ABORTION NEWS
From 2004-OCTOBER to DECEMBER
Sponsored link.
Background information on many aspects of abortion is found in individual essays, e.g.
public opinion,
clinic protests,
clinic violence,
parental notification,
abortion methods, and
post abortion
syndrome. Information about the
use of stem cells is elsewhere.
News items:
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2004-OCT-14: FL: "Right to Know"
law's unconstitutionality confirmed: The 4th U.S. District Court of
Appeals confirmed a lower court ruling that the "Right to Know" law is
unconstitutional. Judge W. Matthew Stevenson wrote that the law "imposed
significant obstacles and burdens upon the pregnant woman which
improperly intrude upon the exercise of her choice between abortion and
childbirth. The law would have required doctors to inform their clients
about the risks of having an abortion, and to give them a state-produced
flyer on alternatives to abortion. Carrie Gordon-Earll, a
bioethics analyst for the Fundamentalist Christian group, Focus on the
Family, said: "Florida's Woman's Right to Know law provides uniform
counseling content to ensure that every woman receives the same
scientifically accurate information about her pregnancy and all of her
choices. For years, abortion advocates have fought these laws because
they know that an informed woman is more likely to reject abortion. This
is another case of the patriarchal pro-abortion movement denying women
accurate information. If you entrust women with access to abortion, at
the very least you should trust them with the information they need to
make a decision they can live with." |
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2004-OCT-22: USA: Pro-life group recommends severing ties with
Girl Guides: According to the Massachusetts Family Institute (MFI),
the American Life League (ALL) is recommending that families and groups
sever all ties with the Girl Scouts. ALL surveyed Girl Scout councils
across the U.S. and found that one in five had some sort of relationship
with Planned Parenthood. MFI is also critical of the Girl Scouts because
they do not ban lesbians from the organization. 2 |
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2004-OCT-29: MD: Woman attempted to
immolate herself: A woman in Berwyn Heights, MD, doused herself with
gasoline in the vicinity of an abortion clinic. A police officer
extinguished the flames, but she was burned over much of her body. She
was hospitalized in critical condition. An envelope was found in her car
with the word "Kerry" written on it. It may have been intended
for the Democratic presidential candidate. 3 |
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2004-NOV-13: USA: Senator Arlen Specter to
head Judiciary Committee: Senator Specter (R-PA) is set to become
the head of the Judiciary Committee. This may turn out to be a position
of greater influence over the future of the United States than any other
person other than President Bush himself. It is this committee which
receives and initially processes nominations for new Supreme Court
justices. Any review of Roe v. Wade at this time would probably produce
a 5:4 split in favor of its retention. But Chief Justice Rhenquist has
major health problems and is expected to resign shortly. Replacing him
with a person with a similar political philosophy to Justices Scalia and
Thomas would probably result in the overturning of Roe v. Wade by a 5:4
vote. These justices view the U.S. Constitution as an enduring document: Justice Scalia, and other conservative
judges, agrees with this position. They are often referred to as "strict
constructionists." They interpret a legal document as meaning
"today not what current society (much less the Court) thinks it ought to
mean, but what it meant when it was adopted."
4
Viewing the Bill of Rights and
the rest of the U.S. Constitution as an enduring document requires that
the courts consider the century in which the text was actually written.
They interpret the text within the belief systems of that time.
President Bush has indicated that he will look for new justices similar
to Justice Scalia and Thomas. He will probably have the opportunity to
nominate about 4 justices during his 2004-2008 term.
More information. 5 |
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2004-DEC-06: MT: State bill would have
death certificates issued after abortions:
A new member of the Montana House, Rep.-elect Roger Koopman (R- Bozeman)
has sponsored a bill that would require death certificates to be filed
after each abortion in the state. He said: "It's a small way for our
society to acknowledge that a life did exist, even if they didn't get to
see a sunrise or blow out a birthday candle." He hopes that this
will cause some women seeking an abortion to reconsider their decision.
