LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
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Current Headlines
• Poll: Americans Wanting Roe Abortion Ruling Overturned Reaches New High
• Study Shows Half of Women Getting Second Abortion, Don't Use Insurance
• Senate Committee to Vote on Pro-Abortion Obama Judicial Pick Goodwin Liu
• State Investigating Dangerous Telemed Abortions at Planned Parenthood Centers
• California Pro-Life Group to Endorse Carly Fiorina in Republican Senate Primary
• Florida Pro-Life Groups Urge Governor Crist to Sign Abortion-Ultrasound Bill
• Canadian MP Tells Abortion Groups to "Shut Up" About Government's Stance
• New Video Refutes Myth That Overpopulation Causes Global World Hunger
• Missouri House Committee OKs Bill for Pre-Abortion Ultrasound, Waiting Period
• Oklahoma Health Department Reports Abortion Rate Below National Average
• Alan Mollohan of West Virginia Faces Pro-Life Ad on Abortion-Health Care Vote
• Missouri Personhood Amendment on Abortion Fails to Qualify for Nov Ballot
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Poll: Americans Wanting Roe Abortion Ruling Overturned Reaches New High
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds the percentage of Americans saying they want the Roe v. Wade ruling that allowed abortion on demand overturned has reached a new high. Meanwhile, Americans say the current Supreme Court, which has a 5-4 pro-abortion majority, is too liberal.
The Post-ABC poll has been asking a question about overturning Roe since 2005 and, this year, 60 percent said no while a new high of 38 percent said the favor reversing the case.
The poll found 60 percent of Republicans want roe reversed, up from 54 percent last year.
The percentage of Americans wanting Roe overturned may be higher had the Post and ABC News properly explained the Supreme Court case.
The question respondents were asked read: "The Supreme Court legalized abortion 37 years ago in the ruling known as Roe versus Wade. If that case came before the court again, would you want the next justice to vote to (uphold) Roe versus Wade, or vote to (overturn) it?"
That doesn't describe how Roe, and its companion Doe v. Bolton case, essentially allowed unlimited abortions for any reason throughout the entirety of pregnancy. Polling data consistently shows a large majority of Americans oppose that kind of unlimited abortion scheme.
Ed Whelan, wrote about the poll, released late last week, in National Review and agreed the question is poorly worded.
"The Left might try to find hope in the report [that 60% favor Roe]," he writes. "But even apart from the fact that the 38% figure is apparently a high, the Roe question is drafted in a way that predictably understates support for overturning Roe." Full story at LifeNews.com
Study Shows Half of Women Getting Second Abortion, Don't Use Private Insurance
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A new study from the pro-abortion Guttmacher institute appears to confirm a point the pro-life community was making during the debate over health care reform. Meanwhile, the new research on women getting abortions find half getting at least their second abortion and more poor women getting abortions.
Abortion advocates claimed insurance companies paid for most abortions and any limits on abortion funding would deprive women of that coverage.
The pro-life community pointed to figures showing most abortions are paid for out of pocket and protecting the rights of taxpayers to not have their tax dollars paying for abortions would not infringe on insurance coverage.
A new study from the Guttmacher Institute, a former Planned Parenthood affiliate that takes a pro-abortion position, appears to validate the pro-life perspective.
A new GI survey shows most women pay for abortions out of pocket, with insurance companies picking up the costs of just 12 percent. Some 57 percent of women paid for their abortions, 13 percent received help from a nonprofit pro-abortion group that pays for poor women's abortions, and 20 percent got their abortions covered under Medicaid, as some states allow state tax dollars to pay for abortions.
The Guttmacher survey surveyed 9,493 women who had abortions from April 2008 through May 2009.
The survey also provided a profile of the typical woman having an abortion -- she is in her 20s, unmarried, and often the mother of at least one child. Some 7 percent were teenagers while half of all women surveyed were getting their second or more abortion. Full story at LifeNews.com
Senate Committee to Vote on Pro-Abortion Obama Judicial Pick Goodwin Liu
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on Thursday on controversial pro-abortion appeals court nominee Goodwin Liu. He is one of several abortion advocates Obama has put on key federal appeals courts and his nomination is expected to be approved on a party-line vote.
Republicans have sharply criticized Liu for the opinions raised in his academic writings and public statements.
They also criticized him for omitting dozens of answers on his initial Senate panel questionnaire.
Chairman Patrick Leahy set the vote for Thursday, the day of the committee s weekly business meeting, but the panel's rules allow lawmakers to delay the vote for one day, which GOP senators have done for controversial nominees. That could see the committee vote delayed until Friday.
Liu, nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, is a professor at the liberal University of California, Berkeley.
