Tag Archives: abortion

Imperial Health Care Anyone? Witness the Lord’s Day Debacle

If Democrats pass the Obamacare bill, America will enter further into the domination of global socialism. Contrary to elite members like Obama, Clinton, and Soros, our constituted nation was not founded on the consent of the duped by the deceiving salesmanship of power-mongering tyrants. It was founded on the coterminous principles of the informed consent of the governed and a covenant with the Providential Creator–God of truth. If that consent is based on cleverly devised half-truth or lies, the consent was not valid or legal.

If our supposed-representatives in DC have not even read the bill in order to determine its costs and benefits, it cannot be said that they have represented anything for any constituents. Their party line Yes or No vote means nothing. The only real meaning it has is a vote for the party agenda. Based on such a vote, no law can be enacted that violates our rights and Constitution.

That is what the Obamacare legislation does. Dictators dictate law. Obamacare law purports to dictate to free citizens by coercing them to purchase one of three healthcare insurance policies at the point of criminal prosecution, financial penalties, and possibly (at some point) imprisonment. By ultimately eliminating a free market in healthcare, the Democrats will force the same kind of failed socialist health care system experienced by Canadians and Europeans.

The grossly false claim that the best health care system and economy in the world will allow thousands of people die without a socialist take-over of the healthcare system is countered by the testimonies of Canadians and Europeans who would have died had they not come to America for treatment. They would have died like many others because they had to wait for their turn to receive medical treatment.

Just as many more unborn children will certainly be killed under Obamacare, many more elderly can be expected to die because of a decline in quality care.

Moreover, small businesses will be adversely affected by the mandates imposed on them by Obamacare. Small business owners and many in the middle income tax bracket will end up paying up to a quarter of their income on health care costs as structured by Obamacare, according to American Enterprise Institute Fellow and Physician Scott Gottlieb.

Health care costs will not decrease because of Obamacare; they will increase because of the various costs to insurers, businesses, and their inflationary costs passed on to consumers. Everyone will pay more for less.

Because the price tag of Obamacare is over a trillion dollars, all will pay higher taxes either directly or indirectly. On top of higher taxes and cost of goods, the increase in federal debt will trickle down through the loss of jobs, reduction of income levels, decrease in number of small businesses, or some combination of them. As financial analysts keep warning, more government debt means fewer investment dollars, which in turn means less capital for current and start-up businesses. Thus making it a real possibility that America will enter into a European-like level of value-add tax socialism that once characterized the Roman Empire. Rome fell in part because it was overburdened by financial debt, by many over-taxed angry subjects, and by ever-increasing political corruption.

Pax Americana may be next.

I pray the gracious, the powerful, and the providential God defend and protect America from the political scheme aimed at winning votes in November’s election at the expense of all our economically common good. Long live the true and supreme Lawmaker, King, and Judge.

(See also my previous posts on how health care reform legislation effects small businesses and its funding of abortion.)

Ohio Right-to-life Opposes Ohio House H.B. 333

H.B. 333, which was introduced by State Rep. Dan Stewart (D, Columbus) in October, has been advancing in the Ohio House Health Committee. A hearing was held for proponents of the bill on February 24 and the bill is scheduled for proponent, opponent and interested party testimony on Wednesday, March 3.

The bill tramples on the conscience rights of medical professionals and religious hospitals.

Under H.B. 333:

  • Hospital emergency rooms, including those at religiously-affiliated hospitals, are required to provide the morning-after pill (referred to as “emergency contraception”) to victims of sexual assault.
  • Hospitals would be required to inform the women that emergency contraception “does not cause an abortion” or “interrupt an established pregnancy”. (Because “emergency contraception” in some cases may cause the death of an early human embryo by preventing implantation after fertilization has occurred, this information would be very misleading to any pro-life person who believes that life begins at fertilization.)
  • If a hospital violates these requirements, the Department of Health can impose a civil penalty of at least $10,000 with no limit on the maximum penalty. If there is a second violation, the State can seek an injunction to close the hospital.

