LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report
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Current Headlines
• Elena Kagan's Reliance on Foreign Law Worries Pro-Life Group on Abortion
• Planned Parenthood President Says Telemed Abortion Scheme Going Nationwide
• Report Finds Women Who Refuse Abortions Often Face Violent Attacks, Death
• Pro-Life Catholic Group Praises Bishops for Leaving Coalition Backing Kagan
• The Camera Doesn't Lie: Ultrasound Changes American Opinion on Abortion
• Abortion Alternatives Web Site Receives Grant to Reach More Women With Help
• Washington Planned Parenthood Overlooks Abortion Safety Standards for Women
• HLI Launches Domestic Pro-Life Group to Focus on Contraception, Abortion
• Delaware Pro-Life Advocates Making Push for Choose Life License Plate
• Pennsylvania Senate Poll has Pro-Life Toomey Trailing Pro-Abortion Sestak
• Arizona Governor Poll Shows Pro-Life Gov. Jan Brewer Leading Terry Goddard
• Arkansas Senate: Pro-Life Republican Boozman Ahead of Lincoln and Halter
• Embryonic Stem Cell Research Center Opening in Irvine, California
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Elena Kagan's Reliance on Foreign Law Worries Pro-Life Group on Abortion
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Elena Kagan's reliance on foreign law for statutory interpretation presents another concern for pro-life advocates, says Americans United for Life in a new memo about President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee. The pro-life legal group says Kagan could use it as another basis to support legal abortions.
The use of foreign law in defending unlimited abortion "rights" as laid out in Roe v. Wade is nothing new for the pro-life movement.
It came up during the confirmation hearings on pro-abortion Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who pledged not to use it.
But the nomination of Kagan to replace retiring pro-abortion Justice John Paul Stevens raises anew the specter of jurists relying on international law and court decisions from abroad to firm up pro-abortion case law in the United States.
During her Senate confirmation hearings last year to become U.S. Solicitor General, lawmakers asked Kagan about the use of foreign law and she responded: "At least some members of the Court find foreign law relevant in at least some contexts.When this is the case, I think the Solicitor General's office should offer reasonable foreign law arguments to attract these Justices' support for the positions that the office is taking."
Americans United for Life takes that response as Kagan's willingness to play ball when it comes to pushing foreign legal concepts in Americans courts, saying, "Kagan s high regard for International and Comparative law comes as no surprise."
When it comes to Kagan's personal use of foreign law, AUL says she's pushed it -- at the expense of American legal concepts. Full story at LifeNews.com
Planned Parenthood President Says Telemed Abortion Scheme Going Nationwide
Cedar Rapids, IA (LifeNews.com) -- Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards delivered the keynote speech at the 30 year anniversary celebration of Planned Parenthood in Cedar Rapids. There, she shared with her fellow abortion activists more details about the telemed abortion scheme it has set up in Iowa.
The process has abortion practitioners instruct women on using the dangerous abortion drug by video conference instead of assisting them in person.
It involves the dangerous RU 486, or mifepristone, abortion drug that has killed at least 13 women worldwide and injured 1,100 in the U.S. alone, according to 2006 FDA figures.
Operation Rescue, one of the pro-life groups exposing the practice, informed LifeNews.com that Richards revealed that expanding drug-induced into every Planned Parenthood center in the country through the use of the "telemed abortion" scheme is part of PPFA's Strategic Plan for 2015.
The group joined the Pro-Life Action League and local pro-life advocates led by Steve Brody by braving the cold and rain to protest the Planned Parenthood fund-raising banquet.
Iowa Public Radio interviewed Richards, who confirmed that the telemed abortion process is beginning to expand throughout Iowa and that the abortion business has plans to expand it throughout the nation during the next five years.
Operation Rescue has filed complaints with the Iowa Board of Medicine against Planned Parenthood alleging that the telemed abortion scheme is dangerous, illegal, and violates FDA protocols for usage of the drug. The board is investigating.
"If this push-button abortion scheme is allowed to spread, it will only increase the number of abortions at a time when abortion rates are falling and abortion clinics are closing," OR president Troy Newman told LifeNews.com. Full story at LifeNews.com
Report Finds Women Who Refuse Abortions Often Face Violent Attacks, Death
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Women who refuse requests from their husbands or boyfriends to have abortions are often finding themselves subject to violent attacks that sometimes result in their deaths. That's the finding of a new report from the Elliot Institute, which calls the problem a "widespread epidemic."
The new report, Forced Abortion in America, is drawing attention to attacks on pregnant women and girls in order to prevent them from continuing their pregnancies.
It points out a "widespread epidemic of unwanted, coerced and forced abortions taking place in the United States."
The report notes how research suggests most abortions are likely unwanted or coerced, with one survey of women who had abortions finding that 64 percent said they felt pressured by others to abort.
The same survey found 80 percent of women said they did not receive the counseling they needed to make a decision -- even though more than half said they felt rushed or uncertain about the abortion.
