The House Ways and Means Committee approved a bill that would prevent women from using tax benefits for health care to cover the cost of abortions.
-- From "House Panel Votes to Exclude Abortion From Health Tax Breaks" by Richard Rubin, Bloomberg 3/31/11
The 22-14 vote today sends the bill to the full U.S. House of Representatives, which plans to consider the measure before the House leaves Washington on April 15 for its next recess, according to Laena Fallon, a spokeswoman for House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. The committee vote was along party lines, with all 22 panel Republicans voting in favor and all 14 Democrats who were present voting against the measure.
The legislation would bar women from using abortion costs to claim deductions for medical expenses exceeding 7.5 percent of adjusted gross income. They also couldn’t receive tax credits established under last year’s health-care law for insurance if it includes abortion coverage.
The measure doesn’t address the two largest tax breaks for health care. Even if it passes, employers could still deduct the costs of health insurance that covers abortion and employees could receive such coverage without its value counting as taxable income.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "House Panel Passes Bill to Remove Tax Incentives for Abortion" by Nathan Black, Christian Post Reporter 3/31/11
"This legislation will ensure that not only will abortion funding be removed from Obamacare and the District of Columbia, but that the tax credits under Obamacare and tax incentives in current law will no longer create a government incentive to pay for abortions," commented Family Research Council President Tony Perkins.
The measure is a companion bill to the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act," which was sponsored by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.) in an effort to effectively prevent federal funding of abortion.
Though current law bars federal dollars from being used for abortions, Republicans remain unconvinced that tax money will not go toward subsidizing abortions under the new health care law.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Breast Cancer No Concern at Planned Parenthood
Besides contributing to the increase in breast cancer caused by abortion, Planned Parenthood is demanding taxpayer dollars to fund non-existent mammogram services.
For background, read America Hinges on Defunding Planned Parenthood, and also read Planned Parenthood Found Bilking Medicaid
UPDATE 1/1/12: $Billion$ - Nation's Top Abortion Mill $$
UPDATE 2/5/12: Breast Cancer & Abortion = Komen & Planned Parenthood
-- From "Planned Parenthood challenged on purported mammogram claim" by Rob Stein, Washington Post 3/30/11
A conservative activist group seeking to discredit the Planned Parenthood Federation of America released audio tapes Wednesday that it said contradicts claims the organization made that it provides mammograms.
In a news release, the Los Angeles-based group Live Action claimed that “opponents of defunding Planned Parenthood have argued in Congress and elsewhere that the organization provides many vital health care services other than abortion, such as mammograms. Most prominently, Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards recently appeared on The Joy Behar Show to oppose the Pence Amendment to end Planned Parenthood’s taxpayer subsidies, claiming, ‘If this bill ever becomes law, millions of women in this country are gonna lose their healthcare access — not to abortion services — to basic family planning, you know, mammograms.’”
But a Planned Parenthood spokesman denied that the organization claimed to offer mammograms, saying the transcript of the show clearly shows Richards was referring to the overall effect of on women’s health services if the health overhaul legislation was repealed and not specifically the effect of defunding her group.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Planned Parenthood CEO’s Mammogram Claims Are False" by Lila Rose, posted at Big Government 3/30/11
In the wake of undercover evidence revealing Planned Parenthood’s abusive and illegal activity, the America’s biggest abortion business unrolled a massive PR campaign to defend its $363-million-a-year taxpayer subsidies.
Planned Parenthood has been insisting that they provide invaluable health services to “millions” of America women.
We called 27 states total. In none of those states does Planned Parenthood provide mammograms.
This is only the latest in Planned Parenthood’s abusive and deceptive activity. Planned Parenthood claims to provide “pregnancy options” to women, yet over 97% of their services to pregnant women are abortions. The corporation aborts 332,278 unborn boys and girls each year, gives false medical information and manipulative counseling to women, covers up the sexual abuse of young girls, and cooperates with the sexual trafficking and commercial exploitation of children.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
For background, read America Hinges on Defunding Planned Parenthood, and also read Planned Parenthood Found Bilking Medicaid
UPDATE 1/1/12: $Billion$ - Nation's Top Abortion Mill $$
UPDATE 2/5/12: Breast Cancer & Abortion = Komen & Planned Parenthood
-- From "Planned Parenthood challenged on purported mammogram claim" by Rob Stein, Washington Post 3/30/11
A conservative activist group seeking to discredit the Planned Parenthood Federation of America released audio tapes Wednesday that it said contradicts claims the organization made that it provides mammograms.
In a news release, the Los Angeles-based group Live Action claimed that “opponents of defunding Planned Parenthood have argued in Congress and elsewhere that the organization provides many vital health care services other than abortion, such as mammograms. Most prominently, Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards recently appeared on The Joy Behar Show to oppose the Pence Amendment to end Planned Parenthood’s taxpayer subsidies, claiming, ‘If this bill ever becomes law, millions of women in this country are gonna lose their healthcare access — not to abortion services — to basic family planning, you know, mammograms.’”
But a Planned Parenthood spokesman denied that the organization claimed to offer mammograms, saying the transcript of the show clearly shows Richards was referring to the overall effect of on women’s health services if the health overhaul legislation was repealed and not specifically the effect of defunding her group.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Planned Parenthood CEO’s Mammogram Claims Are False" by Lila Rose, posted at Big Government 3/30/11
In the wake of undercover evidence revealing Planned Parenthood’s abusive and illegal activity, the America’s biggest abortion business unrolled a massive PR campaign to defend its $363-million-a-year taxpayer subsidies.
Planned Parenthood has been insisting that they provide invaluable health services to “millions” of America women.
We called 27 states total. In none of those states does Planned Parenthood provide mammograms.
This is only the latest in Planned Parenthood’s abusive and deceptive activity. Planned Parenthood claims to provide “pregnancy options” to women, yet over 97% of their services to pregnant women are abortions. The corporation aborts 332,278 unborn boys and girls each year, gives false medical information and manipulative counseling to women, covers up the sexual abuse of young girls, and cooperates with the sexual trafficking and commercial exploitation of children.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Labels:
abortion,
breast cancer,
Lila Rose,
Planned Parenthood,
taxpayer funding
Abortion 'Heartbeat' Bill Moves in Ohio House
An Ohio state legislative committee has approved the “Heartbeat Bill” that would ban virtually all abortions in the state starting at the 22-day mark when an unborn child’s heart begins beating.
For background, read Ohio GOP Challenge Roe v. Wade
-- From "Ohio House panel OKs anti-abortion Heartbeat Bill" by Julie Carr Smyth, The Associated Press 3/30/11
A state House committee on Wednesday narrowly approved a bill that would impose the strictest abortion limit in the nation, outlawing the procedure at the first detectable fetal heartbeat.
Supporters led by Janet Folger Porter, the director of the Faith2Action network of pro-family groups and a former legislative director of the anti-abortion group Ohio Right to Life, have hoped aloud that the bill sparks a legal challenge to the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling legalizing abortion.
Porter has led a charge to line up a host of high-profile supporters for the bill. They have included Cincinnati physician Jack Willke, a former president of the National Right to Life Committee and founder of the International Right to Life Federation, and Phil Burress, whose Citizens for Community Values led the charge to ban gay marriage, among others.
The Roe v. Wade ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a woman's right to an abortion until fetal viability. A fetus is usually considered viable at 22 to 24 weeks. Fetal heartbeats can be detected as early as six weeks.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Ohio Cmte OKs Heartbeat Bill Banning Abortions, Pro-Lifers Split" by Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com 3/30/11
The bill has divided the pro-life community in Ohio with Porter’s group supporting it along with Paula Westwood, Executive Director of Cincinnati Right to Life, Bobbi Radeck, state director of Concerned Women for America, and Phil Burress, president of Citizens for Community Values, supporting the measure.
But Marshal Pitchford, chairman of the Ohio Right to Life Society, says the legislation is problematic because it would not be upheld in court thanks to the 5-4 pro-abortion majority currently on the Supreme Court. If the bill is declared unconstitutional, Right to Life is concerned current pro-life laws that limit abortions and have saved lives would be overturned as well and result in an increase in the number of abortions.
Some “heartbeat bill” proponents say they followed the advice of several legal scholars when they drafted this bill, including a Cleveland State University professor but Pitchford says the same professor stated that the “heartbeat bill” should not be passed now and prefers to see a post viability ban be passed first or, otherwise, it would be “irresponsible and self-defeating to our cause” and could create additional legal problems for a total ban on abortion.
Gov. John Kasich, who is pro-life, has yet to take a position on the legislation.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
For background, read Ohio GOP Challenge Roe v. Wade
-- From "Ohio House panel OKs anti-abortion Heartbeat Bill" by Julie Carr Smyth, The Associated Press 3/30/11
A state House committee on Wednesday narrowly approved a bill that would impose the strictest abortion limit in the nation, outlawing the procedure at the first detectable fetal heartbeat.
Supporters led by Janet Folger Porter, the director of the Faith2Action network of pro-family groups and a former legislative director of the anti-abortion group Ohio Right to Life, have hoped aloud that the bill sparks a legal challenge to the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling legalizing abortion.
Porter has led a charge to line up a host of high-profile supporters for the bill. They have included Cincinnati physician Jack Willke, a former president of the National Right to Life Committee and founder of the International Right to Life Federation, and Phil Burress, whose Citizens for Community Values led the charge to ban gay marriage, among others.
The Roe v. Wade ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a woman's right to an abortion until fetal viability. A fetus is usually considered viable at 22 to 24 weeks. Fetal heartbeats can be detected as early as six weeks.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Ohio Cmte OKs Heartbeat Bill Banning Abortions, Pro-Lifers Split" by Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com 3/30/11
The bill has divided the pro-life community in Ohio with Porter’s group supporting it along with Paula Westwood, Executive Director of Cincinnati Right to Life, Bobbi Radeck, state director of Concerned Women for America, and Phil Burress, president of Citizens for Community Values, supporting the measure.
