DEACON FOR LIFE

Were there to be no support in the whole history of ethical and moral thought, were there no acknowledged confirmation from medical science, were the history of legal opinion to the contrary, we would still have to conclude on the basis of God's Holy Word that the unborn child is a person in the sight of God. He is protected by the sanctity of life graciously given to each individual by the Creator, Who alone places His image upon man and grants them any right to life which they have.

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

LifeNews Pro-Life News Report 2/19/13

LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report
Tuesday, February 19, 2013

For pro-life news updated throughout the day, visit LifeNews.com.

Current Headlines

Top Stories
• Hobby Lobby Keeps Fighting Obama s HHS Mandate in Court
• Democrat Apologizes, Said Potential Rape Victims Shouldn t Defend Themselves
• Parents Agree Not to Force Their Daughter to Have an Abortion
• Doctor: Why I Quit Doing Abortions at Planned Parenthood

More Pro-Life News
• College to Fire Prof Who Forced Students to Sign Obama Voting Pledge
• Why I am Pro-Life, But Also Proudly Anti-Abortion
• Woman Delivers Two Sets of Identical Twins on the Same Day
• Women Who Reject Abortions of Disabled Babies Face Attacks
• Planned Parenthood Customer Tries to Hit Pro-Life Teen With Car
• Pope Benedict XVI: Defender of Human Life and Family
• Abortion Hurts Mothers Too, They Are Second Victims
• Arkansas House Panel OKs Ban on Abortions After Heartbeat Begins
• Abortion Backers Blast Pro-Lifers for More Single Parent Families
• Alabama OKs Bill After Botched Abortions That Could Close Clinics
• Texas Bill Seeks to Stop Forced Do Not Resuscitate Orders?
• Michigan Board Protected Doctor Who Almost Killed Woman in Abortion
• Message of Chastity Is Essential to the Pro-Life Movement

Hobby Lobby Keeps Fighting Obama s HHS Mandate in Court
Hobby Lobby, the Christian crafting store, continues fighting the Obama administration s HHS mandate in court. After losing its initial bid to stop the mandate from imposing More than $1 million in fines every day for not complying, the company was forced to appeal a judge s decision and roll back the date of its employee health care plan in order to temporarily escape the fines.

The mandate has engendered strong opposition from pro-life groups and Catholic and evangelical Christian companies that do not want to be compelled to pay for drugs for employees that may cause abortions. http://www.lifenews.com/2013/02/19/hobby-lobby-keeps-fighting-obamas-hhs-mandate-in-court/

Democrat Apologizes, Said Potential Rape Victims Shouldn t Defend Themselves
A Colorado state legislator who quickly became the Todd Akin of the left with a comment that women worried about becoming rape victims shouldn t defend themselves with guns has been forced to apologize.

Colorado Democrat Rep. Joe Salazar, during a debate yesterday in the Colorado state legislature about who should enjoy the 2nd Amendment rights to have a gun, essentially discounted the idea of women fearing a rape protecting themselves with a firearm. http://www.lifenews.com/2013/02/19/democrat-apologizes-said-potential-rape-victims-shouldnt-defend-themselves/

Parents Agree Not to Force Their Daughter to Have an Abortion
After a legal battle that saw a teenager sue her parents in court to prevent them from pressuring her into having an abortion, a Houston, Texas girl s parents have relented and decided not to press her to abort.

Attorneys with The Center for Defense of Life have suit on behalf of the 16-year-old expectant mom who says her parents are trying to force her to have an abortion of a baby she wants to keep. The teenager is two months pregnant and asking a judge to stop her parents from making her have an abortion by coercing her with verbal and physical threats and by harassment. http://www.lifenews.com/2013/02/19/parents-agree-not-to-force-their-daughter-to-have-an-abortion/

Doctor: Why I Quit Doing Abortions at Planned Parenthood
I received an email from a former abortionist. She wanted to share her story with me and also with all of you:

I just wanted to let you know, you ve touched my heart. For years too many years to count, I murdered countless children..up until 3 months ago that is. I believed I was doing what was best at the time. I worked for Planned Parenthood. http://www.lifenews.com/2013/02/19/doctor-why-i-quit-doing-abortions-at-planned-parenthood/

College to Fire Prof Who Forced Students to Sign Obama Voting Pledge
Brevard Community College appears set to fire a professor who made her students sign a pledge during the 2012 presidential election to vote for pro-abortion President Barack Obama.

The college received national attention last year when Professor Sharon Sweet required her students to sign a pledge to support Obama and other pro-abortion Democratic candidates. In response, Dr. Jim Richley, the president of Brevard Community College, recommended to the school s Board of Trustees that Sweet be fired, following an internal investigation the college conducted. http://www.lifenews.com/2013/02/19/college-to-fire-prof-who-forced-students-to-sign-obama-voting-pledge/

Why I am Pro-Life, But Also Proudly Anti-Abortion
At the 40th year of legal abortion in America, our nation remains divided on the most important human rights issue of our time. We cannot afford another 40 years of bloodshed and tears. We cannot stand by and watch another 55 million die from the deceit of the abortion industry. We must abolish abortion in this lifetime.

