LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
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Current Headlines
Top Stories
• Chris Christie Will Not Seek Republican Presidential Nod
• Catholic Bishop to Keep Father Pavone in Texas Indefinitely
• Catholic Bishops: Abortion Should Guide 2012 Election Vote
• Cain Jumps to Second in Tie With Perry in GOP 2012 Race
More Pro-Life News
• Pro-Abortion Vandals Arrested, Destroyed Pro-Life Display
• Abortionist Suspended for Covering Up Sexual Assault Case
• Bachmann: GOP Nominee Must Push Pro-Life Theme on Abortion
• New Video: 7 Billion People on Earth is Not Overpopulation
• Respect Life: Opposing Abortion Must be More Than a Phrase
• Late-Term Abortionist Martin Haskell Allowed to Avoid Ohio Law
• Quit Looking for the Perfect Presidential Candidate
• IPS Cells May Hold Treatment for Sickle Cell Anemia
• Pat Robertson Bashed for Suggesting Leaving Alzheimer s Spouse
• Father Pavone Releases Video on Baby Joseph s Passing
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Chris Christie Will Not Seek Republican Presidential Nod
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie announced today what he has said numerous times over the last several months: he is not running for president. Christie scheduled a press conference and the governor made a final statement indicating he will not join the crowded Republican field seeking to take on pro-abortion President Barack Obama next year.
In the end, what I always felt was the right decision, remains the right decision today. Now is not my time, he said. Now is not my time. I have a commitment to New Jersey that I simply will not abandon. New Jersey, whether you like it or not, you re stuck with me.
The deciding factor was that it did not feel right to me, in my gut, to leave now when the job isn t finished, he said, adding that his family had told him he had their full support had he decided to run.
Christie also focused on defeating Obama, saying, I think the country will be better by making sure President Obama is a one-termer but he said he would not issue an endorsement now. The governor said Obama has failed the American people and did not possess strong leadership skills. Christie says if he endorses, he will back someone who gives us the best chance to defeat Obama in 2012.
About a potential vice-presidential bid, he said, I don t think there s anybody in America who would think my personality is best suited to be number two. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/10/04/chris-christie-will-not-seek-republican-presidential-nod/
Catholic Bishop to Keep Father Pavone in Texas Indefinitely
Bishop Patrick Zurek of Amarillo, Texas has released a new letter concerning the status of Father Frank Pavone and has said the Priests for Life leader will be forced to remain in Texas indefinitely.
The letter, which appeared publicly on the Diocese of Amarillo website and which LifeNews blogger Gerard Nadal obtained, claims Father Pavone remains suspended, even though the Diocese had said publicly repeatedly before that that was not the case and that Pavone was a priest in good standing.
Zurek writes on September 30 that at my discretion, Pavone has faculties for ministry in the Diocese of Amarillo. He does not have permission for ministry outside the Diocese. He is to remain in the Diocese for an indefinite period of time for prayer and reflection.
Over the weekend, Father Pavone emailed LifeNews with a response to the letter, saying, I ve been told by my diocese, at the same time, that I am both suspended and a priest in good standing. Now I m neither a canon lawyer nor a bishop, so I will admit that I m a little confused.
The only thing I m really sure of at this moment is that I am a priest, sitting in Amarillo, patiently awaiting clarification of my own status, and meanwhile, continuing to comply completely with the requirements of my Bishop, he said. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/10/04/catholic-bishop-to-keep-father-pavone-in-texas-indefinitely/
Catholic Bishops: Abortion Should Guide 2012 Election Vote
The nation s Catholic bishops have released an updated version of their voter s guide that calls on Catholics to make abortion the central point when considering which candidate to support in next year s presidential elections.
The guide, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship is nearly identical to the bishops guide published four years ago and it calls abortion evil throughout the document and says Catholics should give the highest priority to protecting unborn children and supporting candidates who will back such protections.
The direct and intentional destruction of innocent human life is always wrong and is not just one issue among many, the document says.
As Catholics we are not single-issue voters, the bishops wrote in the guide. A candidate s position on a single issue is not sufficient to guarantee a voter s support. Yet a candidate s position on a single issue that involves an intrinsic evil, such as support for legal abortion or the promotion of racism, may legitimately lead a voter to disqualify a candidate from receiving support.
