FrEe LaTeSt UpDaTe

LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report
Thursday, October 2, 2008

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

Today's Headlines

• New Web Site Falsely Claims Obama Pro-Life on Abortion, Ignores Record
• Palin Reaffirms Pro-Life Views on Abortion, Won't Use Morning After Pill
• Nonpartisan Group Labels Obama's Stem Cell Research Ads Misleading
• Planned Parenthood Runs False Ad Attacking Palin on Rape Kit Charge
• Catholic Leader Says Nicholas Cafardi Wrong on Obama, Abortion
• Cardinal Justin Rigali Urges Catholics to Be Actively Pro-Life
• Pro-Life Students Prepare for Day of Silent Solidarity
• Sandra Bernhard Loses Gig After Attacking Palin on Abortion, Rape
• California Parental Notification Gets Ad From Eduardo Verastegui
• Schwarzenegger Signs Bill That Will Cause Deaths of Patients
• Care Net Kicks Off 25th Pregnancy Center Conference
• Florida Gov. Crist Picks Pro-Life Supreme Court Judges
• New York Catholic Bishops: Make Pro-Life Issues First Priority

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Is a Brave New World Upon Us?

Constitutional attorney and pro-life leader Thomas A. Glessner provides a provocative discussion regarding this question in light of the direction this nation has taken since the advent of Roe v. Wade. This book is perfect for small discussion groups and Sunday School classes. To order The Emerging Brave New World go to www.Amazon.com.

New Web Site Falsely Claims Barack Obama Pro-Life on Abortion, Ignores Record
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A new web site by the Matthew 25 Network, a Democratic political action committee supporting Barack Obama, falsely calls Barack Obama pro-life. The "Pro-Life, Pro-Obama" web site features a list of what Obama would do as president and almost completely ignores abortion. "An Obama administration will do more than a McCain administration for the cause of life, by drastically reducing abortions through giving women and families the support and the tools they need to choose life," the web site claims. The web site features a host of votes Obama cast and initiatives the pro-abortion candidate supports to help pregnant women. They range from paid maternity leave and sick leave to affordable daycare to supporting expanded health care. However, discussion of key legislation that directly affects abortion, and has resulted in their reduction, is conspicuously absent. There is no mention of Obama's position favor of keeping Roe v. Wade legal, which has resulted in 50 million abortions over the last 35 years. There is no mention of his votes against bills in the Illinois legislature to provide medical care for infants who survive botched abortions. The site fails to mention his support of the so-called Freedom of Choice Act, a bill that would make unlimited abortions throughout pregnancy the national law and overturn every pro-life law in all 50 states, including bans on tax-funded abortions and partial-birth abortions. Full story at LifeNews.com

Sarah Palin Reaffirms Pro-Life Views on Abortion, Won't Use Morning After Pill
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Governor Sarah Palin reaffirmed her pro-life views against abortion in an interview on Monday with Katie Couric of CBS News. Palin has been criticized for her answers in recent interviews but reassured pro-life voters with her clear statements that abortion is wrong. “I am pro-life. And I'm unapologetic in my position that I am pro-life,” said during the discussion with the pro-abortion news anchor. “I would also like to see a culture of life in this country.” “And I understand there are good people on both sides of the abortion debate. In fact, good people in my own family have differing views on abortion, and when it should be allowed” so “I respect people's opinions on this,” the governor said. Asked about her stance on whether abortion should be allowed in cases of rape and incest, the Alaska governor said she would encourage women victimized by rape to choose life for htheir babies. “I would counsel to choose life,” she said. “But I would also like to take it one step further. Not just saying I am pro-life and I want fewer and fewer abortions in this country, but I want them, those women who find themselves in circumstances that are absolutely less than ideal, for them to be supported, and adoptions made easier.” Full story at LifeNews.com.

Pro-Life Checks from a Pro-Life Company – Save 29%

Do your checks save lives? Make an impact with the new Pro-Life Checks from Heritage House. Featuring 8 new designs. Order at http://www.prolifechecks.com or call 1-877-472-0907. Use coupon FIRST for additional discounts.

