LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
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Current Headlines
Top Stories
• Members of Congress Press for Planned Parenthood Investigation
• Catholic Bishop Drops Komen Support Over Planned Parenthood Ties
• Sebelius Faces Congressional Hot Seat Over Obamacare Rationing
• Senate Cmte Votes Thursday on Pro-Abortion Judge Steven Six
More Pro-Life News
• Judge Halts New York City Law Attacking Pregnancy Centers
• Planned Parenthood Undermines Parents, Promotes Sex to Kids
• Santorum Picks Up Endorsement From Iowa Pro-Life Activist
• Obama 2012 Fundraising Lags Behind Campaign s Projections
• Thank God for Pro-Life African-Americans Opposing Abortion
• Stories of Hope: Moms Sacrificing to Give Birth to Children
• Ohio Legislature Sends Late-Term Abortion Ban to Gov. Kasich
• Pro-Abortion Alan Grayson Runs for Congress Again in Florida
• Abstinence Education Advocates Press for Federal Funding
• Providence Rhode Island Newspaper Corrects Abortion Misreporting
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Members of Congress Press for Planned Parenthood Investigation
More members of Congress are pressing for an investigation of the Planned Parenthood abortion business following a new comprehensive report issued by Americans United for Life detailing extensive abuses.
Americans United for Life issued a new report featuring a groundbreaking analysis of the nation s largest abortion business and saying it has uncovered evidence of systemic financial irregularities within the abortion giant, which receives more than $363 million in federal and state taxpayer funding, and that Congress should investigate.
AUL staff combed through 20 years of Planned Parenthood financial data and the report documents the known and alleged abuses by Planned Parenthood, including the misuse of federal health care and family planning funds, failure to report criminal child sexual abuse, failure to comply with parental involvement laws, assisting those in engaged in prostitution and/or sex trafficking, and dangerous misuse of the abortion drug RU-486.
Tomorrow, AUL officials will hold a press conference with Rep. Renee Ellmers, a North Carolina Republican, and Rep. Randy Hultgren, an Illinois Republican, who have invited other members of Congress to join them in calling for a congressional probe of the abortion giant.
Congressman Doug Lamborn, a Colorado Republican, rep. Chris Smith, a New Jersey Republican, and Rep. Bill Huizenga, a Michigan republican, will join the event as well. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/07/13/members-of-congress-press-for-planned-parenthood-investigation/
Catholic Bishop Drops Komen Support Over Planned Parenthood Ties
A Catholic bishop in Ohio says his misgivings about the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation over its ties to the Planned Parenthood abortion business make it so he is suggesting that Catholics not support the organization.
In a letter, Most Reverend Leonard P. Blair, the Bishop of Toledo, Ohio, said numerous questions Catholic have raised about Komen prompted him and his fellow Ohio bishops to investigate and his conclusion is that Komen has Planned parenthood connections and may support embryonic stem cell research.
They are open to embryonic stem cell research, and may very well fund such research in the future. They are also contributors to Planned Parenthood, which, though it may claim to provide needed medical services to poor women, is also the largest provider of abortions in our country, Blair writes.
Those ties are sufficient for him to suggest to Catholics that they not participate in Komen events and he said the Catholic Church in Toledo, Ohio will not support Komen.
In order to avoid even the possibility of cooperation in morally unacceptable activities, the other Bishops and I believe that it would be wise to find alternatives to Komen for Catholic fundraising efforts, he writes. For that reason, I am directing that in the fight against breast cancer, fundraising carried out under Catholic auspices, including our schools, should be channeled to our locally known Mercy Cancer Centers instead of Komen.
Blair says Catholics should not back down in supporting women dealing with breast cancer or helping them prevent it, but he said Catholics have a moral obligation to help groups like Mercy that do so without other morally compromising positions. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/07/13/catholic-bishop-drops-komen-support-over-planned-parenthood-ties/
Sebelius Faces Congressional Hot Seat Over Obamacare Rationing
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius faced the hot seat this week in two different Congressional hearings about the future of American health care and rationing under Obamacare.
