LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report
Thursday, March 17, 2011
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Current Headlines
Top Stories
• Harry Reid: GOP Must Give Up De-Funding Planned Parenthood
• Planned Parenthood Corrects Staffer Telling STD Man to Give Blood
• Planned Parenthood to Close Ohio Facility North of Columbus
• Who is Baby Joseph Maraachli and Why Should I Care?
More Pro-Life News
• Bloomberg-Signed Bill Will Hurt Efforts to Help Pregnant Women
• Missouri House Latest to Pass Fetal Pain-Based Abortion Ban
• Activists Exploit Political Chaos to Promote Abortion Worldwide
• University of Virginia, VCU Have Done Abortions for 20 Years
• Georgia OKs Bill to Sue Abortion Practitioners for Violating Law
• Rutgers University Poll Misleads on Chris Christie, Abortion
• Ohio House Committee Signs Off on Late-Term Abortion Ban
• Minnesota Cmte OKs Fetal Pain, No Tax-Funded Abortion Bills
• Iowa Panel Clears Bill Banning Abortions After 20 Weeks
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Harry Reid: GOP Must Give Up De-Funding Planned Parenthood
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid said today that Republicans who favor cutting taxpayer funding for the Planned Parenthood abortion business need to give up their quest because the Senate will not agree to it.
House Republicans passed a long-term continuing resolution — a bill to fund the federal government through the latter part of the year — that Senate Democrats rejected recently. Both chambers are back to negotiating a new bill now that another short-term measure has been approved by both to fund the government for three weeks.
Today, Reid, a Nevada senator who claims to be pro-life but has carved out a strongly pro-abortion voting record — led off those negotiations with a brick wall by telling Republicans cutting the tens of millions of dollars Planned Parenthood gets annually is a nonstarter. He said de-funding Planned Parenthood can't be a part of any long-term bill the Senate negotiates.
"The stuff they've done with something I've worked on for years — contraception – is untoward and won't be part of an agreement," Reid said, according to a report in The Hill.
The comment focuses only on the small portion of Planned Parenthood's business that deals with family planning — while it has become the largest abortion business in the nation and now does more than one-quarter of all abortions in the United States each year.
Staff for both Reid and pro-life Speaker John Boehner met for over 90 minutes Wednesday night to begin the discussions on putting together a long-term bill that will fund the federal government beyond April 8, when the most recent short-term measure runs out. Full story at LifeNews.com
Planned Parenthood Corrects Staffer Telling STD Man to Give Blood
Planned Parenthood in Virginia has reportedly taken corrective action regarding an employee who encouraged an undercover investigator who said he may have an STD to donate blood.
During the video shoot Live Action conducted showing Planned Parenthood staffers helping alleged sexual traffickers get abortions and STD testing for the underage girls at the Roanoke, Virginia abortion facility, a staffer told the Live Action undercover agent to attempt to donate blood because he can get free testing.
David Schmidt, the research director for Live Action, says the advice is problematic because it "was not a mere hypothetical scenario involving a 'fake patient.' The employee actually said – unreservedly on her own initiative – that she has been 'tell[ing] a lot of people' who might have sexually transmitted diseases to do the same thing."
After filing a complaint about Planned Parenthood in Roanoke with the Roanoke City Health Department, the health department told Live Action last week: "[Planned Parenthood] certainly appreciated being notified of that … and they said they had already been made aware of that and have instructed the staff member, and a corrective plan is in place with training. So they seem to be pretty on top of that issue."
Schmidt said yesterday that Live Action is looking forward to hearing the details of Planned Parenthood's "corrective plan" but added that Planned Parenthood has not yet returned a follow-up call placed last week.
He said Planned Parenthood's initial response to the video was to condemn it. Full story at LifeNews.com
Planned Parenthood to Close Ohio Facility North of Columbus
Planned Parenthood of Northeast Ohio will be closing one of its centers north of Columbus, in Galion, because it says it is has come up on financial difficulties that make it necessary to consolidate.
