FrEe LaTeSt UpDaTe

LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report
Saturday, October 4, 2008

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

Today's Headlines

• Poll: Palin Bests Biden in Debate Expectations Game, More Likable
• Misleading Voters on Abortion: Selling Obama as a Pro-Life Candidate
• Pro-Life Nurse Blasts American Nurses Association for Obama Site
• Sandra Bernhard Gripes About Lost Gig Over Palin Attack on Abortion
• Franciscan U Responds to Nicholas Cafardi Backing Obama
• Pope Benedict Renews Catholic Opposition to Birth Control
• Poll: Young Evangelicals Oppose Abortion Like Older Voters
• British High Court Hears Debbie Purdy's Assisted Suicide Case
• Hearing Date for Abortion Practitioner George Tiller Won't Change
• Northern Ireland Health Dept Accused of Promoting Abortion
• Chile President Bachelet Concerns Pro-Lifers With UN Speech

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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.

Poll: Sarah Palin Bests Joe Biden in Debate Expectations Game, More Likable
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Americans will make up their minds over the next few days how the vice-presidential candidates fared in the Thursday night debate. But, the instant polls from mainstream media outlets showed pro-life Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin both beat the expectations game and came across to Americans as more likable. A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey only of Americans who watched the debate found 51 percent thought pro-abortion candidate Joe Biden did the best job while 36 percent said Governor Palin did. However, respondents said Palin was more likable by a 54 to 36 percentage point margin. Both candidates beat expectations according to the CNN poll, with Palin beating those of 84 percent of debate viewers and 64 percent saying Biden beat expectations. The poll also found an increase in the number of Americans who say Palin is qualified to be president. A CBS News and Knowledge Networks poll found Americans seem to have a better view of Palin than Biden after the debate. Fifty-three percent now have a more favorable image of Biden while 42 percent said their view didn't change; that compares with 55 percent who say they now have a better view of Palin compared with only 30 percent who say it didn't change. Full story at LifeNews.com

Misleading Voters on Abortion: Selling Barack Obama as a Pro-Life Candidate
by Deal Hudson
Just when this presidential election could not get any stranger, David Brody reports the launching of a "Pro-Life Pro-Obama" Web site. When is the "John McCain, Pacifist" Web site going to show up? The effort to sell Obama as a pro-life candidate is being spearheaded by a group called the Matthew 25 Network, a PAC created by former Democratic political operative Mara Vanderslice. Vanderslice was director of religious outreach for the Kerry campaign in 2004 but was "silenced" when Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, publicized her connection with various far-left political groups. The "Pro-Life Pro-Obama" Web site confirms what I wrote yesterday: Doug Kmiec has become the Catholic outreach of the Obama campaign. The first thing you notice when the site opens is a prominent "Welcome from Doug Kmiec." Doug Johnson, legislative director of National Right to Life, has already written a devastating critique of Obama's abortion reduction promises. But even Kmiec's claims about Obama's concern for prenatal care don't comport with the facts. Steven Ertelt at LifeNews.com reported two days ago that Obama voted against an amendment extending a health care program to cover prenatal care. Full story at LifeNews.com.

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Sandra Bernhard Gripes About Lost Gig Over Palin Attack on Abortion, Rape

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Comedian Sandra Bernhard isn't laughing about a woman's shelter in Boston canceling her speaking engagement over an attack she made on Sarah Palin. Bernhard made a crude remark about Palin becoming a victim of rape but she insists her comments were only about abortion and taken out of context. Bernhard's initial 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. The Boston-based Rosie's Place, a domestic violence shelter for women, had planned to feature the comedian at an October 16 fundraising event but canceled. Now, Bernhard says her comments were taken out of context and that she had meant them as an attack on Palin's pro-life views, including opposing abortion in the very rare cases of rape or incest. She tells the Associated Press they were intended to ask a question of what Palin would do if she found herself sexually assaulted by black men and became pregnant. Full story at LifeNews.com.