Liu's nomination is seen as a test case in the ability of Obama and Senate Democrats to get a liberal, pro-abortion judge approved in the Senate in advance of a Supreme Court nomination. Full story at LifeNews.com
ACTION: Contact members of the committee at http://judiciary.senate.gov and urge a no vote on the Liu nomination.
State Investigating Dangerous Telemed Abortions at Planned Parenthood Centers
Des Moines, IA (LifeNews.com) -- The state of Iowa has announced it has begun an investigation into the new "telemed" process Planned Parenthood is using to dispense abortion drugs. The process has abortion practitioners instruct women on using the dangerous abortion drug by video conference instead of assisting them in person.
The practice 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 as of 2006 FDA figures.
As LifeNews.com, has reported, Operation Rescue officials have exposed the new process practice, which it says is putting women's health at risk and involves the potential bilking of insurance companies.
Last month, the pro-life group filed formal complaints with the Medical Board of Iowa asking for an investigation into the process and asking officials to stop allowing abortions without a licensed physician on site and discipline those involved.
Today, OR announced the Iowa Medical Board is now investigating the "care and treatment" practices of abortion practitioner Susan Haskell and Planned Parenthood of the Heartland.
At least a dozen small Planned Parenthood offices in Iowa were administering the dangerous abortion drug without the mother seeing a doctor in person. instead, Haskell briefly addresses abortion patients from a teleconferencing hook up from her office in Des Moines. After explaining the medical abortion process, a button is pushed and an electronic drawer opens that contains the drugs. Full story at LifeNews.com
California Pro-Life Group to Endorse Carly Fiorina in Republican Senate Primary
Sacramento, CA (LifeNews.com) -- The California Pro-Life Council, the state affiliate of the National Right to Life Committee, will endorse Republican U.S. Senate candidate Carly Fiorina. CPLC joins the pro-life women's group Susan B. Anthony List in backing the businesswoman over pro-life state legislator Chuck DeVore.
Although both DeVore and Fiorina take a pro-life stance, the latter is seen as having a better chance by the pro-life groups of capturing the GOP nomination and defeating pro-abortion Sen. Barbara Boxer.
CPLC board member Mike Spence said the main reason for endorsing Fiorina is her ability to defeat Boxer.
"Our duty is to elect pro-life candidates. The word elect is as important as the word pro-life," Spence said.
Spence worries that Devote and Fiorina will split the pro-life vote in the state and pave the way for pro-abortion former congressman Tom Campbell to get the GOP nomination -- so CPLC believes pro-life advocates need to line up behind one candidate to ensure a pro-life advocate captures the nomination to face Boxer.
Brian Johnston, the head of the California pro-life group, elaborated on the endorsement in comments to the San Francisco Chronicle, saying Fiorina "had the resources to win." Full story at LifeNews.com
Florida Pro-Life Groups Urge Governor Crist to Sign Abortion-Ultrasound Bill
Tallahassee, FL (LifeNews.com) -- Florida Governor Charlie Crist is embroiled in a contentious Senate battle where pro-life candidate Marco Rubio has the backing of pro-life groups and Crist had such little support among Republicans that he fled to an independent candidacy.
That's not stopping two pro-life groups from pulling out all the stops in a lobbying effort to get him to sign a bill that allows women a chance to see an ultrasound of their unborn child before an abortion.
The measure also would make Florida the next state to prohibit federal and state taxpayer funding of abortion in the health care plan Obama signed.
The bill also declares that the public policy of Florida is that a federal, state, or local government may not compel a person to purchase health insurance or health services.
Florida Right to Life emailed its supporters today and urge them to "respectfully" ask Crist to sign the measure the legislature recently approved. It passed the House 76 to 44 and the Senate 23 to 16.
"This bill is very important for the primary reason that it actually does something very good and very powerful," the pro-life group said in the email LifeNews.com obtained. "This bill is the most significant piece of pro-life legislation ever passed in Florida's history. But it does not become law unless and until the Governor signs it." Full story at LifeNews.com
ACTION: Contact Governor Crist at: Phone: (850) 488-7146 or (850)-488-4441, Fax: (850) 487-0801 Charlie.Crist@MyFlorida.com
Canadian MP Tells Abortion Groups to "Shut Up" About Government's Stance
Ottawa, Canada (LifeNews.com) -- A Canadian senator has a message for pro-abortion groups upset that the government of Prime Minister Stephen harper did not promote abortion at a recent G8 meeting about women's health. Conservative Senator Nancy Ruth let a profanity fly when she told abortion advocates to "shut up."
Ruth said to a group of abortion advocates who gathered on Parliament Hill on Monday to shut the f--- up or the government would take a more hard line stance.
If you push it, there will be more backlash, she said, according to the Toronto Star newspaper. This is now a political football. This is not about women s health in this country.
