LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
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Current Headlines
• Nelson, Lawmakers File Amendment to Stop Abortion Funding, Mandates
• Abortion, Public Option Could Derail Senate Pro-Abortion Health Care Bill
• Senators Nelson, Boxer Debate Amdt to Stop Abortion Funs in Health Care
• House Omnibus Bill Could Overturn Pro-Life Laws on Tax-Funded Abortions
• President Obama Again Violates No Abortion Funds Pledge by Backing Bill
• Catholic Bishops Tell Senators to Support Nelson Banning Abortion Funding
• Church of Christ, Methodist, Episcopal, Presbyterian Churches OK Abortion
• Gallup Poll Finds Barack Obama Approval Hitting New Low at 47 Percent
• CBS News Gives Platform to Late-Term Abortion Practitioner Carhart
• Bart Stupak Defends Himself Against NARAL Ad Bashing Him on Abortion
• Baltimore Mayor Dixon OKs Attacking Pregnancy Centers Helping Women
•Texas Republicans to Vote on Women Getting Ultrasound Before Abortion
• Fiji Woman Dies After Botched Abortion, Second Abortion Victim in Six Years
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Nelson, Bipartisan Lawmakers File Amendment to Stop Abortion Funding, Mandates
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Senator Ben Nelson and a bipartisan group of lawmakers have officially filed the amendment to the Senate's government-run health care bill to remove the abortion funding from it. The Nelson amendment would also limit the effect of the Milulski amendment that could allow insurance mandates for abortion.
Nelson, a Nebraska Democrat, and Sen. Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican, are leading the amendment effort.
A bipartisan group of senators have joined them by adding their names to the amendment, including Sen. Bob Casey, a Pennsylvania Democrat, and Republican Sens. Sam Brownback of Kansas, John Thune of South Dakota, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, Mike Johanns of Nebraska, Vitter of Louisiana, and Mike Enzi and John Barrasso of Wyoming.
"As written, the Senate health care bill allows taxpayer dollars, directly and indirectly, to pay for insurance plans that cover abortion. Most Nebraskans, and Americans, do not favor using public funds to cover abortion and as a result this bill shouldn't open the door to do so," said Senator Nelson.
The Nelson-Hatch-Casey amendment would prevent abortion funding under the new government-run public option plan.
"The Secretary may not provide coverage of abortion services in the community health insurance option established under Section 1323, [except as under the Hyde amendment]," the amendment reads.
The amendment also covers the affordability credits -- taxpayer funds that could be used to pay for health insurance that would pay for abortions. Full story at LifeNews.com
Abortion, Public Option Could Derail Senate's Pro-Abortion Health Care Bill
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- When the Senate ultimately votes for both an amendment to cut the abortion funding from the health care bill and the cloture motion to end debate and allow a vote on the bill itself, more evidence is emerging that abortion and the public option (the government-run aspect of the bill) could kill the bill entirely.
The Senate is expected to vote tomorrow on the Nelson-Hatch amendment to remove the massive abortion funding from the legislation. Should the Senate defeat the Nelson amendment, as senators on both sides of the abortion divide believe will happen, Nelson has already said he will join Republicans in filibustering the bill itself.
This weekend, Democratic senators and their staff worried about how to find 60 votes to end debate on the bill given the Nelson defection.
"There is a worry that Sen. Nelson means business," one top aide told Politico this weekend. "Unlike with public option, there is very little ground liberal Democrats are willing to give on this issue. Abortion, not the public option, may be the cause of our first official defection."
But the public option, as CNS News indicates today in new interviews with two lawmakers, could likely cause more defections on a bill that funds abortions and opens the door to forcing insurance companies to pay for them. Asked if there is any reason he could see that would find him voting for cloture if the bill includes the government-run option, independent Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut said no. Full story at LifeNews.com
Senators Nelson, Boxer Debate Amendment to Stop Abortion Funs in Health Care
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Senators Ben Nelson and Barbara Boxer took to the floor of the Senate Monday afternoon to do battle for and against an amendment Nelson sponsored to stop tax-funded abortions in the Senate health care bill. Boxer engaged in what pro-life advocates called a misinformation campaign.
"For more than three decades, taxpayers money has not been used for elective abortions, and it shouldn't in any new health legislation either," Nelson said.
Sen. Barbara Boxer, a pro-life California Democrat, responded to Nelson's comments by claiming that the abortion funding in the Senate health care bill somehow preserves the Hyde amendment, which has prohibited abortion funding since the 1970s.
"Senator Reid has crafted a bill that preserves this three decades long agreement," Boxer claimed.
During her comments, Boxer blamed men in the Senate for bringing the Nelson amendment and relied on a sexist argument that somehow they are not representing women and that they would favor funding men's reproductive health care but not that of women -- equating a popular sexual drug with an abortion. Full story at LifeNews.com
House Omnibus Bill Could Overturn Pro-Life Laws on Tax-Funded Abortions
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- In the debate on abortion funding in health care, backers of amendments to stop the funding say the health care bill should conform to other laws. However, the House this week could vote on an omnibus appropriations bill that could overturn multiple laws banning taxpayer funded abortions.
