Free Republic

Bioethics: The former director of the National Institutes of Health, once an enthusiast for embryonic stem cells, now says their future has "dimmed." So why is the administration bailing out research into such therapies while troubled states like California have committed billions?Aside from creating or saving a few research jobs, the administration's decision to federally fund embryonic stem cell research is, as we've noted, a bailout of bad science. It throws money at an avenue of research that time and adult stem cell progress have passed by. Applauding the administration's move was Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., who echoed the claims...

They weigh less than 3 pounds, usually, and are perhaps 15 inches long. But they can remember. The unborn have memories, according to medical researchers who used sound and vibration stimulation, combined with sonography, to reveal that the human fetus displays short-term memory from at least 30 weeks gestation - or about two months before they are born.

Fetuses found to have memories By Jennifer Harper July 16, 2009 They weigh less than 3 pounds, usually, and are perhaps 15 inches long. But they can remember. The unborn have memories, according to medical researchers who used sound and vibration stimulation, combined with sonography, to reveal that the human fetus displays short-term memory from at least 30 weeks gestation - or about two months before they are born. "In addition, results indicated that 34-week-old fetuses are able to store information and retrieve it four weeks later," said the research, which was released Wednesday. Scientists from the Department of Obstetrics...

A new study found that unborn babies may start to develop memories as early as thirty weeks into a pregnancy, but ABC’s “Good Morning America” ignored the study’s potential impact on the abortion debate, especially concerning late term abortion. Reporter Sharyn Alfonsi’s July 15 segment covered the pivotal study without even mentioning abortion. Anchor Chris Cuomo attempted to broach the issue during a follow-up interview but fell short. Alfonsi touted the study, “Day by day, a fetus goes through remarkable changes. By 30 weeks, opening and closing their eyes. Making facial expressions. And now, a new study reveals, forming memories....

Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday that she considered Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court case that legalized abortion, to be “settled law”...Dr. Charmaine Yoest, president of Americans United for Life, said Roe is “anything but settled law.”“This question of Roe as settled law goes to a central point in the testimony we’ll be providing on Thursday morning: Roe is not settled law,” Yoest said in a statement

In 1984, a video called The Silent Scream helped change the way people think about the unborn child. The footage of an actual abortion and the fetus’s reaction reminded us that abortion involves the death of a real person. A recent bit of footage has similar potential, only it couldn’t be more different from The Silent Scream. The footage was part of a recent PBS special, The Music Instinct: Science & Song. The program was an exploration of, among other things, music’s “biological, emotional and psychological impact on humans.” Part of this “exploration” included how music affects babies. If we...

The most overturned appellate court has teed up another case for the Supreme Court to consider — and likely soon. The 9th Circuit overturned an injunction in a district court case, allowing the state of Washington to force a pharmacy to stock and dispense morning-after pills, which causes the abortion of an embryo in the early days of a pregnancy. The pharmacy owners had objected, claiming that the law violated their religious practice:

VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI stressed the church's opposition to abortion and stem cell research in his first meeting with President Barack Obama on Friday, pressing the Vatican's case with the U.S. leader who is already under fire on those issues from some conservative Catholics and bishops back home...Afterward, the Vatican said the leaders discussed immigration, the Middle East peace process and aid to developing nations. But the Vatican's statement also underscored the pair's deep disagreement on abortion. "In the course of their cordial exchanges, the conversation turned first of all to questions which are in the interest of...

In his first week in office, President Obama issued an executive order overturning the Reagan-era Mexico City regulations, which had prohibited American foreign aid from going to organizations that finance overseas abortions. Just a few weeks later, the Gallup organization revealed that the executive order was the single most unpopular action taken by the president during his honeymoon period. At a time when American families had experienced an average 25 percent decline in their net worth, it would appear that increasing the net worth of foreign abortionists was not high on their to-do list.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) received $50 million from the United States government this year, despite its involvement in China, where the government's population program, according to the U.S. State Department, includes a "coercive birth limitation policy" that in some cases results "in forced abortion or forced sterilization."

