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NOVEMBER 24, 2009 Abortion to Be New Flashpoint in Senate Bill Activists Aim to Keep Curbs Out of Final Health-Overhaul Measure After Being Caught Off Guard by Amendment in House NAFTALI BENDAVID WASHINGTON -- Abortion-rights groups, acknowledging they were caught off guard by a last-minute amendment toughening abortion restrictions in the House health-care bill, are mobilizing to ensure that doesn't happen in the Senate. A protester in Los Angeles Friday opposed an amendment by Rep. Bart Stupak toughening abortion restrictions. Activists hope to flood Washington to lobby against such restrictions on Dec. 2 as Senate floor debate begins. Activists hope...

DC Activists: Mobilize on Nov. 23! From 12-1pm on Monday November 23, join NOW activists from the mid-Atlantic region as they campaign outside the Senate office buildings against the Stupak Amendment. Nearest metro station is Union Station. We'll be meeting at Constitution Avenue, on the block in front of Russell and the corner of Constitution and Delaware. View map

Senate Confirms David Hamilton, Obama's First Pro-Abortion Judicial Pick Washington, DC -- The Senate voted today 59-39 to confirm a pro-abortion federal judge President Barack Obama appointed to become a new appeals court justice. David Hamilton, of Indiana, is the first pro-abortion judge Obama selected, but he was held up for months because of his extreme views. Story, votes and action alert at http://www.lifenews.com/nat5689.htm

An unstamped letter from former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop caused a security scare when Capitol Police shut down Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s for 45 minutes office yesterday. Koop's letter, addressed to Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, protested federal funding of abortion in health care legislation. "More specifically, I am troubled about the possibility of federal dollars being used to pay for elective abortions and Americans being forced to subsidize them," Koop wrote. "I firmly believe that strong protections must be included in this legislation so that health care providers are not forced to participate in abortions against...

With Democrats still grappling with the fallout of an abortion-rights deal that allowed the House to pass its health care bill last weekend, a key Democrat is predicting that abortion-rights supporters will have the votes to keep new abortion restrictions out of the final bill. On ABCNews.com’s “Top Line” today, Rep. Diana DeGette, co-chairman of the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus, said opposition is growing to the House-approved amendment authored by Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich. She said the Senate is seeking out compromise language that won’t go as far as the House -- and said President Obama’s team is “absolutely” helping press...

Let's dispense with three fallacies swirling about the question of abortion coverage in health care reform. Two are being peddled by anti-abortion forces. One, perhaps the most relevant, is being pushed by the pro-choice side. To be clear about where I am: Firmly pro-choice. Firmly opposed to the amendment from Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., which would effectively prevent women who purchase insurance on the newly created exchanges from obtaining abortion coverage. But also: Respectful of the convictions of those who disagree. And, consequently, sympathetic to the notion that taxpayers should not have to pay for a procedure they believe is...

...In the past I have grown angry with Chris Matthews, who is a practicing Catholic, because he has failed to defend the fundamental human right to life. However, in this discussion he took the position that the Stupak amendment - named after the faithful Catholic Democratic Congressman Bart Stupak who co-authored the amendment in the House - would end up causing the defeat of the legislation because there would be no compromise possible over the issue of funding abortion. Interestingly, he compared the current situation to the period just preceding the Civil War in the United States. He drew the...

The Democrats very public battle over battle abortion in the health care bill may cost them valuable support of Catholics in 2010. From the Politico By teeing up a public battle over abortion in the health care bill now before the Senate, congressional Democrats could be risking more than just the fate of the legislation.

On the Constitution Things get a little contentious here, and this is why I like to listen to Beckmann. He rightly points out that no where in the Constitution does it allow for the government to take over the health care industry. Bart insists it does say so in Article I, Section 8 with the words the left have been using to bring the country to point it is today with rampant socialism and welfare programs that have done nothing but create a dependent society-”The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to…provide for…..general...

