Tag Archives: Pro-Life

U.S. Supreme Court hears high-stakes Texas abortion case

By Lawrence Hurley

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday heard arguments in a major abortion case focusing on whether a Texas law that imposes strict regulations on abortion doctors and clinic buildings interferes with the constitutional right of a woman to end her pregnancy.

Eight justices were on the bench as arguments began in the case, not the usual nine. The Feb. 13 death of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, who opposed abortion and backed restrictions on it, means the court no longer has five conservatives who might support more restrictive abortion regulations nationwide.

The court potentially could split 4-4, with its four liberal justices opposing the abortion restrictions and its four conservatives backing the regulations, an action that would let stand a lower-court ruling that affirmed the Texas law but would not set a nationwide legal precedent.

The state contends the Republican-backed 2013 law protects women’s health. The abortion providers who have challenged it assert that it is aimed at shutting down their clinics.

The court has not ruled in an abortion case since 2007. The Texas case represents a high-stakes constitutional test for a strategic shift that abortion opponents have taken in recent years: to apply restrictive regulations to abortion doctors and facilities rather than try to ban the procedure outright.

Activists on both sides of the issue gathered outside the courthouse on a chilly, blustery day.

Among the hundreds of demonstrators was Taylor Crumpton, who came from rural Texas to protest against the Texas law, saying “every single abortion clinic I’ve ever seen or known has been shut down.”

“This pro-life culture has just erupted in Texas and dehumanized women who even want to have an abortion,” she said.

Annie Piper, a student at Liberty University, a Christian college in Lynchburg, Virginia, voiced support for the law.

“These actually are laws that are trying to help women,” Piper said. “A lot of abortion clinics don’t have the resources to provide proper care for women, so all our legislators are doing is making sure women get safe and proper healthcare.”

ALL EYES ON KENNEDY

There is a chance that conservative Justice Anthony Kennedy, who often casts the deciding vote in close cases, could join the liberals for a majority invalidating the law, or parts of it. Kennedy in past cases has supported a fundamental right to abortion but has endorsed restrictions including bans on a late-term abortion procedure.

The Texas law requires abortion doctors to have “admitting privileges” at a hospital within 30 miles (48 km) of the clinic so they can treat patients needing surgery or other critical care.

Abortion providers say the provision already has prompted clinics to close because this formal hospital affiliation is difficult for clinic doctors to obtain.

The abortion providers also are challenging provisions in the law, not yet in effect, that mandate that clinics have costly, hospital-grade facilities.

The Supreme Court found a constitutional right to end a pregnancy in the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case. That decision was affirmed in 1992, as the justices ruled that any regulation must not impose an “undue burden” on women seeking an abortion.

At issue in Wednesday’s case is whether the Texas requirements violate that principle by putting a “substantial obstacle” in the path of a woman before a fetus becomes viable.

A ruling is due by the end of June.

Outside the white marble courthouse, there were dueling chants of “Pro women, pro life” and “Stop the sham” as anti-abortion and abortion-rights demonstrators faced off.

At one point, anti-abortion protesters linked arms to block abortion-rights protesters, forming a protective circle around speakers during a rally. Some sang a religious hymn, “Spirit of the Living God,” as abortion-rights demonstrators surrounded them.

One young woman clutched rosary beads in her hands and had red tape over her mouth with the word “life” written on it.

(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Additional reporting by Clarece Polke; Editing by Bill Trott and Will Dunham)

North Dakota Schools Reverse Action; Will Recognize Pro-Life Student Groups

Good news for students of two North Dakota school districts; they will be able to join and operate pro-life groups this fall.

Fargo North High School and Davies High School, both in the Fargo Public School District Number 1, will allow and formally recognize Students For Life Club groups.

The school district initially refused the clubs, although they told the Christian Post in a statement it had nothing to do with content but rather incomplete paperwork.

“Administration at Davies High School has not received an application for students to form a Davies Teens for Life group at Davies High School. Students did approach administration in September 2014 regarding the possibility of starting the club,” read the statement.

“In February, administration at North High School received an incomplete application for students to form a Spartans for Life group. … Included in the ‘potential advisor of the club’ area of the application were names of two staff members that serve as paraprofessionals at North High School. Paraprofessionals cannot serve as coaches or advisors of student groups due to the Fair Labor Standards Act.”

However, the school’s claim was undermined with an assistant principal was found to have sent emails to other faculty saying the students could be connected with a church and that because of their connection to a church they couldn’t meet.

The Thomas More Society stepped in to help the students.

“Public schools are required by law to treat all student groups equally,” said Jocelyn Floyd, associate counsel of Thomas More Society, in a statement.

“Fargo North and Davies High Schools are treating pro-life students as second class citizens, forcing them to abide by a policy that was designed to protect students from exploitation by businesses, not to censor the students’ own free speech.”

Students expressed joy at the news they will be able to meet next school year.

