In the Public Square
Potential Supreme Court Nominee Shows the Audacity of “Choice” One of the candidates most frequently mentioned as a possible replacement for retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens is Diane Wood of the federal Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. News reports mention possible controversy arising from her involvement in a case arising out of anti-abortion protests in the ’90’s. As Paul Harvey used to say: and now, the rest of the story.POLLS CONFIRM MAJORITY OF AMERICANS ARE PRO-LIFE
PRINCETON, N.J.—A new Gallup Poll, conducted May 7–10, finds 51% of Americans calling themselves “pro-life” on the issue of abortion and 42% “pro-choice.” This is the first time a majority of U.S. adults have identified themselves as pro-life since Gallup began asking this question in 1995. [read article]
Know the law, stand your ground
SAN DIEGO, Jan. 30, 2009 (California Catholic Daily) Security guard calls police on pro-lifers outside Planned Parenthood abortion clinic in San Diego, but officers make no arrests once law is explained to them [read article]
PRESS RELEASE (October 29, 2008)
Activists Arrested for Leafletting at College of AlamedaALAMEDA, Calif.—After spending nearly twelve hours in jail, three college-age members of Campus Life Tour were released at midnight tired, hungry, and glad to have their freedom back. The group was unlawfully arrested yesterday at the College of Alameda, California, while handing out literature on the public campus. Campus Life Tour is a pro-life campus outreach project of Survivors, a Christian, pro-life activism organization dedicated to educating and activating high school and college age individuals. (www.survivors.la) Upon arriving on campus the group quietly held signs, distributed literature and peacefully dialogued with students. Within moments of their arrival, a campus security guard attempted to dispel a group of curious onlookers ushering them away from the displays. The Alameda Sheriff’s Department was called and instructed the group to leave, threatening them with arrest. [more]
Conscience
“UPDATE (April 22, 2009)—Good news for medical professionals who have conscientious objections to participating in abortion. AB 67 is now a bill dealing with election issues—campaign advertisements and communications. Thanks to Assemblyman Nava for gutting and redrafting the bill.”Read LLDF’s letter to Assemblyman Pedro Nava, who has introduced Assembly Bill 67 to the California Legislature. If enacted, AB 67 will allow the state to revoke the license of any pharmacist who refuses to dispense abortifacients, “irrespective of the pharmacist’s ethical, moral or religious objections.”
URGENT — Protect the Conscience Clause (March 17, 2009) There is an urgent need to contact the United States Department of Health and Human Services in order to protect the conscience rights of health care professionals and others who oppose abortion. A coalition has formed to that end. Please visit http://www.freedom2care.org/action/, where you can send a message to the DHHS asking them to protect and preserve the conscience rights of health care professionals and students, which were implemented under President Bush and his Administration on December 19, 2008.
Illinois Supreme Court Rejects Blagojevich’s ‘Emergency Rule’ Pharmacists are not required to distribute Plan B "morning after" pill in violation of their conscience. The court held that pharmacists may now defend their right of conscience against the state’s “Emergency Rule” which forces pharmacies to stock and disperse Plan B contraception (known as the “morning after” pill) under threat of sanction. [read article]
The fundamental right to refuse:
A decent society would respect people's moral commitments From the Los Angeles Times, September 2, 2008 The Times Opinion page featured a thoughtful article by Crispin Sartwell, who teaches philosophy at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, outlining why government should respect the “fundamental moral commitments” of individuals:
I am a pro-choice atheist. But I support a regulation, recently promulgated by the Bush administration, that would cut federal funding to nearly 600,000 hospitals, clinics, health plans, doctors' offices and other entities if they do not allow their employees to opt out of providing certain types of care—including abortion services—on grounds of conscience and personal belief. [read article]
Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research
On April 17, 2009, The National Institutes of Health (NIH) released draft guidelines on Human Stem Cell Research.Despite mounting evidence that cord blood and adult stem cell research have resulted in numerous therapies for various diseases, and research using human embryos has yet to produce one successful cure or therapy, it appears that the Obama Administration will continue to support research that is ethically questionable and scientifically unsound.
According to the NIH, the draft guidelines are expected to be published in the Federal Register on Friday, April 24, 2009 and will be open for public comment for the 30 days following publication. More information in that regard is available at the NIH website. The link provided in the preceding paragraph will route you to more detailed information related to public comment on the draft guidelines.
