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Review of A Distant Thunder Film takes a provocative look at the moral implications of partial-birth abortion December 14, 2005 RenewAmerica staff Disney producer Jonathan Flora's new film, A Distant Thunder, is a must-see for anyone interested in the subject of partial-birth abortion. Reminiscent of supernatural thrillers by M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense, Signs, The Village) and reflecting the best in cinematic courtroom and horror dramas, A Distant Thunder takes viewers through a maze of disturbing hints, twists, symbols, and flashbacks until at the end they are stunned and surprised at what they've been watching. With first-rate acting by...

When it meets in conference next Friday, the newly configured U.S. Supreme Court will likely find itself at a crossroads in the ongoing controversy over abortion rights. Waiting to be decided is whether to take the case of Carhart v. Gonzales, No. 05-380, in which the St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last year ruled unconstitutional the federal law banning so-called partial-birth abortions. Meanwhile, two other appellate courts recently declared the statute unconstitutional. But the 2nd and 9th circuits, both of which ruled Jan. 31, took different approaches to formulating a remedy. In doing so, both referred to...

Two federal appeals courts on opposite sides of the country declared the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act unconstitutional Tuesday, saying the measure lacks an exception for cases in which a woman's health is at stake. The first ruling came from a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Hours later, a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan issued a similar decision in a 2-1 ruling. The New York decision affirmed a 2004 ruling by a judge who upheld the right to perform the procedure even as he described the procedure as...

The following is an interview I did recently with Richard Collier for our radio show “The American View.” Mr. Collier is president of the Legal Center for the Defense of Life in New Jersey. He was also a lawyer in the 2000 case on late-term abortions – John Lofton, Editor, TheAmericanView.com. JL: Mr. Richard Collier is on the line, he’s a lawyer in New Jersey. We’re going to talk about exactly why we’re talking to him today, but first I want to praise you for not rolling over and playing dead and for not becoming a Republican Party “cheerleader” for...

The New Underground Railroad Thousands of women come to New York each year for late-term abortions. A hundred New Yorkers take them in. Haven Coalition volunteer Suzanne in the space where she hosts women who travel to New York for abortions. (Photo credit: Donna Ferrato) It’s 8 p.m. on a Friday, and Adeena is lying on a bed in my apartment, squirming in pain, her pants unzipped to reveal a disturbingly large belly. We’re watching a DVD she chose from the corner Blockbuster: Coach Carter, starring Samuel Jackson and Ashanti. Jackson has just taken a job at a ghetto...

WASHINGTON -- Pop quiz: Which of the following abortion regulations is more restrictive, more burdensome, more likely to lead more women to forgo abortion?(a) Requiring a minor to get the informed consent of her parents, or to get a judge to approve the abortion.(b) Requiring a married woman to sign a form saying that she notified her husband.Can any reasonable person have any doubt? A minor is intrinsically far more subject to the whims, anger, punishment, economic control and retribution of a parent. And the minor is required to get both parents involved in the process and to get them...

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration is asking the Supreme Court to reinstate a national ban on a type of late-term abortion, a case that could thrust the president's first court picks into an early tie-breaking role on a divisive and emotional issue. The appeal follows a two-year, cross-country legal fight over the law and highlights the power that Bush's nominees will have. Just a few months ago, there would have been five votes to strike down the law, which bars what critics call partial birth abortion. The outcome is now uncertain, with moderate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor retiring and her...

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration has asked the Supreme Court to reinstate a ban on "partial birth" abortions, setting up a showdown that could be decided by the president's new choice for the court. The appeal, which had been expected, follows a two-year, cross-country legal fight over the federal law. An appeals court in St. Louis said this summer that the ban on late term abortion is unconstitutional because it makes no exception for the health of the woman.

DETROIT, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- A federal judge in Detroit has ruled unconstitutional Michigan's latest attempt to ban so-called partial birth abortions. U.S. District Judge Denise Hood, said the Legal Birth Definition Act violates women's rights. She ruled in favor of the law's opponents, primarily Northland Family Planning Clinic and Planned Parenthood. Both argued the law doesn't adequately protect the health of pregnant women and could have a chilling effect on legal abortions. Paul Long, vice president of the Michigan Catholic Conference, said: "It would be our great hope that the attorney general would appeal what we consider a poor...

LANSING, Mich. — A federal judge has declared unconstitutional Michigan's law aimed at banning a procedure that opponents call partial-birth abortion. In a ruling dated Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Denise Page Hood (search) in Detroit ruled the law places an "undue burden" on women's right to choose an abortion. The parties in the lawsuit learned of the ruling Wednesday.