At United Nations headquarters this week, the Obama administration continued its push for ever increasing access to legal abortion around the world. The Obama team has introduced language that has thrown a high level negotiation into a roil. The US proposal calls for “universal access” to “sexual and reproductive health services including universal access to family planning.” The document under consideration will culminate in the 2009 Annual Ministerial Review, which convenes next week in Geneva.

Welcome to American Life League's BabySteps DVD page! We're so glad you've found us. Please view the English-language narrated version of the video below and link to it often from your organization's web site. Help others see the miracle of life develop throughout a baby's 16 stages of growth. If you would like to view this video with audio narrations in French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese (Mandarin), Chinese (Cantonese) or Spanish— just click on the appropriate flag to load the video in the corresponding language.

Science: The president's Council on Bioethics is summarily dismissed when it disagrees on the need for more federally funded embryonic stem cell research. The scientific method doesn't include firing those who disagree with you.Inspectors general are apparently not the only ones to pay for annoying the White House by doing their job. The 18-member council existed to provide the president with advice on the moral and ethical implications of the rapid advances in science and medical research. It exists no more. The council existed to ponder whether we should do something just because we can. Apparently President Obama wanted not...

President Obama's Supreme Court nominee has made an astonishing admission -- she has never considered whether an unborn child has any rights. Senator Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina) says he had a "good meeting" with Judge Sonia Sotomayor on Wednesday that covered a broad range of issues, but none of his concerns about the high court nominee were eased. DeMint, chairman of the Senate Steering Committee, says he remains deeply disturbed with her view of the Second Amendment. "She was unwilling to say the Second Amendment protects a fundamental right that applies to all Americans, which raises serious questions about her...

Guadalajara, Mexico, Mar 30, 2009 (CNA) -- The legislature of the Mexican state of Jalisco has approved a change to the state’s constitution so that it protects the right to life of the unborn from the moment of conception. Representatives of one of the most important state legislatures in Mexico modified article 228 of the state constitution. Javier Guizar Macias of the PRI party said, “Instead of incarcerating someone who undergoes abortion… the reform stipulates giving the person medical care, psychological counseling, so that she can reflect on the issue.” The measure passed by a vote of 31-0. with 2...

President Obama to Sign Executive Order on Stem Cell Research Monday March 06, 2009 3:44 PM ABC News has learned that on Monday morning President Obama will hold an event at the White House in which he signs an executive order overturning the ban on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. The announcement will be about "restoring scientific integrity to health care policy," an administration official tells ABC News. In August 2001, President George W. Bush signed an executive order banning federal funding on embryonic stem cell research except for a few dozen lines that were grandfathered in. The...

40 Days for Life consists of 40 days of prayer and fasting for an end to abortion, 40 days of constant, peaceful vigil outside abortion centers and Planned Parenthood offices and 40 days of active pro-life community outreach. Your community may be participating in this prayerful vigil. If so, please join others in your area or unite with thousands across America during the 40 days of Lent in praying for an end to abortion in this nation.

40 Days for Life consists of 40 days of prayer and fasting for an end to abortion, 40 days of constant, peaceful vigil outside abortion centers and Planned Parenthood offices and 40 days of active pro-life community outreach. Your community may be participating in this prayerful vigil. If so, please join others in your area or unite with thousands across America during the 40 days of Lent in praying for an end to abortion in this nation.

40 Days for Life consists of 40 days of prayer and fasting for an end to abortion, 40 days of constant, peaceful vigil outside abortion centers and Planned Parenthood offices and 40 days of active pro-life community outreach. Your community may be participating in this prayerful vigil. If so, please join others in your area or unite with thousands across America during the 40 days of Lent in praying for an end to abortion in this nation.

“Thank you President Bush God Bless” is what 14-year-old Chrissy Doolittle’s sign read. The Leesburg resident stood holding her sign by the Washington Monument for nearly an hour and a half Saturday afternoon with her mother and grandmother to thank President George W. Bush for his eight years in office. Chrissy’s family was part of a group of around 150 people – the majority of them from Loudoun County – who wanted to make sure that their voices of gratitude were heard, even as Bush’s approval ratings hover around 30 percent and the area and nation turn their focus toward...