The closing is good news for pro-life advocates who are hoping the abortion business runs fewer centers like the one in the small Ohio city that makes abortion referrals.
The Galion Health Center at 401 Harding Way East has been open for decades but, in a letter sent to the Galion Inquirer newspaper last week, Trish Malko said it would close. Malko and Tara Broderick, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Northeast Ohio urged financial support for the troubled abortion business and said patients at the Galion clinic can go to the one it operates in Mansfield. They said the Galion center was seeing fewer clients and it required the closing of the facility.
"This was really a difficult decision for us, but due to hours and declining number of clients at the Galion location we've decided to close," Broderick told the newspaper.
The location in Galion will officially shut down on March 29 and Planned Parenthood informed clients by letter of the Mansfield location, where Malko says, "Clients of the Galion location will be welcome at the Mansfield Health Center." Full story at LifeNews.com
Who is Baby Joseph Maraachli and Why Should I Care?
by Father Frank Pavone
The world has taken notice of a 14-month old baby from Canada whose family has been fighting the medical establishment since October to help their child breathe. Moe and Sana Maraachli were refused a tracheotomy for their son because the apparently fatal neurological disease that the child has renders further intervention "futile."
Working with many others, we at Priests for Life arranged to have the baby transferred to Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center in St Louis, and I went on the medical jet to pick up the baby and his father on Sunday night March 13. Now, the child has another chance at getting better care, and the family another chance at maximizing the time they can spend with their child.
A lot of media has accompanied the event. One reporter who was not too interested in covering the story asked, "Who the hell is Baby Joseph and why should I care?"
The short answer is, Baby Joseph is all of us. Full story at LifeNews.com
Bloomberg-Signed Bill Will Hurt Efforts to Help Pregnant Women
Yesterday New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed into law Bill 371 which will impose unconstitutional restrictions on pro-life Pregnancy Help Centers and violate their free speech rights.
The Vitae Foundation is responding immediately with another life-saving advertising campaign on the subways of New York City, beginning March 28. New figures just released indicate Vitae's ads helped save an estimated 1,500 babies last year alone in NYC.
This is why we cannot let the abortion industry stifle our freedom of speech through advertising! I believe this unjust law will eventually be ruled unconstitutional as was a similar statute in Baltimore recently. Until then the Vitae Foundation will continue to move forward with advertising that helps women find life-affirming alternatives to abortion.
The new law, which will go into effect 120 days from the signing, is designed to force Pregnancy Help Centers to post disclaimers about the services they do not provide (including abortion) and control what is said to women who contact the Centers. This violation of free speech also includes advertising.
In effect, the law will control how pro-life centers carry out their life-saving work with women who are facing unwanted pregnancies and thinking about aborting their babies. On the other hand, abortion clinics have no restrictions placed upon them in this new law. Full story at LifeNews.com
Missouri House Latest to Pass Fetal Pain-Based Abortion Ban
The Missouri House of Representatives is the latest to pass legislation that would ban abortions based on scientific evidence confirming unborn children have the ability to feel intense pain during an abortion.
Today, the chamber approved HB 213, the Late-Term Abortions sponsored by Rep. Tim Jones — a measure that prohibits abortions on unborn children after 20 weeks gestation. That's a conservative estimate as to when unborn children have developed the receptors necessary to feel pain.
The legislation requires abortion practitioners to determine if the unborn child is past 20 weeks using various tests and to determine if the baby is viable. The bill also changes the Missouri definition of viability to include human life that can be "sustained" outside of the womb with or without life support as opposed to life that can be "continued indefinitely." If the baby is determined to not be viable the abortion practitioner would have to issue a report to the state health department indicating so and explaining why.
A second licensed physician would have to sign off on the abortion to ensure state law was followed at the time of the abortion. Any abortion practitioner violating the law could face a year in prison and a three year suspension of his medical license. Full story at LifeNews.com
Activists Exploit Political Chaos to Promote Abortion Worldwide
Activists and lawyers shared advice on how to exploit chaotic political situations to advance abortion rights during a recent UN side event. Panelists boasted of their successes in influencing the new constitutions of both Kenya and Nepal to include provisions allowing for legalized abortion.
