Free Republic

Know someone who’s smoking while pregnant? They need to see this video made by Dr. Nadja Reissland, of Durham University. In it she shows that unborn babies of mothers who smoke may have delayed development of their central nervous systems.Many people believe that abortion should be illegal — at least after a certain period — because it means killing an innocent life. Well, how about physically abusing one? Shouldn’t that be illegal, too? After all, you aren’t allowed to beat your born child until she has brain damage either. How’s this any different?

[...] Bristol Palin announced via her blog that she is pregnant. The 24-year old already has a son after choosing life in 2008 and becoming a teen mother. Now, she’s expecting again and once again she is unmarried. And? [...] Let’s call it what it really is. This is just another case of the haters waiting for someone they already hate to have a problem so they can go after them full throttle. They’re loaded for (mama grizzly) bear. [...] Others are upset about how Palin’s pregnancy could affect a potential run for office by her mother. Really? We’ve elected...

A 23-year-old Chattanooga man has been charged with criminal homicide after police say he beat a 15-year-old pregnant girl and killed the baby she was carrying. Police say Justin Armour attacked the girl on Tuesday in a vacant house near 2201 East 3rd Street. She gave birth to the stillborn baby — who Armour fathered — early Wednesday morning. Medical staff believe the baby died because of trauma from the assault, according to police. The girl was five months pregnant. The girl and Armour had a history of domestic violence. The girl, who will not be identified by the Times...

It's a striking image that forces you to do a double take. Yes, they're both pregnant, but about a year apart. Vanessa Iris Roy is pregnant in the first photo, and her wife, Melissa, is pregnant in the second and joined by their son Jax. The photo, captioned "trading places" was posted by the couple two months ago, but didn't hit viral status until several LGBT-focused sites picked up the portrait. The couple says they've been blown away by the outpouring of attention and support.

If you scroll halfway down the link you'll see..... DEAR MISS MANNERS: I am a teenage boy who apparently has impregnated a teenage girl. She says she's in love with me still, but also she will not get an abortion and insists that I pay support. I think this is all mood swings. How do I support her morally but not monetarily? GENTLE READER: That is neither a moral nor a legal position. Miss Manners trusts that the young lady's lawyer will explain that to you. (Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email,...

It could be a week before we know whether a Longmont woman who allegedly stabbed a pregnant woman and removed her unborn child will face a charge of first degree murder. The Boulder District Attorney says a murder charge is not a given because of Colorado laws and the facts surrounding the case. During a news conference Thursday District Attorney Stan Garnett said any murder charge involving an unborn child is very difficult. “Under Colorado law, essentially, there’s no way murder charges can be brought if it’s not established that the fetus lived as a child outside the body of...

Only an hour ago we had been lamenting yet another incredibly bad road. Here in the Ugandan outback, it is as pointless to complain about the roads as it is to complain about politicians in America, but railing against the unchangeable can lighten the mood. But on the way out of a small village in the Bukedea region of Uganda, we didn’t feel the bumps. That was when our team’s defenses failed, and when the gravity of the assault on women—perpetrated by the champions of “women’s health” and “empowerment”—really hit home. It may have been just me, but my guess...

This year’s “short session” of Virginia’s General Assembly is moving at an increasingly rapid pace in the House of Delegates as legislation is being reported out of committee and onto the House floor. We will soon approach cross-over, the term used for when bills passed in each house of the legislature are presented to the other for consideration. Included in this number will likely be a couple of measures I have sponsored which, having reported out of committee, I anticipate will soon gain passage. Another bill I submitted has proven more controversial, generating particular media attention last week. House Bill...

“Did you know that the key to having a healthy baby is taking good care of your own health. The healthier you are, the stronger you and your baby are likely to be.” Believe it or not that message is brought to you by abortion giant Planned Parenthood. _________________________________________________________________ At Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, they’ll even help you get a midwife. In fact, on their website they state that Rose Midwifery Practice has partnered with the abortion giant. At Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic they state, “Prenatal care also includes advice on how mothers-to-be can best care for themselves....

The mainstream media in both the U.S. and Europe have done a stellar job protecting the identities of two men who committed a gruesome atrocity against a 19-year-old pregnant woman and her unborn child, and for good reason: the men are Muslims. Not wishing to fuel the “Islamophobia” that liberals claim is so dangerous, the cowardly media bows to Sharia law by safeguarding the very ideology that contributed to these two criminals’ violent choices. This political correctness continues to protect the offenders, subsequently victimizing the innocent and creating more potential victims. According to German newspaper KOPP, a 19-year-old German woman,...

