LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
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Current Headlines
• House Members Say Senate's Pro-Abortion Health Care Bill Won't Get Support
• Barbara Boxer Confirms Nelson's Health Care Deal Doesn't Stop Abortion $
• Phony Calls Tell Mass Residents Pro-Life Group Opposes Scott Brown
• Lone Republican to Back House Health Care Opposes Pro-Abortion Senate Bill
• Terri Schiavo Foundation Benefit Concert Features Randy Travis, Collin Raye
• Dozens of Women to Lead Post-Abortion, Silent No More at March for Life
• Losing the Pro-Abortion Bias in the Media, Covering Our March for Life
• Poll Finds Canadians Misinformed About Status of Abortion, Want Alternatives
• Abortion Center in Youngstown, Ohio Closes After 34 Years in Business
• Supporting Women in Canada Means Educating That Abortion Hurts Women
• Alaska Pro-Life Group Submits Signatures for Parental Notification on Abortion
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House Members Say Senate's Pro-Abortion Health Care Bill Won't Get Support
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- If Scott Brown wins the special Senate election in Massachusetts today, the Senate likely no longer has 60 votes to stop the filibuster against the pro-abortion health care bill. One backup plan for Obama and Democrats is to have the House approve the Senate bill, but House members say that's unlikely.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi promises a government-run health care bill will receive approval.
Certainly the dynamic will change depending on what happens in Massachusetts, Pelosi told reporters yesterday. Just the question of how we would proceed. But it doesn't mean we won't have a health care bill. Let s remove all doubt, she added. We will have health care one way or another.
But Rep. Bart Stupak, the Michigan Democrat who added an amendment to the House bill to stop abortion funding and who leads a group of 10-12 Democrats who say they will switch from yes to no if the final version funds abortions, says the Senate bill is a nonstarter. House members will not vote for the Senate bill. There s no interest in that," he told the New York Times. Why would any House member vote for the Senate bill, which is loaded with special-interest provisions for certain states? That s not health care.
Meanwhile, on today s Morning Joe" program on MSNBC, pro-abortion Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner of New York said he and other Democrats would have a difficult time voting for what he sees as an inferior Senate bill. Full story at LifeNews.com
Barbara Boxer Confirms Nelson's Health Care Deal Doesn't Stop Abortion Funding
by Matt Smith
A buyer s chance to return a vehicle under the California lemon law applies for 30 days. Too bad for Senator Ben Nelson (D, Nebraska) the same does not apply to legislative deals cut in Washington D.C. with California s pro-abortion Senator Barbara Boxer (D, California) when she talks to reporters 31 days later.
As most of America knows, back on December 19th Senator Nelson became the 60th vote needed to advance the Senate s version of President Obama s health care reform legislation his self-described signature domestic policy initiative.
Joining Senator Harry Reid (D, Nevada) at the negotiating table representing abortion activists was Senator Boxer who oddly and immediately took heat from her friends in the women s groups for agreeing to the compromise.
Senator Boxer has been mysteriously quiet since the deal was struck with exception to her remarks on the Senate floor prior to the vote when she implored her colleagues with what now probably deserved a Golden Globe this past weekend Please don't single out women What have women done to deserve this? Why have such a lack of respect for them?
However, the silence was broken on January 18 when Boxer, according to McClatchy News Service, said it s only an accounting procedure that will do nothing to restrict [abortion] coverage.
Senator Nelson made several errors in his negotiations that have been well reported during the past month. At some point he is going to need to go back to the salesman who sold him on what he was agreeing to would go further than the Stupak-Pitts language in the House version of the bill. Full story at LifeNews.com
Phony Calls Tell Massachusetts Residents Pro-Life Group Opposes Scott Brown
Boston, MA (LifeNews.com) -- Behind in the polls to Republican Senate candidate Scott brown, supporters of pro-abortion candidate Martha Coakley have evidentially reached into their bag of dirty tricks. A Washington, D.C. based company is making calls to Massachusetts residents pretending to represent a prominent pro-life group.
The calls, from 202-461-3441, a Washington number registered to a company called SOOH, claim to be from Massachusetts Citizens for Life. The caller claims the pro-life group is opposing Scott Brown because of his stance against the health care bill, but as MCFL president Anne Fox told LifeNews.com late Monday, the opposite is true.
"Pro-lifers are receiving phone calls from people claiming to be Massachusetts Citizens for Life. The callers say that MCFL is not supporting Scott Brown because of his position on health care," she said. "The truth is that Massachusetts Citizens for Life is supporting Brown because of his position on health care."
