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Hippocratic Medicine means to DO NO HARM

Women Do Not NEED Abortion

Women have the RIGHT TO KNOW about the Abortion - Breast Cancer CONNECTION 

AND the Connection of Abortion to Subsequent Preterm Birth, Cerebral Palsy/ ASD

Our Choices Expose our Values...
Refuse to Choose Abortion...

Genuine CHOICE Requires Real OPTIONS

                 Occupy the Womb  (SBA List)

Abortion Business Workers: Report Problems --  http://clinicworker.com/

Fatherhood Begins in the Womb --http://www.toomanyaborted.com/?page_id=4009

www.imagesofabortion.com

  Truth Booth -- A Window to the Womb -- http://www.truthbooth.org/

TWO Botched Abortions at New Woman Abortion Business in Aabama the Day Before the 39th Anniversary of Infamous Roe & Doe U.S. Supreme Court Decisions of 22 January 1973 That Legalized U.S. Abortion-On-Demand: No Gurney Access Endangers Two Injured Abortion Patients / ADDED: Two Women Injured in Alabama: Abortion Business Fails to Use Front Gurney Access

Abortion Has Claimed the Lives of 17 Percent of Americans

Rehash of Abortion Safety Claim Ignores All the Evidence to the Contrary

Unborn Baby’s Body Found at Fort Wayne, Indiana Sewage Plant

Man Convicted, Killed Pregnant Girlfriend for Refusing Abortion

Murder Trials Against Accused Abortionists Brigham & Riley Moving Forward

Illinois Abortions Drop to 37-Year Low, Down 9 Percent

Missouri Abortions Drop 9.4 Percent in 2010, Report Shows

Study Claiming Abortion Safer Than Birth Totally Misleading

Commentary: Can’t Call It “Abortion Care” When Abortions Injure Women

Illinois Abortion Business Crackdown in Response to ‘House of Horrors’ Closes Two Facilities

Third Study Links Autism Risk to Prior Abortions

New Legal Ground: the Implications of Charging Abortionists with ‘Murdering’ Human Fetuses

Kansas Abortionists Hope for Success in State Rather Than Federal Courts

Abortionist Brigham Charged With Murder Released on $500,000 Bond

Abortion Building of Brigham in Pensacola Burns Down

Rockford IL Abortion Business Will Not Reopen

Watch the Number of Abortion Businesses Decrease on New Website

Medical Waste Giant Stericycle Serviced Abortionist Brigham, Now Charged with 10 Counts of Murder

Shock: 40% of Pregnancies in New York City Still Being Aborted

Planned Parenthood’s Annual Report: Got $487.4M in Tax Money, Did 329,445 Abortions

Abortion Providers Charged With Murder in Two States / 2 Abortion Providers Charged With Murder in Maryland / Abortion Practitioner Charged With Murder Has Sordid Past

Texas Medical Board Sets Hearings for Two More Abortionists

Planned Parenthood in IA Botches Abortion, Woman Sent to Hospital

Ambulance Rushes Woman to Hospital After Botched Abortion in CA

Statistics of Late-Term Abortions Clarified

One Top 10 List of Pro-Life Victories Over the Abortion Industry in 2011

The Abortion Industry’s Greatest Hits in 2011

6 Reasons Pro-Life Advocates Should Celebrate 2011

2011: Year of Liberation From the Stranglehold of Abortion

A Generation Damaged by Abortion Works to Protect Future Generations

CONSCIENCE

Court: New Jersey Nurses Don’t Have to Assist in Abortions / Nurses Were Correct to Resist Pressure to Assist Abortions

New Zealand Sees More Doctors Refusing to Assist Abortions

Conscience Clauses Needed Worldwide for Medical Professionals

LEGISLATION

Constitutional Experts: Pro-Life ‘Terrorists’ Could be Permanently Detained Without Trial Under This Law

Pennsylvania OKs & Governor Signs Bill That Will Hold Abortion Businesses Accountable for Health & Safety Standards for Women

Obama Admin. Denies Federal Money to Texas Unless State Funds Planned Parenthood 

COURT CASES

Utah Court: Unborn Baby is a “Minor Child” in Criminal Law

Law Telling Women of Abortion-Suicide Link Back in Court

INTERNATIONAL
Philippines Pro-Life Advocates Close 2011 With Victories

Pro-Abortion UN Agencies UNICEF and UNFPA Fail Audit, Millions of $$ NOT Found in Audit

Pro-Aborts Ousted from Peruvian Government Posts...

TWO Botched Abortions at New Woman Abortion Business in Alabama the Day Before the 39th Anniversary of Infamous Roe & Doe U.S. Supreme Court Decisions of 22 January 1973 That Legalized U.S. Abortion-On-Demand: No Gurney Access Endangers Two Injured Abortion Patients

Visit http://www.jillstanek.com/ and http://www.jillstanek.com/2012/01/two-botched-abortions-no-gurney-access/  for photos and overview.

SECOND ARTICLE

Two Women Injured in Alabama: Abortion Business Fails to Use Front Gurney Access

Two women were transported from an Alabama abortion business Saturday, after apparently being injured during botched abortions, according to the pro-life organization CEC for Life. The incidents took place at the New Women All Women abortion clinic in South Birmingham.

The botched abortions occurred on the day before the 39th memorial of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that decriminalized abortion in America. That decision promised that women would be insured “safe, legal abortions.”
Paramedics carry an injured woman down the stairs from the Alabama abortion facility.

According to several witnesses, a fire truck first arrived at the abortion facility at 9:31 a.m. but left shortly after without removing any patients from the abortion business (driver was told it was a false alarm). At 10:21 a.m., about 50 minutes after the first response, two ambulances and another emergency vehicle, sirens blaring, returned to the abortion business. Witnesses said one of the women brought out by the EMTs appeared to be unconscious and bleeding. She was placed in an ambulance and transferred to a medical facility. A second woman emerged in a wheelchair, with oxygen, and was transported to the second ambulance.

Pro-Life blogger Jill Stanek posted dramatic photos taken at the scene that showed that EMT with gurneys were forced to navigate through an alley filled with trash and debris to reach a door that prevented gurney access. The condition of the two women is currently unknown.

“Abortionists love to complain about clinic regulations and portray them as an anti-abortion plot to prevent women from accessing, safe, legal care. This incident proves yet again how untrue those statements really are, and how much regulation is needed to close unsafe mills like New Woman All Woman,’” said Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue and Pro-Life Nation. “This place is no safer for women that Kermit Gosnell’s ‘shop of horror.”

Last year, Pennsylvania abortionist Kermit Gosnell was charged with the murder of Karnamaya Mongar, who died after unlicensed medical staff administered an overdose of Demerol in November 2009. Lack of gurney access contributed to her death. Since then, several states have passed clinic regulations and increased inspections at abortion clinics. This has led to the closure of two abortion clinics in Illinois, two in Delaware, three in Pennsylvania, and more.

Pro-Life Nation says it is working with Fr. Terry Gensemer of CEC for Life to make sure that complaints against New Woman All Women are filed with the appropriate Alabama regulatory agencies.
[Jan 23, 2012, Birmingham, AL,  John Jalsevac, http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/two-women-injured-in-alabama-run-down-abortion-clinic-has-no-gurney-access/]

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Two women were transported from a Alabama abortion business yesterday after paramedics had to hand-lift a partially clad woman from a narrow doorway and down several steps to an awaiting gurney. A second woman was wheeled down the stairs to her gurney in a wheelchair.

The incident took place at the New Women All Women abortion business in South Birmingham, near UAB.

This occurred on the day before the 39th memorial of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision decriminalized abortion in America. That decision promised that women would be insured "safe, legal abortions."

It was a promise that was never kept.

Fr. Terry Gensemer of CEC for Life issued the following statement yesterday [21Jan12]:

"According to several witnesses, a fire truck first arrived at 9:26 a.m. but left shortly after without removing any patients from the clinic [sic]. They were told the abortion staff 'canceled' the call. At 10:15 a.m., about 50 minutes after the first fire truck had arrived, two ambulances and another emergency vehicle arrived at the abortion business. Witnesses said one of the women brought out by the EMTs appeared to be unconscious. She was placed in an ambulance and transferred to a nearby medical facility. A second woman with oxygen tubes was 'bumped' down the stairs and was transported to the ambulance in a wheelchair. It is presumed that she was also taken to the nearby medical facility.

"Pro-Life blogger Jill Stanek soon posted dramatic photos taken at the scene that showed that the EMT with gurneys were forced to pass through an alley filled with trash and debris to reach a door with steps that prevented gurney access. The metal stair railing was broken and leaning against the stairs. The condition of the two women is currently unknown." [ed.: Clarifications and corrections have been made in this statement, 23 January 2012.]

Gensemer's full press statement along with six photos taken of the incident can be viewed at AbortionDocs.org   [http://abortiondocs.org/clinic/surgical/6/birmingham-new-woman-all-women-health/#!prettyPhoto[gallery]/6/]

"Abortionists love to complain about clinic [sic] regulations and portray them as an anti-abortion plot to prevent women from accessing safe, legal care. This incident proves yet again how untrue those statements really are, and how much regulation is needed to close unsafe businesses like New Woman All Woman. This place is no safer for women that Kermit Gosnell's 'shop of horrors'," said Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue and Pro-Life Nation, who launched the website AbortionDocs.org last week.

"AbortionDocs.org was created for incidents like this, so the public would have comprehensive, up-to-date information about the abortion cartel and its abuses so that the whole truth about the horrific nature of their grisly business can be exposed and stopped through peaceful, legal means."

Last year, Pennsylvania abortionist Kermit Gosnell was charged with the murder of Karnamaya Mongar, who died after paramedics found emergency exits blocked at his Philadelphia abortion mill. Lack of gurney access contributed to her death. Since then, several states have passed abortion business regulations and increased inspections at abortion businesses. This has led to the recent closure of two abortion businesses in Illinois, two in Delaware, three in Pennsylvania, and others.

Pro-Life Nation is working with Gensemer to make sure that complaints against New Woman All Women are filed with the appropriate Alabama regulatory agencies.
[22 January 2012]

Abortion Has Claimed the Lives of 17 Percent of Americans
It’s the time of year when thoughts turn more concertedly to the ongoing tragedy – and travesty – of abortion.

Activists count back to the January 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade and produce new calculations on how many lives have been ended prematurely through the deliberate choice of their mothers—and with the often enthusiastic cooperation of medical professionals who have found their own ways of reconciling the destruction of life with their Hippocratic oath. (The latest addition tells us that a number roughly equivalent to the population of California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, and Arizona has been subtracted from the human race.)

Partisans of “a woman’s right to choose” rejoice, taking shelter in the assertion that the decision to abort a child is a personal one, between a mother and … well, really, no one. A father’s rights are no longer any more sacred than the life in the mother’s womb, parents are often legally required to stand aside, and doctors these days are on hand less to offer medical counsel than to facilitate the mechanics or chemistry of destruction. http://www.lifenews.com/2012/01/24/abortion-has-claimed-the-lives-of-17-percent-of-americans/

Rehash of Abortion Safety Claim Ignores All the Evidence to the Contrary

Hundreds of news articles appeared this week claiming, once again, that the best medical evidence shows that abortion is safer than childbirth. The rash of articles were all tied to a blatant piece of propaganda published in Obstetrics and Gynecology by Dr. David Grimes, an abortion provider and chief propagandist for "medical proof" of abortion's safety.