Pope Benedict Renews Catholic Opposition to Birth Control, Contraception
The Vatican (LifeNews.com) -- Pope Benedict XVI renewed the position of the Catholic Church on Friday against the use of birth control and contraception. The position is part of the panoply of Catholic pro-life teachings that also include opposition to abortion, euthanasia and bioethics practices like human cloning and embryonic research. The pontiff's comments came on the 40th anniversary of the encyclical that originally announced the comprehensive teaching. Pope Benedict called the original encyclical "an important document which addresses one of the essential aspects of the marital vocation and of the specific path of holiness that follows from it." He said the use of birth control "means negating the intimate truth of conjugal love, with which the divine gift (of life) is communicated." The pope appeared to acknowledge dissident Catholics who depart from the practice but did not back down in supporting the Catholic Church's themes. Full story at LifeNews.com

British High Court Hears Debbie Purdy's Assisted Suicide Case, No Ruling Yet
London, England (LifeNews.com) -- The British High Court this week heard the case of a woman who wants prosecutors to reveal when they will charge someone with participating in an assisted suicide. Debbie Purdy wants to travel to Switzerland to kill herself at a euthanasia center and doesn't want her family charged when they return. Purdy has multiple sclerosis and she plans to go to a Dignitas euthanasia facility in Switzerland to kill herself as the condition worsens. Her lawyers told the high court in London that her right to respect for her personal and family life, as guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights, was not being honored by the director of public prosecutions (DPP). Purdy's attorneys want the director, Sir Ken Macdonald, to spell out what would happen in her case. Macdonald refused to disclose his practices and Purdy filed a lawsuit. The DPP says the law which punishes those who assist suicide is clear enough. Full story at LifeNews.com

Kansas Judge: Hearing Date for Abortion Practitioner George Tiller Won't Change
Wichita, KS (LifeNews.com) -- A Kansas judge has ruled that the November date for a hearing in the case accusing late-term abortion practitioner George Tiller of illegal abortions won't change. Judge Clark Owens has ruled that the scheduled November 17 hearing will stay on that date despite Tiller's attorneys requesting a delay. Tiller's attorneys submitted legal papers on September 15 accusing former Attorney General Phill Kline of misconduct. Kline denies any wrongdoing and Judge Owens denied the request to delay the hearing. Former attorney general Paul Morrison filed the charges against Tiller, saying he violated state law requiring a second physician to sign off on the validity of the late-term abortions. The charges are based on abortion records obtained by Kline with the permission and oversight of the Kansas Supreme Court. Tiller's attorneys made the misconduct claims in an attempt to discredit the records forming the basis for the charges. Despite the decision, Kansans for Life director Mary Kay Culp tells LifeNews.com she wishes state attorneys had more time to respond to the allegations. Full story at LifeNews.com

Northern Ireland Health Dept Accused of Promoting Abortion, Defying Law
London, England (LifeNews.com) -- The Northern Ireland health department stands accused of promoting abortion in defiance of the local law there that prohibits abortions. Northern Ireland has been a subject of considerable debate as MPs in the British Parliament consider extending the abortion law there. Abortion is illegal in Northern Ireland unless the life of the mother is in danger or the continuation of the pregnancy would cause the woman very serious health issues. John Smeaton, the head of the England-based Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, highlights the problem -- which dates back to July. Then, the Northern Ireland Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety issued a consultation paper on abortion. It suggests that local trusts "must ensure that its patients have access to termination of pregnancy services." Smeaton writes, "At first glance, this seems depressingly par for the course until you reflect on the actual legal situation in the province. You then realize that the text is deeply misleading." 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!

Chile President Bachelet Concerns Pro-Lifers With Pro-Abortion UN Speech
New York, NY (LifeNews.com/CFAM) -- At the United Nations (UN) last week, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet touted support for a Latin American and Caribbean region initiative to “provide better and increased access to reproductive health services.” Though the regional initiative purportedly aims to reduce maternal and child mortality, in UN parlance, “reproductive health services” is practically synonymous with abortion. Bachelet's country is one of the most protective nations toward the unborn child with an explicit constitutional "right to life," which makes her remarks all the more disconcerting for Chilean pro-lifers. Bachelet gave her remarks at a special side event co-sponsored and attended by the heads of state of Finland and Tanzania during the UN High Level Meeting on the Millennium Development Goals that was meant to highlight the health needs of “Mothers, Newborns and Children.” Though the UN has never agreed that the stand-alone term “reproductive health” includes abortion, when the phrase is combined with the word “services,” it is used by pro-abortion advocacy groups to encompass abortion. Full story at LifeNews.com

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