The 2009 fiscal year for the federal government ended on September 30, but only five of the 12 bills needed to operate the federal government have been signed into law.
The programs funded through the remaining seven bills are operating under a continuing resolution that expires on December 18, so Congress must take action by then to continue funding for the federal government.
To expedite the legislation, all but one of the bills (funding the Department of Defense) will be combined into one omnibus bill the House is expected to debate and vote on this week.
Although Democratic leaders in the House have not provided the text for the omnibus bill, the text of two of the measures expected to be combined contain serious concerns for pro-life advocates. Full story at LifeNews.com
ACTION: Urge your member of Congress to oppose the omnibus appropriations bill unless all of the pro-life laws stopping taxpayer funding of abortion remain unchanged. Contact any House member thorough http://www.House.gov
President Obama Again Violates No Abortion Funds Pledge by Backing Senate Bill
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- President Barack Obama told the American people in a national speech in September that "my" health care plan would not include taxpayer funding of abortion. Obama broke that pledge once by lobbying members of the House to support a pro-abortion funding bill and he did it again this weekend in the Senate.
Obama met with Senate Democrats in a closed door session on Sunday and told them to support the Harry Reid-sponsored bill that includes massive abortion funding and could force insurance companies to cover abortions with taxpayer's premiums.
Although the media wasn't allowed into the event, senators described the speech as one in which Obama asked them for their votes for the bill and said voting for the legislation was a historic opportunity.
"It would be very hard to have listened to the president's presentation and not have been persuaded of the historic importance of what's being discussed here,'' Senator Kent Conrad, Democrat of North Dakota, said after the address. "It was a powerful speech.''
Obama did not take questions during the event, but if he did, and if pro-life groups were present, they would have asked him why he is violating his pledge again that the health care reform bill he supports would not fund abortions. Full story at LifeNews.com
Catholic Bishops Tell Senators to Support Nelson Amdt Banning Abortion Funding
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The nation's Catholic bishops sent a letter to lawmakers today urging them to support the newly-introduced Nelson amendment to ban abortion funding in the Senate government-run health care bill. The amendment is supported by a coalition of bipartisan lawmakers but is expected to be defeated.
The letter says the Nelson-Hatch amendment includes "essential changes to the health care reform bill to ensure that needed health care reform legislation truly protects the life, dignity, consciences and health of all."
"We urgently ask you to support an essential amendment to be offered ... to keep in place the longstanding and widely supported federal policy against government funding of health coverage that includes elective abortions," the USCCB letter adds. "It simply ensures that where federal funds are involved, people are not required to pay for other people's abortions."
The new letter is signed by Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, the new chair of the Committee on Pro-life Activities; Reverend William F. Murphy, the chair of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development; and Most Reverend John Wester, the Bishop of Salt Lake City. Full story at LifeNews.com
Church of Christ, Methodist, Episcopal, Presbyterian Churches OK Abortion Funding
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A collection of pro-abortion religious groups authored a letter today to members of the Senate that essentially places them on record supporting taxpayer funding of abortions. The letter expresses their opposition to the Nelson amendment, released today, to remove abortion funding from the Senate government-run health care bill.
The Episcopal Church, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), United Church of Christ, and United Methodist Church are the four mainline protestant denominations to sign the letter asking lawmakers to oppose the Nelson amendment.
They are joined by the Disciples Justice Action Center, NA'AMAT USA, the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, a pro-abortion group, The Religious Institute, and the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations.
The groups say their position is that there is a "social and moral obligation to ensure access to" abortions "at every stage in an individual's life."
"Reforming the health care system in a way that guarantees affordable and accessible [abortion] for all is not simply a good idea—it is necessary for the well-being of all people in our nation," the religious groups wrote. Full story at LifeNews.com
Gallup Poll Finds Barack Obama Approval Rating Hitting New Low at 47 Percent
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The Gallup daily presidential tracking poll today found President Barack Obama hitting a new low, with just 47 percent of Americans saying that approve of his job performance. A new high of 46 percent of Americans now say they disapprove of Obama's actions since taking over the White House.
Obama suffered a net four percentage point loss of support -- a noticeably sharp decline for a tracking poll that normally doesn't move either way more than one or two percent.
The poll comes after Obama spent the weekend pushing members of the Senate to support the government-run health care plan, which currently funds abortions and opens the door to mandating that insurance plans pay for abortions.
Although the Gallup poll shows Obama with a positive approval rating of one percent, the poll is conducted of adults nationwide.
When examining the views of likely voters, polling data shows Obama at a negative approval rating among all Americans -- with significantly lower marks from both Republicans and independents.