The new study repeats the same discredited practice of simply comparing nationally reported maternal mortality rates with the Center for Disease Control's (CDC) reported deaths associated with abortion. Sounds reasonable, until you learn that there is no accurate or formal mechanism for reporting abortion-related deaths. Indeed, the rules regarding completion of death certificates specifically exclude identifying abortion as a cause of death.

At least in part, this is why CDC officials have admitted that maternal mortality rates and abortion mortality rates "are conceptually different and are used by the CDC for different public health purposes."

In other words, the CDC numbers on abortion-related deaths cannot be meaningfully compared to maternal mortality rates. CDC methods simply do not rely on a uniform method of collecting data on abortion related deaths.

In short, Grimes used a very incomplete record of abortion-associated deaths and compared it to a complete record of deaths associated with non-aborted pregnancies, and found that the death rate is lower. Therefore, he concludes, abortion is safer than childbirth.

As they say, junk in, junk out.

But fortunately we are not stuck with only the CDC's haphazard yardstick for measuring abortion-related deaths. In the last 15 years, a number of record-based studies have been conducted that do provide an objective, identical standard for comparing abortion-associated deaths with natural pregnancy-associated deaths.

Using this method, the National Research and Development Center for Welfare and Health in Finland reported that 94 percent of deaths associated with abortion (in the first year alone) are being missed in national data reports on abortion.

The same researchers found that women are four times more likely to die in the year following abortion than are women who give birth. Similar findings were reported in a record- based study of California women.

(The figure at the right shows the age-adjusted relative risk of death in the year following a birth, miscarriage or abortion compared to the rate of death among women who were not pregnant. The results are from a multi-year study of all women in Finland linking death certificates to central registries for pregnancy outcomes. It clearly shows abortion is associated with an elevated risk of death, while carrying to term is associated with a lowered risk of death.)

The fact that Grimes, his co-author, the peer reviewers and the editors didn't even acknowledge the existence of these record-based studies or reviews, published in the last 12 years, demonstrates that they are not seeking to advance knowledge or even to refute these other studies.

Instead, they were publishing a mere propaganda piece, one that can succeed only if they and the public ignore two things: first, all the record-based studies finding the opposite results; and second, the CDC's own warning that its abortion mortality data is not complete, comparable to, or even "conceptually" reconcilable with maternal mortality data.
 
The most damning evidence of the authors' biases is that their "review" of the evidence totally ignores numerous record-based studies using data from both the United States and Finland -- studies that clearly show that abortion is associated with significantly higher mortality than both childbirth and not being pregnant.

