Tag Archives: Topic: Abortion

Atlanta J. Constitution: For weeks, the anti-abortion activists in the Legislature have been quiet, biding their time. This afternoon, with the session nearly down to its last 48 hours, they struck, approving a ban on abortion coverage in insurance plans offered to state employees

Baptist Press on Opposing Views: Alliance Defending Freedom, a religious liberty legal group based in Arizona, filed a lawsuit against Eastern Michigan University on behalf of a student group that was denied university funding for an exhibit that compares abortion to other historically recognized forms of genocide, according to a report on the Detroit Free Press website.

LifeSiteNews: Data from the World Health Organization (WHO) shows that Romania has one of the highest abortion rates in Europe with 480 abortions for every 1,000 live births—a figure that is double the official EU abortion average. In 1990, Romania’s ration of abortions to live births was a horrific three to one. Today, Romania’s abortion rate is second only to Russia’s in Europe.

LifeSiteNews: Uruguayan pro-life activists have gathered more than 68,000 signatures requesting a referendum over recent legislation legalizing the killing of the unborn, forcing a national vote on the issue, according to local media sources.

Chileb.cl: Interestingly, both countries have the least permissive abortion laws in the world, while still displaying negligible abortion-related mortality. This challenges the myth according to which the restriction of abortion leads to hundreds -even thousands- deaths due to abortion: that’s untrue.

LifeNews: The graphic photograph of a of an aborted 7-month boy is widely circulating among Chinese people on the Internet following a horrifying forced abortion that took place on Friday. The forced abortion took place in Chuzhou City, Anhui Province as a woman named Lü, a 33-year-old Chinese woman whose husband reported the case and released the photograph, was victimized.

Religion Clause Blog: In Franciscan University of Steubenville v. Sebelius, (SD OH, March 22. 2013), an Ohio federal district court, following the lead of 15 other federal courts, dismissed for lack of ripeness a challenge to the Affordable Care Act contraceptive coverage mandate in a suit brought by two Catholic non-profits.

Ypsilanti Carrier: Eastern Michigan University has been sued by the Alliance Defending Freedom after a student group was denied funding to create an exhibit comparing abortions to the Holocaust, according to a Detroit Free Press report. Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian group in Arizona, filed the lawsuit Tuesday.

The Eastern Echo: David Hacker, senior legal counsel for the ADF, said in the release, “The university funded the advocacy of other student organizations, but singled out Students for Life for exclusion based purely on its viewpoint.”

LifeSiteNews: But one of the most puzzling, as well as macabre mysteries, surrounding the case, is the motivation behind Gosnell’s decision to keep jars of the severed feet of babies he had killed in his clinic.

LifeNews: Leading pro-life advocates in Canada are upset the Canadian Parliament will not allow members to vote on a motion to condemn the practice of sex-selection abortions.

LifeNews: Members of the Senate voted today on a mostly party-line vote to reaffirm the controversial HHS mandate, that compels religious groups to pay for birth control and abortion-causing drugs despite their religious or moral objections.

LifeSiteNews: For the first time in United States history, a legislative body has approved a personhood amendment in both the House and the Senate. Now the amendment will be referred to the people of North Dakota for a vote.

Florida Baptist Witness: Kellie Fiedorek, litigation counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), said this is a time of “great peril” for religious adherents. In particular, business owners with religious convictions about business, marriage and family are the targets of attacks for refusing to violate their beliefs, she said. “You couldn’t expect an African-American photographer to take a picture of a family who is in the KKK, who is going to wear long white robes and pointy hats,” Fiedorek said. “Similarly, you couldn’t expect a Jewish … baker to bake a cake with swastikas on it and have it say, ‘Happy Birthday to Hitler.’”

LifeSiteNews: Universities should encourage, not shut down, the free exchange of ideas,” said Senior Legal Counsel David Hacker in a statement. “The university funded the advocacy of other student organizations but singled out Students for Life for exclusion based purely upon its viewpoint.”

Faith and Freedom Blog: Alliance Defending Freedom senior counsel Michael J. Norton, a former US Attorney says, “Americans deserve to know, especially in economic times like these, if their hard earned tax money is being funneled to groups who are misusing it.”

The Hill: A proposed amendment to the Senate budget urges Congress to criminalize some abortions in the District of Columbia based on the disputed premise that fetuses can feel pain at 20 weeks of development.

Fox News: “Universities should encourage, not shut down, the free exchange of ideas,” said David Hacker, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom. “The university funded the advocacy of other student organizations but singled out Students for Life for exclusion based purely upon its viewpoint.”

USCCB: The general counsel of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops states that the current proposed revisions of the Obama Administration’s contraceptive mandate are “an unprecedented …violation of religious liberty by the federal government” and must be changed.