Planned Parenthood Runs False Ad Attacking Palin on Bogus Rape Kit Charge

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Planned Parenthood is running a new television commercial that makes the now-disproved charge that John McCain running mate Sarah Palin forced rape victims to pay for rape kits. The charge picked up mainstream media steam in previous weeks but has been rebutted as completely false. The ad features a woman named Gretchen who appears to be a rape victim and she tells the audience "I just didn't think it would happen to me." "Under Mayor Sarah Palin, women like Gretchen were forced to pay up to $1,200 for the emergency exams used to prosecute their attackers," the Planned Parenthood ad claims. The problem with the Planned Parenthood ad is that Governor Palin never instituted the kind of policy the abortion business claims. Planned Parenthood cites a September 22 CNN article to justify its claim that Palin's policy was to charge women for the kits, but CNN indicates otherwise. "Interviews and a review of records turned up no evidence that Palin knew that rape victims were being charged in her town," CNN reported. As governor, Palin approved a funding increase for domestic violence shelters -- giving them an extra $266,200 -- and reauthorized a Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. Meanwhile, columnist Warner Todd Huston rebuts the false claim in a recent article and notes the charge "stems from a May 22, 2000 article in the local Wasilla paper The Frontiersman and has been spun from a comment made by the Wasilla Police Chief. This comment was somehow made into a Sarah Palin policy." Full story at LifeNews.com.

Cardinal Justin Rigali Urges Catholics to Be Actively Pro-Life, Oppose Abortion Bill
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia has released a statement to mark Respect Life Sunday this weekend. The head of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops also hopes Catholics will actively oppose a bill that would overturn pro-life laws nationwide. He urged Catholics "to help build a culture in which every human life without exception is respected and defended." "Let us rededicate ourselves to defending the basic rights of those who are weakest and most marginalized: the poor, the homeless, the innocent unborn, and the frail and elderly who need our respect and our assistance," he said. Cardinal Rigali says there is good news for the pro-life movement on the eve of the national presidential election. He cited encouraging trends that "most Americans favor banning all abortion or permitting it only in very rare cases," and that the U.S. abortion rate declined 26 percent between 1989 and 2004, with a 58 percent decline among girls under 18. He also addressed the threat posed by "FOCA" -- the so-called Freedom of Choice Act, a Congressional bill Barack Obama has said he would make signing his first presidential act. The measure would make the unlimited abortions allowed under Roe v. Wade the national law and overturn every pro-life law nationwide -- from bans on taxpayer funding of abortions and partial-birth abortion bans to parental involvement laws and informed consent measures. Full story at LifeNews.com

Sandra Bernhard Loses Gig After Attacking Palin on Abortion, Rape Comments
Boston, MA (LifeNews.com) -- Comedian Sandra Bernhard has lost her slot as a keynote speaker for a women's shelter in Massachusetts after attacking vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin on abortion. In a monologue criticizing the Alaska governor, Bernhard made crude comments about rape that cost her the gig. The comments came in a one-woman stand up show Bernhard did last month in Washington, D.C.. During the event, Bernhard said Palin would be "gang-raped by my big black brothers" and the comments came in a diatribe against Palin's pro-life views. Bernhard was supposed to be a featured speaker at the October 16 event "Funny Women ... Serious Business" put on by the Boston-based Rosie's Place, a domestic violence shelter for women. Public relations director Leemarie Mosca told AP about the cancellation and said the comments were offensive to many of the victims the shelter helps as well as its staff and volunteers. "In light of our mission, we don't think violence against women is a laughing matter," she said. Full story at LifeNews.com

California Parental Notification on Abortion Gets Ad From Eduardo Verastegui
Sacramento, CA (LifeNews.com) -- Popular Hispanic actor Eduardo Verastegui is weighing in again on the abortion debate just days after he made a video criticizing Barack Obama for his pro-abortion position. In a new video clip, the Bella actor endorses the parental notification measure that will appear on the California ballot next month. Verastegui is featured in a Yes on Proposition 4 television ad unveiled by the campaign today. In the 90-second ad, Verastegui says family involvement is the best way to ensure that a girl gets the best medical care and understands all her options. "In California, a girl younger than 18 cannot get a tan at a tanning salon, she cannot get her ears pierced, she cannot be provided an aspirin by the school nurse without the consent of her parents," Verastegui says. "Yet a doctor can perform a chemical or surgical abortion on such a girl without having to tell some member of her family." Full story at LifeNews.com