See what the Stem Cell Debate is all about in the new Center for Bioethics and Culture Documentary, The Lines That Divide: The Great Stem Cell Debate. (A 30-second preview is available at the link). LLDF is proud to have been one of several organizations who contributed to the production of Lines That Divide, which presents all aspects of the stem cell debate and leaves little room to doubt the truth of the recent proclamation on Oprah that the stem cell debate is dead.
Listen carefully and you will hear a scientist state the stem cell debate is dead. Watch Dr. Oz on Oprah with Michael J. Fox.
Press Release (March 9, 2009) Response To Obama Rescinding Limits On
Federal Funding Of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research NOTABLE (March 5, 2009) Destroying Human Embryos Is Unethical,
Unworkable, Unreliable and Unnecessary
WASHINGTON, D.C.: Unless you have C-Span, you may have missed Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) and nine pro-life Members of Congress (Wamp, Foxx, Fortenberry, Forbes, Jordan, Fleming, Bilirakis, Bachmann and Souder) speak about stem cell research on the House floor on March 4, 2009. These Members discussed the tremendous breakthroughs in ethically noncontroversial stem cells and reasons why expanded taxpayer funded human embryonic destructive research is untenable. As well, they spoke about the “Human Cloning Prohibition Act,” H.R. 1050, and H.R. 877, the “Patient's First Act.”
The Congressional Record transcript is available online.
Smith's remarks are attached below as [web article] [downloadable PDF]
UPDATE: Commentary on President Obama’s tortured moral ambiguity from Charles Krauthammer (Morally Unserious in the Extreme March 13, 2009) and P. J. O’Rourke (Stem Cell Sham, March 23, 2009).
Banking on Life:Bringing together leaders and experts in the field of cord blood stem cell research and regenerative medicine Cutting edge leaders from around the world, in the field of umbilical cord blood stem cell research and regenerative medicine, will join us to promote, inform and educate attendees on up to the minute successes and advances in cord blood research. These key voices will convene to share information that will shape the future direction of progress in cord blood banking and advances in ethical stem cell patient treatments using cord blood.
Life Legal Defense Foundation joins other organizations to partner with The Center for Bioethics and Culture Network, to hold this important one-day conference on May 2, 2009 on the San Francisco Peninsula. [read article]
IMPORTANT VIDEO: Calla Papademas Tells Her Story On Being an Egg Donor
Calla Papademas, recruited to be an egg donor as a 21-year-old at Stanford, speaks eloquently and plainly to the Center for Bioethics and Culture Network about her experiences and eggsploitative treatment in a 14-minute video
Seminar A Success
Thanks to all of you who attended "Trading on the
Female Body," a seminar sponsored by Life Legal Defense Foundation and the
Center for Bioethics and Culture to educate about the trading of human eggs
for embryonic stem cell research and cloning. The event was well-attended
and very informative. To read coverage of the event, please click here.
EMBRYONIC STEM CELL RESEARCH
Undue influence at the stem cell institute
During the litigation over Proposition 71, the proposition that spawned CIRM, LLDF lawyers argued that undue influence by the Independent Citizen's Oversight Committee was a potential problem. Read more here.
Common Ground?
Has common ground been found to end the debate over controversial embryonic stem cell research and cloning? Time will tell. To read more, click here. To read Bioethics Defense Fund commentary on Stem Cell Breakthrough, click here.
California's Embryonic Stem Cell Program to Fund "Human Cloning" Research
NAPA, Calif. - Oct. 16, 2007. The Life Legal Defense Foundation (LLDF), a national, pro-life legal organization, today reported that California's embryonic stem cell program will fund controversial human cloning research. LLDF reported that California this month began selling what will total $3 billion in general obligations bonds to fund its embryonic stem cell program. With that in mind, the LLDF has issued the following overview of the situation in California and the current status of embryonic stem cell research on the national level. Read more
Life Legal Defense Foundation Applauds Presidential Veto of Federal Funding for Embryonic Stem Cell Research
Proving once again to be a man of his word, President Bush has vetoed the bill which would fund embryonic stem cell research using federal tax dollars.Read more
In the Courtroom
Rev. Hoye Sentenced to 30 Days (March 20, 2009) Today the Rev. Walter Hoye of Berkeley, California, was ordered to serve 30 days in county jail by Judge Stuart Hing of the Alameda Superior Court. Rev. Hoye had been found guilty on January 15, 2009, of unlawfully approaching two persons entering an abortion clinic in Oakland. Judge Hing had also ordered him to stay one hundred yards away from the abortion clinic for three years. However, Rev. Hoye refused this term of probation and would not agree to a stay-away order. Therefore, the judge denied the defense motion to stay the sentence pending appeal. Mr. Hoye was taken into custody from the courtroom. [read article]Lynn Vincent of World Magazine has chronicled Rev. Hoye’s unjust incarceration in her online blog. Please visit World’s website to read the outstanding results of Rev. Hoye’s time in jail.