Family Research Council: ADF Senior Counsel Michael Norton said, “Americans deserve to know, especially in economic times like these, if their hard-earned tax money is being funneled to groups that are misusing it.” Regardless of how policymakers feel about abortion, they should all agree that Planned Parenthood should be held to the same standards as everyone else who takes government funds. If Planned Parenthood can’t be trusted with the money it already has, why should Congress agree to more?

The Thomas More Law Center (TMLC), a national non-profit public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, today announced that it has filed its fourth legal challenge to the HHS Mandate. This fourth case was filed yesterday on behalf of Michael Potter, Chairman and President of Eden Foods and his for-profit company, Eden Foods, Inc. in the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

AP: A group representing Brazilian doctors on Thursday urged federal lawmakers to change the country’s restrictive abortion law to allow abortions during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

Charisma News: “Universities should encourage, not shut down, the free exchange of ideas,” said Senior Legal Counsel David Hacker. “The university funded the advocacy of other student organizations but singled out Students for Life for exclusion based purely upon its viewpoint.”

C-FAM: The United States brought in veteran activist Adrienne Germain to direct their negotiators. She was instrumental for the Clinton administration at the 1994 Cairo Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) where “safe abortion” first became a rallying cry for the global abortion lobby. At this year’s CSW abortion groups found themselves stymied by that very landmark conference. ICPD does not recognize abortion as a right and says it should never be used as a backup to contraception.

Laurence Journal-World: Anti-abortion advocates Thursday urged passage of a bill prohibiting abortions based on the sex of the unborn child.

LifeSiteNews: The Council of State, Colombia’s highest administrative court, has struck down a regulatory decree that would have mandated that the nation’s public and private hospitals perform abortion, according to reports in the local media.

LifeSiteNews: The Kansas House of Representatives voted 92-to-31 on Wednesday to strengthen protections for unborn babies, just one day after rejecting an amendment to the state’s late-term abortion ban that would have allowed abortions after 22 weeks in cases of rape or incest.

LifeNews: A new study has found that women with a history of induced abortion were more likely to experience metabolic syndrome compared to women who had never had abortions, increasing their risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes and stroke.

LifeNews: Sen. Rand Paul has clarified controversial comments he made in a recent CNN interview, during which he described “thousands” of exceptions to a potential ban on abortion.

LifeNews: As the Senate continues the debate on the Budget Resolution, pro-life amendments will be filed and therefore may be considered as part of Vote-a-Rama Senate Democrats have planned for changes to the must-pass bill to keep government running and funded. Votes on these amendments are expected as soon as Friday.

The New American: ADF Senior Counsel Michael J. Norton, a former U.S. Attorney, said it is high time the American people get some clear answers on Planned Parenthood funding. “Americans deserve to know, especially in economic times like these, if their hard-earned tax money is being funneled to groups that are misusing it,” Norton said. “Compliance with the law should not be sacrificed for the sake of Planned Parenthood’s bottom line. They have cheated the American taxpayer for too long. It’s time the abortion giant is held accountable.”

9and10News (AP): The Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Alliance Defending Freedom on Tuesday filed the lawsuit in federal court in Detroit against the Ypsilanti school . . . David Hacker, an attorney with the Alliance Defending Freedom, says: “Universities should encourage, not shut down, the free exchange of ideas.” | See also Detroit Free Press: EMU sued over denial of funds for anti-abortion display

Desert Sun (source: Detroit Free Press): Alliance Defending Freedom, an Arizona group that says it works to defend the civil rights of Christians and conservatives, filed the lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Detroit . . . “Universities should encourage, not shut down, the free exchange of ideas,” said David Hacker, attorney with the alliance.

Hercules and the Umpire: Turning to the meat of this post, I was the trial judge in both of the Carhart cases that ended up in the Supreme Court. Compare Carhart v. Stenberg, 11 F. Supp. 2d 1099 (D. Neb. 1998) (Nebraska’s partial-birth abortion statute was unconstitutional), aff’d, 192 F.3d 1142 (8th Cir. 1999), aff’d, Stenberg v. Carhart, 530 U.S. 914 (2000) with Carhart v. Ashcroft, 331 F. Supp. 2d 805 (D. Neb. 2004) (the federal partial-birth abortion statute was unconstitutional), aff’d, Carhart v. Gonzales, 413 F.3d 791 (8th Cir.2005), rev’d, Gonzales v. Carhart, 550 U.S. 124 (2007). Even though there was very little difference in the cases from my perspective, the Court affirmed the first decision but reversed the second. To say that I was perplexed is an understatement. It is that perplexity that prompts this post.

