LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report
Thursday, January 22, 2010
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Current Headlines
• Pelosi: House Doesn't Have Votes for Pro-Abortion Senate Health Care Bill
• Democrats Still Considering Reconciliation to Force Pro-Abortion Health Bill
• Tens of Thousands of Pro-Life Advocates Join Local March for Life Efforts
• Sarah Palin: We Won't Get Over Abortion, Real Women's Advocates Pro-Life
• Huckabee and Palin Join Pro-Life Advocates at Virtual March for Life
• Republicans Say They Could Take Over House From Pro-Abortion Democrats
• Pro-Life Women's Group Launches Tour to Stop Abortion Funds in Health Care
• Not One Cent for Abortion in Health Care: 1 Million Pennies at White House
• Pro-Life Medical Group Responds to Planned Parenthood Exploiting Haiti
• Election of Pro-Abortion Scott Brown Ironically Helps Pro-Lifers on Health Care
• Pro-Life Hero, Catholic Cardinal Renato Martino Retires From Top Vatican Post
• Canadian Parents Fight Hospital to Not Withdraw Life Support in Futile Care
--> Listen to Life News.com editor Steven Ertelt's interview with Josh Brahm of Pro-Life Podcast here. Steven and Josh talk about successes of the pro-life movement and what we can do on key issues like abortion, stem cell research and assisted suicide.
Pelosi: House Doesn't Have Votes for Pro-Abortion Senate Health Care Bill
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Two days after voters in the liberal state of Massachusetts sent a message to Congress that even they don't want the pro-abortion health care bill, the House and Senate bills appear unlikely to go anywhere. Though no official decision has been made, Democrats and Obama officials are looking at starting over.
The Senate had approved a bill that would force taxpayers to finance abortions and that measure was expected to be the basis of a merged bill. That was before Republican Senate candidate Scott Brown defeated pro-abortion stalwart Martha Coakley in a special election in Massachusetts.
Now, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi concedes the bill is apparently dead.
"I don't see the votes for it at this time," Pelosi told reporters during her weekly press conference. "The members have been very clear." "We have to get a bill passed. We know that," Pelosi said, adding that "unease would be a gentle word" to describe House members' attitude toward the Senate bill.
Pelosi said all options are on the table but did not say what she thought the strategy was for Obama and Democrats from here on a health care bill.
Unable to get members of the House to support the Senate bill -- pro-life lawmakers don't like the abortion funding and liberal lawmakers don't like other provisions -- President Barack Obama and top Democrats are beginning to concede they may have to start over. Full story at LifeNews.com
Democrats Still Considering Reconciliation to Force Pro-Abortion Health Care Bill
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- With the election of Scott Brown complicating the numbers in the Senate, Democrats are reportedly re-examining the possibility of using the highly-controversial reconciliation process to railroad the pro-abortion health care bill through Congress.
Brown's election victory made it so Democrats no longer have 60 votes to end a Senate filibuster and Nancy Pelosi announced today that the House doesn't have the votes for the legislation.
Without any conventional Plan B to get the bill approved, it appears Democrats plan to hold a meeting just after the Roe v. Wade anniversary to determine if they could use the reconciliation budget process to get the bill approved.
Rep. Paul Ryan, a pro-life Republican from Wisconsin, talked with National Review about the latest development.
They're meeting with each other this weekend to pursue it, says Ryan. I've spoken with many Democrats and the message is this: They're not ready to give up." "They've waited their entire adult lives for this moment and they aren't ready to let 100,000 pesky votes in Massachusetts get in the way of fulfilling their destiny. They'll look at every option and spend the next four or five days figuring it out," he explained. Full story at LifeNews.com
Tens of Thousands of Pro-Life Advocates Join Local March for Life Efforts
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The majority of Americans are pro-life on abortion, but not everyone can get to the nation's capital to show their opposition to abortion in the March for Life. Instead, tens of thousands of pro-life advocates are heading to state capitols and city parks to support the pro-life perspective.
Thousands of pro-life people converged on the Capitol Campus for the annual March for Life on Tuesday in Washington state.
Pro-life people of all ages gathered on the sidewalks across from the Winged Victory monument before cramming together on the Capitol steps at noon. State police officials estimated the crowd at 6,000, an increase from an estimated 4,000 who took part last year.
"You know, if we get the life issue wrong, we get every single other issue wrong," state Rep. Matt Shea told the crowd, according to the Tacoma Daily News.
Thousands of pro-life advocates marched through downtown Little Rock Sunday as Arkansas Right to Life hosted the annual March for Life there.