But Marshal Pitchford, chairman of the Ohio Right to Life Society, says the legislation is problematic because it would not be upheld in court thanks to the 5-4 pro-abortion majority currently on the Supreme Court. If the bill is declared unconstitutional, Right to Life is concerned current pro-life laws that limit abortions and have saved lives would be overturned as well and result in an increase in the number of abortions.
Some “heartbeat bill” proponents say they followed the advice of several legal scholars when they drafted this bill, including a Cleveland State University professor but Pitchford says the same professor stated that the “heartbeat bill” should not be passed now and prefers to see a post viability ban be passed first or, otherwise, it would be “irresponsible and self-defeating to our cause” and could create additional legal problems for a total ban on abortion.
Gov. John Kasich, who is pro-life, has yet to take a position on the legislation.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Labels:
abortion,
heartbeat,
NARAL,
OH,
pro-life activists,
Roe v. Wade,
viability
Easter Deleted from 'Egg Hunt' in Ohio Town
Local government officials in the rural area of Munson Township have decided that Christianity has no place in the annual Easter Egg Hunt, and so have renamed the event to "The Spring Egg Hunt."
-- From "Should 'Easter' be in 'egg hunt?'" by Dave Summers, WKYC TV-3 Cleveland 3/30/11
Munson homebuilder Enzo Perfetto is putting up the $600 to put the sponsorship in private hands and the Easter back in the egg hunt.
The decision to have the egg hunt privately sponsored is under review by the county prosecutor.
Perfetto says township trustees have already agreed to calling the event an Easter egg hunt as long as taxpayers aren't footing the bill.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Also read Easter Event at White House Avoids Christians, as well as Christ Deleted from Davenport, Iowa
-- From "Should 'Easter' be in 'egg hunt?'" by Dave Summers, WKYC TV-3 Cleveland 3/30/11
Munson homebuilder Enzo Perfetto is putting up the $600 to put the sponsorship in private hands and the Easter back in the egg hunt.
The decision to have the egg hunt privately sponsored is under review by the county prosecutor.
Perfetto says township trustees have already agreed to calling the event an Easter egg hunt as long as taxpayers aren't footing the bill.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Also read Easter Event at White House Avoids Christians, as well as Christ Deleted from Davenport, Iowa
School Vouchers Advance in Indiana & D.C.
House Speaker Boehner's bill will restore the District of Columbia school voucher program that was killed by the previous Democrat Congress.
The school voucher plans for Republican-controlled Indiana will be the most expansive in the nation.
UPDATE 3/26/13: Indiana Supreme Court unanimously upholds law, case closed
UPDATE 8/29/11: Teacher's union battles against Indiana voucher program
UPDATE 4/28/11: Nation's broadest voucher plan to be law in Indiana
UPDATE 3/30/11: House passes DC school voucher bill
-- From "Indiana pushes ahead with school-voucher plan" by The Associated Press 3/29/11
Unlike other [voucher] systems that are limited to lower-income households, children with special needs or those in failing schools, this one would be open to a much larger pool of students, including those whose parents earn up to $60,000 a year.
Students receiving vouchers make up less than 1 percent of school enrollment nationwide, but vouchers have been one of the top priorities among conservatives. Indiana's Republican-controlled General Assembly hopes to deliver soon on its long-sought overhaul of public education now that Democrats who fled the state over anti-union proposals have returned.
Democrats in the House stayed in Illinois for five weeks to deprive the chamber of a quorum because they did not have enough votes to stop the voucher proposal and others they oppose. They came back Monday, claiming victory after winning some concessions from the Republicans on vouchers and other legislation.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "GOP makes due on promised voucher changes" by Lesley Stedman Weidenbener, The Daily News Journal 3/29/11
Students in a family of four [in Indiana] with a household income of $41,348 or less would receive a voucher worth 90 percent of private school tuition. Next school year, students in a family of four with incomes between $41,349 and $62,022 would receive a voucher worth 50 percent of a private school’s tuition. The bill includes some limits on tuition.
Private schools could participate if their students take the state’s standardized ISTEP test, and the schools could maintain their current admissions policies – including test scores and religious preferences.
But the schools could not pick and choose among eligible students. Under an amendment passed Tuesday, they would be required to hold a public lottery if there are more eligible voucher students than there are available spots.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "House likely to approve D.C. school choice bill, but future in limbo" by Ben Pershing, Washington Post 3/30/11
Under the [voucher] program, which began in 2004, low-income District [of Columbia] students are given federal money to help pay for private school tuition. Democrats closed the program to new entrants in 2009. But Boehner’s bill – known as the SOAR Act – would reopen it, offering $20 million annually for five years for new scholarships, along with another $20 million apiece for D.C. charter schools and traditional D.C. public schools.
With the likely backing of nearly every Republican in the House and possibly some Democrats, the bill should clear the chamber with ease. But it faces a steep climb in the Senate, where Democratic leaders are opposed and unlikely to bring it up as a standalone bill.
. . . Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), who will lead the opposition to the bill on the House floor, said the voucher program steers money to a tiny percentage of District students while ignoring the city school system’s broader needs. The Washington Teachers Union opposes the measure for the same reason.
The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said that “a $100 million congressional giveaway to religious and other private schools is not going to help reduce the budget deficit. This wastes taxpayer dollars and undermines the public schools.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Obama team opposes Boehner's school vouchers bill" by Catalina Camia, USA TODAY 3/29/11
The Obama administration "strongly opposes" a bill championed by House Speaker John Boehner . . . [but the] administration's statement stops short of saying President Obama will veto the measure, known as the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act or SOAR.
The House is scheduled to vote Wednesday on the bill by Boehner, R-Ohio, and Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn.
Under this measure, a scholarship program created in 2004 that expired in 2009 would be revived. The bill would provide as much as $12,000 for students in Washington to pay for private school tuition at any high school of their choice. It would also provide federal help to improving public charter schools in the nation's capital.
Boehner had told Politico that he hoped President Obama would demonstrate his commitment to bipartisanship and overhauling the nation's schools by backing the bill. But school vouchers have long been opposed by the National Education Association and their allies in the Democratic Party, who believe they take away resources for public schools.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
The school voucher plans for Republican-controlled Indiana will be the most expansive in the nation.
UPDATE 3/26/13: Indiana Supreme Court unanimously upholds law, case closed
UPDATE 8/29/11: Teacher's union battles against Indiana voucher program
UPDATE 4/28/11: Nation's broadest voucher plan to be law in Indiana
UPDATE 3/30/11: House passes DC school voucher bill
-- From "Indiana pushes ahead with school-voucher plan" by The Associated Press 3/29/11
Unlike other [voucher] systems that are limited to lower-income households, children with special needs or those in failing schools, this one would be open to a much larger pool of students, including those whose parents earn up to $60,000 a year.
Students receiving vouchers make up less than 1 percent of school enrollment nationwide, but vouchers have been one of the top priorities among conservatives. Indiana's Republican-controlled General Assembly hopes to deliver soon on its long-sought overhaul of public education now that Democrats who fled the state over anti-union proposals have returned.
Democrats in the House stayed in Illinois for five weeks to deprive the chamber of a quorum because they did not have enough votes to stop the voucher proposal and others they oppose. They came back Monday, claiming victory after winning some concessions from the Republicans on vouchers and other legislation.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "GOP makes due on promised voucher changes" by Lesley Stedman Weidenbener, The Daily News Journal 3/29/11
Students in a family of four [in Indiana] with a household income of $41,348 or less would receive a voucher worth 90 percent of private school tuition. Next school year, students in a family of four with incomes between $41,349 and $62,022 would receive a voucher worth 50 percent of a private school’s tuition. The bill includes some limits on tuition.
Private schools could participate if their students take the state’s standardized ISTEP test, and the schools could maintain their current admissions policies – including test scores and religious preferences.
But the schools could not pick and choose among eligible students. Under an amendment passed Tuesday, they would be required to hold a public lottery if there are more eligible voucher students than there are available spots.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "House likely to approve D.C. school choice bill, but future in limbo" by Ben Pershing, Washington Post 3/30/11
Under the [voucher] program, which began in 2004, low-income District [of Columbia] students are given federal money to help pay for private school tuition. Democrats closed the program to new entrants in 2009. But Boehner’s bill – known as the SOAR Act – would reopen it, offering $20 million annually for five years for new scholarships, along with another $20 million apiece for D.C. charter schools and traditional D.C. public schools.
With the likely backing of nearly every Republican in the House and possibly some Democrats, the bill should clear the chamber with ease. But it faces a steep climb in the Senate, where Democratic leaders are opposed and unlikely to bring it up as a standalone bill.
. . . Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), who will lead the opposition to the bill on the House floor, said the voucher program steers money to a tiny percentage of District students while ignoring the city school system’s broader needs. The Washington Teachers Union opposes the measure for the same reason.
The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said that “a $100 million congressional giveaway to religious and other private schools is not going to help reduce the budget deficit. This wastes taxpayer dollars and undermines the public schools.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Obama team opposes Boehner's school vouchers bill" by Catalina Camia, USA TODAY 3/29/11
The Obama administration "strongly opposes" a bill championed by House Speaker John Boehner . . . [but the] administration's statement stops short of saying President Obama will veto the measure, known as the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act or SOAR.
The House is scheduled to vote Wednesday on the bill by Boehner, R-Ohio, and Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn.
Under this measure, a scholarship program created in 2004 that expired in 2009 would be revived. The bill would provide as much as $12,000 for students in Washington to pay for private school tuition at any high school of their choice. It would also provide federal help to improving public charter schools in the nation's capital.
Boehner had told Politico that he hoped President Obama would demonstrate his commitment to bipartisanship and overhauling the nation's schools by backing the bill. But school vouchers have long been opposed by the National Education Association and their allies in the Democratic Party, who believe they take away resources for public schools.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Pro-lifers Forbidden Use of Public Library
After a local Wisconsin 40 Days for Life group followed library procedures, like any other citizens, the library cancelled the group's meeting-room reservation, and use of public multi-media equipment, because a pro-life film was planned to be shown.
