180 Movie on Abortion Goes Viral, 500K Views in One Week

From LifeNews.com

By Steven Ertelt

The new pro-life movie 180 has become an overnight sensation as nearly half a million people have watched the 33-minute pro-life documentary in just one week since director and producer Ray Comfort released it to the public.

The film is changing public opinion on abortion 180 degrees in a matter of minutes as it shows Comfort asking pro-abortion students questions that change their views quickly. Titled to reflect the complete turnaround in the mindsets of all to whom the question is posed, the award-winning film shows eight “pro-choice” people, mostly college students, changing their stance to pro-life just moments after the question is asked in its entirety. It was Comfort’s hope that the documentary would go viral and it appears to have done so.

Citizens of Liechtenstein Reject Legalization of Abortion in Decisive Vote

From LifeSiteNews

By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman

HSH Prince Alois

Voters in the tiny European country of Liechtenstein have rejected a proposal to legalize abortion in cases of fetal deformity.

In a Sunday referendum, 52.3% voted to affirm article 27 of the nation’s constitution, which states that “everyone has the right to life.”

The proposal, which claimed to “help rather than punish” women who choose to have their unborn children killed, had already been voted down by the nation’s parliament in a 25-7 vote earlier this year.

It was also opposed by Alois of Liechtenstein, the nation’s hereditary prince, who exercises some degree of governing authority under his father, Hans Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein.

New Law Could Make Kansas First Abortion-Free State

From LifeSiteNews

By Kathleen Gilbert

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) began inspecting the three remaining abortion clinics in the state this week, and said it will decide by July 1 whether they will be able to attain a license to practice under a new law.

Members of Operation Rescue, a pro-life whistleblower group, say they believe there’s a good chance the abortion clinics’ operating standards will be found unacceptable under the new requirements.

House Passes Historic Ban on Taxpayer Funding for Abortion

From LifeSiteNews

By Kathleen Gilbert

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ)

The House on Wednesday afternoon voted 251-175 to pass the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act.

H.R. 3, authored by veteran pro-life leader Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and sporting at least 227 co-sponsors by the time of the vote, makes universal and permanent the Hyde amendment rider to Labor and Health and Human Services appropriations bills.

In its current form, the Hyde amendment, which bans federal funding for abortion in cases of rape and incest, requires annual approval.

Lawmakers had spent much of the afternoon debating the funding ban, with Democrats calling the measure an overreach and Republicans saying it merely codified existing federal law and corresponded to the will of the people on the topic of publicly-funded abortion.

Media Can’t Hold Down Pro-Life Message Forever: Lord Nicholas Windsor

Read Part I of the interview with Lord Windsor here.

From LifeSiteNews

By Hilary White

Lord and Lady Nicholas Windsor

Lord Nicholas Windsor, the youngest son of the Duke of Kent and cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, came to the pro-life position at the same time as his conversion to Catholicism. He told LifeSiteNews.com in a recent extensive and candid interview that he believes the two are inextricably linked.

Lord Windsor spoke with LSN on February 25th, while attending the annual plenary meeting of the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Life in Rome.

Born in 1970, Lord Windsor said that his generation, those born to the Baby Boomers, are part of a backlash that looks upon the “calamitous” social and moral chaos of the last 40 years with “horror.”

The life issues, he said, “in a certain respect, are the biggest thing. Because in our house, in the house of the developed world, it’s our biggest shame, it’s the biggest moral weight that we bear. Because in some sense, society has consented.”

“As Christians, as members of society, we have to act in our own small way. It’s clear that the Church provides an enormous wealth of teaching to draw on. The invitation is in front of us, in front of our eyes.”

Still Waiting for Moral Leadership in Britain

Queen’s cousin speaks to LifeSiteNews

From LifeSiteNews

By Hilary White

Lord Nicholas Windsor, the youngest child of the Duke and Duchess of Kent and first cousin to Queen Elizabeth II, told LifeSiteNews.com earlier this month that patience is required from those waiting for true moral and spiritual leadership to turn the anti-human, anti-life tide in Britain.