Schwarzenegger Signs Bill That Will Cause Deaths of Patients Via Dehydration
Sacramento, CA (LifeNews.com) -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is drawing condemnation from pro-life advocates who say he was wrong to sign a bill that puts vulnerable patients at risks and has physicians promoting suicide. The measure didn't legalize assisted suicide but contained suicide-promoting provisions pro-life groups opposed. AB 2747 originally had the purpose of legalizing assisted suicide but was amended in committee to urge doctors to inform patients how they can legally end their lives. Brian Johnston, the head of the California Pro-Life Council and someone who has served on panels helping the elderly, condemned the governor. He tells LifeNews.com the measure Schwarzenegger signed will result in the deaths of thousands of patients. "I've been in countless California nursing homes as both a California Commissioner on Aging and on the State's Board of Examiners of Nursing Homes," he said. "This bill will encourage tens of thousands of unheralded, quiet deaths by dehydration." ACTION: Contact Governor Schwarzenegger and express your opposition by calling 916-445-2841 or faxing 916-558-3160. Full story at LifeNews.com

Where Do the Presidential Candidates Stand?

Keeping track of the candidates can be hard—that's why National Right to Life has put together this comparison of the candidates on the issue of abortion in both Spanish and English. Download and copy, or buy online!

Care Net Kicks Off 25th Pregnancy Center Conference to Help Pregnant Women
Atlanta, GA (LifeNews.com) -- While some political candidates talk about the need to reduce abortions, the participants at the 25th annual Care Net conference are actually doing something about it. The conference features staff and volunteers from thousands of centers across the country that help pregnant women every day. The conference kicked off in Atlanta on Wednesday and the event will attract more than 1,400 pregnancy center staff, volunteers, and friends and feature more than 125 workshops, a host of powerful speakers, worship, and fellowship opportunities. To many, the Care Net conference is like a refilling station with spiritual refreshment for those who work and volunteer in pregnancy centers across North America. Care Net President Melinda Delahoyde will deliver a keynote address to attendees focused on two main themes: looking back with respect on the past by honoring those who have served in the movement and looking ahead with hope by casting a vision for uniting the passion of pregnancy centers with operational excellence. Full story at LifeNews.com

Florida Abortion Advocates Upset Crist Picks Pro-Life Supreme Court Judges
Tallahassee, FL (LifeNews.com) -- Abortion advocates in Florida are upset with Governor Charlie Crist, who has selected two judges friendly to the pro-life movement for the Florida Supreme Court. Crist named conservative appellate judge Ricky Polston to the court today and former Rep. Charles Canady earlier. Polston received his law degree from Florida State University law school and was appointed in 2000 to the First District Court of Appeal. He is an elder at a local Christian church. His comments to the Miami Herald newspaper indicate his judicial philosophy is one pro-life advocates can support -- "I will not want to legislate from the bench." In September, Crist named pro-life champion Charles Canady, a Second District Court of Appeal judge, to the state Supreme Court. Canady is a former Florida congressman who was the lead sponsor of the partial-birth abortion ban and worked closely with the pro-life community. Full story at LifeNews.com

New York Catholic Bishops: Make Pro-Life Issues First Priority When Voting
Albany, NY (LifeNews.com) -- The Catholic bishops of New York have released a new statement urging voters to make pro-life issues their first priority when voting. They say the destruction of 50 million children and the injury of countless millions of women eclipses any other political issue. Edward Cardinal Egan and the Catholic Bishops of New York issued the appeal in statement entitled Our Cherished Right, Our Solemn Duty. The bishops warn against voting solely out of party loyalty or self interest and say voters should be guided by the pro-life teachings of the Catholic Church. While noting that there are many issues of great importance facing the country, the protection of human life rises above all other issues, the bishops said. "We Catholics are called to look at politics as we are called to look at everything – through the lens of our faith," they wrote. "It is the rare candidate who will agree with the Church on every issue. But as the U.S. Bishops’ recent document Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship makes clear, not every issue is of equal moral gravity," they explain. "The inalienable right to life of every innocent human person outweighs other concerns where Catholics may use prudential judgment, such as how best to meet the needs of the poor or to increase access to health care for all," they add. Full story at LifeNews.com

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