Axelrod Signals Obama Will Try to Strip Abortion Language From Health Care Bill by FOXNews.com The amendment, authored by Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., went beyond preventing the proposed government-run plan from covering abortion to restrict federal subsidies from going toward private plans that offer abortion coverage. David Axelrod says the amendment changes the 'status quo,' something the president cannot abide. White House Senior Adviser David Axelrod suggested Sunday that President Obama will intervene to make sure a controversial amendment restricting federal funding for abortion coverage is stripped from final health care reform legislation.

Axelrod Signals Obama Will Try to Strip Abortion Language From Health Care Bill by FOXNews.com The amendment, authored by Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., went beyond preventing the proposed government-run plan from covering abortion to restrict federal subsidies from going toward private plans that offer abortion coverage. David Axelrod says the amendment changes the "status quo," something the president cannot abide. White House Senior Adviser David Axelrod suggested Sunday that President Obama will intervene to make sure a controversial amendment restricting federal funding for abortion coverage is stripped from final health care reform legislation. In doing so, the president would be...

PRINCETON, NJ -- A new Gallup Poll, conducted May 7-10, finds 51% of Americans calling themselves "pro-life" on the issue of abortion and 42% "pro-choice." This is the first time a majority of U.S. adults have identified themselves as pro-life since Gallup began asking this question in 1995. The new results, obtained from Gallup's annual Values and Beliefs survey, represent a significant shift from a year ago, when 50% were pro-choice and 44% pro-life. Prior to now, the highest percentage identifying as pro-life was 46%, in both August 2001 and May 2002. The May 2009 survey documents comparable changes in...

Serrin Foster / Cecile Richards Washington D.C., Nov 10, 2009 / 06:47 am (CNA).- Planned Parenthood has condemned the addition of the Stupak/Pitts Amendment to the U.S. House’s proposed health care reform legislation, saying it would undermine private health plans that cover abortion. One pro-life leader said the criticism, which characterized pro-lifers as hijackers, was an ‘over the top’ attempt at self-promotion.Cecile Richards, President of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, claimed in a Nov. 7 statement that the Stupak Amendment to Congress’ proposed health care bill has further reach than the Hyde Amendment, which bars federal funding for...

At the last minute Representative Bart Stupak (D, Mich.) was successful in getting Speaker Pelosi and the House Democratic leadership to approve an amendment that would prohibit federal spending on abortion added to its nationalized healthcare bill passed and sent to the Senate over the weekend. But a senior Democrat says that the Stupak amendment will be stripped from the bill if the Senate returns the bill for approval. Of course, the only reason that the House healthcare bill was passed out of the House at all was because of the Stupak Amendment, still left-wingers in Congress are vowing to...

On Saturday night the Democrats narrowly passed a monstrosity of a health-care bill. Some conservatives blamed the National Right to Life Committee. How is that possible? In order to get enough votes to secure final passage, Nancy Pelosi allowed an up-or-down vote on the Stupak amendment to bar federal funding of abortion through the health-care bill. Rep. John Shadegg (R, Ariz.), who made a bid this year to be Republican minority leader, and Americans for Prosperity urged Republicans to defeat the pro-life measure by voting present. They argued that defeating the amendment could bring down the entire bill: “(Nancy) Pelosi...

Alternate headline: “Rabidly pro-choice president sides with pro-choicers.” TAPPER: Here’s a question a lot of Senate Democrats want to know. You said, when you gave your joint address to Congress, that under our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions. This amendment passed Saturday night which not only prohibits abortion coverage in the public option, but also prohibits women who receive subsidies from taking out plans that — that provide abortion coverage. Does that meet the promise that you set out or does it over reach, does it go too far? OBAMA: You know, I laid out...