For a complete review of the literature on mortality rates related to abortion and childbirth, readers should study "Deaths Associated With Abortion Compared to Childbirth: A Review of New and Old Data and the Medical and Legal Implications."

~~~
The Elliot Institute is the only organization dedicated to conducting original research on the impact of abortion on women; raising awareness that most abortions are unwanted or coerced, and exposing the risks of abortion to all involved.

Link to this article -- http://afterabortion.org/2012/re-hash-of-abortion-safety-claim-ignores-all-inconvenient-evidence-to-the-contrary/

Citing:

Raymond, Elizabeth G.; Grimes, David A. The Comparative Safety of Legal Induced Abortion and Childbirth in the United States. Obstetrics & Gynecology. 119(2, Part 1):215-219, February 2012.

Gissler M, Berg C, Bouvier-Colle MH, Buekens P. Methods for identifying pregnancy-associated deaths: population-based data from Finland 1987-2000. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol. 2004 Nov;18(6):448-55.

Reardon DC, Strahan TW, Thorp JM, Shuping MW. Deaths associated with abortion compared to childbirth: a review of new and old data and the medical and legal implications. The Journal of Contemporary Health Law & Policy 2004; 20(2):279-327.
[26 Jan 2012, Elliot Institute, Immediate Release, Springfield, IL, see this link for graph --http://afterabortion.org/2012/re-hash-of-abortion-safety-claim-ignores-all-inconvenient-evidence-to-the-contrary/]



Unborn Baby’s Body Found at Fort Wayne, Indiana Sewage Plant
Workers at a Fort Wayne water treatment facility made a gruesome discovery Monday afternoon — the body of an unborn baby who Three Rivers Ambulance Authority paramedics believe was approximately 10 to 25 weeks old.

Local media reports indicate the Allen County Coroner determined the unborn baby was 14-15 weeks gestation and the race and gender of the child was unable to be determined at the time of the examination. Although there is no indication how the baby’s body wound up at the facility, Indiana Right to Life president Mike Fichter tells LifeNews he believes the baby may have been chemically aborted and discarded in sewer.

He said Indiana Right to Life will ask the Indiana State Department of Health to revisit guidelines for disposing of the remains of aborted children in the wake of yesterday’s discovery.

“We don’t know whether this baby was aborted and then flushed into the sewer system by Fort Wayne’s local abortion clinic, or aborted at home using the RU-486 chemical abortion method, but both are strong possibilities,” Fichter noted. http://www.lifenews.com/2012/01/24/unborn-babys-body-found-at-fort-wayne-indiana-sewage-plant/



 
Man Convicted, Killed Pregnant Girlfriend for Refusing Abortion

In Broward County, Florida, a man has been convicted of two counts of murder for killing a pregnant woman and her unborn baby. The court determined that Edward Jermaine Babbs killed Stephanie Rabsatt by shooting her in the abdomen and head on Oct.1, 2009.

Rabsatt was almost 8 months pregnant with a son, who she had named Jayden. Babbs, who was the baby’s father, had been pressuring her to abort. Her refusal to have an abortion and the imminent birth of her son was what triggered the murder, according to police.

Rasblatts’ family was in the courtroom when Babbs was sentenced to life in prison. They tearfully told reporters that they felt justice had been done but that the grief of losing their loved ones would never go away.

“She was a brilliant child,” Rabsatt’s mother, Karen Moore, said after the verdict was revealed, “She was loving and kind, and she loved her baby.” http://www.lifenews.com/2012/01/25/man-convicted-killed-pregnant-girlfriend-refusing-abortion/

Murder Trials Against Accused Abortionists Moving Forward

Prosecutors are moving forward with murder charges against two Maryland abortionists for the deaths of unborn babies, allegedly killed in illegal abortions.

Steven Chase Brigham, who is charged with five counts of first-degree murder, five counts of second-degree murder, and one count of conspiracy to commit murder, is scheduled to stand trial in June of 2012, reports an Operation Rescue press release. Pre-trial hearing dates have been set for May 4th and 25th.

Brigham has requested a separate trial from his co-defendant, Nicola Riley, who he employed to perform late-term abortions at a clinic in Elkton, Maryland. The abortionist did not have a license to perform abortions in Maryland, and was operating the clinic secretly.
Steve Brigham and Nicola Riley

An Operation Rescue investigation revealed that Riley had lied about her criminal background in order to obtain licensure in three states. According to the pro-life organization, both Riley and Brigham had been banned from performing abortions in any state by the time of their arrest.
[26Jan12, Christine Dhanagom, Elkton, MD; For remainder of article, visit -- http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/murder-trials-against-accused-abortionists-moving-forward?utm_source=LifeSiteNews.com+Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=7430583f50-LifeSiteNews_com_US_Headlines_01_26_2012&utm_medium=email]



Illinois Abortions Drop to 37-Year Low, Down 9 Percent
Abortions in Illinois have dropped 9 percent in 2010 from the prior year and the state health department indicates they are now at a 37-year low.

Abortions are expected to drop further now that Rockford’s abortion business has closed.
For remainder of article, visit -- http://www.lifenews.com/2012/01/25/illinois-abortions-drop-to-37-year-low-down-9-percent/




Missouri Abortions Drop 9.4 Percent in 2010, Report Shows
The Show-Me state has something to show the nation. According to newly-released State Department of Health figures, Missouri women had 1,019 fewer abortions in 2010 than in the previous year – a 9.4 percent decline. http://www.lifenews.com/2012/01/24/missouri-abortions-drop-9-4-percent-in-2010-report-shows/

Study Claiming Abortion Safer Than Birth Totally Misleading
 
As thousands were on the national mall in Washington, D.C. for the March for Life, Reuters reported on a study that suggests abortion is safer than giving birth. I find it odd that the release of such a study was timed to coincide with an event that celebrates and vows to protect the sanctity of life.

There are some interesting findings from this study commissioned by the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. One is the fact that the authors of the study, Drs. Elizabeth Raymond and David Grimes, used estimates from the Guttmacher Institute, which is formerly tied to Planned Parenthood. Another finding that was particularly interesting is that they claim abortion is safer due to the amount of deaths that occurred during live childbirth.

There are some medical risks with childbirth, but the effects of abortion are much more dangerous and long-lasting.

Jeanne Monahan, Director, Center for Human Dignity at FRC, recently published an editorial that appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, which focused on abortion’s devastating impact on mental health.
For the remainder of the article, visit -- http://www.lifenews.com/2012/01/25/study-claiming-abortion-safer-than-birth-totally-misleading/

Commentary: Can’t Call It “Abortion Care” When Abortions Injure Women

by Luis Zaffirini | Birmingham, AL | LifeNews.com | 1/25/12
A friend of mine in Alabama forwarded me a first-hand account of some very disturbing happenings in Birmingham witnessed by some pro-lifers keeping a silent, prayerful vigil outside an abortion business.

While outside the facility, they witnessed two ambulances rush to the side of the building. Curious, they walked around to see multiple paramedics carrying what appeared to be an unconscious woman down the back steps of the abortion facility by her arms and legs, because they could not fit the stretcher through a too-narrow doorway.

But that wasn’t the end of this terrible scene. Soon after, the emergency crew ran back into the clinic [sic] and carried a second woman out in a wheelchair and placed her in the second ambulance.

We can only hope these women are okay, remembering at the same time that what happened is symptomatic of the hypocrisy of those who claim the mantle of care–”abortion care.” The irony is that they claim if abortion-on-demand were no longer the law of the land, lives would be lost!

Daily taking innocent human lives must do something to a person, because the strange kind of “care” abortion providers are offering does some very uncaring things: It takes the lives of unborn babies and puts others at risk. It also impedes the work of caring crisis pregnancy centers, limiting the options of women in crisis.

And it hurts women, not just as in this instance in Alabama, but through aggressively pushing the harmful RU486 abortifacient.

Pro-lifers truly care for innocent unborn lives, for the disabled, and for the medically dependent. We should be proud of that heritage of real care for our fellow human being. I know I am.

http://www.lifenews.com/2012/01/25/cant-call-it-abortion-care-when-abortions-injure-women/

Illinois Abortion Business Crackdown in Response to ‘House of Horrors’ Closes Two Facilities

Documents uncovered by the Associated Press reveal that the recent closure of the notorious abortion clinic in Rockford was the result of a long overdue investigation of Illinois abortion facilities, prompted by revelations of the conditions found at abortionist Kermit Gosnell’s “house of horrors” clinic [sic] in Philadelphia.

According to the AP, in recent years abortion centers in Illinois have had little more oversight than in Pennsylvania, where Democratic Gov. Tom Ridge’s administration had stopped abortion business inspections in 1995.

The news service reported that several abortion sites in Illinois had gone without oversight for as many as 15 years.

Karen Senger, a representative with the Illinois Department of Public Health told the AP that the Gosnell case gave the Department “focus” and motivation to inspect the state’s abortion facilities.

Kermit Gosnell's "House of Horrors" abortion facility.

Investigators who raided the Gosnell facility had found that the abortion equipment was broken, dirty, and rusty; downstairs, the dismembered remains of newborn and nearly-born children were stuffed into jars, bags, milk jugs, and cat food containers. Others shared space in a refrigerator-freezer with employees’ lunches. Investigators also discovered that Gosnell and his accomplices routinely snipped the spinal chords of newborn babies born after failed late-term abortions: something that one employee said happened “hundreds” of times.

In the wake of the discovery of Gosnell’s clinic, Pennsylvania state enforcement agencies came under intense scrutiny. The Grand Jury report released in January of last year that exposed the horrific conditions at Gosnell’s clinic had issued scathing indictments of both the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Department of State for turning a blind eye to the clinic. The report said the government agencies had allowed the clinic to wallow in filth for years, and ignored several complaints lodged against the abortionist, while allowing his official record to remain clean.

Now the Illinois Department of Public Health has launched an inspection of nine Illinois facilities that provide abortions. The Department was reportedly so alarmed by the unsafe and unsanitary conditions uncovered at two of them that they issued emergency license suspensions for both.

One of the suspended clinics, the Woman’s Aid Clinic in Lincolnwood, was cited for dirty equipment, lack of a supervising registered nurse, failure to perform CPR on a patient who later died, and keeping TV dinners in a biohazard refrigerator next to “fetal tissue.”

Clinic co-owner Larissa Rowansky called the inspection “unfair,” claiming that the deceased patient had bronchial pneumonia and had lied to the clinic about her condition, and that she did not need CPR because she was still conscious when rescue workers arrived.

The Clinic received a $36,000 fine for the violations, but opted to close permanently rather than pay the fine.

As LifeSiteNews.com reported last week, the Northern Illinois Women’s Center in Rockford will also remain closed after being cited for numerous violations, including stained equipment, unsanitary operating rooms, and failure to keep a registered nurse on staff.
Rockford's notorious abortion facility.

While the Rockford clinic managed to negotiate a much smaller fine of $9,750, it was unable to remain open due to an inability to hire staff and opposition from the local community.

The clinic has been a focus for pro-life activists in Rockford, who report that they have endured both verbal and physical abuse from clinic staff while peacefully demonstrating out front.

According to Eric Scheidler, executive director of the Chicago-based Pro-Life Action League, the inspection, which looked only at facilities whose exclusive “service” is abortions, did not go far enough. In comments to the AP, Scheidler called for all abortion providers in the state to be brought under a “regulation regime.”

Planned Parenthood clinics, which do not focus exclusively on abortions, are neither licensed nor inspected in Illinois, according to the AP.

Health department spokeswoman Melaney Arnold told the news service that the department’s goal was to bring regulation of all “licensed health care facilities” to the same level as “long-term care facilities.” She explained that that this would mean that “a survey is done at each facility every year and whenever we receive a valid complaint.”

Arnold also said that a lack of funding is preventing the state from expanding the scope of the inspection, since they are unable to hire additional inspectors.
[23 Jan 2012, Christine Dhanagom, http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/illinois-abortion-clinic-crackdown-in-response-to-house-of-horrors-closes-t?utm_source=LifeSiteNews.com+Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=5acbd87e9a-LifeSiteNews_com_US_Headlines_01_19_2012&utm_medium=email]

Press Release: Third Study Links Autism Risk to Prior Abortions         

In 2011, Harvard University researchers led by Kristen Lyall reported that women with prior IAs (Induced Abortions) elevate their relative odds of delivering a newborn later diagnosed with Autism by a significant 26%.[1, Lyall; Abstract -- http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aur.228/abstract]

This makes at least the third published study finding that prior IAs significantly raise Autism risk in a newborn baby.

In 2002 Ball State University researchers led by Diana Wilkerson reported significantly higher Autism risk for women with prior abortion surgery, a finding that was NOT mentioned in the abstract (i.e. summary) section of their study.[2, Wilkerson; Abstract -- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12487097]

In 1999 Professor Larry Burd and colleagues found that women with prior IAs tripled their odds of having newborns later diagnosed with Autism.[3, Burd; Abstract -- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10732302]