Note: This commentary was delivered by Prison Fellowship President Mark Earley. Warning: The descriptions in this commentary are graphic and may not be suitable for some readers. Earlier this month, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a Virginia law that banned a barbaric procedure, “partial-birth abortion.” This was the second time that the federal courts had overruled Virginia’s efforts at stopping this practice. The example of “judicial usurpation of politics” is a timely reminder of why we need to rein in the federal judiciary. When I served as Attorney General of Virginia in 2000, the Supreme Court ruled that...

Four Of A Kind For Jones Wyoming, Mich. - March 20, 2005 History was made on the PBA Tour Sunday as Liz Johnson became the first woman to advance to the title match of a PBA Tour event. Johnson lost the match to Tommy Jones, 219-192, but made history when she defeated Wes Malott, 235-228, in the semifinals of the 2005 PBA Banquet Open at Spectrum Lanes. Jones’ victory marked his 4th title of the season and his career. He becomes the first bowler to win as many as four titles in a season since Parker Bohn III in 2001-02....

Groups file federal lawsuit to stop new abortion law 3/1/2005, 7:03 p.m. ET By AMY F. BAILEY The Associated Press LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union and two abortion rights groups filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday to stop a new state law aimed at banning a controversial procedure that critics call partial-birth abortion. The law, set to take effect March 30, was approved by the state Legislature last June. Hundreds of thousands of voters signed petitions to allow the bill to become a law with only the approval of the House and Senate, both controlled by Republicans,...

ST. LOUIS — Dick Weber (search), considered by many to be among the greatest bowlers ever and a three-time bowler of the year, has died. He was 75. Weber died in his sleep Sunday night at his home in the St. Louis area, said Steve James, retired executive director of the American Bowling Congress Hall of Fame (search). A cause of death was not known. Weber had just returned from the opening of the congress' championships in Baton Rouge, La. James spent Sunday morning with Weber, who gave no indication he was ill. "He was a lot bigger than the...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Dick Weber, one of bowling's first national stars and a three-time bowler of the year, died. He was 75. Weber died Sunday night in his sleep at his home in the St. Louis area, said Steve James, retired executive director of the American Bowling Congress Hall of Fame. A cause of death was not immediately known. Weber had just returned from the opening of the congress' championships in Baton Rouge, La. James said he spent Sunday morning with Weber, who gave no indication he was ill. In an e-mail to the Bowlers Journal, Weber's wife, Juanita,...

OTTAWA – A partial birth abortion ban moved a step closer to the CPC Policy Convention floor today at the Regional Policy in Ottawa today. A motion to completely ban the gruesome abortion procedure passed muster at the Kingston and the Islands policy meeting five days ago, with a decisive 23 to 4 majority. Author of the motion to ban partial birth abortions, Connie Wilkins, sat in on the Regional Meeting’s breakout sessions dealing with Issues of Conscience. While all other groups were granted four motions to be put forward for approval at the main Policy Convention in Montreal, the...

Justice Department: Nebraska federal judge ignored Congress in ruling against Partial-Birth Abortion Ban ActLINCOLN -- The Justice Department argued Tuesday that a Nebraska judge who ruled that the federal ban on a type of abortion is unconstitutional ignored evidence gathered by Congress in passing the law. The appeal to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals challenges the September ruling by U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf of Lincoln. "The Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 prohibits ... one particular method of abortion that Congress, after nine years of hearings, found to be gruesome, inhumane, never necessary to preserve the health...

Mr. Kerry, I am America's child. Some day, very soon, you'll be able to see the color of my eyes. You'll be able to look at me and see if I am a boy or a girl. You will be able to see for yourself what color my hair is. Right now, though, I am being made in a secret place. Very complicated instructions are already in my DNA. I am only a single cell. But I already have all the DNA I will ever need. It will decide how tall I will be, what race I will be, what...

Just had to share this with fellow freepers. It is a day that I never thought would come. I just received a phone call from my friend Lisa down in Naples (Florida), and she has been VERY anti-Bush for the last 2 years. The usual talking points...for the rich...war for oil...no wmd's...michael moore facts etc. Well guess what? She just called me to tell me that she is early voting tomorrow with her mother and sister for President Bush. Why the change of heart? Partial Birth Abortion and Abortion. They apparently went to church today and there was a speaker...

John Kerry did something last night that has opened this election up into a new realm that has been largely ignored. His stance on Partial Birth Abortion. Pope John Kerry tried to spin his views on the question on whether or not as President if he would use ANY tax dollars to fund anything to do with Abortion. This was clearly a Kerry/Deer In The Headlights moment if there ever was one. Kerry tried to come off like he was a responsible Catholic. One who understood and respected the woman's emotions on the matter. A Divorced Catholic who has nothing...

