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Kathryn
Jean Lopez reports on a group of pro-life champions in Congress who want to
permanently prevent our tax dollars from supporting abortion.
Ken
Blackwell explains how Western liberals force abortion onto developing
nations. Excerpt:
Did you know that Warren Buffett has given
$3 billion—yes, three billion dollars—to promote abortion here in the U.S. and
around the world? Often, government officials in developing countries are under
pressure to control population in order to qualify for international aid. So
they pressure women in the villages to get abortions. Western Europe is
especially strong in pushing for abortion in these developing countries.
Heart
wrenching paragraphs like this reflect the “new colonialism” of spreading the
religion of secularism and its sacrament of abortion around the world. Apparently President Obama supports this
brand of colonialism because he strongly promotes a pro-abortion constitution
for the East African nation of Kenya.
Rep.
Chris Smith (R-NJ) is set to propose the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act”
which would provide permanent statutory prohibitions on the taxpayer funding of
abortions. LifeNews reports.
Live
Action Films is again exposing
the deception being peddled by nation’s largest abortion provider, Planned
Parenthood. LifeNews reports that Lila
Rose’s organization of plucky youths has exposed the staff at an Indianapolis-area
Planned Parenthood providing false or misleading information to a girl posing
as seeking an abortion.
Senators
on the Judiciary Committee are raising
concerns that Kagan might have been misleading on her involvement with
partial birth abortion during her time in the Clinton administration. Americans United for Life chronicles this issue thoroughly
while Bill Saunders encourages the American people to “wake up” on the
Kagan nomination.
LifeSiteNews
reports. AdvanceUSA joined in a
letter to members of Congress opposing abortions on military bases.
AUL
reports. Hopefully, more states will
follow Louisiana and Governor Bobby Jindal’s lead.
LifeNews reports on a “sordid
tale” of forced abortion without parental consent. A girl in foster care became pregnant and was
taken to New Jersey by Philadelphia’s Department of Human Services to get an
abortion against her foster mother’s wishes.
A city employee was fired for not going along with the plan. Philly.com
also reports.
The Florida Family
Policy Council is urging Floridians to ask Governor Crist to sign a
pro-life bill that would prevent the taxpayer funding of abortion and require
women seeking an abortion to view an ultrasound image of their unborn
child. Crist recently abandoned the GOP
primary race for US Senate after upstart conservative Florida Speaker of the
House Marco Rubio opened a double-digit lead over Crist. With Crist’s party switch and recent veto of
a conservative education reform bill, Florida conservatives are concerned Crist
could torpedo what some activists are calling the most important pro-life bill
in Florida history.
Star
Parker explains. Excerpt:
Why would a bill that criminalizes abortion
motivated by race not have the support of the NAACP? Or, even more perplexing,
why would the NAACP endorse such a bill and then rescind its endorsement?
This is exactly what just happened in
Georgia.
The Georgia Senate passed a bill that would
make it a crime to abort a child because of its race or gender.
On
Sunday evening the House of Representatives passed the much-discussed health
care bill that will require your tax dollars to fund abortions. See how your representative
voted here. Hold your elected
officials accountable for how they voted on this radical legislation.
Charmaine
Yoest explains in the Wall Street Journal.
Excerpt:
It's now becoming clear that Barack Obama
is willing to put everything on the table in order to be the president who
passes health-care reform. Everything, that is, except a ban on federal funding
for abortion.
Ashley
Herzog explains. Excerpt:
Yesterday marked the opening of the Susan
B. Anthony museum in Rochester, New York—and instead of celebrating, a lot of
feminists are miffed. The museum was purchased by a member of Feminists
Choosing Life of New York, and pro-choice groups are accusing her of “hijacking
Susan.”
Apparently, they want the famous
suffragist’s views on abortion scrubbed from the historical record.
Ken
Blackwell explains the problems with President Obama’s nominee to lead the U.S.
Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel.
Excerpt:
When not serving in government, Dawn
Johnsen has spent her career promoting abortion-on-demand. She denies there is
even such a thing as Partial-Birth Abortion. Even the term, she maintains, is
“intentionally provocative.” She does not think that “progressives”—that’s
PC-speak for liberal—should suggest that abortion is ever a tragedy.
Reuters reports
that some people are outraged that Tim Tebow would record a commercial with
Focus on the Family encouraging women to choose life rather than abortion. ABC
News also reports.
Scott
Brown pulled off an amazing
upset victory last night becoming Massachusetts’ first Republican Senator
in decades. His victory is widely seen
as an insurmountable hurdle to the current health care bill that will force
Congress to “return to the drawing board.”
The
editors at NRO weigh in on the significance of this race. As does the
New York Times.
Star
Parker assesses the pro-life movement on the eve of the 35th
anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision on January, 22.
 Every year on the anniversary of the
dreaded Roe v. Wade decision
(legalizing abortion across the nation by judicial fiat); thousands of
dedicated pro-lifers gather in the cold January weather on the National Mall to
show their support for protecting innocent human life. Check out the March for Life website and consider
attending the marching our nation’s capital or at a rally near your home.
Our
sources in Congress have assured us that the health care ‘reform’ battle is far
from over. Members of both houses will
meet together to reconcile the House and Senate versions of the health care
bill. The House of Representatives will
come back from the holiday recess on January 12 and the Senate will reconvene sometime
in late January.
NOW
IS THE TIME to contact your representative
and both
your senators to voice your opposition to this bill. Tell them that you don’t want your tax dollars
to support abortion, that you won’t accept a phony pro-life compromise, and
that you don’t want the federal government to micromanage the huge segment of
our economy that is the health care system.
The AP reports
the Senate passed the massive and controversial health care bill this morning. Meanwhile, the AP also reports
that abortion funding could still pose a problem for final passage by both
houses of Congress. Bloomberg
reports that the Congressional Budget Office is contradicting
Democrat claims that the health bill would save the Medicare system.
The
final vote is unavailable but will eventually be posted
here. The bill passed on a straight
party-line vote (60-39).
NRO’s
Ramesh
Ponnuru and Jeffrey
Anderson explain that there still is hope that the abortion-funding health
care ‘reform’ bandwagon can be stopped.
Sen.
Brownback (R-KS) explains
in Politico what is at stake for the pro-life movement in the health care
bill. Excerpt:
For over 30 years, the Hyde amendment has
prevented the expenditure of federal funds on abortion, which so many regard as
the taking of an innocent human life. Named after the late Henry Hyde, longtime
member of Congress from Illinois and pro-life hero, the Hyde amendment
established the principle that taxpayers should not be required to pay for
abortions, even if the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade had effectively
overturned 50 state laws to legalize the procedure across the nation.
Today, with the health care reform bill
emerging from the U.S. Senate, that principle is being thrown to the winds and,
with it, the hard-fought efforts of Henry Hyde and the pro-life movement to
maintain this basic protection for the unborn.
At
1:00am Monday morning the Senate voted to proceed with consideration of the
health care ‘reform’ bill that busts budgets, micromanages the private health
care system, and requires taxpayer dollars to fund abortions. LifeNews
explained why the bill still funds abortions, while FRC
and National
Right to Life spoke out against the bill.
The Minority Leader’s office released a statement alleging that the bill
requires a “monthly
abortion fee.”
If
the Senate is able to pass the bill before Christmas, the House will
next consider the topic. The bill
will either be reconciled with the House-passed version and then reconsidered
by both houses or sent straight to the House to consider without
amendment. Pro-Life Democrat Part Stupak
(D-MI) said the Senate-passed
bill is unacceptable, but it has yet to be seen if Pro-Life Democrats in
the House will stay true to their principles.
Senator
Nelson (D-NE) was responsible for the compromise that allowed the bill to pass
its first hurdle in the wee hours of this morning, and has been receiving vocal
criticism from pro-lifers and other conservatives in his home state of
Nebraska.
See
how BOTH
YOUR SENATORS VOTED on the health care bill.
USA
Today and the
AP report that Sen. Nelson (D-NE) has rejected a supposed pro-life
compromise amendment authored by
Sen. Casey (D-PA). Meanwhile, House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) expressed
relief that the Senate health care bill still requires the taxpayer funding
of abortion.
LifeNews reports.
Word
had leaked that high level Congressional Democrats are predicting that the
health care bill will not pass this year.
While this sounds like encouraging
news, concerned citizens still need to maintain pressure on their elected
officials to make sure that the health care industry is not socialized, that
health care is not rationed, and that tax dollars aren’t spent on abortion.
LifeNews reports (scroll down) on
the vast difference between a justice who respects the integrity of the
Constitution and one who does not.
Excerpt:
“The fight is about the Supreme Court
inventing new rights nobody ever thought existed,” Justice Antonin Scalia said
in an appearance at the University of Arizona College of Law. “Right to
abortion?” he asked. “Come on. Nobody thought it violated anything in the
Constitution for 200 years. It was criminal.” “They may be bad ideas,” Scalia
said. “But don't tell me it’s unconstitutional.” But Justice Stephen Breyer,
who shared the stage with Scalia, said his colleague was taking an overly
literalistic approach to the 18th century document. He said that the changing
nature of society, by necessity, requires more than looking at what Scalia
called “originalism.” “You don't look to the details,” Breyer said. “You look
to the value.” Scalia specifically warned that those who approach the
Constitution as Breyer suggests will not always find courts expanding the
definition of individual liberties. “It goes both ways,” he said. “The only thing
you can be sure of is the Constitution will mean whatever the American people
want it to mean today,” Scalia continued. “And that’s not what a constitution
is for,” he said. “The whole purpose of a constitution is to constrain the
desires of the current society.”
The
AP reports. Excerpt:
After months of struggle, House Democrats
rolled out sweeping legislation Thursday to extend health care coverage to
millions who lack it and create a new option of government-run insurance. A
vote is likely next week on the plan largely tailored to President Barack
Obama's liking.
House
Minority Leader Boehner called
the bill “1,990 Pages Of Bureaucracy.”
Read the entire text of this massive
bill here.
This
bill would allow your tax dollars to be spent on abortions.
The
Politico reports on the Senate Majority Leader’s renewed push for the “public
option” while the
AP reports that the Speaker of the House just wants to rename the public
option something more palatable.
Even
the paid researchers of the abortion industry have to admit that pushing
contraceptives does not reduce abortion rates.
LifeNews reports.
Charmaine
Yoest explains. Excerpt:
A Rasmussen poll released last month showed
that only 13% of Americans want the health-care reform bill to use tax dollars
to fund abortions. A Pew Research Center poll two weeks ago showed that support
for legalized abortion has dropped to its lowest level in years to 47%, down
from 54% last year.
If Democrats really want to maintain the
abortion status quo, they would drop the Capps Amendment and add a Hyde
Amendment to explicitly exclude funding abortion. The Capps Amendment takes us
toward a new era of unprecedented federal abortion funding.
Her
subtitle reads “Every Democratic health bill so far on offer would change 30
years of federal practice.”
The
AP reports that the fears of pro-lifers that the proposed health care “reform”
would permit taxpayer support of abortion are well founded. Excerpt:
…taxpayer funds [would] mingle with some
insurance plans that, one way or another, pay for abortions.
LifeNews reports.
It also reports on recent
comments by the President’s press secretary that highlight how the proposed health
care “reform” would allow taxpayer funding of abortion.
LifeNews reports. As does the
AP and the Wall
Street Journal.
National
Right to Life also
weighed in:
Events this week in Congress provide fresh
proof that top Democratic leaders in Congress are pushing forward with plans to
establish massive new programs that would pay for elective abortions and
subsidize insurance coverage of abortions -- which, if achieved, would break
from decades of federal policy.
FRC
has created a new website dedicated to highlighting and promoting the great
work being done by pregnancy resource centers to provide real alternatives to
abortion. Check it out.
LifeNews reports. Excerpt:
In an effort to gain more support from
members of the Senate Finance Committee who do not support his bill, Sen. Max
Baucus unveiled a modification of the legislation on Tuesday. The modified bill
reduces -- but doesn't come anywhere close to eliminating -- the abortion
concerns pro-life groups have.
LifeNews also reports on
concerns that pro-lifers in the House will not be allowed to offer amendments
on mandated taxpayer funding of abortion.
Find
out about the upcoming movie called Blood
Money. Watch the trailer here.
The
Weekly Standard reports. It is
becoming increasingly clear that someone is lying about abortion funding in the
health care overhaul plan, and it doesn’t appear to be pro-lifers.
The
Hill reports how President Obama and his accomplices in the Senate could
use underhanded tactics to force socialized medicine and taxpayer funded abortion
on the American people.
Michigan
Live reports. President Obama issued
a statement in response to the murder of late-term abortion doctor George
Tiller recently but has not yet responded to the murder of this peaceful
pro-life activist.
Looking
for a practical way that you can stand up for the pro-life movement? Find out more about the Wash for Life and see how you can
support pregnancy resource centers in your community while getting your car
washed in the process.
Star
Parker explains the importance of state laws that require children seeking
an abortion to consult their parents (except in cases of abuse).
FactCheck.org
reports. Excerpt:
Despite what Obama said, the House bill
would allow abortions to be covered by a federal plan and by federally
subsidized private plans.
HT:
National Right to Life
FRC
provides helpful information about health care town halls being held across the
country. Click here to find a town hall
near you. Click here to read FRC’s
document “20 Questions to Ask Your Legislator About Health Care Overhaul.”
John
McCormack explains at the Weekly Standard.
This article also exposes recent gimmicks by some members of Congress to
pretend that they oppose abortion funding in the health care bill when they
actually support forcing us to subsidize abortions with our tax dollars.
In
the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Friday, an amendment mandating
abortion funding in the health care overhaul was passed and an amendment prohibiting
taxpayer funding of abortion was defeated.
LifeNews and RedState
report. Also, Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) decried
the votes in a press release.
Excerpt:
Last night's vote demonstrates just how far
Democrats are willing to go to force taxpayers to fund abortion. A week ago, the Democrat-controlled Congress
voted down my proposal to block federal funding for the nation's largest
abortion provider, Planned Parenthood.
Now Chairman Waxman has employed a procedural gimmick to defeat an
amendment that would have prevented federal funding of abortion under the
Democrats' health care plan. This same
amendment had been approved earlier in the evening by the Chairman's very own
committee.
An overwhelming majority of Americans,
including advocates of abortion, oppose using taxpayer dollars to fund
abortion. Across the country American
families are rejecting the Democrats' plan for a government takeover of health care. The recent action taken by Democrats on the
Energy and Commerce Committee will give Americans no comfort as this debate
moves forward.
Watch
the Family Research Council’s hard-hitting
ad on the dangers of socialized medicine and the abortion funding contained
the proposed health care ‘reform’ bill.
As
LifeNews reports, the House
of Representatives voted down an amendment by Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) which
would have prevented Planned Parenthood from receiving taxpayer dollars. Excerpt:
“It is morally wrong to destroy innocent
human life through abortion, but it is also morally wrong to take the tax
dollars of millions of pro-life Americans and use them to promote or perform
abortions at home or abroad. The largest abortion provider in America should
not also be the largest recipient of federal funds under Title X," Pence
said during the debate.
See
how your representative
voted on the Pence amendment to defund this notorious abortion provider (sexual
abuse concealing).
FRC
released a
statement. As did
Congressman Pence who said, “You can't reduce abortions by funding abortion
providers with taxpayer dollars.”
ADF reports. News like this shows why conscience
protections for doctors and other medical personnel are so necessary.
The
AP reports. Excerpt:
. . . lawmakers opposed to federal funding
for abortions said Tuesday the House leadership's health care bill contains a
"hidden mandate" that would allow taxpayer dollars to be used to end
pregnancies.
Call
your representative and both your senators today and urge them to oppose the
massive health care “reform” bill! Tell
them you don’t want your tax dollars supporting abortion!
Also,
on Thursday night (July 23) at 9:00pm Eastern Time a coalition of pro-life
groups will host an urgent
nationwide webcast. Find out more
about the pro-abortion funding provisions in the health care bill and find out what you can do.
