LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report 12/1/10

LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report
Wednesday, December 1, 2010

For pro-life news updated throughout the day, visit LifeNews.com.

Current Headlines

Top Stories
• LeRoy Carhart Will Start Late-Term Abortions in Maryland Soon
• Survey Shows 31 Abortion Centers Closed Over Last 12 Months
• Big Four Still Lead GOP in 2012, Second Choices Interesting
• Pro-Abortion Stalwart to Lead Democrats 2012 Senate Efforts

More Pro-Life News
• Pro-Life Group Tells Apple: Restore Manhattan Declaration App
• More Pro-Life Groups Lobby Against Fred Upton in House
• Burris Amendment Would Lead to More Tax-Funded Abortions
• Filmmakers Make Documentary Promoting Late-Term Abortions
• New Project Helps Women Who Change Their Mind During Abortion Procedure
• Revised Women Veterans Bill of Rights Appears to Exclude Abortion
• Human Rights Watch Pushes Legalizing Abortion in Argentina

---> Wanting to reproduce LifeNews.com pro-life news stories in your print newsletter? You're welcome to do so and you can email us at news@lifenews.com for more information on how.

Consistently Pro-Life: The Ethics of Bloodshed in Ancient Christianity - Opposing the Roman Empire s Culture of Death ad sponsored by Consistent Life

LeRoy Carhart Will Start Late-Term Abortions in Maryland Soon
Late-term abortion practitioner LeRoy Carhart has been keeping the pro-life movement on edge for months about potential plans to open new late-term abortion businesses in Iowa and Maryland.
New information obtained by the pro-life group that served as one of the major watchdogs of late-term abortion practitioner George Tiller today unveiled new information showing Carhart has secured a location to do the abortions. Instead of opening a new abortion center, Carhart will move into one run by an embattled abortion practitioner.

Carhart, according to information officials with Operation Rescue presented LifeNews.com, will run his late-term abortion business in the facility former operated by Steven Chase Brigham in Germantown, Maryland. He plans to begin doing abortions at the facility on December 6.

This is not an expansion of abortion, but a relocation of Carhart s failing late-term abortion business in a desperate attempt to avoid financial ruin, said Operation Rescue president Troy Newman.

Newman called Carhart s move to Maryland opportunistic because he is taking over the abortion market Brigham owned until Maryland officials and state health departments in New Jersey and Pennsylvania began cracking down on him. Brigham is not licensed to do late-term abortions in Maryland, so he would begin the abortions at his office there and transport women to Maryland to complete the abortions.

Brigham, who is not licensed in Maryland, was operating an illegal late-term abortion scheme where he would start abortions late as 36 weeks at his Voorhees, New Jersey abortion center, where he is not licensed to do late-term abortions. Then, he would have the women drive themselves to his secret abortion clinic in Elkton, Maryland. Full story at LifeNews.com

Survey Shows 31 Abortion Centers Closed Over Last 12 Months
While the pro-life movement longs for the day unborn children can be protected under the law from abortions, a new survey of the number of abortion centers nationwide shows it is possible to make a difference now.

Despite the Supreme Court having allowed virtually unlimited abortions throughout pregnancy for any reason via the Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton decisions, the pro-life community has been successful in getting abortion centers to close.

Noticing a recent rash of closure and wanting to know concrete figures, pro-life nurse and blogger Jill Stanek asked Operation Rescue for some hard data.

It has seemed to me an awful lot of abortion mills have been closing lately, Stanek said. So Cheryl Sullenger of Operation Rescue was kind enough to compile a list for us. OR keeps the most accurate and up-to-date record of active and closed abortion mills I m aware of.

The pro-life group provided figures showing 31 abortion businesses closed in the last 12 months while 9 new abortion facilities opened for a net drop of 22 abortion facilities. Full story at LifeNews.com

Big Four Still Lead GOP in 2012, Second Choices Interesting
Every poll over the last several months of Republican voters and their opinion on who should become the nominee to take on pro-abortion President Barack Obama has had the same four potential candidates leading the field.

In a new poll the Public Policy Polling firm released today, Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, and Mike Huckabee top the list.

They received 21 percent, 19 percent, 18 percent and 16 percent respectively while Ron Paul and Tim Pawlenty lead the second tier with 5% each followed by John Thune at three percent and Mitch Daniels at three percent.

