Posted on 12/08/2008 4:42:42 AM PST by wagglebee
Thread by neverdem.
AN iron law of recent American politics dictates that any Republican setback at the polls will be quickly pinned on the pro-life movement. You might think that the Republican Partys 2008 debacle would be an exception to this rule. John McCain probably mentioned earmarks about a thousand times more often than he let the word abortion slip his lips. The Republican tickets weak attempts to play the culture-war card a Bill Ayers here, a Joe the Plumber there had nothing whatsoever to do with Roe v. Wade. And why should abortion opponents, of all conservative factions, take the blame for the financial meltdown, or the bungled occupation of Iraq, or the handling of Hurricane Katrina?
But never mind. Pro-choice Republicans, in particular, know exactly whom to blame for their partys showing. As Christie Whitman, the former New Jersey governor and Bush administration E.P.A. chief, explained after the election, it lost because the party was taken hostage by social fundamentalists, the people who base their votes on such social issues as abortion.
The conservative columnist Kathleen Parker made the same point more vividly: The evangelical, right-wing, oogedy-boogedy branch of the G.O.P. is what ails the erstwhile conservative party. The neoconservative writer Max Boot was diffident about the matter (I dont think Republicans need to panic, he wrote, but one area where I do see some room for adjustment is on the issue of abortion) and the right-wing humorist P. J. ORourke was blunt (pro-lifers should give the issue a rest). The message is clear: If the Republican Party would only jettison its position on abortion, it would be back on its feet in no time.
For pro-lifers, these refrains are as frustrating as they are familiar. But more frustrating than the blame game is the equally familiar advice that...
"We will not be silent. We are your bad conscience. The White Rose will give you no rest."
Thread by 2ndDivisionVet.
Today's Republican Party seeks to advance freedom through limited government, strong national security, personal responsibility and traditional family values.
Although many Republicans generally adhere to all four of those elements, some do not; yet they remain allied because they are so strongly committed to one, two or three of those principles. Despite inner-party squabbles, most Republicans rationally accept that we must work together to form an electoral majority.
Recently, some have grumbled that social conservatives - pro-lifers, opponents of same-sex marriage and the so-called "Religious Right" - are to blame for the party's recent set backs and should be muzzled. If the goal is winning elections, rather than purging membership rolls at the country club, throwing social conservatives under the bus is a catastrophic idea.
Thread by me.
London, England (LifeNews.com) -- A national controversy in Britain has been sparked by news that a British television show will reveal footage of 59-year-old Craig Ewert taking his life at a euthanasia clinic in Switzerland. Meanwhile, Ewert's family will escape any charges in connection with his death despite the UK's law against assisted suicide...
Thread by me.
Balitmore, MD (LifeNews.com) -- The lead author of a study last week denying that abortion increases the risk of subsequent mental health problems for women is responding to criticism of his research. Johns Hopkins University professor Robert Blum specifically responded to LifeNews.com articles taking the study to task.
Blum's team at JHU examined numerous studies and drew the conclusion that abortion doesn't increase the risk for mental health problems...
BUMP
Thanks for the ping!
Seems appropriate; Obama sought to cancel the Constitutional rights of newly born alive infants in order to protect the abortion slaughter in Illinois, so adding another dead soul wicked man to the Obama dead squad fits the mold(s).
Thread by me.
EDINBURGH, December 10, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Despite attracting little support from colleagues, Scottish Parliament Member Margo McDonald is continuing to fight for a bill to legalize assisted suicide. McDonalds bill is so broad that it would entitle children of 12 and younger to choose to kill themselves.
McDonald held a consultation yesterday on the End of Life Choices (Scotland) Bill in an effort to garner more support. So far, McDonald has the support of only three other Parliament members, whereas eighteen are needed for the bill to merit review at Holyrood.
During the consultation, McDonald said that the age limit for assisted suicide consent should coincide with the age when children are allowed to decide which parent to live with after a divorce. Children older than 12 are typically consulted in Scotland's custody battles, with exceptions occasionally made for younger children deemed mature enough.