Fox
News reports. Excerpt:
A government-funded, public health
insurance plan may allow taxpayer money to go to pay for abortions, the White
House budget chief said Sunday.
Office of Budget and Management Chief Peter
Orszag told "FOX News Sunday" he is not ready to say whether abortion
services would be part of a final package Congress is considering to provide
taxpayer-funded health care to about a third of the nation's 50 million
uninsured. Lawmakers are considering a package that could cost as much as $1.5
trillion over 10 years for health care.
"I think that that will wind up being
part of the debate. I am not prepared to say explicitly that right now. It's
obviously a controversial issue, and it's one of the questions that is playing
out in this debate," Orszag told "FOX News Sunday." "I'm
not prepared to rule it out."
Already, the Obama administration has
demonstrated its support for federal funding of abortion. The president
rescinded the Mexico City Policy on Jan. 23, the day after the 36th anniversary
of the Roe v. Wade decision. The policy had been in place to prevent U.S.
funding being used for abortion services in clinics abroad.
The
New York Times and LifeNews
also report. National Right to Life
also examines this
problem.
Pro-life
Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ) wrote a letter to his colleagues
warning them of the abortion funding provisions in this bill.
National
Right to Life explains. Excerpt:
Congressional Democratic leaders are aiming
to bring massive "health care reform" bills to the floor of the U.S.
Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives during the last week in July --
bills that National Right to Life says "would result in the greatest
expansion of abortion since Roe v. Wade."
LifeNews also reports.
Jonah
Goldberg examines Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s recent words alleging that
one of the motivations behind Roe vs. Wade was to keep undesirable populations
from procreating. Her comments are a
disturbing reminder of the racist, eugenicist roots of the pro-abortion modern movement
and they are also a sobering reminder of the importance of Supreme Court
nominations.
CitizenLink reports
on the death of an important and historical provision which had prevented
taxpayer dollars from supporting overseas organizations that provide or promote
abortion.
OneNewsNow
reports. Excerpt:
"This is a clear affront and a
violation of the fundamental religious convictions of the owners of
pharmacies," he contends. "No pharmacist owner should ever have to
choose between saving a human life and keeping their shop and business."
Many consider the Ninth Circuit to be the
most liberal court in the U.S.
Brad
Dacus PJI
"This radical decision by the Ninth
Circuit gives the green light to liberal state legislators and regulators to be
able to clamp down on medical and other professionals with sincere religious
convictions against supporting abortions," Dacus adds.
If the decision is upheld, pharmacists and
owners with a conscience will have to choose between violating the law or going
out of business. Dacus hopes the case will be accepted by the U.S. Supreme
Court.
Douglas
Johnson of National Right to Life explains how ObamaCare could require your
tax dollars to support abortion.
FRC’s
Tony Perkins also explains the abortion-funding problems with the proposed “health
care reform” bill in a special
video report. The video shows Sen.
Orrin Hatch (R-UT) exposing the bill’s abortion-funding agenda in Senate
hearings.
As
the AP reports, a Senate panel voted to overturn a policy which has
prevented taxpayer dollars from supporting overseas organizations that provide
or promote abortion as a method of “family planning.” Excerpt:
The policy in effect under President George
W. Bush had banned U.S. taxpayer money, usually in the form of Agency for
International Development funds, from going to international family planning
groups that either offer abortions or provide information, counseling or
referrals about abortion as a family planning method.
The ban was first put in place by President
Ronald Reagan and has been known as the "Mexico City policy" for the
city a U.S. delegation first announced it at a U.N. International Conference on
Population.
Tony
Perkins lays out the dangers of tax payer funding of abortion in the
so-called health care “reform” legislation now being considered in Congress.
LifeNews reports. Excerpt:
While the Bush Administration withheld
funding from UNFPA over the agency's support of China's population program,
which includes forced abortions and sterilizations, the agency can look forward
to a cash injection from the Obama administration in 2009. Earlier this year,
the United States announced it would reinstate UNFPA funding and pledged $50
million dollars for 2009 – a figure that would put the US in the agency's top
five donor countries alongside the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark and Norway.
Charmaine
Yoest explains how Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s position on abortion could be
considered worse than David Souter, whom President Obama has chosen to replace
with Sotomayor.
CitizenLink reports. Also, National Right to Life has encouraged
members of Congress to oppose H.R. 2410 and is calling
on pro-lifers to call their Congressional representatives to urge them to
oppose this bill.
LifeNews also reports. Excerpt:
The House of Representatives is slated
to consider a bill today to fund the State Department, but House Democrats
wielded their control over the chamber by preventing a pro-life amendment. Rep.
Chris Smith had hoped to offer an amendment to limit President Barack Obama's
international abortion agenda.
Several pro-life groups are urging opposition to the
State Department funding bill (HR 2410) unless an amendment is adopted making
sure the new Office for Global
Women’s Issues, which the bill authorizes, will not promote abortion.
The pro-life organizations are worried
that Obama, who appointed a longtime abortion advocate to head up the office,
will use the ambassador post to promote an international right to abortion.
Our
friends at NRLC have warned
members of Congress of the dangers of the State Department Funding Bill,
H.R. 2410, which would seek to overturn abortion restrictions in other nations
as a matter of official U.S. policy.
As
we’ve reported in the past, this bill also raises concerns over the promotion
of the homosexual agenda overseas.
LifeNews reports. Excerpt:
Gibbs largely ducked questions about
Sotomayor's abortion views or her position on a so-called "right to
privacy" that has been used to validate abortion. He retreated to his
boilerplate language saying that Obama and Sotomayor have essentially the same
outlook on the Constitution.
"He felt comfortable that they shared
a philosophy on that interpretation ... [of] the living document of the
Constitution of the United States of America," he added.
With Obama taking a clear pro-abortion view
that a "right" to abortion is somehow found in the Constitution, that
should send a signal to the pro-life movement that Sotomayor is prepared to
vote to uphold Roe v. Wade if confirmed to the Supreme Court.
Congressman
Mike Pence (R-IN) proposed an amendment to the Foreign Service reauthorization
bill which would have eliminated mandates that require the State Department to
promote the radical homosexual agenda overseas.
Unfortunately the amendment was defeated. Congressional
Quarterly reports (article for subscribers only). Excerpt:
Mike Pence, R-Ind., who said that the
language would prioritize gay rights over other issues, offered an amendment to
strike the language and replace it with a broad statement of support for
universal human rights that did not mention sexual orientation.
“I oppose mandating that our secretary of
State, diplomatic and consular staff promote a gay-rights agenda around the
globe, over and above other issues,” Pence said.
The amendment fell on a voice vote.
Congressman
Chris Smith (R-NJ) also proposed a pro-life amendment which would have ensured
that the innocuous-sounding
“Office for Global Women’s Issues” contained in the bill would not have
promoted abortion. His amendment
was also defeated.
There
is grave concern over how proposed legislation designed to reauthorize funding
for the State Department would promote the homosexual agenda on marriage and hate
crimes and could lead to promoting abortion world-wide. The bill would mandate special benefits for
homosexual members of the Foreign Service and Peace Corps and for their “domestic
partners.” It would also establish other
pro-homosexual policies, and could even lead to the promotion of abortion as a “woman’s
right” as part of American foreign policy.
CitizenLink also
reports.
LifeNews reports on this
positive news for the pro-life movement.
Pro-lifers must continue the work to expand the “culture of life” so
that we can see real protections for the unborn in our laws and courts. Don’t let elitist media coverage discourage
you. Pro-lifers are not a political
liability and the “rights of the unborn” is still an important issue.
The
Reuters blog also reports.
Jill Stanek
catalogues President Obama’s bad positions on pro-life issues, but also finds
encouragement from the fact that the President might be making pro-abortion
policies less popular with the American people.
Our
friends at FRC have released
a video grading President Obama on his first one hundred days in
office. The president doesn’t make high
grades on pro-life and family issues. LifeNews also reviews Obama’s
100 days on pro-life issues.
Neal
McCluskey grades the president on education reform. Excerpt:
If you look just at dollar signs or
rhetoric to measure the education success of Barack Obama’s first one-hundred
days, then the President should get an A. Base it on meaningful reform,
however, and he’d be lucky to get a passing grade.
Mona
Charen explains. Excerpt:
Rep. Smith asked Clinton to respond to
Sanger's views about the "deterioration in the human stock" and
"the perpetuation of defectives, delinquents and dependents." As
Goldberg has observed, conservatives are always asked to "own" their
intellectual forebears and to disavow that which requires disavowal. Yet
liberals skate by without having to distance themselves from the dreadful
opinions and writings of their heroes and heroines.
Congressman
Mike Pence (R-IN) speaks
out against the recent FDA ruling on the “morning after” abortion pill.
The
AP reports that the FDA is planning to loosen restrictions on the “morning
after” pill which often acts as an abortifacient and is suspected of causing
severe health problems. Allowing
under-age girls to obtain this drug without consulting a physician (let alone
her parents) is disturbing.
LifeNews reports. The courageous student activists at
LiveActionFilms have done it again, exposing the radical and often illegal
pro-abortion, pro-promiscuity agenda of Planned Parenthood. The newly released undercover footage shows
Planned Parenthood staff in Tennessee trying to cover up what they believe is a
sexual abuse situation. Hopefully,
thanks to the great work of Lila Rose and her partners at LiveAction, people across
the country will start to see a pattern of behavior at Planned Parenthood. Maybe then they will start to ask questions
about how many of their tax dollars support this kind of activity.
Read
our past interview
with Lila Rose here.
See
the video here:
Kathryn
Jean Lopez explains at NRO. Excerpt:
"We want fewer and better children . . . and
we cannot make the social life and the world-peace we are determined to make,
with the ill-bred, ill-trained swarms of inferior citizens that you inflict on
us.”
That ghastly message appeared in the
introduction to Margaret Sanger’s 1922 book, The Pivot of Civilization.
In a little-noticed incident, Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton recently announced that she is “really in awe” of Sanger.
“The 20th-century reproductive-rights movement, really embodied in the life and
leadership of Margaret Sanger, was one of the most transformational in the
entire history of the human race,” Clinton declaimed upon receiving an award
from the organization that Sanger founded, Planned Parenthood.
Find
out more about how the rights of doctors and other medical workers to refuse to
participate in unethical procedures (such as abortion) are being threatened,
and find out how you can help defend “a doctor’s right” at ADoctorsRight.com.
FoxNews
reports on the growing opposition to Obama’s nominee Dawn Johnson, the
president’s radical pro-abortion nominee for the Office of Legal Counsel at the
Justice Department.
CitizenLink reports. Unfortunately, it appears that President
Obama’s State Department will push its abortion agenda overseas, while
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton heaped praise on Planned Parenthood founder
Margaret Sanger. Excerpt:
After being honored by Planned Parenthood
with the Margaret Sanger award, Clinton said: “I have to tell you that it was a
great privilege when I was told that I would receive this award. I admire
Margaret Sanger enormously, her courage, her tenacity, her vision.”
Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood,
was openly sympathetic to Nazi Germany’s eugenic practices and was strongly
committed to preventing black people and the poor from reproducing.
Sanger once said: "Many of this group
are diseased, feeble-minded, and are of the pauper element dependent upon the
normal and fit members of society for their support. There is no doubt in the
minds of all thinking people that the procreation of this group should be
stopped."
Alan
Sears explains why the conscience rights of medical personnel to refuse to
perform abortions or other unethical procedures must be protected. Excerpt:
“Always let your conscience be your guide,”
Jiminy Cricket used to sing to Pinocchio. Sounds like good advice, but
then…Jiminy had his ulterior motives. To his mind, he was the voice of that
puppet boy’s conscience – so he himself would be doing the guiding.
That’s pretty much seems to be the
philosophy of the Obama administration when it comes to the “rights of
conscience” of medical professionals. The team now pulling the strings at the
Department of Health and Human Services has decided that preserving religious
liberty – much less life in the womb – is a luxury the nation can’t afford.
And they expect health care providers to
take their moral cues from the government…not their own convictions.
LifeNews reports. Looks like the efforts of our friend Lila
Rose are paying off in Arizona.
Now
that a federal judge has determined (CitizenLink reports)
that underage girls must be allowed easy access to the “morning after pill,”
this information from FRC on
the health dangers of Plan B, is very relevant.
LifeNews reports. Excerpt:
The American economy is in turmoil but the
Obama administration sent a $50 million check yesterday to the United Nations
Population Fund. That's the pro-abortion group that has been accused of
supporting and working in concert with Chinese family planning officials.
There, the Chinese population control
program has relied on forced abortions, involuntary sterilizations and other
human rights abuses to enforce its rule that most couples may have no more than
one child.
Lila
Rose has done it again. Live Action Films, the organization of
pro-life students headed by Rose, has released undercover footage of a Planned
Parenthood facility in Phoenix, Arizona attempting to cover-up illegal sexual
abuse.
Check
out the Violations
Map to find out about other cases of Planned Parenthood scandals and of
other sting operations by Live Action Films.
Planned
Parenthood receives millions of dollars from taxpayers every year. Is this how you want your tax dollars spent?
Here’s
the video of the Phoenix case:
The
Washington Post reports that President Obama is planning to overturn
important conscience protections which allow medical personnel to refuse to
perform operations or dispense drugs which they find unethical (such as
abortions and abortion drugs). The
New York Times also reports.
Excerpt:
The Obama administration moved Friday to
undo a last-minute Bush administration rule granting broad protections to
health workers who refuse to take part in abortions or provide other health
care that goes against their consciences.
Our
friend Tom McClusky at FRC has a helpful
blog post explaining what “pro-life riders” are and how we need to be
watchful over every piece of legislation (especially the massive omnibus
spending bill Congress is now considering) to ensure that each of these
important pro-life provisions are preserved.
 Unfortunately the massive Omnibus spending bill also contains language which undermines the Kemp-Kasten provision. Kemp-Kasten prevents taxpayer dollars from supporting organization which support brutal one-child-only forced abortion policies overseas. One such organization is the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) which will receive funding if the Omnibus bill is passed in its current form.
LifeNews reports on UNFPA funding and also debunks the myth of overpopulation which is the rationale behind such radical abortion policies.
Star
Park reports on this
troubling story. Excerpt:
A black pastor awaits sentencing, which
could amount to two years in prison and $4,000 in fines, for standing outside
an inner city abortion clinic holding a sign saying "Jesus Loves You &
Your Baby, Let Us Help You," and offering pro-life literature.
Live
Action Films has done it again. This
intrepid pro-life organization has released more outrageous undercover video
showing Planned Parenthood staff knowingly participating in the cover-up of
statutory rape in Tuscon, Arizona. Read
LAF’s official
press release here. LifeNews also reports. Is this activity (covering up statutory rape
and promoting abortion) something you want your hard-earned tax dollars to
support?
Check
out AdvanceUSA’s
interview with Lila Rose, the president of Live Action Films and one of the
undercover participants in the videos.
Here’s
the YouTube version of the Arizona video:
Daniel
Herbster reporting
 Few
organizations are as supportive of the radical pro-abortion agenda as Planned
Parenthood. Millions of dollars pass
through this institution every year (much of it from taxpayers) which means it
has a huge financial incentive to promote abortion and promiscuity. There have been many reports of Planned
Parenthood violating reporting laws in order to circumvent state parental
consent laws and statutory rape laws.
Lila Rose, president of Live Action Films,
decided to help expose the corruption of Planned Parenthood through a series of
undercover videos. Lila posed as an
under-age girl (who had been impregnated by a much older man) seeking an abortion
at two PP clinics in Indiana. The
videos show three PP staffers attempting to cover-up what would have
constituted statutory rape and encouraging Lila to get an abortion in Illinois
so she could avoid Indiana’s parental consent laws and keep the abortion and
rape hidden from her parents. Lila was
kind enough to allow us to interview her about her recent project.
DH: I know it’s not quite as prestigious at being
interviewed on Fox News, but we’re very grateful that you were willing to be
interviewed for AdvanceUSA Blog. First
of all, what made you decide to do undercover videos of Planned
Parenthood? Where did you get the idea?
LR: Well
first of all, our team at Live Action rely on blogs like yours to get the truth
out, so thank you for the interview!