Some pro-choice supporters advocates called the bill "mean-spirited"
and predicted it will not become law. Jessica Rhoades, spokesperson for
NARAL, said the proposal serves no purpose "other than making women
feel bad for making a difficult decision." She said that the
government should pay more attention to preventing unintended
pregnancies. NARAL supports the concept that all insurance companies who
cover some prescription drugs in the state be required to cover
prescription birth control. 6 |
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2004-DEC-08: CA: Lawsuit planned to
challenge federal anti-abortion law:
The Attorney General of California, Bill Lockyer, said that he will file
a lawsuit to block a new federal law that would terminate funding to
those states who enforce laws to protect abortion access and related
care. He calls it a "back door attempt to overturn Roe v. Wade."
The law, called the Weldon Amendment after its creator David
Weldon (R-FL), was imbedded in the multibillion-dollar Labor, Health
and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Bill for 2005. The
latter cleared Congress with little debate and was signed into law by
President Bush on DEC-08. The amendment would prevent states from
requiring medical personnel, facilities, insurers and HMOs to provide
abortion services or refer a patient to abortion services. The law would
terminate federal support for all medical, education, labor and other
unrelated programs in the state. Lockyer said: "This is an
unacceptable attack on women's rights and state sovereignty, and a
back-door attempt to overturn Roe v. Wade. With this provision, what the
federal government says to California is this: If you want back your own
taxpayer dollars for important programs that serve all the people of
your state, you first have to refuse to protect the constitutional
rights of the women who live in your state. That is wrong, it is
unlawful, and I will fight to make sure it doesn't happen." The
lawsuit will be based on the argument that Congress had violated state
sovereignty which is guaranteed by the 10th Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution.
Kathy Kneer, president of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California
said: "The Weldon Amendment is another example of the Bush
Administration's efforts to limit women's access to reproductive
services with the ultimate goal of eliminating women's right to choose.
The effect of the Weldon Amendment is to deny women full access to
emergency medical care. It also undermines a state's authority to
protect women's health and a state's ability to ensure that women have
access to a full range of reproductive choices."
Cathy Cleaver Ruse, of the United States Conference of Catholic
Bishops (USCCB) Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities, supports the
law. She said: "We applaud President Bush’s recognition that
hospitals and other health care providers have a right to choose not to
be involved in destroying life. It is outrageous to suggest that
Catholic health care providers and others with moral objections should
be forced into the practice of abortion."
US House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, (D-CA) said that the law is an
"unconscionable display of ideology over health care....Holding
federal funds for health care and other critical services hostage
because reproductive health services are offered is an extraordinary and
unacceptable attack on women's rights." 7 |
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2004-DEC-23: Court orders Manitoba,
Canada, to pay for abortions in private clinics: Justice Jeffrey
Oliphant of The Court of Queen's Bench ruled that the Province
of Manitoba had violated the rights of two women when it refused to
pay for their abortions. He ruled that the province must pay for all
therapeutic abortions. In both cases, the women had tried to obtain a
free abortion in a hospital, but were faced with long delays. They paid
fees to have the procedure performed at a private clinic. |
References used:
-
"Women's Right to Know Act Struck Down in Florida," Citizen Link
newsletter, Focus on the Family, 2004-OCT-14.
- Massachusetts Family Institute, E-Alert,
2004-OCT-22.
-
"Woman Sets Self Afire In Abortion Protest," Associated Press,
2004-OCT-29, at:
http://www.nbc4.com/
-
Antonin Scalaia, "God's Justice and Ours," First Things 123,
2002-MAY, Page 17 to 21.
-
"Say NO to Arlen Specter's litmus test," E-alert, Massachusetts
Family Institute, 2004-NOV-11.
- "New lawmaker proposes death certificates
for all abortions," Associated Press, 2004-DEC-07, at:
http://www.billingsgazette.com/
- "New Anti-Abortion Law to Face First
Challenge Within Weeks," The NewStandard, 2004-DEC-09, at:
http://newstandardnews.net/
- "Manitoba must pay for private abortions,
judge rules," Canadian Broadcasting Commission, 2004-DEC-24, at:
http://www.cbc.ca/
Copyright © 2004 & 2005 by the Ontario Consultants on
Religious Tolerance
Created: 2004-OCT-15
Latest update: 2005-MAY-26
Author: B.A. Robinson
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