LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
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Current Headlines
• Democrats Don't Have Votes Yet for Pro-Abortion Health Care, Could Slip to Easter
• House Republicans to Force Vote on Slaughter Rule for Pro-Abortion Health Care Bill
• Stupak Says House Lacks Health Care Bill Votes as Committee Rejects Abortion Limits
• Catholic Bishops Continue Opposing Pro-Abortion Senate Health Care Bill
• More Polls Show Voters in Democrat Districts Don't Want Pro-Abortion Health Care
• Catholic Health Assn Backing Pro-Abortion HCR Bill Causes Pro-Life Dem Flip-Flop
• Pro-Abortion Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens to Decide Retirement Soon
• Pro-Life Groups Respond to PoliticsDaily's David Gibson on Abortion Funding
• Bill Expanding Obama's Embryonic Stem Cell Research Order Pushes Human Cloning
• Late-Term Abortion Practitioners Across Nation Replacing George Tiller After Death
• Despite Objections, Girl Scouts Distributed Planned Parenthood Handout at UN Mtg
• Pro-Life News: Stupak, Christian Doctors, Law Students, Arizona, Alaska, Tennessee
--> ACTION: Contact your member of Congress to oppose the pro-abortion health care bill by going to http://www.House.gov and then tell every pro-life friend and family member to do the same. Urge opposition to the Senate bill, the companion measure and the Slaughter Rule.
Democrats Don't Have Votes Yet for Pro-Abortion Health Care, Could Slip to Easter
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Top Democrats acknowledged today that they do not have the 216 votes necessary to get the pro-abortion Senate health care bill approved in the House later this week. Although they are furiously twisting arms to get to the magic number, they may push the vote back to next week or the week following.
House Majority Whip James Clyburn admitted today that the vote could be pushed back as late as Easter and that a vote could occur before the April 4th holiday weekend.
"The chances are good, but I wouldn't bet on it," he told McClatchy newspapers, about whether the House would hold a vote before Easter. "I need 216 votes to pass this bill," Clyburn said. "I think I'm going to get 216 votes. It could be closer than last time. All I want is 216 votes."
Clyburn tried to put a good face on the situation by naming Democrats who voted no on the House version of the bill who say they will support the Senate measure: Reps. Brian Baird of Washington state, Jason Altmire of Pennsylvania, Bart Gordon of Tennessee and John Boccieri of Ohio.
"That's four people right there who voted no before," Clyburn told McClatchy. "Why don't we talk about them? Everyone's talking about who we might lose."
But, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer disputed his lieutenant's comments and said he thinks a vote will take place this week.
The expectation is we will do health care reform later in the week, Hoyer said, but would not say if Democrats have enough votes. Full story at LifeNews.com
House Republicans to Force Vote on Slaughter Rule for Pro-Abortion Health Care Bill
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- House Republicans have unveiled a new move to force Democratic leaders to vote directly on the Senate pro-abortion health care bill. Democrats have been looking at using the controversial Slaughter Rule that would allow the House to adopt a procedural rule declaring the bill passed without voting on it.
Named for the chair of the House Rules Committee, the Slaughter Rule would allow the House to "deem" the Senate bill approved without an up or down vote.
Republicans want to force a vote later this week on a motion that would say Democrats can't use the rule to bypass a direct vote.
While they would likely have not have the votes to force the issue, some Democrats may not want to go on record as supporting a controversial plan to pass the Senate bill without actually voting on it.
The idea would also give Republicans a bit of a public relations advantage as Democrats would have to explain to Americans why they would prefer passing the bill without allowing a vote on it directly.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi said late Tuesday that she has not yet made a decision on whether to use the Slaughter Rule.
We have several options available to us, Pelosi said, according to Roll Call, and admitted many Democrats don't like the Senate bill. There are a lot of members who don t want to vote for it."