The public deserves to know if Planned Parenthood, a
recipient of huge government grants, complies with all state and federal
regulations.
Planned Parenthood is the largest abortion provider,
and an aggressive political force for abortion on demand. In their active
killing of defenseless children, they routinely break state laws and manipulate
and misinform women. Abortion works in secret; once people learn how it is
done, who it is killing, and all the abuses that accompany it, I believe the
majority of Americans can no longer stand by and allow the great injustice and
violence to continue in our great nation.
DH: Did you ever feel nervous or fearful about
going “undercover?”
LR: Nervous,
yes. But that feeling was largely part of my character, as I tried to
accurately portray a very young girl, confused, frightened, pregnant by a
sexual predator, and in great need of help.
DH: What kind of preparation and planning went
into these videos?
LR: Our
Mona Lisa Team, both on the road and with the support team back home, spent a
lot of time preparing for the multi-state investigation. We have a very talented
and dedicated team of young people: we did extensive research and preparation,
used the best equipment, and took our role as investigative journalists
seriously.
Once the national tour was over, the work had just
begun! It was now our task at Live Action to plan, produce and release the
videos.
DH: What do you feel you accomplished with this
project? Are you experiencing any
negative push-back?
LR: The
first two videos (Bloomington and Indianapolis) alone well exceeded our
expectations by garnering national, mainstream media coverage, and for weeks on
end. Local groups in Indiana, already hard at work, were able to use the
evidence to make the case against Planned Parenthood. We at Live Action sent
the District Attorneys and the Attorney General full copies of the footage, to
work with them so they could conduct a thorough investigation of Planned
Parenthood Indiana. And the shock waves of the videos, which proved the blatant
disregard of Planned Parenthood for Indiana state statute, parent's
right-to-involvement, and the safety of young girls, is still ongoing.
DH: What actions or policies would you like to
see come about as a result of your efforts?
Gallop
has released a poll showing that only 35% of Americans approve of President
Obama’s decision to allow groups that promote abortion as a means of “family
planning” to receive taxpayer dollars. LifeNews also reports.
We
encourage the president to take note that sometimes doing the right thing is also
politically expedient and do the right thing when it comes to making sure
taxpayer dollars (many of whom oppose abortion) don’t support abortion or
unethical research.
LifeNews reports. It should be remembered that the so-called “Freedom
of Choice Act” (FOCA) would enshrine the Roe
vs. Wade decision into federal law and would overturn every (federal,
state, or local) limitation on abortion in America.
AdvanceUSA
will be joining other groups to keep pro-lifers updated on the stealth strategy
to whittle away at abortion restrictions.
Be sure to regularly check AdvanceUSA
Blog and subscribe to our free
weekly email newsletter so you know the latest on the attempt to impose
FOCA piece-by-piece.
LifeNews reports. Unfortunately, it appears that President
Obama and many in Congress would like to give your hard-earned tax dollars to
organizations like this.
Unfortunately the Senate defeated a motion today to reinstate the Mexico City Policy prohibiting the use of taxpayer funds to support overseas organization which provide or promote abortions. Members of the House are likely to try as well, with little chance of success. Click here to see how both your Senators voted on this important pro-life policy. Be sure to hold your elected officials accountable!
Senate Vote on the Martinez Amendment (S.A. 65) to restore the prohibition on funding of nongovernmental organizations that promote abortion as a method of birth control (the "Mexico City Policy")
January 28, 2009
Full Results | News Story
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Yeas |
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Nays |
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PRES |
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NV |
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Republican |
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36 |
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4 |
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1 |
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Democratic |
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1 |
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55 |
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1 |
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Independent |
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— |
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1 |
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TOTALS |
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37 |
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60 |
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2 |
Simply
put, this policy (Mexico City Policy) is important because it prevented your
tax dollars from supporting organizations that promote abortion as a method of “family
planning” in overseas countries. Our
friend Tom McClusky at FRC gives
a thorough explanation at FRC’s blog.
President
Obama released a statement on the issue explaining his rationale for
overturning this common-sense, pro-life provision. LifeNews
reports. Excerpt:
Obama also cast his decision to fund
international abortions and abortion efforts as a way to find common ground in
the abortion debate.
"For too long, international family
planning assistance has been used as a political wedge issue, the subject of a
back and forth debate that has served only to divide us," Obama said.
"I have no desire to continue this stale and fruitless debate."
"It is time that we end the politicization
of this issue. In the coming weeks, my Administration will initiate a fresh
conversation on family planning, working to find areas of common ground to best
meet the needs of women and families at home and around the world," he
said.
But for the majority of Americans who take
a pro-life position on abortion and oppose funding abortion efforts with public
money, the debate will continue.
Pray
that President Obama would reconsider this move, and that he would seek to
protect the inalienable right to life of the unborn in his administration.
Yesterday President Obama signed
an executive order overturning the Mexico City Policy which had prevented
American tax dollars from supporting organizations that provide or promote
abortion overseas (especially organizations which participate in brutal
one-child-only forced abortion programs).
This action is a slap in the face to pro-lifers everywhere.
National Right
to Life responded immediately.
We
urge President Obama to reconsider this decision and to remember that he is
being watched by a holy God before whom he will one day give an account of how
he used the enormous power given to him.
President Obama should also remember the words of our third president
Thomas Jefferson.
Indeed, I tremble
for my country when I reflect that God is just, that His justice cannot sleep
forever.
Thomas
Jefferson
On
the 36th anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade decision pro-life members
of Congress spoke out for the rights of the unborn on the floor of the House of
Representatives. CitizenLink and
the Miami
Herald report.
Watch
Congressman Mike Pence (R-IN) speak here.
As LifeNews reports, many
members urged President Obama to oppose the so-called Freedom of Choice Act
which would enshrine Roe vs. Wade
into Federal law and would overturn every limitation on abortion in our
nation. Obama has indicated in the past
that passing the FOCA would be a top priority.
Daniel
Herbster reporting
 Wesley
J. Smith is an influential writer and commentator who has dedicated his career
to preserving human dignity and educating his fellow man on the principles of
bioethics and justice. He is a senior
fellow at the Discovery Institute and a
special consultant to the Center for Bioethics
and Culture. He has also written a
number of books, and he blogs at Secondhand
Smoke. Smith was kind enough to
share with AdvanceUSA’s readers about important bioethics issues facing our society
today and about his work.
DH: Why are bioethics issues so important?
WJS: Bioethics is a contraction for “biomedical
ethics.” It is a field that has profound influence over core areas of human
endeavor that help establish and define the morality of society, and indeed,
the meaning of human life itself. Should elderly people have their health care
rationed? Is assisted suicide a proper
medical service? Is it right to create
cloned human embryos for use in research or to bring to birth? Is it wrong to abort fetuses because they
test positive for Down syndrome? Should parents be able to genetically enhance
their children? Are there morally relevant differences between humans and
animals? What should happen if a nurse
refuses to participate in an abortion or a physician wants to cut off wanted
life-sustaining medical treatment because the patient has a poor “quality of
life?” These and other equally important
bioethical issues are much larger than the sum of their parts because they
establish philosophical norms that exert tremendous influence upon society
beyond the policies themselves. Indeed,
I can think of few fields more important than bioethics in determining the kind
of society we shall become in the 21st century.
DH: What is “human exceptionalism” and how does
it relate to issues of life and justice?
WJS: Human exceptionalism refers to the sheer
moral importance and unique value of being human. I believe strongly that adhering to human
exceptionalism is the predicate to defending universal human rights. Indeed,
whether we accept or reject human exceptionalism may be the most important
issue we face as a culture. For if we say that simply being human is not what gives value to life, we have to
ask a second question: What does? That
second question leads directly to a system wherein those with power decide
which of us has greater--and which lesser—value, and who decides those who
don’t make muster. Thus, many in bioethics support “personhood theory,” which
denies the objective moral value of being human and claims that what matters morally
is being a “person,” a status earned
by possessing minimal cognitive capacities. In this view, there is such a thing
as a human “non person,” such as fetuses, newborns, and people who have lost
these capacities, such as Terri Schiavo.
Worse, because the human non person is defined as having lesser value,
they lose the right to life and, can be used instrumentally such as in medical
experimentation or as sources of organs.
Indeed, there is much agitation in bioethics and within the organ
transplant community to redefine death to include a diagnosis of persistent
vegetative state—meaning that if this view prevails, severely compromised
people could essentially be killed for their organs. This isn’t happening—yet—but the only way to
make sure that such policies are never instituted is to adhere to human
exceptionalism.
The Star Tribune
reports. Only time will tell what
will happen to Bush’s important pro-life regulations after the Obama
administration “reviews” them.
 New White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel
AdvanceUSA has learned from friends
on Capitol Hill that the Obama administration is expected to quickly overturn
Bush policies limiting taxpayer funding of unethical embryonic stem cell
research and taxpayer funding of overseas abortions (ex: Mexico City Policy) soon
after the inauguration. Please contact President-elect Barack
Obama through his transition website to tell him you want him to preserve
these important, common sense pro-life policies.
We
must preserve the executive branch restrictions on taxpayer funding of
embryo-destroying research and overseas abortions.
Apparently
the Big Abortion industry is looking for a bailout now. As CitizenLink and Planned
Parenthood’s own website make clear, supporting the newly proposed
Prevention First Act will be a high priority of the nation’s largest abortion
provider. The bill promises to make sure
that “reproductive health services” (i.e. mostly abortion) are available to all
families, regardless of income (likely at tax-payer expense.
LifeNews reports. Excerpts:
While we must press on against FOCA, we
must not forget another serious, and maybe even more pertinent, threat: the
termination of the Hyde Amendment.
…
The Hyde Amendment, originally enacted in
1976, is a pro-life limitation amendment in the annual appropriations bill that
restricts the direct federal funding of abortion through Medicaid.
Without the Hyde Amendment, women eligible
for Medicaid would have their abortions paid for by the Federal Government – in
other words, OUR tax dollars. If abortions are free to the individual, you can
bet on abortion rates increasing.
The Wall Street
Journal reports. During the last
election season some people claimed that abortion and other pro-life issues “really
didn’t matter” because the president has very little control over pro-life
issues while Roe vs. Wade is on the
books. Nothing could be further from the
truth.
Tony
Perkins at the Family Research Council helpfully lists the many
pro-life executive policies that could be threatened in a new
administration.
- Rescind
the Mexico City policy, which would direct taxpayer dollars to groups that
provide and promote abortion overseas;
- Restore
funding to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which condones forced
abortion and sterilization policies in countries like China;
- Direct
the Department of Health and Human Services to change the conscience exemptions
for health care workers who morally object to abortion and other practices;
- Change
the Department of Justice Sexual Assault Protocol, Defense Department
pharmaceutical formulary, and USAID's Commodities Program to encourage the use
of "Plan B," which can act as an abortifacient;
- Create
incentives to provide subsidized birth control at college health centers and
other providers;
-
Make
"emergency contraception" available over-the-counter for girls of all
ages;
- Rollback
the abstinence-only education requirement for certain federal aid; and,
- Permit
the use of taxpayer funds for the destruction of human embryos through
unethical stem cell research.
HT:
FRC
A
second undercover video showing Planned Parenthood staffers in Indiana
attempting to cover up statutory rape has prompted Indiana State Representative
Jackie Walorski to call for an
investigation and a suspension of all state funding of Planned Parenthood until
the investigation is completed.
Hopefully, this incident will be a wake up call to the dangerous,
radically pro-abortion agenda of Planned Parenthood and will motivate citizens
to demand that their tax dollars not be used to support such a corrupt
organization.
To
view all the undercover videos visit http://www.liveactionfilms.org/.
The
South Bend Tribune reports. As does the
Indiana pro-family blog Veritas Rex.
Below is a YouTube video showing excerpts from the undercover videos.
LifeNews reports. Excerpt:
"Anyone who has bought into the myth
that Obama is 'moderating' his positions should notice that the first section
is entitled 'Steps for the First Hundred Days.' Groups that have spent millions
supporting pro-abortion members of Congress, including Obama and Biden, aren't
in the mood to wait," he writes.
"Nowhere is there any of the
pre-election rhetoric about 'dialogue' or 'lowering' the number of abortions.
Hudson says the proposals would entrench
the unlimited abortion policies that currently guide the U.S.
"Taken together, the proposed policies
would accomplish three things: 1) treat abortion as a health care right, 2)
provide funding for abortions by insurance carriers or the government, and 3)
put judges and political appointees in place who will protect the abortion and
government-funding from future challenges," he explained.
Jill Stanek
explains at WorldNetDaily. Excerpt:
Four times in four years Wichita late-term
abortionist George Tiller or Planned Parenthood of Kansas has sued Kansas
Attorney General Phill Kline or Johnson County District Attorney Phill Kline
for investigating them. They have also filed hundreds of pages of ethics
complaints, which continue nonstop to this day.
Despite a hostile Kansas Supreme Court, the
majority of whom were appointed by a hostile governor who gets campaign money
from Tiller and who has even hosted a party for him at her mansion, and various
other hostile public officials who are on the dole for Tiller and/or Planned
Parenthood, nothing has stuck to Kline.
Despite every attempted roadblock, the
criminal investigations against Planned Parenthood and Tiller continue for
allegedly violating state laws prohibiting late-term abortions and mandated
reporting of underage abortions.
Phill
Kline’s work in Kansas is important for upholding the law and also bringing the
abuses of Planned Parenthood out into the light of day. CitizenLink also
reports.
Chuck Colson explains. Excerpt:
The smartest thing “abortion rights”
advocates ever did was to coin the phrase “pro-choice.” That shifted our
attention towards the act of choosing and away from what was being chosen—the
dismemberment of a human being in utero.
Eventually, however, at some point, “choice”
has to go from mere rhetoric to an actual deed. Somebody has to actually
perform an abortion if “freedom of choice” is to become a reality, as one
medical student learned recently.
Read
full text here.
CNS News
reports on yet another (just one of many) important reason Americans should
beware the so-called “Freedom of Choice Act.”
LifeNews reports. An important question for Americans to ask
themselves is “Do I want my tax dollars to support this kind of activity?”
Daniel
Herbster reporting
Citizens for Community Values of
Indiana is one of the many great organizations in our nation fighting to
protect family values and to oppose pornography and sexually oriented
businesses. I had the opportunity to
interview Patrick Mangan, the Executive Director of CCV of IN, about his work
enabling people to take back their communities.
DH: Patrick, I’ve enjoyed getting to know you and your
organization better over the last few months, so it’s a pleasure to introduce
you to our readers here at AdvanceUSA Blog.
I’ve seen first-hand how your work affects the state of Indiana and
especially my home town of South Bend.
Tell our readers what kinds of issues Citizens for Community Values
works on?
PM: Well our mission is to protect men, women, and
children from the misinformation of sexual activists, and the harms of sexual
addictions, sexual predators, sexually oriented businesses, materials harmful
to minors, broadcast indecency, and the porn/sex industry in all of its forms,
by promoting the principles of the Judeo/Christian ethic which is the
foundation of our nation.
Our vision is to empower concerned citizens and
community leaders to significantly reduce sexual exploitation, promiscuity, and
abuse in Indiana and beyond by:
The
Philadelphia Bulletin reports.
Excerpt:
Less than two miles from two main abortion
providers in the city, Planned Parenthood and the Philadelphia Women's Clinic,
The HOPE Center opened Friday to provide pregnancy support.
While 40 percent of state abortions happen
in the city, most crisis pregnancy centers are located in the suburbs. Former
Philadelphia Eagle, Rev. Herb H. Lusk II opened The HOPE Center through his
People for People community outreach organization to counter that statistic and
help expecting couples.
"I've always been pro-life, but I've
been passive about it," Rev. Lusk said. "When I began to consider
that the African-American population alone has declined in the past three years
across the nation, I realized that we're not procreating our own race; and that
is a direct result of abortion in our communities."
According to the Pennsylvania Department of
Health, 50 percent of black pregnancies end in abortion in Philadelphia. And
between 1973 and 1999, there were over 13 million African-American abortions
nationwide.
