LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
| For pro-life news updated throughout the day, visit LifeNews.com. |
Current Headlines
• Gallup Poll: Americans Say Obama, Pro-Abortion Democrats Too Liberal
• Americans Support Repeal of Pro-Abortion Health Care as Executive Order Sits
• Louisiana to Become Fourth State to Opt Out of Abortion Funding in Health Care
• Mitch Daniels Defends Call for Abortion Truce in Face of Pro-Life Criticism
• Kenya Abortion, Constitution Opponents Killed, Injured in Weekend Explosion
• Analysis Shows Promoting Tax-Funding Contraception Doesn't Reduce Abortion
• Jack Kevorkian: "No Regrets" of Killing People in Assisted Suicides, Regrets Birth
• Newsweek's Clift Mocks GOP Women's Pro-Life Views as 'So Yesterday'
• Abortion, Birth Control Have Health Risks Planned Parenthood Should Tell Women
• University of Wisconsin Doctor Involved in Building New Abortion Center Leaves
• Missouri Right to Life Backs Pro-Life Roy Blunt Over Pro-Abortion Robin Carnahan
• Pro-Life Advocates Head to New Mexico to React to New Late-Term Abortion Biz
---> Going on vacation? You can turn on a vacation setting and temporarily stop LifeNews.com emails for 1-4 weeks while you enjoy your summer vacation. Just use the link at the bottom of this email to visit a web page to turn on the setting and enjoy new pro-life news from LifeNews.com when you return.
Gallup Poll: Americans Say Obama, Pro-Abortion Democrats Too Liberal
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- For only the second time in any previous Gallup survey, almost half of Americans sat Democrats, led by President Barack Obama and his pro-abortion allies in Congress, are too liberal. Voters are less likely to say Republicans, who tend to be pro-life, are too conservative.
In the past two years, Americans have become increasingly likely to describe the Democratic Party's views as "too liberal," with 49 percent saying so now.
That compares with 46 percent who said that in 2009 and 39 percent who said that in 2008, when Obama won the presidential election.
Looked at another way, Americans said the views of the pro-abortion Democratic Party were just right by 50 percent in 2008, by 42 percent in 2009 and by just 38 percent of Americans now.
Conversely, 41 percent of American say the views of Republicans are too conservative compared with 40 percent who say they are just right.
The last time such a high percentage of Americans thought Democrats were too liberal was in 1994, when half said so. That's when pro-life Republican leaders were given control of Congress from pro-abortion Democrats for the first time in decades.
Why are the numbers important now?
With Democrats who favor abortion having an ironclad grip on both the House and Senate, that polling data would find their abortion advocacy -- coming mainly in the health care bill it passed containing massive abortion funding -- too much for Americans to take means a potential landslide for pro-life candidates this November. Full story at LifeNews.com
Americans Support Repeal of Pro-Abortion Health Care as Executive Order Sits
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- For the second week in a row, a national poll has a strong majority of Americans supporting the repeal of the pro-abortion health care bill President Barack Obama signed into law. The results come as the Obama administration is delaying on implementing a disputed executive order.
The order will supposedly eliminate some of the abortion funding under the health care law, but pro-life groups say that's not true.
As was the case last week, a new Rasmussen Reports poll found 58% of likely voters favor repeal of the national health care plan adopted into law by Congress in late March. Just 36 percent oppose repeal.
These findings include 47% who strongly favor repeal and 28 percent who are strongly opposed.
"Rasmussen Reports has been tracking sentiments about repeal since the plan s passage, and opposition to the legislation remains as strong since its adoption as it was beforehand. Support for repeal since March has ranged from a low of 54% to a high of 63% in mid-May. Opposition has ranged from 32% to 42%," pollster Scott Rasmussen said.
Most voters (50%) continue to believe that the health care plan is bad for America while 39 percent say it will be good. Full story at LifeNews.com
Louisiana to Become Fourth State to Opt Out of Abortion Funding in Health Care
Baton Rouge, LA (LifeNews.com) -- Louisiana will become the fourth state to opt out of some of the abortion funding in the national health care bill President Barack Obama signed into law. This morning, the Louisiana Senate passed its opt out bill on a 28-3 margin and pro-life Gov. Bobby Jindal is expected to sign it soon.
On Monday, HB 1247, authored by Representative Frank Hoffman and carried on the Senate floor by Senator Gerald Long, passed in the Senate.
While HB 1247 has already passed the House, it must now receive formal concurrence in the House due to changes made in the Senate Health and Welfare Committee. Once the House stamps the changes in the next few days, the bill will be sent to Governor Jindal for his expected signature.
Benjamin Clapper, the executive director of the Louisiana Right to Life Federation, told LifeNews.com: "Today, HB 1247 cleared its final major hurdle, and the Louisiana legislature, in accord with our people, have resoundingly sent a message to our nation that abortion is not health care."
He said he is glad Louisiana will become the next state "to opt out of abortion subsidies since the President signed his national health care reform bill into law three short months ago on March 23rd."