“We are thankful to the attorneys at Thomas More Society and to Students for Life of America for supporting all our efforts,” said Fargo North sophomore Brigid O’Keefe.  “We look forward to educating our fellow students on the beauty of life at all stages and offering assistance to those in need in our community.”

Pro-Life Groups Vow To Defy D.C. Hiring Mandate

Pro-life groups in the nation’s capital are vowing to defy the local government’s mandate that they cannot consider an applicant’s beliefs about abortion when hiring them.

“Despite the enactment of this unjust law, we will continue to hire employees who share our commitment to the dignity of every member of the human family. We will not abandon the purpose of our organizations in order to comply with this illegal and unjust law. We will vigorously resist any effort under RHNDA (Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Act) to violate our constitutionally protected fundamental rights,” the groups said in a mutual statement.

The Act amended a D.C. discrimination law.  The law says that all employers may not consider “reproductive health decision making, including a decision to use or access a particular drug, device or medical service, because of or on the basis of an employer’s personal beliefs about such services.”

The Alliance Defending Freedom has stated they will use their resources to defend the religious rights of the groups against the government’s attempt to strip them of a part of their religious freedom.

“Pro-life organizations in our nation’s capital should not be forced to pay for abortions or hire those who oppose their pro-life beliefs,” said ADF Senior Counsel Casey Mattox. “While the D.C. Council has retreated from this law’s original goal, which was to force pro-life organizations to pay for abortions in violation of their conscience, RHNDA remains an unnecessary and illegal attack on pro-life conscience that Congress must stop and that we will fight, if necessary, in the courts.”

Johns Hopkins Reverses Decision Banning Pro-Life Display

Johns Hopkins has announced they are reversing a decision that banned a pro-life display from campus.

The display, which had been part of the university’s “Spring Fair” for 30 years, was initially banned until a call from Fox News to the school asking why the JHU Voice for Life student group was denied a chance to post the display.

The group’s display, which shows unborn children in various stages of development, was called “disturbing” by a student committee.

“We’ve reviewed your pictures with our advisers and have determined that your display contains triggering and disturbing images and content,” read an email the committee sent to JHU Voice for Life.

Andrew Guernsey, president of the pro-life group, told Fox News that abortion is disturbing and that’s the reason they need to post the display.  He also pointed out that it was odd a school that’s famous for medicine would be calling the display offensive.

“I certainly find it ironic that a university that has dedicated itself to the advancement of medicine and biology would find displaying medically accurate fetal models disturbing and offensive,” Guernsey said.

The committee responded to Fox News’ inquiry by stating “We… were wrong in our initial decision and, upon further reflection, have decided we will not impose restrictions on the displays presented by any community groups at Spring Fair… The committee values free speech.”

Vandals Deface Pro-Life Display At Clarion University

Vandals defaced and destroyed crosses that were part of a pro-life display at a Pennsylvania university.

Students for Life at Clarion University played the crosses.  The 350 crosses were part of a display called “Cemetery of the Innocents” and each represented 10 aborted children that day.

Overnight, a number of the crosses were pulled out of the ground and thrown in trashcans.  Others were defaced with messages indicating their connection to activists against a recent Indiana religious freedom law.

The crosses were also placed in a manner that is a traditional anti-Christian placement.

“[All] 350 crosses were pulled up and re-inserted in inverted fashion, a well-known anti-Christian symbol,” the group Students for Life reported. “Additionally, red paint was splattered on crosses and signs. Even eerier was the mock bloody footprints of an infant painted in front of the display.”

“Pro-Choice” was written on the sidewalk near the mock footprints of an infant.

University police claim they are investigating the act.

“I ask that as a community of educators and students, we come together and reflect upon our commitment to our rights and responsibilities of expression,” university President Karen Whitney said in a statement. “I ask that we use dialogue and discussion to engage very differing viewpoints in ways that leave all of us better for the experience.”

The display has since been restored.

Mom Refuses Abortion Despite Doctor’s Pressure

A British woman is praising God for her child after she fought doctors who wanted her to have an abortion.

Michelle Macaulay and her husband learned in late 2012 they were going to have a second baby.  At her 12-week scan, doctors said the baby had a genetic disorder and that she was unlikely to make it to her birth.

The doctors said Michelle needed to abort the baby.  They called the child “incompatible with life.”

“To be told by a consultant the baby was incompatible with life was just horrendous because, looking at that screen, there was a life already started,” she said. “It’s just an awful term to call anyone, let alone a baby growing inside of you.”

The baby was born at 36 weeks and has tested negative for a wide range of genetic diseases.  Baby Carla is now two years old and while she has struggles, she has beaten the odds doctors gave her.

“Carla’s not walking, but she started crawling and pulling herself up in November—-things we were told she would never be able to do,” Macaulay stated. “She will develop and then she might plateau for a long time. She can eat normal foods but she can’t feed herself. The physiotherapists are really confident that she will walk and they’ve always been quite positive.”