"It breaks my heart to hear that; it
makes me cry," Rev. Lusk said of the statistics. "We can do better
than that."
Read
the full
story here.
HT:
Tony Perkins, FRC
Americans
United for Life has created a helpful
online resource for finding out more information about the terrible and deceptively
named “Freedom of Choice Act” which would overturn every abortion restriction
in the nation and enshrine the faulty Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision into
Federal law. The website is FightFOCA.com and allows you to sign an
online petition against this terrible pro-abortion legislation.
LifeNews explains the likely
strategy that will be used by pro-abortionists to eliminate any restrictions on
abortions.
Daniel
Herbster reporting
One
of the most important causes in our nation today is the campaign to end
abortion. While it is important to wage
the legal and political battle so that our laws reflect true justice by recognizing
the inalienable rights of the unborn, another crucial facet of this campaign is
the battle for the hearts and minds of women.
Pregnancy resource centers, which provide real options for women
contemplating an abortion, do amazing work in our nation helping women and
families make the choice for life. Care Net is a nation-wide network that
serves pregnancy resource centers, and I’m happy to share with our readers my
interview with Kristin Hansen about her work at Care Net and of the importance of pregnancy
resource centers.
DH: As important as the legal/political aspect of
the pro-life movement is, why do you think an emphasis on providing real
options for women is also so important?
KH: The
pregnancy center movement was started in the 1960s by people who were strongly
opposed to abortion and also had a deep conviction about personally reaching
out to help women find alternatives. Care
Net was founded in 1975 as the Christian Action Council with its primary focus
to educate and promote legislative change on abortion. However, in the 1980s, we found the most
immediate path to saving lives was to offer women compassionate support and
practical help, one woman at a time. We
changed our name to Care Net and adopted a new mission to promote and grow a
national network of pregnancy centers. Today,
we serve 1,100 pregnancy centers across North America.
A grass roots, community-led movement, pregnancy
centers have developed and grown very effective over the years. Today, nine out
of ten women who visit a Care Net pregnancy center decide to carry their
pregnancy to term. Truly, if it weren’t for pregnancy centers in our country,
today’s abortion rate would be much higher.
DH: What are some of the services provided by
pregnancy resource centers?
KH: Pregnancy
centers offer a wide range of services depending on community needs. A pregnancy center in an urban inner city
area may have a different focus than one in the suburbs or one adjacent to a
college campus. However, the primary goal
of all pregnancy center services is to empower women to make an informed
pregnancy decision. All services are free, and that’s important. It indicates that the pregnancy center
doesn’t have a financial interest in their client’s pregnancy decision, unlike
abortion providers. Free services also send
a message of grace and forgiveness to a client who feels afraid, alone, and
perhaps ashamed.
Pregnancy center services may include: pregnancy tests,
peer counseling, abortion risk information, adoption and parenting information,
material support, parenting and childbirth classes, fatherhood support
programs, and community referrals to other service providers. At pregnancy
centers that offer medical services, licensed medical professionals may offer
limited ultrasound, prenatal care, and STD/STI testing and treatment. Many pregnancy centers also run abstinence
education programs in local schools, churches, and youth groups. Finally, pregnancy centers offer services to
those in emotional pain because of a past abortion. Tens of thousands of people have found forgiveness
and healing through a pregnancy center post-abortion support program.
All of these services are offered with the ultimate
hope that each client that walks through the doors of a Care Net pregnancy
center experiences the love of Jesus Christ.
DH: How does Care Net serve resource centers?
Thanks
to the pro-life rider in federal law know as the Kemp-Kasten provision, the
United States foreign aid cannot be used to support organizations that promote
forced abortion or forced sterilization policies. Because of these provisions, taxpayer funding of Marie
Stopes International (MSI) has been restricted.
This
incident is an important reminder of the ways Congress and the president can
have a powerful pro-life impact, even while the flawed Roe vs. Wade decision is still in effect.
Electing
pro-life leaders is still important, so don’t let anyone tell you that pro-life
issues don’t matter as long as Roe vs. Wade is the law of the land.
Doug
Johnson of the National Right to Life Committee has a piece
at NRO debunking the commonly used “we want to reduce abortion numbers”
excuse that pro-abortion politicians often resort to, and he sets the record
straight on Barack Obama’s record on abortion.
The
Senate on Friday rejected
a bill (on a cloture vote) which would have carved out a special drug price
kickback for the nation’s largest abortion provider at taxpayer expense.
If Barack Obama had
his way, Gianna Jessen wouldn’t be here today.
Ashley Herzog continues
in her article at Human Events.
MarketWatch
reports. Despite what detractors may
claim about abortion not mattering in many political races, this report shows
that electing pro-life state legislators can make a real difference for women
and the unborn. LifeNews also reports.
AdvanceUSA
has learned that the Senate could soon consider an amendment to H.R. 2638, the
Continuing Resolution, which would carve out special benefits for Planned
Parenthood at taxpayer expense. The
measure would allow the nation’s number one abortion provider to get special
prices on pharmaceuticals at taxpayer expense.
Call
both
your senators and urge them to oppose any effort to allow “university
clinics and private birth control clinics” from receiving what is called “nominal
drug pricing.”
UPDATE: The RSC has more details here.
The
House passed a Continuing Resolution (a bill which maintains the current budget
into the next fiscal year) yesterday which preserves important pro-life riders
and also maintains crucial abstinence education funding at current levels. Hopefully the Continuing Resolution will pass
through the Senate without dangerous anti-life or anti-family provisions being
added.
MarketWatch
reports on this well-deserved
award for some of the most important soldiers on the front lines of the
pro-life movement.
 Dr. Michael New explains at NRO his
recent research indicating that state
laws requiring parental consent or notice (with exceptions for abusive
relationships) before a minor teen can obtain an abortion are effective in
reducing abortion numbers. He makes
the case that more states should adopt such laws and he encourages the federal government
to adopt laws such as the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act (CIANA)
which would strengthen the enforcement of these laws by forbidding taking
underage girls across state lines to get around these effective laws.
Many
times men who have sexually abused young girls will take them across state
lines to avoid parental notifications laws and cover up their crimes through an
abortion. These laws would help combat
this practice.
Incidentally,
many of these abuse cover-ups have occurred in the clinics of the nation’s
largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood.
LifeNews
and MarketWatch
also report on Dr. New’s findings. To
read the full report visit frc.org.
Daniel
Herbster reporting
 Have
you ever wondered how the pro-life cause specifically affects African
Americans? Have you ever wondered if
someone was speaking out on the impact of abortion on blacks? Organizations like the National Black Pro-Life Union
are talking those issues head on. I had
the privilege to interview Day Gardner about her work with this organization.
DH: It’s good to get in touch with you again. How are things in DC?
DG: Thank you! Things are busy, very busy! There’s a lot
happening here.
DH: Why did you start the National Black Pro-Life
Union? What is its mission and what are
some of the accomplishments you’d like to share with our readers?
DG: Like
they say, where there is a need...I realized that most blacks don't know the
statistics--the truth about abortion in our community. Many of us still don't know what an abortion
really is or what it looks like. We also
realize that once African Americans are given the facts and see the racism of
abortion and Planned Parenthood, they will stand with us to stop the killing.
The National Black Pro-Life Union is an organization
founded to serve as a clearing house to coordinate the flow of communications
among all African American pro-life organizations and individuals in order to
better network and combine resources.
We realize that if we are to be successful, it is
necessary to share information and/or resources as well as “who gets the credit.” We acknowledge that the real credit for any
good thing always goes to GOD–not man.
DH: What is the greatest killer of African
Americans?
DG: ABORTION
is the NUMBER ONE KILLER of African American people, killing more blacks than
accidents, HIV-AIDS, crime, heart disease, stroke and all other deaths
COMBINED!
DH: Many today are unfamiliar with the racist,
eugenicist roots of Planned Parenthood.
Do you consider the nation’s largest abortion provider to be a promoter
of or predator to the black community?
The
AP reports. Excerpt:
Democratic presidential nominee Barack
Obama acknowledged Sunday that he was probably too flip when he said it was
"above my pay grade" to answer a question about when is a baby
entitled to human rights.
Daniel
Herbster reporting
An
Indiana county is considering an ordinance which would, as the Journal
Gazette reports, “require all surgeons and doctors that provide outpatient
invasive procedures to have ties to a local hospital and have on-call,
after-hours staff to handle emergencies.”
Proponents of the measure say the ordinance would protect patient health,
especially women’s health. I interviewed
Cathie Humbarger of Allen County Right to
Life about the ordinance, particularly concerning its pro-life
implications.
DH: Cathie, thanks for taking to time to inform
our readers about the proposed ordinance in Allen County, Indiana. First of all, what does your work at Allen
County Right to Life involve and what kinds of things does ACRL work on?
CH: It’s
my pleasure, Dan. Thanks for inviting me.
Just to review: On January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court
legalized abortion in the United
States from conception through the ninth
month of pregnancy. Since that date, over 45 million abortions have been
performed at the rate of approximately one every 20 seconds. Right here in Fort Wayne approximately
fifteen abortions are completed each Thursday at the local abortion clinic.
In response to this situation, the Allen County Right
to Life Committee, Inc. was incorporated in March of 1976 and Three Rivers
Right to Life Educational Trust Fund, Inc. was founded in December of 1982 to
promote respect for innocent life from the moment of fertilization to natural
death. We agree with the self-evident truth that every human person is endowed
by their Creator with an unalienable right to life that must be defended. This
principle leads us to promote a culture of life in our community, which we
accomplish through education in the social, religious, legal, medical,
scientific and legislative fields. We also believe that abortion, infanticide,
and euthanasia are negative, violent and primitive responses to complex social
problems that demand genuine compassion and rational, responsible thinking.
Further, we denounce fetal stem-cell research and human cloning because they
involve the willful destruction of human life. We reject the notion that
society may destroy innocent life to solve any problem. Our approach has always
been non-violent and legal. One of our goals is to look for every opportunity
to influence the legislative and political process with policies that support
and protect pre-born babies and their mothers where otherwise they would have
no voice.
DH: What would this ordinance do?
National
Right to Life responds to allegations by presidential candidate Barack
Obama that NRL is lying about his opposition to “Born Alive Infant Protection”
legislation while a state senator in Illinois.
Saturday
night’s presidential forum at Rick Warren’s church provided a clear distinction
between the major candidates on various issues, especially on social
conservative issues such as abortion, judges, and the rights of faith-based
organizations. To read a transcript of
the event click here. To view the entire broadcast via online video
click
here.
Daniel
Herbster reporting
The
Freedom of Choice Act may sound like an innovative education bill but it’s
anything but. This legislation if passed
would not only enshrine the infamous Roe vs. Wade opinion into federal law, but
it would also destroy every sensible limitation on abortion which federal,
state, and local governments have ever instituted. Many pro-choice politicians, including one of
the major presidential candidates, support this bill. My friend and colleague Tom McClusky, who is
Vice President at the Family Research Council,
recently prepared
a paper detailing just what the Freedom of Choice Act would mean for our
nation and the pro-life cause. I
recently had the chance to interview Tom about the Freedom of Choice Act and
his work at FRC.
DH: What is the Freedom of Choice Act?
TM: Some
of the supporters of the "Freedom of Choice Act" state that it merely
codifies Roe v. Wade. This
could not be further from the truth. As
the American Civil Liberties Union said in its Reproductive Rights Update from
December 20, 1991, "This [FOCA] bill prohibits such restrictions as
parental notification and consent, as well as the requirement that all
abortions be performed in a hospital, spousal consent, waiting periods ..."
DH: What kinds of effects would it have on
abortion restrictions in our nation?
TM: If
FOCA were to pass both chambers of Congress and be signed by a pro-abortion
President, it would single-handedly overturn countless laws that have passed in
the states in relation to abortion.
DH: If you had to come up with a different name
for this bill (one that more accurately describes its effects and intention),
what would it be?
TM: Federal
Usurpation of Rights and Abortion on Demand Act (FURADA?)
DH: What are some of the most surprising or
important things you learned about the proposed Freedom of Choice Act as you
prepared your research paper?
LifeSite reports
on how this dangerous UN treaty pushes abortion on unwilling nations. Some pro-abortionists want the United States
to be bound by this treaty.
The
Freedom of Choice Act would overturn every pro-life law on the books and would
basically enshrine the Roe vs. Wade decision into federal law. Our friend Tom McClusky at the Family
Research Council has prepared
a paper on the Freedom of Choice Act which explains the effects it would
have and reveals how the major presidential candidates stand on its passage.
A
Senate committee and House subcommittee are threatening the Mexico City Policy (which
prevents tax dollars from supporting organizations that promote or provide
abortions) and the Kemp-Kasten rider (which allows the president to prohibit
funds from organizations that support coerced abortions). Hopefully, the House and Senate will
eliminate the language which threatens these important pro-life riders. Otherwise, the president has promised to “veto
any legislation that weakens current Federal policies and laws on abortion, or
that encourages the destruction of human life at any stage.”
The
New York Times reports. Excerpt:
The Bush administration wants to require
all recipients of aid under federal health programs to certify that they will
not refuse to hire nurses and other providers who object to abortion and …
certain types of birth control.
William
McGurn explains. Excerpt:
…could not the NAACP work for a society
where pregnant African-Americans had two doors open to them? Planned
Parenthood's not going anywhere, so the first would still lead to America's
largest abortion provider, a business that has already eliminated millions from
America's population. But the other would lead to people whose business is of a
vastly different order: welcoming these children into the world, and getting
their moms the help they need to live lives of purpose and dignity.
Then again, that would give women a real
choice.
Last
week, members of the House of Representatives held a “special order” to call
for the de-funding of the largest abortion provider in the nation. Many Americans have no idea that their tax
dollars subsidize the flag ship of the abortion industry and AdvanceUSA thanks
these House members for taking this bold stand.
LifeNews reports. See the video here.
Visit
HelpShapeHistory.com to read
more about this pro-life rally in our nation’s capital. Excerpt:
On August 16, we are calling every Christian
of every faith tradition, young and old, every race, every pro-life
organization, and every individual to gather in Washington D.C. to pray for our
nation with a massive focus on the ending of abortion and the healing of our
land.
The
AP reports. Excerpt:
A federal appeals court ruled that South
Dakota can begin enforcing a law requiring doctors to tell women seeking
abortions that the procedure ends a human life.
World Net
Daily also reports.
The
Washington Times reports. Excerpt:
“Hoisting signs declaring "abortion is
not a family value," about 60 black demonstrators descended on Democratic
and Republican headquarters on Capitol Hill Thursday morning to demand that
political candidates refuse funding from Planned Parenthood.”
With
all the talk about sinister “big corporations” these days, it’s interesting
that Planned Parenthood often escapes scrutiny.
As The
Wall Street Journal and LifeNews
explain, the biggest abortion provider in the nation is drastically expanding
its business model.
LifeNews reports. Excerpt:
As it has done in past years, Planned
Parenthood abortion businesses in California are willing to shell out some of
their abortion profits to make sure they can leave parents in the dark about
teen abortions. They are, once again, spending heavily to defeat a parental
notification measure.
Planned
Parenthood is the biggest profiteer from the abortion industry and is understandably
hostile to any measure that would cut into profits, even if this involves
helping underage girls get abortions without notifying parents.
Fox News reports. Amazingly enough, radical pro-abortionists
advocate more availability for RU-486 and refuse to seriously investigate its
potentially lethal side effects, despite chilling stories like this one. The BBC also
reports.
Although
clearly biased toward a pro-choice perspective-using terms such as “abortion
rights”-this AP report paints a stark contrast between the two
remaining major presidential candidates on abortion. Excerpt:
ABORTION
McCain: Opposes abortion rights. Has voted
for abortion restrictions permissible under Roe v. Wade, and now says he would
seek to overturn that guarantee of abortion rights. Would not seek
constitutional amendment to ban abortion.
Obama: Favors abortion rights.
