Tag Archives: Topic: Abortion

Liberty Counsel announced today a new partnership with the pro-life organization, Personhood USA. This partnership will enable both Liberty Counsel and Personhood USA to be more effective in advocating for the passage of personhood legislation and state initiatives for constitutional amendments in states across the country.

ADF Attorney Steve Aden at Townhall: What’s strange is that these same people have no ethical qualms about allowing an abortionist’s scalpels and vacuum devices to be inserted into a woman as her baby is literally ripped from the womb limb by limb. And they apparently feel no angst over a pre-born child being injected with medicine that stops his or her heart so that labor can be induced and the stillborn child can be disposed of in a trash can (or a dumpster) in much the same way one would dispose of a banana peel or moldy bread.

Christian Science Monitor: Conservatives see ‘media-generated histrionic’ over vulgar comments Rush Limbaugh made about law school student Sandra Fluke. Liberals see a ripe opportunity to pin wings of GOP candidates to the wall.

LifeNews: Lisa Murkowski, the pro-abortion Republican senator from Alaska, says she now regrets casting her vote last week for the Blunt Amendment.

LifeNews: The new Obama mandate that requires religious groups to pay for birth control and drugs that may cause abortions for their employees could result in fines as much as $2,000 per employee or $100 each day if they refuse to comply.

USCCB letter by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, dated March 2, 2012: Brothers, we know so very well that religious freedom is our heritage, our legacy and our firm belief, both as loyal Catholics and Americans. There have been many threats to religious freedom over the decades and years, but these often came from without. This one sadly comes from within. As our ancestors did with previous threats, we will tirelessly defend the timeless and enduring truth of religious freedom. I look forward to our upcoming Administrative Board Meeting and our June Plenary Assembly when we will have the chance to discuss together these important issues and our way forward in addressing them. And I renew my thanks to you for your tremendous, fraternal support and your welcome observations in this critical effort to protect our religious freedom.

WRAL.com: A federal judge is approving a settlement after anti-abortion protesters claimed a Jacksonville city ordinance violates free-speech rights by giving police too much leeway in deciding where and when demonstrations are allowed.

Washington Post: The Virginia Senate approved a bill Monday that would allow expectant parents to sue over the wrongful death of a fetus.

Religion Clause Blog: In Lefemine v. Wideman, (4th Cir., March 5, 2012), the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals held that Greenwood County Sheriff’s Department officials had qualified immunity as to damage claims against them by an anti-abortion organization, Columbia Christians for Life.

Mark W. Leach at Public Discourse: The challenge in preventing abortion of Down syndrome fetuses is not convincing mothers that their child is a human being with a right to life, but of assuring expectant mothers there will be support for their children after they are born.

ADF Attorney Catherine Foster at Townhall: In the most recent edition of the Journal of Medical Ethics, two ethicists argue that we ought to be able to kill our children after their birth, after we have gotten the chance to hold them in our arms and take family photos. Why?—For the simple reason that we are able to kill them before their birth via abortion.

National Catholic Register: In response to the failed vote, Alliance Defense Fund’s legal counsel, Matt Bowman, said, “The government cannot tell Americans that certain parts of their faith are not important enough to practice. People of faith are explicitly protected by the Constitution and federal law from such radical state invasions of conscience. The Blunt/Fortenberry Amendment was a necessary measure to begin to restore the religious liberties of Americans that Obamacare has trampled on with its assumption of unlimited bureaucratic power. Every vote for religious freedom should be unanimous, but, tragically, our fundamental freedoms didn’t seem to matter to enough senators.”

Cathy Ruse at the Wall Street Journal: Because at the end of the day this is not about coverage of a medical condition. Ms. Fluke’s crusade for reproductive justice is simply a demand that a Catholic institution pay for drugs that make it possible for her to have sex without getting pregnant. It’s nothing grander or nobler than that. Georgetown’s refusal to do so does not mean she has to have less sex, only that she has to take financial responsibility for it herself.

Laura MacCleery of the Center for Reproductive Rights at the Hill: Moreover, the lawsuits brought by the Becket Fund and the Alliance Defense Fund are premature, and will very likely be dismissed until a new rule is completed.

Reuters: Even as a national debate rages over contraception insurance, tens of thousands of low-income women and teenagers across the United States have lost access to subsidized birth control as states slash and restructure family planning funds.

