LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
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Current Headlines
• Americans: Alright to Oppose Supreme Court Nominee Over Judicial Philosophy
• Diane Wood Maybe Too Pro-Abortion for Obama Nomination to Supreme Court
• Pro-Abortion Group's Internal Research Shows Pro-Life Youth More Passionate
• Opposition to Pro-Abortion Health Care Law, Barack Obama Holds Steady in Poll
• GOP Ad Bashes "Stupak Sellouts," Pro-Life Democrats Backing Pro-Abortion Bill
• Tim Tebow Says Pro-Life Super Bowl Commercial Cost Him Endorsement Deals
• Family Research Council Includes Pro-Life Democrats in List of 2010 Targets
• Black Pro-Life Leaders Launch Historic Freedom Rides to Stop Abortions
• Pro-Life Movie Based on Botched Abortion Will Play at Cannes Film Festival
• Tennessee Senate Backs Measure to Opt Out of Abortion Funding in Health Care
• Wisconsin Pro-Life Group Asks Atty General About UW Funding Abortion Training
• Missouri Right to Life Urges Further Passage of Pre-Abortion Ultrasound Bill
• Missouri Right to Life Urges Further Passage of Pre-Abortion Ultrasound Bill
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Americans: Alright to Oppose Supreme Court Nominee Over Judicial Philosophy
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A new poll of American voters shows a majority believe it is alright for senators to oppose a Supreme Court nominee based on the potential jurist's judicial philosophy. The results of the new Rasmussen survey are important as President Barack Obama prepares to select a high court nominee.
The names of potential nominees considered to be on Obama's short list include people like Elena Kagan and Diane Wood -- two solid abortion advocates.
The new Rasmussen poll, out today, shows 56 percent of voters say it is fair for a senator to oppose a legally and professionally qualified nominee on the grounds of ideology or judicial philosophy while just 29 percent say otherwise and 15 percent are unsure.
While 65% of Republicans and 59% of voters not affiliated with either major party think ideology and judicial philosophy are legitimate grounds for opposition, Democrats are more closely divided as 45% agree, but 37% think it s not fair to oppose nominees on those grounds.
Voters believe Obama will select another liberal to replace retiring pro-abortion Justice John Paul Stevens -- with 45 percent saying that justices nominated by Obama will be too liberal, while 41% say the nominee will be fine. Very few Americans think Obama will nominate a conservative to the high court.
The Rasmussen poll also showed 52% of voters believe that, in picking someone to serve on the Supreme Court, a nominee s legal background is more important than ensuring a court that is as diverse as American society. But 36% think ensuring a diverse court is more important. Full story at LifeNews.com
Diane Wood Maybe Too Pro-Abortion for Obama Nomination to Supreme Court
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Political observers have settled on a list of about a dozen potential nominees to the Supreme Court and federal appeals court Judge Diane Wood is frequently considered one of the top three likely nominees. However, Wood is considered one of the most ardently pro-abortion -- and it may cost her.
President Barack Obama will have to consider a replacement for retiring pro-abortion Justice John Paul Stevens.
Curt Levey, executive director of the Committee for Justice, told the Washington Post today that Wood's pro-abortion record is "her Achilles' heel."
"It tells you that she's probably not going to be selected, because Obama doesn't have the stomach for this to be about an abortion debate," he said.
But Nan Aron, head of the liberal Alliance for Justice, a pro-abortion group, said critics like Levey "are misconstruing some carefully reasoned opinions for their own political ends." "No one expects a Democratic president to appoint a justice or a judge who is anti-choice," he said.
Wood is a member of the federal 7th Circuit Court of Appeals and she has a long history of taking the pro-abortion side when it comes to pro-life issues. Full story at LifeNews.com
Pro-Abortion Group's Internal Research Shows Pro-Life Youth More Passionate
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A prominent pro-abortion group is concerned about the future of legal abortions and, surprisingly, released the results of an internal poll it conducted to Newsweek demonstrating the problems. The bad news for NARAL is that its own survey found young Americans more passionate about pro-life views than abortion.
The NARAL survey, conducted earlier this year, examined the views of young Americans and found a stark "intensity gap" on abortion.
Some 51 percent of the under 30 voters who are pro-life call opposing abortion a "very important" voting issue compared with just 26 percent of abortion backers.
The poll found a pro-life gap, too, with older voters but it was smaller.
For NARAL president Nancy Keenan, that is a huge problem.
Keenan talked about the emerging pro-life generation with Newsweek and said her concern is that abortion advocates are dominated by women over the age of 50 and that younger generations aren't filling the ranks of pro-abortion groups the same way young pro-life advocates are getting involved in the pro-life community. Full story at LifeNews.com
Opposition to Pro-Abortion Health Care Law, Barack Obama Holds Steady in Poll
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- With four weeks having passed now since Congress approved and President Barack Obama signed the pro-abortion health care bill into law, the strong opposition to it from across the country remains steady. Americans also oppose the job Obama has done as president, with many strongly opposing.