Lord and Lady Nicholas Windsor with one of their two sons.

Lord Windsor sat down with LSN at the annual plenary meeting of the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Life on February 25th. He spoke at length of his conversion to Catholicism, through the influence of the late Pope John Paul II, and his dedication to the pro-life philosophy.

The hope of turning society away from the post-Christian amorality, he said, lies with the post-Baby Boom generation: “Our generation is the one after [the one] which made these, I think, calamitous decisions. To some extent, our generation looks upon all that with horror.”

He said that “undoubtedly” true leaders will emerge from the generation disillusioned with the social revolution. “There are inspiring people,” he added, but “perhaps not on the national stage … One has to be patient.”

Lord Windsor was received into the Catholic Church ten years ago and became the first ever member of the current English Royal Family to be married at the Vatican and the first since 1554 to be married according to the rites of the Catholic Church. His son Albert was the first member of the Royal Family to be baptized a Catholic since 1688. 

Pro-Life Flash Mob in Chicago Surprises "Walk for Choice"

"Walk for Choice" protests took place on February 26 in several U.S. cities to protest H.R. 3, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and cosponsored by 209 more House lawmakers.

As a response to the "Walk for Choice," anonymous teens and young adults organized a "Pro-Life Flash Mob" over the span of a few days. The goal of the event was not to counter-protest, but to give a positive message of joy and life to Chicago.

The youth assembled inconspicuously around the plaza before the rally hiding their giant yellow balloons in black trash bags. When the "Walk for Choice" had assembled, the youth prompted by music coming from a backpack sound system then proceeded to unveil the helium balloons imprinted with the word "LIFE."

This raw videos shows the "Pro-Life Flash Mob" taking the "pro-choicers" by surprise with Life, Spirit, and Truth!

The first scene shows the unsuspecting participants of the "Walk for Choice." The "Shire" theme song is coming from the Pro-Life flash mob, just before they unveiled their hundreds of yellow balloons imprinted with "LIFE".

Taking a playful jab at the color theme of the "Walk for Choice," the Pro-Life flash mob asks in their sign: "ORANGE YOU GLAD TO SEE US???"

Which side has more joy?

Bernard Nathanson, Abortionist Who Became Pro-Life Activist, Dead at 84

From Catholic World News

Bernard Nathanson, who was one of the leading figures in the abortion industry before he converted to the pro-life cause and the Catholic faith, died on February 21 in New York at the age of 84.

Nathanson estimated that he performed 5,000 abortions personally, and as director of busy abortion clinics he supervised more than 70,000 abortions. He was co-founder of the group now known as NARAL, and helped craft the arguments in favor of abortion on demand. But Nathanson experienced a profound change of heart, and eventually embraced the pro-life cause.

In 1985 the former abortionist produced The Silent Scream, a highly influential film that showed ultrasound images of the unborn child in the womb. Later, in his book Aborting America, he revealed how he and other abortion advocates had distorted facts— notably by concocting false statistics on the number of deaths from illegal abortion—in order to gain public acceptance of the practice. In later years he expressed profound remorse for his participation both in the destruction of unborn children and in the propaganda campaign to promote the abortion industry. “I am one of those who helped usher in this barbaric age,” he confessed.

In a later book, his 1996 autobiography The Hand of God, Nathanson recounted the next step in his dramatic conversion: his entrance into the Catholic Church. He was baptized that year by Cardinal John O’Connor of New York. His godmother was Joan Andrews Bell, who had once spent more than a year in prison—much of it in solitary confinement—for her involvement in non-violent efforts to blockade abortion clinics.

Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

Bernard Nathanson Dead at 84 (National Catholic Register)

Caught on Tape: Planned Parenthood Aids Pimp’s Underage Sex Ring

A Planned Parenthood manager in New Jersey coaches a man and a woman posing as sex traffickers how to to secure secret abortions, STD testing, and contraception for their female underage sex slaves, and make their whole operation “look as legit as possible” in an undercover video released this morning.