The same number is also making calls to other state residents with various messages all attacking Brown.
"Pro-lifers are not the only victims of this scam. Our MCFL sleuths have found that this same number is calling people across the state claiming to be different groups with different messages -- all anti-Brown," Fox added.
Fox is hoping to get the message out to voters today that MCFL supports Brown and wants Coakley defeated because she is an extreme pro-abortion candidate. Full story at LifeNews.com
Thank God Scott Brown won the election!
Lone Republican to Back House Health Care Bill Opposes Pro-Abortion Senate Bill
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The only Republican in the House of Representatives to vote for that chamber's health care bill opposes the Senate version. Rep. Anh Joseph Cao of Louisiana could support the House bill because it banned abortion funding but he opposes the Senate version because it forces tax-funded abortions.
Should Scott Brown win the Massachusetts special Senate election today, the Senate will not likely be able to produce 60 votes to overcome the filibuster against the pro-abortion, government-run health care bill.
As a result, one fallback position for President Barack Obama and Democrats is to get the House to pass the Senate bill.
They won't be able to rely on any Republican votes because a representative of Cao says he opposes the pro-abortion Senate bill.
It s a complete deal breaker with him if there s not sufficient language to protect the lives of the unborn, Cao spokeswoman Princella Smith told the Wall St. Journal Tuesday morning. The Senate version does not have that sufficient language.
Cao was trained as a Catholic priest and has a role as an advisor to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. As such, he holds a strong pro-life position and once said he would rather save his soul than ever vote for a bill that promotes abortion. Full story at LifeNews.com
Terri Schiavo Foundation Benefit Concert Features Randy Travis, Collin Raye
St. Petersburg, FL (LifeNews.com) -- The family of Terri Schiavo, the disabled woman whose husband killed her by depriving her of food and water, will sponsor a benefit concert to raise funds for its foundation to help other patients like her. The show will feature popular country music recording artists Randy Travis and Collin Raye.
The Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation is sponsoring the first-annual "Terri Schiavo Life and Hope" concert which will be held at the Murat Theatre in Indianapolis, Indiana on Sunday, April 11.
"The concert comes just days after the fifth anniversary of Terri Schiavo's death and will benefit the Foundation established by her family," the Schindler family told LifeNews.com today.
"This concert showcases two award-winning country stars in a rare appearance together on the same stage," the family foundation added. "It promises to be a fabulous music show, long to be remembered by country music fans."
With one of the most recognizable voices in country music and over twenty-five years on the country music charts, Randy Travis is one of the top-ten selling solo country artists of all time. Full story at LifeNews.com
Dozens of Women to Lead Post-Abortion, Silent No More Effort at March for Life
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- It has become a hallmark of every March for Life in January in the nation's capital and for good reason. That's the gathering of women who have had abortions who yearn for the opportunity to encourage their peers to not make the same mistake they did by having an abortion after an unplanned pregnancy.
From housewives to businesswomen to average Janes and famous people like actress Jennifer O Neill and Martin Luther King Jr. niece Alveda King -- women from all walks will be present for the Silent No More event.
These courageous women from across the country will testify to their abortion experiences this Friday afternoon in front of the Supreme Court building.
At the site of the landmark where the legalization of abortion began, they will tell about the lives of children who came to an end.
The Silent No More Awareness Campaign was born of the grief, pain, and suffering that those of us who have had abortions know all too well, says Georgette Forney, a co-founder of the group who has her own personal abortion experience. We are growing in number because women have found that abortion is not the answer, it s the problem," she tells LifeNews.com. Full story at LifeNews.com
Losing the Pro-Abortion Bias in the Mainstream Media, Covering Our March for Life
by Cliff Kincaid
Former New York Times reporter Alex S. Jones has written a book, Losing the News, saying that journalism is in a crisis and that government help may be necessary to save it. He doesn't insist, however, that political bias has had any significant role in this decline. Instead, he sees the bias in the mainstream media as not political but "cultural." He defines this as "a set of beliefs" that can "skew" reporting.
Taking the word "political" out of the equation doesn't make any sense. A cultural bias has a political impact. And I certainly don't share his idea of getting the government involved at any level in financing journalism or journalists.
But the Jones book is helpful in citing examples of how this "cultural bias" is reflected in coverage of actual issues. He admits, in one of the best parts of his book, that the issue of abortion has been covered in a biased way by many news organizations.
