LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report
Saturday, January 9, 2010
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Current Headlines
• House, Senate Still Far Apart on Pro-Abortion Health Care Bill, But It's Coming
• President Barack Obama Will Renominate Two Abortion Advocates for Judgeships
• President George W. Bush to Get Cardinal O'Connor Pro-Life Award From Legatus
• Catholic Bishops Rep: Health Care Reform Bill Pro-Abortion on Funding, Conscience
• Former VP Candidate Sarah Palin Will Headline Pro-Life Event in Ohio in March
• Judge: Doctor Who Killed Woman in Botched Abortion Must Stop Doing Them
• Top Bioethics Stories of the Decade Yield Hope, Concern on Abortion, Euthanasia
• Florida Gov. Charlie Crist Accused of Flipping on Abortion to Get Pro-Life Votes
• Brown and Coakley Continue to Feud on Abortion in Massachusetts Senate Race
• Nevada Judge Says Personhood-Abortion Amendment Too Broad for State Ballot
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House, Senate Still Far Apart on Pro-Abortion Health Care Bill, But It's Coming
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The House and Senate are still far apart on the pro-abortion health care bill, but one senator who met with President Barack Obama on Thursday says the legislation is coming. Democrats are fashioning the pro-abortion health care bill behind closed doors and will likely keep abortion-funding language.
Yesterday, Obama met with Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus and Sen. Chris Dodd , who chairs the Senate HELP committee.
Both senators are pro-abortion and they both chaired committees that crafted government-run health care bills that Senate Leader Harry Reid eventually merged into one final pro-abortion bill, with Sen. Ben Nelson's help.
After the meeting, Baucus said negotiations are moving forward on combining the Senate and House bills but that they have a lot of differences yet to work out.
"We are moving well," Baucus told reporters last night, according to Politico. "We've got a lot to cover. The bills are quite a bit different." His comment came in stark contrast to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who insists the two chambers are "very close" to agreement.
Democrats want to get the bill finished and sent to Obama before his postponed State of the Union address set for early February. Baucus talked about the difficulty of meeting that deadline. "We want to get this thing done quickly," Baucus said. "On the other hand, it is just a little early yet. Senators aren't in town and the House is not in town this week ... so it is a little hard to find people who are going to focus." Full story at LifeNews.com
President Barack Obama Will Renominate Two Abortion Advocates for Judgeships
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- With Senate Republicans blocking their nominations because of their pro-abortion views and other issues, two nominees for federal judgeships were never approved. With another session of Congress starting shortly, President Barack Obama will reportedly renominate Louis Butler Jr. and Edward Chen.
Obama picked the two abortion advocates to be district court judges -- the kind of judges who initially review lawsuits on pro-life issues and legislation before they move up to an appeals court or the Supreme Court. He could have given them a recess appointment that would be effective for one year only, but decided to renominate them for the lifetime appointment.
Obama nominated Chen, a U.S. Magistrate, a federal judgeship in San Francisco. Chen is a former attorney for the pro-abortion legal group ACLU.
The Senate sent Chen's name back to the White House last month because Republicans have filibustered his nomination and Democrats apparently don't have the 60 votes needed to confirm him. The Senate Judiciary Committee signed off on Chen's nomination in October on a 12-7 party-line vote.
Also last month, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted along party lines 12-7 for 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. Full story at LifeNews.com
President George W. Bush to Get Cardinal O'Connor Pro-Life Award From Legatus
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Former President George W. Bush will receive the prestigious Cardinal John J. O Connor Pro-Life Award from the Catholic business group Legatus at a February gala event. The organization says Bush was consistent in his promotion of the pro-life ethic as president.
The group noted that, in one of his last acts as president, before pro-abortion Barack Obama took over the White House, Bush declared Jan. 18, 2009, as National Sanctity of Human Life Day."
In that proclamation, Bush said the most basic duty of government is to protect the life of the innocent.
Kathleen Eaton, the chair of the Legatus summit, where Bush will receive the award, said the proclamation "was the culmination of eight years of pro-life policies."
She hailed Bush for "opposition to embryonic stem-cell research, the appointment of two pro-life Supreme Court Justices, an executive order barring federal funds to be used for abortion-related projects abroad, and a rule protecting federally funded health employees from taking part in abortion or practices that conflict with their faith." Full story at LifeNews.com
Catholic Bishops Rep: Health Care Reform Bill Pro-Abortion on Funding, Conscience
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A representative of the nation's Catholic bishops has a new opinion column published at the Washington Post telling how the health care reform bill in Congress is pro-abortion. Sister Mary Ann Walsh of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops says the language of the bill makes her "sick." "Catholic bishops have urged the government to reform our ailing health care system for decades. To do this, the House and Senate have now passed bills with this aim, bills that must be reconciled into one final bill," Walsh writes.
"But the present state of affairs is enough to make you sick. The gamesmanship in Congress relates more to politics than health and has created serious problems," she continues.
She says that, "despite bishops' desire for health care reform, the proposed bills could turn the bishops from allies into opponents. So far, health care reform it is not."
The first major problem Walsh notes is that the health care bill pays for abortions. The bishops have argued for an "abortion neutral" bill, so that no one can use health care reform to put money into elective abortions, but Walsh says that's not what Congress has produced so far. Full story at LifeNews.com
Former VP Candidate Sarah Palin Will Headline Pro-Life Event in Ohio in March
Columbus, OH (LifeNews.com) -- Former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin will headline a pro-life rally in Ohio this coming March. Her appearance on behalf of Ohio Right to Life will mark her third appearance at a major pro-life event since 2008, when she ran with John McCain against pro-abortion candidate Barack Obama.