 
LifeNews reports. Excerpt:
Just one day after South Carolina residents
received good news that Choose Life license plates are on the way, Gov. Mark
Sanford on Thursday signed a pro-life bill into law. The legislation allows
women a chance to see an ultrasound of their unborn child before the abortion.
When used in pregnancy centers, such
ultrasounds persuade as many as 70-80 percent of women to keep their baby
rather than follow through with an abortion.
Denis
Boyles unravels the twisted tale of allegations of illegal abortions,
investigations, obstruction, cover-up, and other peculiar political
circumstances. This article is well
worth the read for any pro-lifer and perhaps could hopefully open many eyes to
the corruption
and deviousness of Planned Parenthood.
Excerpt:
Caleb Stegall, Kline’s lead attorney, saw
the case in simple terms. “Laws restricting and governing abortion are
worthless if they cannot be enforced,” he said, “and up until today, they have
not been enforced. Planned Parenthood wants to keep it that way. So the message
being sent by this case as a whole is if you try to enforce these laws, if you
even try to talk about enforcing these laws, we will bury you. This overriding
message has seeped into our body politic and threatens to corrupt some of our
most basic and cherished principles such as freedom of speech and political
debate, the rule of law, and the principle of equality before the law.”
Zenit
reports on a new book citing evidence from experts which demonstrates that unborn children can feel
pain. Excerpt from article:
The contributions from the large number of
experts who contribute to the book agree in affirming that a fetus can feel
pain before birth, the two editors explain in their introductory essay.
"Recognizing human dignity and human suffering from life in the womb is a
clinical duty in the service of better treatment," they declare.
Evidence
like this shows the need for the Unborn
Children Pain Awareness Act now in Congress (check home page and scroll
down for more information on this important pro-life bill).
 Unfortunately our pro-life compatriots in Great Britain were unsuccessful in passing a ban on the creation of human-animal hybrid embryos for unethical stem cell research in Parliament (for more details check this BBC report). However, it looks as though a move to lower the abortion limit from 24 weeks to 22 or 20 weeks might prove successful. It in encouraging to know that pro-lifers are fighting the good fight elsewhere in the world, but the fact that Britain will likely allow the creation of hybrid cloning is a sobering warning that such research could be coming to American shores in the near future (unless legislation like H.R. 5910 and S. 2358 is passed).
The fact that Great Britain even has a gestation limit on abortion illustrates the surprising fact that the United States is among the nations with the most unrestrictive abortion laws in the world. Many Americans are unaware that the Supreme Court decisions of Roe vs. Wade and Doe vs. Bolton basically mandate that abortion for whatever reason is permissible at almost any stage of prenatal development.
See also: pro-life page, stem cell page
Photo source: roots-travel.co.uk
The
Alliance Defense Fund reports. Excerpt:
A Missouri judge ruled Friday that a state
law that enforces health and safety standards for surgical abortion clinics
also regulates clinics that dispense the abortion-inducing drug RU-486.
KMOX
also reports.
AdvanceUSA
was privileged to sign onto a letter, along with other conservative organizations, encouraging
President Bush to tighten regulations regarding tax-dollars and Planned
Parenthood. The
Hill reports. Excerpt:
“We respectfully ask that you make the
necessary changes to the Title X regulations so that U.S. taxpayer funds are
not used to promote and facilitate abortion,” the groups wrote in the letter.
Title X provides nearly $300 million in
federal funds to family planning groups such as Planned Parenthood.
Former President Ronald Reagan first issued
regulations more than 20 years ago that prohibited family planning
organizations from providing advice to help women obtain abortions. The
Reagan-era regulations were upheld by the Supreme Court, but were then
rescinded soon after former President Bill Clinton took office in 1993.
 Not only has the United Methodist Church recently made progress in recognizing the need to protect the sanctity of traditional marriage and upholding Biblical teaching on sexual morality, but it seems this influential, global organization is moving closer to a position of defending the sanctity of unborn and elderly human life. At the recent global conference (which occurs every four years) the sanctity of human life was upheld by resolutions in the following ways (source: The Institute on Religion and Democracy):
- "Affirm and encourage the Church to assist the ministry of crisis pregnancy centers and pregnancy resource centers that compassionately help women find feasible alternatives to abortion."
- "Respect the sacredness of the life and well-being of the mother and the unborn child."
- Support for adult "notification and consent" when a minor is seeking an abortion.
- "Reject euthanasia and pressure upon the dying to end their lives."
- Delete language from a previous United Methodist statement that had been used to support abortion as a means of back-up birth control.
- Decrying the international problem of gender- selective abortions, while describing abortion as "violent" and opposing "trivial reasons" for abortion.
LifeNews also reports. Excerpt:
Mark Tooley, the director of the UMAction Committee of the Institute on Religion and Democracy told LifeNews.com he's pleased with the small steps to move in a pro-life direction.
"These incremental steps continue a trend from the last several General Conferences towards an increased acknowledgement of the sanctity of all human life," he said.
"The United Methodist Church is slowly moving towards the historic Christian concern for the most vulnerable," he added. "These latest moves continue this positive trend."
CitizenLink reports. Excerpt:
Johnson County District Attorney Phill
Kline has charged Planned Parenthood's Kansas City clinic, Comprehensive
Health, with 107 criminal charges in district court, including 23 felonies.
Planned Parenthood wanted the court to
order Kline to return medical records from 30 patients' files. But the court
ruled today that Kline has proper legal clearance to be in possession of the
abortion records.
"It's about time the courts allowed
Phill Kline to do his job and conduct this investigation involving serious
allegations against Planned Parenthood," said Dawn Vargo…
LifeNews reports. Let’s hope this speaker can convince this
influential organization to respect the sanctity of unborn human life.
 AdvanceUSA has learned that the third annual “Wash for Life” will be held on September 13, 2008. The Wash for Life recruits young people across the country to hold car washes to raise funds for and awareness of pregnancy resource centers in their communities. Pregnancy resource centers do great work providing real choices for pregnant women, and are worthy causes for support. Mark your calendars for September 13 so you can get your car washed “for life” or organize your own “Wash for Life.”
Check out washforlife.com to see photos and results from last year’s Wash for Life and keep checking back with AdvanceUSA for more updates on this year’s event.
Despite
a veto from Oklahoma’s governor, the OK state legislature overruled the veto
and passed a bill
strengthening a woman’s right to view an ultrasound of her unborn child
before making an abortion decision. It’s
time for so-called proponents of “choice” to actually allow some informed
decision making in the abortion process.
Let’s hope other states adopt ultrasound bills which dramatically
illustrate the humanity of the unborn and provide crucial information to women.
LifeNews reports. Let’s hope other states follow suit with this
important legislation which seeks to give women complete information of what
abortion involves.
Jeff
Jacoby provides some insightful commentary on the disturbing
trend toward sex-selection abortion around the world and here in the United
States. This is yet another reminder of
the prevalence of the culture of death in our world. Excerpt from Boston Globe article:
THE UNFETTERED "right to choose"
is a progressive value, we are instructed by the abortion lobby - one
indispensable to the empowerment of women. But a new study in PNAS (the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) prompts an awkward question:
How exactly are American women empowered when abortion is deployed to prevent
the existence of American girls?
…
But nothing can excuse such abortions in
the United States - nothing except the theology of "choice," which
elevates the right to an abortion above all other considerations. You don't
have to be a feminist to know that being a girl is not a birth defect, or to be
horrified by a practice that lethally reinforces the most benighted forms of
sexual discrimination. For what kind of feminist would it be who could
contemplate the use of abortion to eliminate ever-greater numbers of girls, and
not cry out in horror?
Operation
Rescue has created a
helpful timeline of events to help people understand the outrageous
abortion scandals involving late-term abortionist George Tiller and Planned
Parenthood of Kansas. This is an
important case for the pro-life movement and we are grateful for this helpful
resource.
The
House of Representatives has approved
a version of PEPFAR anti-AIDS funding that is much improved from the original
version which would have mandated abortion funding, drastically cut back
abstinence and faithfulness education, and weakened anti-prostitution
provisions. Though significant
improvements have been made to the bill, not all conservatives support the
measure because of fiscal concerns over massive spending increases and concerns
that there is insufficient accountability over how funds are spent. The bill will now go to the U.S. Senate.
LifeNews reports. Excerpt:
A leading pro-life member of Congress plans
an amendment to a bill on health care for Native Americans that's similar to
the language of an amendment the Senate approved last month. Rep. Joe Pitts
wants to make sure the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (H.R. 1328) isn't
used to fund abortions with public money.
AdvanceUSA
thanks Congressman Pitts for proposing this important pro-life amendment, and
urges the rest of the Energy and Commerce Committee to support it. CitizenLink also
reports.
You
can look up members of the committee here, and
find your representative’s contact
information here (look them up by name or zip code).
Graphic source: CitizenkLink
Ken
Connor has a thought provoking piece on the need
to protect disabled children from abortion by making sure mothers have
accurate information about disabilities.
Excerpt:
Most parents receive the news that they are
"expecting" with joy and excitement. For some, however, the good news
turns sour when they learn that their unborn or newly born child has Down
syndrome or is afflicted with some other disability like cystic fibrosis. What
parents are told about their child's future and how they are told it often
influences whether that child is born at all. That's why Senators Sam Brownback
and Ted Kennedy have co-sponsored the "Prenatally and Postnatally
Diagnosed Conditions Awareness Act".
Barack
Obama referred to being “punished with a baby” when confronted with a pro-life
Democrat in Pennsylvania recently. Obama
also disparaged abstinence education at the event. Politico
has the details.
Planned
Parenthood has released its annual
report for 2008. The following
points are a few important and outrageous facts AdvanceUSA has been alerted to:
- An increase in the number of
provided abortions from 264,943 in 2005 to 289,650 in 2006.
- A doubling of “excess of
revenue over expenses” funds from $55.7 million in 2005 to $112 million in
2006.
- Acknowledge receipt of over
$336 million in [local, state, and federal] government grants and
contracts.
With
all the recent controversies regarding potential illegal activity by Planned
Parenthood centers across the country, why is Planned Parenthood getting our
tax dollars?
To
sign the Family Research Council’s petition to withhold federal Title X funding
from Planned Parenthood click
here.
LifeNews reports. We hope other states will take a look at these effective pro-life laws that seek to give women real choice through access to ultrasound information.
Last night the Senate rejected a pro-life amendment proposed by Sen. Wayne Allard (R-CO), which would have covered unborn children under the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. Instead, the Senate passed the Boxer amendment which categorizes pregnant mothers as “children” in order to provide these women with health coverage without committing the liberal sacrilege of insinuating that the unborn are in fact children.
To see the vote results, check the vote box below or AdvanceUSA’s Congress Vote Watch Page. To see how your senators voted on the Allard amendment click on “Full Results.”
Senate Vote on the Allard Amendment (S.A. 4233) to allow unborn children to receive health coverage under SCHIP
March 13, 2008
Full Results
|
|
|
Yeas |
|
Nays |
|
PRES |
|
NV |
|
Republican |
|
44 |
|
4 |
|
— |
|
1 |
|
Democratic |
|
2 |
|
47 |
|
— |
|
1 |
|
Independent |
|
— |
|
1 |
|
— |
|
— |
|
TOTALS |
|
46 |
|
52 |
|
— |
|
2 |
Sen. Ensign (R-CO) proposed an amendment yesterday which would have set aside money for the enforcement of the Child Custody Protection Act, which prevents minors from being transported across state lines to avoid state abortion laws requiring the consent of the parents. This common-sense, pro-life legislation failed by a vote of 49-49.
Senate Vote on the Ensign Amendment (S.A. 4335) to provide funds for the vigorous enforcement of the Child Custody Protection Act
March 13, 2008
Full Results
|
|
|
Yeas |
|
Nays |
|
PRES |
|
NV |
|
Republican |
|
44 |
|
3 |
|
— |
|
1 |
|
Democratic |
|
5 |
|
45 |
|
— |
|
1 |
|
Independent |
|
— |
|
1 |
|
— |
|
— |
|
TOTALS |
|
49 |
|
49 |
|
— |
|
2 |
LifeNews reports. Excerpt:
"Recently, my niece gave birth to her
first baby. It should have been a joyful moment for the entire family, but as I
stood looking at her cradling her newborn, I felt tears pricking at my
eyes," Woodgate wrote in a London Daily Mail column.
"All of a sudden, I found myself being
transported back in time almost 40 years, to the day that I was admitted to a
small cottage hospital in Leicester for a termination," she added.
Her memories of the abortion were so vivid
that she can still smell the disinfectant and see the "disapproving"
looks on the faces of the staff at the facility.
LifeNews reports. Excerpt:
A pro-life organization for Republicans is
calling on John McCain, who has captured enough delegates to be the party's
presidential nominee, to keep the GOP platform pro-life on abortion. The
Republican Party currently supports a human life amendment to the Constitution
to offer legal protection to unborn children.
Delegates to the Republican convention in
Minneapolis this summer will reconsider the party's 93-page platform that
opposes abortion and supports President Bush's policy against using tax dollars
to fund embryonic stem cell research.
LifeNews reports. Excerpt:
A Johnson County grand jury has failed to
issue an indictment against a Planned Parenthood abortion center near Kansas
City. The verdict of "no true bill" comes after several allegations
that the grand jury process had been distorted by a judge who sided with the
abortion business in limiting the panel's access to abortion records.
The
Washington
Post also reports.
LifeNews reports. Ultrasound bills are important steps toward
fostering a “culture of life” in our nation.
Let’s hope even more states take a look at these effective pro-life
laws.
The
Virginia Senate has voted to prohibit
funds for Planned Parenthood because they advocate for and perform
abortions. Let’s hope other states and
the federal government begin to follow their example. It is a travesty that the largest company in
the abortion industry receives millions of dollars in tax dollars.
LifeNews reports. Furthermore, our friends in the House tell us
that abstinence and faithfulness education will still be supported, and they
are convinced that language allowing abortion promoting organizations to receive
taxpayer dollars has been fully eliminated.
Our thanks
to all who made their voice heard on this issue. Also, special thanks to Rep. Chris Smith
(R-NJ), Chairman of the House Pro-Life Caucus, for his tireless efforts to address
the pro-life and pro-family concerns with PEPFAR.
Rep. Chris Smith
(R-NJ)
LifeNews
has some helpful commentary on
Phill Kline, the Kansas district attorney and former Attorney General who
dared to hold Planned Parenthood accountable to the law. Kline has been unfairly maligned and this
piece helps shed the light of truth on the case.
District Attorney
Phill Kline
Graphic source: LifeNews
The
bi-partisan PEFAR anti-AIDS funding legislation is being marked up right now. To watch the hearings via live streaming
check the website
of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and click on the “Live Webcast” link
in the lower right margin or click
here.
Listening
in around 11:30 one could hear Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) give an excellent
defense of abstinence and faithfulness education for combating the global
spread of AIDS. Let’s hope that no tax
dollars will go to support abortions under this bill.
 AdvanceUSA is happy to report that the Vitter amendment passed this morning by a vote of 52 - 42. Now Americans can rest assured that their tax dollars will not be used to fund abortions under the Indian Health Services bill (click here for more information). For full vote results and to see how your senators voted on this important pro-life amendment check the vote box below (or click here).
AdvanceUSA thanks all those who called their senators concerning this pro-life matter. The voice of ordinary Americans can make a powerful difference in Washington when people exercise their rights to petition their government and to express their political opinions.
Also, AdvanceUSA thanks Senator David Vitter (R-LA) for proposing and defending this important legislation. UPDATE: LifeNews reports.
Senate Vote on the Vitter Amendment (S.A. 3896) to codify the pro-life Hyde amendment in the Indian Health Services bill
February 26, 2008
Full Results | News Story
|
|
|
Yeas |
|
Nays |
|
PRES |
|
NV |
|
Republican |
|
43 |
|
3 |
|
— |
|
3 |
|
Democratic |
|
9 |
|
38 |
|
— |
|
3 |
|
Independent |
|
— |
|
1 |
|
— |
|
— |
|
TOTALS |
|
52 |
|
42 |
|
— |
|
6 |
See other important Congressional vote results on the Congress Vote Watch page.
