LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report
Friday, September 11, 2009
Current Headlines
• President Obama "Lies" on Abortion Funding During Health Care Speech
• Obama Misleads on Federal Abortion Conscience Clause in Health Care
• Poll: Majority of Americans Oppose Abortion Funding in Health Care
• Pro-Life Democrat Promises: No Abortion Funding Ban, No Health Care Bill
• Void the Abortion Mandate Campaign Launched by Pro-Life Groups
• Pro-Life Members of Congress Take Issue With Obama on Abortion
• Canadian Euthanasia Opponents: We Can Defeat Bill for Assisted Suicide
• CNN Spins Poll Following Obama Speech Favoring Pro-Abortion Health Care
• UNFPA Prohibits Pro-Life Advocates From Pro-Abortion Conference
• Center for Reproductive Rights Uses $13 Million to Push Intl Abortions
• Wisconsin Right to Life Ad Hits Madison Surgery Center on Abortion
• Kansas State Fair Official Under Fire for Denying Booth to Pro-Life Group
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President Obama "Lies" on Abortion Funding During Health Care Reform Speech
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- During his health care reform speech last night, President Barack Obama faced one member of Congress who said he told a "lie" about one section of the government-run health care plan. Now, pro-life advocates are calling Obama on the carpet for misrepresenting the abortion funding in the current bills. In his address to a joint session of Congress last night, Obama said "One more misunderstanding I want to clear up -- under our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions." But Douglas Johnson, the legislative director for the National Right to Life Committee, says federal dollars will definitely pay for abortions under HR 3200 and the Kennedy bill in the Senate. "Barack Obama needs to learn that the mere repetition of a verbal formula does not change reality," he told LifeNews.com late Thursday. "The reality is that the Obama-backed House bill would explicitly authorize the federal government insurance plan to pay for elective abortions and would explicitly authorize subsidies for private abortion insurance -- and all with federal dollars, which are the only kind of dollars that the federal government can spend," he said. Full story at LifeNews.com
ACTION: Contact members of the House and Senate and urge strong support for any amendment to exclude abortion and rationing from their health care bills. Ask them to oppose any health care bill that allows abortion funding or rationing. Call 202-224-3121 or go to http://www.House.gov and http://www.Senate.gov for specific contact information.
Obama Misleads on Federal Abortion Conscience Clause in Health Care Speech
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Although members of Congress and the public were focused on abortion funding and other political issues during President Barack Obama's health care speech, some observers have another reason to think, "You lie," when it comes to protecting the rights of heath care workers. Obama claimed he is working to protect the rights of pro-life health care workers who don't want to be involved in abortions or abortion referrals. "One more misunderstanding I want to clear up -- under our plan ... federal conscience laws will remain in place," Obama said. However, it is noteworthy that he raises the point at the same time his administration is in the process of repealing existing regulations to enforce conscience laws. In fact, Obama plans to revoke the Bush conscience clause, not retain it. During his administration, President George W. Bush put new protections in place to protect pro-life medical centers and staff who do not want to do abortions. The protections provided better enforcement for existing conscience laws for medical professionals. In March, the Obama administration published in the Federal Register a proposal to rescind the pro-life protections entirely. Full story at LifeNews.com
Poll: Majority of Americans Oppose Abortion Funding in Health Care Reform
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A new national poll should give guidance to President Barack Obama and members of Congress who are trying to hide the taxpayer-funding of abortion contained in the current health care reform bills. The survey finds Americans strongly oppose government funding of abortions. Conducted by Public Opinion Strategies, the new poll shows 43 percent of adult voters would be less likely to support a health care reform bill that funds abortions while just 8 percent would be more supportive. Another 46 percent say it makes no difference to them whether abortion funding is present. The poll found voter intensity is strong with over one-third (36%) of voters saying they would be much less likely to support the plan. Public Opinion Strategies found 58% of Americans disagree with the statement, "If the government is going to make a public health plan available for all Americans it has an obligation to provide abortion services under that plan." Just 38 percent support it. The analysis shows 80 percent of Republicans disagree, 60 percent of independents disagree and 39 percent of Democrats disagree. Full story at LifeNews.com
