First Abortion-free State May Be Mississippi

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant signed House Bill HB 1390 Monday, requiring that all abortion clinic physicians be board-certified in obstetrics and gynecology, and have hospital admitting privileges, but the only abortion clinic in the state doesn't meet the requirements, the owner says.

For background, read Pro-life Legislation Floods America and also read Personhood Loses in Mississippi



UPDATE 7/13/12: Judge allows Miss. abortion clinic to remain open during its challenge of new law

-- From "Mississippi law may shut sole abortion clinic" By Robbie Ward, Reuters 4/16/12

Diane Derzis, the owner of Jackson Women's Health Organization, the state's only abortion-providing clinic, has said the law could shut down her business.

Just one of the three physicians who provide abortions at her clinic has admitting privileges, which allow doctors to refer patients to a specific hospital if further treatment is needed.

Derzis said area hospitals are reluctant to grant admitting privileges to physicians who perform abortions.

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From "Miss. governor signs abortion law" by MJ Lee, Politico 4/16/12

“I believe that all human life is precious, and as governor, I will work to ensure that the lives of the born and unborn are protected in Mississippi,” Bryant said in a statement after signing the legislation.

Derzis had accused Republicans of “hiding behind words like ‘safety’ and ‘women’s health’” while attempting to shutter her facility, and she also vowed to sue the state of Mississippi if the doctors at her clinic were unable to obtain admitting privileges. She could not be reached for comment on Monday.

Planned Parenthood was quick to condemn the new law. “Make no mistake, this law is based on a political agenda, not medical necessity,” Cecile Richards, the group’s president, said in a statement. “In yet another shortsighted attempt to ban abortion in Mississippi, Governor Bryant and lawmakers are putting their ideology above the health and safety of Mississippi women. This law is bad policy and endangers women’s health.”

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Mississippi adopts new abortion restrictions" by Richard Fausset, Los Angeles Times 4/17/12

The bill takes effect July 1. Derzis has said she will consider suing the state to suspend the law if her doctors are unable to comply.

Wayne Slocum, vice chairman of the Mississippi section of the American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecology, said doctors in private practice would still be able to perform elective abortions in the state.

However, Derzis' clinic is probably the only place where a woman can have the procedure, Slocum said. Other doctors object for moral reasons, or they are afraid of pressure from antiabortion groups.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Miss. gov signs new limits on abortion providers" by Emily Wagster Pettus, Business Week 4/17/12

"Today you see the first step in a movement, I believe, to do what we campaigned on -- to say we're going to try to end abortion in Mississippi," Bryant said after signing the bill.

However, it's not clear that the new law will accomplish that goal. Doctors who do fewer than 10 abortions a month, or fewer than 100 a year, aren't required to have their offices regulated as abortion facilities.

The Mississippi State Department of Health website shows 2,297 abortions, listed as "induced terminations," were performed in the state in 2010, the most recent year for which statistics were available. Of that number, 2,251 were performed on Mississippi residents. The site does not specify how many were done at the clinic and how many in other offices or hospitals.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Mississippi Genius: Non-Abortion Ban May Ban Abortions" by Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com 4/17/12

Terri Herring of Pro-Life Mississippi talked with LifeNews about the genius behind the legislation and says botched abortions were what drove out the second-to-last abortion facility.

“The second to the last abortion clinic on Briarwood Drive in Jackson closed when the abortionist botched an abortion that led to the death of a young woman in Alabama,” Herring says. “Dr. Booker, the former abortionist at this last abortion clinic lost a recent medical malpractice lawsuit. The woman sued him after almost dying from abortion related injuries. She won the case and was awarded a judgment of over $600,000 that she is unable to collect because neither Booker nor the clinic carried any insurance.”

“Now we have out of state doctors who fly in and fly out without rendering proper care to Mississippi women. They do not currently have admitting privileges, but beginning on July 1st they must qualify or stop performing abortions,” Herring said.