The White House will announce a major push Thursday to require paid leave for American workers. In a blog post on LinkedIn Wednesday, Valerie Jarrett, a senior advisor to the President, said Obama will sign a memorandum to ensure federal employees have access to at least six weeks of paid sick leave when a new child arrives. The president will also call on Congress to offer six weeks of paid administrative leave. “We can't say we stand for family values when so many women in this country have to jeopardize their financial security just to take a few weeks off...

These kind of pregnancies — when mothers are unaware that they are pregnant — are called cryptic pregnancies and doctors say certain women are more likely to have them than others.  PregnancyCorner explains women who have irregular menstrual cycles or women who are obese may be less likely to realize they are pregnant.  There are also psychological factors that can lead to cryptic pregnancies. Psychology Today says a woman experiencing a lot of stress could cause the fetus to produce low levels of the hormone HCG, which would cause milder, potentially unnoticeable pregnancy symptoms.  Low levels of HCG can even cause a pregnancy test to be negative when the woman...

Those intrepid newshounds at ThinkProgress have uncovered nefarious doings in the dark, secretive world of … the Knights of Columbus. You thought the Catholic fraternal organization was all funny hats, ceremonial swords and Special Olympics donations. If only! It turns out the Knights “Bankroll America’s Social Conservative Movement,” according to ThinkProgress’s headline. Besides casting a sleazy aspersion about the compensation of the “Supreme Knight,” the nearly 1,900-word article is utterly, well, stupid. Can liberals reading ThinkProgress be so cut off from religious culture that they’re shocked a Catholic organization believes Church teaching? Perhaps they can. Among the revelations: The Knights...

Every time I think that abortion giant Planned Parenthood has finally surprised me with their hypocrisy I discover something else that takes the cake. Do you remember when Planned Parenthood, which does hundreds of thousands of abortions annually, was selling baby onesies? The idea of an organization which profits off the killing of unborn children selling baby clothes was pretty astonishing at the time. That is, until today ! Now, the number one provider of abortions has the perfect gift idea: According to Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio, and Planned Parenthood of Northeast Ohio, this inspiring gift is, “made from...

A typical Christmas shopping list usually consists of toys, electronics, gift cards, etc. But now, some women are adding positive pregnancy tests to their list -- and checking it twice. Women across the country are selling and buying positive pregnancy tests on Craigslist. One post from Claremore, Oklahoma offered a positive pregnancy test for $20. The advertisement stated: 'I have positive pregnancy test for those of you who need a little help holding onto your man through the holidays, shoot me a message for $20 each.'

Women’s rights groups and pro-life advocates are strange bedfellows in the case of Peggy Young, which is being presented at the Supreme Court today. Peggy Young will have some surprising legal bedfellows when her landmark case for the rights of pregnant workers is presented before the Supreme Court today. The ACLU, Legal Momentum (formerly NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund), and the Women's Law Project are all predictable backers of Young's suit against her former employer, the United Parcel Service. But Americans United For Life (AUL) and 22 other pro-life groups are also in Young’s corner as she fights for...

It took jurors only an hour to find Christian Ferdinand guilty of murdering Shaniesha Forbes in 2013 after she told him she was pregnant and he was the father. ‘I hope he won’t see the light of day again,’ the victim’s mother, Sandra Price, said after the verdict was announced in Brooklyn Supreme Court. Christian Ferdinand was convicted Monday of smothering 14-year-old Shaniesha Forbes to death, shoving her body in a suitcase and setting it aflame on a Brooklyn beach. A subhuman Brooklynite was convicted Monday of killing a 14-year-old girl, burning her body and dumping her in a creek...

One of the revelations to come out of the interview between Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson and ABC’s George Stephanopoulos was news that he and his new wife are expecting a child. Now, let’s take a look at how some on Twitter reacted to this development: TWITTER IMAGE ON LINK Oh FFS! Really Ferguson protesters? You people are sick:

FULL TITLE: Woman who had no idea she was pregnant gave birth to twin girls after going to see the doctor for a stomach ache An Iowa woman had an eye-opening experience last week when she went to the doctor for a stomach ache and gave birth to rare twins in the hospital hours later. Shelby Magnani and her fiancé James Croskey of Ankeny, Iowa had no idea Shelby was six-months-pregnant with one child - let alone two. Ava and Anna were born by C-section last Thursday weighing just four and three pounds each. Not only was Shelby pregnant with...

***SNIP*** At 26 weeks pregnant, Taylor was determined to prolong the delivery for as long as possible, but her liver started failing. Luke was born weighing 1 pound 15 ounces. Doctors whisked him away to the neonatal intensive care unit at Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City before his mother, who was taken directly to the intensive care unit, father or any of his five siblings were able to spend time with him. Shortly after the delivery, Taylor’s children and her husband, Nate, were brought in to say their final goodbyes to her. Doctors said she had only 24...