LifeNews: ABC, CBS, and NBC’s morning and evening newscasts have yet to cover the trial of Dr. Kermit Gosnell, which began on Monday. Gosnell is charged with murdering seven babies who were born after viability in his rundown abortion facility.

LifeNews: Universities should encourage, not shut down, the free exchange of ideas,” said Senior Legal Counsel David Hacker. “The university funded the advocacy of other student organizations but singled out Students for Life for exclusion based purely upon its viewpoint.”

LifeSiteNews: Compliance with the law should not be sacrificed for the sake of Planned Parenthood’s bottom line. They have cheated the American taxpayer for too long,” said Senior Counsel Michael J. Norton, a former U.S. Attorney. “It’s time the abortion giant is held accountable.”

LifeSiteNews: A property owner in the small Niagara region town of Beamsville says he is facing pressure by the municipality to remove a sign showing an unborn child and a biblical verse that he agreed to display on his property.

Mark Steyn at NRO: Viable babies were born*. Gosnell killed them by plunging scissors into their spinal cords. He taught his staff to do the same. This is a remarkable moment in American life: A man is killing actual living, gurgling, bouncing babies on an industrial scale – and it barely makes the papers. Had he plunged his scissors into the spinal cord of a Democrat politician in Arizona, then The New York Times, ABC, CBS, NBC and everyone else would be linking it to Sarah Palin’s uncivil call for dramatic cuts in government spending.

Human Events: Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) continues in his effort to establish a full-spectrum profile of policy positions with his Life at Conception Act, rolled out on his website last week as follows . . .

LifeNews: State officials have responded to complaints and indicated they will investigate an abortion clinic in Birmingham, Alabama is operating illegally despite a state mandated order to close.

Daily Press: The survey commissioned by the Virginia Coalition to Protect Women’s Health showed that once the regulations were explained to them respondents opposed them 58 percent to 35 percent.

Kansas City Star: The Kansas House approved legislation Wednesday to prevent abortion providers from claiming tax breaks or assisting with public school sex education classes, and Senate leaders promised their chamber will consider it quickly. The vote in the Republican-dominated House was 92-31.

Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against Eastern Michigan University on behalf of a pro-life student organization. University officials denied the group funding from mandatory student activity fees based on its “political or ideological” views even though the university funds other groups involved in political and ideological speech.

DFW Catholic: “Every American should be free to live and do business according to their faith,” said Senior Counsel Kevin Theriot. “The government shouldn’t punish people of faith for following their beliefs when making decisions for themselves or their organizations. That’s why this lawsuit should not be casually dismissed as the Obama administration would like to see happen.”

Life Legal Defense Foundation issued a statement applauding the decision of the Alabama Department of Public Health to investigate the operation of the unlicensed New Woman, All Women abortion clinic in Birmingham.

Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys file third lawsuit to expose abortion giant’s mishandling of taxpayer dollars

Steve Aden at Townhall: On March 15, the North Dakota senate approved a bill that prevents abortions from being performed once a developing child’s heartbeat is detected in the mother’s womb.

Washington Times: Vice President Joseph R. Biden and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi both received Communion during the Mass to celebrate the installation of Pope Francis in spite of their pro-choice position on abortion.

CNSNews: The Catholic bishops of the United States are asking the Republican-controlled House of Representatives to do something concrete and effective–rather than merely symbolic—to repeal a regulation the administration has issued under Obamacare that will force Catholics and other Christians to act against their faith in purchasing or providing health-care plans that cover sterilizations, contraceptives, and abortion-inducing drugs.

Ed Whelan at NRO: In a Public Discourse essay today, law professor (and Becket Fund lawyer) Mark Rienzi explains that “there is no principled basis for excluding profit-making businesses and their owners from the protection of our religious liberty laws.” Among the points he makes in the essay (and in the much longer law-review article from which the essay is drawn):

Boston Herald: The Massachusetts Citizens for Life Political Action Committee said Tuesday that Sullivan “has been a fighter for the unborn,” and as a senator would vote to support restrictions on abortion.

Kansas City Star: The Kansas House has rejected a proposal to make an exception to limits on late-term abortions for pregnancies resulting from rape, incest or sexual abuse of a child. House members voted 90-31 on Tuesday against an amendment to a sweeping anti-abortion bill offered by Lawrence Democrat John Wilson.

Wall Street Journal: Catholic bishops are making their annual lobbying visit to Albany as Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Senate Republicans are starting to clash over the governor’s abortion law proposal.

LifeSiteNews: Bishop Paul Swain said the action of Avera Health Plans has created “public scandal,” because its practices are “inconsistent with Church teaching.

