LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report
Monday, June 6, 2011
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Current Headlines
Top Stories
• Judge Holds Hearing on Indiana Law De-Funding Planned Parenthood
• Pro-Life Sen. Rick Santorum Seeks GOP Presidential Nod
• Polls: Republicans Strongly Pro-Life, Democrats Strongly Pro-Abortion
• Tim Tebow Book Through My Eyes Shares Family s Pro-Life Story
More Pro-Life News
• Third Pro-Life Legal Group Backs Indiana Planned Parenthood Law
• Planned Parenthood s Fraud Should Disqualify it From Funding
• Disproving the Abortion Lie: Pro-Lifers Don t Care After Birth
• Abortion Biz Offers Free Pap Smear With Abortion Purchase
• Iowa House May Bring Back Ban on Abortions After 20-Weeks
• Terri Schiavo s Family: Jack Kevorkian Was Obsessed With Death
• Late-Term Abortion Plans at University of Wisconsin Stopped
• Media Obituaries on Jack Kevorkian Use Revisionist History
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Judge Holds Hearing on Indiana Law De-Funding Planned Parenthood
A federal judge held a hearing on the Indiana law that revokes taxpayer funding for the Planned Parenthood abortion business and indicated a final decision will be coming before July 1.The bill, known as the Schneider Amendment (H.B. 1210), would have the effect of defunding Planned Parenthood and other similar organizations that perform abortions. The Schneider Amendment states that no state agency may enter into a contract with or make a grant to any entity that performs abortions or maintains or operates a facility where abortions are performed that involves the expenditure of state funds or federal funds administered by the state.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt listened to oral arguments in the first hearing following her decision to deny Planned Parenthood s initial request for an injunction against the law, which also puts several key abortion limits in place. Indiana Solicitor General Thomas Fisher and Ken Falk of the American Civil Liberties Union, which represents Planned Parenthood of Indiana, appeared before Judge Pratt.
Fisher said government administrators should resolve Planned Parenthood s dispute over Indiana s decision to yank its federal funding through Medicaid, not the courts. He said the amount of money at stake in the dispute between Indiana and the federal government the Obama administration has threatened to pull as much as $5.3 billion in Medicaid funds from going to Indiana has not yet been resolved.According to an AP report, he called that a nuclear option but said he hoped to resolve things with federal officials so the law can stand and that won t happen.
The first round, CMS has said we don t think this is consistent with the freedom of choice provision, Solicitor General Thomas Fisher said in court. We have 60 days to appeal .They have to make a decision about what, if any, Medicaid funding they are going to restrict. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/06/06/judge-holds-hearing-on-indiana-law-de-funding-planned-parenthood/
Pro-Life Sen. Rick Santorum Seeks GOP Presidential Nod
Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, a pro-life stalwart, makes his bid for the Republican nomination for president official today. The Catholic former elected official is making the announcement from the Somerset County Courthouse in Somerset, Pennsylvania.
This location is significant because it is near where Senator Santorum s grandfather settled in America after leaving fascist Italy to work in the Pennsylvania coal mines until he was 72 years old. He chose to come to America for the freedom our nation offered him, Santorum s campaign says.
He s devaluing our dollars, and he s devaluing our other currency, our moral currency, Santorum said in his announcement speech, criticizing pro-abortion President Barack Obama. Taking on Obamacare, he added, Every single American now will be hooked to the government with an IV. And they will come to you every time they want to do more and say, you want that IV, you want that healthcare?
I believe now that Americans are not looking for someone they can believe in, they re looking for a president who believes in them, Santorum concluded. I m ready to lead.
The senator led off the announcement day with an appearance on ABC s Good Morning America in an exclusive interview to discuss his joining the race for the Republican nomination to take on Obama.