But what the polling firm did differently in this new poll is ask GOP voters their second choice for a nominee, assuming their first choice decides against throwing their hat in the ring. The results are interesting and they show Palin and Huckabee stand to benefit the most depending on which of the four candidates decides against competing in the 2012 presidential election. Full story at LifeNews.com

Pro-Abortion Stalwart to Lead Democrats 2012 Senate Efforts
Senator Patty Murray, the pro-abortion stalwart from Washington state, will again lead the Democratic party s efforts to keep its Senate majority in the 2012 elections.

Murray, who survived a tough re-election battle earlier this month, will chair the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee the election arm of the Senate Democrats, who now hold a more narrow majority after the victory of several pro-life Republicans.

She has headed the campaign committee before during the 2002 election cycle when Democrats lost two seats under her helm.

The party had spent some time searching for someone to head up its re-election efforts in part because Senate Democrats will face an inordinately tough cycle with numerous incumbents facing the prospect of close election battles.

Some 21 Democrats face potential re-election campaigns including the two pro-abortion independents who caucus with Democrats Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Full story at LifeNews.com

Pro-Life Group Tells Apple: Restore Manhattan Declaration App
The pro-life organization behind the popular Manhattan Declaration has asked Apple CEO Steve Jobs to reconsider the company s decision to pull its app from the popular Apple App Store.

Last week, Apple removed the Manhattan Declaration app that had been available to its iPhone and iPad customers. The move by the computer company came after opponents of the Declaration, which sets forth pro-life and pro-family values, circulated a petition calling the app a hate fest that promotes hateful and divisive language.

Change.org sponsored the petition, which, in part, had abortion activists telling Apple that supporting efforts to restrict choice [abortion] is bad business.

Manhattan Declaration spokeswoman Michelle Farmer told The Daily Caller today that the organization does not support hate or hateful rhetoric towards people who back legalized abortion and hopes Jobs will be open-minded of its concerns and tolerant of allowing the app at the Apple Store. Full story at LifeNews.com

More Pro-Life Groups Lobby Against Fred Upton in House
Two more pro-life organizations are lobbying House Republicans to not select Michigan Rep. Fred Upton to become the chairman of the influential Energy and Commerce Committee.

The panel will have oversight on any effort to repeal or amend the ObamaCare health care reform law that fails to contain a bill-wide provision ensuring taxpayers are not required to fund abortions.

The National Right to Life Committee and the Susan B. Anthony List have already contacted Republican lawmakers letting them know they don t want Upton to chair the committee because of his weak pro-life voting record, and Americans United for Life, according to Politico, has joined them with a letter of its own.

Charmaine Yoest, president and CEO of AUL, tells Republicans Upton has voted against such commonsense policies as parents being notified if their minor child seeks an abortion at a federally-funded facility, voted in favor of obstructing the partial-birth abortion ban, and voted to allow the federal funding of embryo-destructive research. Full story at LifeNews.com

Burris Amendment Would Lead to More Tax-Funded Abortions
by Bill Saunders
The pro-abortion forces of the 111th Congress have returned to Capitol Hill with one more shot at forcing American taxpayers to subsidize elective abortions during the Lame Duck session of Congress.

One potential attack comes from an amendment authored by Senator Roland Burris (D-IL), who was appointed to fill President Obama s former Senate seat, and who has since been replaced by Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL).

Under U.S. Code Title 10 USC Sec 1093(b), abortions may not be performed by Department of Defense medical personnel or in Department of Defense medical facilities except when the life of the mother is at risk, or when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest.

However, if Congress adopts the amendment authored by Senator Burris, and added to the Department of Defense Authorization bill during the Senate Armed Services Committee mark-up in May, American taxpayers will be paying for military facilities, equipment, and the use of military personnel to perform abortions. Full story at LifeNews.com

Filmmakers Make Documentary Promoting Late-Term Abortions
by Dave Andrusko
Since we are approaching the Christmas season, I have vowed to be extra-civilized toward people whose attitude and behavior I find extra-uncivilized. What makes it easier is that so often there is little I can add to their own words that would reveal more about whom they are and where they are coming from.

The Huffingtonpost.com reprinted a piece that first ran in Women s Media Center titled, Late-Term Abortion: Filmmakers Seek To Boost Understanding.