H.B. 333 – Key Arguments

  • The bill violates the conscience rights of pro-life health care workers and religiously-affiliated hospitals by forcing them to distribute the morning-after pill, which, in some cases, might cause the death of a living human embryo.
  • The State of Ohio should not coerce health care providers into violating their religious and moral objections against ending a human life.
  • The bill requires hospital emergency rooms to give women misleading information that the morning-after pill does not cause an abortion or interrupt an “established pregnancy”.
  • This information would only be relevant in obtaining the informed consent of persons who had moral concerns about abortion, and those are precisely the persons who are most likely to be misled by it.
  • Although supporters of this bill claim to be “pro-choice”, their bill would deny pro-life people in the health care professions the “freedom to choose” not to participate in the destruction of human life.
  • This bill would require health care providers to violate the original Hippocratic Oath which stated: “I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody who asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect. Similarly I will not give to a woman an abortive remedy.”
  • If the State of Ohio decides that the desire for immediate access to the morning-after pill for rape victims requires health care providers and facilities to provide it despite their moral objections, it will set a precedent for using a similar argument to require health care providers and facilities to provide surgical abortions.
  • The morning-after pill is already widely available at many pharmacies (over-the-counter for adults and by prescription for minors under age 17), yet the proponents of this bill want to force even pro-life hospitals to dispense it.
  • Although proponents of the bill claim it is needed to improve access to health care, the bill allows the State to close a hospital for failing to distribute the morning-after pill. How would closing a hospital improve access to health care for anyone?

House Speaker Budish Reverses Decision About Teen Recognition

Facing mounting criticism over his ill-considered decision to prohibit
pro-life Shelby County teen Elisabeth Trisler from receiving a routine legislative honor, House Speaker Armond Budish (D-Beechwood) today did an about face. Trisler was scheduled to receive a resolution from her state representative, John Adams (R-Sidney), honoring her accomplishment as the National Right to Life Oratory Contest winner. However, Budish blocked the award presentation. He argued that honoring the teen was too controversial. Budish supports abortion.

In a news release Monday, Ohio Right to Life first brought attention to the issue. Executive Director Mike Gonidakis asked Budish to reconsider his decision. He was joined by several pro-life members of the General Assembly led by Rep. Adams.

“Speaker Budish recently called me to convey his change of heart and I thanked him on behalf of the pro-life community,” said Gonidakis. “Blocking speech because you don’t like what someone is saying or what they stand for goes against the very fabric of who we are as Americans. And, while the speaker got there the hard way,
at least he got there.”

Source: Ohio Right To Life, February 10, 2010

Ohio House Speaker Dishonors Teen: Unending Leftist Bigotry

In an unprecedented act of partisanship, House Speaker Armond Budish (D-Beechwood) denied Shelby County teen Elisabeth Trisler a legislative honor routinely presented to others. Budish is refusing to allow Trisler on the House floor to accept a legislative resolution. The resolution, authored by Rep. John Adams (R-Sidney), honors her accomplishment as the National Right to Life Oratory Contest winner. Such honorary resolutions are routinely presented at the start of Ohio House legislative sessions to constituents, including those who win athletic championships or academic contests.

“Surely Speaker Budish can put aside his partisanship for 10 minutes to honor the accomplishments of talented and optimistic teenage girl,” said Ohio Right to Life Executive Director Mike Gonidakis. “Perhaps his real message to Ohio’s teens is that excelling in public speaking isn’t worth being honored if their views are different than his.”
Trisler won the National Right to Life Oratory Contest held at the NRLC Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina in June, 2009. During the second half of 2009, Rep. Adams’s office worked to schedule the presentation of Trisler’s proclamation on the House floor, as is typical of such awards. The presentation was scheduled for Wednesday, February 3, 2010.

However, on January 29th, the House Clerk informed Rep. Adams’s office the presentation was canceled because the Speaker “had a problem with the subject matter.” The Clerk advised the representative’s staff to take the matter up with the Speaker. Speaker Budish supports abortion.

“The Ohio House chamber is a monument to the importance of oratory and persuasion on the great issues facing our state,” added Gonidakis. “Silencing someone because you disagree is a terrible lesson to teach teens. The Speaker should reconsider his unfortunately petty decision.”

“The Ohio House of Representatives is known as the ‘people’s house’,” said State Representative John Adams. “It is an outrage that Speaker Budish has decided to politicize and deny the presentation of a proclamation honoring national pro-life award on the House floor that was previously approved by the Speaker,” Adams said.

Source: Ohio Right to Life, February 8, 2010

Most Americans Approve of Tebow’s Pro-Life Ad During Super Bowl

Most American say they approve of the decision by CBS to air Focus On The Family pro-life ad featuring Florida Gator star quarterback Tim Tebow, according to a recent Marist Poll.

In the nationwide survey of 1,072, 60 percent of Americans said they approved of the decision by CBS. Thirty percent they disapproved.