The process has become so controversial that even the Washington Post issued an editorial Tuesday saying the Slaughter Rule "strikes us as a dodgy way to reform the health care system." Full story at LifeNews.com
Stupak Says House Lacks Health Care Bill Votes as Committee Rejects Abortion Limits
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Congressman Bart Stupak, the leading pro-life Democrat working to stop the pro-abortion Senate health care bill in the House if abortion funding is not banned, says he still doesn't think House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has enough votes to push the measure through the chamber.
His comments come after the House Budget Committee rejected an attempt to add his amendment to the reconciliation bill.
In an interview with Fox News' Greta Van Susteren, Stupak said he and his pro-life Democratic colleagues have not backed down from their position that they will vote against the pro-abortion health care bill unless abortion funding and promotion is removed.
"We're still not planning on voting for health care unless we can address some concerns. As I said before, there's many concerns with this bill, especially with the House -- with our vote, we sort of pass the Senate bill without any amendments," he said.
Asked whether he thought there were enough votes for the bill, Stupak said no because so many members are unwilling to take a stance without knowing if the reconciliation bill to make corrections to the Senate bill will be approved.
"No one has seen the reconciliation, the correction bill, if you will. No one has seen it. So it's hard for members to pledge their vote on a piece of legislation we've never seen," he said. Full story at LifeNews.com
Catholic Bishops Continue Opposing Pro-Abortion Senate Health Care Bill
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The nation's Catholic bishops at the USCCB and individual bishops from across the country are speaking out in opposition to the pro-abortion health care bill. They say they would appreciate a bill to improve the nation's health care system but they can't support one that includes abortion funding and promotion.
Late Monday, Cardinal Francis George released a new statement titled "The Cost is too High; the Loss is too Great."
"The Catholic Bishops of the United States have long and consistently advocated for the reform of the American health care system," he said.
But they have also "urged that all who are sick, injured or in need receive necessary and appropriate medical assistance, and that no one be deliberately killed through an expansion of federal funding of abortion itself or of insurance plans that cover abortion."
"The American people and the Catholic bishops have been promised that, in any final bill, no federal funds would be used for abortion and that the legal status quo would be respected," Cardinal George continued. "However, the bishops were left disappointed and puzzled to learn that the basis for any vote on health care will be the Senate bill passed on Christmas Eve" and "the Senate bill deliberately excludes the language of the Hyde amendment." Full story at LifeNews.com
More Polls Show Voters in Democrat Districts Don't Want Pro-Abortion Health Care
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A third set of polls released by a national pro-life women's group finds voters in the congressional districts of pro-life and moderate Democrats do not want abortion funding in health care. They are opposed to the Senate pro-abortion health care bill and will hold their lawmakers accountable for supporting it.
Including this new set of polls, SBA has contracted a reputable polling firm to survey 19 total congressional districts and in every case the polls have shown strongly pro-life results.
The new set of polls covers Reps. Joe Donnelly, Dale Kildee, James Oberstar, Allen Boyd, Earl Pomeroy, Richard Neal and John Barrow in Michigan, Minnesota and Indiana.
SBA president Marjorie Dannenfelser said it s time for Democrats who are pro-life or moderates to either a hero or a complete sell out."
These poll results are the driving force behind our grassroots mobilization efforts this week. We have spent $1.6 million so far fighting abortion funding in health care reform and these poll results show why. The American people reject federal funding of abortion in any so-called health care bill, she told Politico.
Our poll shows that a pro-life vote will be a benefit on Election Day. The Susan B. Anthony List will be carrying the message of these votes into campaign season," she said. Full story at LifeNews.com
Catholic Health Assn Backing Pro-Abortion HCR Bill Causes Pro-Life Dem Flip-Flop
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The Catholic Health Association is coming under fire from pro-life Catholic leaders for backing the Senate pro-abortion health care bill. While the Catholic bishops and pro-life Catholic groups have consistently opposed the legislation, CHA endorsed the bill and its already causing one Democratic lawmaker to weaken.
Sister Carol Keehan, president of the Catholic Health Association, a network of Catholic hospitals, issued a statement saying the Senate bill doesn't fund abortions and should be approved.
Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver says the bill "does not meet minimum moral standards " on "the exclusion of abortion funding and services and adequate conscience protections for health-care professionals and institutions."
