LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report
Wednesday, January 12, 2010
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Current Headlines
• Senate Health Care Bill Gives $7 Billion to Health Centers, Could Fund Abortions
• Ben Nelson "Not 100 Percent Certain" He Will Vote for Final Health Care Bill
• Pro-Abortion Obama Pick Dawn Johnsen Gets 60th Vote From Arlen Specter
• Pope Benedict XVI: True Environmentalists Are Pro-Life, Opposing Abortion
• Poor Pre-Abortion Counseling Causes Women and Men Relationship Problems
• Polls Show Americans Give Obama Negative Ratings on Handling Health Care
• Scott Brown's Daughters Defend Him From Martha Coakley's Abortion Attacks
• Final Exit Network Activist Pleads Guilty to Killing Woman in Assisted Suicide
• Protest Against New Houston Planned Parenthood Abortion Center Coming Soon
• Judge in Notre Dame-Obama Speech Case Recuses Herself After Appeal Filed
• Judge Declines to Stop Scott Roeder Manslaughter Defense in George Tiller Trial
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Senate Health Care Bill Gives $7 Billion to Health Centers, Could Fund Abortions
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A new analysis of the Senate health care bill finds a section of the manager's amendment Senate Leader Harry Reid added to the bill that could find billions of dollars going to abortion funding. The little noticed provision could open a new door to direct taxpayer funding of abortions.
During the closing stages of the Senate s deliberations on its health care bill, HR 3590, Reid got his lengthy manager's amendment added to the measure.
That contained language designed to secure the 60 votes needed to overcome the filibuster against the bill and it included the Nelson-Reid deal that allows states to force taxpayers to fund abortions.
Now, in a memo the National Right to Life Committee has furnished LifeNews.com, a new analysis of the manager's amendment reveals $7 billion in funding for Community Health Centers buried deep in Section 10503 of the 383-page amendment.
NRLC says the money could be funneled to abortion businesses to pay for abortions and will not be subject to provisions like the Hyde Amendment that stops abortion funding.
"Because this is a direct appropriation in the health care bill itself, these funds will not flow through the annual appropriations bill for the Department of Health and Human Services," NRLC says. "Therefore, these funds would not be covered by the Hyde Amendment, which is a limitation provision that has been attached to the annual HHS appropriations bill in past years." Full story at LifeNews.com
Ben Nelson "Not 100 Percent Certain" He Will Vote for Final Health Care Bill
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson earned himself the ire of the majority of Americans and pro-life advocates when he became the 60th vote for the pro-abortion government-run health care bill. Now, Nelson says Democrats shouldn't count on him to deliver the final vote on the final version of the legislation.
Should the top Democrats merging the House and Senate versions of the health care bill expand abortion funding beyond what Nelson already compromised on in the Senate, he says he will vote against the bill.
Nelson also says he is a potential no vote if they insert the public option, currently found in the House bill but not the Senate measure, into the final measure.
Asked if he planned to vote for the final legislation in the Senate, Nelson told The Chadron Record newspaper in an interview, I hope so, but I'm not 100 percent certain of it." I've made it so clear. It isn't going to happen," Nelson said of the public option. I'm not giving away that 60th vote. I've not been bribed for it.
But, in the interview, Nelson sounded more like someone who was lobbying for support for his decision to support the legislation rather than a lawmaker who was prepared to go back on his vote that upset so many. There really isn't an option of doing nothing," he said. Full story at LifeNews.com
Pro-Abortion Obama Pick Dawn Johnsen Gets 60th Vote From Arlen Specter
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- In a flip-flop that could provide her the 60th and final vote she needs to overcome a pro-life filibuster, pro-abortion Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter has changed his mind and decided to support Dawn Johnsen. She is the pro-abortion activist President Barack Obama nominated to a key Justice Department position.
Specter had been one of just a couple of Democrats to express any reservations over Johnsen's nomination to head the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel.
Johnsen, a law professor at Indiana University, is a former legal counsel for the pro-abortion group NARAL who has made several controversial remarks.
Her nomination has been delayed by Republicans who oppose her because she is strongly pro-abortion -- going as far as saying pregnant women are subjected to a form of slavery -- and because of other political reasons.
But Specter, a life-long Republican who switched over to the Democratic Party, announced today that he is caving in to lobbying from his Democratic Senate primary opponent, Rep. Joe Sestak, to back down and support Johnsen.
Sestak had slammed Specter claiming his opposition to Johnsen's nomination was causing problems for the Obama administration and the nation. According to the Washington Post, Specter said he had met with Johnsen for a second time and that she assuaged the concerns he had about her nomination.