UPDATE 3/31/11: In response to lawsuit, library yields First Amendment rights to Christians
-- From "Pro-life movie cancelled at Marathon County Public Library" posted at WSAU.com (radio WAUSAU, WI) 3/29/11
Library Director Dan Illick says he sent a letter to the group 40 Days for Life because of the potential for counter-protests. The group now accuses him in censorship and has threatened a lawsuit. Illic has not commented publicly because of the possibility of litigation.
The library was not sponsoring or endorsing the movie, only providing space for the viewing. The library regularly makes its meeting rooms available to community groups.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Anti-abortion group plans lawsuit against county's library director" by Wausau Daily Herald 3/29/11
An attorney for the group said the county’s offer of an alternate facility for the event was unacceptable.
The county’s corporation counsel Scott Corbett wrote that the library was a “limited public forum,” where a government agency is not required to allow persons to engage in every type of speech, according to a 2001 U.S. Supreme Court decision.
Peter Breen, one of the attorneys representing 40 Days for Life, said the group plans to file a civil suit against Illick and Marathon County this afternoon or Wednesday morning.
Breen also said the county offered no proof that disturbances would occur if the film were shown at the library.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
UPDATE 3/31/11: In response to lawsuit, library yields First Amendment rights to Christians
-- From "Pro-life movie cancelled at Marathon County Public Library" posted at WSAU.com (radio WAUSAU, WI) 3/29/11
Library Director Dan Illick says he sent a letter to the group 40 Days for Life because of the potential for counter-protests. The group now accuses him in censorship and has threatened a lawsuit. Illic has not commented publicly because of the possibility of litigation.
The library was not sponsoring or endorsing the movie, only providing space for the viewing. The library regularly makes its meeting rooms available to community groups.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Anti-abortion group plans lawsuit against county's library director" by Wausau Daily Herald 3/29/11
An attorney for the group said the county’s offer of an alternate facility for the event was unacceptable.
The county’s corporation counsel Scott Corbett wrote that the library was a “limited public forum,” where a government agency is not required to allow persons to engage in every type of speech, according to a 2001 U.S. Supreme Court decision.
Peter Breen, one of the attorneys representing 40 Days for Life, said the group plans to file a civil suit against Illick and Marathon County this afternoon or Wednesday morning.
Breen also said the county offered no proof that disturbances would occur if the film were shown at the library.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Marriage Amendment Bill in North Carolina
The state senate will consider legislation to allow voters of North Carolina to decide if marriage shall be defined as a union of one man and one woman in the state's constitution.
UPDATE 8/15/11: Citizens mount signature drives to influence legislators' votes
-- From "NC Voters Want to Vote on Marriage Amendment" by Lincoln Tribune staff reports 3/27/11
A large majority, 64 percent, of North Carolina voters support holding a vote on a constitutional amendment to define marriage as only between a man and a woman, according to a new poll released this week by the Civitas Institute.
. . . Thirty-percent said they oppose it, and 5 percent said they do not know or have no opinion.
"Despite years of being held up in the Legislature by a handful of politicians and special interest groups, the voters of North Carolina strongly support holding a vote on this constitutional amendment," said Civitas Institute President Francis De Luca.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Proposed N.C. amendment targets marriage definition" by Anna Johnson, The Pendulum (Elon University) 3/29/11
The proposal, sponsored by Sen. James Forrester, R-Gaston, has been co-sponsored by Sen. Rick Gunn, R-Alamance, and in previous years never made it out of committee. But opponents of the bill believe with Republican control of the general assembly it could make it to the ballot.
North Carolina is the only southern state that has not passed a constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage.
The proposed amendment is currently in committee.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
UPDATE 8/15/11: Citizens mount signature drives to influence legislators' votes
-- From "NC Voters Want to Vote on Marriage Amendment" by Lincoln Tribune staff reports 3/27/11
A large majority, 64 percent, of North Carolina voters support holding a vote on a constitutional amendment to define marriage as only between a man and a woman, according to a new poll released this week by the Civitas Institute.
. . . Thirty-percent said they oppose it, and 5 percent said they do not know or have no opinion.
"Despite years of being held up in the Legislature by a handful of politicians and special interest groups, the voters of North Carolina strongly support holding a vote on this constitutional amendment," said Civitas Institute President Francis De Luca.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Proposed N.C. amendment targets marriage definition" by Anna Johnson, The Pendulum (Elon University) 3/29/11
The proposal, sponsored by Sen. James Forrester, R-Gaston, has been co-sponsored by Sen. Rick Gunn, R-Alamance, and in previous years never made it out of committee. But opponents of the bill believe with Republican control of the general assembly it could make it to the ballot.
North Carolina is the only southern state that has not passed a constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage.
The proposed amendment is currently in committee.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Will Next Black President be Aborted Instead?
A pro-life billboard is coming to Chicago soon that will feature an image of President Barack Obama as it talks about how abortion has decimated the African-American community.
For background read Black Genocide in New York City (nearly 2 of 3 killed in womb) and also read Abortion Targeting Blacks: Exposed in Media Campaign
UPDATE 4/4/11: Pro-abortion activists vandalize pro-life billboard (video):
-- From "Anti-Abortion Billboards Headed for Chicago" posted at NBC Chicago 3/28/11
President Obama is depicted in a new South Side ad campaign from the same anti-abortion group behind the controversial "Dangerous Place" billboard in New York City.
The Chicago billboards feature an image of Obama and the words, "Every 21 minutes, our next possible leader is aborted."
Life Always plans to unveil the first of 30-plus billboards on Tuesday at 5812 S. State St. The group says the billboards are targeted at the "disproportionate number of abortions among African Americans."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Pro-Life Billboard in Chicago Uses Obama Image to Hit Abortion" by Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com 3/28/11
Reverend Derek McCoy, a board member of Life Always says, “Our future leaders are being aborted at an alarming rate. These are babies who could grow to be the future Presidents of the United States, or the next Oprah Winfrey, Denzel Washington or Maya Angelou.”
He explained to LifeNews.com that more than 30 billboards will be placed in South Chicago to encourage reflection on the disproportionate number of abortions among African Americans. Census and CDC reports state that African Americans comprise less than 13 percent of the population and about 36 percent of the country’s abortions.
Meanwhile, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported 25,196 abortions in Cook County, Illinois alone in 2009 and that number doesn’t include the number of abortions done in suburban counties surrounding Chicago.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "30 ‘black genocide’ abortion billboards featuring Obama go up in Chicago" by Peter Smith, LifeSiteNews.com 3/28/11
According to a 2008 article by Susan Cohen for the Guttmacher Policy Review, “the abortion rate for black women is almost five times that for white women.” While disputing the notion that the black community is being deliberately targeted by Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers, Cohen also noted that black women led the abortion rate even across the income demographic.
Herman Cain, a black GOP presidential candidate and successful CEO of Godfather’s Pizza, recently made a stir by telling reporters recently that he believed Planned Parenthood should be renamed “Planned genocide.”
Cain said the heavy preponderance of Planned Parenthood clinics in African-American/minority communities, “says to me they are targeting blacks.”
“I’ve talked to young girls who go in there, and they [Planned Parenthood] don’t talk about how you plan parenthood,” explained Cain. “They don’t talk about adoption as an option. They don’t say, ‘Well, bring your parents in so we can sit down and talk with you, and counsel with you before you make this decision.’”
“There’s not any planning other than to abort the baby.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Abortion Rate Among Black Women Sparks Debate in Community" by Cindy Rodriguez, WNYC News (NPR) 3/14/11
At a recent press conference, Pastor Stephen Broden from the Texas based group Life Always -- the group behind the Soho billboard -- said he expected that black women would respond negatively to the ad "in large part it’s because they have only heard one side of the argumentation," he said.
Broden said more women need to know they can keep their babies because he believes the survival of the black community is tied to the mother’s womb. Meanwhile, women's groups across the country are continuing to organize and protest the billboard campaign.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read Left Fears a Take-down of Planned Parenthood
Labels:
abortion,
birth rate,
blacks,
chicago,
genocide,
IL,
NY,
pregnancy,
pro-life activists
America Hinges on Defunding Planned Parenthood
The federal debt crisis tops American's concerns, and tax-payer funding of the nation's largest abortion provider leads the list of salient fiscal issues. Polls showing that Americans of the most-likely voting demographics favor defunding Planned Parenthood, increases the possibility of a deadlock in D.C. resulting in a government shutdown.
UPDATE 4/9/11: Abortion Funding Nixed in D.C., Still Funding Planned Parenthood
UPDATE 3/29/11: Shut down government, not Planned Parenthood, says Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
For background, read Congress Faces Greatest Genocide in History, and also read Left Fears a Take-down of Planned Parenthood
-- From "West town hall draws applause for opposition to stop-gap budgeting" by George Bennett, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer 3/23/11
U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Plantation, renewed his call to slash federal spending tonight at a town hall meeting where some criticized his votes to reduce environmental regulation, end federal funding for Planned Parenthood and make other spending cuts.
"I will not vote for another continuing resolution," West said, drawing applause.
While the crowd was mostly supportive, some speakers challenged West's vote to cut off about $330 million in federal money for health services provided by Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood is already barred from using federal money to provide abortions, but critics say giving the organization money for other services effectively subsidizes abortions.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Alaska Sen. Murkowski says Planned Parenthood funding fight isn't over" by Lisa Demer, The Anchorage Daily News 3/28/11
Conservatives in Congress say they want to wipe out all federal spending for Planned Parenthood because it is a leading abortion provider. Supporters of the organization in Alaska say that will hurt women who go to its clinics for other care including cancer screenings, birth control services, and testing for sexually transmitted disease.
