LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report
Monday, August 8, 2011
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Current Headlines
Top Stories
• Rick Perry May Declare Presidential Bid in Saturday Speech
• Poll Shows Tight Republican Contest Heading to Ames, Iowa
• Members of Congress Back Indiana Planned Parenthood De-Funding
• Gallup Finds Pro-Choice Americans Back Most Abortion Limits
More Pro-Life News
• NARAL: Force Religious Groups to Cover Birth Control, Abortion
• 2012 Election Polling Data: Obama Above 50% in Just 11 States
• Younger Christians More Likely to See Abortion as Important
• Institute of Medicine s Obamacare Recommendations Hurt Women
• China Promises to Do More to Stop Sex-Selection Abortions
• Pro-Abortion Grassroots Is Really Just Paid Astroturf
• Wisconsin Set for Key Recall Election Shaping Abortion Issues
• Abortion Practitioner Richard Leigh of North Dakota Dies
Rick Perry May Declare Presidential Bid in Saturday Speech
Rick Perry, the pro-life Texas governor, is expected to use a speech on Saturday to declare he will officially announce a presidential bid for the Republican nomination.
The speech, coming at the Red State gathering of conservative political activists, will, according to a Politico report, have the three-term governor announce that he will formally launch a bid for the nomination soon. The news is already generating significant buzz within Republican circles and political observers say Perry s decision to announce he will announce will take some of the luster away from the Ames straw poll in Iowa happening earlier in the day.
Perry, who has been the source of significant speculation about his plans for joining the crowded Republican presidential field, stood to lose the attention of the media as he will not participate in a previously-scheduled debate on Thursday night with other Republican hopefuls. He will also not be on the ballot in Iowa on Saturday as voters in the first battleground state give an indication of which candidates they prefer up to this point.
Politico says two sources close to Perry confirmed the speech and indicated he will follow up the declaration of his intention to run for president with a meeting with political activists in New Hampshire, the location of the second presidential battleground for Republicans. Perry will join a house party at the home of a state representative who has been active in encouraging Perry to run.
Perry will also meet with a small group of prominent businessmen, whose support he will need to raise the funds necessary to compete with top Republicans like Michele Bachmann and Tim Pawlenty as well as former Governor Mitt Romney, seen as the leader of the Republican field so far and who has amassed millions to support his campaign. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/08/08/rick-perry-may-declare-presidential-bid-in-saturday-speech/
Poll Shows Tight Republican Contest Heading to Ames, Iowa
With just one week left before Republican voters in Iowa head to Ames for the traditional straw poll that officially kicks off the presidential election season, a new poll from Rasmussen Reports shows a tight contest.
Rasmussen shows pro-life Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota in a virtual tie with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who is campaigning on a pro-life platform at 22-21 percent. Rick Perry, the pro-life Texas governor, receives 12 percent of the support of Iowa Republicans in the survey while pro-life Rep. Ron Paul of Texas receives the backing of 16 percent.
Tim Pawlenty, the pro-life former Minnesota governor, is next with 11 percent and no other candidate in the race tops double digits. The poll rounds out with pro-life former Speaker Newt Gingrich getting 5 percent, pro-life businessman Herman Cain at 4 percent, pro-life former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman at 2 percent, and pro-life former Sen. Rick Santorum not measuring 1 percent.
The poll shows Iowa Republicans still haven t made up their minds which candidate they will support at the Ames straw poll as just 28% of potential Iowa Caucus participants are absolutely certain of how they will vote, while the rest could change their mind. Among those who are certain of their vote, Ron Paul is on top at 27% as he has a strong backing of libertarian supporters but little appeal to Republicans beyond that.
Fox News and the Washington Examiner will sponsor a GOP debate this Thursday night that could further change the tenor of the race before the Saturday vote. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/08/08/poll-shows-tight-republican-contest-heading-to-ames-iowa/
Members of Congress Back Indiana Planned Parenthood De-Funding
More than 40 members of Congress have banded together to file papers with a federal appeals court defending a state law that revokes taxpayer funding from the nation s biggest abortion business.