We learn that there are two filmmakers who are producing a honorific documentary about the two most infamous late-term abortionists in the world: LeRoy Carhart who reportedly has moved his late-term abortion business from Nebraska when the state said he couldn t kill unborn babies capable of feeling pain which lawmakers have recognized as beginning at 20 weeks and Warren Hern most famous for (in referring to his own abortion technique) the remarkable statement that there is no possibility of denial of an act of destruction by the operator. It is before one s eyes. The sensation of dismemberment flows through the forceps like an electric current. Full story at LifeNews.com

New Project Helps Women Who Change Their Mind During Abortion Procedure
It s never too late to change your mind about having an abortion and a pro-life group hopes to reinforce that concept with a new project it is unveiling along with local medical and pregnancy help centers.

The Pro-Life Action League today announced a new alliance with Resurrection Medical Center and The Women s Center to establish medical and support protocols for assisting women who change their minds after initiating a second trimester abortion procedure.

The organization calls the partnership groundbreaking as a first-of-its-kind in Chicago and what it hopes will become a model for Catholic hospitals around the country.

Recently, our sidewalk counselors have seen several women who have changed their minds about abortion, and who wish to continue their pregnancies even once the late-term abortion procedure has started, Ann Scheidler, vice president and director of sidewalk counselor training for the Pro-Life Action League told LifeNews.com this afternoon. Full story at LifeNews.com

Revised Women Veterans Bill of Rights Appears to Exclude Abortion
IAfter pro-life groups raised the alarm over sections of the Women Veterans Bill of Rights bill that could promote abortion, the sponsored of the measure has submitted a new version of the legislation.

Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Bob Filner, a pro-abortion California Democrat, has reportedly provided a new version of H.R. 5953 that the House of representatives debated today and is expected to vote on during its Wednesday session.

The new version of H.R. 5953 contains a new section 4 which would ensure nothing in the bill can be construed to establish a right to certain services listed as exclusions in the revised version of the bill, a pro-life source on Capitol Hill informed LifeNews.com this afternoon. The services excluded in [the revised bill] are abortion, IVF, gender alterations, treatment not approved by the FDA and spas/gyms. Full story at LifeNews.com.

Human Rights Watch Pushes Legalizing Abortion in Argentina
The pro-abortion group Human Rights Watch is pushing for the pro-life South American nation of Argentina to legalize abortions.

The organization is participating in a legislative hearing today where it will present a document to lawmakers saying the nation should overturn its pro-life laws protecting women and unborn children.

We ve received word from our friends at the Centro de Bioetica, Persona, y Familia, that Human Rights Watch is participating in a congressional hearing tomorrow in Argentina, Seana Cranston of the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute wrote on the pro-life organization s blog. They will present a document that calls for the legalization of abortion. Full story at LifeNews.com.

 

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NRLC Legislative Strategy Conference to be Held Next Week

WASHINGTON,

 Nov. 30, 2010 /Christian Newswire/ -- The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) will hold its State Legislative Strategy Conference for state right-to-life leaders on Tuesday, December 7 beginning at 10:00 am. The opening session of the conference will be open to members of the press. 

WHERE: 
Key Bridge Marriott
1401 Lee Highway, Arlington 

WHEN: 
Tuesday, December 7, 10:00 am 

WHO: 
Wanda Franz, Ph.D., President
Mary Spaulding Balch, J.D., Director of State Legislation
Julie Schmit-Albin, Executive Director, Nebraska Right to Life
David N. O'Steen, Ph.D., Executive Director 

The morning session will feature an overview of National Right to Life's state priorities for the 2011 legislative session and an overview of public support for pro-life legislation. Among the measures to be discussed will be a model bill based on Nebraska's Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. Time will be provided for press questions before attendees adjourn to a closed session for the afternoon. 

The Nebraska law, which prevents abortions after 20 weeks from fertilization, when substantial medical evidence indicates unborn children feel pain, took effect October 15, 2010. 

Reporters who intend to cover the conference are asked to pre-register for credentials prior to the conference. To register, please call Jessica Rodgers in the NRLC Communications Department at (202) 626-8833. Please also be prepared to show credentials at the door. 

The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of 50 state right-to-life organizations and more than 3,000 local chapters nationwide, is the nation's largest pro-life group.

