LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report
Thursday, October 21, 2010
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Current Headlines
• House Democrats Run From Pro-Abortion Speaker Pelosi as Election Fades
• Emails Reveal Democrats for Life Admitting ObamaCare Bill Funds Abortions
• New Campaign Targets 42 House Districts Reaching 2.3 Million Pro-Life Voters
• ACLU: Congressman Can't Shut Down Pro-Life Group on Abortion, ObamaCare
• Pennsylvania Polls Claim Pro-Life Toomey Lost Lead to Pro-Abortion Sestak
• Florida Poll Shows Pro-Life Governor Candidate Rick Scott Now Leading Sink
• Pope Names as Cardinal Archbishop Opposing Communion for Pro-Abortion Pols
• Catholics United Attacks Groups on ObamaCare, Abortion, Pro-Lifer Crashes Call
• West Virginia Senate Race Has Pro-Life Raese Regaining Lead Against Manchin
• Alaska Senate Race Tied, DeMint Ad Hits Murkowski on Pro-Abortion Views
• Iowa Attorney General Blocking Probe of Planned Parenthood Telemed Abortions
---> LifeNews.com is pleased to present our comprehensive pro-life voting guide for the 2010 congressional elections. The
guide contains a list of both national and state-by-state information linking to you endorsements and voting information
from pro-life and pro-family groups.
House Democrats Run From Pro-Abortion Speaker Pelosi as Election Fades
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- House Democrats who are more moderate in their views and in tossup congressional seats are running away from pro-abortion Speaker Nancy Pelosi as her liberal, pro-abortion agenda threatens to sink their re-election campaigns.
More than a dozen have said publicly they will not support another Pelosi bid to run the House should Democrats somehow manage to keep it.
Whether they would stick by their pledge should Democrats keep control is another story, but their public spurning of the abortion advocate who shepherded the abortion-funding ObamaCare bill through the House is telling.
Jason Altmire of Pennsylvania on Tuesday became the latest to come to the conclusion that it makes sense politically for him to not align himself with Pelosi publicly.
Altmire told Roll Call that the next Congress would certainly necessitate new leadership in the Speaker s position" because she is too partisan for Democrats if they manage to hold the House, but with a slimmer majority.
I hope that she is not a candidate for Speaker, he said. I don't think the issues that she s pursued are good for the district I represent.
Altmire has gone as far as running commercials saying he not afraid to stand up to Pelosi and pro-abortion President Barack Obama.
In response, Pelosi's spokesman Nadeam Elshami largely ignored the comments, saying, The Speaker s focus is on Democrats winning the election and retaining the majority, which we will. Full story at LifeNews.com
Emails Reveal Democrats for Life Admitting ObamaCare Bill Funds Abortions
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Democrats for Life of America is supporting Ohio congressman Steve Driehaus in his bid to put the head of a pro-life group in jail for informing his constituents about his vote for taxpayer-funded abortions.
However, internal emails LifeNews.com has obtained from DFLA to the Susan B. Anthony List reveal DFLA director Kristen Day admitting the bill funds abortions.
At issue is the criminal complaint Driehaus filed with the Ohio Election Commission alleging the SBA List intended to deceive voters in his Cincinnati district by purchasing billboard space saying Driehaus voted for taxpayer funding of abortions.
The complaint would have SBA List president Marjorie Dannenfelser serve jail time and pay a fine for supposedly lying about Driehaus -- and Democrats for Life of America issued a scathing press release attacking SBA claiming it was "lying" about the status of the ObamaCare bill.
But an email LifeNews.com obtained from a pro-life source from Day to SBA List executive director Emily Buchanan on March 5 shows Day saying the bill funds abortions and asking SBA List to "help put pressure on the people who need it most" who were considering supporting the ObamaCare bill.
The bill lists several members of Congress and advises the SBA List on whether it should take out ads urging the public to call them and ask them to vote against the ObamaCare bill because of the abortion funding.
"I appreciate all the work the SBA List has done on health care," Day says in the email. "With respect to the polling, [the ads] will be very helpful in some districts for pro-life democrats who may change their vote." Full story at LifeNews.com
New Campaign Targets 42 House Districts Reaching 2.3 Million Pro-Life Voters
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The Susan B. Anthony List has launched a new voter education campaign designed to affect the elections for members of the House of Representatives. With the pro-life movement needing a shift of 39 seats to change control of the House from pro-abortion to pro-life, SBA is targeting 42 races.
The SBA List direct mail campaign beginning this week will reach more than 2.3 million identified pro-life voters in 42 competitive Congressional districts across the country.