Do these three (3) significant studies 'prove' that previous abortions boost Autism in future newborn babies? That is a question based on a FALSE PREMISE. Why? Until a new medical treatment is demonstrated to not inflict a credible adverse risk, the BURDEN of PROOF is on providers to very clearly demonstrate via published studies that the adverse risk is not, in fact, a risk. Only AFTER such convincing evidence is produced does the BURDEN of PROOF switch onto the shoulders of 'safety skeptics'. The most common abortion treatment in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K., 'suction' (i.e. vacuum aspiration) abortion, was invented circa 1958 [4, Wu] but there are not even animal studies demonstrating that prior 'suction' abortions do not affect mental health.[5. Rooney]

There are zero human studies demonstrating that prior surgical abortions do not inflict higher Autism risk on future newborns.

The total lifetime cost ( medical + non-medical + lost income ) for a U.S. citizen with Autism was estimated by Harvard U. Professor Michael Ganz to be $3.2 million.[6, Ganz]
.................................................................................................................................

References

1 Lyall K, Pauls DL, Spiegalman D, Ascherio A, Sanangelo SL. Pregnancy Complications and Obstetric Suboptimality in Association with Autism Spectrum Disorders in Children of the Nurses' Health Study II. Autism Research 2011;4:1-10

2 Wilkerson DS, Volpe AG, Dean RS, Titus JB. Perinatal Complications As Predictors of Infantile Autism. International J Neuroscience 2002;112:1085-1098

3 Burd L, Severud R, Kerbeshian J, Klug MG. Prenatal and perinatal risk factors for autism. J Perinatal Med 1999;27(6):441-450

4 Wu Y, Wu X. A report of 300 cases using vacuum aspiration for the termination of pregnancy. Chinese J Obstetrics Gynaecology 1958;447-449 [ English Translation:
http://www.bmj.com/content/suppl/2008/06/12/336.7657.1332-a.DC1/chinaabortion.rtf.pdf ]

5 Rooney B, Calhoun BC, Roche LE. Does Induced Abortion Account for Racial Disparity in Preterm Births, and Violate the Nuremberg Code? Journal American Physicians Surgeons 2008;13(4):102-104 [ URL: http://www.jpands.org/vol13no4/rooney.pdf ]

6 Ganz ML. The lifetime distribution of the incremental societal costs of autism. Arch Paediatr Adolesc Med 2007;161:343-34
[9 January 2012, Press Release, Brent Rooney, MSc, Reduce Preterm Risk Coalition]




New Legal Ground: the Implications of Charging Abortionists with ‘Murdering’ Human Fetuses

On December 28 a Maryland grand jury indicted abortionists Steven Brigham and Nicola Riley on several counts of first and second degree murder of viable, preborn babies.

Authorities began investigating Brigham and Riley in August 2010 after the two behaved suspiciously when dumping an 18-yr-old victim of a botched abortion at a hospital near Brigham’s Elkton mill.

Found in that mill were 35 late-term aborted babies in a freezer, many believed viable, one full-term at 36 weeks, according to an AP report.

Brigham is now locked up in New Jersey and Brigham in Utah, both awaiting extradition.

Cecil County District Attorney Ellis Rollins told Reuters, “This is probably the first case that Maryland has ever seen with this factual scenario using this statute.”

Actually this is the first case the United States has ever seen that uses a fetal homicide law to charge abortionists with murder.

To be clear, Maryland authorities did not turn to a post-viability abortion ban to prosecute Brigham and Riley, although it has one on the books, as, according to Guttmacher, 40 states do. Again, authorites are prosecuting these abortionists under Maryland’s fetal homicide law.

Due to the Supreme Court’s broad health exception, both sides have considered post-viability abortion bans generally toothless, with the exception of newly passed fetal pain laws, as yet untested at the SC level.

“But fetal homicide laws would have fangs if used against abortionists,” said Americans United for Life’s Clarke Forsythe to me in a phone interview today. “Maryland’s unprecedented application to abortion has the potential to be used more broadly and must be scaring abortion proponents silly.”

According to Forsythe, the first fetal homicide law wasn’t passed until 1970, in reaction to abortion being legalized around the country. Now 38 states have one on the books, 21 of those protecting preborn human life from the moment of conception.

These laws have been written in such a way so as to avoid the abortion issue. Many explicitly list abortion as an exception.

Nevertheless, abortion proponents have always complained the day would come when fetal homicide laws would be used in the abortion arena.

And really, rightfully so. It defies common sense to consider it murder if a boyfriend, drunk driver, or bank robber kills a preborn baby but not if an abortionist does.

Furthermore, there are usually enhanced penalties if someone is paid to kill someone else, further implicating abortionists were not abortion currently sacrosanct in U.S. law.

In other words, some fetal homicide laws carve out exceptions for a mother and her paid hit man to commit first degree murder. Up to now, pro-lifers and pro-aborts alike have had to live with this legal incoherence.

But with the prosecution of Brigham and Riley, that bridge has been crossed.

Lawyers for the two will argue the fetal homicide law cannot be applied against them, or that the charges are unconstitutional.

Meanwhile, abortion groups are hobbled. They haven’t come to the defense of Kermit Gosnell, and they aren’t coming to the defense of Brigham and Riley. They will have trouble challenging this case if and when it works its way up to the Supreme Court. Recall it is emanating from a liberal state. But the Cecil Co. district attorney has apparently determined he will have sufficient public support, since 80% of Americans consistently poll they don’t like late-term abortions.

Should these charges stick, the door will be opened for prosecutors in other states to use fetal homicide laws against abortionists, and not necessarily for worst case scenarios, since some fetal homicide laws protect babies from the moment of conception.

“The other side is surely worried about this,” said Forsythe. “They are worried about the decentralization. And they are worried they can’t control how fetal homicide laws might now be applied in 38 other states.”

[4 Jan 2012, JillStanek.com, http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/new-legal-ground-the-implications-of-charging-abortionists-with-murdering-f?utm_source=LifeSiteNews.com+Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=c09879ed6f-LifeSiteNews_com_US_Headlines01_04_2012&utm_medium=email]

Scalia Slams Undue Burden Rule for State Abortion Regulations...which is why KS abortion clinic [sic] lawsuit switched to state court

The Washington Business Journal reports that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is prepared to discard a major precedent in abortion law when considering a future challenge to state regulations of abortion clinics, such as those approved in Virginia , Kansas and South Carolina .

A self-described "originalist", Scalia addressed a meeting of Washington , D.C. attorneys Thursday, affirming that the 14th amendment confers rights to the states.  But he repeated his long-held view that the Constitution is silent on abortion and that judges should stay out of the issue.  Scalia mocked the so-called 'undue burden' principle on accessing abortion thusly:

“So I run to the law books to see what an ‘undue burden’ is," Scalia said. "What do you know, for 200 years, no burden was an undue burden. You could prohibit it. So I can’t use the law books."
Scalia's exasperation with courts inventing abortion law as they go along-- together with the 4 pro-life vs. 4 pro-abortion (and one swing vote) composition of the U.S. Supreme Court --ties in with why the Kansas abortion clinics switched to the state courts to fight the new law for licensing, inspection and regulation of abortion businesses.

Attorneys search the history of appellate courts and state supreme courts before they move forward with litigation.  In two out of three attempts this summer at the federal courts in the Kansas jurisdiction, abortion lawyers succeeded in securing injunctions to block new Kansas laws: the family planning funding case and the temporary rules of the licensure law.

But days before the permanent licensure rules went into effect, the abortion lawyers smoothly slid into state court and dropped their original federal suit, gauging that they weren't going to win in federal court in the long run.  This is where the new comments of Scalia probably make them smile, because they are now going to fight Kansas abortion clinic safety and sanitation rules in state courts, where the highest authority is the abortion-leaning Kansas state Supreme Court.

KANSAS LAWMAKERS WEIGH IN
Comments about the change-up in the licensure lawsuit strategy were posted by the lead sponsors of the licensure law, Rep. Lance Kinzer and Sen. Mary Pilcher-Cook.  Picher-Cook's press release is excerpted here:
“The dismissal of the federal [licensure] lawsuit is a clear admission that the law was consistent with the United States Constitution. I am certainly gratified by this decision, as it reflects facts we knew when we originally drafted the legislation -- that protecting the health and safety of women is completely consistent with constitutional principles.

"However, there is caution ahead. By these abortion providers focusing their attention on the state lawsuit, the abortion clinics are going to attempt to argue that there is a broader right within the Kansas Constitution – that they now recognize doesn’t exist in the U.S. Constitution – to essentially have abortion on demand without any oversight, putting them in a special status that would allow them to ignore the health and safety of women.

“While this claim is unreasonable on the surface to argue the framers of the Kansas Constitution meant to convey such a “right” for abortion clinics, it is indeed revealing that the petitioners think they might find a welcome ear to their arguments on the Kansas Supreme Court.”

Pilcher-Cook is right to be concerned as there is no settled state law on the status of abortion in the state constitution.  The last case that touched on the state constitution and abortion didn't end up with any ruling on whether abortion had the status of a protected right.

That case was in 2006, when the Kansas Attorney General's Office had to carry out a joint legislative order to argue in state court that, under our state Constitution, state money was not allowed to pay for Kansas Medicaid abortions.  Similar cases in other states had failed on this issue and this one was no different, though the Kansas case was very capably argued by attorney Kinzer on behalf of the AG's office.  The state court ruled in favor of the federal 'supremacy rule ' ...the same supremacy rule now being invoked to defend mandated purchase of insurance under Obamacare.

Will Kansas pro-life laws stand under state court scrutiny?  The animus is clear, as today, the NARAL abortion advocacy group issued their snapshot of  state legislative actions, declaring Kansas, Arizona and Florida tied for enacting the most "anti-choice"(as they call it) legislation in 2011, with five measures each. See pgs 4-5 of their summary, here -- NARAL  http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/assets/download-files/2011-who-decides.pdf
[20 January 12, Kansans for Life, www.kfl.org, Kathy Ostrowski, KFL Legislative Director]




Abortionist Charged With Murder Released on $500,000 Bond

The abortion practitioner charged with murder in the deaths of viable unborn children in a two-state operation aimed at avoiding late-term abortion laws has been released on half a million dollar bond.

Abortion practitioner Steven Chase Brigham was arraigned today in Cecil County, Maryland, on 11-count murder indictment then was released on a $500,000 bond. He was ordered to have “no involvement in any manner in performing abortions” as a condition of his release.

Brigham posted bail this afternoon against $306,240 worth of assets. A bail bondsman posted the remainder of the $500,000 bond, according to information Operation Rescue provided LifeNews today.

Details concerning the indictment were also made public. Brigham was charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of five viable, healthy preborn babies between July 9 and August 13, 2010, at what his co-defendant Nicola Riley described as a “secret late-term abortion clinic” in Elkton, Maryland.

“Four of the babies were female. The one male baby was identified in the indictment as “Male Fetus Brewer.” That little boy was the son of a patient that suffered the life-threatening botched abortion that first drew attention to Brigham’s illegal bi-state late-term abortion scheme,” Operation Rescue indicated.

Riley has been charged with a 3-count murder indictment and waits a scheduled January 9 hearing in Salt Lake City where she remains held on no bail. She is expected to be extradited to Maryland sometime after the hearing...

Brigham operated a secret late-term abortion clinic [sic] in Elkton, Maryland, even though he had no license to practice in that state. He hired Riley to do late-term abortions there and at his abortion clinic [sic] in Baltimore. Brigham would start the late-term abortions at his office in New Jersey, then caravan the laboring women to Elkton where the abortions would be completed. The clandestine abortion scheme was discovered after a woman suffered a life-threatening botched abortion in Elkton and had to be air-lifted to Johns Hopkins Medical Center for emergency surgery in August, 2010. When police raided the Elkton abortion business, they discovered the remains of 35 aborted babies, one of which was 33 weeks gestation.

Operation Rescue immediately organized grassroots efforts calling for charges against Brigham and Riley and worked behind the scenes to ensure that the case moved forward. The pro-life group dug deeper and discovered that Riley had lied about her criminal background to gain licensure in three states.

At the time of their arrests, Brigham and Riley were banned from doing abortions in any state.

...The two abortion practitioners who have been charged with murder for doing late-term abortions in the state of Maryland had long, sordid pasts including brushes with the law and putting women’s health at risk.

... Brigham has had his medical license suspended in other states for killing and injuring women in botched abortions.

Back in May, inspectors found Allentown Medical Services had multiple health and safety problems that could endanger women’s health and it continues to operate amid the complaints. Officials indicated the abortion facility received citations concerning using unsterilized instruments on women, having drugs and reproductive devices on hand that were past their expiration date. Abortion clinic [sic] inspectors also found blood splattered on the walls and floor of a freezer, according to a report the Pennsylvania Health Department made public.

Newman provided more details about what was found.

“Violations found during an inspection that took place on May 26, 2011, discovered out-of-date medicine, metal instruments with a brown material in the hinges and inside the supposedly sterile packaging, surgical instruments tossed in unsterilized drawers, and surgical instruments stored in a “musty” smelling suitcase in broken wrappers – all of which were considered by employees to be ready for use on patients,” Newman said.