Clinic manager Amy Woodruff, LPN, of Planned Parenthood Central New Jersey’s Perth Amboy center, warns the pimp and his prostitute to have their trafficked underage girls lie about their age to avoid mandatory reporting laws, promising, “even if they lie, just say, ‘Oh he's the same age as me, 15,’…it's just that mainly 14 and under we have to, doesn't matter if their partner's the same age, younger, whatever, 14 and under we have to report.” She says, “For the most part, we want as little information as possible.”

Woodruff also recommends how the pimp can get his prostitutes cheaper contraception by claiming they are “students”: “If they're minors, put down that they're students. Yeah, just kind of play along that they’re students--we want to make it look as legit as possible.”

Eduardo Verastegui: A Pro-Life, Counter-Cultural Hero

Schedule of Events for National March for Life

From LifeSiteNews

By Matt Anderson

In order to help pro-life pilgrims plan their trip for the upcoming national March for Life in Washington D.C., LifeSiteNews.com has compiled a list of events in and around D.C. Please check back frequently as this list will be updated as more details become available. If you know of an event that is not included on this list, contact us here.

 

For Listings of local pro-life marches, as well as bus trips going to the national March for Life from your area, please see: www.marchforlife2011.com 

Saturday, January 22

Mass for Life - Georgetown University
5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. 

March for Life Convention
12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m., 7:00 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Hyatt Regency Hotel, Washington D.C.
LSN’s Matthew Anderson and Caitlin Bowers will rotate their presence at the LSN booth in the displays area. Stop by to say hello! 

Sunday, January 23:

Cardinal O’Connor Conference on Life
8:00 a.m. - 4:15 p.m.
Georgetown University, Washington D.C.
See full schedule.

March for Life Convention
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Hyatt Regency Hotel, Washington D.C 

Students for Life of America National Conference
8:00 a.m. -  9:00 p.m.
North Bethesda Marriott
5701 Marinelli Road
Bethesda, Maryland 20852

March for Life White House Mini-Rally
3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Lafayette Park, Washington D.C. 

Opening mass for National Prayer Vigil for Life
6:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C.
All night prayer vigil to follow. See schedule for details. 

Monday, January 24

Giant 2010 Youth Rally and Mass for Life
7:30 - 11:30 a.m.
Verizon Wireless Center - Washington, D.C.

Closing mass for National Prayer Vigil for Life
7:30 a.m.
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington D.C.

Lutherans for Life Worship Service
Immanuel Lutheran Church
1801 Russell Rd.
Alexandria, VA 22301 

March for Life Convention
8:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m., 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Hyatt Regency Hotel, Washington D.C.
Rally for Life
12:00 p.m.
National Mall and 7th Street
Washington D.C.

March for Life
1:00 p.m.
Washington D.C. National Mall
See details and route map.

National Pro-life Youth Rally
2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Silent No More Awareness Campaign - testimonies
4:00 p.m.
Steps of the Supreme Court, Washington D.C.
Immediately following the March women from the Silent No More Awareness Campaign will be giving testimonies of their experiences with abortion. 

March for Life Rose Dinner
6:00 p.m.
Congresswoman Michele Bachmann to Deliver Keynote Address
Hyatt Regency Hotel, Washington D.C. 

From the Pastor - 'Silencing Truth'

A Weekly Column by Father George Rutler

In the 1940's, totalitarian regimes tried to silence the Church. Entire sections were reserved for priests in Dachau and Auschwitz, where St. Maximilian Kolbe was injected with carbolic acid.  In Yugoslavia, Bishop Mišic of Mostar was threatened for decrying the massacre of women and children. The Greek Archbishop of Athens risked his life when he solemnly cursed the German plenipotentiary. The newspapers mocked Cardinal van Roey, Primate of Belgium, for repudiating Nazi eugenics. When Cardinal Hinsley of Westminster spoke out after 120 Salesian priests were slaughtered in Poland, European journalists accused him of "bad faith." A Fascist propagandist, Robert Farinacci, tried to block the Vatican Radio, and in response the Holy See increased its medium-wave broadcasts "so that the Holy Father's voice can be heard in all parts of the globe."

