LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report 10/30/09

From: Steven Ertelt  Sent: Friday, October 30, 2009
LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Update

For news updated throughout the day, visit LifeNews.com.

Current Headlines

• House Democrats to Unveil Final Version of Pro-Abortion Health Care Reform Bill Today
• Pro-Life Group Confirms New House Health Care Reform Bill Includes Abortion Funding
• Pro-Life Group Slams Pelosi for Crafting Pro-Abortion Health Care Bill Behind Closed Doors
• Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Seeking to Overturn Obama Embryonic Stem Cell Research Order
• Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid Will Push for Public Option With More Abortion Funding
• Fake Embryonic Stem Cell Researcher Hwang Woo-Suk Convicted of Fraud
• Law and Order Television Episode Takes Surprisingly Balanced Abortion Approach
• Kill the Persistent Vegetative State Diagnosis, Not Patients Like Terri Schiavo
• State and International Pro-Life News Headlines

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House Democrats Unveil Final Version of Pro-Abortion Health Care Reform Bill Today
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- House Democrats unveiled their final version of the pro-abortion health care reform bill on Thursday that pro-life groups are opposing because contains massive abortion funding and subsidies with taxpayer funds. The legislation combines three pro-abortion versions of the same bill and has been renumbered as H.R. 3962. Democrats hope to bring the measure to the House floor for a debate and vote next week, although it appears that will be done without allowing pro-life Democrats and Republicans to vote on an amendment from Rep. Bart Stupak that would disallow abortion funding. The bill includes the so-called government option or public option that expands abortion funding even further than do the subsidies that can be used to purchase health care insurance that pays for abortions. While pro-abortion House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is introducing an abortion-funding plan in the House with the government option, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has received most of the attention this week for saying he will go against the prevailing political winds in the Senate and introduced a pro-abortion bill with the government option as well. Several moderate Democrats are likely to join Republicans in voting against the Senate bill if it includes the government-run option. For Pelosi, an initial survey of House Democrats her top lieutenants conducted reveals she is about 17 votes shy of the 218 she needs to get approval for a pro-abortion bill with the public plan.

Pro-Life Group Confirms New House Health Care Reform Bill Includes Abortion Funding
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The new House health care bill unveiled today by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is no different than the three previous versions of the legislation that all forced taxpayers to fund abortions. Douglas Johnson, the legislative director for the National Right to Life Committee, told LifeNews.com today that "A vote for this bill is a vote to establish a federal government program that will directly fund abortion on demand, with federal funds." Johnson referred specifically to language on page 110 of the new bill (H.R. 3962) which explicitly authorizes the "public health insurance option" to pay for all elective abortions. The "public health insurance option" or "public plan" would be a health insurance program operated directly by the federal government, through the Department of Health and Human Services. "The public plan will be a federal agency program, and all funds spent by the agency are federal funds," Johnson said. "The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service (CRS), in an October 9 memo obtained by NRLC, confirmed that all funds spent by the bill's public plan will be federal funds. Prominent Democrats who have claimed that the federal government could pay for abortion with 'private' funds have been engaged in a big snow job -- and in swallowing such a contrived, implausible claim, many journalists have been all too gullible." To stop the abortion funding, pro-life Democratic Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan has proposed an amendment that would prohibit the federal government plan from paying for abortion but Pelosi will likely force the House to vote on the bill under a closed rule that prohibits amendments. NRLC and other pro-life groups are urging House members to vote against imposition of the closed rule preventing the pro-life amendment and that vote could come on the House floor as soon as November 5 or 6. "Anyone voting to forbid amendments to this bill is in effect voting to set up a federal government program that will directly fund abortion on demand, with federal funds," Johnson said. The bill also has a second objectionable provision relating to abortion -- it would allow federal subsidies to help pay for the cost of private health plans that cover elective abortion, a departure from longstanding federal policy. Stupak's amendment would correct this problem, as well.

Pro-Life Group Slams Pelosi for Crafting Pro-Abortion Health Care Bill Behind Closed Doors
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The Family Research Council is upset that the new pro-abortion health care "reform" bill House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled today was negotiated behind closed doors. FRC president Tony Perkins emailed LifeNews.com the following: "Unfortunately, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi waited until this morning to let Americans in on her secret overhaul of the system. After long weeks of keeping voters -- and members -- in the dark, Pelosi's version of reform is finally public. From what we can tell, her plan retained little of what was hashed out in committee. Instead of relying on collaboration, the bill is solely a Pelosi product that makes a mockery of the committee process."

Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Seeking to Overturn Obama Embryonic Stem Cell Research Order
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A federal judge has dismissed the case filed by a collection of pro-life groups and an adoption agency that involves the adopts of unborn children frozen at fertility clinics. They had sued the administration of President Barack Obama saying that he should not have issued an executive order forcing taxpayers to finance embryonic stem cell research that involves the destruction of human life. They based their lawsuit on the Dickey-Wicker amendment, a federal law that disallows funding of research on human embryos that involves their specific creation and destruction. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth put the brakes on the lawsuit, which also said Obama's order, and a second one stopping funding of embryonic stem cell research alternatives, makes less money available for adult stem cell research and fewer human embryos available for adoption.

Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid Will Push for Public Option With More Abortion Funding
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says he will push for a public option in the Senate version of the health care reform bill that will allow massive abortion funding. Senate committees had approved two versions of the bill -- one with the government-run option and another without it -- and Reid has said the option will be included when he and other Senate leaders combine the two measures together. That will likely make it so more abortion funding will be included in the legislation unless senators adopt a specific amendment, which has been rejected in both committees, to make sure none of the funding in the bill can pay for abortions. Reid dismissed White House worries and went against his own reputation as a pragmatic lawmakers by announcing the would push for the public option even though there do not appear to be 60 votes in the Senate to cut off debate on it. Reid is betting he can is betting that he can sway the last few moderate Democrats to support it who have said they can't.

Fake Embryonic Stem Cell Researcher Hwang Woo-Suk Convicted of Fraud
Seoul, South Korea (LifeNews.com) -- The South Korean scientist who brought international embarrassment to the field of embryonic stem cell research due to his fraudulent studies, was convicted today of embezzlement and illegally obtaining human eggs from his female subordinates. Supporters of Hwang, who was, at one time, a national hero because of his work, cheered as he was given a two-year suspended sentence instead of the four years in prison demanded by government prosecutors. He was also acquitted of one of the charges against him – fraudulently raising funds from private organizations. Hwang's lies were an international scientific scandal and a particular source of embarrassment to Science, the world renowned journal which published his fraudulent findings. In 2004 the magazine published a paper by Hwang and fellow scientists at Seoul National University, in which they claimed that they had created the world's first cloned human embryos, and extracted from them embryonic stem cells.

Law and Order Television Episode Takes Surprisingly Balanced Abortion Approach
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The reaction from pro-life and pro-abortion advocates to last Friday's episode of Law & Order on NBC makes it clear that the program chalked up the opposite result from what pro-life advocates expected. Instead of upsetting pro-life advocates, abortion proponents are infuriated while pro-life people are pleasantly surprised by the fair treatment the program gave to abortion. The episode, titled "Dignity," began with the murder of a late-term abortion practitioner during a church service -- reminiscent of the shooting of George Tiller. After the murder, the assailant is captured and confesses and his attorney argues that the killing was justified because the attacker was protecting unborn children. While the attacker is eventually found guilty, the episode covers the abortion debate and uses arguments that are normally not seen when pro-life advocates are covered. National Right to Life blogger Dave Andrusko responds: "What makes the Law & Order episode so riveting is that virtually every pro-life argument you knew you would never hear on a network program is a part of 'Dignity.'" He continued, "More important, it occurred to me as I listened in utter astonishment that each of these observations could have been presented in a way that was artificial, forced, or (as so often is the case with network portraits of pro-lifers) something that you would expect from an idiot. None of that was the case. These were real flesh-and-blood people, not caricatures."

Kill the Persistent Vegetative State Diagnosis, Not Patients Like Terri Schiavo
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The following editorial comes from Bobby Schindler, the brother of Terri Schiavo: With all of the current debate in the United States over President Obama's proposed health care legislation, people seem to have firmly chosen sides—based on their political leanings and not necessarily the actual content of the bill, HR 3200. In a nation that professes a profound reverence for the lives and wellness of its citizens, it is no argument that our system of healthcare delivery fails many patients and that insurance companies and health maintenance organizations have long dodged the bullet of responsibility when they've rationed care or denied coverage for certain types of treatments and therapies. That rationing and denial of coverage is most rampant among our most vulnerable citizens—when such treatments and therapies are essential for daily living. And now the government wants in. Read the full article here.

State and International Pro-Life News Headlines

Texas Pro-Life Advocates Want Abortion Centers to Get License to Use Dangerous Abortion Drug
Austin, TX (LifeNews.com) -- Texas pro-life advocates are asking the state attorney general for an opinion about whether current state law requires abortion centers to first obtain a license before they are able to dispense the dangerous mifepristone (RU 486) drug that has already killed 13 women an injured more than 1,100 in the U.S. alone. State Rep. Frank Corte, a San Antonio Republican, requested the opinion on October 9 from Attorney General Greg Abbott. "It may be perceived by some as a gray area," said Corte. "What they're doing is the same thing as a surgical process, with the same end result. We need to have a clear understanding of what our law says. This is the question it goes back to. Who are these folks [dispensing the drug]? They may be very qualified to dispense the item, but they need to be licensed facilities so we know for sure."