U.S. Rep. Mike Pence, a six-term Republican from Indiana, pushed through an amendment last month to strip away all federal funding for Planned Parenthood . . . The measure passed the full House, but not the Senate. Congress then approved a stop-gap measure to keep the government from shutting down. Congress now is working on a new spending plan to carry the country through the rest of the budget year. The conflict over Planned Parenthood funding promises to be part of the battle.
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has gotten attention around the country for being one of few Republicans to speak out in support of Planned Parenthood.
Murkowski did vote in support of H.R.1, the budget measure that wiped out the funding. She said she wanted to show support for reducing the federal budget deficit.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Sen. Barbara Boxer lambastes GOP effort to defund Planned Parenthood as 'vendetta' on women's health" by Carla Marinucci, San Francisco Chronicle 3/24/11
California U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer is lambasting what she calls a Republican "vendetta" against Planned Parenthood, saying that efforts in the House Republicans' proposed budget to entirely defund the organization will impact millions.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Lautenberg: Pro-Life People 'Don’t Deserve Freedoms in Constitution'" by Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com 3/25/11
New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg is coming under fire from pro-life advocates for comments he made at a recent rally Planned Parenthood staged to save taxpayer funding for its abortion business.
“Planned Parenthood is under attack by Tea Party Republicans who have put their extremist ideology above women’s health,” Lautenberg said while pro-life advocates who counterprotested shouted, “Shame on you, Lautenberg.”
The pro-abortion New Jersey senator fired back: “These people (referring to the pro-life advocates) don’t deserve the freedoms in the Constitution.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "The Hill Poll: Planned Parenthood cut splits voters by gender, race" by Peter Schroeder, The Hill 3/28/11
Overall, 46 percent of those surveyed said Planned Parenthood’s funding should be left alone, while 42 percent say it should be cut. The poll’s margin of error is plus or minus 3 percent.
Only 26 percent of single people supported cutting Planned Parenthood funds compared to 51 percent of married people. Fifty-five percent of voters over the age of 65 back the cuts, while just 31 percent of voters aged 18 to 39 agree. And just 9 percent of black voters agree, compared to 45 percent of white voters.
The Hill poll showed broad support for cutting spending. Ninety-one percent of those surveyed think it is very or somewhat important to cut government spending, but voters are much more divided about some of the specific cuts proposed by House Republicans.
On Planned Parenthood, Republicans were nearly three times more likely to support the cuts than Democrats. Sixty-two percent of Republicans would cut the group’s funding, while only 22 percent of Democrats would. Sixty-seven percent of Democrats say it should be left alone.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "New Video Shows Abortion Activists at Their Most Extreme" by Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com 3/11/11
Brian Burch, the head of CatholicVote.org talked about the new video in an email to LifeNews.com:
This is one of the most agonizing videos we have ever produced. Two weeks ago we sent our media team into the middle of a rally organized to defend taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood. We wanted to expose what the defenders of Planned Parenthood really believe. What we witnessed left us speechless.
The abortion industry is often portrayed as a big-hearted caring industry that simply wants to serve low-income women. Their supporters claim that stripping Planned Parenthood and abortion providers of taxpayer funds will hurt everyone. Of course this is a lie. Planned Parenthood is billion-dollar organization that is chiefly concerned with one thing — the destruction of innocent human life.
The fight over taxpayer support for Planned Parenthood is about much more than budgets and deficits. The fight is ultimately about our vision for America — a vision that cherishes mothers, families and the gift of human life.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read, Media See Pro-lifers Gaining on Abortionists and also read America Turns Against Abortion on Demand
UPDATE 4/9/11: Abortion Funding Nixed in D.C., Still Funding Planned Parenthood
UPDATE 3/29/11: Shut down government, not Planned Parenthood, says Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
For background, read Congress Faces Greatest Genocide in History, and also read Left Fears a Take-down of Planned Parenthood
-- From "West town hall draws applause for opposition to stop-gap budgeting" by George Bennett, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer 3/23/11
U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Plantation, renewed his call to slash federal spending tonight at a town hall meeting where some criticized his votes to reduce environmental regulation, end federal funding for Planned Parenthood and make other spending cuts.
"I will not vote for another continuing resolution," West said, drawing applause.
While the crowd was mostly supportive, some speakers challenged West's vote to cut off about $330 million in federal money for health services provided by Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood is already barred from using federal money to provide abortions, but critics say giving the organization money for other services effectively subsidizes abortions.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Alaska Sen. Murkowski says Planned Parenthood funding fight isn't over" by Lisa Demer, The Anchorage Daily News 3/28/11
Conservatives in Congress say they want to wipe out all federal spending for Planned Parenthood because it is a leading abortion provider. Supporters of the organization in Alaska say that will hurt women who go to its clinics for other care including cancer screenings, birth control services, and testing for sexually transmitted disease.
U.S. Rep. Mike Pence, a six-term Republican from Indiana, pushed through an amendment last month to strip away all federal funding for Planned Parenthood . . . The measure passed the full House, but not the Senate. Congress then approved a stop-gap measure to keep the government from shutting down. Congress now is working on a new spending plan to carry the country through the rest of the budget year. The conflict over Planned Parenthood funding promises to be part of the battle.
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has gotten attention around the country for being one of few Republicans to speak out in support of Planned Parenthood.
Murkowski did vote in support of H.R.1, the budget measure that wiped out the funding. She said she wanted to show support for reducing the federal budget deficit.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Sen. Barbara Boxer lambastes GOP effort to defund Planned Parenthood as 'vendetta' on women's health" by Carla Marinucci, San Francisco Chronicle 3/24/11
California U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer is lambasting what she calls a Republican "vendetta" against Planned Parenthood, saying that efforts in the House Republicans' proposed budget to entirely defund the organization will impact millions.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Lautenberg: Pro-Life People 'Don’t Deserve Freedoms in Constitution'" by Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com 3/25/11
New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg is coming under fire from pro-life advocates for comments he made at a recent rally Planned Parenthood staged to save taxpayer funding for its abortion business.
“Planned Parenthood is under attack by Tea Party Republicans who have put their extremist ideology above women’s health,” Lautenberg said while pro-life advocates who counterprotested shouted, “Shame on you, Lautenberg.”
The pro-abortion New Jersey senator fired back: “These people (referring to the pro-life advocates) don’t deserve the freedoms in the Constitution.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "The Hill Poll: Planned Parenthood cut splits voters by gender, race" by Peter Schroeder, The Hill 3/28/11
Overall, 46 percent of those surveyed said Planned Parenthood’s funding should be left alone, while 42 percent say it should be cut. The poll’s margin of error is plus or minus 3 percent.
Only 26 percent of single people supported cutting Planned Parenthood funds compared to 51 percent of married people. Fifty-five percent of voters over the age of 65 back the cuts, while just 31 percent of voters aged 18 to 39 agree. And just 9 percent of black voters agree, compared to 45 percent of white voters.
The Hill poll showed broad support for cutting spending. Ninety-one percent of those surveyed think it is very or somewhat important to cut government spending, but voters are much more divided about some of the specific cuts proposed by House Republicans.
On Planned Parenthood, Republicans were nearly three times more likely to support the cuts than Democrats. Sixty-two percent of Republicans would cut the group’s funding, while only 22 percent of Democrats would. Sixty-seven percent of Democrats say it should be left alone.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "New Video Shows Abortion Activists at Their Most Extreme" by Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com 3/11/11
Brian Burch, the head of CatholicVote.org talked about the new video in an email to LifeNews.com:
This is one of the most agonizing videos we have ever produced. Two weeks ago we sent our media team into the middle of a rally organized to defend taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood. We wanted to expose what the defenders of Planned Parenthood really believe. What we witnessed left us speechless.
The abortion industry is often portrayed as a big-hearted caring industry that simply wants to serve low-income women. Their supporters claim that stripping Planned Parenthood and abortion providers of taxpayer funds will hurt everyone. Of course this is a lie. Planned Parenthood is billion-dollar organization that is chiefly concerned with one thing — the destruction of innocent human life.
The fight over taxpayer support for Planned Parenthood is about much more than budgets and deficits. The fight is ultimately about our vision for America — a vision that cherishes mothers, families and the gift of human life.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read, Media See Pro-lifers Gaining on Abortionists and also read America Turns Against Abortion on Demand
Sunday, March 27, 2011
'Late-Term' Abortion Redefined: Fetal Pain
Pro-life state legislatures across America, including Kansas, are passing new laws to protect unborn babies of more than 20 or 21 weeks gestation from a painful death by an abortionist.
UPDATE 9/1/11: Woman challenges Idaho fetal pain law
UPDATE 7/15/11: Missouri Dem. Gov. Restricts Abortion after 20 Weeks
UPDATE 6/10/11: Alabama Restricts Abortion on Fetal Pain
UPDATE 4/21/11: Oklahoma "fetal pain" law enacted
UPDATE 4/12/11: Kansas governor makes parental consent and "fetal pain" restrictions law
UPDATE 4/6/11: Idaho passes "fetal pain" abortion restriction bill
UPDATE 4/2/11: Abortion Fetal Pain Bill Passes Iowa House
-- From "States Looking to Change Definition of Late-Term Abortion" by Judson Berger, FoxNews.com 3/25/11
The bills were modeled after legislation passed last year in Nebraska premised on research suggesting a fetus is able to feel pain after 20 weeks. Similar proposals are percolating in at least nine other states, according to one organization's estimate.
In Kansas, the Senate-passed bill stands a much better chance of becoming law than in prior years, when Democrats Mark Parkinson and before that Kathleen Sebelius -- now President Obama's health secretary -- were in the governor's office. Newly seated Republican Gov. Sam Brownback is expected to sign it.