PRESS RELEASE (February 19, 2009) AFRICAN AMERICAN PASTOR SENTENCED TO JAIL FOR OFFERINGABORTION ALTERNATIVES ON PUBLIC SIDEWALK
OAKLAND, Calif.: Today the Rev. Walter Hoye of Berkeley, California was sentenced to serve 30 days in county jail and fined $1,130.00 by Judge Hing of the Alameda Superior Court after being found guilty on January 15, 2009, of unlawfully approaching a person entering an abortion clinic in Oakland. The court is allowing Rev. Hoye to serve his time by an alternative method like community service. Rev. Hoye was also ordered to stay away from the clinic. However, Rev. Hoye refused this term of probation and would not agree to a stay-away order. Nonetheless, the judge is having the order drawn up and refused to accept Rev. Hoye’s decision not to agree to the stay-away order. [read article] [more about this case]
[Clinic escorts routinely block Rev. Hoye’s sign with blank signs to prevent women from seeing his message: “God loves you and your baby. Let us help.”]
Court of Appeal Throws Out Evidence
Due to Police Misconduct
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (Feb. 9, 2009)—The Life Legal Defense Foundation is pleased to announce that the Superior Court of San Bernardino, Appellate Division, has granted their appeal in the matter of People v. Cox, ACRAS 800100. The appellate ruling reverses the trial court’s decision denying the defense’s motion to suppress evidence. In a unanimous decision, the appellate court has ordered that the Chaffey College Campus Police had no lawful reason to detain and search Mr. Cox. Dana Cody, Executive Director of the Life Legal Defense Foundation, commented on the appellate court’s decision stating, “The judges are to be commended for following the law and denouncing the police misconduct.” [read article]
Read the Court’s opinion here (PDF 25pp, 0.4mb)..
December 8, 2008 — Roe vs. PP (Ohio) LLDF is helping to fund the case of Roe v. Planned Parenthood, where the parents of Roe have alleged that their daughter was taken to Planned Parenthood (PP) of Southwest Ohio by the adult male who sexually abused her when she was 14 years old, resulting in her pregnancy. They allege that not only did PP breach their duty when they failed to notify the proper authorities of their daughter’s statutory rape but that PP breached their duty under Ohio’s Parental Consent law by failing to get their consent for the abortion.
The outcome of this case is vital, especially in light of the Indiana PP clinic, Bloomington Health Center, which was just exposed implementing what the Roe case alleges is PP’s “don’t ask, don’t tell policy.” The undercover operation shows read article. / SEE THE VIDEO.
PRESS RELEASE (October 30, 2008)
Free Speech Now Welcome at Columbia CollegeCOLUMBIA, Calif.: The Campus Life Tour returned to the campus of Columbia College yesterday, just two months after three members were unanimously acquitted on criminal charges of causing a campus disturbance during their April 2007 visit. This time the group was greeted with open arms by the same college officials who had them arrested a year and a half ago. Campus Life Tour is a pro-life campus outreach project of Survivors, a Christian, pro-life activism organization dedicated to educating and activating high school and college age individuals. [more]
Oakland, Calif. August 18, 2008: PRO-LIFE SPEECH IN OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA: SYNONYMOUS WITH INTIMIDATION? (Press Release)
Today a writ challenging Alameda Superior Court Judge Sandra K. Bean’s July 18, 2008, decision leaving a restraining order in place was filed by attorneys Mike Millen and Catherine Short, Legal Director for the Life Legal Defense Foundation. The writ was filed on behalf of African-American Pastor Walter B. Hoye, II, in the case of the People v. Hoye. The restraining order was originally sought by the Oakland District Attorney as part of prosecuting Mr. Hoye for allegedly intimidating escorts. Local officials have targeted Mr. Hoye for prosecution because he has stood on the public sidewalk in front of an abortion clinic holding a sign that read “Jesus Loves You and Your Baby. Can We Help You?” (More . . .). PRESS RELEASE (February 17, 2009) POLICE RETURN PROPERTY UNLAWFULLY SEIZEDDURING BIRMINGHAM ARRESTS,
VIDEO SHOWS SURVIVORS CLEARLY ON PUBLIC PROPERTY BIRMINGHAM, Ala.: After waiting nearly five days in Birmingham, Alabama, the Survivors are now back on their nationwide abortion awareness campaign with their video equipment in hand. The property was illegally seized by police during the arrests of nine of the team members last Thursday. The team spent more than 14 hours in jail for simply standing on a public sidewalk holding a sign and handing out literature in front of Parker High School. Adding insult to injury, when the team was finally released Friday morning, the police gave the Survivors the bureaucratic runaround in an effort to stall the release of the team’s camera equipment and video recordings of the event at Parker High School. [read article] [watch incident video / alternate video.]