"We have helped initiate a growing state-by-state movement declaring that health care reform should not be used to expand abortion," he said. Full story at LifeNews.com
Mike Huckabee Takes Issue With Mich Daniels' Call for "Truce" on Abortion
Indianapolis, IN (LifeNews.com) -- Indiana Governor and possible 2012 GOP presidential candidate Mitch Daniels is defending recent comments he made advocating a "truce" on abortion and other social issues while the federal government spends time tackling major economic problems.
Daniels made the remarks in an interview with the conservative Weekly Standard publication.
In a subsequent interview with the Weekly Standard, Daniels said he wasn't sure if he would sign an executive order, if elected president, to overturn one President Barack Obama issued overturning the Mexico City Policy that prevents forcing taxpayers to fund groups that promote and perform abortions in other nations.
Daniels faced criticism from several pro-life advocates and possible Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee.
On Friday, in comments he gave the Associated Press, he defended what he said.
Daniels said he made the suggestion because a "truce" on social issues like abortion is best for America right now.
"I really believe, that for the first time, the future of the American experiment is at risk," he said. "It's a just a thought that we could agree to disagree. I picked the word truce because no one has to change their point of view, no one has to surrender." Full story at LifeNews.com
Kenya Abortion, Constitution Opponents Killed, Injured in Weekend Explosion
Nairobi, Kenya (LifeNews.com) -- Two explosions in the Kenya capital late Sunday killed a handful of pro-life advocates and others assembled for a rally against the pro-abortion draft constitution the African nation will consider in August. The violence is estimated to have injured another 75 people.
The violence has caused concern for both local pro-life campaigners and the foreign pro-life groups helping them educate people about how the constitution would open the nation to unlimited legalized abortion.
The explosions took place at a rally held to protest the constitution, and governmental leaders promised to hold accountable those behind the blasts.
"I want to say clearly that the government will do everything possible to get to the root of this incident. We must condemn this," Prime Minister Raila Odinga said, according to an AP report. "Kenyans can decide peacefully what they want."
But local church leaders, who are helping organize the No campaign because of the provisions changing the nation's current pro-life laws, are not so sure.
They blamed governmental leaders who support the constitution of being behind the attacks. Full story at LifeNews.com
Analysis Shows Promoting Tax-Funding Contraception Doesn't Reduce Abortion
by Dr. Michael New
This past April, Andrew Koppelman became the latest in a long line of pro-choice commentators to scold the pro-life movement for not being more contraceptive-friendly.
He even took things a step further, saying that the policy positions of the religious right—namely the unwillingness of pro-lifers to support contraception funding—are actually promoting abortion. In his essay, Koppleman approvingly cites Naomi Cahn and June Carbone’s book Red Families vs. Blue Families, which argues for government policies that would make contraceptives more widely available.
In their book, Cahn and Carbone draw a distinction between a red family model, which emphasizes sexual restraint and early marriage, and a blue family model, which is more sexually permissive and contraceptive-friendly. Cahn and Carbone argue that the contraceptive-friendly blue family model offers a number of benefits. These include higher levels of education, low divorce rates, lower teen birth rates, and high incomes. These all may be worthwhile goals. However, one benefit that the blue family model clearly does not offer is lower abortion rates.
Cahn and Carbone are clear about this in their book. They report that the states with the lowest abortion rates tend to be red states in the Midwest, while states with the highest rates are blue states in the mid-Atlantic. Their findings on abortion rates among minors are even starker. They observe that the “blue states in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions have . . . higher use of abortion,” and go on to say that this set of states “discourages teen childbearing, with abortion as an established fallback.”
Furthermore, according to the data presented in Blue Families vs. Red Families, pregnant teens in blue states are much more likely to obtain abortions than their counterparts in red states. Full story at LifeNews.com
Jack Kevorkian: "No Regrets" of Killing People in Assisted Suicides, Regrets Birth
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Assisted suicide crusader Jack Kevorkian tells CNN in a new interview that he has no regrets about killing more than 100 people in assisted suicides. He also told medical correspondent and physician Sanjay Gupta that he regrets his birth.
The answers are just the latest from the bizarre world of Kevorkian, who spent years behind bars after he showed the euthanasia death of a disabled man on television.
"Let me tell you something," Kevorkian said before Gupta could begin the interview. "Is that what this is about -- you want to know how I really feel, what makes me tick? I have no regrets, none whatsoever."
Gupta still had not asked a single question when Kevorkian interjected: "Sanjay, you want to know the single worst moment of my life?"
"The single worst moment of my life... was the moment I was born," Kevorkian told the CNN interviewer.
Gupta admits he was taken aback by the conversation.
"There haven't been many times when I have been at a loss for words when conducting an interview as a medical reporter. This was one of those moments," he said. "It was windy outside, but it was also over 90 degrees in sunny Ann Arbor, Michigan. I was now sweating, and he was ... well, cold." Full story at LifeNews.com
Newsweek's Clift Mocks GOP Women's Pro-Life Views as 'So Yesterday'
by Geoffrey Dickens
Newsweek's Eleanor Clift, on this weekend's syndicated The McLaughlin Group, slighted conservative pro-life women everywhere when she applied California Republican Senate candidate Carly Fiorina's "so yesterday" description of Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer's hairstyle to women who hold anti-abortion views in the Republican Party.
