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Catholic Group Supports Senate on Abortion Aid By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK December 25, 2009 WASHINGTON — In an apparent split with Roman Catholic bishops over the abortion-financing provisions of the proposed health care overhaul, the nation’s Catholic hospitals have signaled that they back the Senate’s compromise on the issue, raising hopes of breaking an impasse in Congress and stirring controversy within the church. The Senate bill, approved Thursday morning, allows any state to bar the use of federal subsidies for insurance plans that cover abortion and requires insurers in other states to divide subsidy money into separate accounts so that...

A non-partisan, black, *CHRISTIAN* woman publicly repents for voting for Obama despite his pro-abortion record. She explains why she was deceived and reaffirms her committment to putting Christ first. Before race. Before politics.

Senator Bob Casey Jr. (D - PA), who came to office as a pro-life Democrat in 2006 under the banner that he would continue his father's fight in pro-life causes has turned out to be pretty disappointing. When asked by the Washington Times on Tuesday what he thought his father, the late Bob Casey Sr., former governor of Pennsylvania from 1987 to 1995, would think of the abortion issue in the health care bill.: "I have no way of knowing. We’re dealing with something here which is unusual and unprecedented. We’ve had year to year appropriation bills where the Hyde...

WASHINGTON -- Twice now, abortion was almost a dealbreaker. This time, it was a dealmaker. But of hundreds of deals cut so health care legislation can stay alive, the hardest to keep may be the Senate's abortion compromise - achieved after 13 hours of negotiation. The volatile issue remains the biggest threat to getting a history-making bill to President Barack Obama. Deals are the lifeblood of legislation. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana got $100 million more for her state, Connecticut's Joe Lieberman stripped the bill of a government insurance plan and Ben Nelson won a slew of favors for Nebraska -...

A legal firebrand whose work fighting corruption left both Bill Clinton and Dick Cheney on the defensive today took on Barack Obama, suing the president for secret meetings with Planned Parenthood and other lobbyists on his plans to nationalize health care. Larry Klayman, founder of Judicial Watch and, more recently, Freedom Watch USA, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., under the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The law requires disclosure of records of meetings between the executive branch and outside industry lobbyists. It also requires access to meetings. Klayman raised the same issues during the early years...

Twice now, abortion was almost a dealbreaker. This time, it was a dealmaker. But of hundreds of deals cut so health care legislation can stay alive, the hardest to keep may be the Senate's abortion compromise — achieved after 13 hours of negotiation. The volatile issue remains the biggest threat to getting a history-making bill to President Barack Obama. Deals are the lifeblood of legislation. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana got $100 million more for her state, Connecticut's Joe Lieberman stripped the bill of a government insurance plan and Ben Nelson won a slew of favors for Nebraska — all in...

WASHINGTON -- The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of right-to-life organizations in all 50 states, strongly opposes the abortion language contained in the "manager's amendment" filed today by U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (Nv.). Reid intends to press for Senate approval of the language during the days immediately ahead, without allowing an opportunity for any revisions to be considered. The following statement may be attributed to NRLC Legislative Director Douglas Johnson: "The manager’s amendment is light years removed from the Stupak-Pitts Amendment that was approved by the House of Representatives on November 8 by a bipartisan...

An aide to Rep. Bart Stupak (D. Mich.) coordinated opposition to a Senate compromise on the place of abortion in health care legislation this morning with the Republican Senate leadership, the Conference Catholic Bishops, and other anti-abortion groups, according to a chain of frantic emails obtained this morning by POLITICO. Stupak, in an interview with POLITICO, called the Senate’s bill’s abortion position unacceptable – but disavowed his staffer’s collaboration with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

So strange have the bedfellows become that this story is breaking almost at the same time that this one is. Pro-life and pro-choice, united at last! Question: Will the nutroots regard Stupak as a traitor for working with the evil GOP or an unwitting hero in trying to block a bill they regard as a sellout to corporate America? An aide to Rep. Bart Stupak (D. Mich.) coordinated opposition to a Senate compromise on the place of abortion in health care legislation this morning with the Republican Senate leadership, the Conference Catholic Bishops, and other anti-abortion groups, according to a...

Chambliss: Abortion compromise 'sets up a Supreme Court challenge' By Michael O'Brien - 12/19/09 12:38 PM ET The Senate healthcare bill's language on abortion "sets up a Supreme Court challenge," one senator warned Saturday. Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) asserted that the compromise on abortion contained within the bill, which would seek to segregate federal funds from subsidizing health plans covering abortion, is unconstitutional. "What this provision does that Sen. Nelson negotiated sets up a Supreme Court challenge. Roe v. Wade's pretty clear on federal funding for abortion," Chambliss said at a Capitol Hill press conference early this afternoon. The compromise...

