LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
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Current Headlines
• Gallup Poll Analysis Shows Pro-Life Movement Can Expect Election Landslide
• Pro-Life Leaders Encourage Movement: We Will Fight Abortion Despite Kagan
• Obama Administration Plays Politics With Science, Embryonic Stem Cell Research
•Pro-Life Actress Patricia Neal of "Hud" Fame Dies, Regretted Her Abortion
• British Marie Stopes International Under Fire for Free Abortions for Staffers
• Guest on Rachel Maddow Show Describes Abortions as Termination Services
• Louisiana Law Allowing Women to See Pre-Abortion Ultrasound Faces Lawsuit
• Iowa Pro-Abortion Governor Chet Culver Behind Brantsad by Double Digits
• New Jersey Governor Chris Christie Asked to Allow Choose Life License Plates
• New Hampshire Pro-Life Senate Candidate Kelly Ayotte Still Leading in Polls
• Pro-Abortion Groups Refuse to Debate Merits of Alaska Parental Notification Vote
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Gallup Poll Analysis Shows Pro-Life Movement Can Expect Election Landslide
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A new analysis from the Gallup polling organization provides more good news for pro-life advocates heading into the 2010 elections. Its review of presidential approval ratings just before midterm congressional elections finds presidents like Barack Obama with lower ratings see their party lose seats.
If that is any indication of the potential November results this year, the pro-life movement can expect to see a slew of pro-abortion members of the House and Senate lose their seats.
"Presidents who retain majority job approval from Americans at the time of midterm elections are much less likely to see their party suffer heavy seat losses than are those with sub-50% approval ratings," Gallup finds in its analysis today. "Since 1946, when presidents are above 50% approval, their party loses an average of 14 seats in the U.S. House in the midterm elections, compared with an average loss of 36 seats when presidents are below that mark."
"The clear implication is that the Democrats are vulnerable to losing a significant number of House seats this fall with Barack Obama's approval rating averaging 45% during the last two full weeks of Gallup Daily tracking," it continued.
Bill Clinton in 1994 and George W. Bush in 2006 both saw approval under the 50 percent mark cause their parties to lose control of the House of Representatives.
Republicans would need to gain 40 House seats to replace pro-abortion House speaker Nancy Pelosi, who ushered in health care funding abortions and prevented votes on pro-life amendments stopping various taxpayer funding of abortions. Full story at LifeNews.com
Pro-Life Leaders Encourage Movement: We Will Fight Abortion Despite Kagan
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Two pro-life leaders have written a new editorial in the Washington Times designed to give encouragement to pro-life advocates who are distraught by last week's Senate confirmation of pro-abortion activist Elena Kagan to join the pro-abortion majority on the Supreme Court.
Alveda King, the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Americans United for Life president Charmaine Yoest, are behind the new opinion column.
"President Obama s selection of Elena Kagan, the most demonstrably pro-abortion Supreme Court nominee in recent memory, presented a daunting challenge to pro-life leaders," they said. "After months of dedicated opposition to her nomination, Kagan s confirmation is a difficult setback in our long march to ultimate victory."
"And not unreasonably, observers have asked why then, do we bother?"
"The question resonates for this particular political confrontation, but applies equally to the larger issue as a whole as we near four decades of abortion-on-demand in America post-Roe," Yoest and King continue.
"We bother because, in the end, we will win," they say.
The pro-life advocates say the pro-life community needs to take the loss in stride as it has others over the years because the battle to protect unborn children is a long-term one that won't be won, or lost, with one fight, but will require a long-term commitment to see through a victory. Full story at LifeNews.com
Obama Administration Plays Politics With Science, Embryonic Stem Cell Research
by Gene Tarne and David Prentice
When scientists play politics with science, society and science both suffer, sometimes with life-threatening implications. One recent example is Climategate, with revelations that leading global warming researchers played with the data, concealed and tried to suppress data that challenged their assertions and attempted to game the peer-review system.
And as a result of scientists caught playing politics with science, claims of man-made global warming have been met with growing skepticism.
But a similar scenario has played out regarding human embryonic stem cell research (hESCR), With the introduction of legislation to codify the Obama administration's rules expanding the federal role in funding hESCR, it's time that the extravagant claims for such research suffer the same fate.
Like Climategate, the public policy debate over hESCR has shown that scientists are not always disinterested parties.. Rather, scientists can be every bit as political and partisan as the politicians, selectively using scientific "evidence" to justify their ideological viewpoint.
