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WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) – In a criminal trial I thought it was the job of the defense to argue in any way they thought reasonable to defend their client in court. I also thought it was the job of the jury to adjudicate the truth of the arguments offered by each side; and that it was the job of the judge to assure as much as possible that impartial jurors be selected to adjudicate whether the guilt of the defendants has been proven or not, and to impartially oversee the procedural progress of the trial. Such, however, does not seem...

Groups opposed to Maine's new law expanding abortion access won't attempt to nullify the statute through a so-called People's Veto referendum. Republican Rep. Laurel Libby, leader of the Speak Up for LIFE group, said Wednesday that allies have decided to focus their resources on electing candidates who are opposed to abortions instead of collecting signatures and running a referendum campaign. “At the end of the day, we want to put our effort into the most effective place possible,” Libby, a Republican from Auburn, told The Associated Press. That means flipping legislative seats, she said, particularly in the Maine House.

Irish singer Sinéad O’Connor has passed away, according to the Irish Times. She was 56 years old. O’Connor released 10 studio albums throughout her career, though she is most well-known for her single “Nothing Compares 2 U.” ...O’Connor published a memoir, titled Rememberings, in 2021, in which she discussed being pressured to have an abortion by label executive Nigel Grainge; Grainge allegedly was so invested in ensuring that O’Connor aborted, he went to her doctor and told him to “impress upon” her a warning not to continue with the pregnancy. “Your record company has spent £100,000 recording your album. You...

‘Routine’ infanticide of newborns by married parents in early modern Europe was a much more widespread practice than previously thought, a new book posits. This fresh insight sits at the heart of a new book, Death Control in the West 1500–1800: Sex Ratios at Baptism in Italy, France and England, by Gregory Hanlon and contributors. The French-trained behavioural historian explains: “In most cases, infanticide was a crime leaving no aggrieved party seeking revenge if it was committed right away. It could be overlooked and forgotten with the passage of time.”Hanlon, who is Distinguished Research Professor at Dalhousie University in Canada,...

At 24 weeks, it was determined the fetus had no kidneys. But she couldn't terminate the pregnancy, according to state law

Joe Biden Threatens to Veto Bill Stopping Taxpayer Funded AbortionsJoe Biden has threatned to veto a bill sponsored by a pro-life Republican that would stop illegal taxpayer funding of abortiona via the Department of Veterans Affairs.As LifeNews reported, the Senate is expected to vote this week on a resolution introduced by Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., which would block the Department of Veterans Affairs from providing taxpayer-funded abortions to retired service members.“Using our VA medical facilities to provide taxpayer-funded abortions is illegal and wrong,” Tuberville said in a news release exclusively provided to The Daily Signal. “The VA’s new policy is...

On Friday, a jury found Alexis Avila, 19, of Hobbs guilty of abuse of a child relating in great bodily harm and attempted murder in the first degree. In January of 2022, Avila was caught on camera throwing her newborn, dubbed Baby Saul, in a dumpster outside the Rig Outfitters and Home Store in Hobbs. He was wrapped in a trash bag. Fortunately, three people dug through the dumpster to find him, and he was rushed to the hospital in Lubbock, Texas. Baby Saul is “happy and healthy today living with family,” according to reports. “Officers with the Hobbs Police...

Michigan’s Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed into law Wednesday a repeal of the state’s near-total abortion ban, guaranteeing that abortion-on-demand will remain legal for the foreseeable future. The Associated Press reports that the new law repeals a statute dating back to 1931 that made abortion a felony punishable by up to four years in prison. It was rendered unenforceable in 1973 with the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade ruling, which the Court reversed last June in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. “Today, we’re going to take action to make sure that our statutes and our laws reflect our...

A proposal that would ban abortions at six weeks is advancing in Florida, where Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has indicated support for the restrictions as he prepares... There would be an exception to save the life of the woman and exceptions in the case of pregnancy caused by rape or incest until 15 weeks of pregnancy. In those cases, the woman would have to provide documentation such as a medical record, restraining order or police report.

At Repro Shabbat, Jewish congregations try to change the narrative on abortionAt more than 1,200 synagogues this weekend, Jews will pushing back against the prevailing Christian view that abortion is religiously forbidden.In many Christian congregations, abortion has been endlessly described as an unmitigated evil.This weekend, Jewish congregations gathering for Shabbat services will make sure American Jews know and understand the Jewish point of view on the medical procedure.Across the country, at more than 1,200 synagogues, Jews will be discussing abortion and reproductive rights in sermons, lectures, talks and other forums Friday and Saturday (Feb. 17-18) as part of Repro Shabbat.The...