It was not a big surprise to see fewer than 60 percent of those who identified themselves as Democrats, liberals, moderates, residents in the West and Northeast, making over $50,000 a year, and over 50 years old approving of a pro-life ad during the Super Bowl. Likewise, it would have been mind boggling had over 60 percent those who self-identified themselves as Republican, conservative, residents in the Midwest and South, making under $50,000, and under 50 year old not approved.

Interestingly, education and gender were among the factors differentiating those who are for or against the pro-life ad. The greatest point of difference was age. Of those 18-29 year of age, 77 percent were in favor of Tim Tebow’s escape from abortion pro-life plug. That was 14 percent higher than the 30-44 age group, 19 percent greater than the 45-59ers, and a 26 percent
chasm between the over 60 sexual revolutionary socialist generation and the 18-29 millennial generation.

Senate Health Care Bill Gives $7 Billion to Health Centers, Could Fund Abortions

A new analysis of the Senate health care bill finds a section of the manager’s amendment Senate Leader Harry Reid added to the bill that could find billions of dollars going to abortion funding. The little noticed provision could open a new door to direct taxpayer funding of abortions.

During the closing stages of the Senate’s deliberations on its health care bill, HR 3590, Reid got his lengthy manager’s amendment added to the measure.

That contained language designed to secure the 60 votes needed to overcome the filibuster against the bill and it included the Nelson-Reid deal that allows states to force taxpayers to fund abortions.

Now, in a memo the National Right to Life Committee has furnished LifeNews.com, a new analysis of the manager’s amendment reveals $7 billion in funding for Community Health Centers buried deep in Section 10503 of the 383-page amendment.

NRLC says the money could be funneled to abortion businesses to pay for abortions and will not be subject to provisions like the Hyde Amendment that stops abortion funding.

“Because this is a direct appropriation in the health care bill itself, these funds will not flow through the annual appropriations bill for the Department of Health and Human Services,” NRLC says. “Therefore, these funds would not be covered by the Hyde Amendment, which is a limitation provision that has been attached to the annual HHS appropriations bill in past years.”

There is also no other language anywhere in the Senate bill, despite protests from supporters of the measure to the contrary, that limits the community health center funding to non-abortion services.

National Right to Life also indicates that federal law doesn’t prohibit these federally-funded centers from doing abortions.

“Also, there is no restriction in the current laws authorizing CHCs that restricts these centers from performing abortions,” the pro-life group says.

Referring to Section 330 of the Public Health Services Act, NRLC says federal law says CHCs can only use Section 330 funds “for purposes within the scope of their grants, but one can assume that grant applications that included (for example) ‘reproductive services’ would not be deemed objectionable under the Obama Administration, and abortions could be subsumed under various other classifications as well.”

Right to Life says the concern is not a hypothetical one.

NRLC points out that the there is already an organized effort underway by the Reproductive Health Access Project to encourage Community Health Centers to perform abortions, “as an integrated part of primary health care.”

In fact, the Reproductive Health Access Project and the Abortion Access Project, two pro-abortion groups, have already produced an “administrative billing guide” to help CHCs integrate abortion into their practices within the confines of existing federal and state restrictions.

NRLC says the inclusion of the funding for CHCs with no abortion limitations presents another reason why the final health care bill must contain the Stupak amendment to truly ban abortion funding.

“The sudden appearance in the Senate health care bill of $7 billion in direct appropriations for CHCs, unconstrained by the Hyde Amendment or any other impediment to the use of the funds for direct federal funding of elective abortion, provides one more illustration of why it is critical that the final health care reform bill include the Stupak-Pitts language,” the group says.

Source Steven Ertelt, Editor, LifeNews.com, January 12, 2010.

Why I Signed the Manhattan Declaration

By Gary Palmer

On November 20, 2009 a group of nationally known and respected Christian leaders set forth an historic declaration.

The Manhattan Declaration is a long overdue message from men and women of faith to all those in political power from state and local governments to the federal government and its myriad bureaucracies. The Declaration focuses on three foundational principles of justice and the common good on which the signers will not compromise: the sanctity of human life in all stages and conditions; the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife; and religious liberty and freedom of conscience.

The Declaration states, “Because the sanctity of human life, the dignity of marriage as a union of husband and wife, and the freedom of conscience and religion are foundational principles of justice and the common good, we are compelled by our Christian faith to speak and act in their defense.”