Should they pass, the bills would considerably limit the window -- by a month or more -- in which some women are able to seek an abortion. The proposals would, unlike most existing restrictions, prohibit abortions well within the second trimester.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "[Kansas] Senate moves abortion regulation bill" by Tim Carpenter, Topeka Capital-Journal 3/23/11
In January, [Kansas] Republican Gov. Sam Brownback called upon lawmakers to aggressively advance legislation based on the belief "all life is sacred."
Laborious debate driven by opponents of a multifaceted abortion regulation bill Wednesday failed to inhibit passage of a new parental consent mandate for minors, greater clinic reporting on abortions and expanded opportunity to file lawsuits against physicians.
Under the bill, a female under age 18 would need notarized consent from both parents or guardians to obtain an abortion. Current law requires minors to notify a parent.
The bill would allow a woman, her husband or the parents of a minor to bring a civil lawsuit against a physician performing an abortion in violation of Kansas law.
A woman seeking an abortion would have to be told her fetus was a "whole, separate, unique, living human being."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Legislators in three states pass new restrictions on abortion" posted at Reuters 3/23/11
State lawmakers in Arizona, Kansas and Idaho moved on Wednesday to place new restrictions on abortion, as opponents of the procedure looked to seize on gains by conservatives in the November mid-term elections.
. . . the Idaho Senate approved legislation placing similar restrictions on abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, sending its bill to the state House of Representatives, where passage is expected.
A National Right to Life Committee representative predicted the legislation will find favor with Idaho's Republican governor.
Seventeen states in all are considering bills that would outlaw abortion after 20 weeks of gestation, unless it could be proved the pregnancy endangered the woman's life. Supporters cite research suggesting a fetus can feel pain at that stage of development.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read, Media See Pro-lifers Gaining on Abortionists, as well as Abortion Prayer Vigil Nationwide: 40 Days for Life
"It's kind of amazing to me that there can be an uproar if any pain was inflicted on a cat but to inflict almost unbearable pain on a child, well that's okay."Read companion articles: Pro-life Legislation Floods America and Virginia Abortion Clinics Likely to Close
UPDATE 9/1/11: Woman challenges Idaho fetal pain law
UPDATE 7/15/11: Missouri Dem. Gov. Restricts Abortion after 20 Weeks
UPDATE 6/10/11: Alabama Restricts Abortion on Fetal Pain
UPDATE 4/21/11: Oklahoma "fetal pain" law enacted
UPDATE 4/12/11: Kansas governor makes parental consent and "fetal pain" restrictions law
UPDATE 4/6/11: Idaho passes "fetal pain" abortion restriction bill
UPDATE 4/2/11: Abortion Fetal Pain Bill Passes Iowa House
-- From "States Looking to Change Definition of Late-Term Abortion" by Judson Berger, FoxNews.com 3/25/11
The bills were modeled after legislation passed last year in Nebraska premised on research suggesting a fetus is able to feel pain after 20 weeks. Similar proposals are percolating in at least nine other states, according to one organization's estimate.
In Kansas, the Senate-passed bill stands a much better chance of becoming law than in prior years, when Democrats Mark Parkinson and before that Kathleen Sebelius -- now President Obama's health secretary -- were in the governor's office. Newly seated Republican Gov. Sam Brownback is expected to sign it.
Should they pass, the bills would considerably limit the window -- by a month or more -- in which some women are able to seek an abortion. The proposals would, unlike most existing restrictions, prohibit abortions well within the second trimester.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "[Kansas] Senate moves abortion regulation bill" by Tim Carpenter, Topeka Capital-Journal 3/23/11
In January, [Kansas] Republican Gov. Sam Brownback called upon lawmakers to aggressively advance legislation based on the belief "all life is sacred."
Laborious debate driven by opponents of a multifaceted abortion regulation bill Wednesday failed to inhibit passage of a new parental consent mandate for minors, greater clinic reporting on abortions and expanded opportunity to file lawsuits against physicians.
Under the bill, a female under age 18 would need notarized consent from both parents or guardians to obtain an abortion. Current law requires minors to notify a parent.
The bill would allow a woman, her husband or the parents of a minor to bring a civil lawsuit against a physician performing an abortion in violation of Kansas law.
A woman seeking an abortion would have to be told her fetus was a "whole, separate, unique, living human being."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Legislators in three states pass new restrictions on abortion" posted at Reuters 3/23/11
State lawmakers in Arizona, Kansas and Idaho moved on Wednesday to place new restrictions on abortion, as opponents of the procedure looked to seize on gains by conservatives in the November mid-term elections.
. . . the Idaho Senate approved legislation placing similar restrictions on abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, sending its bill to the state House of Representatives, where passage is expected.
A National Right to Life Committee representative predicted the legislation will find favor with Idaho's Republican governor.
Seventeen states in all are considering bills that would outlaw abortion after 20 weeks of gestation, unless it could be proved the pregnancy endangered the woman's life. Supporters cite research suggesting a fetus can feel pain at that stage of development.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read, Media See Pro-lifers Gaining on Abortionists, as well as Abortion Prayer Vigil Nationwide: 40 Days for Life
Labels:
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Saturday, March 26, 2011
Target Stores Sues Homosexualists Harassing Customers
The retailer has been targeted by Canvass for a Cause, a San Diego pro-same-sex "marriage" organization, for not boarding the Gay Agenda bandwagon firmly enough; the activists regularly canvass outside Target stores.
UPDATE 4/8/11: Judge rules for homosexualists with minimal restrictions
-- From "Trial in Target lawsuit against same-sex marriage group to start in San Diego County" posted at Los Angeles Times 3/25/11
At issue is whether Target’s broad-based, no-solicitation policy violates the free-speech rights of activists from Canvass for a Cause, a San Diego group formed in the wake of the passage of Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage in California.
According to documents filed in San Diego County Superior Court, lawyers for Minnesota-based Target Corp. will argue that its stores are private property and not quasi-public forums, such as shopping malls, where the courts have sided with free-speech advocates.
Target faced an angry backlash from customers, shareholders and gay and lesbian groups last year for donating $150,000 to a business group that was backing a Minnesota gubernatorial candidate opposed to gay rights.
The company apologized and instituted tighter controls on political contributions.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Target wants gay-marriage activists barred from property" by Julie Watson, Associated Press 3/25/11
The suit alleges the activists, trying to collect signatures and donations, are driving away customers by cornering them and talking about gay marriage.
Rights advocates say the legal battle between Target and Canvass for a Cause could further strain the retailer's relations with the gay and lesbian community. The once-cozy relationship has deteriorated since Target made a $150,000 donation to this summer to MN Forward, which supported Republican Tom Emmer in the governor's race. Emmer, who lost the race to Democrat Mark Dayton, was opposed to gay marriage.
Minneapolis-based Target insisted it remained committed to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and its lawsuit has nothing to do with the political agenda of the organization.
Target has had a long-standing policy against solicitations outside its stores. For years, the one exception to that rule was the Salvation Army, which Target allowed to collect donations -- with their identifiable bell ringers -- during the holidays. But even the Salvation Army was booted in 2004. The retailer said at the time that it had decided to apply its no-solicitations policy consistently and nationally.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Target Sues Gay Marriage Petitioners for Disruption" by Stephanie Samuel, Christian Post Reporter 3/25/11
Superior Court Judge Jeffrey B. Barton heard initial arguments Friday morning between Target Corp. and Canvass for a Cause. The judge plans to issue a ruling next week.
The group, founded by “pissed off activists” according to the website, says it canvasses at shopping malls, college campus and stores like Target to collect signatures and donations in support of gay marriage.
According to court documents, the activists typically stand within 10 feet of the store entrance and approach customers by asking them if they support gay marriage. If the individual says yes, the volunteers ask him or her to sign a petition and make a credit card donation. If the individual responds negatively to the initial question, court documents state that volunteers tend to become “angry and aggressive” and “challenge our customers on their morals.”
Target Corp. Executive Team Lead Daniel Brown testifies in the documents, “I have seen them tell our customers not to vote if they are unhappy with the customers' views.”
Also, in a March 1 complaint, a man complained after a CFAC volunteer allegedly verbally berated his wife while she was with their four-month-old child. He alleged that the volunteer followed the wife to her car and refused to move until she gave a credit card donation.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Target sues solicitors, triggers free speech debate" by Matthew T. Hall, San Diego Union Tribune 3/26/11
Bernard Schroeder, an expert in marketing at San Diego State University, said Target should have seen the latest flap coming and instead of suing Canvass for a Cause to keep it from its doorsteps, Target should have taken to the court of public opinion.
A full-page newspaper ad calling attention to the company’s support of the gay and lesbian community, its disdain for solicitors who can be a harassment to shoppers and its financial contributions to a wide range of community activities would have fueled a more favorable media storm, he said.
In its statement Friday, Target stressed its support for the gay community, outlined a range of domestic partner benefits it offers and added that it has a nearly 1,000-member LGBT Business Council that acts as a resource for LGBT employees and advises the company “about LGBT guests.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
UPDATE 4/8/11: Judge rules for homosexualists with minimal restrictions
-- From "Trial in Target lawsuit against same-sex marriage group to start in San Diego County" posted at Los Angeles Times 3/25/11
At issue is whether Target’s broad-based, no-solicitation policy violates the free-speech rights of activists from Canvass for a Cause, a San Diego group formed in the wake of the passage of Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage in California.
According to documents filed in San Diego County Superior Court, lawyers for Minnesota-based Target Corp. will argue that its stores are private property and not quasi-public forums, such as shopping malls, where the courts have sided with free-speech advocates.
Target faced an angry backlash from customers, shareholders and gay and lesbian groups last year for donating $150,000 to a business group that was backing a Minnesota gubernatorial candidate opposed to gay rights.
The company apologized and instituted tighter controls on political contributions.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Target wants gay-marriage activists barred from property" by Julie Watson, Associated Press 3/25/11
The suit alleges the activists, trying to collect signatures and donations, are driving away customers by cornering them and talking about gay marriage.