The newest Rasmussen Reports poll released today finds support for repeal of the recently-passed national health care plan is proving to be just as consistent as opposition to the plan before it was passed.
Rasmussen finds 56% of likely voters nationwide favor repeal, while 41% are opposed. Those figures include 48% who strongly favor repeal and 29% who strongly oppose it.
Over the past four weeks, support for repeal has remained in a very narrow range from a low of 54% to a high of 58% while opposition to repealing the pro-abortion health care law has never reached higher than 42 percent.
Eighty-seven percent (87%) of Republicans and 55% of voters not affiliated with either major party favor repeal. Sixty-two percent (62%) of Democrats are opposed. Full story at LifeNews.com
GOP Ad Bashes "Stupak Sellouts," Pro-Life Democrats Backing Pro-Abortion Bill
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A new online ad run by the campaign committee for House Republicans takes 15 pro-life Democrats to task who voted for the final pro-abortion health care bill last month. The ad features retiring pro-life Rep. Bart Stupak and highlights his colleagues -- labeled the "Stupak Sellouts" -- for their votes.
The National Republican Congressional Committee unveiled a the new web page today to build opposition to its November election opponents.
The NRCC named it after Stupak, the Michigan Democrat who orchestrated the vote for the pro-abortion health care bill in exchange for an executive order that pro-life groups unanimously said would not truly ban abortion funding under the health care program.
"Bart Stupak announced his retirement only 20 days after selling out his constituents in order to pass the Democratic health care takeover," the GOP web site says. "Now, 15 other Democrats are faced with the same choice: face their constituents who they sold out in order to pass Obamacare, or drop out like Bart Stupak."
"We need your help reminding these sellouts that they are supposed to be representing your values. We need your help reminding these sellouts that they failed to do so this March. We need your help to retire these Stupak Sellouts," the web site says.
"Tell the Stupak sellouts that federal funding of abortion is wrong," the web site ads in bolded red lettering. Full story at LifeNews.com
Tim Tebow Says Pro-Life Super Bowl Commercial Cost Him Endorsement Deals
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Former University of Florida star quarterback Tim Tebow says his decision to record a pro-life Super Bowl commercial for Focus on the Family cost him endorsement deals. In a new speech, Tebow didn't name and names but said the pro-life ad had a negative impact on potential endorsements.
As the featured speaker at a sold-out event at Lipscomb University, Tebow talked about his future.
According to the Palm Beach Post, he said a few companies told him before the Super Bowl that they could not him represent their products if he went ahead with the pro-life commercial.
"But Tebow said losing sponsors was a small price to pay for the ability to spread his message about family and faith," the newspaper indicated.
Tebow hasn't been hurt by his decision to share the national stage with his mother Pam Tebow, who famously refused to have an abortion when she was a missionary in the Philippines and contracted dysentery during pregnancy.
He has inked deals with Nike and EA Sports, where he will be featured on the cover of their 2011 NCAA Football video game. Full story at LifeNews.com
Family Research Council Includes Pro-Life Democrats in List of 2010 Targets
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The Family Research Council has included a handful of pro-life Democrats in its political action committee's list of 20 Congressional targets for the 2010 election season. The move is the latest one from a pro-life group seeking to defeat those members whose votes resulted in the pro-abortion health care bill. While several pro-life Democrats, led by Michigan congressman Bart Stupak, were counted on to vote no on final passage, they bolted in favor of an executive order hat no pro-life group believes will truly ban abortion funding.
Stupak has since said he will retire from Congress and now FRC PAC has announced plans to raise and spend $500,000 to target the districts of 20 Democratic incumbents who voted for the pro-abortion health program.
Connie Mackey, president of FRC Action PAC, told LifeNews.com there "are good reasons why organizations like ours decided to go the extra mile and create a political action committee as another arrow in its quiver."
"The thousands of families that we represent are more energized than ever to replace these so-called 'pro-life' Democrats who voted for a health care bill that for the first time in three decades uses taxpayer funds for abortion on demand," she said. Full story at LifeNews.com
Black Pro-Life Leaders Launch Historic Freedom Rides to Stop Abortions
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The Freedom Riders of 1961 made history as they took their lives in their hands to protest the injustice of segregation. This summer, a group of black pro-life advocates will join leaders of the Catholic pro-life Priests for Life to stage pro-life Freedom Rides among some of the same routes used decades ago.
The Freedom Riders took their action to test a Supreme Court ruling that struck down segregation laws.
The African-American leaders say they ride to protest the Roe v. Wade ruling issued by the same Supreme Court that allowed the destruction of another class of human beings.
Dr. Alveda King, the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, is one of the participants in the Freedom Rides of 2010.
While the Freedom Riders sought to change the culture of racism in the United States, King says she and her colleagues seek to transform the culture of death into the culture of life.