LifeNews: A program started by Focus on the Family to place ultrasound machines in pregnancy centers has saved thousands and thousands of babies from abortion and now the program is expanding to promote adoption.

AP: A medical assistant admits she cut the spines of at least 10 babies during unorthodox abortions at a Philadelphia clinic.

AP: The Responsible Parenthood Law was passed by lawmakers late last year despite the church’s opposition but petitioners questioned its legality on several grounds, saying it offends religious beliefs and fosters abortion, which remains illegal in the country.

Washington Post: Democrats are calling on Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II to condemn the comments of a major financial backer who recently compared abortion to slavery. “There’s a point when you become culpable in the killing of other people, because of what the government is making you do,” Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the antiabortion Susan B. Anthony List, which last month pledged at least $1.5 million to the Republican Cuccinelli’s campaign for governor.

The Local: Abortion figures in Sweden have increased since the introduction of the morning-after pill, with experts blaming the unwanted pregnancies on Swedes’ “careless” contraception habits

LifeNews: A fascinating article entitled “Pro-Choice Timidity in Fighting Shortage of Abortion Providers” appeared last week on the website Remapping Debate.

Sacramento Bee: A San Francisco supervisor wants to create a 25-foot buffer zone around Planned Parenthood and other clinics that are the target of anti-abortion protesters.

The Hill: The Republican National Committee has learned the wrong lessons from its 2012 losses, the Susan B. Anthony List said Monday.

LifeSiteNews: Cao Ruyi, a Chinese woman who was spared a forced abortion last June when she was five months pregnant, is thankful her baby boy is alive and well – but the couple still faces the grim prospect of persecution from the totalitarian state apparatus.

LifeSiteNews: An Alabama abortion clinic is advertizing for and conducting abortions in violation of Alabama law that requires any facility advertizing as an abortion clinic to be licensed by the state, according to a coalition of pro-life organizations.

Bismark Tribune: House Bill 1305 would make it a Class A misdemeanor for a physician to willingly perform an abortion based specifically on gender or on genetic abnormalities. House Bill 1456 requires a physician to determine whether there’s a detectable heartbeat prior to performing an abortion

AP: A federal judge has struck down a Missouri law exempting moral objectors from mandatory birth control coverage because it conflicts with an insurance requirement under President Barrack Obama’s health care law . . . “The point of the law was to tell health insurance companies that they’re supposed to honor the wishes – pro or con – of people who have religious or ethical objections to what’s in the policy,” said Timothy Belz, a St. Louis attorney who represented Our Lady’s Inn. | Missouri Insurance Coalition v. Huff (E.D. Mo. March 14, 2013)

Christian Institute: An attempt to stop private clinics carrying out abortions in Northern Ireland was blocked on Tuesday – even though it won majority support. It was vetoed at the Northern Ireland Assembly by the Sinn Fein Party and two MLAs from the Alliance Party and the Green Party.

Telegraph: More than half a billion birth control procedures, including at least 336 million abortions, have been performed in the name of the one-child policy, China’s Health ministry revealed yesterday.

International Business Times: Researchers from the University of California-San Diego School of Medicine have just released a study in which they declared that the cultural preference for sons over daughters is even more of an intractable problem in Nepal than …

San Francisco Chronicle: A northeast Ohio woman filed a malpractice lawsuit alleging that a clinic failed to successfully perform the abortion she sought, eventually leading to her child’s birth.

LifeNews: The North Dakota state Senate today approved legislation that would have the state banning most all abortions. The measure stops any abortions after the first 6 weeks of pregnancy.

LifeNews: “Women deserve access to the help they need for themselves and their unborn children without undue interference from the government,” said Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Casey Mattox. “The court was right to stop the city of Elgin from preventing women from obtaining free ultrasounds and health information. TLC’s free services help both Elgin and its citizens, so the city’s actions have been both counterproductive and unconstitutional.”

One News Now: Attorney Roger Kiska with Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) tells American Family News the case, heard in Hungary’s capital on Wednesday, involves several people – Hungarians and Ukranians – who operate several clinics. “One of them is an abortion clinic from which they harvest from the aborted unborn children tissue and embryonic stem cells, which they then use in a cosmetic clinic injected directly into the veins of wealthy patients for $25,000 U.S. per injection,” he states.

C-FAM: The Agence France-Press reported on March 5, the second day of the Commission, “Much has been made at [CSW] of a World Bank report which estimates that more women aged 15-44 are killed violently than die of malaria, HIV, cancer, accidents and war combined.” The statistic is used by multiple UN agencies and appears on the official UN resources for speakers. On March 13, it was cited in a New York Times editorial criticizing the Holy See and its allies for holding firm against feminist efforts to turn the CSW meeting into a call for global abortion access.