Rights advocates say the legal battle between Target and Canvass for a Cause could further strain the retailer's relations with the gay and lesbian community. The once-cozy relationship has deteriorated since Target made a $150,000 donation to this summer to MN Forward, which supported Republican Tom Emmer in the governor's race. Emmer, who lost the race to Democrat Mark Dayton, was opposed to gay marriage.
Minneapolis-based Target insisted it remained committed to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and its lawsuit has nothing to do with the political agenda of the organization.
Target has had a long-standing policy against solicitations outside its stores. For years, the one exception to that rule was the Salvation Army, which Target allowed to collect donations -- with their identifiable bell ringers -- during the holidays. But even the Salvation Army was booted in 2004. The retailer said at the time that it had decided to apply its no-solicitations policy consistently and nationally.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Target Sues Gay Marriage Petitioners for Disruption" by Stephanie Samuel, Christian Post Reporter 3/25/11
Superior Court Judge Jeffrey B. Barton heard initial arguments Friday morning between Target Corp. and Canvass for a Cause. The judge plans to issue a ruling next week.
The group, founded by “pissed off activists” according to the website, says it canvasses at shopping malls, college campus and stores like Target to collect signatures and donations in support of gay marriage.
According to court documents, the activists typically stand within 10 feet of the store entrance and approach customers by asking them if they support gay marriage. If the individual says yes, the volunteers ask him or her to sign a petition and make a credit card donation. If the individual responds negatively to the initial question, court documents state that volunteers tend to become “angry and aggressive” and “challenge our customers on their morals.”
Target Corp. Executive Team Lead Daniel Brown testifies in the documents, “I have seen them tell our customers not to vote if they are unhappy with the customers' views.”
Also, in a March 1 complaint, a man complained after a CFAC volunteer allegedly verbally berated his wife while she was with their four-month-old child. He alleged that the volunteer followed the wife to her car and refused to move until she gave a credit card donation.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Target sues solicitors, triggers free speech debate" by Matthew T. Hall, San Diego Union Tribune 3/26/11
Bernard Schroeder, an expert in marketing at San Diego State University, said Target should have seen the latest flap coming and instead of suing Canvass for a Cause to keep it from its doorsteps, Target should have taken to the court of public opinion.
A full-page newspaper ad calling attention to the company’s support of the gay and lesbian community, its disdain for solicitors who can be a harassment to shoppers and its financial contributions to a wide range of community activities would have fueled a more favorable media storm, he said.
In its statement Friday, Target stressed its support for the gay community, outlined a range of domestic partner benefits it offers and added that it has a nearly 1,000-member LGBT Business Council that acts as a resource for LGBT employees and advises the company “about LGBT guests.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Sexually Confused Must Prove Their Gender in NYC
So-called transgender residents (suffering from sexual identity disorder) who claim to have changed their gender after birth, are suing over the requirement to show proof of such, in order to obtain a new birth certificate (showing the updated gender) in New York City.
-- From "Transgender New Yorkers sue over birth certificates" by Aman Ali, Reuters 3/23/11
A group of transgender residents filed a lawsuit against New York City over what they say are burdensome requirements for them to change the gender on their birth certificates.
The city's birth certificate requirements amount to discrimination for transgender residents, said Noah Lewis, an attorney representing the residents in the case.
New York's Health Department requires residents to show proof of surgical procedures in order to change the gender status on a birth certificate.
But the lawsuit, filed by the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund in state Supreme Court on behalf of three residents, said many transgender people cannot afford the surgical procedures.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Transgender Sue Over Surgery Requirement to Alter Gender on Birth Certificate" by Susan Donaldson James, ABC News 3/24/11
Joann Prinzivalli's New York City birth certificate still reads: Paul Joseph Prinzivalli Jr., male, even though she transitioned to a woman more than a decade ago.
Prinzivalli, now 57, eventually changed her name and has legal documents -- a driver's license and a Social Security card -- but her birth certificate doesn't match.
She wants to take the final step to secure her identity, but the New York City Health Department has demanded she have sex reassignment surgery -- on her genitals.
Thirty years ago, she was healthy enough, but today Prinzivalli is morbidly obese and has type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol and a blood disorder that would make surgery dangerous.
She is one of three transgender New Yorkers who are challenging the city in a lawsuit, saying that requiring surgery amounts to discrimination.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Transgender people contest NYC birth-record rule" by Jennifer Peltz, Associated Press 3/22/11
"Although we understand the concerns ... the Board of Health should not change its requirements without assurance that the amended certificate cannot be misused," said Gabriel Taussig, a city lawyer. He was responding to a lawsuit filed Monday by Louis Birney, a 70-year-old transgender man. Birney had genital surgery but objects to the requirements for detailed documentation and a psychiatric report, calling them violations of medical privacy.
Transgender-rights advocates have encouraged agencies to abandon surgical requirements for changing identity documents, with some results. . . . the U.S. State Department announced last year that transgender travelers no longer will need surgery – just a doctor's certification of appropriate treatment – to declare a new gender on a passport.
At 30, Sam Berkley has had surgery – a double mastectomy – to become the man he has sensed himself to be since childhood. His New York driver's license says he's male, and he's getting a passport.
But the city has turned down his requests to change his birth certificate, saying he failed to provide proof of sex-change surgery, though he submitted a doctor's statement saying he'd had irreversible surgery and had "completed sex reassignment," according to a lawsuit Berkley filed Friday through the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund. It also represents Prinzivalli.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Transgender New Yorkers sue over birth certificates" by Aman Ali, Reuters 3/23/11
A group of transgender residents filed a lawsuit against New York City over what they say are burdensome requirements for them to change the gender on their birth certificates.
The city's birth certificate requirements amount to discrimination for transgender residents, said Noah Lewis, an attorney representing the residents in the case.
New York's Health Department requires residents to show proof of surgical procedures in order to change the gender status on a birth certificate.
But the lawsuit, filed by the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund in state Supreme Court on behalf of three residents, said many transgender people cannot afford the surgical procedures.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Transgender Sue Over Surgery Requirement to Alter Gender on Birth Certificate" by Susan Donaldson James, ABC News 3/24/11
Joann Prinzivalli's New York City birth certificate still reads: Paul Joseph Prinzivalli Jr., male, even though she transitioned to a woman more than a decade ago.
Prinzivalli, now 57, eventually changed her name and has legal documents -- a driver's license and a Social Security card -- but her birth certificate doesn't match.
She wants to take the final step to secure her identity, but the New York City Health Department has demanded she have sex reassignment surgery -- on her genitals.
Thirty years ago, she was healthy enough, but today Prinzivalli is morbidly obese and has type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol and a blood disorder that would make surgery dangerous.
She is one of three transgender New Yorkers who are challenging the city in a lawsuit, saying that requiring surgery amounts to discrimination.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Transgender people contest NYC birth-record rule" by Jennifer Peltz, Associated Press 3/22/11
"Although we understand the concerns ... the Board of Health should not change its requirements without assurance that the amended certificate cannot be misused," said Gabriel Taussig, a city lawyer. He was responding to a lawsuit filed Monday by Louis Birney, a 70-year-old transgender man. Birney had genital surgery but objects to the requirements for detailed documentation and a psychiatric report, calling them violations of medical privacy.
Transgender-rights advocates have encouraged agencies to abandon surgical requirements for changing identity documents, with some results. . . . the U.S. State Department announced last year that transgender travelers no longer will need surgery – just a doctor's certification of appropriate treatment – to declare a new gender on a passport.
At 30, Sam Berkley has had surgery – a double mastectomy – to become the man he has sensed himself to be since childhood. His New York driver's license says he's male, and he's getting a passport.
But the city has turned down his requests to change his birth certificate, saying he failed to provide proof of sex-change surgery, though he submitted a doctor's statement saying he'd had irreversible surgery and had "completed sex reassignment," according to a lawsuit Berkley filed Friday through the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund. It also represents Prinzivalli.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Christian Tea Party Analysis is Media Priority
Unlike the mainstream media of October 2010, the media now presents the Tea Party movement as a "Religious Right"/Christian/Republican political force.
For background, read 'Culture War' Suddenly Erupts, Says Liberal Media
UPDATE 4/8/11 Washington Post: Tea Party rank & file are NOT libertarians, but are "Christian right"
UPDATE 3/27/11: Christians' issues dominate candidates in Iowa
UPDATE 3/26/11 "Potential Republican presidential candidates court evangelicals" by Nia-Malika Henderson, Washington Post
Likely candidates have met with preachers, conservative Christians and religious leaning home-schoolers in South Carolina, New Hampshire and Iowa, where winning the evangelical vote is tantamount to winning the caucus. . . . a group that nationally makes up about 40 percent of the Republican Party, according to polls.
Mike Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas and a Baptist minister, was an early speaker [on today's “Rediscover God in America” broadcast], quoting from the New Testament and saying that it was up to people of faith to reclaim America.
Huckabee, who finished second in the 2008 GOP primary, retains residual support among evangelicals, and a Washington Post/ABC News poll shows him leading all other potential candidates with a favorability rating of 76 percent among white evangelical Republicans and GOP-leaning independents.
In the 2010 midterms, evangelical support for the GOP surged by seven percentage points over the 2006 midterms, with 77 percent of white evangelical Christians backing House Republicans vs. 19 percent for Democrats.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "New Republic: In Bachmann, A Serious Contender" by Ed Kilgore, The New Republic (posted at NPR) 3/17/11
As the 2012 Republican presidential field finally takes shape over the next few months, one thing is fairly certain: An intensely ideological female politician closely identified with the Christian Right and with the Tea Party movement, someone liberals love to hate, will define the race. But surprisingly, it's increasingly likely that person will be Michele Bachmann rather than Sarah Palin. . .