Obviously, this is a direct challenge to the power of the government at every level but especially the federal government under the current dominant liberal regime. In an interview with Katherine Lopez of the National Review, Dr. Robert George, one of the principal authors of the Manhattan Declaration, said that important decisions are now being made, or soon will be made, by state and federal government on the issues addressed in the Declaration.

Dr. George said that as a result of the 2006 and 2008 elections there is unprecedented strength in both houses of Congress and in many state legislatures to push laws that advance the abortion agenda, that seek to legalize same-sex marriage, and that threaten religious liberty. In fact, some Christian groups have already come under assault.

In May 2006, Catholic Charities of Boston ended its 103 year ministry of providing adoption services to place foster children rather than comply with the Massachusetts state law that required them to place children with homosexuals. In addition, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is threatening to take action against Belmont Abbey College, a private Catholic college in North Carolina, because the college refuses to include insurance coverage for abortion and contraception in the college’s health insurance plan.

While both of these involve Catholic institutions, they could just as easily be Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian or any other denomination.

Lopez later asked Dr. George how the White House should take the Declaration. He responded, “I hope that President Obama will understand that the signatories to the Manhattan Declaration are determined to defend the sanctity of human life, the dignity of marriage, and respect for religious freedom. On these issues, they cannot compromise, and they will not remain silent.”

The Declaration’s signatories understand that the principles of the sanctity of life, the sanctity of marriage and religious freedom are under threat from powerful political and cultural forces in our nation. They want it understood that, as Christians, those who sign the Declaration regard these principles as non-negotiable, and will therefore be unceasing in their defense of them. A critical line of the declaration states, “We pledge to each other, and to our fellow believers, that no power on earth, be it cultural or political, will intimidate us into silence or acquiescence.”

In explaining why he signed the Manhattan Declaration, Dr. Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky wrote that he signed it “…because I want to put my name on its final pledge — that we will not bend the knee to Caesar. We will not participate in any subversion of life. We will not be forced to accept any other relationship as equal in status or rights to heterosexual marriage. We will not refrain from proclaiming the truth — and we will order our churches and institutions and ministries by Christian conviction.”

Dr. Mohler was referring to the last lines of the Declaration that should be regarded as a solemn oath by all who sign it, “We will fully and ungrudgingly render to Caesar what is Caesar’s. But under no circumstances will we render to Caesar what is God’s.” Mohler then added, “I was encouraged that we could stand together to make clear that to come for one of us on these issues is to come for all.”

The opportunity to stand with other believers of such courage and moral clarity is why I signed the Declaration.

You can read the Manhattan Declaration at www.manhattandeclaration.org.

Gary Palmer is president of the Alabama Policy Institute, a non-partisan, non-profit research and education organization dedicated to the preservation of free markets, limited government and strong families, which are indispensable to a prosperous society.

Americans Against Congress’ Deficit Increasing Health Care Reform

In a December 22 Quinnipiac University poll, most Americans (53-36 percent) opposed the House and Senate Health Care Reform plans.

As usual, partisan politics is evident. Independent voters “mostly disapprove” 58 – 30 percent, as do Republicans 83 – 10 percent. Democrats “mostly approve” 64 – 22 percent.

Although most Americans (56-38 percent) support giving individuals the option of coverage by a government plan, they strongly oppose 72-24 percent using any public money in the health care overhaul to pay for abortions.

Americans are not happy with Pres. Obama’s performance concerning health care reform. Quinnipiac researchers found that 56-38 percent disapproved. They not only are Americans dissatisfied with Obama’s role in pushing for more universal health care, but a strong majority do not believe he will be able to keep his promise to overhaul it without increasing the federal deficit.

Slightly more Americans 56-36 percent do not want health care reform if it will increase the national debt.

Abortion Healthcare Bill is Unacceptable and Unconstitutional

Liberty Counsel opposes the current Senate healthcare bill because it still funds abortion. If the bill becomes law, Liberty Counsel is prepared to challenge the constitutionality of the bill since Congress has no authority to require every person to obtain insurance coverage and has no authority to fine employers who do not provide coverage up to the standards required in the bill.

On Saturday, Senate President Harry Reid (D-NV) filed a 383-page so-called “Manager’s Amendment” to his 2,074-page pending bill (H.R. 3590). Amendment 3276 requires that the federal government violate the principles of the Hyde Amendment by funding abortion. The funding goes through a complicated bookkeeping scheme similar to the Camps-Waxman accounting scheme which the House rejected when it adopted the Stupak-Pitts amendment on November 7.

