LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report
Wednesday, November 16, 2010
| For pro-life news updated throughout the day, visit LifeNews.com. |
Current Headlines
Top Stories
• New Catholic Bishops President Chided Biden, Pelosi on Abortion
• Senate Republicans Elect Pro-Life Leaders, Democrats Pick Abortion Advocates
• Panel Told: Don t Put More Abortion, Birth Control Funding in ObamaCare
• Jindal Out for President in 2012, Gingrich Maybe In; Poll Shows Close GOP Race
More Pro-Life News
• Pro-Abortion Group Sues FDA to Promote Plan B Drug to Teens
• Congressman Drops Elections Complaint to Jail Pro-Life Women s Group s Leader
• Pro-Life Groups Hold Reception for New Members of Congress
• Poll: Just 26 Percent of Americans Believe Obama Will be Re-Elected
• New York City Council Holds hearing on Bill Attacking Pregnancy Centers
• North Dakota Doesn t Charge Unlicensed Abortion Practitioners
---> Please click here to become one of the 100 monthly donors LifeNews.com needs.
 Peace & Life Connectionsa free weekly e-newsletter from Consistent Life |
New Catholic Bishops President Chided Biden, Pelosi on Abortion
The nation s Catholic bishops broke with precedent that normally sees the vice-president move up the ranks to become the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Instead, they went with the archbishop of New York, who is strongly pro-life and has taken on pro-abortion politicians.
Archbishop Timothy Dolan defeated Bishop Gerald Kicanas of Tucson, Arizona in a surprise victory, receiving 54 percent of the vote to 46 percent for Kicanas on the third round of balloting.
It is the first time since the 1960s that a sitting vice-president of the bishops conference did not ascend to the presidency.
The election is important for the pro-life movement because the president of the conference is the spokesman for the nation s bishops on so many important pro-life issues. When it came to the national debate over ObamaCare, outgoing USCCB president Cardinal George of Chicago was adamant that the bill be opposed because it did not adequately prevent abortion funding or protect conscience rights.
In Archbishop Dolan, the USCCB will be headed by a strong pro-life advocate.
Dolan has been a strong friend and ally and has been called a hero by leading pro-life advocates in part for speaking out about Catholic politicians who support abortion.
It bothers me if any politician, Catholic or not, is for abortion, Dolan has said. Because in my mind, we re talking about a civil right, we re not talking about a matter of Catholic Church discipline. We can t allow the noble pro-life cause to be reduced to a denominational issue. Full story at LifeNews.com
Senate Republicans Elect Pro-Life Leaders, Democrats Pick Abortion Advocates
Senate Republicans and Democrats held leadership elections today for the top positions and leaders for each party for the next session of Congress.
Little changed as most leaders stayed the same and as the parties picked leaders with extremely contrasting views on abortion.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, a pro-life Kentucky Republican, was unanimously re-elected to his position as the Senate Minority Leader. Senators John McCain, the former presidential candidate, and Marco Rubio, the pro-life incoming freshman senator from Florida, placed McConnell s name into nomination.
The nominations from McCain and Rubio serve to unite the potentially competing factions of the party including more establishment Republican lawmakers like McCain and the more conservative activist-minded members like Rubio.
Republicans also unanimously re-elected pro-life Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona as the Minority Whip, the number two position. Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee continues as Republican Conference chairman and Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming remains conference vice chairman both are pro-life.
Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada reclaimed his Majority Leader post and Sen. Dick Durbin will remain as the Majority Whip, the second highest-ranking position. Full story at LifeNews.com
Panel Told: Don t Put More Abortion, Birth Control Funding in ObamaCare
Representatives of pro-life groups told the Institute of Medicine today that the agency should not declare abortion or birth control as preventative care under the ObamaCare health care law.
They addressed the Institute of Medicine s Committee on Preventive Services for Women, which has been besieged by Planned Parenthood and pro-abortion groups looking to expand their federal funding by getting abortion or birth control declared preventative.
Having that designation could allow the federal government to force insurance companies to cover abortions or birth control under ObamaCare.
The committee allotted time on the meeting agenda for Carolyn Westhoff of the Planned Parenthood abortion business and Judy Waxman of the pro-abortion National Women s Law Center to testify.
But the two pro-life advocates were forced to deliver remarks during the general public comment portion at the end of the meeting.
Jeanne Monahan, director of Family Research Council s Center for Human Dignity, called for excluding the controversial items saying adding abortion and birth control or contraception as preventative services would violate the conscience rights of Americans who opposed them and oppose paying for them. Full story at LifeNews.com
Jindal Out for President in 2012, Gingrich Maybe In; Poll Shows Close GOP Race
Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana is well-liked by pro-live voters, but he is saying he will definitely not be a candidate in 2012. Meanwhile, New Gingrich may well be running and a poll has him and three others neck and neck.
Jindal is a rising star in Republican circles and was considered to be a potential heavyweight contender for the nomination because of his executive experience leading the southern state.
His strong showing during the BP oil spill crisis, his expertise on health care, his status as a Republican minority and his strong pro-life and conservative views combined to make him one of the more talked about potential hopefuls.
But he told AP he won t be one of the candidates looking for the GOP nod to go up against pro-abortion President Barack Obama.
I m not being coy at all. I m not running for president in 2012. Period. No ifs, ands or buts, no caveats, said Jindal. We have made great progress in Louisiana, but we ve got a lot more work to do.