One News Now: “You’ve got 60 divorces for every 100 marriages,” explains Griffith. “That’s more than half of married couples.”

LifeSiteNews: Jenny Liu of the Epoch Times interviewed three Chinese couples who were forced to flee to the United States to save their babies. For all three of the couples, the babies they wanted to save were second children and deemed “illegal” and “out-of-plan” by China.

LifeSiteNews: The policy overhaul is contained in the Performance-Based National Detention Standards (PBNDS) of 2011, issued by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a part of the Department of Homeland Security.

The Republic (AP): A House bill aimed at cutting off taxpayer funding to hospitals, clinics, doctors and others who perform elective abortions could put New Hampshire’s $1.4 billion annual Medicaid program in jeopardy.

Washington Post: An unruly protest at the Capitol, mainly over anti-abortion legislation, and a daunting response by police in riot gear with dogs and assault rifles have spawned heated floor debates at the General Assembly.

LifeNews: Remember the Georgetown Law student, Sandra Fluke, who was forced to suffer through $3,000-worth of protected sex during her stint at law school? Turns out, there’s a bit more to the story.

Life News: President Barack Obama is seeking to end federal funding for a pro-life program installed during the administration of President George W. Bush that helped save unborn babies potentially slated for destruction in fertility clinics.

NY Times: Emboldened by Rush Limbaugh’s public apology over the weekend to a law school student whom he had called a “slut” and a “prostitute,” critics of the radio talk show host are intensifying their online campaign against his advertisers.

The Hill: Democrats are largely to blame for the name-calling and personal insults of the contraception debate, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) charged Friday.

ADF Attorney Steve Aden at The American Thinker: Among the myriad problems this creates, not the least of which include the government’s encroachment on rights of conscience and religious freedom, is that it sets Planned Parenthood up to use their billion-dollar net worth to try to get President Obama re-elected in 2012.

One News Now: “Parents matter in abortion decisions,” states Aden. “If abortionists truly cared about young girls, they wouldn’t be pushing to make sure parents stay in the dark while the clinic takes advantage of their daughters’ bodies and desperate situations — not to mention the life of the child in the womb.”

LifeNews: PepsiCo has come under fire from pro-life advocates because it has been contracting with a research firm that uses fetal cells from babies victimized by abortions to test and produce artificial flavor enhancers.

ADF President and General Counsel Alan E. Sears at the TellADF.org Blog: The Obama administration’s most recent mandate is also its most radical. It directs insurers for most employers – including religious ministries and organizations – to provide abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization, and contraception at “no cost” to employees, regardless of the employers’ religious or moral objections. (also at the Christian Post Advancing Religious Liberty Blog)

James Taranto at the Wall Street Journal: Perhaps you have spotted the flaw in the Sebelius logic. Yes, in the short term, contraception is cheaper than fertility. In the long term, however, a war on fertility is an act of cultural and economic suicide. Today’s low fertility is tomorrow’s shortage of productive citizens–of the taxpayers who would have to pay for the ever-expanding entitlement state.

Daily Caller: During a discussion series on Monday at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., speaker and activist Kavita Ramdas argued that contraceptives should be part of a strategy to save the planet, calling lower birth rates a “common sense” part of a climate-change reduction strategy.

http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/state-level-contraceptive-mandates-call-for-national-solution/

AFP: The government wants to ban slogans like: “Kill all your family members if you don’t follow the rule” and “We would rather scrape your womb than allow you to have a second child,” the Shanghai Daily said at the weekend.

LifeNews: The government in China is working to soften it approach to marketing the one-child policy that results in forced abortions and sterilizations but appears to have no plans to actually scale back the controversial law itself.

AZ Central: Religious-rights groups are pushing state legislation that would allow any employer to refuse to provide health-insurance coverage of birth control for religious reasons. On Thursday, House Bill 2625 . . .

LifeNews: A Senate committee voted Thursday for the latest pro-abortion nominee President Barack Obama has appointed to the nation’s highest courts.

AP: When lawmakers take aim at abortion, they draw on an ever-growing arsenal of restrictions and mandates imposed on women, doctors and clinics. But do these measures reduce abortions? It’s a question with no simple answer.