Fellow pro-lifers have been sending e-mails celebrating the passage of the stupak amendment.  I'm not sharing in the celebration.  That amendment is nothing but a small fig leaf for the cowardly blue dogs.  Their lack of testicular fortitude makes it apparent that it only takes a small one to cover them. Note the language in this excerpt from the NY Times.  The Stupak Amendment imposes "tight restrictions."  It does not ban federal money from funding abortions. The loopholes are big enough to drive a herd of buffaloes through. To save the health care bill she (Pelosi) had to give...

H.R. 3962, America's Healthy Future Act, passed the House yesterday evening 215 to 220 after several hours of debate. Amid floor speeches, pro-life congressmen were also successful in writing in the pro-life oriented Stupak-Pitts amendment. Pro-life groups were excited over the passage of the amendment and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) urged the passage of the amendment. However, during questioning from the press prior the passage of the Stupak-Pitts amendment, the Washington Times asked Rep.Henry Waxman (D- Calif.) if the amendment could be changed later on after the eventual passage of H.R. 3962 last night.:

WASHINGTON -- Last night's historic health-care legislation included a major compromise: a ban on federally funded abortion under a new government-run plan. Conservative Democrats proposed the amendment, which passed, 240-194, late Friday as a way to break the impasse on the bill. Last night, 64 Democrats joined 176 Republicans in supporting the measure. "The members on this issue have to be able to vote their conscience," said Rep. Bart Stupak, who proposed the amendment, which bars any woman who receives federal subsidies to help cover insurance costs from having an abortion under the plan.

Call Fence Sitters Now too at (202) 224-3121. Freedom is in jeopardy!

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A handful of pro-life Republicans in Congress have a difference of opinion on legislative strategy and it has produced a friction that has blossomed during the debate on the pro-abortion health care bill. The difference concerns whether the Stupak Amendment could result in helping the health care bill. The pro-life movement has been fighting for months to get language included in the health care reform bill to make sure it does not fund abortions through the public option and the affordability credits. After refusing pro-life Rep. Bart Stupak a vote on his amendment to stop abortion...

Abortion opponents won a huge last-minute concession late Friday night after Democratic leaders agreed to grant them a vote on an amendment that would effectively bar insurers that participate in the exchanges from offering coverage for abortions. Members of the Rules Committee were expected to approve a vote on the amendment early Saturday morning after hours of negotiations in Speaker Nancy Pelosi's Capitol office. Leaders reluctantly made the decision after working for days to broker a truce that would garner a blessing from the Conference of Catholic Bishops. But the church, according to members and aides, wouldn't accept a compromise...

"We are back to where we were in July." Stupak 12.04am 11/7. Pelosicare is almost dead. Let's kill it! Stupak puts forth Hyde Amendment language Amendment to Rules Committee.

Priest Arrested with 11 Pro-lifers at Nancy Pelosi's Office... They RIPPED UP the bill! Read story, and see video belowVideo Link On Thursday Afternoon, November 5, 2009, Father Norman Weslin - a living pro-life legend - and 11 other pro-lifers were arrested at Nancy Pelosi's office at #235 Cannon office building. If only all Catholic Priests and protestant preachers had the courage of Father Weslin!!! We would have ended child-killing long ago! They entered her office, with two complete copies of the bill - all 2,000 pages (4,000 total!) - and proceeded to rip it up, page by page,...

This is it. This is our last best chance to stop socialized medicine from taking over our healthcare system. The last of the buses and cars have left for DC, and the remainder flies out in the morning. We desperately need for those who are staying behind to do FOUR things: 1. Visit your Congressperson's local office TOMORROW - THURSDAY, November 5th. There are rallies at the offices of Blue Dog Democrats and Pro-Life Democrats all over the nation tomorrow at noon. Those two small groups of Democrats are pivotal to stopping the Obama/Pelosi healthcare bill HR 3962. (Contact info...

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The pro-life movement is unified in its opposition to the House health care reform bill Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled last week because of its abortion funding. In a new letter to members of Congress, the National Right to Life more exactly spells out what is at stake in the votes expected later this week. Members of the House could hold multiple votes on health care as soon as Thursday -- with votes coming on the rules for debate, one massive amendment from Pelosi and ruling Democrats, and a vote on the bill itself.When they vote,...