The parallels between Bachmann and Palin are hard to ignore . . . Both women are politically rooted in the anti-abortion movement, having earned the loyalty of anti-choicers by "walking the walk" — Palin by carrying to term a child with a severe disability, and Bachmann by serving as a foster parent to 23 children (in addition to her own five), plus walking a few abortion clinic picket lines over the years. Both candidates are heroes of the Tea Party movement (Bachmann is the founder of the House Tea Party Caucus). And both have regularly played fast and loose with facts and history, constantly treading the boundary between ideologically loaded viewpoint and sheer ignorance.
[Bachmann's] signature issue as a Minnesota state senator was fighting same-sex marriage . . . She got her law degree from Oral Roberts University (a law school that eventually migrated to Pat Robertson's Regent University); her husband has long run a "Christian family counseling" center; and both Bachmanns once operated a charter school that was accused of seriously violation of the principle of church-state separation.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "GOP [Presidential] Hopefuls Woo Iowa Homeschoolers" by Neil King, Jr., Wall Street Journal 3/24/11
Iowa homeschoolers tend to be religious conservatives whose social beliefs dovetail with those of the Republican Party.
Ms. Bachmann, already a favorite among many tea-party groups, brings to Iowa some clear advantages in appealing to the state's homeschool crowd.
The [homeschool] community is well organized, having tussled with the state government for years over educational regulations. Parents also don't hesitate to turn campaigning into a lesson plan.
The 2012 GOP field looks set to be more crowded with candidates seeking the social-conservative mantle than in 2008.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Planned Parenthood showdown could reveal true nature of tea party" by Patrik Jonsson, Staff Writer, Christian Science Monitor 3/24/11
If tea party Republicans stick to plans to defund Planned Parenthood – even at the cost of a government shutdown – it would raise questions about whether the movement is driven more by small government ideals or classic Republican 'values' issues.
With the specter of a government shutdown looming, all eyes are on the 87 freshmen House Republicans most closely associated with the tea party movement. The position they take on defunding Planned Parenthood, in particular, could offer insight into a fundamental question: How do social issues such as abortion and gay marriage – which motivated the "religious right" and helped define the Republican Party in the past – fit into the tea party worldview?
Critics say Republican targeting of Planned Parenthood shows that the tea party is just a new incarnation of the traditional "values" driven Republican.
. . . according to a survey by the Diane D. Blair Center of Southern Politics and Society in Fayetteville, Ark. . . . Some 85 percent of members of tea party groups are self-identified Christians, 37 percent of whom are Biblical literalists, according to the survey. Moreover, 24 percent of members of tea party groups say that abortions should be available to all women as a choice, compared with 41 percent of non-tea partyers.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "GOP frontrunners recruit pastors for front lines" by Drew Zahn © 2011 WorldNetDaily 3/25/11
The church leaders met for the Iowa Renewal Project's Pastor's Policy Briefing . . .
Historian David Barton, head of Wallbuilders, an organization dedicated to presenting America's moral, religious and constitutional foundations, opened the event by recalling the influence of the "Black Robed Regiment" – preachers from the American Colonies who not only stirred the people toward revolution, but also took up arms with them in the War for Independence:
"The Black Robed Regiment was the name that the British placed on the courageous and patriotic American clergy during the Founding Era (a backhanded reference to the black robes they wore)," Barton documents on a website dedicated to the 18th-century pastors. "Significantly, the British blamed the Black Regiment for American Independence, and rightfully so, for modern historians have documented that: 'There is not a right asserted in the Declaration of Independence which had not been discussed by the New England clergy before 1763.'"
He continues, "It is strange to today's generation to think that the rights listed in the Declaration of Independence were nothing more than a listing of sermon topics that had been preached from the pulpit in the two decades leading up to the American Revolution, but such was the case."
At the Pastor's Policy Briefing, Barton challenged the church leaders in Iowa to use the power of the pulpit to similarly stir the American people toward moral, religious and even political renewal.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Click headlines below to read previous articles:
Christian Tea Party is Enigma to Liberal Media
Presidential Candidates: Abortion & Marriage Top Issues
America Turns Against Abortion on Demand
Christian Tea Party Congressman Keynotes CPAC
Left Fears a Take-down of Planned Parenthood
For background, read 'Culture War' Suddenly Erupts, Says Liberal Media
UPDATE 4/8/11 Washington Post: Tea Party rank & file are NOT libertarians, but are "Christian right"
UPDATE 3/27/11: Christians' issues dominate candidates in Iowa
UPDATE 3/26/11 "Potential Republican presidential candidates court evangelicals" by Nia-Malika Henderson, Washington Post
Likely candidates have met with preachers, conservative Christians and religious leaning home-schoolers in South Carolina, New Hampshire and Iowa, where winning the evangelical vote is tantamount to winning the caucus. . . . a group that nationally makes up about 40 percent of the Republican Party, according to polls.
Mike Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas and a Baptist minister, was an early speaker [on today's “Rediscover God in America” broadcast], quoting from the New Testament and saying that it was up to people of faith to reclaim America.
Huckabee, who finished second in the 2008 GOP primary, retains residual support among evangelicals, and a Washington Post/ABC News poll shows him leading all other potential candidates with a favorability rating of 76 percent among white evangelical Republicans and GOP-leaning independents.
In the 2010 midterms, evangelical support for the GOP surged by seven percentage points over the 2006 midterms, with 77 percent of white evangelical Christians backing House Republicans vs. 19 percent for Democrats.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "New Republic: In Bachmann, A Serious Contender" by Ed Kilgore, The New Republic (posted at NPR) 3/17/11
As the 2012 Republican presidential field finally takes shape over the next few months, one thing is fairly certain: An intensely ideological female politician closely identified with the Christian Right and with the Tea Party movement, someone liberals love to hate, will define the race. But surprisingly, it's increasingly likely that person will be Michele Bachmann rather than Sarah Palin. . .
The parallels between Bachmann and Palin are hard to ignore . . . Both women are politically rooted in the anti-abortion movement, having earned the loyalty of anti-choicers by "walking the walk" — Palin by carrying to term a child with a severe disability, and Bachmann by serving as a foster parent to 23 children (in addition to her own five), plus walking a few abortion clinic picket lines over the years. Both candidates are heroes of the Tea Party movement (Bachmann is the founder of the House Tea Party Caucus). And both have regularly played fast and loose with facts and history, constantly treading the boundary between ideologically loaded viewpoint and sheer ignorance.
[Bachmann's] signature issue as a Minnesota state senator was fighting same-sex marriage . . . She got her law degree from Oral Roberts University (a law school that eventually migrated to Pat Robertson's Regent University); her husband has long run a "Christian family counseling" center; and both Bachmanns once operated a charter school that was accused of seriously violation of the principle of church-state separation.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "GOP [Presidential] Hopefuls Woo Iowa Homeschoolers" by Neil King, Jr., Wall Street Journal 3/24/11
Iowa homeschoolers tend to be religious conservatives whose social beliefs dovetail with those of the Republican Party.
Ms. Bachmann, already a favorite among many tea-party groups, brings to Iowa some clear advantages in appealing to the state's homeschool crowd.
The [homeschool] community is well organized, having tussled with the state government for years over educational regulations. Parents also don't hesitate to turn campaigning into a lesson plan.
The 2012 GOP field looks set to be more crowded with candidates seeking the social-conservative mantle than in 2008.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Planned Parenthood showdown could reveal true nature of tea party" by Patrik Jonsson, Staff Writer, Christian Science Monitor 3/24/11
If tea party Republicans stick to plans to defund Planned Parenthood – even at the cost of a government shutdown – it would raise questions about whether the movement is driven more by small government ideals or classic Republican 'values' issues.
With the specter of a government shutdown looming, all eyes are on the 87 freshmen House Republicans most closely associated with the tea party movement. The position they take on defunding Planned Parenthood, in particular, could offer insight into a fundamental question: How do social issues such as abortion and gay marriage – which motivated the "religious right" and helped define the Republican Party in the past – fit into the tea party worldview?
Critics say Republican targeting of Planned Parenthood shows that the tea party is just a new incarnation of the traditional "values" driven Republican.
. . . according to a survey by the Diane D. Blair Center of Southern Politics and Society in Fayetteville, Ark. . . . Some 85 percent of members of tea party groups are self-identified Christians, 37 percent of whom are Biblical literalists, according to the survey. Moreover, 24 percent of members of tea party groups say that abortions should be available to all women as a choice, compared with 41 percent of non-tea partyers.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "GOP frontrunners recruit pastors for front lines" by Drew Zahn © 2011 WorldNetDaily 3/25/11
The church leaders met for the Iowa Renewal Project's Pastor's Policy Briefing . . .
Historian David Barton, head of Wallbuilders, an organization dedicated to presenting America's moral, religious and constitutional foundations, opened the event by recalling the influence of the "Black Robed Regiment" – preachers from the American Colonies who not only stirred the people toward revolution, but also took up arms with them in the War for Independence:
"The Black Robed Regiment was the name that the British placed on the courageous and patriotic American clergy during the Founding Era (a backhanded reference to the black robes they wore)," Barton documents on a website dedicated to the 18th-century pastors. "Significantly, the British blamed the Black Regiment for American Independence, and rightfully so, for modern historians have documented that: 'There is not a right asserted in the Declaration of Independence which had not been discussed by the New England clergy before 1763.'"
He continues, "It is strange to today's generation to think that the rights listed in the Declaration of Independence were nothing more than a listing of sermon topics that had been preached from the pulpit in the two decades leading up to the American Revolution, but such was the case."
At the Pastor's Policy Briefing, Barton challenged the church leaders in Iowa to use the power of the pulpit to similarly stir the American people toward moral, religious and even political renewal.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Click headlines below to read previous articles:
Christian Tea Party is Enigma to Liberal Media
Presidential Candidates: Abortion & Marriage Top Issues
America Turns Against Abortion on Demand
Christian Tea Party Congressman Keynotes CPAC
Left Fears a Take-down of Planned Parenthood
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
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:
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Buddhist Teaching Halted at Illinois High School
Officials at Prairie Ridge High School in Crystal Lake, Illinois agreed to end all classroom instruction and/or participation of Buddhist transcendental meditation sessions, in response to a legal inquiry by the Rutherford Institute.