 

ALL Pro-Life Today: Latex treachery: A tale of betrayal

Tuesday, November 30, 2010 COMMENTARY LATEX TREACHERY: A TALE OF BETRAYAL Taking the pope's words and twisting them is something the secular media has often done. But, when the Vatican's own newspaper misrepresents the pope's statements, we should make our voices heard that this will not be tolerated. Bishops, clergy and lay people must all stand together to show support for Pope Benedict XVI and for the truths of the Church. Today's commentary examines the latest controversy and explains what we can do to help defend the Holy Father. [ Read the full article click here. ] Tomorrow we will provide a link in our Pro-Life Today to a tool to help readers compile a letter to Archbishop Dolan. If you know of someone who could benefit from receiving Pro-Life Today, we ask that you please forward this message and ask them to subscribe. American Life League works hard on a daily basis to provide relevant news, which is made possible by your donations. HEADLINES Milwaukee, Wisconsin sees billboard focusing on blacks, abortion Life News A pro-life group in Wisconsin and an organization run by a black pro-life advocate have teamed up for the latest in what has become a national campaign to focus on how abortion targets black children. The Radiance Foundation, along with Pro-Life Wisconsin [an American Life League Associate group], is launching the TooManyAborted.com campaign in Wisconsin featuring 13 billboards going up in Milwaukee with two different messages. On the heels of massive national and international media coverage of the "Endangered Species" campaign, featuring billboards throughout Atlanta, Georgia and the rest of the state, the new billboards present residents of Wisconsin's largest city with the message "Black Children Are In Danger" and "Black & Beautiful." Adoption works well  Family Research Council In a new paper released by Family Research Council's Marriage and Religion Research Institute, Dr. Patrick Fagan provides hard data showing that adoption is a great benefit to both children and parents. Dr. Fagan is Senior Fellow and Director of FRC's Marriage and Religion Research Institute (MARRI), which examines the relationships among family, marriage, religion, community, and America's social problems, as illustrated in the social science data. "Adoption is an act of love that has profound implications for the lives and well-being of both children and parents," says Dr. Fagan. "It is love expressed by a birth-mother who gives-up a child for whom she cannot provide to parents who want to give love to a child for whom they long desperately. The new study shows how adoption benefits children in a variety of ways, establishing from science what we know intuitively: Adoption changes lives for the good. Lilith: the barren, sex-crazed, child-killing mascot of the abortion movement Life Site News Every once in a while one stumbles upon a terrifying level of honesty among abortion supporters. Normally, the truth is something that refreshes us when we come upon it - not so in this realm. Such is the nomenclature of what appears to be a moderately successful group dedicated solely to providing low-income women with abortion money, called the Lilith Fund.

Pro-Life Action League Announces First-of-its-Kind Program to Help Women Who Change their Minds

Saving Babies After an Abortion Starts

CHICAGO,

 Nov. 30, 2010 /Christian Newswire/ -- The Pro-Life Action League is excited to announce a new alliance with Resurrection Medical Center and The Women's Center in establishing a protocol for assisting women who change their minds after initiating a second trimester abortion procedure. This groundbreaking partnership is the first-of-its-kind in Chicago and can be a model for Catholic hospitals around the country. 

"Recently, our sidewalk counselors have seen several women who have changed their minds about abortion, and who wish to continue their pregnancies even once the late-term abortion procedure has started," said Ann Scheidler, vice president and director of sidewalk counselor training for the Pro-Life Action League. "This new process enables us to provide the most comprehensive medical care and emotional support for the pregnant woman who is facing this stressful situation." 

The protocol was developed by representatives from the League, Resurrection and The Women's Center, a crisis pregnancy center on the northwest side of Chicago. 

In preparation for setting new guidelines, the Pro-Life Action League arranged for Dr. Anthony Levatino, a former abortionist and practicing gynecologist from Las Cruces, N.M., to advise the hospital's physicians and staff on the procedures involved in a later-term abortion and the reversal of the process. 

The newly established protocol involves the following:

• When a pregnant woman encounters a sidewalk counselor and indicates she has had a change of heart, she will be directed to The Women's Center. 

• The trained counselor at The Women's Center has a designated phone number to alert the emergency room at Resurrection that the women will be arriving shortly. 

• The emergency room at Resurrection will handle the initial evaluation and paper work.

• The woman is transferred to the obstetrics department where the necessary procedures will be done.

• If needed, the hospital will refer the women for prenatal care. 

• The Women's Center will continue to follow up with the pregnant woman throughout her pregnancy and the delivery of her baby, meeting any emotional and material needs as they arise.

