LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report
Friday, August 27, 2010
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Current Headlines
• Democrats Concerned They May Lose House in Elections, Senate a Possibility
• Obama, Congress Cut Funding for 176 Abstinence Programs Despite New Study
• Focus on the Family Donates 500th Ultrasound, Saving 81K Babies From Abortion
• Florida Post-Primary Poll Has Pro-Life Rubio Leading Pro-Abortion Meek, Crist
• Too Many Aborted Billboard Campaign to Focus on Abortions on Blacks in Texas
• Minnesota Planned Parenthood Backs Pro-Abortion Mark Dayton for Governor
• Wisconsin Pro-Life Senate Candidate Ron Johnson Leads Russ Feingold
• Practitioner Who Killed Woman in Failed Abortion Faces Lawsuit From Family
• Iowa Board of Medicine Creates Committee, May Study Telemed Abortion Process
• Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell Agrees State Should Limit Abortion Businesses
• Alaska Planned Parenthood Will Abuse New Abortion-Parental Notification Law
• World Youth Conference in Mexico Features Pro-Life Vs. Pro-Abortion Battle
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Democrats Concerned They May Lose House in Elections, Senate a Possibility
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- As the November midterm elections get closer, Democrats are reportedly privately worrying about their standing with the American people after passing a government-run health care bill with massive abortion funding and promoting taxpayer funding of abortions in other ways.
The current polls in individual House and Senate races make it so most political observers believe there is an outside chance pro-life advocates could retake the House -- and possibly the Senate -- from the pro-abortion stalwarts who currently control Congress.
In a top news story today, Politico interviews some Democratic leaders privately who confess they're considerably worried.
Democrats kept thinking: We're going to get better. We're going to get well before the election, said one top party leader. But as of this week, you now have people saying that Republicans are going to win the House. And now it s starting to look like the Senate is going to be a lot closer than people thought.
A Democratic pollster told Politico the House prospects look bad and are getting worse.
The reality is that [the House majority] is probably gone," he said and added a comment about the bad news for many Democratic candidates. It s spreading." Full story at LifeNews.com
Obama, Congress Cut Funding for 176 Abstinence Programs Despite New Study
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- More than 176 abstinence education programs will lose funding for their outreaches to youth and young adults on September 30 because Congress and the Obama Administration canceled all grants going to abstinence-centered programming in their FY2010 budget.
The funding cuts will come even though the Obama administration was forced to reveal the results of a new study on Monday showing the effectiveness of abstinence education programs and the support parents have for them.
We are greatly concerned that the sex education policy being implemented by this administration does not reflect the values of what most parents and teens clearly want," Valerie Huber, Executive Director of the National Abstinence Education Association told LifeNews.com today.
Huber explained that some programs will lose their funding midstream in their five-year grant award.
"This means that nearly two million students will return to school without the skill-building lessons they have come to expect in their abstinence education classes," she said.
"Teen-sex advocacy groups have pushed for an end to abstinence education funding, despite the fact that a recent HHS study showed most teens and their parents support the core message of the program," Huber continued. Full story at LifeNews.com
Focus on the Family Donates 500th Ultrasound, Saving 81K Babies From Abortion
Colorado Springs, CO (LifeNews.com) -- Focus on the Family recently donated to a local pregnancy center the 500th ultrasound machine designed to help women contemplating abortion see an image of their unborn baby. The program is credited with saving as many as 81,000 children from abortions across the United States.
The Option Ultrasound Program awards ultrasounds to qualifying pregnancy medical clinics.
The grants cover 80 percent of the cost for ultrasound machines or sonogram training, helping the medical clinics to confirm a healthy pregnancy for their clients.
The ultrasound machines do much more than provide a needed medical service, however -- they often introduce a woman to her preborn baby for the first time, giving her the chance to see a real-time image of the child inside her womb.
We regularly hear from women who, years later, still regret and grieve their abortions. The desire to better serve these women, and the babies they carry, motivated Focus on the Family to start Option Ultrasound, says Kelly Rosati, vice president of community outreach.
Rosati added, Our purpose is to empower women with the information they need to make informed decisions. We're here to come alongside of them in their moment of need, offer them love and help them find hope. Full story at LifeNews.com
Florida Post-Primary Poll Has Pro-Life Rubio Leading Pro-Abortion Meek, Crist
Tallahassee, FL (LifeNews.com) -- The first poll in the competitive Florida Senate race following Tuesday's primary election shows pro-life GOP candidate Marco Rubio leading pro-abortion independent Charlie Crist and pro-abortion Democrat Kendrick Meek. The race could wind up determining whether abortion advocates control the Senate.