Senator Dick Lugar, an Indiana Republican who mostly votes pro-life, is also supporting Johnsen while Sen. Ben Nelson, a Nebraska Democrat, is opposing her. Full story at LifeNews.com
ACTION: Contact your senators at http://www.Senate.gov and urge strong opposition to the Johnsen nomination.
Pope Benedict XVI: True Environmentalists Are Pro-Life, Opposing Abortion
The Vatican (LifeNews.com) -- In his traditional New Year address to the diplomats representing other nations that are accredited to the Holy See, Pope Vatican XVI said true environmentalists are pro-life. He sought to divorce care for the environment with a radical population control agenda that promotes abortions.
Benedict says efforts to protect the environment should not come at the expense of the dignity of human life.
"Each of us could probably cite an example of the damage that this has caused to the environment the world over," the pontiff said. "The denial of God distorts the freedom of the human person, yet it also devastates creation."
The Pope said he shares the "growing concern" caused by "economic and political resistance to combating the degradation of the environment."
Yet, the Pope said concern for protecting the environment "should be situated within the larger framework of the great challenges now facing mankind."
"If we wish to build true peace, how can we separate, or even set at odds, the protection of the environment and the protection of human life, including the life of the unborn? It is in man s respect for himself that his sense of responsibility for creation is shown," the Catholic Church leader said. Full story at LifeNews.com
 Help Focus Thank Pregnancy Centers - Each day, pregnancy centers help moms choose life for their babies -- and now, you can say thank you! Visit BeAVoice.net to help Focus on the Family thank pregnancy centers for serving women and saving lives. Tell your friends! |
Poor Pre-Abortion Counseling Causes Women and Men Relationship Problems
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Abortion is seen by some women having them as a way to salvage a relationship with a husband or boyfriend. But, a new study finds women and men who are not properly counseled before the abortion ultimately find themselves suffering from relationship problems and post-traumatic stress disorder.
The study makes it apparent that many women are having abortions under the false assumption that it will aid their relationships.
It indicates that better pre-abortion counseling would prevent some abortions by helping women understand abortion is not a solution to relationship problems -- but actually causes more.
The new paper, authored by researchers Catherine T. Coyle, Priscilla K. Coleman, and Vincent M. Rue, is published in the online journal, Traumatology. The purpose of the study was to "examine associations between perceptions of pre-abortion counseling adequacy and partner congruence in abortion decisions and two sets of outcome variables involving relationship problems and individual psychological stress."
The researchers collected data through online surveys from 374 women who had a prior abortion and 198 men whose partners had an abortion. Women who had abortions, and men whose partners had them, and believed their pre-abortion counseling to be of a poor quality faced a number of post-abortion problems. Full story at LifeNews.com
Polls Show Americans Give Obama Negative Ratings on Handling Health Care
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- New polls show a majority of Americans give President Barack Obama negative ratings for his handling of the health care issue. Obama has aggressively promoted a government-run health care bill that will result in forcing taxpayers to fund abortions.
A CNN poll released today that had interviews with 1,021 adult Americans, including 955 registered voters, from January 8-10, found Obama with a 51-48 percent overall approval rating. That is his second lowest mark since taking over the White House and it is down from his 54-44 percent approval rating in mid-December.
But, on health care, the CNN poll finds Americans disapprove of Obama backing the pro-abortion health care bill on a 59-40 percentage mark. That 19 percent disapproval margin is the largest since the health care debate began and is worse for Obama than the 57-42 disapproval rating he received in an October CNN poll.
Asked if they think Obama agrees with them on the issues that matter to them, Americans said by a 50-49 margin that he does not.
The CNN poll also found 46 percent of Americans say Obama is too liberal, 10 percent say he is not liberal enough and 42 percent say he is just right. By a 48-47 percent margin, a plurality believe Obama's first year was a failure. Full story at LifeNews.com
Scott Brown's Daughters Defend Him From Martha Coakley's Abortion Attacks
Boston, MA (LifeNews.com) -- The special election for the Massachusetts Senate seat of the late pro-abortion Sen. Ted Kennedy has gotten intense and their battle over abortion is equally fierce. Democratic candidate Martha Coakley has released a new campaign commercial attacking her rival Scott Brown.
Coakley is taking issue with a proposal Brown supported in the state legislature in 2005 that would have supported Catholic hospitals and pro-life medical workers.
