to treat over 70 different diseases and conditions," she added. "The NIH's authorization to use human embryonic stem cells expands the destruction of lives at the earliest stage of development and continues the Administration's practice of ignoring ethical research that is already saving the lives of Americans," she told LifeNews.com.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell chimed in with his thoughts and said the decision upset numerous pro-life members of Congress.
"Today's announcement that the National Institutes of Health is ready to implement the Obama administration's policy on embryonic stem cell research marks an historic departure from our nation's longstanding position of neutrality on embryo-destructive research," he said. Full story at LifeNews.com
Judiciary Committee Approves Another Obama Pro-Abortion Judge, Louis Butler
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The Senate Judiciary Committee voted along party lines 12-7 today for yet another pro-abortion judicial nominee from President Barack Obama. Democrats supported while Republicans opposed the nomination of Judge Louis B. Butler Jr. for a Federal District Court slot in the Western District of Wisconsin.
Opponents say Butler has a long record of judicial activism -- the kind that saw the Supreme Court put Roe v. Wade in place and judges overturn pro-life laws to limit abortion.
Butler is a liberal judge who was rejected by Wisconsin voters twice.
"When Louis Butler lost his race for the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2008, he was the first incumbent justice to be defeated since 1967," the pro-life group Family Research Council informed LifeNews.com. "He had previously lost to then-Justice Diane S. Sykes in a race for the Court in 2000 – Butler earned 34 percent of the vote and lost in all 72 counties, including Milwaukee and Dane (Madison) counties." "During his brief but too long tenure on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, Louis Butler was a left-wing judicial activist," FRC warned.
In March 2008, Wisconsin Right to Life terms Butler "pro-abortion" and said there were "lots of reasons voters would want to reject sending Justice Louis Butler back to the State Supreme Court." Full story at LifeNews.com
ACTION: Contact your senators at http://www.Senate.gov and urge opposition to the nomination of Judge Butler.
Skeptics Hope European Court of Human Rights Impartial in Ireland Abortion Case
Dublin, Ireland (LifeNews.com/CFAM) -- Irish abortion laws and sovereignty stand in the dock next week when the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) hears a challenge to Ireland's constitutional protection of life "from conception."
Three petitioners in the case A, B & C v. Ireland allege that they were forced to travel overseas to obtain abortions, undergoing unnecessary expenses and hardship due to the nation's pro-life laws. They claim violations of various rights under the European Convention on Human Rights.
Third-party interveners Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, the European Center for Law and Justice and the Alliance Defense Fund (on behalf of Family Research Council), contend that it is "Ireland's sovereign right to determine when life begins" and what rights attach to pre-natal life. They also claim that domestic remedies have not been exhausted, and that therefore the ECHR lacks jurisdiction to hear the case. Full story at LifeNews.com
Religious Leader Tells Planned Parenthood Rally Abortion a "God-Given Right"
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- During the rally yesterday sponsored by the Planned Parenthood abortion business and other leading pro-abortion groups, Rev. Carlton Veazy told the small gathering of hardcore activists that abortion is a "God-given right." Veazy is the head of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice.
The rally was a time for abortion advocates to rally together to press for taxpayer funding of abortions and saw a small crowd of just a few hundred people -- compared to the 100,000 or more who attend the March for Life.
Veazy was the closing speaker for the Stop Stupak rally and he told the activists they had more than merely a so-called constitutional right to an abortion.
"Don't let anybody tell you that religious people don't support choice," Veazy said, according to CNS News. "You not only have a constitutional right for abortion, but you have a God-given right."
Veazy went as far as calling on the abortion advocates to "take on" the nation's Catholic bishops, who have pressed for removing the abortion funding from the congressional health care bills. Full story at LifeNews.com
Pro-Abortion UNFPA Wants Hundreds of Billions for Family Planning as Cairo Done
New York, NY (LifeNews.com/CFAM) -- At the United Nations this week, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) organized a commemorative seminar on the 1995 Cairo International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). And, in a look ahead, it urged states to renew their commitment to the program, calling for over $200 billion (US) in funding for "sexual and reproductive health and family planning" alone.
UNFPA's Ann Pawliczko gave a financial perspective of the ICPD Program of Action and presented a "revised ICPD Global Cost Estimate" for 2009 through 2015, when the ICPD program is scheduled to end. Apart from $212 billion (US) for "sexual and reproductive health / family planning," UNFPA estimates that another $22.5 billion would be needed for "family planning direct costs" for the same time period.
At the seminar, attended by less than 80 individuals representing government delegations and civil society, panelists presented a retrospective of the "groundbreaking" ICPD conference and sought to outline a way forward. Claiming that with only five years left to fulfill the commitments made at the ICPD and achieve the interrelated Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), "governments are called upon to redouble their efforts toward the integration of population and development policies." Full story at LifeNews.com.
Woman Charged Who Threatened Pro-Life Advocates With Knife at Abortion Center
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 been charged. The November assault followed a September shooting in Michigan that saw pro-life advocate Jim Pouillon shot and killed as he protested abortion.
Leah Winandy and other pro-life advocates were gathered outside the abortion business in Duluth when an unnamed 25-year-old woman from Superior, Wisconsin approached the Building For Women abortion center.
Winandy told the woman she cared about her unborn child but the woman responded by reportedly brandishing a knife and held it to Winandy's throat.
On Friday, officials charged Mechelle Tallulah Hall with second-degree assault and set her bail at $9,000.
According to the Duluth News Tribune, Hall said at her arraignment last Wednesday that she knew she made a mistake. "I know what I did was wrong," she said. Full story at LifeNews.com
Daily Iowan Paper Implies Catholic Doctors Uninformed on Abortion-Breast Cancer
by Karen Malec
On two occasions early in November, The Daily Iowan's opinion editor, Shawn Gude, invited a reader by the name of Rebecca Curtis to send him a 600-word rebuttal in response to a guest opinion written by University of Iowa law students, Amber Fricke and Amy Hirst, on October 27, 2009 that incorrectly stated that abortion does not increase breast cancer risk. [1]
Curtis sent The Daily Iowan a rebuttal, but Gude rejected it on November 5 and invited her to re-write it. She quickly responded by sending him a revised rebuttal, but on November 9, he rejected that too. Gude explained to Curtis, "While I appreciate your submission, I remain skeptical of some of your sources."
Gude objected that Curtis had cited research published in The Linacre Quarterly, a publication of the Catholic Medical Association, and the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, a publication of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, even though both publications are peer-reviewed medical journals and the authors of the research papers in question are esteemed, international experts on the abortion-breast cancer link. [8,9] (The term "peer-reviewed" means that the scientific papers have been evaluated by an impartial panel of experts who recommend the papers for publication or rejection.) Full story at LifeNews.com
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