Nelson and Reid Agree to Phony Abortion Funding Compromise in Senate Bill Washington, DC -- Senator Ben Nelson announced today that he will become the crucial 60th vote that Democrats need to pass a government-run health care bill. Nelson has been holding out because of the massive abortion funding in the bill, but said today he will give the measure his support. The compromise Nelson agreed to with Reid makes it so states could disallow abortion coverage in the new health insurance exchanges. States that don't opt out will force taxpayers to fund abortions. http://www.LifeNews.com/nat5793b.html

Abortion Deal In Sight In Senate Healthcare Negotiations Barbara Boxer is 'optimistic' about reaching 60 votes after all-day talks with Majority Leader Harry Reid and Democratic holdout Ben Nelson. The GOP redoubles threats to slow business to a crawl. By Janet Hook and Noam N. Levey December 18, 2009 Reporting from Washington - With a critical vote looming this weekend, Senate Democratic negotiators closed in Friday night on a deal to persuade a lone Democratic holdout -- Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson -- to back the party's healthcare bill after a marathon day of negotiations. That would give Democrats the 60...

Nelson Rejects "Compromise" on Abortion Funding in Senate Bill Washington, DC -- Senator Ben Nelson, who is quickly becoming the must-get 60th vote for Democrats to pass their pro-abortion health care bill in the Senate, is rejecting a proposed compromised aimed at attracting his vote. Sen. Bob Casey drafted the compromise, which has already been criticized by pro-life groups. http://www.lifenews.com/nat5782.html

WASHINGTON — Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson — the moderate Democrat whose opposition is holding up the Senate's health care bill — says new language on abortion doesn't satisfy his concerns.

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- In yet another comment that will draw guffaws from pro-life advocates, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is thankful to God that the Senate bill include massive abortion funding. Pelosi also claims she has enough votes to pass a pro-abortion health care bill in the House, though that is disputed.The Senate bill, unlike the House government-run health care measure, funds abortions though the public option and affordability credits.In a press conference with reporters late Wednesday, Pelosi talked about the differences between the House and Senate bills, some of which she liked and some disliked. But she appealed to...

The path to 60 just got a lot more difficult: In an interview Thursday with a Nebraska radio station, Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) said new compromise language on abortion funding is unacceptable. “As it is right now, without further modifications, it isn’t sufficient,” Nelson told KLIN radio in Lincoln, NE. This could be a significant blow to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s effort to line up 60 votes in the coming days for the health care bill. Nelson has said he would filibuster the bill unless the abortion language mirrored what was included in the House bill. Even if abortion...

With President Barack Obama still mulling his Afghanistan strategy several weeks ago, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey wanted an update on the region. His staff called Richard C. Holbrooke, the president's special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan. "I was thinking it might be the ambassador and maybe one of his staff or two of his staff," Mr. Casey said. "And we got there and it was a roomful of, gosh, it must have been 25 people ... having a briefing for one United States senator about what's happening in Pakistan and Afghanistan." The briefing included intelligence officials, State Department officials, Department...

LifeNews.com Note: Center for Bioethics and Culture consultant Wesley J. Smith, is also a Senior Fellow in Human Rights and Bioethics at the Discovery Institute and the associate director of the International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide. He is the author of the Consumer's Guide to a Brave New World.   "Flash Forward" is a new and interesting television drama presented on the ABC Television Network. The premise is brilliant - due to reasons still unknown, everyone in the world (except the bad guys) blackout for two minutes seventeen seconds. Planes crash, people collapse on the streets, swimmers...

Senate Defeats Nelson Amendment to Stop Abortion Funding in Health Care Washington, DC -- The Senate on Tuesday voted 54-45 to defeat the Nelson amendment that would have removed the massive abortion funding from the Senate government-run health care bill. With the defeat, pro-life advocates will unite behind a concerted effort to defeat the entire health care bill. http://www.lifenews.com/nat5748.html

Senate rejects Nelson amendment on abortion

WASHINGTON -- California Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer said Monday that abortion-rights foes in the U.S. Senate are showing "a lack of respect" for women by promoting legislation that would limit abortions. "Please don't single out women," Boxer said in a speech on the Senate floor. "What have women done to deserve this? ... Why have such a lack of respect for them?" Boxer made the remarks as the Senate prepared to vote on an amendment by Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska that would prohibit any insurance company from offering plans to cover abortion services if they receive federal subsidies.

Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson dropped his anti-abortion amendment into the Senate health care debate this afternoon, essentially lifting the language from the House version that so angered the left. Nelson, a staunch pro-life advocate, partnered with fellow Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and several Republicans to offer the measure, saying it’s necessary to ensure no federal dollars are spent on elective abortions. “Most Americans, even some who support abortion, do not want taxpayer money to be used for abortions,” Nelson said in his floor speech. “We should not break with precedent on this bill.” Nelson said the amendment would bar women...

Per Fox. Title says it all. Gonna happen in time for Christmas. Gutless conservatives have been rightfully excluded from government.

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- President Barack Obama told the American people in a national speech in September that "my" health care plan would not include taxpayer funding of abortion. Obama broke that pledge once by lobbying members of the House to support a pro-abortion funding bill and he did it again this weekend in the Senate. Obama met with Senate Democrats in a closed door session on Sunday and told them to support the Harry Reid-sponsored bill that includes massive abortion funding and could force insurance companies to cover abortions with taxpayer's premiums.Although the media wasn't allowed into the...

Republican senators put Democratic leaders on notice Monday that they'll expand the chamber's abortion battles to appropriations bills. 35 GOP senators, led by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), wrote Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to notify him that they would not allow FY2010 Financial Services and State/Foreign Operations appropriations bills to move forward in the Senate unless subsidies for coverage of abortion services are eliminated from the bills. "We have grave concerns regarding the exclusion of longstanding funding limitations on abortion in the various appropriations bills that are currently before Congress," the senators said. "We cannot, in good conscience, allow these...

Mikulski Amendment would include Planned Parenthood in health care bill, says pro-life leader Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) Washington D.C., Dec 6, 2009 / 04:32 am (CNA).- A pro-life leader has criticized the Senate’s addition of the Mikulski Amendment to the proposed health care bill, voicing concerns that the provision’s sponsor herself has admitted it would fund some of Planned Parenthood’s services. The amendment’s required coverage of “preventive care” could also include abortions. The Mikulski Amendment, passed on Thursday by a vote of 61-39, requires group health plans and health insurance issuers to provide coverage for “preventive care” for women...

In the past week, abortion has flared up as a major impediment to passage of a health care reform bill in the Senate, taking a similar path as it did during the House debate — from obscurity to obstacle in a matter of days. After months of trying to craft a 60-vote coalition based on the finer points of health care policy, Senate Democrats are growing increasingly worried that abortion will upend what had become a clear path to approving the overhaul bill. Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) sparked a fresh round of concern this week when he repeatedly and definitively...

December 3, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - On Thursday the judge hearing the case of the 88 pro-life protesters who were arrested for trespassing on Notre Dame property earlier this year granted a motion to stay the charges pending an appeal into the question of whether she should recuse herself from the case due to bias.Judge Jenny Pitts Manier, who is assigned to the case of the 88 pro-lifers who were arrested while protesting President Obama's commencement address at Notre Dame in May, is married to Notre Dame Professor Edward Manier. In addition to several writings revealing his pro-abortion beliefs, the Professor...

December 2, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Lawyers for the 88 pro-life protesters who were arrested on the University of Notre Dame's campus earlier this year will be heading to court tomorrow in St. Joseph County, Indiana, to argue in favor of a motion to dismiss the charges against the pro-lifers. Currently trespassing charges are pending against the 88, who were arrested on Notre Dame property while protesting the commencement speech and honorary law degree given to pro-abortion President Barack Obama in May. If convicted, the pro-lifers could face up to 1 year in jail and a $5,000 fine. Despite repeated...

Nelson Sponsoring Stupak Amdt to Cut Abortion in Senate Health Bill Washington, DC -- Sen. Ben Nelson, a pro-life Democrat from Nebraska, confirmed today that he is working on an amendment to the Senate version of the government-run health care bill that would remove abortion funding from it. He said the amendment would be similar to language adopted in the House. http://www.lifenews.com/nat5718.html

"Let the healthcare bill allow for one sterilization for everyone of these whacked out females who are so intent on killing babies . . . Then . . . if these Femme-a-Nazis want to have a child, they can rent one." Reader comment posted on my Nov. 25 column Incendiary e-mails are still rolling in on Wednesday's column. It proves you can't write about abortion, women and Catholic bishops and not get heavy heat. Add universal health care to the conversation? Kaboom! It's OK. I've had great role models in taking heat. Jack Egan, for one. In the winter of...