Analyzing the Effects of State Legislation on the Incidence of Abortion During the 1990s by Michael J. New, Ph.D. Center for Data Analysis Report #04-01   January 21, 2004 | | The 1990s saw both the election and re-election of a "pro-choice" President.1 However, the "pro-life" movement made considerable gains at the state and local levels. Survey data indicate that by the end of the decade, more people supported restrictions on abortion and fewer supported discretionary abortion.2Meanwhile, the actual number of abortions declined during the decade. For the 46 states reporting data to the Centers for Disease Control and...

Note: This commentary was delivered by Prison Fellowship President Mark Earley. “Gruesome, brutal, barbaric, and uncivilized.” That is what U.S. District Judge Richard Casey in New York thinks about partial-birth abortion. Unfortunately, Casey’s thoughts about the procedure were not enough to keep him from declaring the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act unconstitutional last Thursday. Partial-birth abortion might be gruesome, brutal, and all the rest, but it is also medically necessary—at least in Judge Casey’s view. Several doctors made a compelling case in court that partial-birth abortion is never necessary to save a mother’s life. However, opponents of the ban also brought...

Judge refuses comment, but does return pastor Wiley Drake's telephone call from his chambers. After hearing about the decision to declare the Ban on Partial Birth Abortion, unconstitutional, pastor Dr. Wiley Drake said he decided to be an old fashion Dr. and make a "house call" Dr. Drake called Judge Richard Conway Casey, at his home, left a message, and then received a call from the chambers of the judge in New York. Pastor Drake said the judge still refused to comment on the decision, but suggested that Drake would better understand the decision if he read the entire text...

If ever you needed convincing about the importance of this November's presidential election to the future of our republic, Thursday's decision by a federal judge in Manhattan striking down the federal ban on partial-birth abortion should certainly accommodate your needs. In his ruling in National Abortion Federation v. Ashcroft, Judge Richard Conway Casey held that the "law of the land" required him to invalidate a ban on an abortion procedure which he (and 345 members of Congress) found to be "gruesome, brutal, barbaric and uncivilized." Judge Casey's opinion demonstrates just how far off the constitutional cliff the Supreme Court...

Barabra Boxer visited my small town a couple of days ago and (of course) our small town daily glorified her. I am writing a letter to the editor and hope to tactfully explain her full support for partial birth abortion. I rummaged thru my files and can't seem to find the article with her screaming, she will not answer any more questions Santorum askes her,anywhere. I am sure some more organized freeper can direct me to it. Thanks~~GrandMoM

Breaking JUDGE FINDS PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORTION ACT UNCONSTITUTIONAL

The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday appealed a U.S. District Court judge's June 1 ruling declaring the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act unconstitutional. U.S. Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft and President Bush had vigorously condemned the ruling and vowed a continued fight. Similar challenges are pending in New York and Nebraska to the act — the first federal law to outlaw an abortion procedure since a woman's right to terminate her pregnancy was established by Roe vs. Wade more than three decades ago.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Bush-Cheney '04 Lousiana Chair Pat Brister issued the following statement: “The Democratic National Convention has adjourned and the American people have not been given an answer on how Senator Kerry would govern this nation. We do know that he does not want to discuss his career of raising taxes and cutting defense. By running away from his 19-year record in the United States Senate, John Kerry shows us how fickle he truly is. Whether it is his confusing stance on the war in Iraq or supporting Partial-Birth Abortion, Kerry is clearly out of step with Louisianans....

A federal judge in San Francisco last week struck down as unconstitutional a recent federal law that bans partial-birth abortion. Or is that what it bans? Consider how the illegal procedure was identified in news accounts of last week's ruling: Newsday: "Doctors call it intact dilation and extraction but abortion foes refer to it as 'partial-birth abortion.' " National Public Radio: "Partial-birth abortion is a term used by opponents for what doctors call intact dilation and extraction." Washington Post: "The ban on the procedure that critics call 'partial birth abortion' was already on hold temporarily as three courts heard legal...

Now that a federal judge has ruled that the law banning "partial birth abortion" is unconstitutional, there is certain to be much media coverage of the issue as it makes its way up the appellate chain to the Supreme Court of the United States. How that will turn out legally is anybody's guess but the process will reveal at least as much about the media as it does about the law. Many in the media resent any suggestion that they are either politically biased or that journalists' personal views stop them from doing a good professional job of accurately reporting the...