Sister Donna Marie, chief executive officer of Resurrection Medical Center, said of the Pro-Life Action League, "I am so pleased the Resurrection Medical Center is able to be a small part of the beautiful work that you are all doing for the unborn. God bless you and your wonderful team, how pleased God must be with your commitment to His holy children." 

"Never before have we had such a streamlined process to save the life of a child after the abortion procedure has been initiated," said Scheidler. "This alliance with Resurrection Medical Center is an example of the way Christ's Church is meant to work together for the good of His most vulnerable." 

For more information about the alliance or to speak with Ann Scheidler, please contact Stephanie Lewis. 

About the Pro-Life Action League 
The Pro-Life Action League was founded by Joseph M. Scheidler in 1980 with the aim of saving unborn children through non-violent direct action. Through prayer vigils outside abortion facilities and sidewalk counseling, the League reaches out to abortion-bound women and couples with abortion alternatives, confidential counseling and access to pregnancy resources. The League has closed eight abortion clinics in Chicago alone and nearly one hundred across the country. The Pro-Life Action League is a nonprofit organization, supported solely by private donations. For more information, visit prolifeaction.org.

 

Apple Pulls iPhone App, Manhattan Declaration leaders write Steve Jobs

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Apple Pulls iPhone App, Man. Dec. leaders write Steve Jobs ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dear Friends, Some of you may be aware by now that Apple has removed the Manhattan Declaration iPhone/iPad application from the iTunes Store. This happened some time over the Thanksgiving holiday.  The Manhattan Declaration app was accepted by Apple and rated as a 4+, meaning it contained no objectionable material. Yet Apple pulled the app shortly after a small but very vocal protest by those who favor gay marriage and abortion. We are urging Apple to restore the App, and have written to Steve Jobs. We will update you with developments as they arise. Immediate updates will be sent via Facebook and Twitter.  Stay tuned for more... Sincerely, Chuck Colson Dr. Robert George Dr. Timothy George    The Manhattan Declaration is a non-partisan statement of conscience in defense of human life, traditional marriage and religious freedom. Visit us at ManhattanDeclaration.org

 

Operation Rescue: Instead of New Clinic, Carhart Moves Late-term Abortions Into Rundown Maryland Abortion Mill

Activists plan an aggressive challenge

Germantown, MD – Operation Rescue has confirmed that late-term abortionist LeRoy Carhart is not in fact opening a new clinic in Maryland as he announced, but is instead joining up with an existing abortion business in Germantown in order to evade a new Nebraska law that prohibits abortions past 20 weeks.

“This is not an expansion of abortion, but a relocation of Carhart’s failing late-term abortion business in a desperate attempt to avoid financial ruin,” said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman.

Running from the law that halted his late-term abortion business, Carhart has made an opportunistic move to capture a portion of the abortion market vacated by the notorious abortionist Steven Chase Brigham, whose Maryland abortion clinics recently closed after it was discovered that he was operating a secret illegal late-term abortion racket in Maryland.

Like Brigham, Carhart has no hospital privileges in any state, including Maryland where he intends to commit the risky late second and third trimester abortions at Germantown Reproductive Health Services, located at 13233 Executive Park Terrace.

GRHS is an affiliate of the National Abortion Federation, a group of abortion mills that has an abysmal record of filthy clinics and dangerous abortionists. Convicted rapist Brian Finkel, who is currently serving 34 years in an Arizona prison for raping dozens of his abortion patients, was a proud NAF member. (View photos of a filthy NAF abortion clinic in Wichita, Kansas, which was bought and closed by Operation Rescue.)

“Being an NAF affiliate only increases our belief that conditions at the Germantown clinic are such that the lives and health of women seeking Carhart’s late-term abortion services would be placed at even greater risk than is usual for late-term abortions which are typically prone to complication,” said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman.

Carhart plans to begin late-term abortions at GRHS on December 6, 2010. Operation Rescue is working with Maryland and Washington, D.C. pro-life groups to employ peaceful, legal means to halt Carhart’s plans to do late-term abortions in Germantown.

• 

via operationrescue.org

Future of Illinois Nativity Scenes: Harry & Joseph?

Good morning,

 

As the Illinois General Assembly prepares for a possible vote on a “civil unions” bill in Springfield today, please see below for a statement from Peter Breen, executive director and legal counsel at the Chicago-based Thomas More Society, calling for the defense of marriage, especially during the Christmas season.