The Rasmussen Reports daily presidential tracking poll shows 49% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of Obama's performance while 50 percent disapprove. Full story at LifeNews.com
CBS News Gives Platform to Late-Term Abortion Practitioner LeRoy Carhart
by Brad Wilmouth
Friday's CBS Evening News devoted a full story, filed by correspondent Jim Axelrod, to late-term abortionist LeRoy Carhart --who stepped in to succeed Dr. George Tiller, known for performing many partial birth abortions, after his murder last spring -- during which Carhart was given several soundbites to justify his work.
At one point gushing that "Until I can find someone else to care for women, they still need somebody to care for them," he later asserted: "I totally believe in this cause every bit as much as I did believe every morning when I got up in the military that I was doing the right thing. And if dying for this cause is what I have to do, then that`s what I will do."
But CBS's Axelrod never used the term "partial birth abortion," or described the horrific procedure involved in some abortions. And, while anchor Katie Couric acknowledged that Carhart's work is "controversial" as she introduced the report, she also conveyed a more positive connotation as she referred to his and Dr. Tiller's activities as a "cause," as did Carhart himself. Full story at LifeNews.com
Bart Stupak Defends Himself Against NARAL Ad Bashing Him on Abortion Funding
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Michigan congressman Bart Stupak is not letting stand a new NARAL attack ad that goes after him because he had the temerity to sponsor an amendment to ensure taxpayers are not forced to pay for abortions under the government-run health care plan the House approved.
Stupak has taken considerable heat from abortion advocates for sticking his neck out for the basic rights of taxpayers to not have to pay for the killing of unborn children and wounding of pregnant women.
NARAL has started an advertising campaign bashing Stupak and is in the middle of a fundraising effort to put as much as $75,000 behind the ads.
Stupak has issued a statement responding to what he calls "the latest misinformation about the Stupak amendment" from NARAL.
"The continued spread of misinformation about the Stupak amendment by NARAL and other organizations has no place in the health care reform debate," he said. " will continue to work with my colleagues to ensure we maintain current law of no federal funding for abortion in order to pass health reform legislation that provides access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans." Full story at LifeNews.com
Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon OKs Attacking Pregnancy Centers Helping Women
Baltimore, MD (LifeNews.com) -- Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon has signed a bill attacking pregnancy centers that help women find abortion alternatives. City Council Bill 09-0406 would fine pregnancy centers $150 per day if they don't post a sign saying they do not also provide abortions.
City Council President Stephanie Rawlings-Blake sponsored the measure that the city council approved on a 12-3 vote.
The council defeated an amendment to the bill that would have required abortion businesses to post a similar sign confirming they do not provide abortion alternatives.
With Dixon's signature, Baltimore will be the first city in the nation to target pregnancy centers in what could become a growing phenomenon.
Melinda Delahoyde, the president of Care Net, a national network of pregnancy centers, told LifeNews.com that the new law is "nonsensical," "unwarranted," and "discriminatory." Full story at LifeNews.com
ACTION: Contact the Baltimore City Council at http://www.baltimorecitycouncil.com/members.htm and Mayor Sheila Dixon at http://www.ci.baltimore.md.us/mayor
Texas Republicans to Vote on Women Getting Ultrasound View Before Abortion
Austin, TX (LifeNews.com) -- Texas Republicans will have an opportunity to vote next year on whether they believe state legislators should pursue key pro-life legislation. They will determine if they think women considering an abortion should first be allowed a chance to see an ultrasound of their unborn child.
When used in pregnancy centers, ultrasounds have helped more than 80 percent of women decide against an abortion and to keep their baby.
On Saturday, the Texas State Republican Executive Committee, the governing board of the Republican Party of Texas, voted overwhelmingly to give Republican primary voters a chance to vote on the resolution.
Kyleen Wright, president of Texans for Life Coalition, told LifeNews.com today that the measure asks Texas Republicans whether or not abortion practitioners should be required to use ultrasound technology when doing abortions and make the ultrasound available to women.
"While most abortion providers profess to routinely using ultrasound in performing abortions, few women ever know that they are paying for the procedure or are given an opportunity to view it," she said. Full story at LifeNews.com
Fiji Woman Dies After Botched Abortion, Second Abortion Victim in Six Years
Suva, Fiji (LifeNews.com) -- A Fiji woman has died from a botched abortion and she is the second woman in the last six years to become an abortion victim. The woman was a mother of five children and apparently had the abortion for birth control reasons, but it resulted in her death after a severe blood loss.
The Fiji Times indicated local officials took the unnamed 35-year-old woman on Thursday to Labasa Hospital.
Because her condition worsened as they jetted her by boat to the medical center, they detoured and went to Tukavesi hospital instead, but she died shortly after arriving.
Local police are investigating the abortion to determine where she had it and what caused the massive blood loss from the abortion procedure, which relatives told the newspaper was done last Wednesday. Full story at LifeNews.com
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