The common factor among this unusually large number of competitive races is a dissatisfaction with the broad overreach of the Obama Administration and its Congressional allies, especially on the issue of abortion, the organization's president, Marjorie Dannenfeler, told LifeNews.com this morning.
Poll after poll shows that Americans do not want their tax dollars funding abortions, yet the Obama administration and its allies in Congress have expanded taxpayer funding of abortion both here and abroad in unprecedented ways," she said.
Dannenfelser says the mailings will bring to light the pro-abortion positions of candidates in these districts and any pro-abortion votes they have cast as well as information such as money received from the abortion lobby. Full story at LifeNews.com
ACLU: Congressman Can't Shut Down Pro-Life Group on Abortion, ObamaCare
Columbus, OH (LifeNews.com) -- The Ohio chapter of the ACLU has filed an amicus brief supporting the Susan B. Anthony List against a criminal complaint a "pro-life Democrat" filed attempting to shut down the group's efforts to inform voters in the state that Congressman Steve Driehaus voted for the ObamaCare bill that funds abortions.
As LifeNews.com has reported, Driehaus filed a criminal complaint with the Ohio Election Commission alleging the SBA List intended to deceive voters in his Cincinnati district by purchasing billboard space saying he voted for abortion funding.
The complaint would have SBA List president Marjorie Dannenfelser serve jail time and pay a fine for supposedly lying about Driehaus.
Today, the American Civil Liberties Union sided with the SBA List in asking a federal court to order the Commission and Rep. Driehaus to stop their investigation until the court decides whether Ohio s false statement laws are constitutional.
The Ohio Elections Commission last week ruled that the SBA billboards accusing Driehaus of having "voted for taxpayer-funded abortion" ran afoul of the law and had "probable cause" to hold a further hearing on the matter.
But the law is "vague and overbroad, and it cannot withstand constitutional scrutiny," the ACLU brief states. Full story at LifeNews.com
Pennsylvania Polls Claim Pro-Life Toomey Lost Lead to Pro-Abortion Sestak
Harrisburg, PA (LifeNews.com) -- Two new polls of the Pennsylvania Senate race make the claim that pro-life candidate Pat Toomey lost his big lead to pro-abortion candidate Joe Sestak. Toomey had led in every poll from July through last week, but trails in two new surveys that come after Sestak launched his television advertising blitz.
Toomey's lead grew to as much as 10 percent in a Rasmussen poll released on October 12, but new surveys from Morning Call and PPP claim Sestak has leads of one and three percent.
The PPP poll has been heavily criticized because the Democratic polling firm relied on a sample of voters that is more tilted towards the Democratic party than the turnout of Democrats in 2008, a banner year for Democrats.
With virtually every national poll showing Republicans will have a much better turnout in 2010 and Democrats seeing lower numbers, the expected turnout in Pennsylvania should not only favor Toomey but would make the PPP poll appear well out of step with the mood of Keystone State voters.
PPP has Sestak ahead of Toomey 46 to 45 percent, within the margin of error, but a more realistic sample of votes would likely have had Toomey leading by a couple of percentage points -- which is more consistent with other polling data. Full story at LifeNews.com
Florida Poll Shows Pro-Life Governor Candidate Rick Scott Now Leading Sink
Tallahasse, FL (LifeNews.com) -- Rick Scott now leads Democrat Alex Sink in their closely competitive race for governor in Florida. The pro-life candidate now leads his pro-abortion opponent by six points in what is the widest gap in six months' worth of polling on the race to replace pro-abortion Gov. Charlie Crist.
The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters in Florida has Scott with 50% support for the second survey in a row.
Sink, the state s elected chief financial officer, earns 44% of the vote while six percent prefer another candidate or are still undecided.
The numbers are enough for Rasmussen to move the race from a tossup to one that it believes is leaning towards Scott winning.
"Less than two weeks ago, Scott, a wealthy businessman and former health care executive, held a 50% to 47% lead. This race has been close for weeks since Scott s upset win over Bill McCollum in the state GOP Primary in August," Rasmussen noted. "In six surveys since then, Scott has picked up 41% to 50% support, while Sink has captured 36% to 47%. The candidates were in a near tie at the beginning of September."
Scott and Sink are scheduled to hold their second debate tonight in what could be the final determination for some voters on which candidate they will support. Full story at LifeNews.com
Pope Names as Cardinal Archbishop Opposing Communion for Pro-Abortion Pols
The Vatican (LifeNews.com) -- Pope Benedict XVI named Raymond Burke, the former Archbishop of St. Louis as one of two Americans who will become cardinals in the Catholic Church. The pontiff said yes to the pro-life leader who has repeatedly said no to pro-abortion politicians receiving the sacrament of communion.