“Also discovered was a freezer where “Infectious Waste”, (the remains of aborted babies), was stored that was smeared with what an employee acknowledged was blood and contained a thick layer of frozen blood in the bottom. Dirty recovery room blankets and a dangerous lack of patient monitoring were also documented. No plan ...to correct these egregious violations has been filed, yet the abortion clinic [sic] continues to operate.”

The abortion facility operates under the name Allentown Medical Services but it has new owners. It changed hands after Brigham was prohibited from operating in Pennsylvania because of so many botched abortions and violations of health and safety laws for medical clinics [sic]. He gave up his Pennsylvania medical license because of problems in 1992 but was allowed to operate abortion centers administratively until the state finally clamped down on that practice.

State officials said AMS “failed to maintain a safe and sanitary environment” and devices used in abortions had been sterilized but not wrapped to ensure they stayed that way. Several packages of surgical instruments “had an accumulation of brown debris in the hinge areas and brown staining on the inside of the packages” even though an AMS employee told officials they were sterilized and ready for use.

In July, 2010, Brigham was banned by the State of Pennsylvania from operating or controlling any abortion businesses in Pennsylvania, citing violations that endangered the public. Brigham circumvented the order by transferring ownership of his clinics [sic] to Rose Health Services, a company said to be owned by Brigham’s mother.

“There are certainly ongoing relationships between Brigham and the remaining Pennsylvania abortion clinics [sic]. We believe those relationships violate the Pennsylvania Health Department’s order,” said Cheryl Sullenger, Senior Policy Advisor for Operation Rescue. “We are looking into what legal action can be taken to stop his dangerous Pennsylvania abortion mills from operating.”

Brigham continues to operate troubled abortion clinics [sic] under the banner of American Women’s Services in New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia.

His New Jersey medical license has been suspended based on allegations that he illegally began abortions well beyond the 14 week limit in New Jersey and completed them at the Elkton, Maryland abortion center. The state wants his license permanently suspended.

The Elkton Police Department opened a murder investigation, which remains active.

Brigham’s attorney, Joseph M. Gorrell, argued the case should be dismissed and said that’s because Brigham has already been examined by the medical board on the same charges a decade ago [ed. that's 10 years ago].

The mid-1990s complaint was based in part on the 1994 New York case that resulted in the revocation of his medical license in that state. It detailed case after case of botched abortions and other miseries, describing what amounted to a shop of horrors operated by Brigham that also crossed state lines.

Brigham would insert laminaria in late-term patients at his office in Voorhees, New Jersey, then transport the women to New York for completion of their abortions.

The Inquirer newspaper indicates Brigham also filed papers in response to Maryland charges that he is practicing medicine without a license. The papers say Brigham was merely “engaging in consultation” and he asked the Maryland Board of Physicians to dismiss his case and allow him “to continue providing demonstrations, training, and assistance to Maryland doctors who seek his expertise and guidance.”

Two of Brigham’s associate abortion practitioners, Nicola Riley and George Shepard, Jr. have also had their Maryland medical licenses suspended for aiding and abetting Brigham’s illegal late-term abortion scheme and other violations.

Recently, the New Jersey attorney general’s office accused Brigham of violating standards of care for four additional women seeking abortions at his centers.

An Associated Press report indicates the new concerns revolve around an August abortion Brigham did on a 35-year-old Canadian woman who was 33 weeks pregnant at the time. The unborn child was healthy in all respects, medical records show, and was targeted for an abortion only because of the Down syndrome.

Brigham employed his technique of starting the abortion in New Jersey and he then instructed the woman to drive to Maryland herself to complete the procedure.

The medical records do not say who completed the abortion in Maryland, where Brigham is not licensed to practice medicine.

AP indicates Dr. Gary Brickner wrote an expert opinion in the investigation saying the abortion procedure “seriously violated medical standards of care and, to my knowledge, is not sanctioned by any statute or regulation.” He said the abortion “did not involve a fetus with a lethal defect or a condition dangerous to the mother’s health.”

The document AP cites also mentions another case involving a woman who was in the 24th week of pregnancy. She was slated to complete her abortion in Maryland but began experiencing heavy bleeding while staying in a New Jersey hotel room and she eventually delivered a stillborn baby in a local hospital.

The state’s complaint also says none of the abortion centers Brigham operates are licensed ambulatory care facilities, it points out he has no admitting privileges at any New Jersey hospital and he is not trained as an obstetrician or gynecologist.

Attorney General Paula Dow wants Brigham’s license suspended and he has already agreed to stop practicing medicine at his abortion centers in Voorhees, Woodbridge, Phillipsburg and Toms River.
[Ertelt | Elkton, MD, 1/6/12,  http://www.lifenews.com/2012/01/06/abortionist-charged-with-murder-released-on-500000-bond/

Abortion Building of Abortion Doc Charged With Murder Burns Down
Early in the morning on New Year’s Day, American Family Planning clinic in Pensacola, Florida caught fire. The fire went undetected for several hours as the night was foggy and passersby didn’t notice the smoke.

[ed. the fire was apparently set outside the building... so much for complying with fire regulations... so much for concern for women's safety...]

http://www.lifenews.com/2012/01/05/clinic-of-abortion-doc-charged-with-murder-burns-down/

Rockford IL Abortion Business Will Not Reopen

The Northern Illinois Women's Center, which has been providing abortion services in Rockford for nearly 40 years, is closing.

The clinic's director confirmed today that the clinic's owners have decided to close the clinic's doors for good after being closed by the state for three months.

The clinic's decision is based on a lack of support from the community, the political climate surrounding the abortion issue both locally and nationally and the challenge the clinic would face in rebuilding staff, the director said.

The clinic released the following the statement to the Rockford Register Star today:

"The clinic would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our supporters, both personally and professionally who continued to service and work with us during our many years of business. We recognize the challenge that your affiliation with us may have presented from time to time, and we honor that you were willing to make the commitment regardless.

We also want to acknowledge the Winnebago County Citizens for Choice for walking with us and the women coming to the clinic in the face of harassment, intimidation and hostility. The WCCC are women and men who will continue to work to preserve women's right to reproductive health.

The staff is very saddened by the closing. We are not done grieving this loss and still are struggling with surrendering to the idea that we will not be able to do this work tomorrow or the day after."

The Illinois Department of Public Health ordered an emergency suspension of the clinic's license Sept. 30 because of health and safety violations observed during on-site inspections in June and September.

The clinic won the right to reopen Jan. 4 when the state and clinic agreed that the violations had been cleared to the state's satisfaction. That agreed settlement gave the clinic two options - to reopen, pay a $9,750 fine and be subject to immediate license revocation if the clinic lapsed on certain state regulations or pay a $1,000 fine, voluntarily relinquish its operating license and close.
[13 Jan 2012, Corina Curry, Rockford Register Star, http://www.rrstar.com/blogs/corinacurry/x1354951577/Rockford-abortion-clinic-will-not-reopen]

Watch the Number of Abortion Clinics Drop on AbortionDocs.org

Pro-Life Nation, an initiative of Operation Rescue, has launched its inaugural project,AbortionDocs.org, a database that will be of tremendous use to the Pro-life Movement and will aid the work as we move toward the day when abortion is finally abolished in America.

The AbortionDocs.org site is a searchable database that endeavors to list every surgical abortion clinic, every "abortion pill-only" clinic, and every abortionist in the United States. The website will soon contain the largest collection of documents ever compiled on the abortion cartel, with new documents being uploaded every day. Documents include photos, medical license applications, malpractice suits, disciplinary records, news articles, videos, criminal histories, and more.

"For the first time ever a centralized database has been created listing every abortion center in the United States. We have built a good foundation in compiling the most accurate and up-to-date list of abortion clinics known to exist," said Troy Newman, President of Pro-Life Nation and Operation Rescue. "We are still compiling names of the abortionists who work in them. Also, the huge task of uploading the volumes of documents we have in our files has only just begun. AbortionDocs.org is a work in progress that will be maintained on a daily basis to ensure that the most accurate information possible is being presented."

Pro-Life Nation is looking to partner with key pro-life leaders to contribute to the Abortiondocs.orgdatabase so that the true scope of abortion abuses that occur daily in this country can be documented and exposed to the American people.

The AbortionDocs.org website was two years and countless man hours in the making. The list can be used in a number of ways to expose abortion abuses committed by abortionists and their clinics. Activists around the nation can use it as a resource to identify abortion clinics in their areas so they can maintain a prayerful presence there, and discover the histories of the abortionists so women seeking abortions can be fully informed and warned of the dangers specific to a particular abortionist or clinic.

"In 1991, there were over 2,176 surgical abortion clinics in America. Today there are 663. Nearly 70% of all surgical abortion clinics have closed for good and that trend is continuing nationally," said Newman. "We encourage folks to log on to AbortionDocs.org regularly and watch the number of abortion clinics click down."
[January 18, 2012, Washington, DC, www.abortiondocs.org]

Medical Waste Giant Stericycle Serviced Abortionist Brigham, Now Charged with 10 Counts of Murder

A medical waste giant allied with the abortion industry has been faulted by opponents for complicity with an abortionist who ran afoul of several state laws.

The Campaign to Stop Stericycle (CSS) says it learned that Stericycle had been servicing the “secret” abortion facility of abortionist Steven Brigham, who is now being held on $3 million bail and is facing murder charges for the deaths of late-term infants. CSS says Stericycle continues to collect aborted remains from a number of additional sites owned by Brigham.

Brigham owns at least 18 abortion facilities and advertises locations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia. His license was revoked in New York and Florida; he surrendered his license in Pennsylvania, and allowed his license to expire in Georgia and California due to the government’s concerns about his conduct. Brigham is known for his attempts to evade New Jersey law, which prohibits second trimester abortions outside of a hospital or licensed ambulatory center, by injecting poison into the baby’s heart, then directing patients to an out-of-state location to have the dead baby surgically extracted.

Most recently, Brigham had his license suspended in New Jersey for engaging in another out-of-state abortion scheme. Much like past violations, he administered the injection at his Voorhees, New Jersey location, and then had patients drive to a “secret” location called “Grace Medical Care” an hour away in Elkton, Maryland to have the baby removed. Brigham holds no medical license in Maryland.

In August 2010, investigators raided Brigham’s Elkton facility after police were contacted by an 18-year old girl who had been hospitalized after an abortion that ended the life of her 21-week old baby turned awry. Weeks after the last collection stop of the medical “waste” company Stericycle, investigators found 35 late-term babies in Brigham’s chest freezer and took the bodies to be examined. Records show that on some occasions, up to six late-term abortions were performed in a day.

On December 28th, 2011, after a lengthy investigation, a Grand Jury leveled five counts of first-degree murder, five counts of second-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder against Brigham, who was then taken into custody. Nicola Riley, a contracted abortionist that performed the botched procedure on the 18-year old, was also arrested and charged with one of each felony count.

Through an independent investigation conducted by CSS, it was discovered that Stericycle stopped servicing Brigham’s secret late-term abortion facility after it was raided by police. However, Stericycle has been and continues to collect aborted remains from numerous other locations owned by Brigham. It services all of Brigham’s abortion facilities in Maryland, as well as a location in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Virginia Beach, Virginia.

“Stericycle’s willing collaboration with abortionist Steven Brigham is sickening and indefensible, and the company is equally as culpable for aiding him in his evil deeds,” CSS director Michael Marcavage stated.

“During the Nuremburg Trials of the 1940’s, those who aided the Nazis in carrying out the Jewish Holocaust were considered to be accessories to murder and were held accountable by the courts. Likewise, Stericycle’s executives and employees are accessories to Brigham’s empire of death in the abortion holocaust,” he added. “We again call upon Stericycle to immediately stop servicing the abortion industry and to put morals over money.”

According to Grand Jury documents, Stericycle was found last year to have collected aborted remains from Kermit Gosnell, the “House of Horrors” abortionist who is also facing murder charges for killing newly-delivered infants.

Stericycle was also recently fined over $42,000 for illegally dumping aborted remains into a landfill in the state of Texas.
[6 Jan 2012, Kathleen Gilbert, Elkton, Maryland, http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/medical-waste-giant-stericycle-serviced-abortionist-charged-with-10-counts?utm_source=LifeSiteNews.com+Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=e53fcacf86-LifeSiteNews_com_US_Headlines01_06_2012&utm_medium=email

Shock: 40% of Pregnancies in New York City Still Aborted