This is the same school where students were taught the 'Vagina Dance'
-- From "District officials yank Buddhism from class" by Bob Unruh © 2011 WorldNetDaily 3/24/11
The Prairie Ridge conflict developed after Doug Mann, the parent of a ninth-grade student in the district, reported his child was asked to participate in a Transcendental Meditation exercise in an honors English class.
When the parent voiced objections to these practices as inconsistent with his family's religious beliefs, he was told by the teacher that there was no problem because students were allowed to opt out of the classroom activity.
"Although school officials can teach about religion, they cannot indoctrinate students in specific religious beliefs," said [John Whitehead, President of the Rutherford Institute]. "This is a victory for religious freedom."
Whitehead told WND that he sees these kinds of cases periodically, along with the other side of the issue: the repeated attacks on students who simply want to follow their Christian beliefs.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "VICTORY: Illinois Public School Officials Agree to Stop Instructing Students in Buddhist-Based Chants & Meditation Exercises During Class Time" posted at The Rutherford Institute 3/24/11
. . . Attorneys for The Rutherford Institute warned officials at Prairie Ridge High School in Crystal Lake that conducting the transcendental meditation exercises, even if students were allowed to opt out of them, put the school at risk of violating the Establishment Clause's prohibition against the government endorsing a religion. The Rutherford Institute intervened after being contacted by a parent concerned about students being directed to assume the lotus position, conduct meditative chants, and lie on their backs with their palms to the floor in order to "become one with the earth."
. . . as Institute attorneys noted, in the context of student activities, there is an inherent coercion placed upon students to participate in school-sponsored religious activities due to peer pressure.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
This is the same school where students were taught the 'Vagina Dance'
-- From "District officials yank Buddhism from class" by Bob Unruh © 2011 WorldNetDaily 3/24/11
The Prairie Ridge conflict developed after Doug Mann, the parent of a ninth-grade student in the district, reported his child was asked to participate in a Transcendental Meditation exercise in an honors English class.
When the parent voiced objections to these practices as inconsistent with his family's religious beliefs, he was told by the teacher that there was no problem because students were allowed to opt out of the classroom activity.
"Although school officials can teach about religion, they cannot indoctrinate students in specific religious beliefs," said [John Whitehead, President of the Rutherford Institute]. "This is a victory for religious freedom."
Whitehead told WND that he sees these kinds of cases periodically, along with the other side of the issue: the repeated attacks on students who simply want to follow their Christian beliefs.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "VICTORY: Illinois Public School Officials Agree to Stop Instructing Students in Buddhist-Based Chants & Meditation Exercises During Class Time" posted at The Rutherford Institute 3/24/11
. . . Attorneys for The Rutherford Institute warned officials at Prairie Ridge High School in Crystal Lake that conducting the transcendental meditation exercises, even if students were allowed to opt out of them, put the school at risk of violating the Establishment Clause's prohibition against the government endorsing a religion. The Rutherford Institute intervened after being contacted by a parent concerned about students being directed to assume the lotus position, conduct meditative chants, and lie on their backs with their palms to the floor in order to "become one with the earth."
. . . as Institute attorneys noted, in the context of student activities, there is an inherent coercion placed upon students to participate in school-sponsored religious activities due to peer pressure.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Black Population Down in American Cities
The just-released U.S. Census figures show a precipitous drop in African Americans in many American cities, confirming the phenomenon of "black genocide" committed by the abortion industry. Media "political correctness" seeks non-abortion explanations for the disappearing black population in cities.
The African-American growth rate has dropped from over 16% in the 1990s to about 10% since 2000.
UPDATE 12/1/15: Most U.S. Abortions are Blacks & Hispanic, Gov't Reports
For background read Black Genocide in New York City (nearly 2 of 3 killed in womb) and also read Abortion Targeting Blacks: Exposed in Media Campaign
-- From "[New York] City Population Barely Grew in the ’00s, Census Finds" by Sam Roberts, New York Times 3/24/11
For the first time since the draft riots during the Civil War, the number of black New Yorkers has declined, by 5 percent. Non-Hispanic blacks now account for 23 percent of New Yorkers.
The number of Asians increased 32 percent since 2000, passing the one million mark and now constituting 13 percent of the population.
The Hispanic population rose 8 percent and now makes up 29 percent of the total.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Black populations fall in major cities" by Haya El Nasser, USA TODAY 3/22/11
The black population is declining in a growing number of major cities — more evidence that the settlement pattern of African Americans is changing as they disperse to suburbia and warmer parts of the nation.
2010 Census data released so far this year show that 20 of the 25 cities that have at least 250,000 people and a 20% black population either lost more blacks or gained fewer in the past decade than during the 1990s. The declines happened in some traditional black strongholds: Chicago, Oakland, Atlanta, Cleveland and St. Louis.
The drop also can be partially attributed to a declining black fertility rate and the aging of the black population, says John Logan, director of US 2010 Project at Brown University, which studies trends in American society. "We're starting to see the graying not only of the white population but of the black population," he says.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Census to offer new proof that Hispanic, Asian growth skyrocketed in past decade" by Carol Morello and Dan Keating, Washington Post 3/24/11
The new [census] data will include information on the racial and ethnic makeup of the District [of Columbia]. D.C. officials say they expect the count will show a continued shrinking number of African Americans, to just over half the District’s 600,000 residents. Many demographers predict that by the next census, the District will no longer have a black majority.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Abortion advocates guilty of genocide" by Barbara Howard, South Florida Times 3/14/11
The mother of birth control and Planned Parenthood, Margaret Sanger, was an avowed atheist, Socialist and a proponent of negative eugenics.
Sanger wrote in What Every Boy and Girl Should Know (1915), “It is a vicious cycle; ignorance breeds poverty and poverty breeds ignorance. There is only one cure for both, and that is to stop breeding these things.
“Stop bringing to birth children whose inheritance cannot be one of health or intelligence. Stop bringing into the world children whose parents cannot provide for them.”
She wrote further, in "Birth Control and Racial Betterment" (The Birth Control Review), “We maintain that a woman possessing an adequate knowledge of her reproductive functions is the best judge of the time and conditions under which her child should be brought into the world… it is her right, regardless of all other considerations, to determine whether she shall bear children or not, and how many children she shall bear if she chooses to become a mother....”
Since the first “family planning” clinic was opened in Harlem in 1930, there have been “more than 820 health centers around the country,” according to Planned Parenthood’s website. With most of the health centers located in black communities, abortion has become the number-one killer of blacks.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read 'Extermination of Negros' Abortionist's Goal Censored
The African-American growth rate has dropped from over 16% in the 1990s to about 10% since 2000.
UPDATE 12/1/15: Most U.S. Abortions are Blacks & Hispanic, Gov't Reports
For background read Black Genocide in New York City (nearly 2 of 3 killed in womb) and also read Abortion Targeting Blacks: Exposed in Media Campaign
-- From "[New York] City Population Barely Grew in the ’00s, Census Finds" by Sam Roberts, New York Times 3/24/11
For the first time since the draft riots during the Civil War, the number of black New Yorkers has declined, by 5 percent. Non-Hispanic blacks now account for 23 percent of New Yorkers.
The number of Asians increased 32 percent since 2000, passing the one million mark and now constituting 13 percent of the population.
The Hispanic population rose 8 percent and now makes up 29 percent of the total.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Black populations fall in major cities" by Haya El Nasser, USA TODAY 3/22/11
The black population is declining in a growing number of major cities — more evidence that the settlement pattern of African Americans is changing as they disperse to suburbia and warmer parts of the nation.
2010 Census data released so far this year show that 20 of the 25 cities that have at least 250,000 people and a 20% black population either lost more blacks or gained fewer in the past decade than during the 1990s. The declines happened in some traditional black strongholds: Chicago, Oakland, Atlanta, Cleveland and St. Louis.
The drop also can be partially attributed to a declining black fertility rate and the aging of the black population, says John Logan, director of US 2010 Project at Brown University, which studies trends in American society. "We're starting to see the graying not only of the white population but of the black population," he says.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Census to offer new proof that Hispanic, Asian growth skyrocketed in past decade" by Carol Morello and Dan Keating, Washington Post 3/24/11
The new [census] data will include information on the racial and ethnic makeup of the District [of Columbia]. D.C. officials say they expect the count will show a continued shrinking number of African Americans, to just over half the District’s 600,000 residents. Many demographers predict that by the next census, the District will no longer have a black majority.
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From "Abortion advocates guilty of genocide" by Barbara Howard, South Florida Times 3/14/11
The mother of birth control and Planned Parenthood, Margaret Sanger, was an avowed atheist, Socialist and a proponent of negative eugenics.
Sanger wrote in What Every Boy and Girl Should Know (1915), “It is a vicious cycle; ignorance breeds poverty and poverty breeds ignorance. There is only one cure for both, and that is to stop breeding these things.
“Stop bringing to birth children whose inheritance cannot be one of health or intelligence. Stop bringing into the world children whose parents cannot provide for them.”
She wrote further, in "Birth Control and Racial Betterment" (The Birth Control Review), “We maintain that a woman possessing an adequate knowledge of her reproductive functions is the best judge of the time and conditions under which her child should be brought into the world… it is her right, regardless of all other considerations, to determine whether she shall bear children or not, and how many children she shall bear if she chooses to become a mother....”
Since the first “family planning” clinic was opened in Harlem in 1930, there have been “more than 820 health centers around the country,” according to Planned Parenthood’s website. With most of the health centers located in black communities, abortion has become the number-one killer of blacks.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read 'Extermination of Negros' Abortionist's Goal Censored
Labels:
abortion,
birth rate,
blacks,
Census,
eugenics,
genocide,
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Planned Parenthood,
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