Clift, in a segment about the primary victories of both Fiorina and GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman began actually crediting Sarah Palin as "Saint Sarah" for the wins as she claimed that the former Alaskan Governor is "emboldening conservative women" and "reshaping the religious right" but then went on to question if pro-life women candidates could win statewide races in California because their views would be seen as "so yesterday."
Incidentally, The Washington Times' Monica Crowley had to correct Clift as she pointed out her liberal spin wasn't even entirely accurate as Whitman is, in fact, "pro choice." Full story at LifeNews.com
Abortion, Birth Control Have Health Risks Planned Parenthood Should Tell Women
by Mary E. McClusky
Today we are rightly concerned about damage to women and children from environmental toxins, yet many ignore the health risks and consequences of flooding a woman s body with hormones from the birth control pill or chemical abortions.
As advocates of so-called reproductive health services celebrate the 50th anniversary of the pill, and the new law allowing federally subsidized health plans to treat abortion as health care, it s time again to break through the catch phrases and examine the fine print.
Doing so reveals the unpleasant truth that advocates of contraception and abortion frequently undermine women s health by trading their consciences for cash registers.
Why else would Planned Parenthood recently reveal plans to implement tele-med abortions in all its clinics by 2015?
Implemented in Iowa two years ago, tele-med abortions allow doctors to forgo a physical exam, counsel pregnant women by teleconference, and press a button to remotely dispense the deadly concoction RU-486. The woman completes the abortion alone at home. Not only does the drug cause the death of the woman s unborn child, the FDA reports complications from at least a thousand women. Even Exelgyn, the drug s maker, reports that 29 women have died worldwide. Full story at LifeNews.com
University of Wisconsin Doctor Involved in Building New Abortion Center Leaves
Madison, WI (LifeNews.com) -- A doctor at the University of Wisconsin who played a prominent role in developing controversial plans for a late-term abortion facility at the Madison Surgery Center, is leaving. UW abortion practitioner Caryn Dutton is leaving to take a position in Boston at Harvard University.
Emails obtained through an open records request, filed by the Alliance Defense Fund on behalf of Pro-Life Wisconsin, reveal that University of Wisconsin is leaving.
The documents also show how the negative press surrounding the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics involvement in abortion was affecting its public image.
Virginia Zignego, communications director for Pro-Life Wisconsin and a UW graduate, tells LifeNews.com the emails demonstrate that UW purposely blurred their failed attempt to provide late-term abortions at the Madison Surgery Center. Full story at LifeNews.com
Missouri Right to Life Backs Pro-Life Roy Blunt Over Pro-Abortion Robin Carnahan
Jefferson City, MO (LifeNews.com) -- Voters in Missouri have a clear choice in the campaign for the United States Senate. The Missouri Right to Life political action committee today announced the pro-life candidate to support of Roy Blunt, while noting Robin Carnahan is pro-abortion.
As a seven-term Congressman, Rep. Blunt has been a consistent voice for life with a 100% pro-life voting record.
Missouri Right to Life greatly appreciates Roy Blunt's commitment to the sanctity of human life, the group told LifeNews.com in making the endorsement announcement.
"Missouri Right to Life PAC urges Missourians who respect life to strongly support Roy Blunt's campaign," Pam Fichter, the president of Missouri Right to Life, said.
"We know his opponent, Robin Carnahan, has the backing of the abortion industry, and if elected, would be a consistent anti-life vote. In contrast, Roy Blunt has proven his desire to protect innocent human life from conception to natural death, as well as to prevent taxpayer support for abortion in federal health-care legislation," she said. Full story at LifeNews.com
Pro-Life Advocates Head to New Mexico to React to New Late-Term Abortion Biz
Albuquerque, NM (LifeNews.com) -- With Curtis Boyd looking to turn Albuquerque, New Mexico into the new national late-term abortion capital, the pro-life group Operation Rescue is moving forward with plans to support new local pro-life activists who will help women heading to the abortion center and expose any shoddy or illegal practices.
Boyd is a former Texas-based abortion practitioner who has admitted he committed illegal abortions prior to Roe v. Wade.
He has positioned himself to replace late-term abortion practitioner George Tiller, who was killed last summer in Wichita, Kansas. For years, Boyd operated two abortion centers in Dallas and Albuquerque.
Around January, 2009, Boyd moved into a new, larger facility in Albuquerque -- one that could handle the particular needs of a late-term abortion facility.
To respond, Operation Rescue is sending two pro-life advocates to work with Project Defending Life in opposing late-term abortions there. Bud and Tara Shaver plan to begin serving in New Mexico by the end of June. Full story at LifeNews.com
Encourage Friends to Sign Up for Free Pro-Life News From LifeNews.com