Priest charged after praying outside abortion clinic decries criminalization of thoughtsHis lawyer calls the situation 'sinister'A U.K. priest charged after praying outside of an abortion clinic said free speech is being threatened in his country. "Nobody should be criminalized for the thoughts that they're having in their own head, and this is what I was threatened with arrest for," Father Sean Gough told "Tucker Carlson Tonight" on Wednesday. "I wasn't actually arrested, but I was interrogated for it and questioned about the thoughts that I was having in my own head, my prayers to God, and then I was charged...

Anabely Lopes wanted a child more than anything, so the 44-year-old was ecstatic when she became pregnant last year — and then devastated when doctors said her unborn child had a fatal abnormality... A new law restricting abortion access had gone into effect days earlier, and Lopes soon found herself on a plane, leaving South Florida to get an abortion at a clinic in Washington. On Tuesday, Lopes will return to Washington, this time accompanying U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address...

Even Abortion Freedom Has Become a Matter of Contention. Two Bishops in a DuelIt could very well come as a stunner that a bishop would see the need to speak out in defense of a doctrine that at first glance is beyond dispute, within the Church: the inviolability of every new human life from its conception. The bishop is Domenico Sorrentino (in the photo), age 74, head of the dioceses of Assisi, Nocera Umbra, Gualdo Tadino, and Foligno, former secretary of the Vatican’s congregation for divine worship. He has done so with a two-page article in the historic Catholic magazine...

The Minnesota state senate passed an abortion rights bill that guarantees a right to an abortion up to the time of birth. The bill, known as the Protect Reproductive Options (PRO) Act, passed by a vote of 34-33 and now goes to Gov. Bill Walz’s desk. He has indicated he will sign it. H.F. 1, authored by Sen. Jennifer McEwen, would create a “fundamental right” to abortion and would allow abortions for any reason, even late in pregnancy. Since a fetus can feel pain as young as 20 weeks into gestation and no later than 28-30 weeks, some states have...

United Church of Christ Pastor Sues to Legalize Killing Unborn BabiesA United Church of Christ leader is trying to overturn a Missouri law that protects unborn babies, claiming pro-life lawmakers “weaponized” their Christian faith to pass the abortion ban.Last week, 13 religious leaders, including four UCC pastors, filed a lawsuit challenging the Missouri abortion law as an alleged violation of their pro-abortion religious beliefs.One of them, the Rev. Traci Blackmon, is the associate general minister of justice and local church ministries for the denomination. Blackmon also is an abortion activist who toured the country with the pro-abortion “Nuns on the...

Anti-abortion activists will have multiple reasons to celebrate — and some reasons for unease — when they gather Friday in Washington for the annual March for Life. The march, which includes a rally drawing abortion opponents from across the nation, has been held annually since January 1974 — a year after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision established a nationwide right to abortion.

Inaction of the Bishops Has Allowed ‘Catholics’ to Lead the Pro-Abortion Movement for DecadesFifty years ago, in response to the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade, a group of radicals founded “Catholics for a Free Choice” in Washington, D.C. It was a fringe group at the time, but the sodomite-lesbian community was already powerful in the nation’s capital, and the two groups shared the fundamental principles of narcissism, rebellion, destruction of the family, and the annihilation of the Catholic Church, all of them propelled by the Sexual Revolution.The “pro-choice” movement had grown steadily among Catholics by September 1984, when...

[Catholic Caucus] March for Life 2023 -- a very different year On Friday, January 20, the annual March for Life will occur in Washington, D.C. In the past it was a rally of hundreds of thousands of pro-life people to the U.S. Supreme Court, commemorating the January 22, 1973 anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision. This time it will be a (peaceful) march to the U.S. Capitol.So many things have changed since last year's March for Life. On the positive side, Roe was overturned, with the Dobbs decision. On the negative side, D.C. Cardinal Wilton Gregory banned all traditional...

Government watchdog Judicial Watch says it has filed a Freedom of Information Action lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for "records" of communications involving the National Institute of Health.It regards the issue of harvesting the organs of unborn children.That issue erupted into the headlines in 2015 when the Center for Medical Progress released many videos, taken undercover, of abortionists discussing their profit motive for the harvesting, how much they got for the organs, and how much they wanted.One abortionist infamously said she wanted higher payments because she wanted a Lamborghini.The lawsuit involves communications from the NIH's...

When Ramesh Ponnuru in 2006 authored a book describing Democrats as “ The Party of Death ” (the book’s title), it was met with outraged howls from that party’s fellow travelers in the establishment media. On Jan. 11, every Democrat but one in the House of Representatives left no doubt that the moniker is morbidly, sickeningly appropriate. By a slim 220-210 margin, the House on Wednesday passed the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, with only one Democrat voting in favor. The point of the bill is straightforward and, in any morally-sane universe, would be so uncontroversial as to attract unanimous...