Pro-Life Democrat Promises Again: No Abortion Funding Ban, No Health Care Bill
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The leader of the caucus of pro-life Democrats in the House is repeating the promise he made over the summer. If the pro-abortion Democratic leaders fail to include language to prevent abortion funding in the government-run health care bill, he and his colleagues will block the legislation. That's the promise coming from Rep. Bart Stupak, a Michigan Democrat who has long been at the forefront of pro-life efforts. "What I've told the speaker and the leadership and the administration is first of all you have to give us that vote," Stupak told CBN News about the desire for an amendment to stop the abortion funding. "If you don't give us the vote, everything is off the table," he said. Stupak is also concerned about bill language that would leave it up to the Obama administration or bureaucrats to determine if abortions are funded or abortion coverage mandated. "I don't want any back door policies," he told CBN News. Full story at LifeNews.com
Void the Abortion Mandate Campaign Launched by Coalition of Pro-Life Groups
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The coalition of pro-life groups that launched the Stop the Abortion Mandate is back with a renewed campaign, Void The Abortion Mandate. The new campaign is a concerted effort to get pro-life advocates to contact Congress and urge removing the abortion funding from the health care bills. The pro-life organizations launched a virtual rally "dedicated to educating President Obama and Congress as to how abortion will be government funded through the current healthcare legislation." "And our timing couldn't be better, last night the President actually claimed that abortion isn't going to be funded through the new legislation," said Kristan Hawkins, the director of Students for Life of America and the coordinator of the campaign. The new campaign features a chart that shows how the two main bills in the House and Senate include abortion funding. It also includes a picture of a voided check and provides an opportunity for pro-life advocates to send it to Congress along with a plea to remove the abortion funding from the legislation. Full story at LifeNews.com
Pro-Life Members of Congress Take Issue With Obama on Abortion Funding
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- In a Thursday press conference, several pro-life members of Congress took issue with President Barack Obama's health care speech. They said Obama was being disingenuous by saying the bills in Congress do not fund abortions and they challenged him to support a real abortion funding ban. Obama said "under our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortion." Congressman Chris Smith, the head of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus and a New Jersey representative, responded with a little sarcasm -- suggesting that Obama may finally be coming around to support the funding ban amendment. "Is the president telling us now that he will now accept the Stupak/Pitts amendment?" he asked. "Or were last night's words merely a reiteration of his August 19 telephone conference call when he said 'you've heard that this is all going to mean government funding of abortion. Not true.'" Smith continued, "There was an implicit recognition by the president last night that Americans reject public funding for abortion, and that Americans do not want to be complicit in the dismemberment or clinical poisoning of unborn children and the wounding of their mothers." Full story at LifeNews.com
Canadian Euthanasia Opponents: We Can Defeat Bill to Allow Assisted Suicide
Ottawa, Canada (LifeNews.com) -- Leading euthanasia opponents in Canada say they think they can defeat Bill C-384, the measure Parliament will consider later this month to legalize assisted suicide. Bill C-384 was introduced by the Bloc Quebecois MP Francine Lalonde in May 2009 and it is her latest bill to promote suicide. Alex Schadenberg, the director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, emailed LifeNews.com saying he thinks it is possible to defeat the bill. "We have organized a campaign that is proving to be very effective," he said, adding that he needs the help of pro-life advocates to make it a reality. Schadenberg says the controversial bill promotes both euthanasia and assisted suicide, both objectionable practices to the pro-life, disability rights, medical and religious communities. Full story at LifeNews.com
CNN Spins Poll Following Obama Speech Favoring Pro-Abortion Health Care Bill
