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Federal judge: life begins at conception
Life Site News ^ | Tue Jun 28, 2011 | Kathleen Gilbert

Posted on 06/28/2011 11:56:26 AM PDT by GonzoII


Federal judge: life begins at conception

by Kathleen Gilbert

Tue Jun 28 1:04 PM EST

INDIANAPOLIS, June 28, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Planned Parenthood’s request to block a provision of an Indiana law that requires doctors to tell women who are seeking abortions that “human physical life begins when a human ovum is fertilized by a human sperm,” was denied by U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt last week.

“Plaintiffs contend that in the context of abortion, the meaning of these words, both individually and in combination, represent a plethora of opinions and beliefs about life and its inception. The Court respectfully disagrees,” wrote Pratt.

“When read together, the language crafted by the legislature in this provision supports a finding that the mandated statement refers exclusively to a growing organism that is a member of the Homo sapiens species.”

The judge disagreed with Planned Parenthood’s suggestion that the phrasing was “misleading.”

“Here, the mandated statement states only a biological fact relating to the development of the living organism; therefore, it may be reasonably read to provide accurate, non-misleading information to the patient,” the court wrote. “Under Indiana law, a physician must disclose the facts and risks of a treatment which a reasonably prudent physician would be expected to disclose under like circumstances, and which a reasonable person would want to know.”

Planned Parenthood of Indiana (PPIN) had also sought an injunction against another part of the same law, House Enrolled Act (HEA) 1210, which barred federal Medicaid funds from going to the abortion provider. Pratt granted that request, noting that the Obama administration had threatened to gut the state’s entire Medicaid allotment to save PPIN’s portion.

Tom Brejcha, president and chief counsel of the Thomas More Society, praised the judge for upholding scientific fact, but said that they would continue to ensure that the measure defunding Planned Parenthood goes into effect.

“While this is a significant partial victory for Life, we will press on to ensure that the full law will go into effect to defund Planned Parenthood in Indiana,” Brejcha said. “We stand ready to defend Life in other states as they plan to defund Planned Parenthood and require doctors to tell women that life begins at conception.”


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events; US: Indiana
KEYWORDS: abortion; conception; courts; humanlife; law; moralabsolutes; plannedparenthood; prolife
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It's on the records.
1 posted on 06/28/2011 11:56:30 AM PDT by GonzoII
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To: Admin Moderator

Breaking News?


2 posted on 06/28/2011 12:01:46 PM PDT by topher (Traditional values -- especially family values -- are the values that time has proven them to work)
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To: topher
The key phrase that the Federal Judge has upheld is:

human physical life begins when a human ovum is fertilized by a human sperm

If this case goes to SCOTUS (appeal of blocking Planned Parenthood funding), it might be grounds to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Or is this wishful thinking?

3 posted on 06/28/2011 12:07:03 PM PDT by topher (Traditional values -- especially family values -- are the values that time has proven them to work)
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To: GonzoII; 185JHP; 230FMJ; AKA Elena; Albion Wilde; Aleighanne; Alexander Rubin; Amos the Prophet; ...
Moral Absolutes Ping!

Freepmail wagglebee to subscribe or unsubscribe from the moral absolutes ping list.

FreeRepublic moral absolutes keyword search
[ Add keyword moral absolutes to flag FR articles to this ping list ]


4 posted on 06/28/2011 12:08:29 PM PDT by wagglebee ("A political party cannot be all things to all people." -- Ronald Reagan, 3/1/75)
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To: GonzoII
Murderers being forced to admit they are murderers.

Wow! That will probably embarrass them into not committing murder. /sarc

5 posted on 06/28/2011 12:09:35 PM PDT by Carl Vehse
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To: GonzoII

I’d rather have this decided in legislation.

One judge says this, the other one says that. Nothing gets decided.


6 posted on 06/28/2011 12:10:30 PM PDT by VanDeKoik (1 million in stimulus dollars paid for this tagline!)
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To: VanDeKoik

It WAS legislated that the language be included. The judgement is that the language is accurate and not misleading.


7 posted on 06/28/2011 12:15:30 PM PDT by swain_forkbeard (Rationality may not be sufficient, but it is necessary.)
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To: VanDeKoik
"I’d rather have this decided in legislation."

It was and the judge backed it. The way things aught to be when legislation is commonsensible.

8 posted on 06/28/2011 12:18:18 PM PDT by GonzoII (Quia tu es, Deus, fortitudo mea...Quare tristis es anima mea?)
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To: VanDeKoik
I’d rather have this decided in legislation.

That is exactly what happened. The judge upheld the legislation.

9 posted on 06/28/2011 12:20:06 PM PDT by P-Marlowe (LPFOKETT GAHCOEEP-w/o*)
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To: VanDeKoik
I’d rather have this decided in legislation.

It is decided by neither legislatures or judges, it is simple biological fact. And it can be found in any embryology text. Human life begins at conception. That is the science of the matter.