Unfortunately, it appears that Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) succumbed to the Chicago-style politics of “pay-to-play” when he compromised his opposition to abortion funding after negotiating a deal for his home state of Nebraska to receive full federal funding to expand Medicaid insurance for the poor. The other 49 states have to split the costs of Medicaid with the federal government. The Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement on Saturday opposing the bill because of its coverage for abortion and because it does not permit those who oppose abortion to opt-out from the federally subsidized plan.

On Sunday the Congressional Budget Office Director admitted that the prior cost figures on the bill were inaccurate, stating to Sen. Reid: “The imprecision of these calculations reflects the even greater degree of uncertainty that attends to them.”

Mathew Staver, Founder of Liberty Counsel and Dean of Liberty University School of Law, released this statement on the Senate bill: “It is unconscionable that Senator Harry Reid would push forward a bill in the middle of the night that no one has had the time to read and that he would force the Senate to work up to the evening hours on Christmas Eve. While the world celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, Senator Reid is holding every Senator hostage in order to pressure them into submission so that he can force every American to fund abortion. The spirit of the Roman Emperor Herod who killed every baby boy two years old and under in order to preserve his political dynasty still lives in the halls of Congress. This shameful farce is not about healthcare. It is about politics. It is not about the well-being of the American people. It is about scoring a political victory. In the end, this power-play will be the undoing of every person who votes for the abortion bill.” Staver concluded: “This bill is unconstitutional because Congress lacks the authority to require every person to carry insurance coverage and is without authority to fine employers whose policies do not provide the coverage mandated by the legislation.”

Source: Christian News Wire, December 21, 2009.

Evidence of Counseling Abuse at Planned Parenthood Continues to Surface in Undercover Student Video

New undercover footage from an Appleton, WI Planned Parenthood abortion clinic shows clinic staff, including the abortion doctor, lying to two young women about fetal development and encouraging the one who is pregnant to obtain an abortion because “women die having babies.”

In the undercover video, when the two women ask a Planned Parenthood counselor if the pregnant woman’s 10-week-old unborn child has a heartbeat, the counselor emphasizes “heart tones,” and answers, “Heart beat is when the fetus is active in the uterus–can survive–which is about seventeen or eighteen weeks.” On the contrary, embryologists agree that the heartbeat begins around 3 weeks. Wisconsin informed consent law requires that women receive medically accurate information before undergoing an abortion.

The counselor then says, “A fetus is what’s in the uterus right now. That is not a baby.” Dr. Prohaska, the abortion doctor, insists, “It’s not a baby at this stage or anything like that.” Prohaska also states that having an abortion will be “much safer than having a baby,” warning, “You know, women die having babies.”

The video comes one month after the widely reported resignation of Planned Parenthood clinic director Abby Johnson. Johnson left her leadership position at Planned Parenthood in Bryan, TX after watching a 13-week old fetus being aborted in her clinic on ultrasound. She said during a recent interview, “Planned Parenthood really tries to instill in their employees and the women that are coming in for abortions that this is not a baby.” In another interview, she noted, “They don’t want to talk about when your baby has a heartbeat,” because “they don’t want to give the woman information that could give her a connection with her baby.”

The investigation is organized by Live Action, a nonprofit student group. Lila Rose, the 21-year-old UCLA student and Live Action president, says medical lies and manipulative counseling are routine at Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion chain.

“They will do or say anything in order to sell more abortions to more women, whether it is covering up sexual abuse or lying to women about medical facts,” says Rose. “Our team has visited dozens of Planned Parenthood clinics undercover. Planned Parenthood, while claiming to support patient self-determination, operates with an ‘abortion-first mentality.’”

The video is the first in Live Action’s “Rosa Acuna Project,” a multi-state undercover audit documenting Planned Parenthood’s abortion counseling. Planned Parenthood has come under fire recently after Live Action’s investigations found them willing to conceal sexual abuse and accept donations targeted to abort African-Americans only. Videos of abuse cover-up prompted state investigations of Planned Parenthood and diversion of the abortion giant’s public subsidies.

“Planned Parenthood is a billion-dollar organization with nearly $350 million of government funding, and stands to gain hundreds of millions more from national health care,” says Rose. “Do we really want to subsidize an organization that gives women in need atrocious misinformation and predatory abortion practices?”

To see the new video, go to: liveaction.org/rosaacuna. To learn more about Live Action, visit: liveaction.org.