The American Center for Law and Justice, a pro-life legal group, today urged a federal appeals court, on behalf of 41 members of Congress and more than 25,000 Americans who signed petitions in support of the law, to reverse a lower court decision and uphold an Indiana law that prohibits federal funds from going to abortion businesses like Planned Parenthood.
The ACLJ filed an amicus brief backing the Indiana law saying it is consistent with federal statutes and is constitutionally sound. The brief follows one from the Thomas More Law Center for state legislators who also want to have the law defended.
The state of Indiana and other states do have the constitutional authority to determine how it spends federal funds, said Jay Sekulow, chief counselor for the ACLJ. The fact is that Planned Parenthood receives more than $350-million a year in taxpayer funds. Indiana s decision to no longer use federal money to fund the nation s largest abortion provider is not only a constitutionally sound decision, but one we hope is implemented in other states across the country.
The new law provides, in pertinent part: An agency of the state may not: (1) enter into a contract with; or (2) 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. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/08/08/members-of-congress-back-indiana-planned-parenthood-de-funding/
Gallup Finds Pro-Choice Americans Back Most Abortion Limits
When abortion backers say most Americans are pro-choice on abortion, new polling data from Gallup finds that no only is that incorrect but even a strong majority of pro-choice Americans support most abortion limits.
Today, Gallup released more of its most recent polling data on abortion, where it asked Americans if they support a wide range of pro-life laws that have been effective in stopping abortions. As Gallup notes:
Self-described pro-choice and pro-life Americans agree about nine major areas of abortion policy, while disagreeing on eight others. Among the areas of consensus, in which a majority of both groups hold the same opinion, especially large percentages are in favor of requiring informed consent for women (86% of pro-choice adults and 87% who are pro-life) and making abortion illegal in the third trimester (79% and 94%).
Some 86 percent of pro-choice Americans favor giving women information about abortion s risks and alternatives beforehand, 79 percent favor banning abortions in the third-trimester, 63 percent favor banning partial-birth abortions, 60 percent support parental consent for minors, 60 percent back a 24-hour abortion waiting period, and even 52 percent of pro-choice Americans want abortions to be made illegal in the second trimester. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/08/08/gallup-finds-pro-choice-americans-back-most-abortion-limits/
NARAL: Force Religious Groups to Cover Birth Control, Abortion
Reacting to last week s decision by the Obama administration to adopt new guidelines forcing insurance companies to cover birth control and drugs that can cause abortions under Obamacare, NARAL is pushing the decision further.
As LifeNews reported, the Obama administration has approved a recommendation from the Institute of Medicine suggesting that it force insurance companies to pay for birth control and drugs that can cause abortions under the Obamacare government-run health care program.
The IOM recommendation, opposed by pro-life groups, called for the Obama administration to require insurance programs to include birth control such as the morning after pill or the ella drug that causes an abortion days after conception in the section of drugs and services insurance plans must cover under preventative care. The companies will likely pass the added costs on to consumers, requiring them to pay for birth control and, in some instances, drug-induced abortions of unborn children in their earliest days.
The Obama administration s decision also presented significant conscience concerns for Catholic and pro-life groups who don t want to be forced to pay for insurance coverage for employees that includes birth control and abortion-causing drugs.
Now, NARAL is opposing even the very limited conscience protections the Obama administration included in its decision and is promoting a campaign to get its pro-abortion members to ask the Health and Human Services Department to reject any protections for religious employers who don t want to be forced to provide insurance coverage for employees that includes birth control and abortion-causing drugs. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/08/08/naral-force-religious-groups-to-cover-birth-control-abortion/
2012 Election Polling Data: Obama Above 50% in Just 11 States
With the U.S. economy in dire straits, the re-election and approval data for pro-abortion President Barack Obama doesn t look good as new Gallup information shows the president under 50 percent in all but 11 states.