In addition to abortion, the bishops said euthanasia, assisted suicide, and embryonic stem cell research should form the panoply of pro-life issues that guide Catholic voters. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/10/04/catholic-bishops-abortion-should-guide-2012-election-vote/
Cain Jumps to Second in Tie With Perry in GOP 2012 Race
Businessman Herman Cain has been the beneficiary of lowering expectations and polling numbers for Texas governor Rick Perry in the wake of three consecutive debates in which Perry has underperformed.
Cain, who is pro-life, has bounced back up in the latest national poll of Republican voters conducted by ABC News and the Washington Post, and now ties the pro-life governor for second place behind Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who says he is pro-life on abortion.
Among announced candidates, Romney leads with 25 percent of the support of GOP voters while Cain and Perry get 16 percent each. That represents a 13-point drop for Perry and a 12-point rise for Cain since early September. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas is the only other candidate in double digits, having the support of 11 percent of Republicans. newt Gingrich places fifth with 7 percent in a tie with Michele Bachmann. Former Sen. Rick Santorum gets 2 percent while former governor Jon Huntsman gets 1 percent. Each of the candidates take a pro-life position on abortion.
The poll also found that, if they were running, pro-life New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie would receive 10 percent while pro-life former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin would receive 9 percent. Christie is expected to announce today he is not running and Palin appears unlikely to join the race. About 42 percent of Republicans and GOP-leaning independents say they would like to see the New Jersey governor join the race. Thirty-four percent, say no, with the rest offering no opinion, the survey found. Two-thirds of Republicans say they do not want Palin to run. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/10/04/cain-jumps-to-second-in-tie-with-perry-in-gop-2012-race/
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Now available in e-book format for $3.99! Pro-Abortion Vandals Arrested, Destroyed Pro-Life Display
A pro-life display at the University of Buffalo has been destroyed by pro-abortion vandals for the second time this year but, this time, two of the vandals involved have been arrested.
In May, the University of Buffalo Students for Life (UBSFL) group saw its pro-life display vandalized as pro-abortion vandals viciously attacked one of the group s first events, their Cemetery of the Innocents Display featuring crosses meant to memorialize the 53 million unborn children who have been killed in abortions.
Now, Phil Eddy, a regional coordinator for Students for Life of America, indicates the pro-life student group s display was torn down again.
Sara Buttitta, president of University of Buffalo Students for Life, informed me that the Cemetery of the Innocents display they had put up Sunday evening, memorializing the innocent lives lost to abortion, was completely torn up by four unknown saboteurs, he said. A blurry campus surveillance video showed four individuals methodically ripping up each and every cross and sign making up the display, and disposing of them in trash bags. The campus police were able to recover the bags, and Sara let me know that they would defiantly return later in the day to set them up again.
Flash forward a few hours, and I get another text from her, letting me know that a student had been arrested after he was allegedly observed kicking the display. Not too long after that, Sara reached out to me again, informing me that another student this time a female had been arrested after allegedly ripping up crosses, Eddy continues. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/10/04/pro-abortion-vandals-arrested-destroyed-pro-life-display/
Abortionist Suspended for Covering Up Sexual Assault Case
Abortion practitioner Michael Benjamin has had his medical license suspended by the state of Florida for failing to report a suspected case of statutory rape to officials in what is becoming a problem with the abortion industry nationwide.
The Florida Department of Health voted on Saturday to indefinitely suspend the Tamarac-based abortion practitioner s medical license after failing to report the case of a 12-year-old girl who was six months pregnant. The Sun Sentinel newspaper indicates the abortion practitioner will challenge the ruling, saying he believed the story the girl told about having consensual sex with a classmate and he thought he didn t have to report it to authorities.
Authorities later found the boyfriend of the girl s mother was responsible for impregnating the pre-teen girl and the state health department filed a case against Benjamin saying physicians are required to report cases of suspected sexual abuse of any girl under the age of 16.
Benjamin discovered the girl s situation because she came to him in November 2009 for an abortion with her mother and her mother s boyfriend after finding his name through a pro-abortion hotline that refers people to abortion practitioners. The girl s mother reportedly told Benjamin she did not discover the pregnancy until her daughter was 24 weeks pregnant and the daughter had had no prenatal care for the baby or herself during that time.