The foundation that released shocking abortion numbers from New York City last year — turning it into what observers called the abortion capital of the Untied States — has new figures from the Big Apple. They haven’t changed. http://www.lifenews.com/2012/01/05/shock-40-of-pregnancies-in-new-york-city-still-aborted/




Planned Parenthood’s Annual Report: Got $487.4M in Tax Money, Did 329,445 Abortions (2010)

According to its latest annual report, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) received $487.4 million in tax dollars over a twelve-month period and performed 329,455 abortions.

Planned Parenthood Federation of America President Cecile Richards and President Barack Obama. (AP Photo)
In addition, the number of adoption referrals made by the organization continued to decline.

The latest annual report covers the period from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010, the PPFA’s fiscal year. The report states that the organization received “government health services grants and reimbursements” totaling $487.4 million.

Previous Planned Parenthood annual reports showed total funding from “government grants and contracts” (which were $363.2 million in 2009), while this year’s report also accounts for payments from Medicaid managed care plans among the payments the group receives from government .

When compared with previous annual reports, the latest one shows an almost steady increase in the number of abortions performed at its clinics: In 2006, Planned Parenthood did 289,750 abortions; in 2007, it did 305,310; in 2009, it did 331,796; and, in 2010, it did 329,445--a small decrease from the previous year.

The annual report for fiscal year 2008-2009 does not include abortion or adoption figures, but a PPFA Fact Sheet posted on its Web site and said to be current as of September 2010, states that 324,008 abortions were performed at Planned Parenthood clinics around the country in 2008.

According to PPFA’s annual report for fiscal year 2007-2008,  in 2007 Planned Parenthood’s “adoption referrals to other agencies” totaled 4,912. In Fiscal Year 2010 that number was 841, a decrease of 82.8 percent.

The PPFA Fact Sheet states that adoption is included in 1 percent of services in 2008 (primary care and “other services” are included in that 1 percent), or 2,405 adoption referrals.

The latest annual report claims that abortion services make up 3 percent of “medical services,” but PPFA states it served 3 million people and performed 329,445 abortions – numbers that show 11 percent of customers received an abortion.

The Fiscal Year 2009-2010 annual report also shows that PPFA’s net assets as of June 30, 2010 topped $1 billion, specifically $1,009,600,000.00.

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, a pro-life organization that lobbies Congress to defund Planned Parenthood, called the organization an “abortion giant.”

“With over a billion in net assets and a business model centered on abortion and government subsidies, it is time for Planned Parenthood to end its reliance on taxpayer dollars,” Dannenfelser said in a statement. “Despite an unprecedented effort by statewide and federal leaders to defund them, a wave of former employees willing to testify against them, and uniform agreement amongst Republican presidential candidates that they should be defunded, Planned Parenthood continues full-steam ahead.”

“They are unwilling to answer to the pro-life American majority that wants out of this business,” Dannenfelser said.

As reported earlier by CNSNews.com, a spokesperson with Planned Parenthood told Bloomberg’s Businessweek last year that 90 percent of government funding the organization gets is from the federal government or from Medicaid.
[3 Jan 2012, Penny Star, cnsnews.com, http://cnsnews.com/news/article/planned-parenthood-s-annual-report-got-4874m-tax-money-did-329445-abortions]

91% of Pregnant Women Planned Parenthood Sees Get Abortions
As LifeNews reported last week, a new annual report the Planned Parenthood abortion business released shows it helped fewer pregnant women with prenatal care and the number of pregnant women it referred for adoptions declined as well.

The report also breaks down the “services” Planned Parenthood offers in addition to abortions. Planned Parenthood has always come under fire from pro-life groups for doing hundreds of thousands of abortions by providing little in the way of help for pregnant woman wanting to keep their baby or considering adoption. The new report shows that hasn’t changed.

The new document the abortion organization posted shows Planned Parenthood did 329,445 abortions in 2010 while it provided prenatal care to only 31,098 women and referred only 841 women to adoption agencies.
Planned Parenthood: 51% of Its Income Comes From Abortions
http://www.lifenews.com/2012/01/05/planned-parenthood-51-of-its-income-comes-from-abortions/
[ http://www.lifenews.com/2012/01/05/91-of-pregnant-women-planned-parenthood-sees-get-abortions/]

 Abortion Practitioners Charged With Murder in Two States

Operation Rescue has learned that abortionists Steven Chase Brigham and Nicola Irene Riley have been charged with murder related to the deaths of viable babies at an illegal secret abortion clinic that the pair operated in Elkton, Maryland.

Brigham is currently in the custody at the Camden County Jail in New Jersey and Riley was arrested and is currently in the custody of the Salt Lake County Jail in Utah. Both are awaiting extradition to Maryland.

Brigham was charged with five counts of first-degree murder and five counts of second-degree murder. Riley was charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of second-degree murder. The charges are the result of a Grand Jury investigation.

While late-term abortions are not illegal in Maryland, those who kill viable babies killed in the commission of crimes can be charged with murder in that state.

Brigham operated a secret late-term abortion clinic in Elkton, Maryland, even though he had no license to practice in that state. He hired Riley to do late-term abortions there and at his abortion clinic in Baltimore. Brigham would start the late-term abortions at his office in New Jersey, then caravan the laboring women to Elkton where the abortions would be completed. The clandestine abortion scheme was discovered after a woman suffered a life-threatening botched abortion in August, 2010. When police raided the Elkton abortion clinic, they discovered the remains of 35 aborted babies in the freezer, one of which was 33 weeks gestation.

A Cecil County police officer explained, “Some of them appeared to be close to full- term.”

Operation Rescue immediately organized grassroots efforts calling for charges against Brigham and Riley and worked behind the scenes to ensure that the case moved forward. Operation Rescue dug deeper and discovered that Riley had lied about her criminal background to gain licensure in three states. At the time of their arrests, Brigham and Riley were banned from doing abortions in any state.

“We have worked for over a year to make sure Brigham and Riley were brought to justice. We kept the story in the public eye, and followed up with police and prosecutors. This is a victory for the pro-life movement,” said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman.
[29 Dec 2011, Ertelt | Washington, DC, http://www.lifenews.com/2011/12/29/abortion-practitioners-charged-with-murder-in-two-states/  and http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2011/12/30/authorities-abortion-doctors-charged-with-murder/#.Tv6oKMI8g5k.email]

2 Abortion Providers Charged With Murder in Maryland

Authorities say two out-of-state doctors who traveled to Maryland to perform late-term abortions have been arrested and charged with multiple counts of murder, an unusual use of a law that allows for murder charges in the death of a viable fetus.

Dr. Steven Brigham, of Voorhees, N.J., was taken into custody Wednesday night and is being held in the Camden County jail, according to police in Elkton, Md. Authorities also arrested Dr. Nicola Riley in Salt Lake City and she is in jail in Utah. Each is awaiting an extradition hearing.

A grand jury indicted the two doctors after a 16-month investigation, police said.

The investigation began in August 2010 after what authorities say was a botched procedure at Brigham's clinic in Elkton, located near the border of Maryland and Delaware.

An 18-year-old woman who was 21 weeks pregnant suffered a ruptured uterus and an injured bowel, according to documents filed in a previous investigation by medical regulators. Rather than call 911, Riley drove her to a nearby hospital, where both she and Brigham were uncooperative and Brigham refused to give his name, documents show.

A search of the clinic after the botched abortion revealed a freezer containing 35 late-term fetuses, including one believed to have been aborted at 36 weeks, the documents show.

Brigham, 55, is charged with five counts of first-degree murder, five counts of second-degree murder and one count of conspiracy. Riley, 46, faces one count each of first- and second-degree murder and one conspiracy count.

The charges relate to the botched procedure as well as other abortions performed at the Elkton clinic or fetuses found there, authorities said.

Cecil County State's Attorney Ellis Roberts declined to elaborate on the charges or the circumstances that led to them, saying it would be inappropriate to comment before Brigham and Riley, who were taken into custody on fugitive warrants, had seen the indictments.

Maryland is one of 38 states that allows murder charges to be brought against someone accused of killing a viable fetus. The 2005 state law has so far only been used for cases in which defendants were accused of assaulting or killing pregnant women.

"We are in uncharted territory," Roberts said. "At some point in time," he added, "you will hear our explanation" of the charges.

The state law allows for murder or manslaughter charges to be brought against a person who intends to kill or seriously injure a fetus or who wantonly disregards the safety of a fetus. It does not apply to doctors administering lawful medical care and does not impinge on a woman's right to terminate a pregnancy.

Brigham's attorney, C. Thomas Brown, said in an emailed statement that he does not believe his client has violated any Maryland laws. He said he has not seen any charging documents or spoken with Brigham since the arrest.

"Dr. Brigham has fully cooperated with this investigation," Brown said. "I had an agreement with the state's attorney's office that if Dr. Brigham was charged, he would voluntarily come to Maryland to surrender. For reasons unknown to me, the state did not honor that agreement. ... It is my opinion that Dr. Brigham's arrest in New Jersey was orchestrated to ensure that he remained in custody over this holiday weekend."

An attorney for Riley also took issue with her client being behind bars.

"We believe the charges are without legal merit," said attorney Sharon Krevor-Weisbaum. "We believe it's inappropriate for her to be held without bond. She is not a flight risk and she should be released on her own recognizance."

Krevor-Weisbaum said Riley's legal team would comment further after they had seen the indictment.

A spokeswoman for the Center for Reproductive Rights, a legal advocacy group, said she was not aware of any cases in the United States in which an abortion provider had been charged with murder in the death of a fetus. A Philadelphia doctor, Kermit Gosnell, faces murder charges in the deaths of seven newborn babies but has not been charged with killing fetuses.

The botched 2010 abortion led regulators to order Brigham to stop practicing medicine in Maryland without a license, and Riley's Maryland license was suspended. Brigham's New Jersey license was also suspended, leaving him without a valid license in any state, and New Jersey authorities are pursuing revocation of his license there. New Jersey authorities have cooperated with the Maryland criminal probe, said Thomas R. Calcagni, director of the State Division of Consumer Affairs.

According to regulators, Brigham would begin abortions in New Jersey and have his patients drive themselves to Maryland to complete the procedures, taking advantage of Maryland's more permissive laws. Brigham was not authorized to perform abortions in New Jersey after the first trimester, and regulators called his actions manipulative and deceptive.

In Maryland, licensed physicians can perform abortions before the fetus is deemed capable of surviving outside the womb, and abortions of viable fetuses are permitted to protect the life or health of the mother or if the fetus has serious genetic abnormalities. Doctors generally consider fetuses to be viable starting around 23 weeks...
[COPYRIGHTED!!!!]
Associated Press writer Beth DeFalco in Trenton, N.J., contributed to this report; AP, 30Dec11, Ben Nuckols,  http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_MD_ABORTION_DOCTORS_CHARGED?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-12-30-19-57-56

Abortion Practitioner Charged With Murder Had Sordid Past
The two abortion practitioners who have been charged with murder for doing late-term abortions in the state of Maryland had long, sordid pasts including brushes with the law and putting women’s health at risk.

Steven Chase Brigham and Nicola Irene Riley have been charged with murder related to the deaths of viable babies at an illegal secret abortion clinic that the pair operated in Elkton, Maryland. Brigham is currently in the custody at the Camden County Jail in New Jersey and Riley was arrested and is currently in the custody of the Salt Lake County Jail in Utah. Both are awaiting extradition to Maryland.

Brigham was charged with five counts of first-degree murder and five counts of second-degree murder. Riley was charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of second-degree murder. The charges are the result of a Grand Jury investigation.

While late-term abortions are not illegal in Maryland, those who kill viable babies killed in the commission of crimes can be charged with murder in that state.
 http://www.lifenews.com/2011/12/30/abortion-practitioner-charged-with-murder-had-sordid-past/





Texas Medical Board Sets Hearings for Two More Abortionists
The Texas Medical Board has set new hearing dates for two abortionists related to complaints filed by Operation Rescue as a result of an undercover investigation conducted earlier this year.

Franz Theard and Douglas Karpen have both been scheduled for hearings on May 16, 2012. Theard is accused of coaching minor girls to cross state lines to avoid Texas parental notification laws and with illegally disposing of aborted baby remains. Karpen is accused of violating the state's informed consent laws, but has a sordid history of abortion abuses dating back to 1988.

Operation Rescue has also been notified that the case against abortionist H. Brook Randal remains active, but has not yet been set for hearing.

"The fact that these hearings are being deferred months into the future shows that the charges against them are being taken very seriously," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. "We are happy that the Board is pursuing these cases, but of course we wish things were moving a little quicker."

In all, ten abortionists face hearings to answer to Medical Board questions about their shoddy abortion practices.