The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters in Florida shows Rubio attracting 40% of the vote, while Governor Crist picks up 30% in the race to become the state s next U.S. senator.
The new Democratic nominee Meek, a pro-abortion congressman, gets the support of 21 percent. Four percent (4%) prefer some other candidate, and five percent (5%) are undecided.
In the last survey before the primary, it was Rubio at 38%, Crist at 33% and Meek 21% -- showing Rubio has cut into the support Crist is getting from independents and moderate Republicans.
Seventy-six percent (76%) of Rubio supporters say they are certain of how they will vote and that they won't change their mind before Election Day. Just 48% of Meek s voters say the same, while 45% of Crist supporters are that certain. Full story at LifeNews.com
Too Many Aborted Billboard Campaign to Focus on Abortions on Blacks in Texas
Bryan, TX (LifeNews.com) -- The billboard campaign that has received national attention for focusing on the way the abortion industry targets black women is headed to Texas. The signs saying "Too Many Aborted" that have been featured in Georgia and Arkansas, are now going to the Lone Star State.
The Radiance Foundation, which created the billboards, is working with the Life Education and Resource Network (L.E.A.R.N.), a coalition of black pro-life advocates, to promote the billboards
They are launching what they call the "Black and Unwanted" public awareness initiative in Bryan and College Station -- two southeast Texas cities where Texas A&M University is located.
On the heels of massive national and international media coverage of the "Endangered Species" campaign, this new campaign "continues to reveal abortion's destruction in the black community while highlighting the need for more adoptions," sponsors informed LifeNews.com.
TooManyAborted.com is the campaign's online resource that provides what sponsors say is "irrefutable federal and state abortion statistics and the largely unknown history of the racism and eugenics of Planned Parenthood." Full story at LifeNews.com
Minnesota Planned Parenthood Backs Pro-Abortion Mark Dayton for Governor
St. Paul, MN (LifeNews.com) -- The Minnesota Planned Parenthood abortion business has endorsed DFL gubernatorial candidate Mark Dayton now that its preferred candidate, Margaret Anderson Kelliher, lost in the primary election. Dayton faces pro-abortion Independence Party gubernatorial candidate Tom Horner and pro-life Tom Emmer.
Minnesotans have embraced Mark Dayton s vision for the state, Sarah Stoesz, president of the political arm of the Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota South Dakota group said in a statement.
He has always been a champion of women s rights," she said of his abortion advocacy.
Women will play a pivotal role in this election and so will the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, Stoesz said. We will engage in an aggressive effort to educate voters about Tom Emmer s abysmal record on women s health and safety.
The abortion business official claimed a 2009 poll showed 65 percent of women in battleground states like Minnesota view Planned Parenthood positively. Full story at LifeNews.com
Wisconsin Pro-Life Senate Candidate Ron Johnson Leads Russ Feingold
Madison, WI (LifeNews.com) -- Republicans will decide their U.S. Senate nominee in a September 14 primary and the two candidates they are choosing from fare very differently against pro-abortion incumbent Sen. Russ Feingold. Republican challenger Ron Johnson does much better against Feingold than his opponent Dave Westlake.
The U.S. Senate race in Wisconsin between Johnson and Feingold is a tie while Westlake trails the abortion advocate.
A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters finds Johnson earning 47% of the vote, while Feingold, who is seeking a third term, picks up 46% support. One percent prefers some other candidate, and five percent are unsure.
"Two weeks ago, Johnson held an identical 47% to 46% lead. These findings show little change since Johnson, a plastics manufacturer and businessman, entered the race in late May," Rasmussen said. "Support for Johnson has ranged from 44% to 48%. In those same surveys, Feingold has consistently picked up 46% of the vote."
When pitted against another GOP hopeful, businessman David Westlake, Feingold holds a modest 47% to 40% lead. Six percent favor another candidate and 7 percent are unsure. These findings, too, have shown little fluctuation since early February.
Practitioner Who Killed Woman in Failed Abortion Faces Lawsuit From Family
Los Angeles, CA (LifeNews.com) -- A southern California abortion practitioner who killed an Asian woman in a failed abortion is the subject of a new lawsuit her family filed. Andrew Rutland was responsible for Ying Chen's death, which the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office has ruled a homicide.
In addition to potential criminal charges, Rutland faces a February 2011 hearing the Medical Board of California has scheduled to consider whether or not to revoke his medical license.
Now, Chen's boyfriend, Zixiang Hu, on behalf of their 2-year-old daughter, filed suit against Rutland for malpractice and wrongful death in the case.
The botched abortion was done in July 2009 at a filthy and ill-equipped acupuncture clinic in San Gabriel that Rutland ran. The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court and alleges the abortion center, which also did acupuncture, was not properly equipped to perform an abortion and that Rutland did not have proper training to care for patients.