BERKELEY, California, October 28, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The University of California Berkeley campus erupted into a hotbed of controversy earlier this week after the Genocide Awareness Project set up an immense two-day display of graphic abortion images in the midst of what is considered one of the most liberal universities in America. The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform teamed up with the on-campus group Berkeley Students for Life on Monday and Tuesday to set up the large images of aborted children, juxtaposed with the images and words of President Obama.  The huge billboards quickly attracted curious onlookers and angry local...

Well that was quick. You see, for a few hours today I believed in the existence of moderate Democrats. I really did. I'd resisted believing in such a thing for a long time but I relented when I saw Michigan congressman Bart Stupak saying that he was prepared to "torpedo" the Democrat's healthcare plan as long at it contained public funding of abortion. Many pro-lifers including me were cheering Stupak. I even said that if he resisted we'd be referring to him as a profile in courage. Do I feel stupid. Video footage of a town hall held in Cheboygan,...

Rep. Bart Stupak said Speaker Pelosi is not pleased with his effort to change abortion-related provisions in the healthcare bill being crafted by the House. During an interview on C-SPAN's "Washington Journal" show, Stupak (D-Mich.) said he is undeterred in trying to ensure that taxpayer dollars do not pay for abortions. Stupak, who opposes abortion rights, acknowledged that some in his party are upset with his public campaign to change the bill. "The Speaker is not happy with me," Stupak said. The Energy and Commerce subcommittee chairman said he has been working with Democratic leaders on a compromise, but they...

Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) / President Barack Obama Washington D.C., Oct 27, 2009 / 02:17 pm (CNA).- Pro-life Democratic Congressman Bart Stupak (D-MI) has called on President Obama to back up his stated support for the exclusion of abortion funding from health care legislation. Recounting how congressional leaders are opposing funding restrictions, Stupak warned that action is needed as “crunch time” arrives.Rep. Stupak, who is advocating the inclusion of a Hyde Amendment provision that would bar federal abortion funding from proposed health care reform, spoke about his health care conversation with President Obama in an interview with CNSNews.com.On Sept....

CNS News: Rep. Bart Stupak (D.-Mich.) told CNSNews.com that President Barack Obama told him in a telephone conversation that when he said in his Sept. 9 speech to a joint session of Congress that “under our plan no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions” he was not talking about the actual bill drafted in the House but about the president’s own health care plan—which has never been written.

Rep. Bart Stupak (D.-Mich.) told CNSNews.com yesterday that he has organized a group of “about 40 likeminded Democrats” who will vote to kill the health-care bill if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D.-Calif.) does not allow a floor vote on his amendment to prohibit federal funds from going to insurance plans that cover abortion. Under Stupak’s plan, the approximately 40 Democrats in his camp would join with all House Republicans in voting to defeat the special House “rule” that would set the terms for debating and amending the health-care bill on the House floor when it is brought up for a...

Rep. Bart Stupak (D.-Mich.) told CNSNews.com yesterday that he has organized a group of “about 40 likeminded Democrats” who will vote to kill the health-care bill if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D.-Calif.) does not allow a floor vote on his amendment to prohibit federal funds from going to insurance plans that cover abortion. Under Stupak’s plan, the approximately 40 Democrats in his camp would join with all House Republicans in voting to defeat the special House “rule” that would set the terms for debating and amending the health-care bill on the House floor when it is brought up for a...

This is an editorial here from the Investor's Business Daily: "Cap-and-Trade for Babies." It's coming, folks. They're going to offer young couples carbon credits for only having one child. The theory is that human beings are polluting and destroying the planet. Now, Paul Ehrlich wrote about this back in the seventies in The Population Bomb. It's been totally disapproved, discredited. This has been part of the militant environmental extreme for years, and here now the people who can make it a reality are running the country... But like everything else in the militant environmentalist wacko community, I believe this is...