As I travel the country, it is evident that voters are looking for a candidate who believes in them and not the power of government, and who wants to move our country forward based on our Founders vision, he said. What people are looking for is someone who has stood by their principles in good times and in bad. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/06/06/pro-life-sen-rick-santorum-seeks-gop-presidential-nod/
Polls: Republicans Strongly Pro-Life, Democrats Strongly Pro-Abortion
Gallup has released a new analysis of its polling data from 2008-2011 on questions concerning abortion and it found Republicans are strongly pro-life while Democrats are slightly less strongly pro-abortion.
Using a question calling on respondents to self-identify as pro-life or pro-choice, Gallup found 68 percent of self-declared Republicans describe their abortion views as pro-life while just 27 percent say they are pro-choice. The split is the same for women and men as 68 percent of each say they are pro-life while 27 percent of men and 26 percent of women say they support abortion.
Looking at the breakdown based on age, younger Republicans (under 34) are the most pro-life (73-21 percent) while those 35-54 are pro-life on a 64-34 percentage point margin and those over 55 are pro-life on a 69-24 percent margin. The pro-life split was about equal across all educational lines with college graduates most pro-life (71%) and those who have not completed high school the least (66 percent). Similar even splits were found based on income categories.
Gallup found differences on abortion among Republicans based on geographic location with Midwest republicans most pro-life (76-21 percent) followed by Republicans in the South at 71-22 percent. Republicans in the West are 62-31 percent pro-life while those in the East are the least pro-life, with a 58-38 percentage point split. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/06/06/republicans-strongly-pro-life-democrats-strongly-pro-abortion/
Tim Tebow Book Through My Eyes Shares Family s Pro-Life Story
Tim Tebow has become a star within pro-life circles and for good reason. The popular Denver Broncos quarterback and former college football superstar and his family have become leading pro-life spokespeople thanks to their story.
By now, most people are familiar with Tebow who made his Christian faith the basis for his football success and who has inspired a generation of young people with his morals and values. Those values came in part because of the story Americans know almost personally thanks to the famous Super Bowl commercial featuring Tim and his mother Pam and the media focus on how she famously reject a doctor s request to have an abortion of Tim when she was pregnant with him in the Philippines on a mission trip, where she became severely ill.
Tim has a new book out this week, titled Through My Eyes, and an advanced copy LifeNews received from publisher HarperCollins shows Tim Tebow recounting his mother s decision to put aside the doctor s advice to have an abortion to save her life and give birth to her son, whose NFL football jersey became the best-selling jersey of any player even before he took his fist snap as a quarterback for the Broncos.
A number of times they were certain they had lost me, he writes about the crisis pregnancy.
An abortion is the only way to save your life, he says of what the doctor told his mother.
Tim recounts his mother telling him of what the doctor said, According to her, the mass of fetal tissue or tumor me had to go, and he says his parents left that doctor s visit shocked and a bit numb, but resolute in what course they would take. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/06/06/tim-tebow-book-through-my-eyes-shares-familys-pro-life-story/
Third Pro-Life Legal Group Backs Indiana Planned Parenthood Law
A third pro-life legal group has issued an opinion defending the new law in Indiana that puts abortion limits in place and also revokes funding for the Planned Parenthood abortion business.
The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) informed LifeNews.com today that it will file an amicus brief, representing members of Congress and thousands of Americans, backing a new Indiana law that prohibits the distribution of federal funds it receives to organizations like Planned Parenthood that perform abortions.
We applaud Indiana s approach to taking action to stop the flow of federal taxpayer funds to the nation s largest abortion provider, said Jay Sekulow, the chief counsel for the pro-life legal group.
With Planned Parenthood already receiving more than $350 million dollars a year in federal taxpayer funds, Indiana is sending a powerful message to Washington it s time to put a halt to sending federal funds to Planned Parenthood, Sekulow said. The new law already cleared one legal hurdle last month when a federal judge refused to issue a Temporary Restraining Order blocking the law. As this issue winds its way through the federal court system, we re preparing to file an amicus brief on Indiana s behalf in support of this law and its constitutional authority to ensure that no federal funds are used for abortion. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/06/06/third-pro-life-legal-group-backs-indiana-planned-parenthood-law/
Planned Parenthood s Fraud Should Disqualify it From Funding
Several states have either passed or are near passing new laws that would effectively bar Planned Parenthood (sometimes by name) from receiving government money including Medicaid reimbursements.
