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The use of birth control has been an issue debated by ethicists in the United States for over a century. Until now, it’s been a moral issue, and few mainstream voices ever advocated the use of birth control for environmental reasons. On Scientific American’s website, an Oct. 11 article by David Biello argues that if we were able to lower the growth of the world’s population, the amount of carbon that is expected to be emitted into the atmosphere would significantly diminish. He cited a study from the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research that explained demographic ties to the...

The big news today is the aftermath of General McChrystal’s insolent comments to Rolling Stone Magazine. The media, legislators and some brass were scolding McChrystal and calling for his resignation. He’s been humbled, has apologized, but is now bound for a stint in the woodshed. In the interview, McChrystal criticized President Obama and ridiculed Vice President Biden and Richard Holbrooke. An aide described National Security Adviser Jim Jones as a “clown” mired in 1985.

As the new year began, The New York Times offered a 780-word article to a protest for illegal immigrants – with four marchers walking from Miami to Washington. But on Saturday, tens of thousands of Americans gathering in Washington for Friday's annual March for Life received – part of a sentence. In the Saturday paper on January 23, an article on the trial facing the killer of late-term abortionist George Tiller on page A-11 featured this note in paragraph 9 of a 12-paragraph dispatch by Monica Davey: Testimony began the same day that abortion rights groups celebrated, and abortion opponents...

As usual, ABC, CBS, and NBC ignored Friday’s March for Life protest. (Even the Associated Press skipped over the tens of thousands marching.) But the PBS NewsHour at least offered a brief from news anchor Hari Sreenivasan: Thousands rallied in Washington in the annual March For Life. It was the 37th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision of Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion. The anti-abortion crowd rallied at the White House, and then moved on to the Supreme Court. A handful of abortion rights supporters were also present. NPR covered the trial on the murder of late-term abortionist George...

Chief Justice John Roberts last week made it clear that the Supreme Court over which he presides will not hesitate to sweep away its own major constitutional rulings when doing so is necessary to defend America’s bedrock governing document. The announcement of that guiding core principle means two very big things. First, Roberts and his fellow strict constructionists on the court are now armed and ready with a powerful rationale for overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade abortion ruling if Justice Anthony Kennedy or a future justice becomes the fifth vote against Roe. Secondly, successfully placing Roberts atop the high...

The right to life is essential.. This is an important cause. I’d like to extend an invitation to everyone to join me and thousands more in the Virtual March for Life.

Now, I did a little bit of digging, and here's what I came up with. According to our president: Obama Statement on 35th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade Decision =========="Thirty-five years after the Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade, it's never been more important to protect a woman's right to choose. Last year, the Supreme Court decided by a vote of 5-4 to uphold the Federal Abortion Ban, and in doing so undermined an important principle of Roe v. Wade: that we must always protect women's health. With one more vacancy on the Supreme Court, we could be looking at...

Catholic League president Bill Donohue says U.S. Supreme Court Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg needs to explain her recent comment on abortion and eugenics: Excerpts of a New York Times Magazine interview with Ruth Bader Ginsburg, which will appear on July 12, include the following quote by the Supreme Court Justice about the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion: “Frankly I had thought that at the time Roe was decided, there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don’t want to have too many of.” By contrast, consider what Margaret Sanger, the founder of...

In an astonishing admission, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says she was under the impression that legalizing abortion with the 1973 Roe. v. Wade case would eliminate undesirable members of the populace, or as she put it "populations that we don't want to have too many of." Question: Are you talking about the distances women have to travel because in parts of the country, abortion is essentially unavailable, because there are so few doctors and clinics that do the procedure? And also, the lack of Medicaid for abortions for poor women? Ginsburg: Yes, the ruling about that surprised...

by Tina Grazier When the everyday practice of abortion ends I think it will have happened because women, not legislators or the courts, choose to end it as a matter of conscience. I've believed this for a long time. It's the only outcome that makes any sense when you consider that women are naturally the givers of life, that women are nurturers at heart and that it was women who demanded the "right" to abort through Roe v. Wade.We have spent the years since Roe v Wade stuck in a fight. Something that once made us a sisterhood now...