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A new CNN poll finds the majority of Americans disagree with giving pro-abortion President Barack Obama the Nobel Peace Prize. The survey also finds Obama hasn't done anything to merit the prize, for which his name was placed into nomination, at the earliest, just days after he took over the White House. Opinion Research Corporation surveyed 1,038 adult Americans for CNN on October 16-18. The poll found 56 percent disapprove of Obama getting the award while just 42 percent say they think he should have received it. Asked if "Obama has accomplished enough so far to...

Earth: An environmental writer mainstreams an idea floating around the green fringe — save the earth by population control and give carbon credits to one-child families. Are we threatened by the patter of little carbon footprints? New York Times environmental writer Andrew Revkin participated in an Oct. 14 panel discussion on climate change with other media pundits titled "Covering Climate: What's Population Got To Do With It?" People who need people they are not. In a recently rediscovered book, "Ecoscience: Population, Resources, Environment," co-authored with Malthus fans Paul and Anne Ehrlich, Holdren wrote that families "contribute to general social deterioration...

The Susan B. Anthony List, the antiabortion movement's answer to the pro-abortion rights group EMILY's List, set an ambitious organizing goal at the beginning of this year: getting supporters to send 300,000 letters and E-mails to Congress on abortion-related issues. But the group quickly surpassed that benchmark, recently tracking the millionth piece of congressional correspondence sent by a Susan B. Anthony List backer in 2009. "We used to have to nag and nag our members to get their voices heard," says Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Northern Virginia-based group. "Now it's not a matter of nagging. We're seeing a tidal...

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- President Barack Obama promised when he was a presidential candidate in July 2007 that he would be a lapdog for the Planned Parenthood abortion business. Obama is now making good on that promise by promoting Planned parenthood on his new volunteerism web site, Serve.gov. Last week, Obama announced the web site and the organizational partnerships."This summer we launched United We Serve, a nationwide effort calling on all Americans to make service part of their daily lives," he said.And we partnered with more than 400 organizations; made more than 250,000 service opportunities available on serve.gov; and watched...

LifeNews.com Note: Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer is the president of Human Life International. Fr. Euteneuer has traveled more than 900,000 miles as a pro-life missionary and visited fifty-five countries. I am not the only one who sees a strange anomaly in the Oslo committee awarding Mr. Obama the Nobel Peace Prize last week. Considering that his actual nomination had to have taken place before February 1st when he was not even two weeks in office, he could not have possibly done anything to merit this award and he certainly hasn't done anything since! In fact, the winner of the...

Vatican Paper Urges Obama to Remember War on Life Notes Reservations on Criteria for Peace Prize Selection VATICAN CITY, OCT. 13, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Upon accepting the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, U.S. President Barack Obama should remember not only the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but also the war being waged against the unborn, according to an article in L'Osservatore Romano. The semi-official Vatican newspaper published an article in Sunday's Italian edition that responded to Obama's peace prize win. The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced the news Friday, saying it recognized the president's "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between...

Scranton, PA (LifeNews.com) -- Officials at a Pennsylvania school targeted a middle school student who came to class wearing a pro-life t-shirt with the message, "Abortion is Not Health Care." Officials at Crossroads Middle School in Lewisberry ordered the student to remove the shirt on the day of President Obama’s public address to students.School officials deemed the shirt “inappropriate,” saying it might insult somebody -- even though the school routinely allows students to wear other shirts with other potentially offensive messages.Alliance Defense Fund attorneys filed a lawsuit in federal court last week against the West Shore School District for prohibiting...

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The Obama administration has no plans to withdraw the nomination of pro-abortion activist attorney Dawn Johnsen, who would head the Office of Legal Counsel if approved by the Senate. However, the chances of her confirmation are sketchy because of her pro-abortion activism. White House attorney Gregory Craig on Friday indicated the Obama administration is standing behind the embattled nominee."I know of no plans to withdraw any nominees," President Obama's top in-house lawyer says, though he did not elaborate.Last week, Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters that Johnsen's nomination has been pending for "far too long,"...