Our
friends in the Senate tell us that the pro-life Vitter amendment (# 3896) will
be considered tomorrow. The Vitter
amendment would prevent taxpayer dollars from supporting abortions under the
Indian Health Services bill.
Call
both
your senators today and urge them to vote “Yes” on the pro-life Vitter
amendment (# 3896)!
Conservatives are often told that abortion really shouldn’t be an important issue when selecting a president because “all he can do is appoint judges.” Our friend Joe Carter at Evangelical Outpost clearly explains today why this is not the case. He shows just how much power a president has to help or hinder the pro-life movement.
He lists five specific areas and explains each:
- Preserving the Pro-Life Riders
- Filing of amicus briefs in cases before the judiciary
- Issuance of executive orders
- Selection of political appointments
- Using the "bully pulpit"
He mentions the presidential veto when discussing pro-life riders. This important constitutional power of the presidency can hardly be overstated, especially when Congress is controlled by pro-abortion leadership.
Excerpt:
Christians have an obligation to the most vulnerable members of our society to elect politicians who have both a robust view of human dignity and the temerity to govern accordingly. We betray this duty when we downplay the role the executive branch in advancing the pro-life cause. Judges and legislators matter; but presidents matter too.
To read the full post click here.
AdvanceUSA is grateful to Joe for citing us as a source when discussing the pro-life riders, and hope others will find our site a helpful resource as well.
 The House Foreign Affairs Committee will vote on PEPFAR anti-AIDS funding reauthorization on Thursday, February 28. Call your representative today (especially if they serve on this committee) and urge him or her to vote against the PEPFAR legislation unless pro-abortion code words like “family panning” and “reproductive health” are removed and abstinence education and anti-prostitution language is maintained. LifeNews reports on the abortion funding aspect while the AP reports on President Bush’s statements urging lawmakers to preserve crucial abstinence and faithfulness funding.
Click here for more information on PEPFAR or check the AdvanceUSA home page.
AdvanceUSA
has learned that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has filed cloture on
the Indian Health Services bill, and a vote on the essential pro-life Vitter
amendment is expected on Monday or Tuesday (25th or 26th). Call both
your senators and urge them to support the Vitter Amendment (# 3896) to the
Indian Health Services bill!
Click here for more information on the imporant Vitter amendment.
LifeNews reports. This is even more evidence of why the United
States should never sign the CEDAW treaty.
How
would you respond to the following statement?
"In my opinion, the moral thing for
older mothers to do is to have amniocentesis, as soon during pregnancy as is
safe for the fetus, test whether placental cells have a third chromosome #21,
and abort the fetus if it does. The brain is the last organ to become
functional."
LifeNews and the News
Observer have the full story.
AdvanceUSA
has learned from friends in the House of Representatives that the Foreign
Affairs Committee hearings on PEPFAR have been postponed until the “week of February
25.”
Annie Murphy Paul has an eye-opening and even-handed piece in the New York Times today entitled “The First Ache” which extensively documents the medical evidence that unborn children are capable of feeling pain. As noted in the piece, this knowledge has enabled pro-lifers to promote “unborn pain awareness” legislation aimed at humanizing unborn children and attempting to foster a “culture of life” and a culture of concern for the unborn.
Excerpt:
New evidence, however, has persuaded him [Dr. Kanwaljeet Anand] that fetuses can feel pain by 20 weeks gestation (that is, halfway through a full-term pregnancy) and possibly earlier. As Anand raised awareness about pain in infants, he is now bringing attention to what he calls “signals from the beginnings of pain.”
Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) and Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) have proposed legislation, on the federal level, to inform women seeking abortions that their unborn child is likely to experience pain. For more information on the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act check the AdvanceUSA home page or pro-life page.
Consider contacting your representative and both your senators and urging them to support the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act (S. 356 / H.R. 3442). Also consider writing an op-ed piece in your local newspaper to inform people about the pain unborn children experience during an abortion.
 AdvanceUSA has learned that Rep. Tom Lantos (D-CA) passed away this morning from lung cancer complications. AdvanceUSA expresses its condolences to the family of Congressman Lantos, and is thankful for his willingness to serve his nation in Congress. The House Foreign Affairs Committee (which Lantos chaired) will likely postpone Thursday's hearing on PEPFAR until leadership and membership changes are made to the committee.
AdvanceUSA will continue to monitor the PEPFAR issue, and is encouraged that President Bush has indicated his opposition to the bill until the abortion and abstinence policy changes are removed.
The
closing of five Planned Parenthood “clinics” is great news for pro-lifers. LifeNews
reports.
As
the AP reports, proposed changes to PEPFAR funding would side-step the crucial
Mexico City Policy allowing
tax dollars to support overseas abortions.
The AP report also mentions that the Lantos bill would undermine
ant-prostitution regulations and withhold funding from successful abstinence
and faithfulness anti-AIDS education.
The
Foreign Affairs Committee will likely vote on PEPFAR on Thursday, February
14. Be sure to contact
members of this committee and urge them to preserve the crucial pro-life
and pro-morality provisions PEPFAR.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee markup for PEPFAR originally scheduled today has been postponed to next week. As currently written, the legislation undermines effective abstinence programs and mandates taxpayer support of overseas abortions. FRC has provided a helpful list of committee members. If your representative is in this list, be sure to encourage him or her to oppose any provisions which undermine the Mexico City Policy, allow tax dollars to support overseas abortion providers or proponents, undermine anti-prostitution regulations, or weakens support for successful abstinence and faithfulness education programs. If these concerns are not met, your representative should be encouraged to oppose the underlying bill. For more information on this issue check the PEPFAR blurb.
Liberals in Congress should stop endangering critical AIDS funding with attempts to advance their anti-life, liberal social agenda.
The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which was begun in 2003, has bipartisan support on Capitol Hill and will be up for renewal this year. Unfortunately, there is an aggressive push by liberals to disregard current stipulations that mandate funding for the “AB” (“abstinence” and “be faithful”) portion of “ABC” education (“C” = condoms). The new efforts would allow funding for “reproductive health” (a.k.a “abortion”) and ease the regulations that require groups receiving PEPFAR funds to pledge opposition to prostitution. The liberals claim to want only to fund “what works” despite the mounting evidence that teaching abstinence and faithfulness (as is done in Uganda) and taking a strong stance against prostitution are the most effective ways to combat the spread of the dreaded AIDS virus. Also, Americans should not have to subsidize overseas abortions with their tax dollars so Congress should be wary of allowing funds for “reproductive health” purposes as this is a broad term used by liberals to promote abortion.
Our friends in Congress tell us that PEPFAR will likely be considered by the House Foreign Affairs Committee on February 7. If your representative sits on this committee call him or her today and encourage them to be sure to 1. attend the February 7 hearings, 2. voice their support for abstinence funding and anti-prostitution efforts, 3. oppose taxpayer funded “reproductive health” (abortion), and 4. vote against any amendments which would weaken these crucial provisions.
Most
Americans don’t fully understand the true impact and implications of the Roe vs. Wade decision. Do you think you know more about Roe than
most of your fellow citizens? Take this test and find out!
Excerpt
from Roe IQ Test website:
In spite of its
impact, true understanding of Roe and what it accomplished remains
relatively vague in the public consciousness.
We can expect both
sides in the abortion debate to ratchet up arguments in the coming months as we
mark this anniversary. It is imperative that we, as citizens, understand the
facts about what Roe does and does not do.
We have created the Roe IQ Test to measure the current awareness of Roe
and its effects, as well as to provide detailed information about the ruling.
It only takes a few minutes to complete the test. Your answers and results will
remain 100% confidential.
To
take the Roe IQ Test click here.
Researchers in Britain have found that babies can feel pain even before the 24 week window when abortions are allowed in the UK. This research illustrates the need for the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act (now stalled in the U.S. House and Senate) which requires women to be informed of the extreme pain their unborn child is likely to experience during an abortion. For more information on demonstrating the humanity of the unborn check the pro-life page.
Our
friends at FRC have released a new poll that shows that Americans
oppose having their tax dollars pay for abortions under a “universal health
care plan.” Their results contain some interesting findings. Excerpts:
- Independent voters of all
ages and sex would be less likely to vote for a candidate that proposed a
national health care plan with universal coverage of abortion at taxpayer
expense.
- Although a majority of
Democrats would support a candidate that proposed a national health care
plan with universal coverage of abortion at taxpayer expense, the support
is soft at best (51%).
- Resistance to abortion
coverage is consistent between both sexes and all ages. Women aged 55 or
older are the most opposed to such coverage (59% are less likely to vote
for a candidate endorsing it), men of all ages follow in opposition (57%
less likely to vote for a candidate endorsing it), and the majority of
(51%) of women aged 18-54 are less likely to support such a candidates.
- Widespread disapproval of
candidates who support taxpayer-funded abortion coverage spans all but one
region of the United States
—New England.
For full
results check
out FRC’s blog.
From the President: To read President Bush’s statements to marchers at the White House click here.
Good Reporting: Mark Hemingway from National Review Online has some great photos and excellent reporting of the march in a recent article.
Encouraging News: Barna says that evangelical Christians consider abortion their top concern (94% list it as an important issue).
More Resources: For more March for Life coverage from other bloggers check the FRC Blog.
UPDATE: The Washington Post has a great article today about the March For Life entitled “A Youthful Throng Marches Against Abortion.” Let’s hope other mainstream media outlets report this important event with the coverage it deserves.
It is
truly impressive to see the huge crowds of ordinary Americans marching in the
streets of our nation’s capital, to expose the world to the injustice of
abortion and to proclaim that the pro-life cause has not been abandoned. Here are some photos of yesterday’s March for Life event taken by AdvanceUSA DC
staff member Daniel Herbster:
Praying
for the end of Roe and the end of
abortion
Massive
crowds gathered in the shadow of the Capitol to hear pro-life speakers on the
National Mall.
The
spires of the Smithsonian look down on the gathering crowds. More photos below. Click "Read More" to view the rest.
We expect
a vote on the Vitter amendment soon.
Call both your
senators today and urge them to vote “Yes” on Sen. Vitter’s
amendment to the Indian Health Services bill (S. 1200) and ensure that your tax
dollars are not spent to provide abortions.
We will post Senate vote results when they become available.
For more information on this crucial pro-life legislation click here.
Our friends at FRC were generous enough to host many conservative bloggers to hear a wonderful selection of pro-life activists, thinkers, and politicians.
Staying warm in the lovely facilities at FRC
Michael Illions shares the story of his son Cole who he and his wife decided to have despite incredible pressure to simply abort their child late in the pregnancy due to potentially severe health concerns. Mr. Illions and his wife do not regret their decision to “choose life.”
Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS), pro-life and pro-family champion of the Senate.
Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Chairman of the House Pro-Life Caucus and a strong pro-life leader.
Photos by Daniel Herbster
Daniel
Herbster (AdvanceUSA DC staff
member) posting:
At the conservative blogger luncheon I was privileged to attend, we again heard
from Johnson County (Kansas) District Attorney Phil Kline about his efforts to
investigate Planned Parenthood for serious breaches of the law.
We then
heard from Hadley Arkes again who mentioned the importance of selecting a
pro-life president. He said that a president can sometimes err by being
“all action and no talk.” His point is that a president should lead the
charge in articulating a pro-life philosophy and spearhead real efforts to
restrict abortion and foster a culture of life (not just do the bare minimum to
be considered pro-life). Turning his attention to the current
presidential primary, Arkes encouraged the Republican Party to not abandon the
classic balance of social, economic, and defense conservatism and warned that
three of the five major GOP candidates (this was before news of Fred Thompson’s
withdrawal became public) would fracture this important coalition.
After the
blogger conference I traipsed over to the National Mall to survey the massive
crowds, take in a few pro-life speeches, take some photos of the crowds from
the Capitol, and take in the events being held in front of the Supreme Court
building.
I hope to
get some of my photos up soon.
Daniel
Herbster (AdvanceUSA DC
staff member) posting:
Earlier this morning Kansas prosecuting attorney (and former KS Attorney
General) Phil Kline chronicled his dealings with the notorious abortion pusher
Planned Parenthood in his home state and demonstrated how the mainstream
media's pro-abortion bias clouds their judgment and observations (some times
almost humorously). It was great to see, in person, this pro-life
crusader who is attempting to expose the abuses of Planned Parenthood and bring
them to justice.
Next, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) reiterated the need to examine Planned Parenthood
and do everything possible to insure that they do not receive taxpayer
dollars. He referenced a recent speech he gave on the House floor called
"time to take a second look at child abuse incorporated" which you
can read
for yourself here.
Now I'm listening to Hadley P. Arkes (one of our friends from FRC) who is
emphasizing that judicial nominations are not the only means for promoting the
"culture of life." Too often pro-lifers think that overturning
Roe is the only thing we can do (as good as that would be) and are too easily mollified
by politicians who promise us "good judges."
Next I'll be attending a luncheon for conservative bloggers, and then I hope to
venture out into the cold and observe some of the March for Life myself.
Check back with AdvanceUSA Blog for photos of today's events.
To view the March for Life event live check out their website. To view live streaming of the Blogs for Life event at FRC check FRC's blog.
For more coverage of today's pro-life events be sure to check back with AdvanceUSA Blog!
Daniel Herbster (AdvanceUSA DC staff member) posting:
Though the weather outside is frigid, I got to spend the morning in the warm confiness of the Family Research Center in downtown Washington , DC.
Today is the "March for Life" and I am covering the "Blogs for Life" event here at FRC. We've heard from several special speakers about the pro-life movement and harnesing technology in that effort.
Michael Illions told the story of his son Cole. Late in his wife's pregnancy doctors told the couple that their unborn son had irreparable brain defects and encouraged the couple to have an abortion. Though the couple experienced much pressure to abort the child they were determined to give their son a chance at life. Now they are glad they chose life as their son Cole, despite serious health challenges, has the prospects of a fairly normal life. The Illions' inspiring story is a stirring challenge for us to respect all human life, despite serious challenges.
We next heard from Sen. Sam Brownback, who has long been a champion of the pro-life and pro-family cause. He reminded us of the wonderful history behind the march for life and warned us that despite the massive crowds that would gather today in the nation's capital, the mainstream media would most likely minimize the significance of the March for Life. The Senator reminded our gathering that we are "fighting for life" and not against people, activists, women, or doctors. What we are fighting against, he said, is "death, fear, and despair."
Many great speakers (including: Michael New, Phil Kline, Rep. Chris Smith, and others) are coming up!
Check back later for more special reports. Hopefully, I will be posting some photos of the March and of some of today's speakers later today or tomorrow.
January 22, 2008 marks the 35th anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade decision in which the Supreme Court usurped the will of the people, ignored the authority of representative government, and erroneously declared a constitutional right to kill unborn children in the womb. The verdict opened the door to abortion on demand and, as Cal Thomas points out, devastatingly damaged our culture and society.
For years, in our nation’s capital and across the country, the March for Life has taken place on this somber anniversary, and this year’s events will be especially important. AdvanceUSA will be blogging the events in Washington, DC live and anticipates supplying first-hand reporting on our website and blog.
CitizenLink
reports on this
disturbing fact.
The drastic
misconceptions about Roe vs. Wade among average Americans (even
conservative ones) did not happen by accident. They are due in large part
to intentional media distortion of the facts and concrete implications of the wrongly
decided case. In his important pro-life book The
Party of Death, conservative author and journalist Ramesh Ponnuru
documents the media distortion of Roe and thoroughly and accessibly
corrects the record, making the case for respecting the inalienable “right to
life” of the unborn.
 The way Federal Title X (title ten) funds are spent in this country is in drastic need of reform. Title X funds are supposed to support family planning services but are often given to abortion providers like Planned Parenthood. Under President Ronald Reagan and the first President Bush, federal regulations were clearly written to prevent recipients of Title X funds from referring for abortions or combining family planning services with abortion services (ex: working at the same location). AdvanceUSA encourages the current Bush administration to issue Title X regulations which do two things:
- reestablish prohibitions against family planning services co-locating with abortion providers
- rescind regulations for family planning services which require them to refer for abortions
AdvanceUSA also supports legislation aimed at preventing taxpayers’ Title X funds from supporting groups like Planned Parenthood (especially since Planned Parenthood is under investigation for serious allegations of law-breaking and ethical malfeasance). American’s tax dollars should not be used to support abortion, and we hope Congress and the President will act accordingly.