Ohio Right to Life informed LifeNews.com today that Palin will be its featured speaker at a rally on Friday, March 5 at the Aladdin Shrine Center at Easton in Columbus.
The $40 general event ticket price will benefit the Ohio Right to Life Society as it lobbies and educates on the pro-life perspective across the state.
The pro-life group is also selling tickets for a private reception with Palin that features admission to that portion of the event, onstage seating, a copy of Palin's new book Going Rogue, and a picture of the potential 2012 presidential candidate.
In November, Palin rallied thousands of pro-life advocates at a gala event sponsored by Wisconsin Right to Life. There, she urged strong support for the pro-life position on abortion and end-of-life issues. Full story at LifeNews.com
Judge: Doctor Who Killed Woman in Botched Abortion Must Stop Doing Them
Anaheim, CA (LifeNews.com) -- A California medical board says an abortion practitioner who killed a woman last year in a botched abortion must stop doing them. However, to the chagrin of pro-life advocates, a judge did not revoke the medical license of Andrew Rutland, as happened years ago before reinstating it.
Rutland surrendered his license in October 2002 after a two-year state investigation that resulted in accusations of negligence, misconduct and incompetence in his treatment of 20 pregnant women, newborns and gynecological patients
Rutland faced a Thursday hearing in front of the California Medical Board at a hearing in San Diego after documents showed Rutland killed a woman during an abortion by administering anesthesia to her and not knowing the proper dosage.
A judge yesterday ordered Rutland to stop doing abortions until a more thorough hearing on the case could be held.
Administrative Law Judge James Ahler stopped short of granting the request from attorneys representing the medical board to suspend Rutland's medical license while the hearing moves forward. Full story at LifeNews.com
Top Bioethics Stories of the Decade Yield Hope, Concern on Abortion, Euthanasia
by Wesley J. Smith
The first ten years of the 2000s (please, no arguments over whether the first decade really ends this year) brought bioethics front and center into national and international prominence as never before. Since this is the time for creating top ten lists, I pondered the matter over my eggnog over the holidays and compiled for NRO, the ten most important stories in bioethics of the last decade (in descending order), with commentary. Full story at LifeNews.com
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist Accused of Flipping on Abortion to Get Pro-Life Votes
Tallahassee, FL (LifeNews.com) -- Florida governor and current Senate candidate Charlie Crist has developed a reputation as lukewarm on pro-life issues. Now that he faces a competitive Republican primary challenge from pro-life House Speaker Marco Rubio, who is faring better in polls than Crist.
During the 2006 gubernatorial campaign, Crist raised eyebrows with pro-life advocates when he said "I would rather encourage adoption. I would prefer not to change law, I would rather change hearts" on abortion.
Now, as a candidate in danger of not getting the GOP nod, let alone winning the general election, Crist appears to have changed his tune. In a press release his campaign released today, his campaign said, "As Florida's next U.S. senator, Charlie Crist will fight for pro-life legislative efforts."
Rubio has blasted Crist for months on flip-flops on other political issues and this could give him more ammunition to go after the governor for trying to appease pro-life advocates after appearing to scoff at their legislative attempts to reduce abortions. It seized on the new comments.
"Charlie Crist's conservative makeover attempt isn't fooling anyone, especially not pro-life Republicans who are well aware of his pro-choice record, support for maintaining Roe v. Wade and opposition to mandatory waiting periods for abortions," said Rubio spokesman Alex Burgos. Full story at LifeNews.com
Brown and Coakley Continue to Feud on Abortion in Massachusetts Senate Race
Boston, MA (LifeNews.com) -- Massachusetts special Senate election candidates Scott Brown and Martha Coakley continue to feud on abortion. In a recent debate both Brown, the Republican, and Coakley, the Democrat, took each other to task claiming their stance is either confusing or extreme.
We both believe Roe v. Wade is the law of the land, but there are clear distinctions, Brown said, explaining how Coakley has an extreme pro-abortion position. She will go down there as a social crusader who will push for more abortions, he added.
Coakley said that was not accurate and responded, I have no idea what Scott s position is on choice. He won't say he s for choice and he won't say he s pro-life, she said, according to a Boston Globe report. He s supported by pro-life groups. My position on choice is clear. I support women s choice. Full story at LifeNews.com
Nevada Judge Says Personhood-Abortion Amendment Too Broad for State Ballot
Carson City, NV (LifeNews.com) -- A Nevada state judge today stuck down the language for a personhood-abortion ballot measure that would define unborn children as a person beginning at conception, or fertilization. The judge said the language was too broad and violated a state law saying ballot measures can't cover more than one subject.
Abortion advocates in Nevada filed a lawsuit seeking to stop pro-life advocates who want to gather signatures to put a personhood measure on the ballot.
The amendment does not specifically mention abortion, but says its intent is to codify "the inalienable right to life for everyone, young or old, healthy or ill, conscious or unconscious, born or unborn." "In the great state of Nevada, the term 'person' applies to every human being," the one-sentence amendment reads.
Carson City District Court Judge James Russell issued the ruling siding with the ACLU and Planned Parenthood. The pro-abortion groups say the five-paragraph description of the measure does not say that the end result would ban abortions. Full story at LifeNews.com
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