<p>Both sides on the abortion issue expect a quick debate in Congress this year on prohibiting partial-birth abortion, and even pro-choice advocates predict a ban will be approved.</p> <p>The Senate will begin debating the bill today. Republican aides they expect a few days of debate and a likely vote on Thursday. The House passed a ban last Congress but has not yet considered it this year.</p>

ARLINGTON, VA -- Bush-Cheney '04 Campaign Chairman Governor Marc Racicot issued the following statement regarding today's ruling on partial birth abortion: "Today's tragic ruling upholding partial birth abortion shows why America needs judges who will interpret the law and not legislate from the bench. A majority of Americans oppose partial birth abortion, and Judge Hamilton's decision flies in the face of Congress passing and President Bush signing legislation banning such horrible acts of violence. "John Kerry's judicial nominees would similarly frustrate the people's will and allow this grotesque procedure to continue. Americans from across the political spectrum oppose partial birth...

Just permanently overturned by a federal court....

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A pro-life law firm has filed an amicus brief on behalf of 25 pro-life members of Congress in an effort to help the Bush administration defend the partial-birth abortion ban from pro-abortion lawsuits seeking to overturn the law. The Congressional members are asking a federal district court in New York to uphold the constitutionality of the ban on the gruesome abortion procedure. "Congress acted properly and constitutionally in passing this ban on partial-birth abortion," said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice, who attended the federal court trial in New York...

Three challenges to the federal Partial-Birth Abortion Ban are wending their way through the courts, yet the mainstream media have largely failed to report on the testimony in these cases. The cases challenging the constitutionality of the ban are currently pending in federal district courts in California, Nebraska, and New York. In addition to these federal cases, a temporary restraining order was recently issued against a similar state ban in Utah. Normally, the media love to cover a good trial, so it's rather amazing that they have managed to ignore these sensational trials so completely. Press coverage of the trials,...

WARNING: The descriptions in this commentary are graphic. You may recall that after President Bush signed the partial-birth abortion ban into law, pro-abortion groups immediately challenged it in court. Those cases are now being tried in New York , California, and Nebraska. But abortion advocates may have gone too far this time, because in those courtrooms the ugly truth about partial-birth abortion is coming out for everyone to hear. Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), is attending the New York trial and posting his notes on the ACLJ website. Jay has recorded some...

Attendees of a national conference for abortion providers watched and listened with rapt attention as the inventor of the partial-birth abortion procedure narrated a video of the grisly procedure – and then burst into applause when the procedure was over and the unborn child destroyed! The disturbing and eye-opening event, featuring abortion doctor Martin Haskell addressing members of the National Abortion Federation, was captured on audiotape. Calmly and dispassionately describing each step of the process – up to and including the insertion of the scissors into the base of the baby's head, followed by the sound of the suction machine...

New York, NY (LifeNews.com) -- Though the first round of trials in three lawsuits filed against the ban on partial-birth abortions is almost complete, the battle over whether or not the Justice Department could get records of women who had the gruesome abortion procedure continues. U.S. District Court Judge Richard Casey found New York's Presbyterian hospital in contempt of court for refusing to turn over patient records to the Justice Department. The Bush administration is looking to use the records to defend the pro-life law and establish that partial-birth abortions are never medically necessary and almost always performed on healthy...

A Little Too Much Reality TV Televising an Abortion BreakPoint with Charles Colson April 22, 2004 How’s this for “reality TV ”? Tuesday night a British network televised an abortion. In a documentary titled “My Foetus,” England’s Channel 4 showed a London doctor using the “vacuum pump” method on a woman who was four weeks pregnant—then placing the aborted fetus on a Petri dish. The documentary also displayed fetuses terminated at 10 through 21 weeks—when limbs and a face are clearly visible. What’s behind something so grotesque? For one thing, it’s Western culture’s jadedness. What shocked us yesterday has become...

The Ugly Truth COVER STORY: Exsanguination or draining of blood? A federal judge is demanding that abortion-industry witnesses speak in plain English as he considers one of three challenges to a federal law banning partial-birth abortions. But despite all the sensational testimony and courtroom drama, the major news media are paying no attentionBy Lynn VincentNational Abortion Federation doctors are proving themselves an innovative lot. During testimony on April 6 in a New York courtroom, one abortionist told the presiding judge about a new method she uses to kill late-term babies during partial-birth abortions. Instead of decapitating the child or sucking...