The patterns of behavior promoting public funding of hESCR have been strikingly similar to Climategate: selective use of data, manipulation of the peer review process, demonizing colleagues who questioned the prevailing orthodoxies and appeals to a bogus scientific "consensus," among others. Those who questioned this supposed "consensus" were dismissed as scientifically ignorant and accused of playing politics with science.
Indeed, President Bush's policy on hESCR was a prime example of what opponents dubbed the "war on science." Their narrative, dutifully echoed by the mainstream media, was that limiting federal funding of hESCR showed Bush was either ignorant or contemptuous of science, willing to play politics to appease his pro-life base. Full story at LifeNews.com
Pro-Life Actress Patricia Neal of "Hud" Fame Dies, Regretted Her Abortion
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Pro-life actress, Patricia Neal, died at age 84 on Sunday. She had been suffering from lung cancer and was surrounded by her family at her home in Massachusetts. Neal is best known for her Oscar-winning portrayal of a housekeeper in the 1963 movie, Hud, with Paul Newman.
She is also very well known for her valiant recuperation from a series of strokes which she suffered while pregnant in 1965. She was in a coma for 21 days. The Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center, situated in Neal's hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee, is also award-winning for its care for people recovering from strokes and spinal cord and brain injuries.
The actress herself described her life as a Greek tragedy, in some measure. She had 5 children with her husband, Roald Dahl. The first, Olivia, died of measles at age seven. Another, Theo, was severely injured when his baby carriage was hit by a car. After thirty years of marriage and the survival from her strokes, Neal was divorced from Dahl after discovering his affair with a friend.
However, Neal said that her only regret in life was aborting a child when the actress was 21 years old.
Her lover (and co-star) Gary Cooper had persuaded her to have the abortion, as he was still married and had a daughter with his wife. That daughter, Maria Cooper, famously spat on Neal to show her displeasure that Neal had interfered with the marriage of the Coopers. However, later, the wife and daughter reconciled with Neal. Full story at LifeNews.com
British Marie Stopes International Under Fire for Free Abortions for Staffers
London, England (LifeNews.com) -- It's unclear whether the health care benefit is attracting more employees, but the British-based abortion business Marie Stopes International is coming under heavy criticism for offering free abortions to the staffers that work at its abortion centers.
The free abortions are part of the health benefits package MSI offers to its employees, their spouses or partners, and their children.
"For your dedication, passion and hard work you will be rewarded with our support and benefits - both financial and non-financial," an ANI news report indicates MSI told its employees on its web site. "Team members, their partners and dependants will be able to access MSI's core services... without charge."
The furor over the free abortions follows on the heels of MSI coming under fire for showing the first television commercials for abortions on Channel 4.
"Never famous for its sensitivity, Marie Stopes recently shared controversial TV advertising time with a selection of beer brands, rival supermarkets, hair products and well-known confectionary bars," the Daily Mail quoted Josephine Quintavalle, of the Pro-Life Alliance, as saying.
"So it is not surprising this crass organization equates free abortions with gym membership as appropriate consumer perks for employees and their families," she said. Full story at LifeNews.com
Guest on Rachel Maddow Show Describes Abortions as Termination Services
by Jack Coleman
That's odd, those describing themselves as pro-choice usually aren't this candid when it comes to abortion.
On her MSNBC show Thursday night, Rachel Maddow spoke with Princeton professor Melissa Harris-Lacewell about Republican Senate candidates Rand Paul, Sharron Angle and Ken Buck opposing abortion, including for pregnancies conceived through rape or incest. Full story at LifeNews.com
Louisiana Law Allowing Women to See Pre-Abortion Ultrasound Faces Lawsuit
Baton Rouge, LA (LifeNews.com) -- The new Louisiana law Governor Bobby Jindal signed allowing women a chance to see an ultrasound of their unborn child before the abortion is facing a new lawsuit. The Center for Reproductive Rights, a pro-abortion law firm based in New York City, is behind the suit against the pro-woman law.
The Ultrasound Before Abortion Act, SB 528, authored by Senator Sharon Weston Broome (D-Baton Rouge), would require ultrasounds to be performed before all abortions in Louisiana.
Women would be given an opportunity to see it or sign a document saying they did not decide to do so. They're normally not given a chance to see ultrasounds of their baby and pro-life advocates hope the ultrasound will persuade some women to choose abortion alternatives.
On Friday, the Center filed a federal challenge against the ultrasound law and a second bill Jindal signed into law that excludes abortion practitioners from participating in a medical malpractice fund administered by the state.