Rep. Paul Ryan, a pro-life Wisconsin Republican, used the occasion to question the abortion advocate about one of the most lethal aspects of the President s plan: Medicare s Independent Payment Advisory Board, or IPAB. Ryan chipped away at the claim that IPAB would protect Medicare and he said there is a better way to solve Medicare s financial crisis without rationing care.
The Independent Patient Advisory Board makes recommendations to Congress, Sebelius said. It is forbidden by law to do exactly what the Republican budget plan does. They may not shift costs to seniors. They may not change benefits.
All final decisions remain in the hands of Congress, Sebelius said in her prepared statement. If Medicare costs are rising at an unsustainable rate, it s Congress s choice whether to accept those recommendations, or come up with recommendations of its own to put Medicare spending on a stable, sustainable path.
But Rep. Joe Pitts, a pro-life Pennsylvania Republican, said there is widespread opposition to IPAB.
This is not surprising, since the decisions of the board will become law by a fast track process that will bypass the usual legislative procedures, in effect superseding the customary jurisdiction of committees like this one, said Pitts. Rep. Frank Pallone, a Democrat, also voiced his opposition to IPAB, and Rep. Allyson Schwartz, a Pennsylvania Democrat, did as well. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/07/13/sebelius-faces-congressional-hot-seat-over-obamacare-rationing/
Senate Cmte Votes Thursday on Pro-Abortion Judge Steven Six
The Sendate Judiciary Committee will reportedly vote on Thursday on President Barack Obama s latest pro-abortion nomination for a federal judicial position, pro-abortion former Kansas Attorney General Steven Six.
Opposition has built to Six as pro-life groups have ratcheted up the campaign against him due to his ties to the abortion industry and his efforts to delay or stop an investigation into potentially illegal late-term abortions at a Planned Parenthood facility in Kansas, where Six was the state attorney general. The abortion business was accused of making up illegitimate reasons for the abortions and doctoring paperwork to justify them.
Six, in his position as the leading attorney in the state, did everything possible to delay the investigation and tried to have the state Supreme Court deny prosecutors access to the patient files and other evidence they needed to prove their case.
Kansans for Life which has been leading opposition to Six, has again urged votes against him.
We were appropriately pleased when our two Kansas U.S. Senators (Pat Roberts and Jerry Moran) previously announced their opposition to the nomination of Kansan Steve Six to the U.S. Court of Appeals (one level below the U.S. Supreme Court), KFL said today. And we were thrilled the next day when Senate Judiciary Committee chair Patrick Leahy postponed the committee vote. At that time, the White House even called Sen. Moran s office very upset about his decision to oppose Six. Senator Moran stood his ground and said his opposition is firm.
The pro-life group said Republican lawmakers need to stand strong against Six s nomination. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/07/13/senate-cmte-votes-thursday-on-pro-abortion-judge-steven-six/
Judge Halts New York City Law Attacking Pregnancy Centers
A judge has issued a ruling granting a preliminary injunction prohibiting a new pro-abortion law from taking effect in New York City that places hefty restrictions on pregnancy centers helping women avoid abortions. Federal Judge William Pauley issued the ruling this afternoon, saying he agreed with pregnancy centers that the law is unconstitutionally vague and that it would present a discriminatory enforcement because it did not also apply to centers that do abortions.
Judge Pauley, of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, concluded the law violates free speech saying the law s over-expansiveness is evident from its very language. He was especially critical of the City s desire to single-out crisis pregnancy centers with the new law.
Defendants second argument that Plaintiffs engage in commercial speech because they are provided an audience to whom they can espouse their beliefs is particularly offensive to free speech principles, the court declared. While Defendants apparently regard an assembly of people as an economic commodity, this Court does not. Under such a view, flyers for political rallies, religious literature promoting church attendance, or similar forms of expression would constitute commercial speech merely because they assemble listeners for the speaker.
This Court will not upend established free speech protections in service of Defendants overly broad definition of commercial speech, the judge added. Local Law 17?s fundamental flaw is that permits the Commission to classify a facility as a pregnancy services center based solely on unspecified criteria.
The city council approved the bill on a 39-9-1 vote and the ordinance that 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.