The Harper government not only did not push for abortion at the Halifax meeting but said it would not promote abortion in any push for better maternal health for women.
The Star reporter who taped the remarks and was the only reported on the scene says they were intended more as a warning to abortion advocates rather than a condemnation.
New Video Refutes Myth That Overpopulation Causes Global World Hunger
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A new video released by the Population research Institute refutes the myth that the world is overpopulated and that overpopulation supposedly causes global world hunger. The video is the third installment in a series designed to refute notions about population that are popular but not based on scientific fact.
To date the series has garnered well over 200,000 views on YouTube, and has made PRI one of the more popular non-profit channels on the YouTube video channel.
Just under two minutes long, the video uses data from the UN Food and Agricultural Organization and the World Food Programme to explain world hunger and reveal how overpopulation is not causing it.
All this, while at the same time remaining simple, humorous and most importantly geek-friendly.
We're excited to offer another great installment of our highly popular YouTube series, says PRI president Steven Mosher. We can help educate young and old alike through this online video medium in the blessings of people, and do an end run around the 'lamestream' media s fixation on the outdated theory of overpopulation.
Colin Mason, PRI s Director of Media Production, told LifeNews.com: We also have a web site devoted solely to these videos: www.overpopulationisamyth.com. The site retains the aesthetic of the videos, while getting into a little more detail of the science itself. Full story at LifeNews.com
Missouri House Committee OKs Bill for Pre-Abortion Ultrasound, Waiting Period
Jefferson City, MO (LifeNews.com) -- The Missouri state House approved a bill that would provide women the ability to see an ultrasound of their unborn child before an abortion is done.
The measure, less broad than a previous House-approved version, also gives women considering abortions 24 hours to reflect on the ultrasound and information they would receive on fetal development.
SB 793 also contains an amendment sponsored by Sen. Scott Rupp to make is to Missouri can opt out of some of the abortion funding under the Obama-signed health care bill.
The House General Laws Committee signed off on the bill and made no changes to it. Should the full House approve the bill, it will go to pro-abortion Gov. Jay Nixon, who will be lobbied heavily by pro-life groups to sign it.
The House-approved measure is broader than the Senate's version in that it would also create the crime of coercing an abortion and would require abortion centers to inform prosecutors when a teenager is having an abortion so they can prosecute the rapist. 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. |
Oklahoma Health Department Reports Abortion Rate Below National Average
Oklahoma City, OK (LifeNews.com) -- After a busy legislative session that saw the Oklahoma state legislature pass several pro-life bills to reduce abortions, the state health department released a new report on the abortion numbers. The report finds the study below the national average in terms of the abortion rate.
The health department said there were 6,319 abortions in 2007 compared with 54,946 live births.
At a ratio of 115 abortions per 1,000 births, that puts Oklahoma well ahead of the national average of abortions per 1,000 births -- meaning more pregnant women decide to keep their baby in Oklahoma than nationwide.
The new figures come as the state is defending a new law that allows women to see an ultrasound of their unborn child before the abortion. When used in pregnancy centers, ultrasounds help most women decide to not have an abortion.
The law has been suspended as the new lawsuit filed by a Tulsa-based abortion business and Norman-based abortion practitioner moves ahead. Full story at LifeNews.com
Alan Mollohan of West Virginia Faces Pro-Life Ad on Pro-Abortion Health Care Vote
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- With one week left before West Virginia voters head to the polls in their primary election, a pro-life women's group is running an ad in the congressional district of Allan Mollohan. The Susan B. Anthony List wants voters to know that the normally pro-life Democrat voted for the pro-abortion health care bill.
The bill Congress passed and Obama approved contains massive taxpayer funding of abortions and it passed with just a few votes to spare, including Mollohan's.
Today, the Susan B. Anthony List launched a $30,000 radio ad campaign targeting Rep. Alan Mollohan on what it calls his "retreat from his pro-life stance in the final hours of the health care debate." Full story at LifeNews.com
Missouri Personhood Amendment on Abortion Fails to Qualify for November Ballot
Jefferson City, MO (LifeNews.com) -- The personhood amendment has failed to qualify for the November ballot in another state. One week after California organizers announced the didn't get enough signatures, backers of the amendment in Missouri indicated they did not receive enough as well.
Those spearheading the amendment in Missouri received "only a fraction" of the 150,000 signatures required to get it before voters this Fall.
The amendment would define an unborn child as a person from the moment of fertilization and essentially attempt to overturn laws prohibiting abortion. The Missouri amendment does not include the word "abortion" but states that personhood would begin at "the beginning of biological development."
Gregory Thompson, a former school superintendent who was the Constitution Party s nominee for governor in 2008, was the main sponsor of the petition. Full story at LifeNews.com
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