As the nation anticipates the annual March for Life on January 24, we may expect the customary denials by much of the media establishment. Eugenics today is on a wider scale than in the dark war years,  and when Church leaders speak out they are told, as in the 1940's, that they should be silent. The Planned Parenthood organization has unsuccessfully tried to stop publication of a new book, Unplanned, exposing its inner workings. On January 6, our archbishop lamented the fact that 41% of all unborn infants in New York City are aborted. In 2009, 87,273 infants were destroyed in our city. Now marriage itself is under assault, and the U.S. State Department tried to eliminate the terms "mother" and "father" on passport applications, as if they were nothing more than legal constructs. A British couple has been congratulated in the press for aborting their twin boys, because they wanted a girl. Our archdiocese hopes to reform this with the help of the Sisters of Life, the World Youth Alliance, Expectant Mother Care, and instruction on chastity, in the hope that we may yet be saved from becoming a demographic wasteland like much of Europe. 

Elizabeth Anscombe

It was a pleasant surprise to read a tribute to Elizabeth Anscombe in the New York Times on January 8, marking the tenth anniversary of the death of one of the greatest modern philosophers. She was a generous mentor when I was a graduate student. There is a revival of interest in her in many universities around the world. She was ridiculed for celebrating with champagne the prophetic encyclical of Pope Paul VI, Humanae Vitae. She also was arrested for protesting outside an abortion "clinic." For those who broadcast the truth, champagne and censure go together. Anscombe wrote:

"Those who try to make room for sex as mere casual enjoyment pay the penalty: they become shallow. At any rate the talk that reflects and commends this attitude is always shallow. They dishonour their own bodies; holding cheap what is naturally connected with the origination of human life."

Fr. George W. Rutler is the pastor of the Church of our Saviour in New York City. His latest book, Coincidentally: Unserious Reflections on Trivial Connections, is available from Crossroads Publishing.

Obama: Angel of Death

In 2010, Colorado will mark the beginning of the end of the culture of death. The first state to legalize abortion, will fittingly be the first state to banish it.

Historic Turnaround in Europe Preserves Conscience Rights

The plenary room of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg (Photo: PA)

From C-Fam
By Terrence McKeegan

A dramatic legislative reversal reaffirmed the conscience rights of medical professionals and institutions in Europe last week.

The Council of Europe’s legislature considered a resolution calling for onerous restrictions on conscientious objection, including stripping protections for doctors who object to performing abortions.

Led by two politicians from Italy and Ireland, a coalition of legislators secured the passage of 29 amendments that transformed the resolution into one that upheld universally recognized rights to freedom of conscience.

The original resolution, known as the McCafferty report, sought to punish medical professionals for refusing to perform procedures against their conscience. It even called for a new registry of conscientious objectors.

Christian McCafferty, a British politician and main author of the original resolution, said during deliberations that she sought to force private and religious hospitals and clinics to perform abortions.

A committee voted for McCafferty’s original resolution, but was overruled by the final legislative vote. Most observers assumed the draft resolution would pass in substantially the same form, and the final resolution shocked nearly everyone, especially McCafferty. She ended up voting against her own resolution.

The adopted resolution says that no “hospital, institution or person may be subject to pressures, or be held liable or suffer discrimination of any kind for refusing to perform, allow or assist an abortion…”

“This resolution will have a real impact on case law of the European Court of Human Rights,” said Gregor Puppinck, Director of the European Centre for Law and Justice. He said the court often quotes resolutions of the European legislature as a reflection of opinion in the continent’s broader society.

Puppinck told the Friday Fax that the legislature often holds votes on the most contentious issues on Thursday evening or Friday. As more conservative members tend to live further than liberals from the Strasbourg meeting site, travel arrangements often make it more difficult for them to stay for votes late in the week. Puppinck credited much of the success of the final resolution to efforts to keep the conservative members in the room for the Thursday evening vote.

