LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report
Wednessay, May 12, 2010
| For pro-life news updated throughout the day, visit LifeNews.com. |
Current Headlines
• Memo: Elena Kagan Did Not Tell Clinton to Back Partial-Birth Abortion Ban
• Supreme Court Nominee Elena Kagan Attacked Pro-Life Advocates in 1980 Essay
• Congressional Probe Sought on Obama Backing Kenya Pro-Abortion Constitution
• Americans Split on Elena Kagan Supreme Court Nomination, Confirmation Likely
• Grand Jury to Probe Abortion Practitioner Who Killed Woman in Failed Abortion
• Speaker Nancy Pelosi Flexes Her Cafeteria Catholicism on Abortion, Immigration
• Reality Television Program Under Fire for Auctioning Off Virgins in Las Vegas
• Pro-Life Death? Revisited: Electing Obama Yields Another Pro-Abortion Judge
• Adult Stem Cells, Not Embryonic, Helping Patients With Multiple Sclerosis
• Minnesota Governor Candidate Tom Horner, Pro-Life Group Battle on Abortion
• Oklahoma Legislature Sends Abortion Reporting Bill to Governor Brad Henry
---> You can use the following donation link to send an online donation to LifeNews.com (if it doesn't work for your email, just go to http://www.LifeNews.com and click the same image on the left-hand side).
Memo Misread: Elena Kagan Did Not Tell Clinton to Back Partial-Birth Abortion Ban
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- To hear mainstream media outlets like the Associated Press and Washington Post tell the story, Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan once urged President Bill Clinton to back a ban on partial-birth or late-term abortions. The take from the stories is that Kagan's rock solid pro-abortion views aren't that strong.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
The Post indicates "activists on both the left and the right seek to better understand how the solicitor general might rule on a right to privacy [read: unlimited abortion] if she is confirmed to the court."
"The answer to that question got a little bit clearer late Monday afternoon as the Associated Press reported on what it said was a 1997 memorandum authored by Kagan during the time she advised then-President Bill Clinton," the newspaper continued.
AP reports on a May 13, 1997 memo that the Post claims was a "compromise ban on late-term abortions: put forward by pro-abortion former Sen. Tom Daschle.
"We recommend that you endorse the Daschle amendment in order to sustain your credibility on HR 1122 and prevent Congress from overriding your veto," Kagan and her boss, Bruce Reed, wrote in the memo.
The Post responds that the "revelation may help to mute right-wing groups who often use support for abortion rights as a way of attacking a nominee." Yet, the opposite is more likely when the full case is presented.
The Daschle measure was an attempt to draw attention from the partial-birth abortion ban that the Senate eventually approved on a 64-36 vote margin. The legislation, which purported to ban late-term abortions, would never have prevented a single one because of a health exception similar to the one that has allowed Roe v. Wade to result in 52 million unfettered abortions. Full story at LifeNews.com
Supreme Court Nominee Elena Kagan Attacked Pro-Life Advocates in 1980 Essay
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- An essay that Obama Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan wrote in 1980 has been unearthed and it provides some insight into her view of pro-life advocates. The article she wrote for the Daily Princetonian a week after Ronald Reagan s victory in the 1980 election has Kagan disparaging pro-life advocates.
Reagan won a landslide victory over President Jimmy Carter and Kagan's essay lamented that victory and had her hoping for a more leftist left in the 1984 elections.
Even after the returns came in, I found it hard to conceive of the victories of these anonymous but Moral Majority-backed opponents" of certain pro-abortion candidates, Kagan wrote.
She called them "avengers of innocent life " who were "beneficiaries of a general turn to the right and a profound disorganization on the left.
Douglas Johnson, the legislative director of the National Right to Life Committee noticed the comment and the scare quotes around the phrase "innocent life" -- clearly inferring that pro-life advocates have a misread on the moral status of unborn children.
"Kagan may have betrayed a possible personal animus towards the pro-life movement in a 1980 essay lamenting Republican gains in the 1980 election, in which she referred disparagingly to [pro-life candidates]," Johnson told LifeNews.com.
"Was Ms. Kagan so dismissive of the belief that unborn children are members of the human family that she felt it necessary to put the term 'innocent life' in quote marks, or does she have another explanation?" Johnson wondered. Full story at LifeNews.com
Congressional Probe Sought on Obama Backing Kenya's Pro-Abortion Constitution
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Did the Obama administration spend taxpayer dollars illegally promoting the pro-abortion draft constitution that would have Kenya join the ranks of those nations that allow virtually unlimited abortions? That's what three members of Congress want to know, and they are seeking a federal investigation to find out.
As LifeNews.com reported, US Ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger called last month on the African nation's political leaders to rally the people to pass the referendum.