"This is a doctor who performed a procedure he should not have been performing in those conditions," attorney Jeffrey Bell, who is representing the family, told the Orange County Register. "He started a procedure, that if there were any complications, they weren't prepared for it." Full story at LifeNews.com
Iowa Board of Medicine Creates Committee, May Study Telemed Abortion Process
Des Moines, IA (LifeNews.com) -- The Iowa Board of Medicine, after hearing from pro-life advocates on Friday presenting concerns about the telemed abortion process, have appointed a committee to study the use of telemedicine in the state. The committee will not specifically examine the potential problems at the Planned Parenthood abortion business.
Instead, the panel will have a broad focus that may or may not include the concerns pro-life groups presented.
The Des Moines Register indicates the committee will consist of three BOM members, Ames businesswoman Ambreen Mian, Muscatine obstetrician Colleen Stockdale and Ottumwa psychiatrist Joyce Vista Wayne.
A former member of the board, Dr. Carole Frier of Des Moines, will join them.
A press statement from the board said the committee would act separately from any complaints or investigations the board is currently reviewing, including the one from Operation Rescue highlighting concerns about Planned Parenthood using the telemedicine process to give women the dangerous RU 486 abortion drug. Full story at LifeNews.com
Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell Agrees State Should Limit Abortion Businesses
Richmond, VA (LifeNews.com) -- Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell appears to agree with the opinion Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli issued late Friday providing legal guidance for the state Board of Health. Cuccinelli said more limits can be placed on abortion businesses in Virginia when it comes to healthy and safety standards.
Noting that Roe v. Wade allows still allows virtually unlimited legal abortions, the attorney general said the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals' decision allowing limits in other states makes it so Virginia limits would likely be seen as constitutional.
The key is making abortion businesses meet the same standards as legitimate outpatient medical facilities and those limits could close some abortion centers that do not follow current state guidelines.
"His opinion appears to be based on an opinion I wrote a couple of years ago to the city of Manassas," McDonnell told reporters, according to the Associated Press. "From a policy standpoint, I've always believed that every outpatient surgery clinic ought to be treated the same, whether it's an abortion clinic or some other kind of surgery."
Cuccinelli's opinion is important because it gives the green light for the state legislature to pass bills putting abortion centers in the same category as ambulatory surgery centers and requires them to meet certain standards to protect women's health. Failure to do so would see them close permanently or temporarily while deficiencies are corrected. Full story at LifeNews.com
Alaska Planned Parenthood Will Abuse New Abortion-Parental Notification Law
Juneau, AK (LifeNews.com) -- Just days after Alaska voters approved a new law allowing parents to be notified when their teenage daughter is considering an abortion, the Planned Parenthood abortion business is preparing to push teens into using provisions, meant for abused kids, to keep all parents in the dark.
Like other parental involvement laws on abortion around the nation, the new Alaska law contains a Supreme Court-required provision for teens who may be abused at home.
The provision allows a judge to approve an abortion without parental knowledge in such cases or allows teens to submit a notarized statement affirming abuse at home.
Now, in the name of "pregnancy support" Alaska Planned Parenthood has created a new web site, teenpregnancysupport.com to push teens into having abortions without informing their parents.
"Right now, if you're a teen in Alaska, you have the right to confidential services including ... abortion services," the web site says. "You don't need permission from your parents or guardians. It's your right to get these health services confidentially the health center or doctor cannot tell anyone why you were there unless you say it's ok." Full story at LifeNews.com
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World Youth Conference in Mexico Features Pro-Life Vs. Pro-Abortion Battle
León, Mexico (LifeNews.com/CFAM) -- Early reports from participants at the World Youth Conference that commenced this week in León, Mexico are that the conference is the scene of ideological rigidity and yet almost total chaos. There seem to be four conferences going on at once, one for youth, one for governments, one for parliamentarians, and one called the Global Interactive Forum.
A measure of the chaos at the governmental forum is that early yesterday it was announced the president of Mexico would appear and speak. The room gathered, quieted, music played, and then nothing happened and no one explained anything. The president never appeared, at least as of this writing.
The governmental meeting is supposed to produce an outcome document. Yesterday a document was distributed that, according to pro-life sources in the room, was quite good but that turned out was quite unofficial. According to C-FAM s UN Blog, The unofficial document included a call for the promotion of sexual abstinence and the promotion of values in the family.
This so enraged organizers that one of them grabbed the microphone and made an urgent denunciation of the phony declaration. A representative from International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) then took the microphone and demanded that organizers take control of the conference and prevent infiltration. Full story at LifeNews.com
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