The amendments’ backers widely credited the final result to the leadership of Sen. Luca Volonte of Italy, chairman of the European People’s Party, and Sen. Ronan Mullen of Ireland.

“Mrs. McCafferty and her supporters should ask themselves why so many healthcare professionals object to being involved in abortions in the first place,” said a press release from Mullen. “It’s because they regard abortion itself as a breach of human rights, and not part of responsible medical treatment.”

Several binding international agreements guarantee the right to conscientious objection, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights, and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

A number of medical associations, including the French National Medical Council, condemned the original McCafferty report. Prominent figures, including a former judge of the European Court of Human Rights and a former professional conduct chairman of the United Kingdom’s chief medical council, spoke out against the original resolution at an event held the day before the vote.

ACLU: Religious Hospitals Should Be Required to Perform ‘Emergency’ Abortions

From Catholic World News

The American Civil Liberties Union has asked the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services to require religious hospitals to offer “emergency” abortions.

Former Senator Rick Santorum’s recent Philadelphia Inquirer column on the issue draws wider attention to the ACLU’s action, which was taken this summer. Citing Bishop Thomas Olmsted’s opposition to a Phoenix Catholic hospital’s decision to permit an abortion, the ACLU said that “the government must ensure that the well-being of the patient does not take a back seat to religious beliefs.”

Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

• Rick Santorum: A reckless liberal attack on nation's religious hospitals (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• ACLU Asks Government To Ensure That Religiously-Affiliated Hospitals Provide Emergency Reproductive Health Services (ACLU)
• Bishop Olmsted Statement in Response to Abortion Performed at St. Joseph's Hospital

Obama Sends Tax Dollars to His Home Country, Funds Vote on Abortion in Kenya

New evidence reveals that the Obama administration has given up to $10 million to groups in Kenya that are campaigning for a "Yes" vote on a new constitution that would legalize abortion. Though officials denied the U.S. government is trying to influence the election, documents from U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) show funding agreements with organizations to target certain populations to "drum up political support" for the draft constitution.

The U.S. Embassy in Nairobi claims the U.S. is neutral on the constitution. But an investigation launched by U.S. congressmen unearthed documents showing how the Obama Administration is funding outside organizations to influence the vote.

This same week, the Obama Administration was caught giving $160 million to Pennsylvania to fund a plan under ObamaCare that will cover any legal abortion in the state. Federal officials claim that, despite what is written in the plan, it will be limited to abortions in the case of rape, incest, and life of the mother.

"We can learn how the Obama Administration will behave in our own country by its actions in Kenya. Despite a federal law banning the government from using foreign aid to lobby for or against abortion, the Administration has given up to $10 million to sway an election that would result in legalizing abortion. If President Obama is sincere in his promise to 'reduce the need for abortions,' then he must stop funding organizations -- internationally and domestically -- that are dedicated to increasing abortions," said Wendy Wright, President of Concerned Women for America.

Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg: 'We Will Never Go Back' to Outlawing Abortion

"Frankly I had thought that at the time Roe was decided, there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don't want to have too many of."

From LifeSiteNews
By Kathleen Gilbert

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg last Thursday insisted that America would "never go back" to outlawing the murder of the unborn, now that a whole generation of women has experienced the effects of Roe v. Wade.

"Over a generation of young women have grown up, understanding they can control their own reproductive capacity, and in fact their life's destiny," Ginsburg said in remarks at the Aspen Ideas Festival. "We will never go back to the way it once was."

Ginsburg went on to point out that, should the Supreme Court restrict Roe, "the only women who would be truly affected are poor women." "Because even at the time before Roe, women who wanted abortions could have a safe, legal abortion ... Women could travel from one state to another and didn't have to go to Japan or Cuba.”

“Whatever the court may do, it's only the poor women who will suffer," she said. "When people realize that, maybe they will have a different attitude."