The most recent Gallup poll has 44% of respondents identifying themselves as pro-life and 48% as pro-choice, where we ve been stuck, give or take a couple percentage points either way, for decades. However, this same poll found that only 29% of those who responded want Roe v. Wade to be overturned. What happened to that other 15% who claimed they were pro-life? http://www.lifenews.com/2013/02/19/why-i-am-pro-life-but-also-proudly-anti-abortion/

Woman Delivers Two Sets of Identical Twins on the Same Day
Tressa Montalvo has given birth to two sets of identical twins on the same day Valentine s Day without the use of any sort of fertility treatment.

Tressa and her husband Michael already have a two-and-a-half-year old and are now the parents of five boys. They had hoped to have a girl and say they will have to determine if they will try again to get pregnant and give birth to the girl they hoped for this time. http://www.lifenews.com/2013/02/19/woman-delivers-two-sets-of-identical-twins-on-the-same-day/

Women Who Reject Abortions of Disabled Babies Face Attacks
Last Monday I attended the second oral evidence session of the Parliamentary Inquiry into Abortion on the Grounds of Disability (more background here)
The current law permits an abortion to take place up to birth (40 weeks) if prenatal tests indicate that the child may be disabled when born. There is a legal limit of 24 weeks for abortions on other grounds. http://www.lifenews.com/2013/02/19/women-who-reject-abortions-of-disabled-babies-face-attacks/

Looking for a Pro-Life Speaker for 2013?

Looking for a pro-life speaker for your next banquet, conference or convention? LifeNews.com editor Steven Ertelt is a low-cost speaker who can entertain and educate your audience as well as help you with a fundraising pitch if necessary. He can also speak on any pro-life topic. For more information, email news@LifeNews.com.

Planned Parenthood Customer Tries to Hit Pro-Life Teen With Car
A crowd of over 50 pro-lifers gathered on a cold, windy winter morning last Saturday to protest Planned Parenthood s Abortion Fortress in Aurora, Illinois as they have every third Saturday for over five years now. http://www.lifenews.com/2013/02/19/planned-parenthood-customer-tries-to-hit-pro-life-teen-with-car/

Pope Benedict XVI: Defender of Human Life and Family
Some thought that Benedict XVI, already old when elected, would be merely a transitional figure, a caretaker who would serve for a few years and then hand over the Church that he inherited from the Blessed John Paul II to a younger man. But neither the Church nor the Pope have been in a holding pattern over the last eight years. http://www.lifenews.com/2013/02/19/pope-benedict-xvi-defender-of-human-life-and-family/

Abortion Hurts Mothers Too, They Are Second Victims
I wrote an article Friday afternoon about a woman who was killed due to a botched late-term abortion procedure by LeRoy Carhart, and I found something interesting afterward. http://www.lifenews.com/2013/02/19/abortion-hurts-mothers-too-they-are-second-victims/

Arkansas House Panel OKs Ban on Abortions After Heartbeat Begins
http://www.lifenews.com/2013/02/19/arkansas-house-panel-oks-ban-on-abortions-after-heartbeat-begins/. http://www.lifenews.com/2013/02/19/arkansas-house-panel-oks-ban-on-abortions-after-heartbeat-begins/

Abortion Backers Blast Pro-Lifers for More Single Parent Families
Last month, Naomi Chan and June Carbone authors of Blue Families v. Red Families had an article in Slate criticizing pro-lifers for an increase in single-parent families. http://www.lifenews.com/2013/02/19/abortion-backers-blast-pro-lifers-for-more-single-parent-families/

Alabama OKs Bill After Botched Abortions That Could Close Clinics
After multiple botched abortions in the state of Alabama that inured women over the last couple of years, state legislators have responded by approving a bill that would require abortion clinics to meet more stringent health and safety standards. http://www.lifenews.com/2013/02/19/alabama-oks-bill-after-botched-abortions-that-could-close-clinics/

How Can Pro-Life People Care for Women in Unplanned Pregnancies?
Jonathan Keller and I finish our interview with Kristi Burkhart, Executive Director of the Fresno Pregnancy Care Center, focusing on the unique relationship our two organizations have and practical advice for people who want to help a girl who has an unplanned pregnancy. http://www.lifenews.com/2013/02/19/how-can-pro-life-people-care-for-women-in-unplanned-pregnancies/

Texas Bill Seeks to Stop Forced Do Not Resuscitate Orders
Today, State Representative Stephanie Klick (R-Fort Worth) filed House Bill 1455 to protect patients from Do-Not Resuscitate Orders (DNR).. http://www.lifenews.com/2013/02/19/texas-bill-seeks-to-stop-forced-do-not-resuscitate-orders/

Michigan Board Protected Doctor Who Almost Killed Woman in Abortion
A local Muskegon television news station is reporting that a former chairman of the Michigan Board of Medicine with ties to troubled abortionist Robert Alexander, improperly protected him from further discipline by ordering that there be no investigation of a 2009 complaint filed by the obstetrician of two patients that suffered botched abortions by Alexander. http://www.lifenews.com/2013/02/19/michigan-board-protected-doctor-who-almost-killed-woman-in-abortion/

Message of Chastity Is Essential to the Pro-Life Movement
The University of Michigan s Dr. Michael New recently wrote. http://www.lifenews.com/2013/02/19/message-of-chastity-is-essential-to-the-pro-life-movement/

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