Check the pro-life page for more pro-life news.
Do you want your tax dollars used to fund abortions within the United States? Currently the Hyde Amendment prohibits taxpayer-funding of abortion in most of the United States, but the sovereign territories of Indian nations within the U.S. are exempt from this provision. AdvanceUSA has learned that Senator David Vitter (R-LA) intends to propose an amendment to the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (S. 1200) which would codify a longstanding policy against funding abortions with taxpayer-funds from the federal Indian Health Services (IHS). The amendment would prohibit federal funding for abortions except to save the life of the mother or in cases of rape or incest of a minor. The Vitter amendment could be considered immediately when the Senate reconvenes on January 22, which is interestingly enough the date for the March for Life and the 35th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade.
Call both your senators today and urge them to support the Vitter amendment to S. 1200!
Excerpt from LifeNews story:
According to Douglas Johnson, the director of legislation for the National Right to Life Committee, the IHS is funded through the separate Interior appropriations bill. As a result, it has never carried the Hyde amendment and the bill funded abortions well after the Hyde amendment was first enacted in 1976.
The Reagan Administration curbed the practice administratively in 1982, as a temporary fix, Johnson said. In 1988, Congress said that the Hyde amendment would apply to the IHS bill.
Johnson said the Vitter amendment is important to make sure that the abortion funding limits become federal law.
Should a pro-abortion president occupy the White House and abortion advocates control Congress, there is nothing that could stop them from changing the current regulations unless a federal law prohibiting the funding is in place.
Conservative author and columnist Cal Thomas gives us an important
reminder of why Roe
vs. Wade must be overturned. Excerpt:
After 35 years of slaughtering our
young, isn't it time to stop? That child born in 1973 could be a parent now.
There are children who could have been born today. Thirty-five years of killing
has diminished and corrupted us all. Let's summon the moral courage to stop it
for our sake and for theirs.
Note: Next Tuesday (January 22) will be the 35th
anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade decision. March for Life events
will be going on here in Washington,
DC that day and AdvanceUSA hopes
to provide some highlights from the various programs.
Though any information that comes from the Guttmacher Institute (the propaganda arm of Planned Parenthood) should be taken with a grain of salt, we are encouraged to consider that the abortion rate might be dropping. While liberals will predictably call for more “comprehensive” sex education and free birth control, the real answer to continuing to decrease the abortion rate is more responsible sex education (especially abstinence education), cultivating a culture of life, and providing viable alternatives to pregnant women who do not wish to be mothers (like Rep. Michelle Bachman’s new bill).
Despite the apparent progress in protecting unborn lives, we as a nation must continue to fight abortion in the public policy realm because the abortion issue is fundamentally a justice issue. It is inherently unjust that an entire category of people (the unborn) can be deprived of their fundamental right to life, and we must continue the pro-life battle to make our country a more just nation.
Check the AdvanceUSA pro-life page.
LifeNews reports on this effort to ensure that pregnant women receive practical help in choosing life. To read the text of Rep. Michele Bachman’s (R-MN) proposed Positive Alternatives Act click here.
Excerpt:
A new bill in Congress would give states greater authority to help find positive solutions to unplanned pregnancies instead of abortion. Rep. Michele Bachmann has introduced the Positive Alternatives Act that puts into law prior Bush administration regulations allowing states to use the TANF program to help pregnant women.
Current federal regulations allow states to fund abortion alternatives, and Bachmann's bill, the “Positive Alternatives Act” (H.R. 4852) codifies the current state option.
It allows states to fund programs that provide information or counseling that assists women in making decisions about parenting and adoption.
For more information on pro-life issues check our pro-life page.
As
CitizenLink reports, “Nearly 50 pro-family groups [including AdvanceUSA] are
asking President Bush to pull federal funding from abortion providers.” AdvanceUSA was happy to partner with other
conservative groups to encourage the administration to prohibit tax-payer
dollars from supporting abortion providers under the guise of “family
planning services.”
LifeNews reports. Excerpt:
Both the House and Senate have approved resolutions
honoring former Congressman Henry Hyde, a pro-life champion known for making
sure thousands of abortions annually were not financed with taxpayer funds. The
Congressional chambers approved the motions on a voice vote.
AdvanceUSA
is happy to report that the crucial
Mexico City Policy is safe for now (this policy prevents taxpayer dollars
from supporting overseas abortions). The massive omnibus spending bill
facing Congress does not hinder or undermine this crucial pro-life
policy. LifeNews reports here.
Also, our
friends at Heritage Foundation have created an online
blog resource that tracks all the spending, earmarks, and budget issues
contained in the omnibus bill. Check it out at www.Omnibusting.com.
Matt
Barber today takes a closer look
at the landmark Roe vs. Wade decision. Even many pro-lifers don’t fully comprehend
its implications. Excerpt:
It's not at all surprising that what public support there
is for Roe v. Wade is typically rooted in a lack of knowledge. Ignorance is
bliss, and blissful ignorance relative to Roe is by design. It's intentionally
fueled through obfuscation and disinformation, fostered by pro-abortion
activists and other like-minded leftists. Polls show conclusively that the more
people learn about Roe v. Wade, the less likely they are to support it.
We
applaud Barber for this article and encourage our readers to make sure they
know the truth about Roe so they can inform their fellow citizens.
As the Washington Times reports,
Students for Life obtained video of a speech by Dr. Alberto Hodari at Wayne State University in Michigan. His lecture was sponsored by the group
Medical Students for Choice and was titled "Why I Am An Abortion Provider."
In the
video (linked below) Hodari brags “I have great satisfaction of what I do, and
I never feel bad or worried about doing abortions.” Later in the video the abortion doctor
confesses that he rarely washes his hands between abortions and tells the
students they have “a right to lie” when it comes to abortion.
To see
the full video click here. LifeNews reports on this appalling story
as well. Excerpt:
Hodari also spoke about how little he washed between
abortions because it chafed his hands, even though his doing so puts women's
health at risk.
Most upsetting to SFLA director Kristan Hawkins is
Hodari's claim that being an abortion practitioner gives him "license to
lie" to women who seek him out for abortions. HT: Students for Life of America
The Washington Times reports on the latest Planned Parenthood scandal in Kansas. A grand jury will investigate allegations that Planned Parenthood broke state law regarding the age of girls receiving abortions as well as alleged cover-ups of sexual abuse. Excerpts:
An unprecedented investigation into abortion-clinic practices will commence soon in Kansas now that the state Supreme Court has cleared the way for a grand jury with subpoena powers to be convened.
And…
Planned Parenthood receives millions of dollars in government funding each year. "They should have to answer these criminal charges before they get another dime of our tax dollars," she [Jennifer Giroux, director of Women Influencing the Nation, a Cincinnati group that is active in pro-life issues] said.
This story provides more evidence for Rep. Mike Pence’s (R-IN) proposed amendment to prohibit tax-payer dollars from going to support organizations that promote or perform abortions, like Planned Parenthood.
An important
pro-life, pro-women piece in the National Review Online. Excerpt:
A nationally recognized
organization may be intentionally distributing false information while protecting
rapists and child predators. And the federal government has given them $3.9 billion since 1987
in taxpayer funds.
Planned Parenthood has been caught in a tangled web. The spotlight is finally
being shed on this organization, which has failed to legally report the
pregnancies of a 16-year-old
who was raped by her father, of an 11-year-old girl
who was impregnated by her stepfather, and of a 15-year-old who was
sexually assaulted and impregnated by her stepfather’s friend.
Believe it or not, it gets worse.
 Early this morning one of the greatest pro-life champions in modern American history Rep. Henry Hyde, former Congressman from Illinois, passed away. The National Right to Life Committee said he was “long considered the premier pro-life champion in the United States Congress.” President Bush recently awarded him the Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor the president can bestow. His most notable achievement, the “Hyde Amendment,” to this day prevents federal tax dollars from supporting abortion in the United States. As the National Review reported today:
The National Right to Life Committee has estimated, conservatively, that the Hyde Amendment has prevented at least one million abortions. That’s one million Americans who are alive today because of Henry Hyde.
Rep. Hyde also helped institute the Mexico City Policy and served as a House manager during the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton. Even though Hyde was an unapologetic conservative he was respected and well-liked by members of both parties for his friendliness and impressive knowledge of American history and constitutional law. Pray the Lord will raise up strong, principled leaders in our nation like Henry Hyde.
Channel 11 (local news station for VA and TN area) reports on this heartwarming example of a mother who “chose life” despite the costs. See the video report here. Excerpt from article:
Lori Vance went against the doctors' wishes and saw her pregnancy through to birth.
Now on her daughter's sweet sixteenth birthday, the family is celebrating her triumphant life.
The Vance family told News Channel 11 that a fatal disorder isn't always a death sentence.
LifeNews reports here.
So says
Dr. Alveda King, the niece of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as LifeNews reports.
In what
is either an example of scientific ignorance or intentional distortion, the
main stream media seems intent on portraying Colorado’s proposed ballot initiative as
seeking to give rights to “human eggs” or “fertilized eggs.” As the New
York Times reports (distorts):
A proposed amendment to the Colorado Constitution that
would give legal rights to fertilized human eggs may be headed for the ballot
next year, raising the prospect of a heated local debate over abortion…
And from
the Associated
Press:
The Colorado Supreme Court cleared the way Tuesday for an
anti-abortion group to collect signatures for a ballot measure that would
define a fertilized egg as a person.
What the
New York Times and other media outlets apparently fail to understand is that
when a human egg is fertilized (naturally or in a lab) what results is no
longer an egg but an individual human embryo (a zygote to be scientifically specific).
This embryo is a separate human life which should benefit from all inalienable
human rights, and that is exactly what the proposed Colorado constitutional amendment would
do. To call an embryo a “fertilized egg” is like calling a newborn child
a “fetus outside the womb.”
It seems
very ironic that even though religious conservatives are accused of being scientifically
ignorant, it is actually the media that gets its science wrong.
For more
information on stem cells, human cloning,
and the amazing results coming from ethical adult stem cell research
check AdvanceUSA.org.
Congressman
Paul Broun (R-GA) is one of the newest members of Congress and the latest
member to propose legislation declaring that human
life begins at conception thus threatening the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court
decision which legalized abortion on demand. Excerpt from LifeNews:
"From a medical and scientific basis, there is no doubt
that human life begins at fertilization," the lawmaker added. "My
legislation would ensure that, as a matter of law, unborn children are
correctly determined to be ‘persons’ and are provided Constitutional protections
under the 14th Amendment.”
Under his legislation, “the right to life guaranteed by the
Constitution is vested in each human being, and is the paramount and most
fundamental right of a person."
The bill is an attempt to legislatively overturn Roe v.
Wade, the Supreme Court ruling that permits abortion, and would make obtaining
an abortion "illegal or incredibly difficult," Broun's spokesman John
Kennedy said.
LifeNews reports. Rep.
Mike Pence (R-IN) is championing similar legislation in the House.
In a
victory for religious liberty and freedom of conscience, the AP
reports:
A federal judge has suspended Washington state's requirement that
pharmacists sell "morning-after" birth control pills, a victory for
druggists who claim their moral objections to the drug are being bulldozed by
the government.
The
“morning after pill” (Plan B) can act as an abortifacients (abortion-causing
drug) and has serious unaddressed health concerns.
 The House Foreign Affairs Committee held hearings yesterday on the Mexico City Policy which prohibits taxpayer dollars from going to international organizations that either provide or support abortions. It appears likely that these hearings were called as an excuse to challenge the Mexico City Policy and provide justification for overturning it in stalled appropriations bills. The policy is THE pro-life battle of this session of Congress!
To see a video of yesterday’s hearings CLICK HERE or visit the Committee’s website, go to the “testimony & transcripts” section, and click on the video link for the hearings on October 31.
AdvanceUSA monitored much of yesterday’s hearings. Continue reading for some notes:
Rep.
Henry Hyde was a pro-life champion during his long career in Congress, and an
important provision in federal law “which has prevented federal tax dollars
from being used to fund almost all abortions since 1976” bears his name (the
Hyde Amendment). As LifeNews reports, retired Congressman Henry Hyde will
receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Monday at a ceremony at the
White House.
To watch
this morning’s hearing on the important, pro-life Mexico City Policy (which prohibits taxpayer dollars from going to international organizations that either provide or support abortions) in the House Foreign Affairs Committee click here. Then click on the “live
WEBCAST” button in the lower right-hand corner.
The hearings are scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time.
Committee website: http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/
UPDATE (10:39 a.m.): The Committee has heard some excellent testimony from pro-life advocates. It is now in recess until after some House votes take place.
AdvanceUSA has learned that pro-abortion activists and politicians have the Mexico City Policy in their sites. The Mexico City Policy (first instituted by Ronald Reagan) prohibits taxpayer dollars from going to international organizations that either provide or support abortions. Hearings on this important pro-life policy will be held tomorrow morning in the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. AdvanceUSA Blog will work to provide you with the most up-to-date information on the efforts to preserve this crucial pro-life provision.
Some important things to remember concerning the Mexico City Policy:
- Pro-abortionists are willing to sacrifice important foreign policy funds in an attempt to funnel more taxpayer dollars to radical pro-abortion organizations.
- Despite claims that abortion could improve health care in developing countries, it must be remembered that there is no such thing as a safe abortion (it hurts mothers in many ways and is always harmful for the unborn child).
- The Mexico City Policy currently draws a helpful distinction between “abortion” and “family planning.”
- The problem of maternal mortality (women dying because of childbirth) should be addressed through life-affirming health policies.
CitizenLink reports on the upcoming Mexico City Policy hearings here.
Paul
Kengor at NRO makes the case that Rudy
Giuliani winning the GOP nomination would be a disaster for the pro-life
movement. He uses quotes from the idolized conservative role model Ronald Reagan to illustrate just how
important a pro-life president is to advancing the culture of life and to
taking practical steps to contain and eventually roll back abortion.
Kengor’s views seem to be shared by many in the social conservative movement.
Daniel
Henninger at the WSJ takes a different view arguing that social
conservatives and Giuliani need to come together like mature adults and not
let differences put Hillary Clinton in the White House. Henninger would seem
to have his own supporters in the social conservative movement who see
vacancies on the Supreme Court as the defining issue.
“I
believe no challenge is more important to the character of America than
restoring the right to life to all human beings.”
—Ronald Reagan, January 1984
Brent
Bozell provides a thought-provoking and eye-opening
expose on the nation’s largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood. The more Americans know about this gruesome company
the better.
Excerpt:
As much as liberals decry major
corporations that act as if they're above the law, there's always quiet when
the subject is Planned Parenthood,
America's No. 1
corporate provider of abortions. During its 2005-2006 fiscal year, the Planned
Parenthood Federation of America
performed a record 264,943 abortions, reported a tidy profit of $55.8 million
-- and received a record high in taxpayer funding of $305.3 million.
This is one corporation the media
hold in the highest regard. They're not "merchants of death." That
would be the tobacco companies, or gun manufacturers, or hamburger joints.
These are the heroic "providers" of "a woman's right to choose."
Bozell goes on to chronicle recent specific scandals
involving local Planned Parenthood branches.
Read the full article here.
On Thursday night the U.S. Senate defeated an amendment by Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) which would have “prohibit[ed] the provision of funds to grantees who perform abortions.” Unfortunately, this amendment failed by a vote of 41 to 52 (vote results here).
The Hyde Amendment, passed by Congress in 1976, forbids federal funding for abortion except in cases of rape, incest, and danger to the life of the woman. However organizations like Planned Parenthood often accept federal dollars and claim to use the funds for activities not related to abortions. This amendment would have broadened current law and prevented any money from going to organizations that perform abortions (except hospitals).
This was an important pro-life amendment and Sen. Vitter deserves our thanks for proposing it.