"Strategic moments can surface in chaos," said Melissa Upreti, a legal advisor of the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR). She advised audience members at the UN Commission on the Status of Women event to seize those moments as opportunities to advance abortion and "reproductive rights."
Activists at the CRR have swayed abortion policies by filing test cases to push the envelope on abortion laws. As a result of these lawsuits, many governments have adopted policies to ensure that access to "reproductive rights" includes state-funded abortion and contraceptive services.
Speakers from the Kenyan Federation of Women Lawyers recounted how just last February they were afraid progressive reproductive health provisions would not be included in the new Kenyan constitution, due to vocal opposition by religious groups. At an informal discussion, a Kenyan audience member said, "we would not have won if the Christian denominations hadn't splintered." Full story at LifeNews.com
University of Virginia, VCU Have Done Abortions for 20 Years
This year, Spring seems to be coming sooner than usual, and Spring cleaning is just beginning. In January, Students for Life released a new study on University Abortion Health Care Plans, announcing that out of the 200 largest universities in the United States, 44% covered elective abortions and almost half of those universities automatically charge students for their abortion healthcare. And, as mentioned by Congresswoman Virginia Foxx, on Tuesday night on the floor of the House of Representatives, we also found that federal taxpayer dollars could be used to fund these abortions through federal education grants. Full story at LifeNews.com
Georgia OKs Bill to Sue Abortion Practitioners for Violating Law
The Georgia Senate approved a bill yesterday that would allow women a chance to sue an abortion practitioner who does an abortion without first following various state laws giving them additional information. Sen. Barry Loudermilk is the sponsor of Senate Bill 210 that would allow women and family members to sue abortion practitioners who don't follow state law allowing them to see an ultrasound of their unborn child before the abortion or fail to give them the information under the Women's Right to Know Law such as information on abortion risks and alternatives. Full story at LifeNews.com
Rutgers University Poll Misleads on Chris Christie, Abortion
After reading polling questions and analyzing the data from a March 15 Rutgers Eagleton Institute Poll, the press release issued by the Rutgers Eagleton Institute does not tell the whole story. Unfortunately, the print media appear to be willing partners in this effort to mislead the public. Rutgers' obvious purpose for this poll was politically motivated and designed to conclude that the Governor's speech at our Rally hurt the Governor, but their own results show that 68% of those polled said that it either made them feel better about the Governor or had no effect. Full story at LifeNews.com
Ohio House Committee Signs Off on Late-Term Abortion Ban
Wednesday afternoon, Ohio legislators on the Ohio House Health and Aging Committee approved a bill pro-life advocates support that would ban late-term abortions. H.B. 78, the Late-Term Abortion Ban, was voted out of the panel and heads to the House floor. The bill passed with bipartisan support out of the committee, with lawmakers defeating attempts to include pro-abortion amendments along the way. Both sponsors and proponents of its companion bill, S.B. 72, also gave compelling testimony yesterday in the Senate Health Committee. Full story at LifeNews.com
Minnesota Cmte OKs Fetal Pain, No Tax-Funded Abortion Bills
Two pro-life bills on abortion have received approval at the committee level in the Minnesota legislature and pro-life groups are supporting them and hoping to move them further through the process. The Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, S.F. 649 and H.F. 936, would prohibit abortions after the point in pregnancy at which an unborn child can feel pain, which medical evidence demonstrates is conservatively at 20 weeks from conception. It is based on a landmark Nebraska law enacted last year, which has not been challenged in court. Full story at LifeNews.com
Iowa Panel Clears Bill Banning Abortions After 20 Weeks
An Iowa state House subcommittee passed a bill that would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, but the bill still faces an uncertain future in part because of "pro-life" lawmakers. The legislation would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy based on the scientific evidence that unborn children feel intense pain. A subcommittee of the House Government Oversight Committee approved the bill today and the full committee is expected to debate it next week. Full story at LifeNews.com
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