Virginia Polls Show Pro-Life Advocate Bob McDonnell May Have Governor's Race Sewn Up
Richmond, VA (LifeNews.com) -- Two new polls released on Tuesday make it appear that pro-life advocate Bob McDonnell, the Republican candidate for governor, may have the race sew up against his pro-abortion opponent Creigh Deeds. A PPP survey of 729 likely voters puts McDonnell at 55 percent and Deeds at 40 percent. McDonnell is carrying more self-identified Republicans (94 percent) than Deeds is winning Democrats (84 percent), and McDonnell has a commanding 59 percent to 34 percent lead among political independents. Deeds continues to be hurt by a poor public image. Just 38 percent of respondents said they viewed him favorably, compared to 56 percent who said that about McDonnell. Just one in four voters thinks that Deeds is running a "positive" campaign, vs. 59 percent who think he is waging a "negative" campaign.

Man Who Shot Pro-Life Advocate James Pouillon Now Declared Mentally Competent For Trial
Owosso, MI (LifeNews.com) -- The man who allegedly shot and killed pro-life advocate James Pouillon and a local businessman has now been declared mentally competent to stand trial. Local resident Harlan Drake stands accused of shooting Pouillon as he protested abortion outside a high school and he had been declared mentally incompetent to stand trial last month. Now, a judge this week has accepted the latest report saying his mental health has improved after getting treatment. Drake's competency means he understands the charges and can assist his defense. His lawyer, Robert Ashley, still might pursue an insanity defense if the case goes to trial. Ashley is seeking approval for a separate evaluation of Drake's mental health at the time of the shootings of Pouillon and Mike Fuoss.

Chinese Police Arrest Dozens in Baby Selling Trafficking Ring, Result of One-Child Policy
Beijing, China (LifeNews.com) -- Chinese police have arrested 42 alleged members of a trafficking ring that sold dozens of infants stolen or bought from their rural parents, the official Chinese news agency reported. Such trafficking rings are the results of the one-child policy whereby Chinese couples are prohibited from having any more than one baby and are fined, jailed or even subjected to forced abortions and sterilizations if they violate the rule. The ring had separate units to handle the procurement, transport and sale of the children, the Xinhua News Agency reported. It trafficked 52 children over two years, earning the equivalent of nearly $60,000, the report said. China has a thriving black market in girls and women, often used as laborers or as brides for unwed sons.

Spain Poll Shows Majority Oppose Proposal Allowing Abortions For Teens Without Parental Notice
Madrid, Spain (LifeNews.com) -- A new poll shows a majority of the citizens of Spain oppose the government's proposal to allow teenagers to get abortions without any parental notification or consent. The NC Report conducted a survey for the La Razon newspaper that shows 58.4 percent of Spanish citizens oppose allowing 16-year-olds to get an abortion without the consent of their parents while another 46 percent oppose the proposal to expand legal abortions. The poll found 30 percent oppose abortion "in all cases," and another 30 percent support abortions only "in justified cases." Just 35.5 percent support legal abortions for any reason. A majority of respondents also opposed the distribution of the morning-after pill without a prescription.

South Dakota Petition Drive Started to Overturn State Human Cloning Ban
Pierre, SD (LifeNews.com) -- Former South Dakota Secretary of State David Volk wants to overturn a state law that bans the creation and destruction of human embryos for research. Volk will need to collect more than 16,000 signatures to bring the issue to a vote in the 2010 elections. Chris Hupke, president of the South Dakota Family Policy Council, said the state doesn't need to overturn the ban on life-destroying embryonic stem-cell research. "All of the cutting-edge research is happening with adult stem cells," he said, "and we think it's important to focus where the results are." Volk recently told the Argus Leader newspaper: "For 40 years I've been in South Dakota politics in one form or another. I've never been involved in a campaign for a candidate or an issue campaign where I've had this response." He says he has heard from a wide-ranging group of people who hope to have their medical ailments or conditions cured through embryonic stem cell research that human cloning could help foster -- even tough no patients have ever been cured using the cells.

Indiana Right to Life Tells Gary Newspaper to Apologize for Attacking Pro-Life Advocates
Gary, IN (LifeNews.com) -- Indiana Right to Life officials are calling on the Gary Post-Tribune newspaper to review its editorial guidelines and to issue apology in wake of a troubling editorial calling pro-lifers "right-wing religious freaks." The editorial is authored by editorial page editor Rich James. James also contends that abstinence programs are a failure and that "Sarah Palin's daughter could have used the services of Planned Parenthood." James' editorial is a caustic response to community opposition to Planned Parenthood's attempt to move from Gary to Griffith. "This inflammatory rhetoric is demeaning and destructive to the citizens of Griffith who do not want Planned Parenthood in their neighborhood," notes Indiana Right to Life president Mike Fichter. "We would hope that a professional publication would rise above this type of mean-spirited attack." Fichter notes that the editorial's attempt to separate Planned Parenthood from the business of abortion is misleading on its face. "One of the largest Planned Parenthood abortion facilities in the state is located in Merrillville, directly next door to Gary. Trying to separate abortion from Planned Parenthood is like trying to separate K-Mart from blue light specials."