WASHINGTON – GOP national chairman Michael Steele said Thursday that he's opposed to abortion and that Roe v. Wade should be repealed, commenting a day after a magazine quoted him as saying abortion was "an individual choice." Steele clarified his stance in a written statement after online publication of the interview with GQ magazine. Steele, who is adopted, said in the interview that his mother had the option of getting an abortion or giving birth. He said: "You can choose life, or you can choose abortion." He said his mother chose life. Asked whether he thought women had the right...

...After a brief slide show featuring Bush and other anti-abortion politicians, during which the crowd booed and hissed, Judd remarked, “It’s so nice to live in America again.”...

WASHINGTON – "22 Weeks" has the images and sound effects of a horror flick, but it isn't one. Instead, it's based on a true account of a woman who sought a late-term abortion but found herself living a nightmare. In the 25-minute featurette, Angela, played by Natalie Wenninger, wakes up in her motel room covered in blood. She rushes to the clinic where she had been injected with a needle the day before to abort her baby 22 weeks into her pregnancy. She’s bleeding profusely and is having contractions but is left alone in a dirty room at the clinic....

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- "Our faith requires us to oppose abortion on demand and to provide help to mothers facing challenging pregnancies," Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia and Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre, N.Y., said in an Oct. 21 statement. The bishops urged Catholics to study the teaching of the Church, rather than rely on statements and materials from outside groups and individuals. [[BishopMurphy102308.jpg]]Cardinal Rigali and Bishop Murphy made the joint statement in response to arguments that the Church should accept the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision on abortion as a "permanent fixture of constitutional law" and should concede...

This past Tuesday marked the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Since that fateful decision, over 48.5 million children have perished at the hands of abortionists. One out of every four children conceived in America will be killed by an abortionist. In 2003 alone, more children died from abortion than the total number of Americans who died in the Revolutionary War, Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, and Gulf War combined. Two-thirds of all abortions are performed on single women. Statistically, the womb has become the most dangerous place in America. This war against...

In January of 1973, the abortion debate became a centerpiece in American political campaigns for many years to come. The landmark ruling of the Supreme Court in Roe vs. Wade has sparked more debate and controversy than any other political issue over the ensuing 35 years. The Court in it’s decision not only gave women the “right to choose”, but also declared themselves part of the legislative branch of government by making laws and superseding the rights and powers of the individual states. January 22 marked the 35-year anniversary of the decision and activists from both sides of the debate...

The next U.S. president could reshape the Supreme Court, where the two oldest members are liberals and volatile decisions like abortion now hinge on a single swing vote. The possible sea change has already surfaced 18 months before the November 2008 election and could develop into a major campaign issue for Democrats who want to move the court to the left and Republicans who hope to plant it firmly in the conservative camp. The U.S. high court is now evenly split between conservative and liberal justices, who have been divided by 5-4 votes on abortion rights, the death penalty and...

As the plaintiff in that infamous Supreme Court case Roe vs. Wade, my life has been inextricably tied to the abortion issue. I once told a reporter, "This issue is the only thing I live for. I live, eat, breathe, think everything about abortion." Thirty-four years later, I am 100% pro-life. The Supreme Court's recent decision to uphold the federal ban on partial-birth abortion is the first step in overturning Roe vs. Wade. Banning the procedure - an act of infanticide where a scissors is jammed into the base of the infant's skull, a tube inserted and its brain sucked...

"Democrats For Life of America applauds the Supreme Court for the landmark ruling that upheld the ban on partial birth abortion. The decision closes the book on partial birth abortions in America and finally puts this deplorable procedure in the history books where it belongs. That said, we are of the opinion that just banning partial birth abortions does not do enough to prevent abortion in America. That's why we are proud to be leading the fight to reduce the abortion rate in America by 95 percent over the next 10 years by endorsing the 'Pregnant Woman Support Act'. This...

[JURIST] The North Dakota Legislative Assembly [official website] passed a bill [PDF text] Monday prohibiting abortion [JURIST news archive] in the state if the US Supreme Court [official website] ever declares that such a move would be constitutional. The measure, which Governor John Hoeven [official website] is expected to sign, passed the state House 68-24 and the Senate 29-16. In the event that the US Supreme Court overturns the 1973 Roe v. Wade [LII backgrounder; opinion] decision, the bill would subject anyone performing an abortion to a prison sentence of up to 5 years, a $5,000 fine, or possibly both....