NOVEMBER 24, 2009 Abortion to Be New Flashpoint in Senate Bill Activists Aim to Keep Curbs Out of Final Health-Overhaul Measure After Being Caught Off Guard by Amendment in House NAFTALI BENDAVID WASHINGTON -- Abortion-rights groups, acknowledging they were caught off guard by a last-minute amendment toughening abortion restrictions in the House health-care bill, are mobilizing to ensure that doesn't happen in the Senate. A protester in Los Angeles Friday opposed an amendment by Rep. Bart Stupak toughening abortion restrictions. Activists hope to flood Washington to lobby against such restrictions on Dec. 2 as Senate floor debate begins. Activists hope...

DC Activists: Mobilize on Nov. 23! From 12-1pm on Monday November 23, join NOW activists from the mid-Atlantic region as they campaign outside the Senate office buildings against the Stupak Amendment. Nearest metro station is Union Station. We'll be meeting at Constitution Avenue, on the block in front of Russell and the corner of Constitution and Delaware. View map

Senate Confirms David Hamilton, Obama's First Pro-Abortion Judicial Pick Washington, DC -- The Senate voted today 59-39 to confirm a pro-abortion federal judge President Barack Obama appointed to become a new appeals court justice. David Hamilton, of Indiana, is the first pro-abortion judge Obama selected, but he was held up for months because of his extreme views. Story, votes and action alert at http://www.lifenews.com/nat5689.htm

An unstamped letter from former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop caused a security scare when Capitol Police shut down Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s for 45 minutes office yesterday. Koop's letter, addressed to Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, protested federal funding of abortion in health care legislation. "More specifically, I am troubled about the possibility of federal dollars being used to pay for elective abortions and Americans being forced to subsidize them," Koop wrote. "I firmly believe that strong protections must be included in this legislation so that health care providers are not forced to participate in abortions against...

With Democrats still grappling with the fallout of an abortion-rights deal that allowed the House to pass its health care bill last weekend, a key Democrat is predicting that abortion-rights supporters will have the votes to keep new abortion restrictions out of the final bill. On ABCNews.com’s “Top Line” today, Rep. Diana DeGette, co-chairman of the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus, said opposition is growing to the House-approved amendment authored by Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich. She said the Senate is seeking out compromise language that won’t go as far as the House -- and said President Obama’s team is “absolutely” helping press...

Let's dispense with three fallacies swirling about the question of abortion coverage in health care reform. Two are being peddled by anti-abortion forces. One, perhaps the most relevant, is being pushed by the pro-choice side. To be clear about where I am: Firmly pro-choice. Firmly opposed to the amendment from Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., which would effectively prevent women who purchase insurance on the newly created exchanges from obtaining abortion coverage. But also: Respectful of the convictions of those who disagree. And, consequently, sympathetic to the notion that taxpayers should not have to pay for a procedure they believe is...

...In the past I have grown angry with Chris Matthews, who is a practicing Catholic, because he has failed to defend the fundamental human right to life. However, in this discussion he took the position that the Stupak amendment - named after the faithful Catholic Democratic Congressman Bart Stupak who co-authored the amendment in the House - would end up causing the defeat of the legislation because there would be no compromise possible over the issue of funding abortion. Interestingly, he compared the current situation to the period just preceding the Civil War in the United States. He drew the...

The Democrats very public battle over battle abortion in the health care bill may cost them valuable support of Catholics in 2010. From the Politico By teeing up a public battle over abortion in the health care bill now before the Senate, congressional Democrats could be risking more than just the fate of the legislation.

On the Constitution Things get a little contentious here, and this is why I like to listen to Beckmann. He rightly points out that no where in the Constitution does it allow for the government to take over the health care industry. Bart insists it does say so in Article I, Section 8 with the words the left have been using to bring the country to point it is today with rampant socialism and welfare programs that have done nothing but create a dependent society-”The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to…provide for…..general...

Axelrod Signals Obama Will Try to Strip Abortion Language From Health Care Bill by FOXNews.com The amendment, authored by Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., went beyond preventing the proposed government-run plan from covering abortion to restrict federal subsidies from going toward private plans that offer abortion coverage. David Axelrod says the amendment changes the 'status quo,' something the president cannot abide. White House Senior Adviser David Axelrod suggested Sunday that President Obama will intervene to make sure a controversial amendment restricting federal funding for abortion coverage is stripped from final health care reform legislation.