ARTL spokesman Emmett Guillory "We can talk about healthcare, the economy, troubles in the world, but if we don't get right the life issue, those quality of life issues don't matter, so hopefully they'll come to realize that and become passionate and support the pro life movement." Full story at LifeNews.com
Sarah Palin: We Won't Get Over Abortion, Real Women's Advocates Pro-Life
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin has a message for the mainstream media and abortion advocates. In a new note encouraging pro-life advocates at the March for Life, the former Alaska governor says pro-life people won't "get over" abortion because abortions hurt women.
Palin starts the message, shared with her more than one million fans on FaceBook, with encouragement for the hundreds of thousands at the March for Life.
"Tomorrow the 37th annual March for Life will occur in Washington, D.C. January is a tough month to schedule a march in Washington, but every year hundreds of thousands of everyday Americans from across our nation brave the cold weather on the anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade decision to bear a positive witness to the culture of life," Palin writes.
Palin then swings into her message for the media.
"In the years following Roe, we were told that the issue was no longer open for debate and that we should get over it and move on. But we couldn't get over the stirrings of our conscience or move on from an issue that cuts to the heart of who we are as a nation," she says.
"Affirming the dignity and worth of every innocent human life and defending the defenseless are fundamental American values. With that in mind, this peaceful, hopeful grassroots crowd of individuals, families and students comes to our capital every year to remind us that every innocent life is beautiful, precious and full of potential," Palin continues. Full story at LifeNews.com
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Huckabee and Palin Join Pro-Life Advocates at Virtual March for Life
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Money, time, attending local pro-life events, lack of vacation time from work -- these are reasons why the majority of Americans who are pro-life may not be able to make the March for Life. But with the Virtual March for Life web site, pro-life people like Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee are joining their pro-life colleagues in spirit.
Hundreds of thousands of Americans are expected to attend tomorrow's national March for Life, but more than 48,000 pro-life Americans are registering their attendance at the Virtual March for Life.
Americans United for Life Action, in an effort to bolster the "real" event, launched the first-ever Virtual March for Life earlier this week. This innovative online campaign allows people to create an avatar of themselves and "march" online. As part of this effort, the Virtual March for Life is featuring prominent pro-life leaders who are lending their support to the cause.
LifeNews.com has joined the effort along with potential 2012 presidential candidates Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee. Huckabee promoted the virtual March for Life in an email LifeNews.com received.
"I am joining the Virtual March for Life today on Washington and I hope you will as well," he said. "If you are unable to join fellow Americans in Washington, DC you can still stand and be counted." Full story at LifeNews.com
Republicans Say They Could Take Over House From Pro-Abortion Democrats
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- On the heels of the enthusiasm generated from gubernatorial victories in New Jersey and Virginia last year and the special Senate election in Massachusetts this week, Republican 2010 election leaders say they think they could wrest control of the House from pro-abortion Democrats.
With Republican candidate Scott brown defeating pro-abortion Democratic candidate Martha Coakley in one of the most liberal states in the country, Republicans are buoyed about their election prospects.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy, a pro-life California Republican who heads the party's House election efforts appeared jubilant in a new interview with The Hill. Can we win the majority? Yes we can, he said. He and House GOP Whip Eric Cantor offered optimistic remarks today as they talked with reporters about the coming mid-term elections.
Most political observers suggest pro-abortion Democrats will lose seats in the November elections, and they say the question is a matter of whether they will lose enough for pro-life advocates to take back control of the House. Full story at LifeNews.com
Pro-Life Women's Group Launches Tour to Stop Abortion Funds in Health Care
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A national pro-life women's organization is launching its second regional tour to persuade middle of the road lawmakers to oppose any health care bill that funds abortions. Though the Scott Brown election may have stalled the current version of the health care bill, the Susan B. Anthony List isn't taking it for granted.
The Brown election appeared to have stalled any bill in the Senate with him having the 41st vote to support a filibuster. As LifeNews.com reported today, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi noted the House did not have the votes for the pro-abortion Senate bill.
Fresh from a tour that saw SBA List staffers and its spokeswoman, former Colorado Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, head to several Midwest stops, the brigade of pro-life women is heading to the South.
"We generated an incredible amount of local coverage at each stop and in each town we put amazing, dedicated local women leaders in front of the camera," SBA List told LifeNews.com today about its previous tour. "On top of that, thousands of phone calls to district offices were generated in key districts. It was so successful, that we're now headed down south next week." Full story at LifeNews.com
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- They say a picture is worth a thousands words, but, in this case, it may be worth one million. Pro-life advocates are unveiling a display of one million pennies at the White House today to tell President Barack Obama that Americans don't want any abortion funding in any health care bill. The pro-life groups sponsoring the effort tell LifeNews.com they want to remind Obama that abortion is not health care and that 71% of Americans oppose tax dollars being used to pay for and subsidize abortion.