Specifically, the amendment Brown supported said medical facilities and personnel should not be required to dispense the morning after pill to rape victims if its potential to cause an abortion violated their religious views. Coakley has attacked Brown saying that he is anti-woman as a result.
Brown's daughters, 21-year-old Boston College senior Ayla Brown and 19-year-old Syracuse University freshman Arianna Brown, take issue with the pro-abortion activist who has been endorsed by the Emily's List pro-abortion group for the Senate seat.
"My dad would always stand up for the rights and needs of rape victims, and he s kind, understanding and he s a very compassionate father and man," Alya Brown told AP. "Martha Coakely s new negative ad represents everything that discourages young women from getting involved in politics. And as a young woman, I'm completely offended by that." Full story at LifeNews.com
Final Exit Network Activist Pleads Guilty to Killing Woman in Assisted Suicide
Phoenix, AZ (LifeNews.com) -- A member of the Final Exit Network assisted suicide ring that resulted in the deaths of multiple people from illegal assisted suicides has pleaded guilty in one case. Wye Hale-Rowe was one of the people allegedly involved in an assisted suicide case in Arizona.
Last May, a county attorney in Phoenix, Andrew Thomas, announced that investigators from his office busted four people on murder charges in the 2005 "assisted suicide" death of a seriously mentally ill Phoenix woman.
The four defendants -- who include retired Scottsdale resident Frank Langsner, a retired college professor -- were charged with conspiracy to commit murder.
Langsner and Wye Hale-Rowe, another so-called "exit guide" from the Final Exit Network also are facing manslaughter charges.
Now, according to a Phoenix New Times report, Hale-Rowe struck a plea deal with county prosecutors and agreed to testify against the three remaining defendants in the case -- Langsner and two senior Final Exit officials from out of state. Full story at LifeNews.com
Protest Against New Houston Planned Parenthood Abortion Center Coming Soon
Houston, TX (LifeNews.com) -- Momentum is building for the protest of a new Planned Parenthood abortion center in Houston, Texas. The abortion business is set to open its largest abortion facility in the nation -- a 78,000 square foot behemoth that will house its regional headquarters and do second-trimester abortions.
A coalition of local and national pro-life advocates will be on hand to protest the grand opening of the massive new abortion facility.
Texas Right to Life sent its members a special email alert today asking them to consider staying in Houston on January 17 and 18 as "thousands are joining local pro-life organizations in Houston, Texas to protest the largest abortion clinic in the United States."
"The six-story, 78,000 square foot building will include a surgical floor equipped to provide late-term abortions," the group says. "Planned Parenthood continues to target low-income, minority families and has strategically located the new clinic in the middle of Hispanic and African-American neighborhoods and directly across the street from the University of Houston." Full story at LifeNews.com
Judge in Notre Dame-Obama Speech Case Recuses Herself After Appeal Filed
South Bend, IN (LifeNews.com) -- The judge in the case concerning the pro-life protesters arrested on the campus of Notre Dame University expressing their opposition to the Catholic college giving an award to pro-abortion President Barack Obama has recused herself after an appeal was filed suggesting a conflict of interest.
Judge Jenny Pitts Manier, assigned to the ND88 case, is married to pro-abortion Notre Dame professor Edward Manier.
Attorney Tom Dixon, who is representing the dozens of pro-life advocates involved, filed two motions asking Judge Manier to step down.
His claim of bias was based on the judge's prior rulings in abortion protest litigation, her husband's outspoken criticism of Catholic pro-life teachings while serving as a tenured philosophy professor at Notre Dame, and other factors. Full story at LifeNews.com
Judge Declines to Stop Scott Roeder Manslaughter Defense in George Tiller Trial
Wichita, KS (LifeNews.com) -- A judge ruled on Tuesday for a second time against efforts to stop attorneys for Scott Roeder from using a manslaughter defense in connection with his alleged shooting of late-term abortion practitioner George Tiller. Roeder, who has no connection to the pro-life movement, reportedly shot Tiller this summer at his church.
Roeder has been charged with first-degree murder and lesser assault charges for waving a gun at two church members and threatening them on the way out of the church after the shooting.
The main charge would net Roeder a life term in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years. However, his defense attorneys are asking that they be allowed to mount a manslaughter defense on his behalf, employing a rarely-used section of Kansas law. Voluntary manslaughter is defined in Kansas law as ''an unreasonable but honest belief that circumstances existed that justified deadly force.''
In legal papers today, Roeder's attorneys said Tiller "presented a clear danger to unborn children." Full story at LifeNews.com
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