LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
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Current Headlines
Top Stories
• Judge: Abortionist Must Pay $36M to Botched Abortion Survivor
• Post-Straw Poll Survey Has Perry Leading Romney, Bachmann
• Catholic Bishop: Boot Pro-Abortion Politicians From Church
• National Right to Life Highlights Perry s Pro-Life Views
More Pro-Life News
• Billboard: African-Americans Leaders Betrayed Blacks on Abortion
• Planned Parenthood Vote to Unionize With SEIU Not Surprising
• Pro-Life Group Wins Bid to Keep Membership List Private
• Battle to Recognize Abortion-Breast Cancer Link Continues
• ACLU Sues to Make Kansas Fund Abortions in Obamacare
• Back to School Means Back to Work for Planned Parenthood
• Direct Conversion Making Nerve From Skin, Without Stem Cells
• New York Times Abortion Story Shows How IVF Not About Children
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Judge: Abortionist Must Pay $36M to Botched Abortion Survivor
A Florida judge has dismissed a request by a Florida abortion practitioner looking to get out of paying the survivor of a failed abortion $36 million in damages for injuries she suffered from the abortion.
James Pendergraft is the owner of five abortion facilities in Florida and a late-term clinic in D.C. specializing in abortions past the 24th week of pregnancy. He has had his medical license suspended four times for botched abortions, illegal late-term abortions, and dispensing drugs without a license. He has also faced legal and disciplinary actions for making up false threats from pro-life advocates and reporting them to authorities.
Pendergraft found himself in an Orange County courthouse facing a lawsuit from the daughter of Carol Howard, who wants a lifetime of medical care after she was born alive after a botched abortion began. The plaintiff is a 10-year-old girl with massive birth defects who survived the abortion. The plaintiff s mother, Carol Howard, paid $1300 to have an abortion in November 2001 when she was 22 weeks pregnant.
The plan was for the daughter, identified as JH in court documents according to a pro-life advocate familiar with the case, to be delivered stillborn into a toilet. After 12 hours of labor, the mother left the abortion clinic very upset and went to a nearby hospital because the process was taking too long. There, she gave birth to a girl weighing 1 lb 6 oz, who is now 10-years-old. She has cerebral palsy, no function on the left side of her body, strokes and brain damage, physical, emotional and cognitive delays, lung damage, chronic lung disease and seizure disorders.
Pendergraft was found liable for damages and Pendergraft was ordered to pay Howard $18,255,000 in punitive damages, $18,000,000 in compensatory damages and over $400,000 in court costs.
Now, an Orange Circuit judge has denied Pendergraft a new trial in the medical malpractice case. The Orlando Sentinel also indicates Judge John Marshall Kest denied Pendrgraft s attorney s motion to set aside the verdicts for damages meaning he and his abortion business must pay out the damages awarded earlier. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/08/16/judge-abortionist-must-pay-36m-to-botched-abortion-survivor/
Post-Straw Poll Survey Has Perry Leading Romney, Bachmann
A new national poll of Republican voters gives pro-life Texas Gov. Rick Perry a big lead over his GOP presidential competitors despite Michele Bachmann s victory in the Iowa Straw poll on Saturday.
The survey has Perry with a double digit lead following his entrance into the Republican race Saturday evening after a speech at the Red State gathering of conservative political activists. He now leads both Bachmann and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of likely Republican primary election voters, taken Monday night, finds Perry with 29% support. Romney, who is on his second presidential bid and who, like Perry, did not compete in the Iowa Straw Poll, earns 18% of the vote, while Bachmann, the Minnesota congresswoman who is also pro-life, picks up 13%.
Texas Congressman Ron Paul, who was a close second to Bachmann on Saturday in Iowa, has the support of nine percent (9%) of Republicans followed by Georgia businessman Herman Cain at six percent (6%) and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich with five percent (5%). Rick Santorum, former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, and ex-Utah Governor Jon Huntsman each get one percent (1%) support, while Michigan Congressman Thaddeus McCotter comes in statistically at zero.
The Rasmussen survey shows 16 percent of Republicans are still undecided. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/08/16/post-straw-poll-survey-has-perry-leading-romney-bachmann/
Catholic Bishop: Boot Pro-Abortion Politicians From Church
A Catholic bishop in North Dakota recently gave an interview in which he gave some of the strongest comments yet from a Catholic Church leader on the thorny questions of what to do about Catholic politicians who support abortion.