On the other hand, pro-life former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is reportedly looking more and more like a possible candidate. Full story at LifeNews.com
Pro-Abortion Group Sues FDA to Promote Plan B Drug to Teens
A pro-abortion legal group filed a lawsuit today to force the Food and Drug Administration to allow sales of the contorversial PLan B drug over the counter to all customers which would include teenage girls.
Currently, the Plan B drug is restricted to women over the age of 18 and younger teens must still obtain a prescription for the morning after pill from a physician. In March 2009, a federal court ordered the Food and Drug Administration to reconsider its decision preventing minors from purchasing the morning after pill without a prescription.
The Center for Reproductive Rights is complaining the Obama Administration s FDA has ignored a court order to reconsider its refusal to make emergency contraception (EC) available over-the-counter to women of all ages.
Nancy Northrup, the president of CRR, added, the FDA has disregarded the evidence and is breaking the president s promise to restore scientific integrity to federal policies. The Center for Reproductive Rights is taking the FDA back to court today.
The pro-abortion group sued the FDA in 2005 for not granting over-the-counter status to the Plan B drug and the agency later agreed to make the morning after pill available without a prescription but only to women 18 and over. Full story at LifeNews.com
Congressman Drops Elections Complaint to Jail Pro-Life Women s Group s Leader
Congressman Steve Driehaus, who lost his bid for re-election earlier this month, has withdrawn his complaint he filed that could have resulted in jail time for the leader of the pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List.
Driehaus, who claims he is fully pro-life, upset pro-life advocates when he voted for the ObamaCare bill that doesn t sufficiently prevent abortion funding.
SBA hoped to run billboard ads in his Cincinnati, Ohio congressional district letting his constituents know he voted to support abortion funding, but Driehaus filed a complaint with the Ohio Elections Commission seeking to have a little-known law preventing false comments about political candidates enforced.
He also pressured Lamar Advertising, a national firm that sells billboard advertising space, to prevent SBA from taking out the ads holding him accountable for his ObamaCare vote. Full story at LifeNews.com
Pro-Life Groups Hold Reception for New Members of Congress
Top pro-life advocates pressed the flesh with pro-life incoming members of Congress last night at a reception and encouraged them to remain firm in their resolve to oppose abortion and abortion funding.
The Susan B. Anthony List co-sponsored the event and its president Marjorie Dannenfelser says she was excited to meet with the new pro-life lawmakers.
I am going to personally ask each of them to support our major legislative push to end federal funding of abortion, she said beforehand. I plan on showing them all the signatures and comments from our Stop Abortion Funding petition to encourage them to passionately support our effort.
Calling opposing abortion and abortion funding a no-brainer, she said the new elected officials need to understand the majority of Americans consider themselves to be pro-life. And an even larger majority believes that tax dollars shouldn t be used to fund abortion. Full story at LifeNews.com
Poll: Just 26 Percent of Americans Believe Obama Will be Re-Elected
A new poll conducted by the political news web site Politico finds just 26 percent of Americans say they believe pro-abortion President Barack Obama will be re-elected in 2012.
The direction of the country and the economy account for the low numbers with 82 percent of those who say Obama will not be re-elected saying the country is headed in the wrong direction while 81 percent who say the economy is headed in the wrong direction say Obama won t get another term.
The quarter of the public who consider Obama s reelection as probable say by a 3-1 margin the economy will turn around between now and November 2012.
They are the outliers of the electorate, suggesting that the president has a lot more work to do to get back on track for a second term, Democratic pollster Mark Penn, who took the poll for Politico, noted. Full story at LifeNews.com
| Looking for a Low-Cost Pro-Life Speaker? |
| Looking for a pro-life speaker for your next banquet, conference or convention? LifeNews.com editor Steven Ertelt is a low-cost speaker who can entertain and educate your audience as well as help you with a fundraising pitch if necessary. For more information: news@LifeNews.com. |
New York City Council Holds hearing on Bill Attacking Pregnancy Centers
The New York City Council held a hearing today on a bill sponsored by abortion backers to attack pregnancy centers that provide women with tangible pregnancy assistance and abortion alternatives.
The proposal would place stringent limits on the advertising pregnancy centers use and require them to post signs designed to dissuade women from seeking their abortion alternatives services.
Christine C. Quinn, the City Council speaker, and Councilwoman Jessica S. Lappin are behind the proposed ordinance, which would follow in the footsteps of similar proposals in Baltimore and Austin.
The bill would make pregnancy centers include information in their ads saying they do not give out the morning after pill or make abortion referrals. It would also require them to post the signs with the disclaimers at the entrance of their clinic and in patient waiting and exam rooms. The signs must also say whether or not a licensed medical professional is on staff, though that is frequently the case with many centers. Full story at LifeNews.com
North Dakota officials will not charge a pair of unlicensed abortion practitioners who appear to have done abortions in the state well after their medical licenses expired over the summer.As LifeNews.com has reported, abortion practitioners Lori Lynn Holst Thorndike of Colorado and Miriam McCreary of Minnesota allowed their state -issued medical licenses to lapse on June 30, 2010.
The North Dakota State Board of Medical Examiners (NDBME) notified the Red River Women s Clinic, the only abortion business in North Dakota, that it has restored Thorndike s license. It notified the abortion center in an email a pro-life group obtained that caused it to come under fire.
Now, State s Attorney Birch Burdick has announced he will not file criminal charges against Thorndike for the expired license or the unlicensed abortions she did. Full story at LifeNews.com.
Encourage Friends to Sign Up for Free Pro-Life News From LifeNews.com