My Uncle Martin had a dream that Protestants and Catholics and Gentiles and Jews would join together and sing the age old spiritual Free at Last, she told LifeNews.com today. "We urge all people of good will to join us as we link the Civil Rights Movement of the 20th Century to the heart cry for life in the 21st Century. Full story at LifeNews.com
Pro-Life Movie Based on Botched Abortion Will Play at Cannes Film Festival
Cannes, France (LifeNews.com) -- A movie about a baby born alive after a failed abortion is set to premier at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival in May. The film "22 Weeks" tells the true story of a baby aborted alive in an Orlando, Florida abortion center in 2005 and director Ángel Soto has announced the 22-minute picture will air at the respected event. A woman named Angele sued an Orlando abortion business in April 2005 for allowing a newborn child to die after she gave birth to the child.
Angele alleged the abortion facility refused to call emergency personnel and that staff at the abortion facility refused to help Angele or her baby, born on the second day of a two-day abortion procedure.
They also charged that Harry Perper, the abortion practitioner who began the abortion process, and James Pendergraft, the abortion business owner, violated state law.
Jill Stanek, who worked with Soto during the 2008 election campaign to promote the film in her effort to expose Barack Obama's votes against an Illinois bill to protect babies who survive botched abortions, said getting 22 Weeks aired during Cannes is "quite a breakthrough."
"22 Weeks dramatizes the true story of a mother whose baby was horrifically aborted alive," Stanek explained. She said staff at the abortion facility "turned ambulance workers away at the door, who the mother had called for help from the bathroom where she delivered when staff refused to give her baby emergency medical care." Full story at LifeNews.com
Tennessee Senate Backs Measure to Opt Out of Abortion Funding in Health Care
Nashville, TN (LifeNews.com) -- A bill in the Tennessee legislature has gone further than any other across the country that would make it to the first state to opt out of some of the abortion funding in the new health care law President Barack Obama signed into law.
The Tennessee state House has approved legislation to have the state opt out of using state tax money to pay for abortions in state health care exchanges and, today, the state Senate followed suit.
Voting 27-3, senators showed how state residents strongly oppose taxpayer funding of abortion as a bipartisan majority of lawmakers voted against abortion financing. That came after the state House voted 70-23 for the measure.
SB 2686 strictly limits the use of public funds in health exchanges mandated by the new federal health plan.
The language of the measure states: "No health care plan required to be established in this state through an exchange pursuant to federal health care reform legislation enacted by the 111th Congress shall offer coverage for abortion services." Full story at LifeNews.com
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| 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. |
Wisconsin Pro-Life Group Asks Atty General About UW Funding Abortion Training
Madison, WI (LifeNews.com) -- A Wisconsin pro-life group is following up on its concerns that the University of Wisconsin may have illegally spent neatly $59,000 funding internships for medical students at abortion centers. Pro-Life Wisconsin Friday sent a letter to the Wisconsin Attorney General s office.
In the letter to J.b. Van Hollen, officials with the group inquire about whether UW spending $58,878 since 2007 for student abortion training is unlawful.
The letter cites state law prohibiting the use of taxpayer funds to pay for elective abortions or to abortion centers.
The request, joined by the Alliance Defense Fund, a pro-life legal group, asks for an opinion on whether it is illegal for the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics Authority [UWHCA] to pay resident physicians while they are being trained to do abortions at Planned Parenthood in Madison.
Our University of Wisconsin state agencies should not be a training ground for abortionists, Virginia Zignego, communications director of Pro-Life Wisconsin and a UW-Madison graduate, told LifeNews.com today. The UW Hospital is breaking the law by paying medical residents to perform abortions. Residents need to be instructed how to save, preserve and respect life, not how to kill preborn children. Full stories at LifeNews.com
Missouri Right to Life Urges Further Passage of Pre-Abortion Ultrasound Bill
Jefferson City, MO(LifeNews.com) -- Encouraged by the passage last week of a bill that would provide women the ability to see an ultrasound of their unborn child before an abortion is done, Missouri Right to Life is asking legislators to move it further ahead.
The measure, less broad than a House-approved version, also gives women considering abortions 24 hours to reflect on the ultrasound and information they would receive on fetal development.
"On Thursday, April 15, the senate perfected SS SCS SB 793, a bill that contains some excellent pro-life provisions," the group said in the memo to legislators that it sent LifeNews.com.
"In addition to being offered an ultrasound and information on her unborn child s development 24 hours before an abortion, a mother receives information about the possibility of pain to her unborn child, the father s liability for child support, alternatives to abortion and additional information to help her make a more fully informed choice," the memo reads. Full stories at LifeNews.com
Pro-Life News: James Dobson, Dan Coats, Calgary, Canada, IVF, Abortion
• James Dobson Endorses Dan Coats, Pro-Life Indiana Senate Candidate
• University Calgary Students May be Expelled for Pro-Life Display on Abortion
• Couples Fight in Court Over Adoption of Frozen Embryos From IVF Treatments
• Governor General Accepts Another Pro-Life Order of Canada Resignation
Full stories at LifeNews.com
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