And he took on CHA and other Catholic groups like Catholics United directly. "Groups, trade associations and publications describing themselves as 'Catholic' or 'prolife' that endorse the Senate version -- whatever their intentions -- are doing a serious disservice to the nation and to the Church," he said.
Meanwhile, pro-life Democrat Rep. Tom Perriello of Virginia appears to have been swayed by the endorsement. He released a new statement saying he is fine with the Senate language that funds and promotes abortions. Full story at LifeNews.com
Pro-Abortion Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens to Decide Retirement Soon
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, one of the five members of the pro-abortion majority on the high court, says he will decide next month whether he plans to retire. Stevens is 90 years-old and speculation reached enormous heights that he would retire when he hired just one law clerk for the October 2010 term.
Retiring judges usually have one clerk while sitting Supreme Court members have four.
While Stevens privately scoffed at the retirement rumors, he addressed them in a new interview with the New Yorker.
He told the magazine he may retire this year but said he will definitely retire in the next three years -- giving pro-abortion President Barack Obama another chance to shape the high court which has allowed more than 52 million abortions through Roe v. Wade.
Well, I still have my options open, Stevens said. When I decided to just hire one clerk, three of my four clerks last year said they'd work for me next year if I wanted them to. So I have my options still. And then I'll have to decide soon. Full story at LifeNews.com
Pro-Life Groups Respond to PoliticsDaily's David Gibson on Abortion Funding
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Two pro-life groups -- Americans United for Life and the National Right to Life Committee -- have issued responses to an editorial written by David Gibson of Politics Daily. The editorial has confused some pro-life advocates by suggesting the Senate health care bill doesn't fund abortions, but the groups confirm that's not the case.
In his commentary on the Politics Daily web site, David Gibson attacks pro-life opposition to the Senate health care reform bill on multiple fronts. His analysis is mistaken, as is extensively explained in our previous blog posts and memoranda analyzing the Senate bill; however, one point deserves more explanation.
Gibson argues that new funding for Community Health Centers (CHCs) authorized and appropriated through the Senate health care reform bill (and President Obama s plan) will not be used to pay for abortions because (a) CHCs do not perform abortions and (b) the funding will be subject to the Hyde Amendment (the abortion funding prohibition added annually to the Labor Health and Human Services appropriations bill). Below is a point-by-point rebuttal of Gibson s claims. Full story at LifeNews.com
Bill Expanding Obama's Embryonic Stem Cell Research Order Pushes Human Cloning
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- An expanded look at the new bill filed by two members of Congress to expand President Barack Obama's decision to force taxpayers to fund embryonic stem cell research finds problems and concerns for pro-life advocates.
Reps. Diana DeGette, a Colorado Democrat and Michael Castle, a Delaware Republican, introduced the new bill earlier this month.
The measure is designed to codify Obama's executive order -- preventing a future pro-life president from overturning it.
But the Stem Cell Research Advancement Act (H.R. 4808) goes much further.
Under the guise of making the current Obama Administration s National Institutes of Health (NIH) guidelines permanent, the bill provides broad authorization for research that implicitly goes well beyond research on stem cells from so-called leftover embryos." Full story at LifeNews.com
Late-Term Abortion Practitioners Across Nation Replacing George Tiller After Death
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Late-term abortion practitioners are picking up where George Tiller left off. The Kansas-based late-term abortion practitioner had a sizable share of the market on doing abortions later in pregnancy, but a new report indicates abortion practitioners are stepping up across the country to do those abortions.
Women came from several states away to get abortions from Tiller because of his centralized location and willingness to apparently go beyond state law to do the kind of abortions even many abortion advocates oppose. That ended when militia activist Scott Roeder shot and killed Tiller last summer.
But a new Los Angeles Times article says the business of killing unborn children late in pregnancy is continuing. The newspaper indicates Curtis Boyd, an Albuquerque, New Mexico abortion practitioner, came out of retirement to start doing late-term abortions.