"Both of these measures seriously interfere with doctors' ability to provide women the medical care that they expect and are legally entitled," said Stephanie Toti, staff attorney at the pro-abortion legal group. "The government cannot single out abortion providers and the women who seek their services simply because some politicians don't approve. It's completely unfair and more importantly, it violates the U.S. Constitution." Full story at LifeNews.com
Iowa Pro-Abortion Governor Chet Culver Behind Brantsad by Double Digits
Des Moines, IA (LifeNews.com) -- Iowa's pro-abortion Governor Chet Culver may enjoy the support of the leaders at Planned Parenthood, but he's having a hard time getting the backing of Iowa voters. Republican Terry Branstad continues to hold a double-digit lead over the Democratic incumbent, according to a new Rasmussen poll.
The latest Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey of likely voters shows Branstad picking up 52% support, while Culver gets 36% of the vote. Another 12 percent prefer another candidate or are undecided.
Branstad is backed by 87% of Republicans, while Culver is supported by 78% of Democrats. The Republican leads by more than two-to-one among voters not affiliated with either major political party.
Most voters in the state view Branstad as a conservative and Culver as a liberal, which, as pollster Scott Rasmussen explains, is a problem for Culver.
"Troubling for the incumbent is that nearly half (47%) of Iowa voters think his political views are extreme, compared to 39% who put them in the mainstream. Branstad's views, by contrast, are regarded as mainstream by 57% and extreme by just 31%," he said.
Just after he won a three-way GOP Primary contest in June, Branstad, who previously served as governor from 1983 to 1999, jumped out to a 57% to 31% lead. But with the exception of that post-primary bounce, he has earned 52% or 53% of the vote in surveys since February. Culver has earned 36% to 38% support in that same period. Full story at LifeNews.com
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie Asked to Allow Choose Life License Plates
Trenton, NJ (LifeNews.com) -- The pro-life group that has had problems trying to get its Choose Life license plates approved by the state of New Jersey is hoping the election of pro-life Governor Chris Christie will give its efforts a breath of fresh air. The Children First Foundation has been fighting the state Department of Motor Vehicles for years.
After having their proposal for a pro-adoption specialty plate rejected because of the slogan "Choose Life," the Children First Foundation (CFF) submitted a new plate design that was rejected too.
In response, the group filed a lawsuit and a federal judge, in July 2006, refused to dismiss the civil rights lawsuit brought against New Jersey officials.
A federal appeals court revived the effort in April. While a state judge agreed with local officials in their bid to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the rejection of the plates, an appeals court said that was "viewpoint discrimination."
Now, CFF president Elizabeth Rex is asking Christie to drop the lawsuit. Full story at LifeNews.com
New Hampshire Pro-Life Senate Candidate Kelly Ayotte Still Leading in Polls
Concord, NH (LifeNews.com) -- Former state Attorney General Kelly Ayotte, who has the endorsement of a national pro-life women's group, continues to hold a double-digit lead over Democratic congressman Paul Hodes in the race for U.S. Senate in New Hampshire.
The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters in the Granite State shows Ayotte, a Republican, earning 51% support, her best showing to date, while Hodes picks up 38% of the vote.
Another four percent of voters in New Hampshire favor some other candidate in the race and six percent of state voters are undecided.
"A month ago, Ayotte posted a similar 49% to 37% lead over Hodes. In five previous surveys stretching back to February, Hodes support has remained in the narrow range of 35% to 39%, while Ayotte has captured 46% to 50% of the vote," pollster Scott Rasmussen noted.
Ayotte s GOP primary election challenger, businessman Bill Binnie, also remains ahead of Hodes but by a smaller margin than Ayotte, at 46 to 40 percent. Rasmussen also noted that Ayotte appears to have the edge in the Republican primary race. Full story at LifeNews.com
Pro-Abortion Groups Refuse to Debate Merits of Alaska Parental Notification Vote
Juneau, AK (LifeNews.com) -- According to a leading parental-rights advocacy group in Alaska, opponents of a proposed parental rights law refuse to openly debate the merits of the measure. If approved by voters on Aug. 24, the law would require abortion practitioners in Alaska to notify a parent of a minor girl before performing an abortion on her.
Alaskans for Parental Rights is spearheading efforts to pass Ballot Measure 2, which goes to a statewide vote on Aug. 24.
According to a Aug. 3 email from the group s chair, however, Planned Parenthood refuses to participate in a public forum on the merits of the measure. Planned Parenthood is the largest provider of abortions in Alaska and the nation and a strong opponent of parental rights laws on abortion.
(We have) repeatedly asked Planned Parenthood and their ballot group, Alaskans Against Government Mandates, to discuss this issue in broad daylight in front of interested Alaskans who want to see what both sides have to say about this important public policy matter, said Alaskans for Parental Rights Chair Jim Minnery. Full story at LifeNews.com
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