 

“During the Christmas season, we celebrate the Holy Family – Joseph the husband and father, Mary the wife and mother, and the newborn Baby Jesus. With Nativity Scenes going up across our state and nation, the Illinois General Assembly should be reaffirming the value of strong families, like the Holy Family. Instead, the Assembly is considering a ‘civil unions’ bill that raises same-sex unions to the same level as marriage between one man and one woman. This bill, which devalues the notion of family and drastically redefines what makes a family unit, is a 'lump of coal' that Illinois Christians were not expecting from their elected officials as they prepare for Christmas.”

 

Peter C. Breen
Executive Director & Legal Counsel
Thomas More Society

 

 

Keep Planned Parenthood Running Scared

Dear Friends, Our efforts to defund abortion are gaining momentum.  Cecile Richards, President of America's largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, just sent out an emergency fundraising appeal to her supporters. Richards said that that Congressman Mike Pence and his "anti-choice cronies" are "deadly serious about eliminating all federal funding for Planned Parenthood's life-saving work." "I knew the attacks would start soon," she continued, "but this is outrageous and, I fear, only the beginning." Well, she is right. Since its inception earlier this month, our Stop Abortion Funding campaign is gaining momentum. In fact, our petition is only 721 signatures shy of reaching 30,000! To keep Planned Parenthood running scared, I have three action items for you: 1. If you haven't signed our Stop Abortion Funding petition, please sign it right now to help us get to 30,000 signatures. Also make sure to post www.StopAbortionFunding.com to your Facebook, Twitter, and any other social networks you are a part of. 2. Please write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper explaining why you support ending all federal funding of abortion. I've included a sample letter below, feel free to use its exact wording. Many Americans are still unaware that their tax dollars are used to pay for and subsidize abortions. Your letter will help bring it to light in your community and also informs readers on how they can take action to stop it. Please feel free to send a copy of your letter to the editor to information@sba-list.org. 3. Help us expand the Stop Abortion Funding campaign by making a generous donation to our pro-life work. Your financial support helps us expand our pro-life coalition and strengthens our voice for the unborn in the halls of Congress. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Thank you for your continued efforts to protect unborn boys and girls. For Life,   Marjorie Dannenfelser President, Susan B. Anthony List www.sba-list.org EXAMPLE LETTER TO THE EDITOR Please note: You can simply sign and submit this letter or write your own. To the Editor: As a taxpayer, I am opposed to hundreds millions of my hard-earned tax dollars being used to fund abortion and abortion providers, such as Planned Parenthood, the largest provider in America. That is why I am a part of the Susan B. Anthony List's Stop Abortion Funding campaign (www.stopabortionfunding.com) which is working to pass two pro-life bills that would end all federal funding of abortion. The "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act," a bi-partisan bill sponsored by Reps. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Dan Lipinski (D-IL), would create a government-wide statutory prohibition on abortion funding, including problematic provisions in the health care bill. The "Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act" ensures that organizations, including Planned Parenthood, do not receive federal dollars under the Title X federal family planning assistance program. According to the Government Accountability Office, abortion providers have received over a billion dollars in the past seven years alone. I signed a petition at www.StopAbortionFunding.com to let my Representative in Congress know that I expect them to co-sponsor and vote for these two bills. I shouldn't have to be complicit in the destruction of innocent human life when I pay my taxes. Signed, [Insert Name] [Insert Phone Number] [Insert Address]   Contributions or gifts to Susan B. Anthony List, Inc., a 501(c)(4) organization, are not tax-deductible for Federal income tax purposes. Donations may be used for political purposes such as supporting or opposing candidates. All donations are made to the general treasury of the Susan B. Anthony List, Inc., and are not designated for any particular purpose. Donation will be used in the sole discretion of the Officers and/or Board of Directors in accordance with the mission and purposes of the SBA List.

LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report 11/30/10

LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report
Tuesday, November 30, 2010

For pro-life news updated throughout the day, visit LifeNews.com.

