A Chicago judge has reduced the fine to an abortion clinic for violations of cleanliness and health issues from $36,000 to just $77.
The arbitrary decision by Cook County Circuit Judge Alexander White said that he reduced the fine because the abortion clinic’s owner closed the facility and there was only $77 left in the company bank account.
However, it’s been shown that while the other clinic was technically closed, the owner opened a brand new clinic in the same location using the same website as he previous clinic without doing anything to repair the health code violations.
The Illinois Department of Health conducted an inspection in 2011 of the Women’s Aid Clinic and found food in the same freezer as fetal tissue, dirty floors, medication cups with old medicine in them and staff re-using paper towels on patients.
The clinic also did not perform CPR on a patient who died while in their care.
While the state can appeal the judge’s action, the state attorney general has been a large supporter of abortion and observers believe nothing will be done.
A North Carolina license plate that encourages people to “Choose Life” has been ruled unconstitutional by a federal panel.
Pro-abortion activists had sued to have the plates removed saying it was an unconstitutional promotion of religion by the state, but settled for the ruling regarding First Amendment issues.
The three-judge panel on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with a lower court judge that said the legislature’s refusal to allow pro-abortion messages to be placed on license plates while allowing the anti-abortion “Choose Life” violated the First Amendment rights of some citizens.
A spokeswoman for Attorney General Roy Cooper said he is reportedly reviewing the ruling to see if they will appeal to the full appeals court or to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The 4th Circuit had previously ruled that “Choose Life” license plates from South Carolina were also unconstitutional. The ACLU has been pushing the cases against the Choose Life license plates.
The rate of abortions in the United States has fallen to its lowest level since 1973.
The Guttmacher Institute, which supports legal abortion, released a report Monday showing that 1.06 million children died via abortion in 2011. The number of abortions in 2008 was 1.2 million.
The abortion rate for women in the U.S. between 15 and 44 years old was 16.9 per 1,000 women. It was the lowest rate since 16.3 in 1973 and well below the record high of 29.3 in 1981.
The report also included some information that doesn’t support those calling recently passed abortion regulations a barrier to women. According to the Guttmacher’s information, the decline in abortions had no connection to the recent decline in abortion clinics.
Rachel Jones, the report’s lead author, said the drop in abortions is connected to a decline in overall pregnancy and birth rates.
However, Carol Tobias of the National Right To Life Committee, said the overall drop in abortions is connected to the pro-life movement’s lobbying and legislative efforts. Tobias said it shows women are rejecting the idea of abortion as an answer to unplanned pregnancies.
Lawmakers have raised the alarm over the discovery of abortion fees being hidden inside premiums for the Affordable Care Act, in violation of federal laws.
Nowhere on the healthcare.gov website does an applicant discover that they will be paying at least $1 a month to fund abortions.
Representative Joe Pitts of Pennsylvania, chair of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on health, told Fox News that when the President promised the healthcare bill would not cover abortion it was a lie because the bill stipulated the $1 a month surcharge for abortions.
A house bill is being introduced this week to demand full disclosure of the hidden abortion funding and a separate itemized premium. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor will introduce the bill, the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act”.
The communications director for Rep. Pitts told Fox they could not find a single plan within the Healthcare Marketplace that disclosed the abortion funding as part of their plans.
Pope Francis delivered his harshest words yet regarding abortion.
The Pope has been very conspicuous in trying to steer the church away from subjects that have caused controversy such as abortion and gay marriage. However, in a speech Monday, the Pope made clear his opposition to the killing of babies.
The Pope said abortion was evidence of a “throwaway culture” that has dominated many parts of the world. He also said the evil of abortion was a serious threat to the world.
“Unfortunately, what is thrown away is not only food and dispensable objects,” the Pope said, “But often human beings themselves who are discarded as unnecessary.”
In addition to condemning abortion, the Pope spoke boldly against those who would use children as soldiers, those who commit human trafficking and any kind of slavery that is a “crime against humanity.”
The comments came as the Pope blessed 32 babies in the Sistine Chapel.
The Pope also announced that his Harley-Davidson motorcycle, given to the pontiff for the brand’s 110th anniversary, would be auctioned in Paris next month with the funds going to feed the poor.
A group of Hollywood celebrities are hosting an event to pay for abortions in Texas.
The event featuring comedians Sarah Silverman and Zach Galifinakis and others is aimed to protest Texas’ new laws protecting the lives of the unborn.
The money from the event will be given to a group called “A Is For” which will provide financial support for groups that will cover the cost of abortions, travel, lodging and child care for any woman that wants to kill their baby via abortion.
The event reportedly sold out quickly with ticket prices from $60 to $100.
Anti-life activists have been challenging the Texas laws in federal courts.
Those wishing to increase abortions in Arizona celebrated today when the Supreme Court refused to overturn a decision blocking the state’s law blocking abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
The Court’s refusal to hear the case leaves the ruling from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in place that said the law preserving the lives of babies after 20 weeks was unconstitutional.
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed the ban into law in April 2012. Abortion advocates immediately ran to court to have the law struck down.
The appeals court said that the law violated the right to kill a baby through abortion before the child is considered “viable” by the government. The court said that was generally considered to be 24 weeks.
Lawyers representing the state said the ban was not technically a law but a medical regulation because doctors could perform abortions in medical emergencies.
Seventy new anti-abortion laws went into effect January 1 in 22 states prompting pro-abortionists to howl in protest.
The Guttmacher Institute reports the 70 new provisions are the second most ever behind 90 enacted in 2011.
Planned Parenthood, which is the source of one-third of all abortions each year in the United States, said the actions to protect the lives of babies was the result of “out of touch Tea Party politicians” who used “underhanded tricks” to get laws passed.
The abortion restrictions include requiring minors to get a parent’s permission, waiting periods and prohibitions on public funding of abortions.
Planned Parenthood threatened to target any politician that is against abortion.
Women under 33 will be able to get a state funded abortion in 2014 regardless of their circumstances according to Israeli health officials.
Subsidized abortion in Israel was only available previously for cases of rape, abuse or medical emergencies. Also, all women in the Israeli army were provided one free abortion on request.
Despite the new funding, women will still need to get the approval of a state committee before being able to obtain the abortion. Abortion is illegal without the board’s approval; however, the board approves 98% of cases that are brought before it.
The panel, which recommended the change, said that they expect to see 6,300 government-funded abortions in the new age range in 2014.
The panel will not consider any rights of the father for the baby and minors do not need to have a guardian or parent’s permission to appear before the committee to obtain an abortion.
A record number of abortion clinics in the United States closed during 2013.
The survey from Operation Rescue says the number of surgical abortion clinics in the United States is down 12 percent in 2013 and down 73 percent from a record high in 1991.
In all, 87 clinics discontinued surgical abortions. Six of the clinics remained open to provide abortion-inducing drugs but 81 clinics completely closed their doors. The total does not include clinics that were closed for significant portions of time in 2013.
The number of clinics that only provide abortion-inducing drugs remained fairly steady at 176, with six documented clinic closures.
Planned Parenthood clinics accounted for 30 percent of surgical abortion clinics and 93 percent of all clinics that offer abortion via drugs only. Planned Parenthood, which receives tax dollars, is responsible for about one third of all abortions in the United States.