The consequences for those who refuse abortion can be dangerous and even deadly, according to the report, which details cases of women and girls facing violent attacks or murder for resisting abortion.
Studies of death rates among pregnant women in the U.S. have found that homicide is the leading cause of death among pregnant women, the authors say. Full story at LifeNews.com
Pro-Life Catholic Group Praises Bishops for Leaving Coalition Backing Kagan
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Catholic activist Deal Hudson, who called on the nation's Catholic bishops to leave a coalition of groups that endorsed pro-abortion Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan, is applauding their decision to do so. Deal Hudson, a writer who heads Catholic Advocate, says they did the right thing.
The nation's Catholic bishops have left a coalition of organizations that recently endorsed the Supreme Court nomination of pro-abortion Solicitor General Elena Kagan.
The Coalition for Constitutional Values is running a television and Internet commercial praising President Barack Obama's selection.
CCV is a project of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights (LCCHR), a coalition of 200 groups. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops was a member of the LCCHR, and as a member pays an annual membership fee.
Hudson called on the USCCB to leave the coalition and emailed LifeNews.com today saying he appreciates their decision to vacate it.
"We applaud the USCCB for their commitment to human rights and for taking this opportunity to underscore the most basic human right--life itself," Hudson said. "It's a sad fact of politics that organizations originally founded for one purpose undergo changes over time that affect their mission. Such is the case with the LCCR." Full story at LifeNews.com
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The Camera Doesn't Lie: Ultrasound Changes American Opinion on Abortion
by Bradley Mattes
The success of our labor is becoming more evident every day. For the third time in a row, a Gallup poll shows more Americans are calling themselves pro-life than pro-choice. Gallup titled their analysis, The New Normal on Abortion. And they're right.
It s no longer normal to think an unborn baby is disposable. Even the liberal Slate Magazine had to acknowledge that young people have wised up to the facts.
My generation has seen ultrasound photos of ourselves and our siblings, one young pro-lifer told the reporter, so it s sort of hard to put the fetuses are just a clump of tissues line past us.
As the saying goes, the camera doesn't lie. When young women considering an abortion see an ultrasound of their baby, about 80 percent choose to continue the pregnancy. Pro-abortion arguments crumble when they see a beating heart and tiny, growing body.
That s why it s so encouraging that more than a dozen states are considering ultrasound legislation. The bills require abortion facilities to give women the option of an ultrasound before the deadly procedure takes place. Of course pro-abortion activists are battling the proposals with all the venom they can muster. Suddenly, they're no longer for choice not when the choice is for women to see their unborn babies.
But just as we wouldn't deny a cancer patient access to vital X-Rays, these mothers should be given the opportunity to review all medical information relevant to their procedure. Full story at LifeNews.com
Abortion Alternatives Web Site Receives Grant to Reach More Women With Help
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- This Sunday, Catholics all across the country will place envelopes in the collection basket to help the Catholic Communications Campaign (CCC). Vitae Foundation is a recipient of that Campaign and will use its funds to reach abortion-minded women on the Internet, counteracting the abortion industry, who is marketing its services like never before.
Vitae was awarded a $35,000 grant from CCC, with the stipulation that it be matched with private funds. Those private funds were recently secured, which will help expand the architecture of Vitae s YourOptions.com, a pioneering website designed for the abortion-minded woman and her sphere of influence.
I could not be happier with partnering with the Catholic Communications Campaign as they, too, understand the importance of mass communication and the desire to help women who are dealing with an untimely pregnancy, Carl Landwehr, President of Vitae Foundation, stated.
Since 1992 Vitae has been encouraging a culture of life through mass communications. Vitae conducted a groundbreaking research study giving it the insight into the mind of women who choose abortion when faced with an unplanned pregnancy. Based on the findings of this study, Vitae began crafting messages that speak directly to the abortion-minded woman herself.
Together with Dr. Charles Kenny of The Right Brain People, Inc., with whom Vitae has worked to determine all of its message development, Vitae set about designing a website catering to the abortion minded, 18-24 year old woman. Full story at LifeNews.com
Washington Planned Parenthood Overlooks Abortion Safety Standards for Women
by Dan Kennedy
Patient safety takes a back seat when it's abortion.
The Washington State Medical Quality Assurance Commission (MQAC) has proposed rules mandating that physicians who perform any invasive procedure requiring sedation in a non-hospital setting must meet certain safety standards. They list, among other requirements, that the office be accredited by one of several recognized accrediting bodies, such as the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals, CMS, etc.
That is, unless the invasive procedure happens to be abortion. In that case Planned Parenthood or the National Abortion Federation can simply certify that things are A-OK.
And we know how much we can count on those entities to make sure that only the highest standards of patient safety are followed, and that any facility failing to meet those high standards will immediately have its certification revoked.
This kind of blatant exception for the abortion lobby should make all of us angry--no matter your position on abortion. Full story at LifeNews.com
HLI Launches Domestic Pro-Life Group to Focus on Contraception, Abortion
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Human Life International has launched a new domestic outreach that will focus on the abortion-contraception culture in the United States. The group is known for its pro-life work abroad, but wants to renew its focus on tackling abortion domestically with over 52 million abortions since Roe v. Wade.