The Hill: Limbaugh came under fire from Democrats on Wednesday after he attacked Fluke for her testimony in a hearing about the president’s contraception mandate, calling her a “slut” and a “prostitute.”

National Catholic Register: Reaction also came from Matt Bowman, legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, which is fighting the contraception mandate in court. “The government cannot tell Americans that certain parts of their faith are not important enough to practice,” Bowman said in a statement. “People of faith are explicitly protected by the Constitution and federal law from such radical state invasions of conscience. The Blunt/Fortenberry Amendment was a necessary measure to begin to restore the religious liberties of Americans that Obamacare has trampled on with its assumption of unlimited bureaucratic power. Every vote for religious freedom should be unanimous, but, tragically, our fundamental freedoms didn’t seem to matter to enough senators.”

LifeNews: Alliance Defense Fund Legal Counsel Matt Bowman: “The government cannot tell Americans that certain parts of their faith are not important enough to practice. People of faith are explicitly protected by the Constitution and federal law from such radical state invasions of conscience. The Blunt/Fortenberry Amendment was a necessary measure to begin to restore the religious liberties of Americans that ObamaCare has trampled on with its assumption of unlimited bureaucratic power. Every vote for religious freedom should be unanimous, but tragically, our fundamental freedoms didn’t seem to matter to enough senators.”

Catholic Culture: For the government to hold fast to its new definition of ministry, one crafted by the American Civil Liberties Union, reflects deafness to the Constitution that is unbecoming to the man sworn to defend it.

The Hill: Democrats are zeroing in on Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) and contraception in their effort to retain the Senate.

CNSNews: “So you are saying, by not having babies born, we are going to save money on health care?” Murphy asked. Sebelius replied, “Providing contraception is a critical preventive health benefit for women and for their children.” Murphy again sought clarification. “Not having babies born is a critical benefit. This is absolutely amazing to me. I yield back,” he said.

LifeNews: After the Senate approved the bill, the House voted 61-35 for final approval of HB 462 and it now moves to McDonnell’s desk.

Christian Newswire: The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the national federation of state right-to-life organizations, said today that it would continue to challenge the Obama Administration’s authority to mandate that virtually all employers pay for services they regard as morally objectionable, both in Congress and through political action.

PennLive.com: House lawmakers postponed a vote that was set for later this month on controversial legislation to require women seeking an abortion to first have an ultrasound exam to determine the gestational age of the fetu

Jill Stanek at LifeSiteNews: On February 28 CNN’s Wolf Blitzer tried to play gotcha with Newt Gingrich regarding Gingrich’s statement during a recent Republican debate that the mainstream media had failed to scrutinize presidential candidate Barack Obama in 2008 regarding his opposition as state senator to the Illinois Born Alive Infant Protection Act.

Christian Newswire: Today, the U.S. Senate, by a vote of 51 – 48, defeated the effort led by Senator Roy Blunt (Missouri) to pass the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act as an amendment to pending legislation. Thirteen Catholic Senators joined the majority.

PR Newswire: Americans United for Life President and CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest announced the launch of a nationwide, educational campaign in support of the First Amendment Right of Conscience and to expose the unprecedented attack by the Obama Administration on this fundamental right. A centerpiece to the campaign is a video that explains how by forcing an abortion-inducing drug mandate on all Americans, the Obama Administration “has put the ‘Con’ in contraception.”

Michael J. New at National Review: As such, by giving out more and more contraceptives, Planned Parenthood has successfully created an ever growing clientele for its most lucrative service — providing abortions.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-abortion-limit-bill-georgia-20120301,0,3232897.story?track=rss

The Blunt/Fortenberry Amendment was a necessary measure to begin to restore the religious liberties of Americans that ObamaCare has trampled on with its assumption of unlimited bureaucratic power. Every vote for religious freedom should be unanimous, but tragically, our fundamental freedoms didn’t seem to matter to enough senators.

LifeSiteNews: Judgment was handed down today in the case of two senior midwives from Glasgow who have a conscientious objection to abortion. The midwives have been told that they must accept the decision of their hospital management that they must oversee other midwives performing abortions on the labour ward.

LifeSiteNews: A gathering of the Vatican’s own academy for promoting respect for life was met with palpable discontent from its own members and other registrants after presenters on the topic of infertility alluded to in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and other artificial reproduction technologies as “natural” and legitimate for treating patients, despite their conflict with Catholic moral teaching.