Is it
really any surprise that abortion profiteers want to get a hold of our tax
dollars to advance their radical “culture of death” agenda? LifeNews reports.
Excerpt
from MSNBC article:
"These documents show the reckless and politicized
nature of the FDA's decision to approve the abortion pill," said Judicial
Watch President Tom Fitton. "The FDA certainly has a lot of explaining to
do. For starters, why has the FDA previously refused to disclose the Chinese
connection and the related safety issues? And why did the FDA allow the
abortion lobby to participate in the clinical trial process? The American
people deserve answers."
In an
in-depth interview for “60 Minutes” Clarence Thomas recounts that the reason
his nomination received such vitriolic opposition was his strong pro-life stance on
abortion. The interview will air this Sunday night on CBS at 7:00pm
Eastern. Justice Thomas is also promoting his new autobiographical book
entitled “My Grandfather’s Son.”
LifeNews excerpt:
An attorney for a woman victimized by an abortion is
appealing the decision of the New
Jersey Supreme Court, which determined that an
abortion practitioner didn't mislead her. Rosa Acuna says she was incorrectly
told by abortion practitioner Sheldon Turkish that she was not aborting a human
life when she had an abortion in 1996.
The case
could eventually come before the U.S. Supreme Court.
In its unanimous decision, the New Jersey court ruled that, contrary to
what the woman’s lawyer had argued, her doctor had “no legal duty” to tell her
that her six-to-eight-week-old embryo was “a complete, separate, unique and
irreplaceable human being.”
Source: New
York Times article
The
Jurist provides helpful
commentary and resources on this story.
Last
night the U.S. Senate voted on 3 amendments to the State, Foreign Operations,
and Related Programs Appropriations Act relating to the Mexico City Policy
and the Kemp-Kasten amendment.
The Kemp-Kasten
Amendment prevents funding from going to international organizations which
support or participate in a program of coercive abortion or involuntary
sterilization. The Mexico City Policy, first enacted by Ronald
Reagan and later reinstituted by George W. Bush, prohibits USAID (foreign aid)
money from going to any organizations that promote or perform elective abortions.
A
Brownback amendment (Kemp-Kasten, S.A. 2707) to prevent tax-payer funds from
supporting overseas organization which support coercive abortions (like China’s brutal
one-child policy) passed. Unfortunately, (unless the President’s promised
veto is sustained) tax-payer funds can now be given to international organizations
which promote or provide elective abortions because the Boxer amendment (S.A. 2719) passed and another Brownback
amendment (S.A.
2708) was defeated. To see how your senators voted on these important
pro-life amendments check the Congress Vote Watch
page or the vote charts below. Fortunately President Bush has promised
to veto the underlying bill if it overturns the Mexico City Policy.
UPDATE: Amanda
Carpenter at TownHall.com offers further insight on the recent
Senate votes to allow overseas abortion funding with tax-payer dollars.
For more
information on important pro-life riders click
here.
On Saturday, September 15 young people across the nation will arm themselves with scrub brushes, soap suds, and hoses and do battle for the pro-life cause. The second annual Wash for Life recruits young people to hold car washes around the country. The funds raised from the car washes will go to local crisis pregnancy centers which do such great work lovingly supporting pregnant women contemplating an abortion and helping them make the choice for life. Help activate the next generation of pro-lifers and show your support for pregnancy centers by getting your car washed at a Wash for Life car wash on September 15 or by organizing a Wash for Life in your area.
For more information check the Wash for Life website. If you would like help organizing a car wash near you, contact the Wash for Life staff at info@washforlife.org or you can call (703) 405-5783 or (704) 241-7171.
Please participate in this important pro-life endeavor! With a small investment of time or money you can help activate the next generation of pro-lifers and help stop abortion one life at a time by providing pregnant mothers with the resources and encouragement to choose life.
What you can do:
- Get your car washed by a Wash for Life car wash team.
- Help organize a Wash for Life car wash in your neighborhood.
- Recruit young people to wash cars on September 15.
AdvanceUSA
staff had the opportunity last night to attend a reception for an exciting pro-life
organization.
Students
for Life of America is doing excellent work across the country recruiting
and training the next generation of pro-lifers. Here’s an excerpt from their
website:
A pro-life, student-run, non-profit organization since
1987, Students for Life of America
is the nation's oldest pro-life organization wholly devoted to educating
college students about the medical and ethical issues of abortion, euthanasia,
and infanticide.
Formerly known as American Collegians for Life, SFL's
commitment to facilitating the pro-life movement on American college campuses
has remained strong since its founding. SFL has worked to develop a nationwide
network of prolife students. Now connecting hundreds of college campuses in the
largest national directory of its kind, Students for Life will continue to
serve pro-life champions in every college and university in America.
At last
night’s reception pro-life activists were introduced to the Students for Life regional
recruiters who after this week’s training will fan out across the country working
with college students and groups for the cause of life.
For more
information on Students for Life, check their
website.
A bill in the House of Representatives could determine just that. H.R. 733 would grant “home rule” to the District of Columbia allowing the district to directly manage the funds received from Congress (via American tax-payers), but unless the bill is amended, it would also allow the District to fund abortions with tax-payer dollars. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) has proposed an amendment to fix this huge pro-life loophole, but the amendment was not considered before Congresses recessed. This will no doubt be an important pro-life issue when Congress returns in September.
Washington Post-ABC News poll
results (scroll down to #44), July 23, 2007
LifeNews.com reports:
“A new
Washington Post-ABC News poll finds that a majority of Americans backed the
Supreme Court's decision earlier this year to uphold a national ban on
partial-birth abortions. The poll is consistent with other surveys showing
Americans strongly opposing the gruesome abortion
procedure.”
For more information on
partial-birth abortion visit the AdvanceUSA pro-life
page.
Some
pro-lifers have been rather pessimistic about the benefits of the recent
Supreme Court decision upholding the federal partial-birth abortion ban.
This article at the Center Blog (which links to other helpful resources) should
bring great encouragement to pro-lifers. Even using conservative
estimates, it seems that since the Court’s decision there have been “582
averted partial-birth abortions and NO women harmed.” Not only are unborn
children being saved from a grizzly death, but because the ban highlights the
humanity of the unborn the pro-abortion cause is also losing ground.
Several pro-life amendments have been proposed to the Labor/Health and Human Services
appropriations bill in the House of Representatives.
- AdvanceUSA
blog reported
on the important
amendment proposed by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), a staunch pro-life
ally, and Rep. Artur Davis (D-AL) which brings the funding of the National Cord
Blood Inventory program to the full $15 million originally allocated for the
program. AdvanceUSA is happy to report that this amendment passed in
committee by a voice vote. Under the original bill the program would have
been drastically under-funded so Congressmen Smith and Davis deserve great
credit for supporting this promising and ethical medical program.
- Rep. Mike
Pence (R-IN) has proposed an amendment which would prevent tax dollars under
Title X (family planning provisions in U.S. law) from going to Planned
Parenthood or any of its affiliates. As recently mentioned
on this blog, Planned Parenthood is a major force for the evil of abortion
in our nation, and any effort to prevent tax-payer dollars from supporting it
should be applauded.
- Rep. Phil
Gingrey (R-GA) and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) proposed an amendment which forbids
any of the funds relating to the Labor/HHS bill from being used to enforce mandatory
HPV vaccinations, and it was approved by voice vote yesterday. The
concern is that when state governments force parents to vaccinate their
children for a malady that is spread by sexual content it usurps parental
control over their children’s health care and could undermine parental teaching
on sexual activity.
- Rep. Jean
Schmidt (R-OH) proposed an amendment which would have denied funds for
recipients of Title X money if they do not abide by state reporting
requirements in regard to child abuse, child molestation, sexual abuse, rape,
or incest. There have been numerous cases of alleged abuse coverup by
Planned Parenthood (also see here
and here*),
and efforts to bring real accountability to this organization are
commendable. Unfortunately, the Schmidt amendment was ruled “non-germane”
and was subsequently withdrawn.
* A story
archived at the Cincinnati Enquirer’s website entitled “Planned Parenthood
looked the other way, Mason rape victim says” by Peter Bronson also chronicles
another outrageous Planned Parenthood alleged coverup in Ohio. This article is not free but can
be purchased at Cincinnati.com.
UPDATE: Unfortunately the Pence
amendment to prevent federal funds from supporting Planned Parenthood failed
last night by a vote of 189-231. To see how your representative voted on this
important pro-life amendment click
here.
Do you want your tax dollars to fund China’s forced abortion and sterilization policies? The Senate’s “State, Foreign Operations Appropriations” bill, as currently written, would not include the important Kemp-Kasten provision which prohibits U.S. funds from supporting an organization that “supports or participates in the management of a program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization.” In fact the legislation was intentionally changed in order to allow federal funds to go to groups such as the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) which is directly involved in helping to enforce China’s brutal one-child policy.
For more information on this and other important pro-life riders click here.
Louisiana has become the first state to ban the gory and medically unnecessary partial-birth abortion procedure. It is encouraging to see a state legislature emboldened after the recent Supreme Court ruling upholding the constitutionality of partial-birth abortion bans. "This places a statute in law that gives Louisiana the right to prosecute and not wait on a federal prosecutor," said the state senator who sponsored the ban. Hopefully more states will follow Louisiana’s example and help cultivate a “culture of life” across the country.
For more information on partial-birth abortion check the information on the AdvanceUSA pro-life page or home page.
Colleen
Carroll Campbell writes a touching article about parents
in difficult situations making the deliberate decision to protect life.
Infertile couples taking fertility drugs occasionally find themselves expecting
numerous babies (ex: septuplets). In these circumstances doctors often
encourage parents to “selectively abort” one or more “fetuses” in an attempt to
assure the health of the others, often arbitrarily choosing the healthiest or
most desirable (ex: boy or girl, etc.) to be spared. The parents in this
heartwarming article bucked this standard practice and chose to give all their
unborn children a chance for life.
Last night while considering a spending bill the House of Representatives defeated the Smith/Stupak Amendment which would have preserved the Mexico City Policy preventing taxpayer support for overseas abortion providers or promoters. Though this is a setback for the pro-life cause we are encouraged that the President has promised to veto any legislation overturning pro-life riders, and the vote tally suggests his veto would be sustained.
Check the AdvanceUSA website to see how your representative voted on this important amendment and to find more news. For more information on the Mexico City Policy and other pro-life riders click here.
UPDATE: This article by Kathryn Jean Lopez from National Review provides more helpful information.
A bill proposed by Rep. Nina Lowey (D-NY) has emerged from the House Appropriations Committee still posing a threat to important pro-life measures. The Mexico City Policy, which prohibits taxpayer dollars from funding overseas organizations which support abortion, would be overturned by the bill as it now stands. This bill should be amended to protect this provision.
Planned Parenthood (the largest abortion provider in the world) released reports that revealed that in fiscal year 2005-2006 it performed almost 265,000 abortions yet did not report even one adoption referral. Planned Parenthood is the biggest profiteer from the abortion industry, and it is outrageous that it received $305 million in tax dollars in the latest fiscal year.
In another encouraging sign that the culture could be shifting in a pro-life direction, an organization that supports pro-abortion women candidates is experiencing fundraising problems.
The Mexico City Policy keeps taxpayer dollars from supporting overseas organizations that provide or promote abortions. Legislation in the House Appropriations Committee could render this provision worthless and allow our tax dollars to support pro-abortion groups around the world. The Mexico City Policy was originally instituted by President Reagan, discarded by President Clinton, and then reinstituted by President Bush.
For more information on these important pro-life riders check the AdvacneUSA home page.
UPDATE:
The bill proposed by Rep.
Nina Lowey (D-NY) has emerged from the House Appropriations Committee still posing a threat to important
pro-life measures. This bill should be amended to protect the Mexico
City Policy, or it will be strongly opposed by pro-life groups and concerned
citizens.
The House has begun working on yearly appropriations provisions which provide liberals in Congress opportunities to assault existing pro-life federal law. One bill under consideration would overturn current pro-life provisions that require all organizations receiving federal money to promise not to promote abortion.
For more information on the important pro-life “riders” in appropriations legislation click here.
While the recent Supreme Court partial birth abortion ruling was not a total reversal of Roe vs. Wade, it was an important step in the right direction for the pro-life cause. This LifeNews column seeks to defend the ruling from pro-lifers upset with its limits.
John Piper has asks an intriguing question about partial birth abortion and legalised abortion. WARNING: He describes explicit abortion procedures.
New research by British doctors confirms what pro-lifers have long suspected: undergoing abortions can be extremely traumatic for women. Of course, let’s not think about how traumatic it is for the unborn child.
A parental custody case of sorts could have drastic effects abortion law. After producing three embryos through IVF, the parents of the embryos divorced. The father wants the embryos destroyed or frozen indefinitely, and the mother wants to have the embryos implanted into her womb to give the children a chance to be born. Now the courts must decide if the embryos are "people" or "property." America will be watching.
New information reveals that
abortion rates in Scotland
continue to rise despite the widespread availability of the “morning after”
pill (Plan B).
Tom McClusky from FRC in this telling
article on Planned Parenthood's real agenda reminds American citizens that
they unwittingly support the abortion industry through their tax dollars. Planned Parenthood
is the biggest abortion provider in the world and should not be supported with
federal, state, or local tax dollars.
A new study finds that the "morning after pill" (Plan B) can sometimes cause abortions. LifeNews reports here.
For more information on the dangers of Plan B check the pro-life page.
The Cannes Film Festival awarded it's top prize to director Cristian Mungiu for his low-budget film that advocates "abortion rights" by dramatizing a botched abortion in the old Soviet Union. This is yet another example of the media trying to desensitize society to abortion by emphasizing emotionally charged scenarios that distract from the seldom-mentioned needs and rights of unborn children. Story here.
The recent Supreme Court decision upholding the partial-birth abortion ban has raised some eyebrows for what some of the justices cited in the majority opinion. For over a decade conservatives have been passing legislation that "chips away" at Roe on both the federal and state level by noting how abortion affects... women, and the New York Times is paying attention! Read their analysis.
Parents who utilize IVF (in vitro fertilization) must make a difficult decision if they choose to implant multiple fertilized embryos- which developing baby (or babies) do they keep and which do they abort? This Washington Post article from Sunday explores the ethical dilemmas and reactions of both parents and healthcare professionals.
Should stillborn babies be given only death certificates? In many states that is all they receive. Yet pro-abortion activists fear issuing birth certificates for stillbirths because pro-lifers might "hijack" the language and argue for the personhood of the "fetus." Kinda makes you scratch your head. Seven states are currently debating the issue in their legislatures.
Pro-Lifers often have polls thrown in their faces that suggest that most of the American public opposes overturning Roe v. Wade. As recent poll results show that could be because of how misinformed the public really is about what the famous Supreme Court decision actually does. LifeNews.com reports on the poll results here.
The poll was sponsored by and the Ethics and Public Policy Center and the Judicial Confirmation Network who both produced informative memos that fully explain the poll results (read them here, here, and here).
This LifeNews.com article responds to a recent Op-Ed piece in which two parents tried to justify abortion two of their unborn babies because they were more likely to be disabled. Human beings should not be considered expendable or less valuable just because they are disabled. Disability should not be a capitol offense.
LifeNews.com reports that the Defense Department funding bill does not contain measures that use American's tax dollars to fund abortions. However, look out for bad amendments to be offered for this bill on the House floor.
For more information on how to prevent tax dollars from supporting abortions click here.
As if Amnesty International needed more ways of diminishing their credibility, they now officially support abortion "rights."
The Supreme Court, in a 5 - 4 ruling, recently upheld the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban of 2003. This is encouraging news for the pro-life movement though much more progress must be made. Though this ruling is just a "step in the right direction" pro-lifers should be encouraged to continue the fight for life. For a news story on the ruling click here.
The ruling this federal court makes could have powerful implications for the pro-life cause. Hopefully the court’s decision will support and not undercut the recognition of the humanity of the unborn.
A woman in Massachusetts is suing her doctors because her abortion failed and she must now care for her newborn daughter.
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