The Christian Defense Coalition, Operation Rescue and Generation Life say the pennies display is a "teaching moment for the President to learn that not one penny of public money should be spent to destroy and diminish human life through abortion and that human rights begin in the womb."
The pennies were purchased with money donated by pro-life people from across the country who don't want to pay for abortions under the health care bill. Full story at LifeNews.com
Pro-Life Medical Group Responds to Planned Parenthood Exploiting Haiti for Money
Port-au-Prince, Haiti (LifeNews.com/CFAM) -- Immediately after the earthquake that devastated Haiti last week, the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) used the crisis to solicit funds for its family planning clinics in the country.
At the same time, a pro-life medical team arrived in Port au Prince to provide emergency medical services and skilled birth attendants.
The responses highlight a rising dispute over the current United Nations (UN) program for reducing maternal mortality which puts fertility control first, a program in which Haiti has been a main target but has nonetheless maintained one of the world s highest rates of maternal death.
Carmen Barroso, regional director for IPPF, the world s top abortion provider, justified the fund drive for the IPPF affiliate, Profamil, saying Since 1984, PROFAMIL has worked to improve sexual and reproductive healthcare in Haiti, often providing the only healthcare available in some areas. Full story at LifeNews.com
Election of Pro-Abortion Scott Brown Ironically Helps Pro-Lifers on Health Care
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The election of Scott Brown took the political world by storm as Americans used his candidacy to express their own opposition to a pro-abortion health care bill. Two pro-life advocates have written new editorial columns suggesting that Brown's election, even as an abortion advocate, helps the pro-life cause.
Brian Burch, the president of Catholic Vote Action, says the "people of Massachusetts ignited a political firestorm on Tuesday by electing Scott Brown to the seat vacated by the late Senator Kennedy."
Though his group did not endorse Brown or urge voters to elect him, "we fired back at Martha Coakley s assault on Catholic doctors and nurses with phone calls to nearly 200,000 people in Massachusetts."
Burch tells LifeNews.com that pro-life Catholics are asking, "if Scott Brown supports abortion, is CatholicVote happy that he was elected?" Burch points out how the race was a contest between a thoroughly pro-abortion candidate in Coakley and a candidate in Brown who supports some abortion limits. Full story at LifeNews.com
Pro-Life Hero, Catholic Cardinal Renato Martino Retires From Top Vatican Post
The Vatican (LifeNews.com/CFAM) -- United Nations (UN) pro-lifers are saluting a man they consider one of the great, unsung heroes of the international pro-life and pro-family movements. Cardinal Renato Martino, longtime papal nuncio to the United Nations, has retired after 47 years of service to the Holy See, most of which was spent in the diplomatic service. Cardinal Martino served as papal nuncio at the UN from 1986 to 2002, a period in which UN abortion debates reached their high water mark of divisiveness at the International Conference on Population and Development (Cairo, 1994) and the Fourth World Congress on Women (Beijing, 1995).
Prior to the Cairo conference Pope John Paul II gave a series of talks in which he outlined the impending threat to life and family that could be expected from that conference. John Paul II called for regular people to go to Cairo to help the Holy See and other pro-life nations, a call that created the UN pro-life movement. At the same time, John Paul II initiated a highly potent alliance between Muslim and Catholic states. Full story at LifeNews.com
Canadian Parents Fight Hospital to Not Withdraw Life Support in Futile Care Case
Edmonton, Canada (LifeNews.com) -- Canadian parents are fighting a hospital in the latest futile care case to gain attention. Such cases involve medical centers that want to terminate treatment in supposedly hopeless cases and this one involves an infant named Isaiah, whose parents are fighting a hospital seeking to unilaterally remove treatment.
According to a Calgary television station report, Isaiah was born in October and suffered severe oxygen deprivation. Doctors say they've done everything possible. But his parents believe their son is showing signs of improvement.
The boy was then placed on a ventilator in the hospital s neonatal intensive care unit and then Alberta Health Services sent the parents a letter January 13 saying the boy's doctors believed all medical procedures had been exhausted.
The diagnosis is unchanged; your son suffered severe anoxic brain injury at birth and has irreversible brain damage. There is no hope of recovery for Isaiah, the letter said. Full story at LifeNews.com
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