LifeNews: Leading pro-life organizations called on the Senate to vote for the amendment to the mandate the Obama administration issued, but Democrats banded together against republicans to defeat it on a 51 to 48 margin by adopting a motion to table, or kill, it.

Religion Clause Blog: A Scottish court has rejected the claim by two midwives employed at Glasgow’s Southern General Hospital that because of their conscientious objection they should not be required to delegate to, supervise or support staff on the labor ward who are directly involved with patients undergoing termination of pregnancy.

Breitbart carries the video.

Heritage Foundation, The Foundry: Since 1791, when the Bill of Rights was formally adopted, America has enjoyed the legal protection of religious freedom, enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. Today, 221 years later, centuries of progress in the protection of religious and other liberties is at risk of being rolled back in one fell swoop. The culprit: Obamacare.

KPHO: The proposed legislation would ban the termination of nearly all pregnancies after 20 weeks.

The Republic (AP): A group of anti-abortion physicians and Christian leaders are supporting an Oklahoma bill that bestows personhood status to a fertilized human egg.

9News.com: A hospital disclosure bill Republicans decry as religious persecution has cleared Colorado’s Democratic Senate after two days of fiery debate.

Ruth Institute: And if the line in the sand is moved from 24 weeks in utero to at birth, what’s to say it won’t be moved to 1 month after birth, 2 months, even two years as some nutter suggested? I couldn’t help but post the entire article. It’s just too good. And it’s short anyway.

LifeNews: During a Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday night, Representative Sandy Adams questioned Dr. Linda Rosenstock, chair of the Preventive Services for Women Committee of the Institute of Medicine (IOM), about the Obama administration’s Health and Human Services’ (HHS) controversial mandate.

CNSNews: The Justice Department will defend against any legal challenge to the new Obama administration mandate to force employers to provide abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization and contraception, even if it goes against their conscience, Attorney General Eric Holder told a House subcommittee Tuesday.

CNSNews: A Georgetown co-ed told Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s hearing that the women in her law school program are having so much sex that they’re going broke, so you and I should pay for their birth control. | Commenting on the report in today’s broadcast, Rush Limbaugh said she is engaging in prostitution (wanting to be paid to have sex) and making “Johns” of taxpayers.

Atlanta J. Constitution: Dan Becker, the president of Georgia Right to Life, is facing off with state House Republicans whom he believes might waver on supporting a bill that would cut the time for elective abortions and tighten medical exemptions for treating pregnant women.

LifeNews: Leading Democrats are aggressively attacking pro-life advocates and lawmakers who want a vote on the Blunt Amendment tomorrow to mitigate the problems associated with the new mandate pro-abortion President Barack Obama put in place.

WSLS.com: Women who want to have an abortion in Virginia will first be required to submit to an ultrasound under precedent-setting legislation that narrowly passed the Virginia Senate on Tuesday.

Ken Connor at Townhall: With the exception of Catholics and others in the religious community that closely follow such issues, few people took note of the Obama administration’s rhetorical shift from “freedom of religion” to “freedom of worship” in 2010. This seemingly innocuous modification carried with it significant implications

Human Events: ObamaCare’s requirement that every American buy government-mandated coverage will ensure that no religious person or institution will go untrampled in the President’s rush to line Planned Parenthood’s pockets and eliminate all consequences of irresponsible sexual behavior.

Illinois Supreme Court accepts brief filed by ADF, allied attorneys in defense of parental notification law

Politico: House Republicans asked the Congressional Research Service to look into it, and now they’re blasting out the answer they got. According to the research service, insurers and employers that do not comply with the contraception coverage rule could face federal fines of $100 per day per employee.

NY Daily News: After four decades of death threats, picket lines and evictions, a leading women’s health crusader is set to open one of the state’s largest, licensed abortion clinics this week in southeast Queens.

News Advance: The future of two abortion-related bills already passed by the House of Delegates hangs in the balance today in the Republican-controlled Virginia Senate.

MacLeans.ca: For the benefit of the reporters seated in front of him and the audience beyond the television cameras, Stephen Woodworth repeated his mantra several times. “Don’t accept any law,” he said, “that says some human beings are not human beings.”