LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report
Monday, May 2, 2011
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Current Headlines
Top Stories
• Court: Obama Can Force Taxpayers to Fund Embryonic Research
• Mitch Daniels to Sign Bill De-Funding Planned Parenthood
• Pro-Life Advocates Respond to Court s Stem Cell Decision
• Fred Barnes to Headline National Right to Life Convention
More Pro-Life News
• Ohio: Budget Amendment Assures Abstinence Education Funding
• Does Your State Ban Abortion Coverage in Insurance Plans?
• South Carolina Bid to Stop Some Tax-Funded Abortions Fails
• Pennsylvania Pro-Life Group s Town Hall Hits Gosnell Abortions
• Abortion Advocates Playing Defense Legally in Roe v. Wade Battle
• Planned Parenthood Quits Defending Secret Abortion on Raped Teen
• Kansas: Brownback Gets Bill on Abortion Clinic Inspections
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Court: Obama Can Force Taxpayers to Fund Embryonic Research
A federal appeals court ruled today that President Barack Obama can force taxpayers to finance embryonic stem cell research that involves the destruction of human life and has never helped any patients.
Just months after he took over the White House, Obama overturned the protections President George W. Bush put into place that prevented taxpayer funding of new embryonic stem cell research but pushed millions of dollars into research associated with adult stem cells, which have already helped patients with more than 100 diseases and medical conditions. Bush also pumped money into finding embryonic stem cell research alternatives that don t involve destroying human embryos for their stem cells, and Obama overturned that executive order as well.
In lawsuits challenging the Obama executive order, plaintiffs contended the order violated the 1996 law known as the Dickey-Wicker amendment that prohibits the federal government from using taxpayer finds to destroy human embryos in scientific research. Last August, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth ruled that Obama executive order likely violates that law against federal funding of embryo destruction.
James Sherley of the Boston Biomedical Research Institute and Theresa Deisher of AVM Biotechnology had also argued that Obama s order discriminates against adult stem cell researchers who are already helping patients now as opposed to the embryonic stem cell scientists who have yet to be able to use embryonic stem cells in patients because of problems in animals such as immune system rejection issues and the embryonic cells growing tumors after injection.
But a three judge panel of the U.S. court of appeals in Washington overturned a judge s order and a 2-1 majority said the law was not violated.
In his initial ruling, Lamberth noted that the imposition of an injunction required that those challenging the government s funding demonstrate a substantial likelihood of success on the merits for their arguments. Apparently, they succeeded. Full story at LifeNews.com
Mitch Daniels to Sign Bill De-Funding Planned Parenthood
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels says he will sign a bill into law that revoked funding for the Indiana affiliate of the Planned Parenthood abortion business and bans abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Daniels decision puts into place one of the strongest pro-life bills in the history of the state and allows him a chance to repair the relationship he strained with pro-life voters last year with his proposed truce on social issues, including abortion, that could adversely affect him in any bid for the Republican nomination for president.
Daniels issued a statement about HEA 1210, which the Indiana General Assembly approved earlier in the week.
I will sign HEA 1210 when it reaches my desk a week or so from now. I supported this bill from the outset, and the recent addition of language guarding against the spending of tax dollars to support abortions creates no reason to alter my position, Daniels said. The principle involved commands the support of an overwhelming majority of Hoosiers, as reflected in greater than 2:1 bipartisan votes in both legislative chambers.
Daniels added that he commissioned a careful review of access to services across the state and can confirm that all non-abortion services, whether family planning or basic women s health, will remain readily available in every one of our 92 counties. In addition, I have ordered the Family and Social Services Administration to see that Medicaid recipients receive prompt notice of nearby care options. We will take any actions necessary to ensure that vital medical care is, if anything, more widely available than before.
Any organization affected by this provision can resume receiving taxpayer dollars immediately by ceasing or separating its operations that perform abortions, he said. Full story at LifeNews.com
Pro-Life Advocates Respond to Court s Stem Cell Decision
Pro-life advocates are responding to today s decision by a federal appeals court upholding the execurive order President Barack Obama put in place forcing taxpayers to fund embryonic stem cell research.
Today, overturning an earlier preliminary injunction by U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled 2-1 to allow continued federal funding of embryo-killing stem cell research. Last year, Judge Lamberth enjoined using federal money for research that requires the killing of human embryos, but the decision today will allow embryo-killing research to continue being funded with federal dollars while the lawsuit proceeds.
Given the tremendous advances in medical research using stem cells derived from ethical sources, it is tragic that a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has ruled to allow the Obama Administration to continue federal funding of the kind of stem cell research that requires killing human embryos, said David O Steen, Ph.D, Executive Director of National Right to Life. Study after study continues to show that treatments developed using stem cell research that does not require killing a living human embryo has shown far more progress than research that destroys the tiniest members of the human family.