10 posted on 06/28/2011 12:21:27 PM PDT by jwalsh07
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To: topher; EternalVigilance
If this case goes to SCOTUS (appeal of blocking Planned Parenthood funding), it might be grounds to overturn Roe v. Wade.

It gets better than that.

It would not just overturn Roe, it would END ABORTION (e.g. none of this let the states decide BS).

The majority opinion in Roe itself acknowledges that once personhood for the unborn is established that the unborn would automatically enjoy 14th Amendment rights.

11 posted on 06/28/2011 12:24:11 PM PDT by wagglebee ("A political party cannot be all things to all people." -- Ronald Reagan, 3/1/75)
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To: jwalsh07
Human life begins at conception. That is the science of the matter.

Which means that Roe v Wade is as Constitutionally supportable as Dred Scott is. Roe v Wade flies directly in the face of the 14th Amendment, and SCOTUS knows it, though they are unwilling to publicly admit it...

the infowarrior

12 posted on 06/28/2011 12:28:27 PM PDT by infowarrior
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To: wagglebee
The majority opinion in Roe itself acknowledges that once personhood for the unborn is established that the unborn would automatically enjoy 14th Amendment rights.

Thus, the "it's just a bunch of cells" gibberish. The reality is too harsh for the 'culture of death' crowd to bear...

the infowarrior

13 posted on 06/28/2011 12:31:26 PM PDT by infowarrior
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To: jwalsh07
It is decided by neither legislatures or judges, it is simple biological fact. And it can be found in any embryology text. Human life begins at conception. That is the science of the matter.

A big Yup. The progressives are continually trying to state as scientific fact those political points of view that they want foisted on the population. I sure would like to get back to absolute scientific fact determination.

It's one thing to accept that you're going to make decisions that are based on political considerations rather than science - this is what an informed public and their representatives could and should do; it's certainly another when you state political positions on issues - falsely - as scientific fact in an attempt to mislead the voting public - which is what our so-called representatives continue to do.

14 posted on 06/28/2011 12:31:57 PM PDT by Real Cynic No More (ual)
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To: infowarrior

Of course but if you think the court will overturn Roe any time soon, despite it being awful law, you’re a lot more optimistic than I am. But optimism is good!


15 posted on 06/28/2011 12:33:14 PM PDT by jwalsh07
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To: topher
"Or is this wishful thinking?"

Well, in a way. SCOTUS can always define a class of homicide that is both exempt from prosecution and available only to women. In order to avoid being so obviously full of chit, though, they'll rule that every pregnancy should end in abortion unless both the father and the mother want the child to be born. /sarc

16 posted on 06/28/2011 12:35:50 PM PDT by Rashputin (Obama is insane but kept medicated and on golf courses to hide it)
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To: wagglebee
The sad part is that the legislation, passed by "pro-life" Republicans, not only identifies the being involved as a human person, it says that you can kill them.

Which is worse than Roe. And completely contrary to the Constitution's requirements.

"No person shall be deprived of life without due process of law."

"No State shall deprive any person of life without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

Even Blackmun admitted, in the Roe majority opinion, that if the fetus is a person, OF COURSE they are protected by the explicit imperative provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment.

"The appellee and certain amici argue that the fetus is a 'person' within the language and meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment. In support of this, they outline at length and in detail the well known facts of fetal development. If this suggestion of personhood is established, the appellant's case, of course, collapses, for the fetus' right to life would then be guaranteed specifically by the Amendment."

-- Justice Harry A. Blackmun, Roe vs. Wade, 1973


17 posted on 06/28/2011 12:37:05 PM PDT by EternalVigilance (It's no longer the federal government. It's the feral government. Tame it now or it will eat us.)
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To: topher
Yeah, wishful thinking. The Leftwingtards gotta' have their dead babies.

Look how they act on the Wisconsin Supreme Court ~ willing to kill another member of the court and then get together and lie about it.

It'd be the same at the USSC ~ probably have Ginsburg wear a suicide vest to work some day and BANG ~ all of 'em gone and Obama free to appoint 9 Commies.

18 posted on 06/28/2011 12:38:52 PM PDT by muawiyah
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To: jwalsh07
Of course but if you think the court will overturn Roe any time soon, despite it being awful law, you’re a lot more optimistic than I am. But optimism is good!

I'm not optimistic at all. "Dred Scott" was never officially overturned by the court. It took civil war, and a Constitutional Amendment to rectify that. No, I'm even less optimistic than you are...

the infowarrior

19 posted on 06/28/2011 12:40:22 PM PDT by infowarrior
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To: wagglebee
Oral arguments in Roe v. Wade concerning personhood and the Fourteenth Amendment. [Audio]
20 posted on 06/28/2011 12:40:56 PM PDT by EternalVigilance (It's no longer the federal government. It's the feral government. Tame it now or it will eat us.)
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