“Abortion clinics regularly get by with lower standards of care because most physicians uphold their Hippocratic oath and refuse to perform abortions. Those who perform abortions are often not well qualified or held to the same standards as the rest of the medical community,” she said.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Pro-life Legislation Floods America

The national legislative landscape is leaning pro-life, according to NARAL Pro-Choice America. It claims lawmakers are debating 351 anti-abortion bills this year, compared to 174 in 2010.

For background, read America Turns Against Abortion on Demand, as seen when 'Life' Won the 2010 Election, and also read about state pro-life laws immediately thereafter.

Not surprisingly, Media See Pro-lifers Gaining on Abortionists

It is clear that States' Abortion Laws Reflect Growing Public Abhorrence

UPDATE 4/15/12: 2012 maintains pace of state abortion restrictions

UPDATE 1/8/12: Abortionists say 2011 was banner year for pro-life legislation

UPDATE 5/31/11: San Francisco journalist struggles to explain pro-life America

UPDATE 5/10/11: Liberal NPR outlines pro-life progress across America

UPDATE 4/16/11: Abortionists Lament Pro-life Fury in States

-- From "Wave of anti-abortion bills advance in the states" by David Crary, Associated Press 3/24/11

Dozens of bills are advancing through statehouses nationwide that would put an array of new obstacles -- legal, financial and psychological -- in the paths of women seeking abortions.

The tactics vary: mandatory sonograms and anti-abortion counseling, sweeping limits on insurance coverage, bans on abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. To abortion-rights activists, they add up to the biggest political threat since the Roe v. Wade decision of 1973 that legalized abortion nationwide.

What's different this year is not the raw number of anti-abortion bills, but the fact that many of the toughest, most substantive measures have a good chance of passage due to gains by conservative Republicans in last year's legislative and gubernatorial elections. On Tuesday, South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard signed into law a bill that would impose a longest-in-the-nation waiting period of three days before women could have an abortion -- and also require them to undergo counseling at pregnancy help centers that discourage abortions.

Of the various types of bills, the insurance bans could have the broadest impact, according to some abortion-rights activists.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Lawmakers See Surge of Anti-Abortion Bills" posted at KOLR/KSFX TV Springfield, MO 3/25/11

Felecia Epps, a law professor at the UALR Bowen School of Law, says part of the increase in anti-abortion legislation is due to the freshly-elected crop of conservative lawmakers.

Recent Supreme Court rulings are another factor, Epps says, rulings that fail to define what barriers states can put on legal abortions.

"(For example) What type of restrictions are really going to be a burden, and what can the state do in terms of informing, having waiting periods, legitimately," Epps said. "I think what's happening is states are putting more obstacles out there, so there's more things a woman would have to go through in seeking an abortion."

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Abortion battles spring up nationwide as states test the limits of Roe v. Wade" by Stephanie Condon, CBS News 3/21/11

The anti-abortion rights movement last year found itself in a set of circumstances that have all worked to advance their agenda. Most importantly, states across the country elected new, emboldened conservative politicians. Hundreds of anti-abortion rights legislators and a net of 12 new anti-abortion rights governors were elected, according to Americans United for Life.

Meanwhile, a set of news-making events in the past year -- such as the passage of health care reform and video of the conservative "sting" on Planned Parenthood -- galvanized conservative activists. National leaders are more vocal than ever on the issue. And a possibly sympathetic swing vote now sits in the Supreme Court.

Debates about abortion rights often take place on the national political stage, but the bulk of the work happens in Columbus, Des Moines, Topeka and other state capitals across the country. "Ninety-five percent of what happens in any sort of laws or regulations on abortion happens at the state level," McConchie said.