Jones, Director of Harvard University's Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy, says, "Reporters as a group tend to be pro-choice, and pro-life advocates have long complained that these biases have skewed the way the story is reported."
Jones, admittedly pro-choice himself, nevertheless agrees with the pro-lifers, and cites coverage of partial birth abortion. Full story at LifeNews.com
Ottawa, Canada (LifeNews.com) -- Canadians are misinformed about the status of legal abortions but want alternatives to them. Like Americans to the south, who are marking the 37th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that allowed virtually unlimited abortion, Canadians don't fully understand the unlimited nature of abortion. A new poll by Angus Reid Public Opinion reveals what Yvonne Douma, the director of Signal Hill, a Canadian human rights organization, believes reveals a desperate need for education about abortion.
The Angus Reid survey of 1,002 adult Canadians found not only that a large majority of Canadians believe that provincial governments should provide more information about options to abortion, but also that most Canadians are misinformed about the legal status of abortion.
The poll found that four-in-five Canadians (80%) are unaware of the current legal status of abortion in the country: women being able to have an abortion at any time during their pregnancy, with no legal restrictions whatsoever. In fact, a significant proportion of respondents (43%) wrongly assume that an abortion can only be performed in the first trimester of pregnancy.
"These findings provide further evidence of a profound disconnect between what the public needs and wants, and what it actually receives," says Douma of her fellow Canadians. Full story at LifeNews.com
Abortion Center in Youngstown, Ohio Closes After 34 Years in Business
Youngstown, OH (LifeNews.com) -- Pro-life advocates from Ohio heading to this year's March for Life later this week will have a reason to celebrate. That's because the abortion business that has operated in Youngstown for over 34 years permanently closed its doors last week.
The Mahoning Women's Center in Youngstown announced that its last day of doing abortions was last Tuesday.
Operaton Rescue officials informed LifeNews.com of the closure today and indicated the owner of the abortion center has retired and the building will be sold. As a result, there is no longer an abortion facility in the large eastern Ohio city.
"This is such great news for the people of Ohio and all Americans. It means that lives will be saved," OR president Troy Newman said this morning. "We know from experience that when abortion clinics close, many women who would otherwise have opted for abortion will instead happily keep their babies or release them for adoption."
Newman says the closure follows a well-documented national trend of abortion centers closing up shop despite abortion remaining legal without many limits nationwide. In 1991, there were nearly 2,200 abortion centers, but OR indicates that, today, 712 are operating. Full story at LifeNews.com
Supporting Women in Canada Means Educating That Abortion Hurts Women
by Patricia Maloney
Canada, unlike the United States, has no abortion laws. The abortion law we
did have was struck down in 1988 by the Supreme Court of Canada when challenged by Dr. Henry Morgentaler, an abortion doctor.
Our Court declared in that ruling, that the existing law violated a woman's right to "security of the person" under section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This ruling had to do with procedural problems related to Therapeutic Abortion Committees where a panel of doctors had the authority to grant a woman a certificate to obtain a legal abortion if they felt continuation of the pregnancy would be harmful to the woman's health. The court did not rule that the Charter granted a "right to abortion". Since then, all attempts to create any legal abortion restrictions, have failed.
As Americans debate publicly funded abortions, they should take note that in Canada, all abortions are paid for by our public health care system. And because Canada has no abortion laws at all, abortion is legally permissible up until the moment of birth, and for any reason. Full story at LifeNews.com
Alaska Pro-Life Group Submits Signatures for Parental Notification on Abortion
Juneau, AK (LifeNews.com) -- The group behind the effort to get a parental notification measure on the Alaska ballot has submitted what it says are enough signatures to make that happen. The Alaskans for Parental Rights campaign says the campaign has met the major requirements set forth by the state Division of Elections.
For ballot measure campaigns, the state requires sponsors to get signatures from 10 percent of the people who voted in the last statewide general election and seven percent of the people from at least 30 of the state's 40 legislative districts.
Jim Minnery, campaign chairman and president of the Alaska Family Council, indicates the effort has met that threshold.
He said that, as of last week, the pro-life group collected enough signatures in 36 districts and had about 47,000 signatures -- surpassing the tally of 32,734 legal signatures.
if the measure makes it before voters and receives their approval, then abortion centers in the state would be required to tell the parents of a teenager before doing an abortion that they want one. This gives them a chance to guide their daughter towards positive alternatives. Full story at LifeNews.com
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