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- CNN has earned itself significant criticism following a poll it conducted after President Barack Obama's speech touting the pro-abortion health care bills. CNN manipulated the number of Republicans and Democrats in the poll to make it appear the speech went over well with the American public. "Two out of three Americans who watched President Barack Obama's health care reform speech Wednesday night favor his health care plans — a 14-point gain among speech-watchers," CNN trumpeted today. "Sixty-seven percent of people questioned in the survey say the support Obama's health care reform proposals that the president outlined in his address," the news services claimed. However, at the bottom of its news story on its own survey, CNN admits to polling more than twice as many Democrats as Republicans. "The sample of speech-watchers in this poll was 45 percent Democratic and 18 percent Republican," it says. Full story at LifeNews.com
UNFPA Prohibits Pro-Life Advocates From Pro-Abortion Conference in Germany
Berlin, Germany (LifeNews.com/CFAM) -- Last week, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the German government held a conference in Berlin to promote "sexual and reproductive rights." Despite being billed as a "global" event, conference organizers admitted to deliberately blocking any participation from anyone in either the media or civil society who did not agree with their "reproductive rights" agenda. Four hundred delegates from 131 countries attended the "Global NGO Forum on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Development." A review of the list of conference participants reveals a "who's who" of prominent long-time abortion rights advocacy groups such as "Catholics" for Choice, Ipas, International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), and Marie Stopes International. Participation at the conference was by application only. Full story at LifeNews.com
Center for Reproductive Rights Uses $13 Million to Push International Abortions
New York, NY (LifeNews.com/CFAM) -- New York-based public interest law firm Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) released its 2008 Annual Report this week, touting efforts to promote abortion worldwide and listing yearly revenue of nearly $13 million. The report highlights a global caseload that appears disproportionately directed at expanding access to abortion and contraceptives in traditionally Catholic countries. Its 2008 docket includes three proceedings each against Poland and Peru, and two each against Mexico and Costa Rica, ranging from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to national Supreme Courts. The report also singles out efforts in the Philippines to force public authorities to distribute contraceptives. Full story at LifeNews.com
Wisconsin Right to Life Ad Keeps Hitting Madison Surgery Center on Abortion
Madison, WI (LifeNews.com) -- Wisconsin Right to Life is keeping the pressure up on the Madison Surgery Center with a new hard-hitting ad that focuses on its decision to do second trimester abortions. The ads follow a decision this summer by Democrats in the legislature to prevent a vote to stop the abortions. The University of Wisconsin health system will be doing late-term abortions at the Madison Surgery Center. In May, Wisconsin Right to Life ran a series of ads in the Wisconsin State Journal that focused on the late-term abortion plan. Today, Wisconsin Right to Life is re-running one of those ads in the Wisconsin State Journal. Today's ad urges patients to say "no" to medical treatment at the Madison Surgery Center and points out that the medical care payments of patients at the facility will help to subsidize late-term abortions. Full story at LifeNews.com
Kansas State Fair Official Under Fire for Denying Booth to Pro-Life Group
Topeka, KS (LifeNews.com) -- Officials with the Kansas State Fair are under fire from a local pro-life group that says it was denied space for a fair booth. The Kansas Coalition for Life (KCFL) has been trying to get a booth at the Kansas State Fair since 2005 but has no luck because of its pro-life position. This year, the group hoped to show off its petition against abortion funding in the national health care restructuring bills Congress is considering. When Mark Gietzen, the group's chairman, made it known to Denny Stoecklein, the general manager of the fair, that KCFL had been declined for four years in a row now, Stoecklein had a response. "We do not operate on a first-come-first-serve basis," he said. "We select our exhibitors based on who has the most to offer to the Kansas Fair-Goer …what would be most popular?" Stoecklein said he would likely deny an application from yet another hot dog vender but would approve fair booths with interesting or one-of-a-kind appeal to attendees. Full story at LifeNews.com
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