Several of the state bills currently pending can be judged in the context of the 1992 Supreme Court decision Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which established that a state has an interest in the life of a fetus. Under that premise, the state can, for the most part, ban abortion at the point a fetus becomes "viable" (meaning it could survive outside of the womb). Many states now prohibit abortion, with certain exceptions, at the point of "viability," and several specifically ban abortion at either 24 weeks or the third trimester, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive health research center.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Click headlines below for related articles:

Louisiana: Restricting Abortion After 20 Weeks

First Abortion-free State May Be Mississippi

Arizona Outlaws Abortion after 20 Weeks, Cutting Time to Kill Disabled Unborn

Virginia Law Requires Ultrasound Before Abortion

Michigan to Ban Partial-birth Abortion

New Ohio Law Bans Late-term Abortions

Missouri Dem. Gov. Restricts Abortion after 20 Weeks

Abortions Restricted via Texas Sonogram Law

Abortion Viability Restriction Likely in Ohio

Most Abortion Clinics to Close in Virginia

South Dakota Law Mandates Pro-life Counseling Pre-Abortion

Arizona Abortion Ban for Race/Gender Selection

'Late-Term' Abortion Redefined: Fetal Pain

Abortion Fetal Pain Bill Passes Iowa House

Abortion 'Heartbeat' Bill Moves in Ohio House

Tea Party Christians Dominate Florida, Target Abortion

Ohio GOP (with Tea Party Power) Challenge Roe v. Wade

Several Pro-life Bills Considered in Texas

Illinois Abortion Safety Law Moves in House

Abortion Eliminated in Georgia: Senate Bill

Outlawing On-line Abortion: Nebraska, Iowa

Defund Abortionists, Say All Pres. Candidates

UPDATE graph 2012:

Planned Parenthood Expanding Abortion Emphasis

Currently, abortions account for 95% of Planned Parenthood's business, but that's not enough, as the organization initiates a new nationwide push on abortion. One local PP chapter in Texas is pulling out of the affiliation because they never have, and never will perform abortions.

-- From "Local Planned Parenthood chapter drops affiliation" by Sara Foley, Corpus Christi Caller Times 12/20/10

The local chapter of Planned Parenthood will drop its affiliation with the national organization and take a new name . . . Family Planning of the Coastal Bend, CEO Amanda Stukenberg said.

Planned Parenthood wanted to standardize its operations at all of its agencies nationwide, Stukenberg said.

That included a new requirement for all affiliates to perform abortions, something the Coastal Bend office didn’t see as necessary because of abortion services offered by local doctors, Stukenberg said.

The Coastal Bend office focuses on education and sexual health, including an expanded focus on men’s health, Stukenberg said.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Planned Parenthood Chapter Quits, Forced by National to Do Abortions" by Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com 12/21/10

The requirement to do abortions is not a surprise given the resignation of another Texas Planned Parenthood official last year. Abby Johnson quit her job as the director of the Planned Parenthood in Bryan/College Station after participating in an abortion prompted her to change her mind and become pro-life.

She has said her Planned Parenthood facility also faced pressure to do abortions — including having a quota of abortions she was required to meet.

“Abortion is the most lucrative part of Planned Parenthood’s operations,” [Johnson] said. “Even though they’re two separate corporations, all of the money goes into one pot. With the family planning corporation really suffering, they depend on the abortion corporation to balance their budget, help get them out of the hole and help make income for the company.”

. . . prenatal care and adoption referrals resulted for only 5 percent of the total services provided to women in 2007 while abortions accounted for 95 percent of the services that year, according to Planned Parenthood’s own figures.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Planned Parenthood plans to expand abortion services nationwide" by Amanda Carey, The Daily Caller 12/23/10

Abortion may soon be more readily available than ever before, thanks to a new requirement from Planned Parenthood that more of its centers nationwide offer the service.

When contacted by The Daily Caller, Lisa David, senior vice president of Health Services Support for Planned Parenthood, said that the organization is implementing a broad “new patient services initiative.”

She went on to say that abortion services will be offered in at least one clinic per affiliate. However, a waiver may be obtained in the case of “unique local circumstances.”

. . . a spokesperson for the [pro-life] Family Research Council . . . [said,] “We’ve been hearing rhetoric lately that abortion should be safe, legal and rare, but [with this requirement] we can see the writing on the wall. The bottom line is there is no place in the U.S. where a woman would have difficulty getting abortion if they want to.”

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Planned Parenthood Confirms Nationwide Abortion Expansion" by Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com 12/23/10

The new mandate also calls for more emphasis on the non-abortion services of Planned Parenthood — used as method of attracting more abortion customers and painting a picture of Planned Parenthood as something other than an abortion business.