NEW YORK - The fate of one of three challenges to a controversial new abortion law rests with a blind federal judge - an Irish-American Catholic who believes in miracles, in the New York Giants and in the ability of anyone to overcome shortcomings. At age 71, Richard C. Casey finds his way into court with his guide dog, Barney, who rests beside him as the judge bluntly confronts doctors about how much they tell pregnant women about abortion methods and if they discuss the pain of a dying fetus. He asked one doctor who was discussing why women terminate...

Another outrage is going to take place at Seton Hall Law School on Friday, April 16, 2004.  U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor,  who is notoriously pro-abortion and voted to strike down the partial-birth abortion laws of more than 30 states, is presenting the annual "Sandra Day O'Connor Medal of Honor" to Judge Maryanne Trump Barry (Sister of Donald Trump) of the U.S. Court of Appeals, the pro-abortion author of the opinion striking down the New Jersey partial-birth abortion statute. Seton Hall is a nominally Catholic arm of the Archdiocese of Newark which includes the seminary where most of the...

  Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act President George W. Bush signed the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban into law on November 5, 2003. Currently the constitutionality of this law is being challenged in three federal district courts. Check below for the latest transcripts out of the courtrooms in New York, Nebraska, and California. Please note the transcription may contain transcription errors. New YorkDay 1Day 2Day 3Day 4Day 5Day 6 NebraskaDay 1Day 2Day 3Day 4Day 5Day 6 CaliforniaDay 1Day 2Day 3Day 4Day 5 Transcript Highlights4/2/044/6/04Testimony & Letters to Congress: Letter to President Bush on the Signing of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban, Bishop...

LINCOLN, Neb. -- A federal judge on Friday offered to let a medical expert help him decide a case challenging the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act to dispel possible perceptions of bias toward the plaintiffs. U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf made the announcement from the bench as the Justice Department was preparing to call its last witness in the case. ... ...

National Abortion Federation doctors are proving themselves an innovative lot. During testimony on April 6 in a New York courtroom, one abortionist told the presiding judge about a new method she uses to kill late-term babies during partial-birth abortions. Instead of decapitating the child or sucking out its brain with medical instruments like other late-term specialists, she pokes her finger up into the woman's uterus and uses it to crush the baby's skull. That brand of gruesome testimony is entering the official record daily as a trio of separate trials targeting the Partial Birth Abortion (PBA) Ban Act of 2003...

<p>LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A doctor who specializes in high-risk pregnancies testified yesterday that a type of abortion banned by a new federal law is never necessary to preserve the health of the mother.</p> <p>"There are better, safer options available," said Dr. Curtis Cook of Grand Rapids, Mich., testifying as a government witness in one of three trials across the country testing the constitutionality of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act.</p>

Please Join Newark, NJ, Archbishop John J. Myersfor theStations of the Cross For Life March Good Friday April 9, 2004 10:45 am at the Metropolitan Medical AssociatesEnglewood, NJ#1 Partial-Birth Abortion Provider in NJAssemble at the Parking Lot at Demarest and Dean StreetsDo NOT bring signs or PicturesThe Stations will wind around the center of Englewood and end in front of the Englewood Abortion Mill.  Five decades of the Rosary will be recited across from this clinic again led by the Archbishop.The Nuns from the Rose Garden Home were inspired to do their sidewalk counseling ministry at the Englewood Abortion Mill after the 2002...

LINCOLN, Neb. - A type of abortion banned under a new federal law would cause "severe and excruciating" pain to 20-week-old fetuses, a medical expert on pain testified Tuesday. "I believe the fetus is conscious," said Dr. Kanwaljeet "Sonny" Anand, a pediatrician at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. He took the stand as a government witness in a trial challenging the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. The act, which was signed by President Bush (news - web sites) in November, has not been enforced because judges in Lincoln, Neb., New York and San Francisco agreed to hear evidence in...

A type of abortion banned under a new federal law would cause ''severe and excruciating'' pain to 20-week-old fetuses, a medical expert on pain testified Tuesday''I believe the fetus is conscious,'' said Dr. Kanwaljeet ''Sonny'' Anand, a pediatrician at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. He took the stand as a government witness in a trial challenging the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. The act, which was signed by President Bush in November, has not been enforced because judges in Lincoln, Neb., New York and San Francisco agreed to hear evidence in three simultaneous, non-jury trials on whether the ban...

This afternoon, the National Abortion Federation had another doctor take the stand. After going over her credentials, this abortion doctor began her testimony by claiming that intact D-and-E is always safer than other options. When her attorney continued questioning, she revealed that she does not base that opinion on any medical literature because there is not a specific study that compares the health benefits of an intact D-and-E versus a dismemberment D-and-E. She also admitted that there had not been any case studies on the issue. When Judge Casey began to question her during her direct examination, the exchange that...