Ranneberger issued a statement praising the Kenya parliament for passing the proposed constitution and urging President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga to rally support for it.
He also suggested the Obama administration would fund a national campaign to persuade the people to adopt the document.
In a letter to Inspectors General of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Government Accountability Office (GAO), Reps. Chris Smith of New Jersey, Darrell Issa of California and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida outline their concerns.
Kenya s new proposed constitution, which will be subject to a public referendum in August 2010, includes two articles that, if adopted, would enshrine a new constitutional right to abortion in Kenya and dramatically change Kenya s abortion law," they write. Full story at LifeNews.com
Americans Split on Elena Kagan Supreme Court Nomination, Confirmation Likely
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A new Rasmussen poll released today shows Americans are split on the nomination of pro-abortion Solicitor general Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court. One-third support her, one-third oppose, while a final third remain unsure -- but most Americans say Kagan will be confirmed.
In the first survey following Obama's announcement of Kagan, the first nominee without judicial experience chosen in nearly 40 years, Americans are divided.
Some 33% say yes, 33% say no, and 34% are undecided, Rasmussen's poll showed.
According to the pollster, that means Kagan has less support than pro-abortion nominee Sonia Sotomayor did at the time of her confirmation. By comparison, 45% favored Sotomayor confirmation in the first survey following her nomination. Twenty-nine percent (29%) were opposed, and 26% not sure.
The new survey show a predictable partisan split on Kagan.
"Fifty-four percent (54%) of Republicans oppose Kagan s confirmation. Yet while the plurality (47%) of Democrats support her confirmation, a surprisingly high 38% of voters in the president s party are not sure. Voters not affiliated with either party are closely divided over the question," Rasmussen notes. Full story at LifeNews.com
Grand Jury to Probe Abortion Practitioner Who Killed Woman in Failed Abortion
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A grand jury will probe Pennsylvania-based abortion practitioner Kermit Gosnell, who is responsible for killing a woman in a botched legal abortion last November. Authorities have been probing the Women's Medical Society after an abortion patient died in what is the latest problem at Gosnell's facility.
Last week, a representative of the District Attorney's office confirmed that a grand jury has begun to investigate the 69-year-old abortion center owner.
His medical license was suspended after officials investigating the November abortion-related death of Karnamay Mongar found a virtual "shop of horrors" at Gosnell's West Philadelphia abortion business.
Authorities found filthy and deplorable conditions along with a collection of aborted babies dating back 30 years.
The grand jury investigation means criminal charges could soon be filed against Gosnell related to illegal distribution of controlled substances, having unlicensed employees, not following the law when doing abortions, and other charges.
Massive amounts of drugs found in the victim's system led authorities to suspect Gosnell was illegally prescribing pain-killers. He temporarily lost his medical license in both Pennsylvania and neighboring Delaware. Full story at LifeNews.com
Speaker Nancy Pelosi Flexes Her Cafeteria Catholicism on Abortion, Immigration
by Tom McClusky
During the 2008 elections Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) tried to imply the Catholic Church was flexible on the whole abortion is a mortal sin thing.
This prompted about 8 bishops and a host of Catholic scholars to take her to task pointing out that the Catechism of the Catholic Church states: Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law (No. 2271)
Ignoring the public scolding Speaker Pelosi continued to misconstrue Catholic teaching during the recent health care debate, stating: I have some concerns about the church s position respecting a woman s right to choose. . . .I practically mourn this difference of opinion because I feel what I was raised to believe is consistent with what I profess, and that is that we are all endowed with a free will and a responsibility to answer for our actions. And that women should have that opportunity to exercise their free will.
As I pointed out at the time the Catechism allows that we are all endowed with free will and the ability to choose evil or good but we also are then responsible for our choices and bound to them for eternity. Full story at LifeNews.com
Reality Television Program Under Fire for Auctioning Off Virgins in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada(LifeNews.com) -- An Australian documentary maker is coming under fire for his planned reality television show that will feature the auctioning off of young men and women. Bidders in the program will pay for the ability to have sexual relations with people who are confirmed virgins and want to make money selling themselves.
Justin Sisley has convinced several people to participate -- mostly women -- in the show that will be shot in Nevada after Australian officials complained.
Authorities in Australia said they would charge Sisley with prostitution if the filming went ahead there. Nevada does not prohibit prostitution.
The virgins will be paid $20,000 each to take part in the controversial auction and will also receive 90 percent of their "sale price" that bidders pay. The remainder of the money goes to the Nevada brothel hosting the event.
Bids will be placed online and then the final bidding process will take place live in Nevada.
