LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
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Current Headlines
• Obama Plans Televised Health Care Summit to Persuade Republicans to Back Bill
• Obama Administration Admits It Wrongly Tracked Abortion Groups in Wisconsin
• Abortion Advocates Forced to Admit Focus on the Family Tebow Ad Brilliant
• Pro-Abortion Group Claims Tim Tebow Super Bowl Ad Promotes Domestic Violence
• Approval Rating for Pro-Abortion President Barack Obama Hits New Low
• Sarah Palin Appears Willing to Challenge Pro-Abortion President Obama in 2012
• Supreme Court to Decide Key Case Affecting Pro-Life College Student Groups
• Chinese Forced Abortion Opponents Nominated for 2010 Nobel Peace Prize
• Russian Journalist Sparks Furor by Suggesting Infanticide for Disabled Newborns
• Hey People: Is the Duggar Family Too Big or Are Our Hearts Too Small?
• Ohio House Speaker Armond Budish Prevents Pro-Life Teen From Getting Award
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Obama Plans Televised Health Care Summit to Persuade Republicans to Back Bill
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- President Barack Obama is planning a televised health care summit later this month in an effort to salvage the pro-abortion government-run health care bill. The plan is an effort to revive his sagging polling numbers and that of the legislation that has seen just one Republican support it in Congress. White House officials say the February 25 meeting is not an attempt to start over on the health care bill but is ostensibly a lobbying and public relations effort.
I want to come back [after the Presidents Day congressional recess] and have a large meeting Republicans and Democrats to go through, systematically, all the best ideas that are out there and move it forward, Obama told CBS anchor Katie Couric in a Sunday interview.
Obama claimed he wants to "look at the Republican ideas that are out there. If we can go, step by step, through a series of these issues and arrive at some agreements, then, procedurally, there s no reason why we can't do it a lot faster the process took last year, he said.
Politico reported on a White House follow-up statement saying, What the president will not do is let this moment slip away. He hopes to have Republican support in doing so but he is going to move forward on health reform.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid hailed the idea but House Republican Leader John Boehner scoffed. Full story at LifeNews.com
Obama Administration Admits It Wrongly Tracked Abortion Groups in Wisconsin
Madison, WI (LifeNews.com) -- The Department of Homeland Security admitted today that it improperly conducted a threat assessment on pro-life and pro-abortion groups in Wisconsin. The assessment came before an expected rally last year in response to the University of Wisconsin Hospital board decided to allow abortions.
In February 2009, pro-life advocates planned to protest the hospital's decision to open up a new Madison Surgery Center doing abortions.
The Associated Press reported today that the department said in a memo that it "destroyed all of the copies of the assessment after an internal review found it violated intelligence gathering guidelines about 'protest groups which posed no threat to homeland security.'"
AP indicated the assessment was reportedly only shared with the director of Wisconsin's intelligence-sharing center and local police in Middleton, Wisconsin, the site of the rally.
Today, a pro-life organization in Wisconsin informed LifeNews.com of its concerns.
In response to an open records request by the Alliance Defense Fund and Pro-Life Wisconsin, the Middleton Police Department and the Wisconsin Department of Justice, along with the Department of Homeland Security all refused on February 4 to release copies of the threat assessment.
Pro-Life Wisconsin officials told LifeNews.com that the assessment was "inappropriately shared" and should never have targeted pro-life groups. Full story at LifeNews.com
Abortion Advocates Forced to Admit Focus on the Family Tebow Ad Brilliant
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- In the aftermath of the debate surrounding the Focus on the Family Tim Tebow Super Bowl commercial and the airing of the commercial itself, even abortion advocates are forced to admit the thinking behind the ad was brilliant. That comes as some pro-life advocates say they were unimpressed.
The Tebow ad presented a soft selling of the story of Pam Tebow and her decision to not have an abortion despite a suggestion from her doctor.
In the lead-up to the ad, abortion advocates appeared crazed and reactionary -- showing themselves to be more pro-abortion than "pro-choice."
That and the free press the ad earned are leading most observers to say Focus on the Family scored a touchdown by changing hearts and minds and making pro-abortion groups look like polemic extremists.
Even the pro-abortion Huffington Post admitted today that was the case, calling the commercial a "stroke of marketing genius."