Three abortionists, Robert Hanson, Alan Molson, and William W. West, Jr., already faced hearings on October 28, 2011. Newman appeared before the Board at that time and gave a witness statement against each abortionist. Publication of the results of those hearings is expected in February.

Hearings against an additional four abortionists, Pedro J. Kowalyszyn, Sherwood C. Lynn, Margaret Kini, and Robert L. Prince were delayed from their original October date and have not yet been reset.

Operation Rescue and The Survivors conducted a three-month undercover investigation of numerous Texas abortion clinics from December, 2010, through February, 2011. The research teams discovered abuses at every abortion clinic they investigated. Operation Rescue then filed complaints with the appropriate governmental oversight agencies.

In addition to ten abortionists facing Medical Board action, Operation Rescue's complaints have netted $83,000 in fines against two abortion clinics and the waste disposal company Stericycle for the illegal disposal of aborted baby remains.

"The fact that ten abortionists face discipline and three businesses have been heavily fined substantiates our claims that America's abortion clinics routinely operate outside the law. Our investigations touched on randomly selected abortion clinics, but there is no doubt that similar or worse abuses could be discovered if every American abortion clinic was investigated," said Newman. "We pray these cases in Texas will send a strong message to abortionists everywhere that they are not above the law and that sooner or later, they will be brought to justice."
[AUSTIN, Texas, Dec. 20, 2011, Christian Newswire; 21 Dec 11, PFLI PharmFacts E-News Update]

Planned Parenthood Botches Abortion, Sends Woman to Hospital

The Planned Parenthood abortion business has botched the abortion done on a woman and her unborn child in Iowa that has resulted in sending the woman to a local hospital for medical attention.

Witnesses providing abortion alternatives information to women outside the Planned Parenthood of the Heartland abortion facility in Sioux City, Iowa noted that, at 1:30 p.m. local time yesterday, an ambulance responded to an emergency call from Planned Parenthood. Once it arrived at the abortion site, the ambulance transported a patient to a local hospital.

The pro-life advocates at the scene said they recalled seeing the same woman earlier in the day as she entered the abortion center and her medical condition is unknown at this time. Because of privacy laws, pro-life advocates concerned about the condition of the woman could not ascertain it.

Sherill Glassmaker, a pro-life activist who was just leaving a neighboring pregnancy resource center, noticed the ambulance in the parking lot and began taking pictures to document the incident. Glassmaker said a paramedic working for Siouxland Paramedics took time out from his job to approach her and complain about her presence at the abortion facility. During the conversation with her, he confirmed that he was responding to a 911 call for emergency medical assistance.
For remainder of article, visit -- http://www.lifenews.com/2011/12/21/planned-parenthood-botches-abortion-sends-woman-to-hospital/

Ambulance Rushes Woman to Hospital After Botched Abortion in CA
 Late last week, another woman in California became the latest to be injured by a botched abortion as an ambulance rushed her to the hospital not long after she told pro-life sidewalk counselors she was getting an abortion.

Pro-life advocates helping women with abortion alternatives noticed a woman ... head into the Stockton Pregnancy Control Medical Clinic abortion facility. An hour and a half later, she was wheeled out on a gurney and loaded into an awaiting ambulance for emergency transport to a nearby hospital.

The woman had told pro-life activist Don Blythe as she entered the abortion clinic that she was “quite confident” and “happy” with her decision to have an abortion. Blythe had attempted to offer her practical help and information in an attempt to help her save the life of her baby, according to Operation Rescue officials who notified LifeNews of the failed abortion.
For remainder of article, visit -- http://www.lifenews.com/2011/12/26/ambulance-rushes-woman-to-hospital-after-botched-abortion/

Late-Term Abortions Procured by Minors Involve Taxpayer Funds

This week, the Washington Post published a story by Sarah Kliff about a new study that documents the demographics of women who seek late-term abortions.

Like most journalists, Kliff takes considerable pains to portray the Roe v. Wade decision as both moderate and popular. Roe v. Wade is described as a decision that provided “comprehensive protection of elective, first-trimester abortion.” Of course, Roe had the practical impact of legalizing abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy since it allows for only marginal restrictions in later trimesters.

Kliff goes on to cite a statistic that 62 percent of Americans support legal abortions in the first trimester. However, other public-opinion surveys find that support for abortion goes down when respondents are asked about specific circumstances when abortion should be legal. Many surveys show that majorities of Americans reject abortion as a form of birth control and disapprove of women seeking abortions because they are facing economic hardship.

The article goes on to describe the findings of the new study, which was conducted by a pair of researchers affiliated with the Guttmacher Institute. It compares the demographics of women who had abortions after 12 weeks to those who had abortions before 12 weeks. Those groups that are more likely to have abortions after 12 weeks include minors, blacks, and women with less education. Overall, the story implies that those women who are seeking late-term abortions are disproportionately from disadvantaged backgrounds or are facing unique, hard case circumstances.

The coverage of this study was accurate, but misleading. There were found to be demographic differences between women who seek late-term abortions and those who seek abortions earlier in pregnancy. However, it is not as if everyone or even a majority of women seeking late-term abortions were facing an unusual circumstance.

For instance, 6.5 percent of first trimester abortions are performed on minors, as opposed to 8.9 percent of abortions performed after 12 weeks Similarly, 11.7 percent of first-trimester abortions are performed on women who did not have a high-school diploma, as opposed to 16.9 percent of abortions performed after 12 weeks. These differences certainly achieve conventional standards of statistical significance.

However, it is not as if an overwhelming number of late term abortions are performed on minors or women with low levels of formal education.

Interestingly, the study shows that those who sought late-term abortions were more likely to pay for them using either Medicaid or private insurance.

There is a substantial body of peer-reviewed research that shows that public-funding restrictions reduce abortion rates. However, state restrictions on private-insurance coverage of abortion are a relatively new issue that has garnered relatively little attention from scholars.

As such, these findings indicate that limiting the ability of private insurers to cover abortion might well be a worthwhile policy objective for pro-lifers.

LifeNews.com Note: Dr. Michael New is a political science professor at the University of Michigan–Dearborn and holds a Ph.D. from Stanford University. He is a fellow at Witherspoon Institute in Princeton, New Jersey.
[Michael New | Washington, DC | LifeNews.com | 12/23/11,  http://www.lifenews.com/2011/12/23/late-term-abortions-used-by-minors-involve-taxpayer-funds/]

One Top 10 List of Pro-Life Victories Over the Abortion Industry in 2011

Below are the Top Ten stories for 2011, according to one national group...

We look forward to 2012 with excitement and anticipation of greater things to come.

1. Texas Abortion Abuses Exposed

Operation Rescue joined forced with The Survivors to conduct a three-month undercover investigation of randomly-selected abortion businesses in Texas. That investigation uncovered widespread abortion abuses including HIPAA violations, illegal disposal of aborted baby remains, violations of the Texas informed consent and parental notification laws, and other infractions.

Operation Rescue filed complaints with three state agencies. As a result, two abortion businesses and Stericycle, a waste disposal company that contracts with abortion businesses nationwide [including Alabama], was fined a total of $83,000. The Texas Medical Board is now in the process of holding hearings against the Texas 10 – ten abortionists who face discipline for violating the law and standard of care in Texas. Because OR distributed reports detailing the results of the investigation to every Texas legislator, new pro-life bills were passed that provide another layer of accountability for Texas’ out-of control abortion industry.

2. Exposing Carhart’s Maryland Late-term Abortion Business

Information gathered by Operation Rescue led to the discovery of LeRoy Carhart’s plans to relocate his late-term abortion business to Germantown Reproductive Health Services in Germantown, Maryland. Operation Rescue worked with local activists to expose Carhart’s plans and the Maryland Coalition for Life was birthed from those efforts.

Since then the pro-life movement in Maryland has grown and flourished. Over three thousand volunteers take regular shifts praying and offering help to abortion bound moms. A pro-life referral office was established directly across the parking lot from GRHC, which aids pregnant women. The Summer of Mercy 2.0, sponsored by Operation Rescue in August, brought national attention to Carhart’s grisly late-term abortions.

In addition, a complaint against Carhart was filed with the Maryland Board of Physicians alleging that he misled them on his medical license application in order to gain licensure in that state. After a full investigation, Carhart was issued a formal letter of admonishment that goes into his permanent record.

3. New Mexico Abortion Cartel Exposed

After the closure of the late-term abortion business in Wichita, KS, Operation Rescue learned that two of the abortionists from the Kansas site were relocating to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Two of our interns ... felt the call of God to move to Albuquerque and work to stop abortions there. They now work with Project Defending Life, a group that works in cooperation with Operation Rescue to expose abortion abuses in New Mexico.

Together, the groups uncovered and exposed a series of 911 calls that were evidence of life-threatening abortion complications at two Albuquerque abortion businesses. Complaints were filed with the Medical Board and the investigation into these unsafe places is progressing. In addition, the role of the University of New Mexico in the abortion industry has been fully documented, and efforts are underway to convince the UNM Regents to cease all participation in abortion and abortion training.

4. Abortionists Face Prosecution

Part of Operation Rescue’s work involves ensuring that abortionists who violate the law are prosecuted and 2011 was a banner year. Several abortionists faced prosecutions as a direct result of Operation Rescue’s work.

One example is the case of Nicola Riley. Maryland authorities suspended Riley’s medical license after they discovered her part in a botched abortion that led to the discovery of an illegal secret late-term abortion mill operated by the nefarious abortionist Steven Chase Brigham. Operation Rescue dug deeper into Riley’s background, discovering that not only did Riley have a criminal background, but that she had lied to four states about her criminal conviction and incarceration. Operation Rescue reported the truth about her record in Maryland, Wyoming, Virginia, and her home state of Utah. As a result, Riley’s application in Virginia was denied, she surrendered her license in Wyoming, she faces additional charges in Maryland, and is restricted in Utah. She is no longer allowed to commit abortions in any state.

In Kansas, the Board of Healing Arts held a six day disciplinary hearing against abortionist Ann Kristen Neuhaus based on a complaint filed by Operation Rescue. The hearings revealed that woefully inadequate mental health exams were used to justify late-term abortions.

Meanwhile, California abortionist Andrew Rutland surrendered his license after an abortion death was ruled a homicide. Operation Rescue worked with the Medical Board to bring Rutland to justice.

Other abortionists across the nation have also faced prosecution, including the widely publicized case of Pennsylvania abortionist Kermit Gosnell and his 8 associates. Gosnell faces murder charges for killing 7 newborn babies and one patient during failed abortions. OR was among the first to obtain a copy of the Grand Jury Report and the first to publish the shocking photos of Gosnell’s victims online.

5. More Abortion Businesses Closing than Ever

In the past eighteen months, nearly 50 abortion businesses have closed their doors for good. Among them was the infamous Eve Surgical Center in Los Angeles, California, where the now-banned Partial Birth Abortion method was invented. That site was the subject of Operation Rescue protests and years of prayers.

In 1991 there were over 2,200 abortion facilities. Today, because of the work of OR and other groups around the nation, there remain just over 670, and that number is decreasing by the week, dramatically illustrating that the abortion cartel is imploding.

6. Kansas Planned Parenthood Prosecution Proceeds

In 2007, Planned Parenthood was charged with 107 criminal counts related to illegal late-term abortions and manufacturing evidence to cover their crimes. For years, Operation Rescue has worked to keep this case in the public eye and initiate grassroots campaigns to ensure their prosecution. This year, the case continued to move forward even though it was revealed that former Attorney General Steve Six destroyed crucial evidence against Planned Parenthood. Six was an appointee of Kathleen Sebelius, a former Kansas governor who now serves as Obama’s Secretary of Health who is known as a radical supporter of unrestricted abortion. But the attempt to destroy the prosecution failed. The case now moves forward on 58 remaining counts and a criminal investigation has been launched to determine if the record shredding by Six broke the law. Operation Rescue continues its own investigation to get to the bottom of the Sebelius-era corruption.

7. Record Year for Pro-Life Legislation

An historic number of pro-life bills flooded legislatures in 2011, many of them passing into law. Some of the legislation was based on investigative reports and other work by Operation Rescue.

After Operation Rescue released an investigative report on Planned Parenthood of the Heartland’s telemed or “webcam” abortion scheme, several states worked to outlaw the risky distribution of abortion pills without the presence of a licensed physician. In all, seven states passed laws that effectively ban telemed abortions in 2011.

Six states also passed late-term abortion bans after 20 weeks based on fetal pain. The original Nebraska law was passed in reaction to Operation Rescue’s exposure of late-term abortionist LeRoy Carhart’s plans to turn his Nebraska abortion business into a late-term abortion Mecca.