According to six months of Gallup polling, Obama eclipses the 50 percent mark in just 11 states and the District of Columbia. Added together, the states and the nation s capital district would net Obama just 173 of the 270 electoral college votes he would need to win re-election to another four-year term.
The data Gallup released today is a state-by-state look at more than 90,000 interviews dating back to January of this year and, given the current poor state of the economy and the fact that poling data from Gallup recently showed him at his lowest levels historically, the analysis is likely worse than Gallup indicates when it includes older numbers. In January, Gallup rated Obama at a 49-45 percent approval rating and that has dropped to 42-50 percent today.
The 11 states that favor Obama include the New England and Northeast states (other than New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island), Illinois, Minnesota and California.
Obama s support is greatest in the East, with 8 of his 10 highest approval ratings occurring in states located in the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic region of the country. The 2 non-Eastern states ranking among the 10 highest are Obama s home states of Hawaii and Illinois, Gallup noted. States giving Obama his lowest approval ratings are more varied regionally, with several in the West but also including Southern and Midwestern states. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/08/08/2012-election-polling-data-obama-above-50-in-just-11-states/
Younger Christians More Likely to See Abortion as Important
Mainstream media reports on abortion make it seem as if concern about abortion is fading, but new polling data shows that younger Christians are more likely than older believers to see abortion and euthanasia as important.
A new survey commissioned by Premier Christian Media and conducted by the ComRes polling agency in England, surveyed Christians of all ages and Christian denominations in Britain asking them to rate the issues in terms of how important they are to the respondent. The survey found pro-life and end of life issues were of greater concern to young people aged between 18-34 years compared with those over the age of 65.
Almost three quarters (69%) of young people surveyed believe abortion to be very important compared to just 31% of those over 65. Similarly, two-thirds (66%) of young people think euthanasia is a very important issue compared with just one-third (33 percent) of those over 65. The poll also found 60 percent of those between the ages of 35-44 say abortion is very important to them.
Women were more likely to say abortion is important at a 56-44 percent clip compared with men.
It s fascinating to see that young people are concerned about pro-life and end of life issues, said Martin Saunders, Editor of Youthwork magazine, in response to the survey. This poll bucks the trend that perceives young people to be thoughtless. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/08/08/younger-christians-more-likely-to-see-abortion-as-important/
Institute of Medicine s Obamacare Recommendations Hurt Women
Richard John Neuhaus once commented that the philosophes of the French Revolution would turn over in their graves to discover how the Catholic Church had become the chief defender of the place of reason in the public square in the late 20th century. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/08/08/institute-of-medicines-obamacare-recommendations-hurt-women/
China Promises to Do More to Stop Sex-Selection Abortions
With more international attention placed on the problem of sex-selection abortions in China and the millions of young girls who are missing in the Asian nation s population base, officials are promising to do more to stop them. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/08/08/china-promises-to-do-more-to-stop-sex-selection-abortions/
Pro-Abortion Grassroots Is Really Just Paid Astroturf
Recently a mother who conceived her child through in vitro fertilization (IVF) wrote to a Washington Post advice column. Her parents objected to the immoral manner of their grandchild s conception so they decided to have nothing to do with the baby, a decision that was both hurtful and troubling. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/08/08/pro-abortion-grassroots-is-really-just-paid-astroturf/
Wisconsin Set for Key Recall Election Shaping Abortion Issues
Wisconsin voters are headed to the polls tomorrow for the first of two recall election dates that a state pro-life group says are important because they will shape the direction of the state legislature on the issue of abortion. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/08/08/wisconsin-set-for-key-recall-election-shaping-abortion-issues/
Abortion Practitioner Richard Leigh of North Dakota Dies
Former abortion practitioner Richard Leigh of North Dakota has passed away. He was one of the few abortion practitioners to do abortions in the northern state in the 1970s and 1980s and he eventually lost his medical license over fraud. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/08/08/abortion-practitioner-richard-leigh-of-north-dakota-dies/
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