Current Headlines

Top Stories
• Direct Conversion May Make Embryonic Stem Cell Research Obsolete
• Partial-Birth Abortion Inventor Moves Clinic Next to Pediatricians Office
• ACOG Again Denies Conscience Rights of Doctors on Abortion
• BirthOrNot Couple Closes Abortion Vote, Checking for Fraud

More Pro-Life News
• Women Veterans Bill of Rights Bill Presents Abortion Concerns
• Pope Benedict Thanks Pro-Life Movement at Worldwide Prayer Vigil
• Milwaukee, Wisconsin Sees Billboard Focusing on Blacks, Abortion
• Worldwide Abortion Prayer Vigil Shows Support for Human Life
• Pro-Life Group Opposes Women Veterans Bill of Rights
• Pro-Life Report Highlights Adoption Benefits for Children, Families
• Pro-Life News: GOP Chair, Pregnancy Centers, Gianna Jessen, Ohio, Britain

---> Wanting to reproduce LifeNews.com pro-life news stories in your print newsletter? You're welcome to do so and you can email us at news@lifenews.com for more information on how.

Consistently Pro-Life: The Ethics of Bloodshed in Ancient Christianity - Opposing the Roman Empire s Culture of Death ad sponsored by Consistent Life

Direct Conversion May Make Embryonic Stem Cell Research Obsolete
Scientists made a major step towards making embryonic stem cell research obsolete when they used direct reprogramming to convert adult stem cells to an embryonic-like state. Now direct conversion is moving the ball forward.

The process of direct conversion involves changing one kind of specialized stem cell into another kind and it eliminates the need for controversial embryonic stem cells, which some scientists promote because they can change into most any kind of cells.

It is also an improvement on the direct reprogramming technique pro-life advocates applauded because it moved the debate in a more ethical direction.

I think everyone believes this is really the future of so-called stem-cell biology, John Gearhart of the University of Pennsylvania, who is engaging in direct conversion research, told the Associated Press.

This is something that s really caught fire because it s an easy strategy to use, Gearhart said. Everyone s out there trying their different combinations (of chemical signals) to see if they can succeed.

Gearhart also says direct conversion is helpful because embryonic stem cells are producing immature cells and the new process would produce mature cells that provide better prospects for patients and cures. Full story at LifeNews.com

Partial-Birth Abortion Inventor Moves Clinic Next to Pediatricians Office
A group of Ohio pediatricians don t care for their new neighbor late abortion practitioner Martin Haskell, who invented the grisly partial-birth abortion procedure Congress banned.

Haskell has closed his Cincinnati, Ohio abortion business and reopened in the community of Sharonville, about twelve miles to the north.

The new facility is located next door to Liberty Sharonville Pediatrics and parents will now have to enter a common driveway and pass by Haskell s surgical abortion business to get to the pediatricians office.

Dr. Steve Brinn, M.D., was so upset that he wrote a letter to the editor that appeared in the Cincinnati Inquirer on Saturday expressing his opposition to the abortion business.

Imagine our shock and disbelief, when we learned that an abortion clinic was opening in the building 50-feet from our front door. Why would a clinic performing abortions be so insensitive to a group practice treating children for 31 years? he wrote. Full story at LifeNews.com

ACOG Again Denies Conscience Rights of Doctors on Abortion
by Bill Saunders
The hostilities toward conscience rights are abundant. This month the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) reviewed and reaffirmed the 2007 Ethics Committee Number 385, entitled The Limits of Conscientious Refusal in Reproductive Medicine.
And last week a pro-life nurse was denied the right to sue the hospital where she was forced to participate in abortion. There has never been a greater need to pass comprehensive conscience protection measures than there is now.

The ACOG Ethics Committee rule requires pro-life physicians to refer for abortions. Furthermore, it disparages the notion of conscience to nothing more than a subjective feeling. It suggests that pro-life physicians should relocate in order to better refer patients to nearby abortionists. And it proposes that patient autonomy trumps a physician s right to conscience. Full story at LifeNews.com

BirthOrNot Couple Closes Abortion Vote, Checking for Fraud
The couple behind the controversial BirthorNot web site, claiming to be taking a vote on whether or not to have an abortion, have closed the voting and will now check for fraud.

The final BirthorNot vote shows 77 percent, or more than 1.55 million votes, saying the couple should have an abortion while 22 percent, or about 448,000 votes, came in for giving birth to the baby.

In recent media interviews, husband Pete Arnold admitted the web site is a hoax and that the couple doesn t intend to have an abortion. He earlier claimed the web site was legitimate.

But wife Alisha Arnold posted a response on the web site the next day bashing her husband for the remarks and saying the decision ultimately rested with her. She admitted the two differ on the issue of abortion and said she considered an abortion at the beginning of the pregnancy, but added I don t believe I could go through with an abortion now. Full story at LifeNews.com

Women Veterans Bill of Rights Bill Presents Abortion Concerns
The House of Representatives will consider a bill this afternoon that presents pro-life advocates with concerns about abortion and funding abortions with taxpayer dollars.