"Completely defusing and disarming all the pre-game hand wringing with a perfect lesson in how to let the media and angry groups of protesters turn a $3M investment into a message delivery system worth 100 times the amount," the web site noted. Full story at LifeNews.com
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Unable to gain any traction by calling the Focus on the Family Tim Tebow Super Bowl ad extremist or over the top, pro-abortion groups today are offering a new dig on the commercial. The president of NOW and other abortion advocates claim the ad promotes domestic violence. The Super Bowl ad has won praise from pro-life advocates who have hailed its heartwarming storyline and the helpful impact of the ad on the abortion debate over the last several weeks. The ad features Pam Tebow sharing her story of how Tim Tebow "almost didn't make it into this world" because of her tough pregnancy.
The ad directs viewers to the Focus on the Family web site where Tebow shares more about how her doctor advised her to have an abortion because of the heavy drugs she was given to combat dysentery she contracted while serving on a missions trip to the Philippines.
In an attempt to fall in line with the humorous nature of most Super Bowl commercials, the Focus on the Family in-game ad shows Tebow tackling his mom and his mother playfully scolding him for interrupting her.
In remarks that are raising eyebrows from pro-life advocates, NOW president Terry O'Neill said that bit of the ad glorified violence against women.
"I am blown away at the celebration of the violence against women in it," she told the Los Angeles Times. "That's what comes across to me even more strongly than the anti-abortion message. I myself am a survivor of domestic violence, and I don't find it charming. I think CBS should be ashamed of itself." Full story at LifeNews.com
Approval Rating for Pro-Abortion President Barack Obama Hits New Low
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A new Marist College survey shows President Barack Obama's approval rating at its lowest point since he took over the White House 13 months ago. The poll, conducted February 1-3, showed 44% of registered voters approving of Obama's job as president with 47 percent disapproving.
Obama's 44% job approval rating is his lowest in any poll not conducted using the Internet since he became president according to a review of data compiled by the Pollster web site.
The new Marist survey found Obama faring worse with independent voters, as just 29 percent approve while 57 percent disapprove of his job as president.
Obama is also losing voters on how they view him personally, not just professionally. All registered voters still see Obama favorably by a 50%-44% margin, but that mark is down five percent in the last two months. And independent voters view Obama negatively by a 39% favorable to 52% unfavorable margin.
The poll shows 47% believe Obama has failed to meet their expectations -- including about one-quarter of Democrats, 65% of Republicans and 53% of independent voters. Full story at LifeNews.com
Sarah Palin Appears Willing to Challenge Pro-Abortion President Obama in 2012
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Sarah Palin has demurred ever since the 2008 presidential election about whether she would be willing to challenge pro-abortion President Barack Obama in 2012. Over the weekend, the former Alaska governor made her most telling comments yet about a potential candidacy of her own.
Palin told Fox News in an interview Saturday at the national Tea Party convention that she "would be willing" to take on Obama in the next election.
She said Obama's "lack of experience" has played a role in him having what many Americans call a failed first year in the White House.
Palin told Fox News she would be willing to match her credentials against his.
"In the campaign, we tried to bring attention to the fact that Obama had really not a lot of experience. And I do say that my executive experience, as an administrator, as a team manager if you will was, and so was John McCain's as a matter of fact, was stronger and we had more experience than Barack Obama did in terms of managing huge multi-billion dollar budgets and thousands of employees ... and that hasn't changed," Palin said. Full story at LifeNews.com
Supreme Court to Decide Key Case Affecting Pro-Life College Student Groups
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The Supreme Court will eventually decide a key case that could affect the hundreds of pro-life student groups on college and university campuses. Last week, Students for Life of America filed a friend-of-the-court brief to protect pro-life student groups who don't want abortion advocates leading them.
The landmark case involves the rights of student groups on university campuses to determine the ideological requirements for membership in the group.
Christian Legal Society v. Martinez involves a challenge to the University of California Hastings' de-recognition of a Christian student group because it requires its members and leaders to be Christians.
Hastings' "all comers" policy requires student groups to permit all students to join as members and leaders, regardless of the effect on the groups' message. As a result, pro-life student groups would be forced to allow a pro-abortion student to become the president or another leader of the organization.