Ginsburg has previously lamented the lack of full abortion availability for low-income populations – although her argument was framed in less-than-altruistic terms.

"Frankly I had thought that at the time Roe was decided, there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don't want to have too many of," Ginsburg told Emily Bazelon of the New York Times one year ago.

"So that Roe was going to be then set up for Medicaid funding for abortion. Which some people felt would risk coercing women into having abortions when they didn't really want them. But when the court decided McRae, the case came out the other way. And then I realized that my perception of it had been altogether wrong."

Ginsburg also took a moment to say she was "so glad that Elena [Kagan] is joining us,” although the U.S. Supreme Court candidate's nomination has not yet been approved by the Senate.

Biden Promises Kenya 'Money to Flow' if Pro-Abort Constitution Passes

Joe Biden's career was summed up best by Hadley Arkes in a column titled "The Rise of an Empty Man."

Do you remember his indignation in this interview when it was suggested during the campaign that an Obama administration might advance socialism?

He has always reminded us of Richard Rich, who betrayed Saint Thomas More and sold his soul to become Attorney General for Wales. To paraphrase More, it profits a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world, but for the Vice Presidency?

Now the leftists that once decried American "imperialism" are attempting to impose the "culture of death" on African nations, and in the political whore that is Joe Biden, they have the perfect messenger.

From LifeSiteNews
By Kathleen Gilbert

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden travelled to Kenya to personally urge the country to pass a new constitution that would legalize abortion - and to assure Kenyans that such a change would "allow money to flow" from foreign aid treasuries.

At the same time, a federal probe is ongoing to determine whether the Obama administration is violating federal law by using taxpayer money to lobby for a constitution that is deeply controversial in Kenya in large part because of its abortion provisions.

"We are hopeful, Barack Obama is hopeful, I am hopeful that you will carry out these reforms to allow money to flow," Biden told a crowd of Kenyans, among whom President Obama is extremely popular and touted as a native son of their country.

A clause in the proposed constitution has received heavy criticism from religious leaders in Kenya for allowing abortion when a mother's "health" is endangered - a term that, as abortion advocates admitted at the Women Deliver conference in Washington, D.C. last week, "can be broadly interpreted when need be."

Asked about the abortion issue, Biden told Rev. Timothy Njoya not to “confuse that with the position of the US President, US Vice President and US Government," according to Kenya's Daily Nation.

Yet some are not so sure that such a line can be drawn: last month, three U.S. congressmen with legal oversight jurisdiction over federal international funds launched a probe into whether the Obama administration is violating federal law by promoting the controversial constitution.

“The Obama Administration’s advocacy in support of Kenya’s proposed constitution may constitute a serious violation of the Siljander Amendment and, as such, may be subject to civil and criminal penalties under the Antideficiency Act," wrote Reps. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) in a May 6 letter to Inspectors General of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development.

The Siljander Amendment of the State, Foreign Operations Appropriations Act, reads: “None of the funds made available under this Act may be used to lobby for or against abortion."

The lawmakers pointed out that the abortion issue is prominent in the public debate over the proposed document, and that the chairman of Kenya’s Committee of Experts on Constitutional Review identified abortion as "one of the four most contentious issues in the proposed constitution.”

Rep. Smith said that as much as $10 million in taxpayer funds may have been spent in support of the pro-abortion constitution as of May.

South Carolina Legislature Acts to Protect Women from the Harms of Abortion

From Americans United for Life
By Mailee Smith

Women in South Carolina will soon be better protected from the harms of abortion. Early this morning, the legislature passed a bill that will increase the state’s reflection period from one hour to twenty-four hours.

Previously, abortionists were permitted to perform abortions on women just one hour after giving them information outlining the risks of abortion, the gestational age of the child, and other important information that women need before making their abortion decisions. Now, however, abortionists will not be permitted to perform abortions until the women have had at least 24 hours to reflect upon the information. In addition, the information must now be available on a state-sponsored website.