Bishop Samuel Aquila makes it crystal clear he believes there is a process by which Catholic officials should confront pro-abortion politicians and that they should be expelled from the Church if they don t back down from supporting abortion.
Responding to the question, How should the Church respond to Catholic politicians who support legalized abortion, Bishop Aquila says: Their particular bishops can use the process of correction that is given to us in sacred Scripture, especially in Matthew s Gospel. Our Lord tells us to speak to the person, and then take two or three others with us if he does not change.
If he still does not change, the Church can speak to him, which is done through the bishop. [The bishop] exercises the authority of Christ. Christ then says that if that person is still obstinate and will not change, treat them as a tax collector or Gentile. Expel him, Bishop Aquila adds. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/08/16/catholic-bishop-boot-pro-abortion-politicians-from-church/
National Right to Life Highlights Perry s Pro-Life Views
The National Right to Life Committee has revised its main publication about the Republican presidential candidates that it is using to educate pro-life voters on where they stand. The group is now highlighting Rick Perry s pro-life views on abortion.
Titled Where do the candidates stand on life? the NRLC document is a one-page flyer that comparison the pro-abortion policies and record of President Barack Obama with the positions of eight Republican presidential hopefuls in four areas: taxpayer funding of abortion, Roe v. Wade, funding for the Planned Parenthood abortion business, and Obamacare. NRLC opposes Roe, abortion funding and funding of the abortion business, and opposed Obamacare because of abortion funding and rationing concerns.
As LifeNews.com previously noted, the NRLC piece depicts each of the Republican presidential candidates as pro-life and Perry is no exception, as he is listed as opposing the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that has resulted in 53 million abortions.
Until the day Roe v. Wade is nothing but a shameful footnote in our nation s history books, we can t afford to give up the good fight, Perry has said about the case previously. Fifty million children have lost their chance at life a tragic legacy.
NRLC says Perry supports de-funding the Planned Parenthood abortion business, saying, As governor, [Perry] signed legislation to revoke taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood, the nation s largest abortion provider. Perry also backs stopping taxpayer funding for abortions, saying about a major pro-life bill in Congress to do that: this bill helps protect those who need our protection the most, the unborn, underscoring our ongoing commitment that taxpayer money never be used to fund abortions. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/08/16/national-right-to-life-highlights-perrys-pro-life-views/
Billboard: African-Americans Leaders Betrayed Blacks on Abortion
Another new campaign produced by black pro-life advocates says African-American political leaders have betrayed the black community with their support for abortion, which has destroyed millions of black Americans.
Catherine Davis, founder of the Restoration Project, has joined with other pro-life African-Americans to launch a new billboard today in downtown Atlanta. The Betrayed billboard calls attention to the pro-abortion views of many African-American leaders. The billboard is posted on the corner of Spring and Marietta Streets and is linked to www.abortioninthehood.com.
Something is wrong, Davis says, when those elected to protect the interests of their constituents turn a blind eye to the horrific impact that abortion is wreaking on the black community. In New York City, for every 1,000 black babies born alive, 1,489 are aborted. In Washington, D.C. for every 100 black babies born alive, 165 are aborted. Something is wrong.
Davis was instrumental in implementing another successful billboard awareness campaign in collaboration with Ryan Bomberger of the radiance Foundation and Georgia Right to Life.
Day Gardner of the National Black Prolife Union is also on board with the new project and asks: Can t we at least ask the hard questions about these numbers? http://www.lifenews.com/2011/08/16/billboard-african-americans-leaders-betrayed-blacks-on-abortion/
Planned Parenthood Vote to Unionize With SEIU Not Surprising
Workers at Planned Parenthood in Oregon have voted to unionize with the Service Employees International Union. while the vote was particularly close, the decision to link with the abortion-backing union is not surprising.
Some 161 care providers at Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette (PPCW) voted to form a union with SEIU Local 49 in a National Labor Relations Board Election (NLRB), says the Lund Report. The vote was a strong majority for the union with a tally of: 97 yes for the union and 43 no.