HR 5953, the Women Veterans Bill of Rights, contains language would establish a list of 24 rights for women veterans of the armed services to be displayed prominently and conspicuously in each facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs and distributed widely to women veterans.

The rights women veterans should have according to HR 5953 include the rights to health care and health care providers. Although that sounds innocuous, one pro-life source on Capitol Hill told LifeNews.com this morning that the rights could then be used as a basis to require funding for abortion and access to abortion at veterans facilities in much the same way ObamaCare contained little or no prevention of abortion funding.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) does not currently do abortions and abortions are currently excluded from the VA health benefits package, because abortion is excluded from the scope of general reproductive health care under the law that guides the department. Full story at LifeNews.com

Pope Benedict Thanks Pro-Life Movement at Worldwide Prayer Vigil
In his remarks on Saturday night celebrating the worldwide prayer vigil he called for the international pro-life community to pray for an earnest end to abortion, Pope Benedict thanked the pro-life movement.

Dear brothers and sisters, our coming together this evening to begin the Advent journey is enriched by another important reason: with the entire Church, we want to solemnly celebrate a prayer vigil for unborn life. I wish to express my thanks to all who have taken up this invitation and those who are specifically dedicated to welcoming and safeguarding human life in different situations of fragility, especially in its early days and in its early stages.

[T]here is no reason not to consider [the human embryo] a person from conception. It s not a question of a collection of biological material, but of a new living being, dynamic and marvelously ordered, a new individual of the human species. This is how Jesus was in Mary s womb; this is how we each were in our mother s womb. Full story at LifeNews.com

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Sees Billboard Focusing on Blacks, Abortion
A pro-life group in Wisconsin and an organization run by a black pro-life advocate have teamed up for the latest in what has become a national campaign to focus on how abortion targets black children.

The Radiance Foundation, along with Pro-Life Wisconsin, is launching the TooManyAborted.com campaign in Wisconsin featuring 13 billboards going up in Milwaukee with two different messages.

On the heels of massive national and international media coverage of the Endangered Species campaign, featuring billboards throughout Atlanta, Georgia and the rest of the state, the new billboards present residents of Wisconsin s largest city with the message Black Children Are In Danger and Black & Beautiful.

The sponsors hope to reveal the loss of hope and possibility that abortion brings, Radiance director Ryan Bomberger told LifeNews.com this morning. Full story at LifeNews.com

Worldwide Abortion Prayer Vigil Shows Support for Human Life
When was the last time prayer made the news? It happened this past weekend, as Pope Benedict XVI led a worldwide prayer vigil for nascent human life.

The Pontiff urged bishops around the globe to participate in the event, which was consistently advertised on cable news tickers on Saturday.

Accompanying the prayers were some pointed remarks aimed at defending perhaps the most vulnerable among us the human embryo. Full story at LifeNews.com

Pro-Life Group Opposes Women Veterans Bill of Rights
The National Right to Life Committee has mailed a letter to members of the House of Representatives urging a no vote on the Women Veterans Bill of Rights, a measure presenting abortion and abortion funding concerns for pro-life advocates.

As LifeNews.com reported this morning, NRLC is worried about the potential for the legislation to open up to VA to abortions and, as was the case with ObamaCare, Right to Life says the only way to prevent this is for a blanket provision added to the bill excluding abortion.

The measure does not contain such a Hyde Amendment-type provision, ergo NRLC is opposed to the bill and may included it in its legislative scorecard, which is quoted frequently by media outlets and political campaigns to rate lawmakers on abortion and pro-life issues. Full story at LifeNews.com

Pro-Life Report Highlights Adoption Benefits for Children, Families
In a new paper released today by the Marriage and Religion Research Institute at the Family research Council, Dr. Patrick Fagan demonstrates how adoption improves children s lives significantly.

Fagan is Senior Fellow and Director of the Marriage and Religion Research Institute and the paper is titled Adoption Works Well: a Synthesis of the Literature.

It examines the relationships among family, marriage, religion, community, and America s social problems, as illustrated in the social science data. Full story at LifeNews.com.

Pro-Life News: GOP Chair, Pregnancy Centers, Gianna Jessen, Ohio, Britain
Full story at LifeNews.com.

 

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