Alliance Defense Fund attorneys filed suit against the city over the law that the pro-life legal group says threatens non-medical, pro-life pregnancy care centers with steep fines and potential closure if they don t post signs and publish in their ads that the city health department encourages women to go elsewhere. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/07/13/judge-halts-new-york-city-law-attacking-pregnancy-centers/
Planned Parenthood Undermines Parents, Promotes Sex to Kids
In anticipation of the UN Conference on Children later this month, International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) has released a new document, Exclaim!
In this document, Planned Parenthood leads an all-out assault against parental rights over their children by calling for laws to empower children and leave parents out in the cold.
http://www.lifenews.com/2011/07/13/planned-parenthood-undermines-parents-promotes-sex-to-kids/
Santorum Picks Up Endorsement From Iowa Pro-Life Activist
There are several pro-life candidates in the race for the Republican nomination for president, but longtime Iowa pro-life activist Kim Lehman, the former executive director of Iowa Right to Life, is backing Rick Santorum.
The Santorum campaign announced her endorsement today and it could help the former Pennsylvania senator gain some traction with social conservative voters in the state where he has been lagging behind in the polls, with support in the low single digits in most polls.
Lehman is a widely respected and well-known conservative leader in the Iowa. In addition to serving as Iowa s Republican National Committeewoman, Lehman is the Development Director for the John Paul II Stem Cell Institute, a pro-life bioethics organization. She led Iowa Right to Life for years before that and is making the endorsement for Santorum personally not on behalf of either of the groups.
I am blessed to be able to endorse a candidate like Rick Santorum for President, Lehman said. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/07/13/santorum-picks-up-endorsement-from-iowa-pro-life-activist/
Obama 2012 Fundraising Lags Behind Campaign s Projections
President Barack Obama will likely have more than enough money to compete for another four years in the White House, but his early numbers are lagging behind the projections his campaign made recently. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/07/13/obama-2012-fundraising-lags-behind-campaigns-projections/
Thank God for Pro-Life African-Americans Opposing Abortion
You may know the name Reverend Walter Hoye. In 2009, Hoye was sentenced to 30 days in jail and an $1100 fine for carrying a sign outside Oakland abortion clinics that read, Jesus loves you and your baby. Let us help you! As women approached the doors of clinics, Hoye would ask, May I talk to you about alternatives to the clinic? http://www.lifenews.com/2011/07/13/thank-god-for-pro-life-african-americans-opposing-abortion/
Stories of Hope: Moms Sacrificing to Give Birth to Children
Headlines regarding the Casey Anthony tot mom murder trial are giving way to news of mothers who have sacrificed dearly for their children. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/07/13/stories-of-hope-moms-sacrificing-to-give-birth-to-children/
Ohio Legislature Sends Late-Term Abortion Ban to Gov. Kasich
The Ohio legislature today signed off on a bill banning late-term abortions in the Buckeye State and now it heads to pro-life Gov. John Kasich for his signature. H.B. 78, the Late-Term Abortion Ban, passed by a 64 to 32 vote in the House late last month and the Senate approved it today. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/07/13/ohio-legislature-sends-late-term-abortion-ban-to-gov-kasich/
Pro-Abortion Alan Grayson Runs for Congress Again in Florida
2012 just got even more interesting. Pro-abortion former Congressman Alan Grayson, who was overwhelmingly defeated in 2010 by pro-life Republican Daniel Webster in Florida s 8th district, announced Monday evening he will run again for the House. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/07/13/pro-abortion-alan-grayson-runs-for-congress-again-in-florida/
Abstinence Education Advocates Press for Federal Funding
Abstinence education advocates are again pressing for federal funding for abstinence education in the federal budget after President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats slashed such funding in prior years. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/07/13/abstinence-education-advocates-press-for-federal-funding/
Providence Rhode Island Newspaper Corrects Abortion Misreporting
The newspaper in Providence, Rhode Island is getting kudos from the state pro-life group commending it for correcting recent misreporting on abortion and taxpayer funding of abortions. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/07/13/providence-rhode-island-newspaper-corrects-abortion-misreporting/
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