Students for Life America and other groups that could see their members affected by the outcome of the case had prominent pro-life attorney James Bopp filed legal papers with the Supreme Court challenging the lower court's decision upholding the policy. Full story at LifeNews.com
Chinese Forced Abortion Opponents Nominated for 2010 Nobel Peace Prize
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Congressman Chris Smith has nominated three Chinese human rights activists, including opponents of the forced abortion population control campaign in China, for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize. President Barack Obama, an ardent abortion advocate, won the prize last year.
Smith, a New Jersey Republican who has long been the pro-life leader in the House, says the three persecuted Chinese human rights advocates -- Chen Guangcheng, Gao Zhisheng, and Liu Xiaobo -- deserve the honor.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers from the U.S. House of Representatives who are active on human rights issues joined Smith in nominating them.
In a letter this week to Thorbjorn Jagland, chairman of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee in Norway, the group wrote that Chen, Gao, and Liu are worthy of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize for their valiant human rights work.
Chen, Gao, and Liu form a trio of activists outstanding for their human rights advocacy in China, the congressmen wrote. For years, these three figures have called on their government to substantially improve its human rights record." Full story at LifeNews.com
Russian Journalist Sparks Furor by Suggesting Infanticide for Disabled Newborns
Moscow, Russia (LifeNews.com) -- A Russian journalist has sparked furor by suggesting that newborn children who are mentally disabled should be killed. Aleksandr Nikonov wrote an article titled "Finish Them Off, So They Don't Suffer," which called "post-natal abortion" an act of mercy.
Nikonov argues that the birth of a disabled child for many families would be an unbearable tragedy, a hell , and that the killing of the newborn is in fact the same as an abortion."
He says depriving infants, who will never be able to take care of themselves, of life is true humanism" and calls to give parents of such children a right to euthanize their newborns in the same way the elderly are killed in euthanasia.
Nikonov, who writes for the popular tabloid Speed-Info,also used the word "debil" -- a deeply offensive term in Russian -- to characterize children with developmental disabilities.
Now, Radio Free Europe reports that Snezhana Mitina, the Russian mother of a child with a developmental disability wants to sue Nikonov. Full story at LifeNews.com
Hey People: Is the Duggar Family Too Big or Are Our Hearts Too Small?
by Maria Vitale
A lovely portrait graces the cover of the February 15th edition of "People" magazine. Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar of reality TV s "19 Kids and Counting"pose with their latest precious bundle of love, their 19th child, Josie.
But beneath the pretty picture is an ugly headline -- The Duggars Under Fire. Another headline poses the question, How Many Kids Are Too Many? The cover story quotes a surgeon who says unashamedly that the Duggar brood amounts to too many kids. The doctor goes on to say that there is no way that the Duggars could provide sufficient emotional and financial resources for their children.
One wonders whether this physician has ever watched their show.
The Duggar children appear to be well-mannered and kind. As the People magazine profile points out, they live debt-free in a 7,000-square foot home. How many nuclear families can claim the same? Full story at LifeNews.com
Ohio House Speaker Armond Budish Prevents Pro-Life Teen From Getting Award
Columbus,OH (LifeNews.com) -- In what has been billed as an unprecedented act of partisanship, Ohio House Speaker Armond Budish is coming under fire for denying a pro-life teenager a chance to receive an award. Shelby County teen Elisabeth Trisler was hoping to receive a legislative honor routinely presented to others.
However, Budish is refusing to allow Trisler on the House floor to accept a legislative resolution.
The resolution, authored by Rep. John Adams, a Republican, honors her accomplishment as the National Right to Life Oratory Contest winner last year. (LifeNews.com editor Steven Ertelt was an officiating judge at the contest).
Such honorary resolutions are routinely presented at the start of Ohio House legislative sessions to constituents, including those who win athletic championships or academic contests.
But Trisler, whose winning speech received a standing ovation from several hundred people at the closing banquet, was denied the honor. instead, she will receive the resolution in the mail.
"Surely Speaker Budish can put aside his partisanship for 10 minutes to honor the accomplishments of a talented and optimistic teenage girl," Ohio Right to Life Executive Director Mike Gonidakis told LifeNews.com today. "Perhaps his real message to Ohio's teens is that excelling in public speaking isn't worth being honored if their views are different than his." Full story at LifeNews.com
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