He also announced on his web site that he hired two abortion practitioners -- Susan Robinson and Shelley Sella, who worked with Tiller and had problems of her own -- to do abortions with him. Full story at LifeNews.com
| Looking for a pro-life speaker for your next banquet, conference or convention? LifeNews.com editor Steven Ertelt is a low-cost speaker who can entertain and educate your audience as well as help you with a fundraising pitch if necessary. He can also speak on any pro-life topic. For more information, email news@LifeNews.com. |
Despite Objections, Girl Scouts Distributed Planned Parenthood Handout at UN Mtg
Late last week we reported in our weekly Friday Fax that the Girl Scouts allowed the distribution of an explicit and dangerous sex guide produced by the International Planned Parenthood Federation in a Girl Scout panel for adolescent girls at the UN.
We have been inundated with responses from Girl Scout moms, Girl Scout leaders and others angered and confused that such a thing could happen.
Recall the sex guide tells teenage girls, Many people think sex is just about vaginal or anal intercourse But, there are lots of different ways to have sex and lots of different types of sex. There is no right or wrong way to have sex. Just have fun, explore and be yourself!
The sex guide goes on to tell girls, Some people have sex when they have been drinking alcohol or using drugs. This is your choice.
The Girl Scouts have flatly denied that the sex guide was available at their UN conference. We stand by our story and based on new evidence we go further. The sex guide was distributed with the full knowledge and consent of the Girl Scouts-USA. Full story at LifeNews.com
Pro-Life News: Stupak, Christian Doctors, Law Students, Arizona, Alaska, Tennessee
Catholic Vote Releases New Television Commercial Supporting Bart Stupak
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The following update comes from Brian Burch, the president of Catholic Vote, which released a new video supporting pro-life Democratic champion Bart Stupak: These pro-life Democrats need to know that the American people are on their side. Rep. Stupak says that if pro-abortion healthcare passes with the support of pro-life Democrats, It would be very, very hard for someone who is a right-to-life Democrat to run for office. We can't let that happen. We can't let this bill crush the budding pro-life movement in the Democratic Party.
Christian Medical Association Opposes Pro-Abortion Health Care Bill
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- While the Catholic Medical Association endorsed the pro-abortion health care bill, the Christian Medical Association, a protestant and evangelical group, says it opposes the pro-abortion measure. The 17,000 members of the Christian Medical Association, in a letter to all members of the House, urged votes against the Senate health care bill.
by Kellie Fiedorek
New York, NY (LifeNews.com) -- Advocates for Life, Americans United for Life s new, national organization for pro-life law students, hosted a Pro-Life Lawyers and Law Students Mixer in New York City this past week, together with Columbia Law School and Fordham Law School s pro-life groups.
Arizona Bill Would Restrict Human Cloning and Creating Human-Animal Hybrids
Phoenix, AZ (LifeNews.com) -- A bill that would restrict human cloning and creating hybrid human-animal embryos is advancing in Arizona. The Arizona Senate has approved its version of the bill, with most Republicans supporting it and Democrats opposing it. The House has not yet voted. State law prohibits the use of public money for human cloning as well as research on embryos or fetuses resulting from an abortion.
Relocation of Knoxville, Tennessee Planned Parenthood Called Racially Motivated
Knoxville, TN (LifeNews.com) -- Standing behind a banner that read "Black children are an endangered species," six black pastors joined a handful of white anti-abortion protesters Friday on the sidewalk of Cherry Street in front of the new Planned Parenthood clinic in a prayer vigil. The clergy members and the Pro-Life Coalition of East Tennessee say the relocation of the clinic from a predominantly white neighborhood in West Knoxville to a predominantly black one on the east side of town is, in part, racially motivated.
Alaska Verifies Signatures for Parental Notification on Abortion Ballot Proposal
Juneau, AK (LifeNews.com) -- Enough signatures have been gathered to put to voters an initiative that would require parental notice or consent before a minor can have an abortion. The Division of Elections reports verifying 36,285 signatures, more than the 32,734 that supporters were required to gather to get the measure on the ballot.
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