Burke is the head of the Apostolic Signatura in Rome, essentially the equivalent of the Vatican s Supreme Court.
In a statement, Burke said he was "deeply humbled and honored" by the announcement, adding that he accepted the new position at the same time his thoughts "turn to the many challenges which the Church faces in our day."
Burke is better known as the Catholic official who said 2004 presidential candidate John Kerry would not be allowed to receive communion at any church in St. Louis because of his staunch pro-abortion position.
Then, during the 2008 presidential election, Burke said all Catholics, including politicians, should not receive communion if they are pro-abortion. Full story at LifeNews.com
Catholics United Attacks Groups on ObamaCare, Abortion, Pro-Lifer Crashes Call
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Catholic United is at it again. The fake Catholic group held a conference call with reporters today to attempt to influence the 2010 election campaign by saying pro-life groups are wrong to want voters to hold accountable those lawmakers who voted for ObamaCare and its abortion funding.
Attempting to obfuscate the issues, Catholic United executive director Chris Korzen held a conference call with reporters today that didn't go according to plan.
He said pro-life groups like the Susan B. Anthony List were wrong to tell voters in the districts of "pro-life Democrat" members of Congress like Steve Driehaus in Ohio and Kathy Dahlkemper in Pennsylvania that they supported abortion funding.
He said that's because "every independent analysis of the health care bill confirms it didn't expand" abortion funding -- even though media outlets like the Associated Press, the Congressional Research Service, and FacetCheck.org have confirmed the bill does not prevent abortion funding.
Korzen alleged SBA "wants the right to spread false information and lie in order to influence campaigns. Full story at LifeNews.com
West Virginia Senate Race Has Pro-Life Raese Regaining Lead Against Manchin
Charleston, WV (LifeNews.com) -- The campaign has in West Virginia for the Senate seat formerly held by pro-abortion Sen. Robert Byrd has gone back and forth in recent weeks. Now, pro-life candidate John Raese has regained the lead he previously held against Governor Joe Manchin.
Raese held a lead in early October of about 3-5 percentage points, but Manchin came back during the middle of the month and polls showed him tied with the Republican or leading.
Now, three consecutive polls have shown Raese leading anywhere from 3-7 percent with voters in the Appalachian mountain state.
Raese has now opened up a seven-point lead over Manchin, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports poll, and it is his biggest lead of the campaign.
A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely West Virginia voters finds Raese with 50% support to Manchin s 43%. Two percent (2%) like some other candidate in the race, and five percent (5%) are undecided. Full story at LifeNews.com
Alaska Senate Race Tied, DeMint Ad Hits Murkowski on Pro-Abortion Views
Juneau, AK (LifeNews.com) -- The Alaska Senate race featuring pro-life candidate Joe Miller and pro-abortion candidates Lisa Murkowski, the incumbent senator, and Scott McAdams, is virtually tied. Meanwhile, pro-life Sen. Jim DeMint his hitting his colleague with television ads knocking Murkowski's pro-abortion views.
A new CNN poll out today indicates that, among likely voters, Miller and Murkowski are tied at 37 percent apiece while 23 percent of Alaska residents back McAdams.
Other pollsters have said the race will be difficult to track because voters have to write in Murkowski's name and that they will either forget to do so or spell her name wrong and not have their ballots count for her.
In fact, three percent of the Murkowski 37 percent support are voters who admitted they are not aware of the write-in process works. And 10 percent of Murkowski voters said they were likely to vote for someone else on the ballot if they can't figure out the write-in process. Full story at LifeNews.com
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Des Moines, IA (LifeNews.com) -- Documents a pro-life group has obtained from the Iowa Attorney General's office through the open records act reveal Attorney General Tom Miller and his staff are hindering the group's request for an investigation into the dangerous telemed abortion process Planned Parenthood is using in the state. Telemed abortions are abortions using the RU 486 abortion drug, that has killed dozens of women worldwide and injured more than 1,100 women in the United States alone as of 2006 FDA figures.
The FDA recommends that women see a physician before using the abortion drug because of health and safety concerns, but Planned Parenthood clinics in Iowa are preventing women from an in-person consultation and requiring them to visit with the abortion practitioner via a video hookup.
Operation Rescue has called on Miller to launch a criminal investigation of Planned Parenthood of the Heartland and their telemed abortions, but Miller has refused.
Documents the group received from an anonymous source contain a collection of e-mail communications from January 2008 through July 2010 between members of the Iowa Attorney General's office and staff members for Planned Parenthood of the Heartland. Full story at LifeNews.com
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