Officials with the local abortion business opposed the move, citing increased costs, with the Portland Mercury reporting: In multiple emails, [Planned Parenthood CEO David] Greenberg told employees to weigh the arguments and make up their own minds. But in an email dated July 19th, he writes that the union may be promising more than it can deliver and says, I hope you will not vote to have SEIU represent you.
Unlike many unionizing campaigns, the workers at the local Planned Parenthoods don t have a laundry list of complaints, says the Mercury. Instead, the drive for the union revolves around having more of a voice in the planning and administration of PPCW, as well as gaining a livable wage for all staff and maintaining health benefits.
John Ransom, writing at TownHall, noticed the vote and the question now is whether SEIU will have any influence over how things are run at the abortion business and whether Planned Parenthood will get bad publicity from linking with the union.
You know how greedy those capitalist non-profits are, always wanting a say in how their organization is run. What do they think this is a free society where non-profits have to be accountable to donors and funders? he writes sarcastically. Combining an abortion provider with a local union, especially the blood-sucking SEIU, is a combination that only the devil himself could think up. Now Planned Parenthood has teamed up with union folks who know a thing or two about violence, threats and intimidation. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/08/16/planned-parenthood-vote-to-unionize-with-seiu-not-surprising/
Pro-Life Group Wins Bid to Keep Membership List Private
Oklahomans For Life has won a legal battle against a pro-abortion group seeking to have it turn over its private membership roles in what could have been a dangerous precedent for pro-life organizations nationwide.
As part of their lawsuit seeking to overturn a new pro-life law in Oklahoma that allows women a chance to see an ultrasound of their baby before an abortion, pro-abortion activists were also threatening Oklahomans for Life. The abortion industry sent its high-priced lawyers after Oklahomans For Life with an invasive court subpoena which would require the pro-life group to divulge countless internal documents, communications, email lists, and mailing lists.
Tony Lauinger, the state director of the organization, told LifeNews.com about the problems earlier this month and now reports that it wont its effort in court to defeat the abortion-industry subpoena.
The subpoena attempted, under penalty of contempt of court, to force us at Oklahomans For Life to turn over our internal documents regarding strategy, our email communications, letters, mailing list, email list, and other information potentially thousands of documents, he said. The subpoena was issued by the abortion-industry plaintiffs in their lawsuit against the State of Oklahoma, in which the abortion industry is trying to nullify Oklahoma s law providing mothers an opportunity to view their baby by ultrasound prior to having an abortion. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/08/16/pro-life-group-wins-bid-to-keep-membership-list-private/
Battle to Recognize Abortion-Breast Cancer Link Continues
The battle over getting scientists and the media to recognize the link between induced abortion and breast cancer continues, as pro-life advocates responded to a scientist who denied the link in a Toronto newspaper letter. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/08/16/battle-over-recognizing-abortion-breast-cancer-link-continues/
ACLU Sues to Make Kansas Fund Abortions in Obamacare
The ACLU has filed a lawsuit seeking to make Kansas residents fund abortions under the Obamacare law that has the government running a nationwide health insurance plan that includes abortion funding and rationing concerns. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/08/16/aclu-sues-to-make-kansas-fund-abortions-in-obamacare/
Back to School Means Back to Work for Planned Parenthood
I am sending you this critical pro-life update because you need to know about Planned Parenthood s deadly agenda for students in the fall. The nation s premier anti-life organization is planning an unprecedented campaign to promote abortions in high schools and colleges across the nation. Unless we act right now, we will witness a tragic outbreak of abortions on American campuses. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/08/16/back-to-school-means-back-to-work-for-planned-parenthood/
Direct Conversion Making Nerve From Skin, Without Stem Cells
A passel of scientific papers have recently reported the direct conversion of skin cells to nerve cells, without going through an intervening stem cell step. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/08/16/direct-conversion-making-nerve-from-skin-without-stem-cells/
New York Times Abortion Story Shows How IVF Not About Children
The New York Times published a story last weekend about the practice of what is euphemistically known as reducing a pregnancy. It s the barbaric practice of killing one or more babies in a multiple-birth pregnancy, usually through lethal injection, and leaving the dead sibling(s) with the living until birth. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/08/16/new-york-times-abortion-story-shows-how-ivf-not-about-children/
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