Pro-life groups are making an effort to inform mothers across the world that a doctor saying their child is “incompatible with life” is not a medical diagnosis.

“We have undertaken this global campaign because the phrase ‘incompatible with life’ is not a medical diagnosis: it misinforms parents, it pushes families towards abortion, and it denies those families a chance to spend time with their children, to make memories and to heal,” declared Every Life Counts spokesman Tracy Harkin.

Anti-Life Students Demand Abortion Display Be Removed

A group of students opposed to a display of crosses posted by a pro-life group at the University of Texas at Arlington is demanding the school remove the display.

The group of anti-life activists claim that the display of crosses represents Christianity and thus is “culturally insensitive” to a “diverse campus.”

“Every cross is supposed to represent an unborn child, but not necessarily every child that is aborted is Christian,” petition organizer Ashley Radovcich told The Shorthorn, the campus newspaper. “And therefore, they’re being culturally insensitive, especially since we’re the fifth most diverse campus in America.”

“They need to be more culturally sensitive to religions and cultures on campus,” she reiterated. “I mean, by all means, they should represent their views—freedom of speech … but they should also be more aware of what they’re putting out to the public.”

“When I’m looking at this, they’re basically telling us that we can go to Hell just for having options,” sophomore Olivia Frost added.

The group that placed the crosses, Pro-Life Mavericks, said the 2,900 crosses represent the number of children killed each day by abortion.  This is the second year of the display, which also received hostile backlash from anti-life students the previous year.

Adam Fogel of Pro-Life Mavericks told Chrisitan News that the biggest surprise to their group was not the anti-life protesters who held signs in front of the display, but the number of students who said they were unaware of the number of babies killed via abortion.

“Many people had no idea that abortion was this common and this much of a problem in the states,” he said.

The student group says they will erect the display again next year despite the hostile response.

Pastor Jailed Over Pro-Life Outreach Exonerated

A Mississippi pastor who took a stand for the unborn and was arrested for it 4 years ago has been exonerated on all the charges against him.

Pastor Steven Joiner of Columbus Church of the Nazarene came upon a protest by Pro-Life Mississippi in his city.  He parked at a nearby business and walked over to thank them for their standing up for life.  Joiner joined the group’s protest.

A police officer then approached the group and told them to leave saying they were blocking traffic. Pastor Joiner said he had a First Amendment right to stand on a public sidewalk.  The pastor was arrested for “failure to obey a police officer.”

The pastor was initially convicted on charges of violating the city’s Parade and Handbill ordinance.  An appeals court overturned that verdict.  The pastor then sued for his right to protest.

The court ruled that the pastor’s rights were violated, ordered the city to pay $10,000 in damages and attorney fees.  The city was also ordered to amend their law to protect free speech.

“The notion that one man can constitute a parade and that small groups of individuals need to seek permission and a permit from the government before they can open their mouths on a public sidewalk is repugnant to the Constitution and undermines the foundation of this nation,” Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, said in a statement on Tuesday.

Concrete Company Agrees To Help Louisiana Abortionist

A controversial new abortion center planned by Planned Parenthood has found a company that is happy to pour concrete for the mega-facility.

The 8,000 square foot center to abort babies has been delayed partly because local contractors did not want to work with the organization to create the building. The group wants to create the facility in New Orleans which now has only one location for women to abort their babies.

“The Department simply stated that they didn’t meet the need requirement,” Bill Shanks, pastor of New Covenant Fellowship in Kenner, told Christian News Network. “[Planned Parenthood’s] statement was that New Orleans was 2,844 abortions less than the national average, therefore we need their facility to bring it up—to kill 2,844 babies so we could be with the national average. And the Department of Health and Hospitals rejected that.”

Absolute Concrete Solutions accepted the order. When members of King Jesus Ministries approached the owners to reconsider, they were told that if they gave the company $20,000 the order would be cancelled.  Then Linda Backes, one of the owners, said ‘I’m for Planned Parenthood and I’m for abortion,’ and she said, ‘If we let all these little kids live, they’ll just grow up and kill us” according to the Christian group.

UK Votes Against Banning Sex Selective Abortions

The British Parliament has voted against a bill that would prohibit a woman from getting an abortion based on the sex of the child.

The 292 to 201 vote against the amendment has caused pro-life groups across Britain to react in horror.  The groups say that the Parliament has failed to protect the lives of millions of unborn girls who will be killed solely because of their gender.

“Parliament yesterday failed in its duty to ensure women are not discriminated against at all stages of their lives. Instead, it caved in to the intense lobbying efforts of the abortion industry and its advocates, against the outlawing of sex selection abortion,” UK pro-life group LIFE said in a statement.

“The abortion of girls because of their sex has no place in modern societies which embrace equality and non-discrimination against women.”

Politicians who voted against the measure tried to claim that existing law prohibits sex selective abortions.  Prime Minister David Cameron said the law could have potentially blocked women from obtaining abortions in the event a child has severe abnormalities.