Authorities later apprehended the boyfriend, who is now serving 15 years for sexual assault. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/10/04/abortionist-suspended-for-covering-up-sexual-assault-case/
Bachmann: GOP Nominee Must Push Pro-Life Theme on Abortion
Congresswoman Michele Bachmann campaigned in Iowa today and said that, while most voters will likely cast their ballots in the 2012 presidential election based on the economy, she said abortion shouldn t get lost in the mix.
Bachmann, according to a Quad City Times report, told her audience of about 70 people that voters shouldn t settle for a moderate Republican who is not willing to promote pro-life views. She spoke at the Embassy Suites in downtown Des Moines where dozens of pastors and church leaders gathered and got an Amen! when she made the remark.
Don t settle for a candidate that does not stand up for the sanctity of life, Bachmann said
We can t forget what truly is the foundational issue which is the right to life, she said. And I have always stood for that right and as president of the United States I will stand for life from conception until natural death.
You can get a lot of things wrong, but you can t get life wrong and that s why in this particular election it s important that we not settle, we not settle for a candidate who doesn t stand up for life, she said. It s very important that our candidate represent both the pro-life cause and standing up the sanctity of the family and of the home.
Why would we settle on someone who is not clear on the issue of life, she added, saying she is tired of pro-life advocates getting patted on the head by party establishment leaders who rely on social conservatives to get out the vote for candidates about which they are less than enthusiastic. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/10/04/bachmann-gop-nominee-must-push-pro-life-theme-on-abortion/
New Video: 7 Billion People on Earth is Not Overpopulation
The Population Research Institute (PRI) just released the fifth episode of their highly popular YouTube cartoon video series just in time for the world s population to reach 7 billion people. The series notes how the Earth is not overpopulated since many countries are seeing aging populations and worker shortages. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/10/04/new-video-7-billion-people-on-earth-is-not-overpopulation/
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Respect Life: Opposing Abortion Must be More Than a Phrase
Normally, Deacon Greg Kandra s homilies are superb, but this one has left me speechless. I believe he has said it all right here. Visit his blog, The Deacon s Bench, for a daily dose of clarity, balance, and unsurpassed wisdom. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/10/04/respect-life-opposing-abortion-must-be-more-than-a-phrase/
Late-Term Abortionist Martin Haskell Allowed to Avoid Ohio Law
The Ohio health department has updated an arrangement that allows late-term abortion practitioner Martin Haskell to continue doing abortions without following state law requiring him to have a transfer agreement at a local hospital. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/10/04/late-term-abortionist-martin-haskell-allowed-to-avoid-ohio-law/
Quit Looking for the Perfect Presidential Candidate
The need to worship is hardwired into the human psyche. Yet, as unfashionable as it s become in the last century to worship the God of Creation, the same cannot be said of the worship of political heroes. The most notable and horrific examples that come to mind are found in the frenzied, almost religious zeal that led to the rise of tyrants like Hitler, Stalin, and Mao. One would think that the 20th century would have broken us of our delusions about one man s ability to perfect society, but think again. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/10/04/quit-looking-for-the-perfect-presidential-candidate/
IPS Cells May Hold Treatment for Sickle Cell Anemia
Researchers are on the path to using both gene therapy and induced pluriopotent stem cell technology (iPSC) together to create a possible treatment for sickle cell anemia. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/10/04/ips-cells-may-hold-treatment-for-sickle-cell-anemia/
Pat Robertson Bashed for Suggesting Leaving Alzheimer s Spouse
Advocates for the disabled are up in arms about comments religious broadcaster Pat Robertson made recently suggesting that a spouse was acting within Christian and Biblical principles to leave a wife afflicted with Alzheimer s. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/10/04/pat-robertson-bashed-for-suggesting-leaving-alzheimers-spouse/
Father Pavone Releases Video on Baby Joseph s Passing
Father Frank Pavone released a new video today with more thoughts about the passing of Baby Joseph Maraachli, the infant whose parents had to stage an international battle with a Canadian hospital to have a tracheotomy to help him breathe as he suffered from a rare medical condition that would eventually take his life. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/10/04/father-pavone-releases-video-on-baby-josephs-passing/
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