"Today Human Life International announces the launch of HLI America, a new initiative aimed at confronting contraception and the culture of death throughout the United States," said Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer, president of HLI.
"HLI is present in over 100 countries around the world. This new American initiative highlights what is true in both our personal lives and on the world stage -- namely that 'protecting life begins at home,'" he added.
The new group, he told LifeNews.com, "will bring Americans the truth about human life, the beauty of children and the devastating and harmful effects of contraception in America."
The new HLI America outreach will be led by Jenn Giroux the longtime founder and president of Women Influencing the Nation.
Delaware Pro-Life Advocates Making Push for Choose Life License Plate
Dover, DE (LifeNews.com) -- With two state legislators pushing a new bill that would eliminate the possibility of new speciality license plates for the next three years, pro-life advocates are scurrying to get Choose Life license plates approved. These are the plates that have raised millions nationwide for adoption and pregnancy centers.
Division of Motor Vehicles Director Jennifer Cohan sent a letter to the Delaware legislature asking it to consider limiting/capping the number of specialty plate legislative initiatives."
According to the Dover Post, Cohan said the number of license plates -- currently over 100 for various groups -- is placing a burden on her department.
Every specialty plate has to be designed, created, managed and audited by DMV personnel, Cohan wrote, according to the newspaper. The division must work with our license plate vendor through the set-up and design process."
State House Minority Leader Dick Cathcart and State Rep. Dave Wilson plan to introduce a bill when the legislature goes back into session on June 1. Full story at LifeNews.com
Pennsylvania Senate Poll has Pro-Life Toomey Trailing Pro-Abortion Sestak
Harrisburg, PA (LifeNews.com) -- Democratic Congressman Joe Sestak s victory over longtime pro-abortion Senator Arlen Specter for his party s nomination Tuesday has given him a bounce in support in Pennsylvania s general election for U.S. Senate.
The latest Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey of likely voters shows Sestak picking up 46% support over pro-life Republican nominee Pat Toomey s 42%. Only three percent (3%) prefer some other candidate while nine percent (9%) are undecided.
Sestak s support is up six points from earlier this month and is at its highest level yet measured in the race. Two weeks ago, Sestak and Toomey were in a virtual tie.
In surveys conducted in April, March and February, Sestak s support fell within a narrow range of 36% to 38%. During the same period, Toomey s support ranged from 42% to 47%. Full story at LifeNews.com
Arizona Governor Poll Shows Pro-Life Gov. Jan Brewer Leading Terry Goddard
Phoenix, AZ (LifeNews.com) -- Arizona Governor Jan Brewer for the first time now attracts more than 50% support in her bid for reelection against likely Democratic candidate Terry Goddard.
The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters in Arizona shows Brewer with 52% of the vote and Goddard with 39%. Seven percent (7%) prefer another candidate, while just three percent (3%) are undecided.
The incumbent s support has been rising steadily over the past month since she outflanked Goddard and, despite his opposition, filed a suit challenging the recently-passed national health care plan.
A mid-April survey saw Brewer with a 44% to 40% lead over Goddard. In late April, the governor attracted 48% support to Goddard s 40%. In March, by contrast, she had trailed 36% to 45%. In earlier surveys, with support ranging from 35% to 41%, she had usually trailed or tied the Democrat. Full story at LifeNews.com
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Arkansas Senate: Pro-Life Republican Boozman Ahead of Lincoln and Halter
Little Rock, AR (LifeNews.com) -- Arkansas Democrats still have to pick their candidate in a June 8 runoff, but for now, pro-life Republican John Boozman holds sizable leads over both his pro-abortion potential rivals in the state s U.S. Senate race.
A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters , taken Wednesday night, shows Boozman, the winner of Tuesday s state GOP Primary, with 66% support in a match-up with Senator Blanche Lincoln. The Democratic incumbent picks up just 28% of the vote. Two percent (2%) prefer some other candidate in the race, and four percent (4%) are undecided.
If Lieutenant Governor Bill Halter is his opponent, Boozman, currently the state s only GOP congressman, earns 60% of the vote to the Democrat s 33%. Four percent (4%) like someone else in the race, and three percent (3%) remain undecided. Full story at LifeNews.com
Embryonic Stem Cell Research Center Opening in Irvine, California
by Life Legal Defense Fund
Irvine, CA (LifeNews.com) -- Did you know that a brand new CIRM-funded research facility has opened up on the campus of the University of California at Irvine (UCI)? This facility was recently at the intersection of two aspects of LLDF work: opposition to human embryonic stem cell research and defending the legal rights of those who speak out against such atrocities.
On May 14, 2010, Survivors, a Christian pro-life organization dedicated to activating and educating high school and college age individuals, was present to protest the dedication of this expansive facility that touts its reputation in the area of human embryonic stem cell research. The group was there to share a message that human embryonic stem cell research kills human lives! Full story at LifeNews.com
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