LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
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Current Headlines
Top Stories
• Biden Spokeswoman Walks Back Comments on One-Child Policy
• Fewer Doctors Willing to Do Abortions, New Study Shows
• Obama Admin Pushes Sex on Kids, Children are Sexual Beings
• Nighttime Scares: Working at the Abortion Clinic After Dark
More Pro-Life News
• Polls: Obama Approval Low, Republican Candidates Run Close
• Pro-Life Leader Chris Smith: Biden Sold Out Chinese Women
• Biden Faces More Criticism For Not Bashing One-Child Policy
• Abortion Activists Try to Shut Power to Pro-Life Leader s Home
• Study: Embryonic Stem Cells Don t Work as Well as Adult Cells
• Bill Would Deny Chinese Human Rights Abusers U.S. Entry
• Exploring the Pro-Life Catholic View on Embryo Adoption
• Ulcer Drug Misoprostol Misused for Abortions in Nigeria
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Biden Spokeswoman Walks Back Comments on One-Child Policy
A spokeswoman for pro-abortion Vice President Joe Biden is walking back comments he made in a speech in China where he failed to condemn the forced abortions and human rights abuses associated with the one-child policy.
Kendra Barkoff told The Daily Caller in an email that Biden and the Obama administration strongly oppose the policy but the comments are a departure from Biden s speech, in which he said he would not second guess the policy and fully understands why China would implement it.
The Obama Administration strongly opposes all aspects of China s coercive birth limitation policies, including forced abortion and sterilization, Barkoff told the conservative news outlet. The Vice President believes such practices are repugnant.
Barkoff contended Biden was attempting to critique the coercive family planning policy in his speech. While he did talk about demographic problems associated with the policy, which has put China in the position of not having enough people to sustain its elderly population, Biden did not condemn the forced abortions, sterilizations or other human rights abuses women and families face in China for violating the one-child rule.
He also pointed out, in China, that the policy is, as a practical matter, unsustainable, Barkoff added. He was arguing against the One Child Policy to a Chinese audience.
Biden came under quick fire from Republican presidential candidates and pro-life advocates. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/08/23/biden-spokeswoman-walks-back-comments-on-one-child-policy/
Fewer Doctors Willing to Do Abortions, New Study Shows
A new study provides more good news for pro-life advocates, as it shows fewer doctors are willing to perform abortions than before creating a situation where the lower availability of abortion may be helping to reduce abortions.
The new report, published today in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology, finds 97 percent of physicians surveyed say they have encountered patients wanting an abortion while only 14 percent of doctors are willing to do an abortion. That s lower than the 22 percent of doctors who said they would do an abortion in the last poll, from 2008.
The researchers conducted a national probability sample mail survey of 1,800 practicing OBGYNs asking about whether respondents ever encountered patients seeking abortions in their practice and whether they provided abortion services. The results showed that demographics and religion play a big role in whether an OBGYN is willing to do abortions.
Women were much more likely than male doctors to say they would do an abortion (18.6 percent v. 10.6 percent); doctors aged 26-35 and 56-65 were more likely to say they would do abortions compared to those 36-45 and 46-55; and physicians in urban areas were more likely to say they would do an abortion compared with doctors in smaller cities and rural settings. Meanwhile, doctors in the Northeast or West are more likely to say they would do an abortion versus those in the South or Midwest.
Looking at religion, Jewish doctors were most likely to say they would do an abortion and those with no religion or of the Hindu religion were next most likely. Evangelical Christians were the most likely to not want to do abortions while Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and non-evangelical Protestants were next most likely to decline. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/08/23/fewer-doctors-willing-to-do-abortions-new-study-shows/
Obama Admin Pushes Sex on Kids, Children are Sexual Beings
The Obama administration is renewing efforts to promote sex to children following on the heels of decisions by the pro-abortion president to de-fund abstinence education programs that have helped teenagers.
CNS News indicates the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) posted new information located on a Questions and Answers About Sex link on the Quick Guide to Healthy Living portion of the HHS Web site, which describes children as sexual beings.
Under the question When Do Kids Start Becoming Curious About Sex? the answer notes that infants have curiosity about their bodies.
Children are human beings and therefore sexual beings, the Q&A Web page says. It s hard for parents to acknowledge this, just as it s hard for kids to think of their parents as sexually active. But even infants have curiosity about their own bodies, which is healthy and normal.
As for masturbation and what sort of sexual behavior do young kids exhibit? the page says, Parents should only be concerned about masturbation if a child seems preoccupied with it to the exclusion of other activities. Victims of sexual abuse sometimes become preoccupied with self-stimulation. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/08/23/obama-admin-pushes-sex-on-kids-children-are-sexual-beings/
Nighttime Scares: Working at the Abortion Clinic After Dark
When I was at Planned Parenthood, I used to work a lot I mean, a lot. Sometimes, I would work as many as 80 hours in one week. In order to do that, I would have to go in at night. Lots of buildings are eerie at night none are creepier than an abortion clinic.
I remember going into the clinic by myself for the first time in the morning. I used to go in with a group of employees. But I had gotten there before anyone else, so I went ahead and decided to make my way in. One of the guys that worked there had there had made a joke about being in the clinic alone. He said that when you there alone, you could hear babies crying. I always thought that was a weird joke but we made lots of weird jokes there. I knew it certainly wasn t true. Even still, this first day I went in alone, I was a little nervous about it.