This is a critical step in protecting the women of South Carolina and ensuring that their “choice” is fully informed. There can be no true “consent” to abortion unless women are provided all of the information they need to make a well-informed “choice.” Importantly, when women have all the information they need to make a “choice” and time to reflect upon that information, women are less likely to choose abortion.

AUL actively advised and supported South Carolina’s Palmetto Family Council on the passage of this bill. Not surprisingly, the bill was opposed by abortion proponents who do not want women to make truly informed “choices.”

The governor is expected to sign the bill next week. South Carolina will then join 24 other states with one-day reflection periods before abortion.

Louisiana Passes Opt-Out Bill Voiding ObamaCare’s Abortion Mandate

From LifeSiteNews
By Peter J. Smith

The Louisiana State House successfully has passed a measure that will make “the Bayou State” the fourth in the nation to opt-out of the abortion mandates of the recently enacted national health care reform.

Democrats and Republicans in the state Senate approved HB 1247, the Abortion Insurance Opt-Out Act, authored by Representative Frank Hoffman (R-West Monroe), by an overwhelming majority of 28 – 3 on Monday.

H.R. 1247 prohibits abortion coverage by health insurers in the state-run health insurance exchange that is scheduled to go into effect in 2014 as part of President Barack Obama’s health care reform law. A provision of the national law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, gives states the explicit right to ban health insurance companies receiving public subsidies under the state health exchange, from providing abortion coverage.

The Louisiana measure has just one exception for insurance companies, permitting abortion in cases where mother’s life is in danger from “a physical disorder, physical illness, or physical injury” including “a life-endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself.” The law does not permit the killing of unborn children conceived in situations of rape and incest.

The Senate made some changes to the House bill, and therefore the state’s House of Representatives is expected to hold a vote within the next few days to approve the amended bill.

The bill’s original form as passed by the House would have banned all health insurance providers in Louisiana from offering policies and plans that would pay for abortions. However the Senate committee amended the bill to apply to only those health insurers participating in the state exchanges mandated by the federal health care reform.

In a telephone interview with LifeSiteNews.com, Benjamin Clapper, Executive Director of Louisiana Right to Life Federation, said that while the Senate Health and Welfare Committee, which amended the House bill, did not allow them to ban private health insurers from providing coverage for abortions, he was not aware of any insurers that cover abortions in Louisiana anyway.

“It won’t change much right now, but we certainly would have preferred that and the abortion opt out,” he said. “But the committee did not allow us to do that.”

Clapper said that the Bioethics Defense Fund did the heavy lifting of drafting the opt-out legislation, but the model opt-out legislation from the National Right to Life Committee gave them the idea of also banning abortion coverage by private insurers.

After the Senate’s changes have been approved by the House, the bill will be sent to the desk of Gov. Bobby Jindal, who is expected to sign the measure.

In a separate statement, Clapper praised the Louisiana legislature for taking the opt-out bill over “its final major hurdle,” saying that state lawmakers representing the will of the people of Louisiana, “have resoundingly sent a message to our nation that abortion is not health care."

"Once HB 1247 has been stamped by the House and signed by the Governor, we will be at least the 4th state to opt out of abortion subsidies since the President signed his national health care reform bill into law three short months ago on March 23rd,” said Clapper. “We have helped initiate a growing state-by-state movement declaring that health care reform should not be used to expand abortion."

Lawmakers in Arizona, Mississippi, and Tennessee have enacted similar opt-out language for their respective states. Missouri legislators have also passed their own opt-out bill, which is awaiting their governor’s signature. Opt-out language was passed by lawmakers in Oklahoma and Florida, but then vetoed by their respective governors.

Oklahoma’s Gov. Brad Henry delayed his veto of his state’s opt-out bill to the point where the legislature had no time to mount another veto override effort and conclude pressing budgetary matters before the end of the legislative session. Gov. Charlie Crist, who scrubbed the pro-life section of his independent campaign for governor, also vetoed opt-out legislation that also would have required women to receive an ultrasound before going in for an abortion.