"Technically I'm selling my virginity for money, technically that would be classified as prostitution, but it's not going to be a regular thing, so in my head I can justify that I'm not going to be a prostitute," a 21-year-old virgin from Sydney told the London Telegraph newspaper. "I don't think I'll regret it."
Sisley admitted his plan was not popular with the parents of those involved, saying, "They hate me." Full story at LifeNews.com
Pro-Life Death? Revisited: Electing Obama Yields Another Pro-Abortion Judge
by Dr. Paul Kengor
In November 2008, just after the historic election of Barack Obama, I wrote a piece titled, Pro-Life Death? I noted that America s choice of Obama as president and, equally important, of a massive liberal majority in Congress, constituted the death of the pro-life movement as we know it.
That is, the pro-life movement had sought to reverse abortion through legislative action and the courts, and had made tremendous gains through eight years of George W. Bush -- enough to place the nation at a crucial turning point. Unfortunately, we failed to turn the corner on Election Day 2008, instead moving in the exact opposite direction.
It was a moment of decision, one authorized by millions of pro-life Christian voters, many of whom gave this go-ahead to the Death Culture unwittingly, oblivious to the ramifications of their choice at the voting booth that day. According to CNN exit polling, 45 percent of Protestants and 53 percent of Catholics voted for Obama, giving the green light to a man who was without question the most radical abortion advocate of any serious presidential nominee in the history of America.
This is background, of course, to what happened this week, as President Obama nominated Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court to replace Justice John Paul Stevens. A 50-year-old former Harvard Law dean, Kagan s abortion stance is surely one Obama supports, even as Obama seems reticent about discussing it openly. Full story at LifeNews.com
Adult Stem Cells, Not Embryonic, Helping Patients With Multiple Sclerosis
by Dr. David Prentice
A groundbreaking new study published in the last week provides more good news for treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) with adult stem cells. Researchers at the University of Bristol used patients own adult stem cells to treat their MS.
In a Phase I clinical trial, six patients with MS were treated with their own bone marrow adult stem cells and their progress followed for one year. The treatment appeared to stabilized the patients condition and showed some benefits. As one measure of the success of the procedure, damaged nerve pathways were able to carry electrical pulses more effectively after the treatment.
Multiple sclerosis is an incurable disease, with the patients own immune system attacking the central nervous system and eventually leaving many patients in a wheelchair.
One of the most encouraging aspects of this trial was the elegantly simple procedure. Patients reported to the hospital and had bone marrow adult stem cells removed, the cells were filtered, and then given back to the patients intravenously. The patients went home before the end of the day. Full story at LifeNews.com
Minnesota Governor Candidate Tom Horner, Pro-Life Group Battle on Abortion
St. Paul, MN (LifeNews.com) -- Independence Party gubernatorial candidate Tom Horner spent yesterday attempting to spin a position on abortion that could not be labeled pro-life or pro-abortion. His attempts had him feuding with statewide pro-life group Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life.
Horner stated that he would not have signed Minnesota's Woman's Right to Know law providing basic informed consent information prior to an abortion procedure.
He went on to say that he supports taxpayer funded abortions, does not believe the office of governor should have anything to do with protecting unborn children, and that the abortion issue should be handled on the federal level.
As a political spin doctor, you would think that Tom Horner could have come up with a better abortion position than 'I won't be labeled,' Scott Fischbach, Executive Director of MCCL, told LifeNews.com. If a candidate opposes Woman's Right to Know and wants to force taxpayers to buy other people's abortions, he is clearly not 'in the middle' on the abortion issue, he is pro-abortion.
At his press conference Horner was joined by notorious abortion flip-flopper former Congressman Tim Penny, and Horner also announced the support of longtime pro-abortionist Sally Pillsbury. Full story at LifeNews.com
| Looking for a Pro-Life Speaker for 2010? |
| 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. |
Oklahoma Legislature Sends Abortion Reporting Bill to Governor Brad Henry
Oklahoma City, OK (LifeNews.com) -- The Oklahoma state Senate today gave final approval to an abortion reporting bill meant to help the state reduce abortions. The bill now goes to Governor Brad Henry, who has a mixed record on signing pro-life laws and already vetoed this year a bill to allow women to see an ultrasound of their baby. The Senate voted 32-11 to approve House Bill 3284, dubbed the "Statistical Abortion Reporting Act."
HB 3284 provides for the reporting of abortions performed in Oklahoma, the reasons abortions are sought, and the complications that result.
The measure has the support of pro-life groups as Tony Lauinger of Oklahomans for Life told LifeNews.com previously: "Knowing why women seek abortions may make it possible to solve underlying problems. The reporting of complications will allow an assessment of the untested claim that abortion is 'safe.'" Full story at LifeNews.com
Encourage Friends to Sign Up for Free Pro-Life News From LifeNews.com