I walked in and heard the heavy door slam behind me. It echoed as it closed. The clinic had high ceilings and every noise echoed like you were in a cave. It was silent no creaks, no water dripping, nothing totally silent. So silent in fact, I could almost hear something and I m telling you, it almost sounded like babies crying. I know that sounds crazy and I totally disregarded it at the time. I ran up to the front of the clinic, away from the freezer where the babies were kept until the medical waste came to pick them up. I didn t want to be next to that freezer. Did I really hear that? Surely it was just my imagination. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/08/23/nighttime-scares-working-at-the-abortion-clinic-after-dark/
Polls: Obama Approval Low, Republican Candidates Run Close
New polling data shows pro-abortion President Barack Obama continues to be plagued by low approval ratings and they also show four of the leading Republican presidential candidates fare well in potential head-to-head matchups.
A new Gallup poll from Monday shows former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney would beat Obama among registered voters if the election were held today and Romney was the Republican presidential nominee. Romney is the only candidate leading Obama among registered voters, 48 percent to 46 percent, with 6 percent undecided, the Gallup survey shows.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry would tie Obama and Obama only leads Rep. Ron Paul by two percent and only leads Rep. Michele Bachmann by four percent. Perry and Obama are tied at 47 percent among registered voters, also with 6 percent undecided. Obama would beat Paul, 47 percent to 45 percent, and defeat Bachmann by a 4-point margin, 48 percent to 44 percent.
Gallup also found Obama s numbers with independent voters are not good for the abortion advocate. Each of the Republicans in the poll, except Bachmann, lead Obama among registered voters who consider themselves independents. Romney leads 47-44 percent, Perry leads 46-44 percent, Paul leads 46-43 percent, while Bachmann trails Obama, 48 percent to 42 percent. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/08/23/polls-obama-approval-low-republican-candidates-run-close/
Pro-Life Leader Chris Smith: Biden Sold Out Chinese Women
Congressman Chris Smith, the head of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus and chairman of the Executive-Congressional Commission on China, today criticized Vice President Joe Biden for his comments essentially supporting the one-child policy in China.
China s one-child policy is cruel and barbaric, Smith said. The Nuremberg trials properly prosecuted forced abortion as a crime against humanity. We don t second guess. It s hideous. Pregnant women without birth permits are hunted down. There are no single moms in China. It is illegal to have brothers or sisters. Picture all the people who have brothers and sisters all the people you know who have brothers and sisters would be breaking the law in China.
Smith noted that shortly after becoming U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton stated clearly that she was not going to allow human rights to interfere with economic issues with China, a clear sign the Obama Administration was downgrading human rights as a priority.
Obama didn t say a word about any of the human rights crimes of Chinese President Hu Jintao when he visited Washington earlier this year; instead he hosted a state dinner for him. Smith, a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee who chairs its subcommittee on human rights, said as far back as 1984 Congress took away funding that provided U.S. financial support for the one Child Policy. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/08/23/pro-life-leader-chris-smith-biden-sold-out-chinese-women/
Biden Faces More Criticism For Not Bashing One-Child Policy
The criticism continues for pro-abortion Vice-President Joe Biden following his refusal to condemn the forced abortions and human rights abuses associated with the one-child policy in China.
In a speech, Biden talked about demographic concerns associated with the policy but said he would not second-guess it and understood why Chinese put the policy in place.
Now, Biden faces criticism from Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, the first Republican to have addressed the statement.
China s one-child policy is gruesome and barbaric, Romney told the Washington Post. Vice President Biden s acquiescence to such a policy should shock the conscience of every American. Instead of condoning the policy, Vice President Biden should have condemned it in the strongest possible terms. There can be no defense of a government that engages in compulsory sterilization and forced abortions in the name of population control.
Later Tuesday, GOP candidate Rick Perry released a statement condemning Biden s comments, and the forced abortion policy. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/08/23/biden-faces-more-criticism-for-not-bashing-one-child-policy/
Abortion Activists Try to Shut Power to Pro-Life Leader s Home
Joe Scheidler is used to personal attacks from abortion advocates and the man who has publicly opposed abortions for decades. He s faced everything from death threats to vandalism, but a new attack from abortion backers tried a new tactic. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/08/23/abortion-activists-try-to-shut-power-to-pro-life-leaders-home/
Study: Embryonic Stem Cells Don t Work as Well as Adult Cells
Like an out of control youth, embryonic stem cells can wreak havoc with tissue damage and tumor formation. Their inability to make appropriate, mature cells that can function in an adult body is also a problem. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/08/23/study-embryonic-stem-cells-dont-work-as-well-as-adult-cells/
Bill Would Deny Chinese Human Rights Abusers U.S. Entry
A new bill members of Congress filed this week allows the President of the United States to deny entry into the country for anyone engaged in human rights abuses in China, including those engaged in practices like forced abortions. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/08/23/bill-would-deny-chinese-human-rights-abusers-u-s-entry/
Exploring the Pro-Life Catholic View on Embryo Adoption
Thus far in our series on the thorny issue of embryo adoption, we have looked at some of the broader theological questions as well as considering whether it is true that Rome has closed the door to further discussion. As the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, have said the matter is still open for discussion, I am comfortable in advancing the argument in favor of embryo adoption. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/08/23/exploring-the-pro-life-catholic-view-on-embryo-adoption/
Ulcer Drug Misoprostol Misused for Abortions in Nigeria
The drug misoprostol has been approved in Nigeria for use in preventing and treating post partum hemorrhage (PPH) but is increasingly being used to induce abortion. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/08/23/ulcer-drug-misoprostol-misused-for-abortions-in-nigeria/
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