VATICAN CITY, October 9, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi has reacted to the Nobel Peace prize being awarded to President Barack Obama saying that the news "was greeted with appreciation at the Vatican in light of the president's demonstrated commitment to promoting peace on an international level and, in particular, in recently promoting nuclear disarmament." Given President Obama's vigorous support for abortion, pro-life leaders reacted with shock and dismay to the reaction by the Vatican spokesman. One pro-life leader, who wished to remain anonymous, told LifeSiteNews.com, "If Obama was good on international peace and nuclear disarmament...

What does it tell you about Pres_ent Obama when he refuses to acknowledge thousands of pro-life or 'TEA Party' demonstrators - but finds time to speak at a 'gay rights' event? He wants to be known as the most pro-gay president in history. He wants to suppress any criticism from the homosexual community. He is known by the political friends he keeps.

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- President Barack Obama will keynote a dinner for an organization known for its pro-gay activities but which has also promoted abortion. In addressing the Human Rights Campaign, Obama is making the second overture to the pro-abortion group after putting a top HRC official on his faith task force.Obama will address the Saturday fundraising gala for the Human Rights Campaign on a night when it plans to honor another abortion advocate."It is fitting that (Obama) will speak to our community on the night that we pay tribute to his friend and mentor Sen. Edward Kennedy," HRC...

The display was shown on Friday, October 2 Contact: Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, 540-538-4741, 202-547-1735WASHINGTON, Oct. 3 /Christian Newswire/ -- The number 71 represents the percentage of Americans who oppose taxpayer funded abortions according to a nationwide Zogby poll. This display is part of national campaign organized by the Christian Defense Coalition called "Abortion is Not Health Care." This initiative has included prayer vigils, rallies, demonstrations and lobbying in Washington, D.C. and across the nation over the past several months. The Christian Defense Coalition and Generation Life have joined Operation Rescue in a online campaign called "I am 71."   For more information go...

September 23, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In a recent interview with CNSNews.com, Cardinal Roger Mahoney declined to answer a question about whether or not he agreed with Cardinal Justin Rigali that the Obama health care bill should include language explicitly excluding any public funding of abortion. "This is way beyond my field," the cardinal responded."My field is immigration," said Mahoney, who is the archbishop of Los Angeles. "I really haven't kept up on that, and I spend all my time on this other. You have to get somebody who spends time on that."When asked whether he believed abortion should be funded under...

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The attention on the debate over abortion funding in health care has been on the Senate side as members of the Finance Committee debate the new Baucus bill. Yet, a pro-life Democratic congressman who has been heading up efforts in the House says the battles there are still raging. In a new interview with the National Catholic register, pro-life Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan says there has been some progress but amendments are still needed to stop massive abortion subsidies and mandates.Stupak recently said he had been unable to get a meeting with President Barack...

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A top black pro-life advocate says there is nothing racist about opposing the health care plans pending in Congress because they force taxpayers to finance abortions. Dr. Alveda King is responding to critics who say such opposition is racist and point to the outburst from Rep. Joe Wilson. During President Barack Obama's health care speech two weeks ago, Wilson shouted "You lie," as Obama ticked off a list of complaints about the bills he thought were false. The Wilson comment has prompted some political observers to suggest that opposition to the three main bills -- HR...

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- In a new interview that is certain to upset pro-life Catholics, dissident Catholic professor Douglas Kmiec continues to claim that pro-abortion President Barack Obama takes a pro-life view. He says he was so excited talking about abortion with Obama during the campaign that he said Obama's views made him think his candidacy was "my catechism come to life."Kmiec, a former Pepperdine University law professor whose covering up Obama's pro-abortion views during the election drew a rebuke from Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput, receive a reward from Obama by being named as the ambassador to Malta.In an interview...