Axelrod Signals Obama Will Try to Strip Abortion Language From Health Care Bill by FOXNews.com The amendment, authored by Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., went beyond preventing the proposed government-run plan from covering abortion to restrict federal subsidies from going toward private plans that offer abortion coverage. David Axelrod says the amendment changes the "status quo," something the president cannot abide. White House Senior Adviser David Axelrod suggested Sunday that President Obama will intervene to make sure a controversial amendment restricting federal funding for abortion coverage is stripped from final health care reform legislation. In doing so, the president would be...

PRINCETON, NJ -- 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. The new results, obtained from Gallup's annual Values and Beliefs survey, represent a significant shift from a year ago, when 50% were pro-choice and 44% pro-life. Prior to now, the highest percentage identifying as pro-life was 46%, in both August 2001 and May 2002. The May 2009 survey documents comparable changes in...

Serrin Foster / Cecile Richards Washington D.C., Nov 10, 2009 / 06:47 am (CNA).- Planned Parenthood has condemned the addition of the Stupak/Pitts Amendment to the U.S. House’s proposed health care reform legislation, saying it would undermine private health plans that cover abortion. One pro-life leader said the criticism, which characterized pro-lifers as hijackers, was an ‘over the top’ attempt at self-promotion.Cecile Richards, President of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, claimed in a Nov. 7 statement that the Stupak Amendment to Congress’ proposed health care bill has further reach than the Hyde Amendment, which bars federal funding for...

At the last minute Representative Bart Stupak (D, Mich.) was successful in getting Speaker Pelosi and the House Democratic leadership to approve an amendment that would prohibit federal spending on abortion added to its nationalized healthcare bill passed and sent to the Senate over the weekend. But a senior Democrat says that the Stupak amendment will be stripped from the bill if the Senate returns the bill for approval. Of course, the only reason that the House healthcare bill was passed out of the House at all was because of the Stupak Amendment, still left-wingers in Congress are vowing to...

On Saturday night the Democrats narrowly passed a monstrosity of a health-care bill. Some conservatives blamed the National Right to Life Committee. How is that possible? In order to get enough votes to secure final passage, Nancy Pelosi allowed an up-or-down vote on the Stupak amendment to bar federal funding of abortion through the health-care bill. Rep. John Shadegg (R, Ariz.), who made a bid this year to be Republican minority leader, and Americans for Prosperity urged Republicans to defeat the pro-life measure by voting present. They argued that defeating the amendment could bring down the entire bill: “(Nancy) Pelosi...

Alternate headline: “Rabidly pro-choice president sides with pro-choicers.” TAPPER: Here’s a question a lot of Senate Democrats want to know. You said, when you gave your joint address to Congress, that under our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions. This amendment passed Saturday night which not only prohibits abortion coverage in the public option, but also prohibits women who receive subsidies from taking out plans that — that provide abortion coverage. Does that meet the promise that you set out or does it over reach, does it go too far? OBAMA: You know, I laid out...

Fellow pro-lifers have been sending e-mails celebrating the passage of the stupak amendment.  I'm not sharing in the celebration.  That amendment is nothing but a small fig leaf for the cowardly blue dogs.  Their lack of testicular fortitude makes it apparent that it only takes a small one to cover them. Note the language in this excerpt from the NY Times.  The Stupak Amendment imposes "tight restrictions."  It does not ban federal money from funding abortions. The loopholes are big enough to drive a herd of buffaloes through. To save the health care bill she (Pelosi) had to give...

H.R. 3962, America's Healthy Future Act, passed the House yesterday evening 215 to 220 after several hours of debate. Amid floor speeches, pro-life congressmen were also successful in writing in the pro-life oriented Stupak-Pitts amendment. Pro-life groups were excited over the passage of the amendment and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) urged the passage of the amendment. However, during questioning from the press prior the passage of the Stupak-Pitts amendment, the Washington Times asked Rep.Henry Waxman (D- Calif.) if the amendment could be changed later on after the eventual passage of H.R. 3962 last night.:

WASHINGTON -- Last night's historic health-care legislation included a major compromise: a ban on federally funded abortion under a new government-run plan. Conservative Democrats proposed the amendment, which passed, 240-194, late Friday as a way to break the impasse on the bill. Last night, 64 Democrats joined 176 Republicans in supporting the measure. "The members on this issue have to be able to vote their conscience," said Rep. Bart Stupak, who proposed the amendment, which bars any woman who receives federal subsidies to help cover insurance costs from having an abortion under the plan.