Fresno, Calif. July 29, 2008: Fresno County Superior Court Rulings Affirm the Value of Janet Rivera’s Life (Press Release)
Legislative Information
ACTION ALERT
LLDF has received information that members of Congress are seeking support from voters so that pro-life provisions traditionally included in the annual appropriations bills will remain intact. Read more to find out how you can show your support.
Representatives Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Heath Shuler (D-N.C.) are seeking assistance from pro-life groups willing to urge Members of the House to sign their letter [read article]
Pro-Life Leaders Respond to Obama's Funding International Abortion Groups
WASHINGTON, D.C., Jan. 23, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) — The following joint statement by 22 of the nation’s pre-eminent pro-life organizations was issued today in response to President Obama’s signing of an executive order revoking the Mexico City policy. The Mexico City policy is a Reagan-era policy that forbids taxpayer monies from funding organizations that promote or perform abortions overseas [read article]
Parental Notification
PROPOSITION 4: Fact Checking the News
Tom Elias, a syndicated columnist carried in many California newspapers, has a recent column criticizing Proposition 4 and arguing against it, citing “case histories” and “studies” that no one else, including Planned Parenthood, cites. LLDF Legal Director Katie Short has written a useful rebuttal, calling Elias on the carpet to “put up or shut up”:In warning his readers about Proposition 4, the parental notification initiative, Tom Elias makes some bold assertions about “case histories” showing girls getting back alley abortions or self-aborting when faced with the prospect of a parent being notified. His claims are pure, unadulterated fiction. [read article]
Ms. Short has also prepared a backgrounder on the new referendum that you will find useful in advocating for this vital law: Sarah's Law — WhatŐs different? (California Catholic Daily June 2, 2008). See also on this topic the discussion in re Calif. voter pamphlet.
“Sarah’s Law” qualifies for Nov. 4 ballot
Proponents note 2008 version of parental notification answers critics’ objections to earlier measures
Sarah’s Law, “A progressive law for a progressive state.” the latest version of an initiative requiring family involvement in a minor’s abortion, has qualified for the November 4, 2008 ballot, the California Secretary of State has determined. The measure seeks to protect minors from the dangers of secret abortions, while at the same time answering objections from opponents to earlier parental notification initiatives.
Complete press release / more info
Life Legal's Legal Director, Katie Short, has prepared a backgrounder on the new referendum: Sarah's Law — What’s different? (California Catholic Daily June 2, 2008).
California Pro-Life Advocates Still Pushing Parental Notification on Abortion
California pro-life advocates are continuing to gather signatures to qualify a third attempt to get state voters to approve allowing parents to know when their teenage daughters are considering an abortion. Read more
Petition Signing Underway to get Sarah's Law on the 2008 Ballot
If you haven't already signed a petition to get Sarah's Law on the 2008 ballot, read more here.
Planned Parenthood Exposed
To read the Congressional Record, 109th Congress, 2nd Session, and the speech by the Honorable Chris Smith, the Representative from New Jersey, exposing Planned Parenthood, click here.
To see how Planned Parenthood characterizes their mission, in sharp contrast to the Congressional Record, read their Annual Report here.
Over 30 African-American pastors, students and pro-lifers gathered to protest Planned Parenthood’s for its willingness to entertain racist donations, which were made public on YouTube by UCLA’s Lila Rose and The Advocate publication. See the photos here.
International News
WORLD CONGRESS OF FAMILIES LEADERSHIP PETITION
IN SUPPORT OF THE "NO" CAMPAIGN—KENYANS OPPOSED TO THE PRO-ABORTION CONSTITUTION
With just two weeks to go until Kenyans vote on a new Constitution, World Congress of Families Managing Director Larry Jacobs announced the conclusion of a successful petition drive “In Support Of The ‘No’ Campaign—Kenyans Opposed To The Pro-Abortion Constitution.” (PDF about the petition ; the petition with signers) [more on WCF web page]
Visit http://republicanwhip.house.gov/YouCut/ to vote to prohibit taxpayer funding for campaigns in foreign countries and recoup the misspent funds.