National Right to Life will continue working for the day when all unborn children, regardless of their stage of development, are protected by our laws and not subject to destruction or experimentation, he added. Full story at LifNews.com
Fred Barnes to Headline National Right to Life Convention
The National Right to Life Convention is the annual meeting of the pro-life grassroots where we meet to get re-educated and re-energized for all the tremendous work we do togehter throughout the country to defend innocent human lives. This summer, the Convention is coming to Jacksonville, Florida.
From June 23 through 25, the premiere pro-life educational event in the nation gathers grassroots leaders and experts in a unique forum to share experience and ideas to truly impact America s view on innocent human life. This theme for NRLC 2011 is Bringing America Back to Life.
This year s opening general session will feature Mr. Fred Barnes, editor of The Weekly Standard and a FOX News contributor. He last spoke at the Prayer Breakfast at the 2006 Convention which took place in Nashville, Tennessee where he gave a rousing speech about the act of choosing life, how a person becomes pro-life and decides to be active in the movement.
To illustrate this, he gave examples of five pro-life heroes: Ronald Reagan, Henry Hyde, Ramesh Ponnuru, Wesley Smith, and himself. His main assertion was that most people do not want to consider abortion because it is a disturbing topic, but when people are in a situation where they must confront the truth about abortion, they choose to be pro-life. Full story at LifeNews.com
Baby Joseph s Father: Why Did Hospital Refuse Medical Care?
That s a good and important question. Joseph clearly was not on the verge of death when the hospitals wanted him off life support and refused a tracheotomy. The tracheotomy obviously provided him great benefit, and in fact, is apparently a normal palliative procedure in cases such as this. Indeed, he s off of machines and home where he can die peacefully in his own time.
So, why was Joseph and the family treated so badly? Why did the family have to go the USA to obtain proper care for their baby? Will Canada Medicare pay for the procedure that so clearly should have been provided to Joseph in his home hospital? Full story at LifeNews.com
Ohio: Budget Amendment Assures Abstinence Education Funding
The Ohio Right to Life Society commends yesterday s budget amendment that requires the Ohio Department of Health to apply for federal abstinence education grants. Ohio s Abstinence Law requires that all schools teach abstinence education, but the measure in the House budget bill assures that Ohio will again have access to federal funds specifically granted to Ohio for this purpose.
Abstinence education taught by our pro-life educators reduces teen pregnancy. These efforts have resulted in a decrease in teen abortions in Ohio, having a dramatic impact, said Mike Gonidakis, Executive Director for Ohio Right to Life. Full story at LifeNews.com
Does Your State Ban Abortion Coverage in Insurance Plans?
An overwhelming majority of Americans oppose using taxpayer money to fund abortion. When asked specifically if they supported or opposed the use of public funds to provide coverage for abortion in health insurance plans created by Obamacare, 72% of Americans were in opposition! Only 23% percent supported publicly funded abortion coverage in insurance plans, and 5% did not know (Quinnipiac 2009).
In an effort to reflect the will of the people, 9 state governments have passed laws (and at least 16 more have pending legislation) prohibiting the coverage of abortion in any of the state insurance exchange programs instituted by Obamacare.
Several states have gone beyond this and restricted or proposed legislation restricting abortion coverage in all health insurance plans (public and private) except through the optional purchase of a rider.
In addition, several states which have not completely restricted abortion coverage in all insurance plans have restricted it in state-funded (read: taxpayer-funded) insurance plans.
The following map will give you a clear picture of the state of abortion coverage in insurance across the states. Full story at LifeNews.com
South Carolina Bid to Stop Some Tax-Funded Abortions Fails
A move to strip funding for rape and incest abortions from the state employees health insurance plan failed by one vote Wednesday in the Republican-controlled South Carolina Senate. Senators Kevin Bryant, R-Anderson, and David Thomas, R-Greenville, offered the amendment during debate on the 2011-2012 state budget. Full story at LifeNews.com
Pennsylvania Pro-Life Group s Town Hall Hits Gosnell Abortions
The abortion center house of horrors discovered in West Philadelphia will be among the topics addressed at a pro-life town hall meeting Thursday, April 28, at 7 p.m. at the Life Center, 411 S. 40th St., in Harrisburg. Full story at LifeNews.com
Abortion Advocates Playing Defense Legally in Roe v. Wade Battle
Ah, There s Good News Tonight . No doubt Gabriel Heatter, that radio announcer of yesteryear, would have turned to his favorite phrase in introducing this news story. Full story at LifeNews.com
Planned Parenthood Quits Defending Secret Abortion on Raped Teen
A lawsuit in which Planned Parenthood was recently found to have violated an Ohio informed consent law has been resolved and dismissed, according to the Alliance Defense Fund allied attorney who filed the suit. Full story at LifeNews.com
Kansas: Brownback Gets Bill on Abortion Clinic Inspections
The Kansas Senate voted 24-15 in favor of the abortion licensure bill, H sub SB 36, today that was sponsored by Sen. Mary Pilcher-Cook (R-Shawnee). Full story at LifeNews.com
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