Thread by GonzoII.
Abortion opponents are pressing state and local governments to stop sending taxpayer dollars to Planned Parenthood, arguing that the nonprofit group has plenty of cash and shouldn't be granted scarce public funds at a time of economic crisis...
Thread by me.
December 9, 2008 (InsideCatholic.com) - I recently attended a meeting of pro-life leaders from around the country, called in order to formulate a national strategy on how to defeat the promised Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA). During the 2008 presidential campaign, President-elect Barack Obama infamously stated, to much applause, "Well, the first thing I'd do as president is, is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. That's the first thing that I'd do."
The intent here is to codify the decision in Roe v. Wade, preventing future politicians (and courts outside the Supreme Court) from giving any more power to the states to place limits on abortion. In doing so, FOCA actually goes beyond Roe, calling abortion a "fundamental right" guarded by the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution (and not just the illusory "right to privacy" created in Griswold v. Connecticut, with Roe being part of its progeny).
The call to action in the meeting was admirable, but in the final analysis, it spoke volumes about the pro-life leadership in our country today: It is a group completely on the defensive and has accepted Roe as a framework to work within, rather than a fight to overcome. Choosing to operate within Roe's strictures has proven to be a failed strategy, bringing us to the point where there is a real possibility of FOCA being visited upon our nation...
Please pray for him at this most difficult time.
Thank you and God Bless.
Thread by NYer.
The great Fr. Richard John Neuhaus has inspired so many over the years. CMR requests prayers for him as he's been diagnosed with cancer. Fr. Neuhaus wrote this personal note on "First Things" today:
I cannot begin to respond to the deluge of assurances of prayer and concern about my health. Please be assured that I am grateful and count mightily on being remembered by you before the Throne of Grace. Or, as Catholics are wont to say, on your storming the gates of heaven. The nature of the cancer is beginning to come into clearer focus, and I hope to have more details in short order. Meanwhile, I will, please God, continue to be as engaged as possible in the work of First Things and other apostolates, even as I am compelled by grace to know more deeply our solidarity within the Body of Christ.HT Southern Appeal
“Despite attracting little support from colleagues, Scottish Parliament Member Margo McDonald is continuing to fight for a bill to legalize assisted suicide. McDonalds bill is so broad that it would entitle children of 12 and younger to choose to kill themselves.”
Margo McDonald is one sick individual. Unbelievable. This is just plain demonic.
Thanks for the ping!
Terri’s case was intended (by the attorney) to be a precedent. His mission has succeeded. The living will form presented to my Dad at the hospital last week included nutrition as an extreme measure to artifically prolong life.
When the culture of death can produce a person who can live WITHOUT food and water, I'd love to hear about it.
bttt
Thread by GOPGuide.
Helping someone to commit suicide is a matter of conscience, the Prime Minister said today.
Gordon Brown condemned the idea of new laws to allow assisted suicide - but he did nothing to stop it in the wake of a landmark test case decision that paved the way for more deaths in the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland.
His response in the Commons to the outcry over the televised suicide of motor neurone disease sufferer Craig Ewert appealed instead for compassion for families agonising over the suffering of a loved one...
Thread by GonzoII.
ROME, December 11, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) The US-based Alliance Defence Fund (ADF) has announced they will be launching a legal challenge to a new law in Luxembourg legalizing euthanasia. Last week, the world was shocked when the parliament of the tiny but venerable European state of Luxembourg proposed to strip its head of state, the Grand Duke Henri, of his veto powers when the latter announced he would refuse to give royal assent to the law...
Thread by cpforlife.org.
December 12, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Amidst an ongoing debate among prolife advocates about whether to classify the Pill as an abortifacient or a prophylactic, pro-abortion advocates have published an authoritative statement declaring that the Pill prevents implantation of embryos, thereby causing an abortion...
Washington, DC -- A coalition of dozens of pro-abortion groups have issued a 55-page memorandum and the web site for the Barack Obama transition team posted it online. The new memo from groups like Planned Parenthood and NARAL gives Obama his marching orders for the next four years...
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