The Obama administration has come to Planned Parenthood s rescue. In the first of these instances, Indiana, the administration has issued a letter that says it is basically illegal to cut off Planned Parenthood Medicaid funding.
The Health and Human Services Department s Medicaid administrator, Donald M. Berwick, said Indiana s plan will improperly bar beneficiaries from receiving services. Federal law requires Medicaid beneficiaries to be able to obtain services from any qualified provider. Medicaid programs may not exclude qualified health care providers from providing services that are funded under the program because of a provider s scope of practice, Berwick wrote.
But while this struggle rages, there is that 600-pound gorilla in the room that nobody wants to talk about. The question nobody wants to ask: How can Planned Parenthood continue to get taxpayer money when it has been found repeatedly guilty of filing fraudulent claims for government reimbursement? http://www.lifenews.com/2011/06/06/planned-parnethoods-fraud-should-disqualify-it-from-funding/
Disproving the Abortion Lie: Pro-Lifers Don t Care After Birth
One of the greatest lies and slurs hurled at pro-lifers is that we only care about the baby until it is born.
Are you prepared to pay for that child of poverty in order to help raise it for the next eighteen years? No?? Then shut up about abortion!
It s a clever little manipulation, though not much in the way of an argument.
Responsibility for raising the child resides with the parents, not society. To suggest that the mother and father of a poor and unexpected child cannot be counted on to be the primary providers of their child is to infantilize the parents and inject chaos into the lives of the family. Our inner-cities suffer from just this sort of chaos with generational poverty that traces its roots back to the well-intentioned Great Society programs begun in the 1960?s. For decades people have lamented that there must be a better way. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/06/06/disproving-the-abortion-lie-pro-lifers-dont-care-after-birth/
Abortion Biz Offers Free Pap Smear With Abortion Purchase
The All Women s Health Center of Orlando, an abortion business, is taking couponing to a new, sick level by offering two coupons related to purchasing abortions. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/06/06/abortion-biz-offers-free-pap-smear-with-abortion-purchase/
Iowa House May Bring Back Ban on Abortions After 20-Weeks
Not content with legislation the state Senate passed that would open the door to late-term abortion businesses setting up shop throughout the state of Iowa, House Republicans have brought back a stronger pro-life bill. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/06/06/iowa-house-may-bring-back-ban-on-abortions-after-20-weeks/
Terri Schiavo s Family: Jack Kevorkian Was Obsessed With Death
The foundation run by the family of Terri Schiavo has put out a statement responding to the death of assisted suicide crusader Jack Kevorkian. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/06/06/terri-schiavos-family-jack-kevorkian-was-obsessed-with-death/
Late-Term Abortion Plans at University of Wisconsin Stopped
Over the weekend, the Joint Finance Committee in the Wisconsin legislature approved a provision that would limit the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority Board on late-term abortions. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/06/06/late-term-abortion-plans-at-university-of-wisconsin-stopped/
Media Obituaries on Jack Kevorkian Use Revisionist History
It is a brave new world in the grizzly business of abortion. Movement is underfoot to make chemical abortions more accessible, even if it means compromising women s health to do so. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/06/05/media-obituaries-on-jack-kevorkian-use-revisionist-history/
Jack Kevorkian s Death Reminds How Disabled Need Better Options
Jack Kevorkian, the Michigan pathologist known the world over as Dr. Death for his push to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide in the United States, died in a Detroit-area hospital at age 83. He readily admitted to assisting in the deaths of more than 100 people. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/06/06/jack-kevorkians-death-reminds-how-disabled-need-better-options/
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