Baltimore City Council Debates Fining Pregnancy Centers for Not Doing Abortions
Baltimore, MD (LifeNews.com) -- The Baltimore City Council on Tuesday debated a proposal that would target pregnancy centers by making them post a sign saying they do not offer abortions or provide contraception. The measure does not contain any stipulations for abortion centers requiring a disclosure indicating they do not provide comprehensive abortion alternatives. City Council Bill 09-0406 would fine pregnancy centers $500 per day if they do not comply with the city ordinance. Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and 10 members of the council are sponsoring a measure that pro-life advocates say is at the behest of Planned Parenthood and NARAL and is in the council's judiciary committee.

Britain House of Lords Sees Amendment to Okay Suicide Tourism Withdrawn
London, England (LifeNews.com) -- Members of the British House of Lords were expected to vote again on an amendment that would promote assisted suicide, but it was withdrawn. The expected vote would have come after after the July defeat of another amendment that would have made it easier for Britons to engage in assisted suicide. Following the defeat in the summer of Lord Falconer's attempt to widen the law on assisted suicide to allow so-called suicide tourism, Lord Alderdice re-tabled his amendment to the Coroners and Justice bill. SPUC, the British pro-life group, informed LifeNews.com that the amendment was opposed by a majority of those Lords who spoke in the debate and was withdrawn.

Travis County to Vote on Sending Half Million Grant to Planned Parenthood
Austin, TX (LifeNews.com) -- The Travis County Healthcare District is a taxing authority created by voters in 2004 that uses Travis County property taxes to fund health care for low-income residents. Texas Alliance for Life has learned that the governing Board of Managers will vote soon a proposed contract with local abortion facilities to use $450,000 in property taxes to pay for about 1,000 abortions over the next year. "Abortion takes the lives of unborn children and harms their mothers. I do not want to be forced to pay for abortions with my property taxes. Tax dollars should not be used to destroy innocent human lives," says TAL director Joe Pojman. Texas Alliance for Life's research has revealed that the City of Austin has funded elective abortions since the 1970s. In 2004, the Travis County Healthcare District (TCHD) was created by voters to use county property taxes to pay for health care at local hospitals and clinics for low income residents. The TCHD took over the City's abortion contracts and pays for the abortions. Women get a voucher that is presented at an abortion facility to pay for the abortion. Texas Alliance for Life is asking pro-life advocates to contact the Travis County Healthcare District to oppose the proposed $450,000 abortion contract by going to http://www.traviscountyhd.org/contact_us.html or calling 512.978.8000.

Wisconsin Pro-Life Advocates Sues Milwaukee for History of Harassment, Denying Free Speech
MIlwaukee, WI (LifeNews.com) -- Alliance Defense Fund attorneys filed a lawsuit Monday against the city of Milwaukee on behalf of several pro-life advocates to end a long pattern of harassment. For years, numerous pro-life advocates peacefully sharing their messages have been arrested, jailed, cited, harassed, threatened, and even physically assaulted. This has occurred even though they have maintained, out of an abundance of caution, a distance of at least 25 feet from any abortion center because of a 1993 court order issued against unrelated parties. "Pro-life advocates shouldn't be punished and discriminated against for expressing their beliefs," said ADF senior legal counsel Mike Johnson. "Treating these peaceful demonstrators as criminals is a crime in itself, not to mention a blatant violation and suppression of their First Amendment rights."

Utah Man Who Attacked Pregnant Girl With Her Consent Gets 20 Years in Prison
Salt Lake City, UT (LifeNews.com) -- A Utah girl who paid a man to hit her in the stomach in an attempt to cause a miscarriage-abortion was declared by a judge to not be guilty of violating any state law. But, the man who did the deed is headed to prison. The case involves 21-year-old Aaron Harrison whom the unnamed 17-year-old girl asked in May to help her cause an abortion to kill her seven-month-old unborn child. The court documents show the girl's boyfriend had threatened to leave her if she did not get an abortion. Harrison, a friend of the girl, reportedly struck and bit her and she paid him $150 to do so. The unborn baby survived the attack and doctors induced labor so the baby could be born. Harrison was sentenced Tuesday to serve up to 20 years in the Utah State Prison. "Your conduct was unconscionable. You just seem to be a rule unto yourself," said 8th District Judge A. Lynn Payne.

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