[Lisa] David also confirmed another LifeNews.com report — that the national Planned Parenthood abortion business plans to expand into the territory of offering sexual assault examinations in order to boost its abortion business. The news outlet [The DC] said Planned Parenthood “will expand immediate access to testing for HIV and sexually transmitted infections.”

Jim Sedlack of Stop Planned Parenthood says Planned Parenthood is the last place women victimized by sexual assault or abuse should turn since the abortion business has a history of covering up such cases by doing abortions and failing to report them to authorities.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Click headlines below to read previous articles:

Liberals Try to Increase Abortion Federal Funding

Abortion Industry Dead, Were it not for Taxpayer Support

Pro-life Congress: De-Fund Abortion Industry

Planned Parenthood's Sexual Assault on Kids

Taxpayers Funding Kids' Sex Guides, Abortion

Planned Parenthood Teaches Sex Acts in Iowa School

Planned Parenthood Found Bilking Medicaid

On-line Abortions by Planned Parenthood Going Nationwide

Designer Babies Available Upon Request

A US clinic has sparked controversy by offering would-be parents the chance to select traits like the eye and hair colour of their offspring.

UPDATE 3/15/15: Secret Designer Babies via Gene-editing Science

For background, read Designer Baby Production Now Science-Reality

UPDATE 8/27/09: Designer Babies with Three Biological Parents

-- From "Designer baby row over US clinic" BBC News 3/2/09

The LA Fertility Institutes run by Dr Jeff Steinberg, a pioneer of IVF in the 1970s, expects a trait-selected baby to be born next year.

His clinic also offers sex selection.

UK fertility experts are angered that the service will distract attention from how the same technology can protect against inherited disease.

The science is based on a lab technique called preimplantation genetic diagnosis, or PGD.

This involves testing a cell taken from a very early embryo before it is put into the mother's womb.

Doctors then select an embryo free from rogue genes - or in this case an embryo with the desired physical traits such as blonde hair and blue eyes - to continue the pregnancy, and discard any others.

Dr Steinberg said couples might seek to use the clinic's services for both medical and cosmetic reasons.

For example, a couple might want to have a baby with a darker complexion to help guard against a skin cancer if they already had a child who had developed a melanoma. But others might just want a boy with blonde hair.

Josephine Quintavalle of Comment on Reproductive Ethics [said,] “ This is the inevitable slippery slope of a fertility process which results in many more embryos being created than can be implanted ”

To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.

Switzerland: Suicide Clinic Being Evicted from Building

Neighbor says "We call it the house of horrors. This is meant to be a residential flat but some days you'd think it was a morgue."

From "Neighbor's Complaints Succeed in Evicting Dignitas from Residence" by Elizabeth O'Brien, posted 7/17/07 at Lifesite.org

The Swiss assisted-suicide group Dignitas has been evicted from its operation site in a suburban area due to growing complaints from neighbors.

For nine years the assisted-suicide clinic at Gertrudstrasse 84 received people who wanted to kill themselves, Spiegel News reports. The organization took up two apartments of the apartment block; but recently the owner cancelled their lease because residents were horrified by the stream of body bags that were carried out on the elevator and are frustrated by the police and ambulances that constantly come to the door.

The landlady has given Dignitas until September to find a new residence. The eviction is especially significant, reports Spiegel, because the landlady is a cousin of Ludwig Minelli, the head and primary launcher of Dignitas.

55-year old resident Gloria Sonny started the eviction movement, gathering signatures to petition against Dignitas. She told Germany's Süddeutsche Zeitung that the place had become a "house of death." Last year Sonny was also quoted in UK's Telegraph, "We call it the 'House of Horrors'. This is meant to be a residential flat but some days you'd think it was a morgue."

She also noted that not all of the people who came with a one-way ticket were old. She said, "The look in their eyes haunts me, particularly if they are young."

Other residents complained that their children were constantly exposed to the dying and dead bodies. One woman was quoted in the Guardian Unlimited, saying that she changed her household chores in order not to "bump into a corpse while I'm taking out the rubbish."

Read the rest of this article.