Operation Rescue has also lent support to groundbreaking clinic regulations in Kansas and to the Heartbeat Bill in Ohio and Kansas. Laws reflect the attitudes of the culture, and by the successes seen in the 2011 legislative season, America is more pro-life than ever.

8. Kept Wichita Abortion-Free

Since the closure of Wichita’s last abortion business in 2009, there have been efforts to reopen an abortion business in that city. In early 2011, Operation Rescue learned of two local physicians who planned to open separate clinics. One physician quit after Operation Rescue exposed his plans to the community. Operation Rescue launched protests and worked with landlords that have denied the second abortionist, Mila Means, office space for her abortion enterprise. Another effort was launched by former abortion lobbyist Julie Burkhart, who has only been able to raise half the money she needs to open a clinic. Because of the efforts of Operation Rescue and other local pro-life activists, Wichita remains abortion-free.

9. Abortion Whistleblowers

In January, 2011, Operation Rescue awarded the first $25,000 reward in our Abortion Whistleblowers Program to former abortion worker Kim -- for coming forward with information that led to the arrest and conviction of Massachusetts abortionist Rapin Osathanondh in the death of Laura Hope Smith in 2007.

Wracked with guilt over Laura’s needless death and refusing to go along with Osathanondh’s illegal efforts to conceal his negligence, Kim worked with Laura’s mother, Eileen Smith, to bring Osathanondh to justice. In turn, Smith was advised by Operation Rescue. As a result, Osathanondh permanently lost his medical license, served jail time on a manslaughter conviction, and was forced to pay Laura’s family $2 million.

10. Thwarted Confirmation of Abortion Crony to Federal Appeals Court

President Barack Obama nominated former Kansas Attorney General Steve Six to a life-time appointment on the Federal Appellate Court. Operation Rescue went to work exposing Six’s actions to block the legitimate prosecution of Planned Parenthood on 107 criminal charges and initiating grassroots opposition to Six’s nomination.

As a result, both Kansas Senators refused to endorse him and eventually the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee dropped their efforts to confirm him. Keeping this radical pro-abortion activist off the Federal Bench ensures that he will not be able to continue his over protections of the abortion cartel.

Now, ironically, Six is the subject of a criminal investigation for destroying critical evidence against Planned Parenthood to protect them from prosecution.

LifeNews.com Note: Cheryl Sullenger is a leader of Operation Rescue, a Kansas-based pro-life that monitors abortion practitioners and exposes their illegal and unethical practices. The group is known for serving as a watchdog of Planned Parenthood and other abortion businesses.
[Cheryl Sullenger, DC, 12/27/11, http://www.lifenews.com/2011/12/27/top-10-pro-life-victories-over-the-abortion-industry-in-2011/]

The Abortion Industry’s Greatest Hits in 2011

I think many will agree with me that 2011 was a pivotal year for the pro-life movement. Let’s take a moment to look back at some of the hits the abortion industry suffered during 2011:

January 2011:  Kermit Gosnel and his staff were indicted on murdering 7 almost-born infants and 1 woman in their horrific abortion facility in Philadelphia. The District Attorney even remarked what we commonly say in the pro-life movement, “the real business of Gosnell’s clinic was not health, but profit.” The controversy was enough to cause Americans, many of whom still call themselves pro-choice, to question what the old-Clinton mantra of “safe, legal, and rare” really means.

January 2011: A youth organization lead by a former SFLA intern, Lila Rose, took their undercover work exposing Planned Parenthood a step further, releasing 7 videos of Planned Parenthood facilities, some that even receive federal taxpayer funding, aiding actors who were posing as human sex traffickers.

February 2011: The pro-life movement united in the “Expose Planned Parenthood” campaign, calling on Congress to de-fund Planned Parenthood of all taxpayer dollars. On Valentines’ Day, we took a stand and prayed and rallied in-front of hundreds of Planned Parenthood facilities. Then, for the first time in our nation’s history, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to federally de-fund Planned Parenthood. The vote caused so much turmoil in Washington, that the government almost shut down in March as the Senate refused to allow a vote on the issue.
Instead of waiting for the federal government to act, numerous states like Indiana, New Hampshire, Texas, and Ohio have now gone on to de-fund Planned Parenthood facilities within their borders.

May 2011: The Gallup organization released a poll showing that for the first-time since they began polling on abortion, America is now pro-life.

August 2011: The Guttmacher Institute reported for the first 6 months of 2011, states enacted a record number of pro-life laws, more than 80, more than triple the 23 enacted in 2010. States like Nebraska, Idaho, and Ohio are three who have already enacted fetal pain laws that protect preborn children from abortion after 20 weeks. Arizona and Virginia have enacted a law to regulate abortion facilities, forcing them to comply with the same set of medical standards that other types of medical facilities must follow. And others like South Carolina and Texas passed ultrasound laws that require abortionists to mothers the opportunity to see her preborn child. All of these laws will reduce abortions, and they enjoy broad support with more than 60% of Americans supporting these laws.

September 2011: For the first time in it's history, the U.S. House of Representatives launched a formal investigation into Planned Parenthood’s practices.

October 2011: The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Protect Life Act, a bill voicing the will of the people not to fund any abortions in Obamacare whatsoever.

2011 may be the year we note in the history books as the year legalized abortion began to end in America.

And I hope you will agree that we can't stop here. There is so much left for our movement to do, and Students for Life of America (SFLA) is needed across the nation, on every college campus and in every community, to help usher the end of abortion...
Related: www.ABOLISHABORTION.com
[30 Dec 11, Students for Life of America e-letter]





Six Reasons Pro-Life Advocates Should Celebrate 2011

6. The abortion industry is being exposed

The dirty secrets of an industry that profits from killing babies and harming women are being laid bare.

CH_Lila Rose with expose planned parenthood bus - Lila Rose

In the US, investigations by Lila Rose, Operation Rescue and others have revealed that abortion providers are turning a blind eye to statutory rape; are open to assisting pimps to use underage prostitutes; and are willing to accept donations that are to be spent on racist programs.

And the revelations are global. The horrific truth about what abortion doctors do to women and babies are making headlines right across the world, despite the best efforts of the media and the abortion industry to excuse and cover up what’s happening.

Increasingly, people are aware that abortionists are killing and maiming women. Just weeks ago, Youth Defence revealed that the British abortionist who was struck off for causing the near-death of an Irish woman at a clinic in Ealing had a history of association with malpractice which would have been difficult to conceal from his employers at Marie Stopes. The media might try to downplay the damage being caused to mothers and babies but the knowledge is spreading, especially on social media and internet news outlets.

Women who have been maimed and ill-treated are suing for damages – and the public fallout from cases like that of abortionist Kermit Gosnell is helping to bringing more and more people to the realisation that every abortion clinic [sic] is a house of horrors.
 
5. We’re moving towards a ban on embryo research

It seems as if that a perfect storm is building against embryonic stem cell research (ESCR)- and the mounting evidence increasingly supports a ban on the controversial experiments which use and destroy human life.

The California-based Geron corporation, which has always been a leading proponent of research on human embryos, made a shock announcement in November that it was halting their first clinical trial involving embryonic stem cells and a human patient

But now Geron has said it is halting that trial, and departing from ESCR altogether. Its departure has exposed the false hope offered to patients by proponents of experiments on human embryos.

Meanwhile, the good news is that adult stem cell successes continue to amaze the world and attract investment. Just days after Geron’s announcement, the Lancet reported that adult stem cells taken from a patient’s own heart have been successfully used to repair damaged heart tissue, while an Australian research company, Mesoblast Ltd, also showed that patients with heart failure could reduce the risk by as much as 80 percent using an experimental adult stem-cell treatment.

What’s been clear from 2011 then is that – despite the hundreds of millions poured into it by the Obama administration and private investors – embryonic stem cell research destroys human life and offers no cures. Now we need to push harder for a ban on experimenting on human embryos.
4. Ireland without abortion is STILL the safest place in the world for a mother to have a baby.

And that’s official. A joint report issued this year from the United Nations and the World Health Organisation confirm, yet again, that Ireland is the safest place in the world for a mother to have a baby.

Ireland’s ban on abortion is a thorn in the side of the abortion industry, in particular since the benefits accruing to mothers and babies exposes the lie at the heart of abortion campaigns.

Clearly, since Ireland, without recourse to abortion, is the safest place in the world for a mother to have a baby, there is no medical necessity for abortion.

That’s because it never saves a mothers life, it just kills a baby.
3. The rise and rise of young pro-life activists

Twenty years ago when we founded Youth Defence we were told that the pro-life movement was dying on its feet.

But now, as we can see right across the globe, young pro-life leaders are taking the lead and invigorating the movement to protect human life.

A new activist model is being embraced by young pro-lifers right across Europe, in the US, Australia, New Zealand, and elsewhere.

Like Youth Defence, they aim to be engaged, articulate and innovative. Most of all, they are determined to awake the conscience of their generation and to end the abortion holocaust.

Last month Íde Nic Mhathúna of Youth Defence summed it up for a packed conference of pro-life youth leaders when she said:

“Every year, there are literally millions of children silently crying out and begging for somebody to help them, somebody to give them mercy. And we have to decide if that somebody is going to be us, or if we’re going to just ignore their cries. Because even when you can’t hear them it doesn’t mean they’re not there. I cannot stand before God when I die, look Him in the eye, and say to Him that I was too busy to do this or it just wasn’t my thing.”

This is the generation that will END abortion.

2. The Irish people rejected abortion demands at the UN

Because Ireland is one of just two countries in the western world which bans abortion, the international pressure to smash our pro-life laws is tremendous.

In 2011, a concerted effort was made to use a United Nations human rights ‘review’ of Ireland to attack our ban on abortion.

But the pro-life majority fought back and made the voice heard loud and clear.

At the UN hearing, countries like Britain, Denmark and Spain slammed Ireland for protecting our mothers and babies from abortion. Our Minister for Justice gave a pretty feeble response, but the response from the public meant that the government had no choice.

They rejected the demands made at the UN hearing. The pro-life majority will decide Ireland’s abortion laws. And we will remain ever vigilant.

1. The pro-life message is growing – and growing fast

The numbers don’t lie. Millions of people – and young people in particular – are seeing and hearing the pro-life message.

Life Institute and Youth Defence’s assorted offerings have more than 30,000 members on Facebook, and almost 300,000 people have viewed on our internet videos.

It’s a global trend. Groups like Live Action have reached the giddy heights of a quarter of a million facebook members, while pro-life bloggers like Jill Stanek and Bryan Kemper capture the attention of an enormous amount of readers.

And the frontline work continues. With our sister organisation, Precious Life, we’re committed to bringing pro-life education to the people on the streets, answering their questions, changing hearts and minds, saving babies’ lives.

It’s why the Rally for Life doubled in size this year. It’s why Ireland remains abortion-free.

Grow the message. Be the voice. Share this beautiful pro-life Christmas message. Happy Christmas.
[Niamh Ui Bhriain | Dublin, Ireland | LifeNews.com | 12/27/11, LifeNews Note: Niamh Ui Bhriain writes for the Life Institute, a pro-life group based in Ireland]





2011: Year of Liberation From the Stranglehold of Abortion

This has been a year of liberation. The abortion industry has been challenged, like never before, by women and men passionate about protecting all life.

The Radiance Foundation, a nonprofit founded by my wife and I, is one of many dedicated life-affirming organizations fighting this David versus Goliath battle.

So many people ask us in our events on college campuses, in churches, at conferences, and even in community outreaches how they can get involved. Often, the mindset is that one has to be connected to a big organization or have lots of financial undergirding to make an impact.

Reaching someone’s heart simply takes passion...
Related: www.TooManyAborted.com
For remainder of article, visit -- http://www.lifenews.com/2011/12/30/2011-year-of-liberation-from-the-stranglehold-of-abortion/

 A Generation Damaged by Abortion Protects Future Generations

Right now, I can hear laughter emanating from the conference room down the hall. In that room, Pro-Life college activists from all over Texas are meeting to discuss a semester gone and rejuvenating for the upcoming one.

They are Texas Right to Life scholarship recipients and they represent some of the largest universities in Texas. They are striving to make their campuses see the disarray abortion has wrought on this nation, and to change people’s hearts.

Pro-abortion groups want people to think the average Pro-Life activist is a retirement-aged white guy, standing outside of the abortion mill praying. While I am sure there are those men – and we are grateful for them – the most vocal Pro-Life advocates of today are high school and college-aged students, and young adults who have witnessed what the horrors of abortion have done to their generation.

As young people, they stand as survivors of a “choice” that very well could have been their own fate.
For remainder of article visit -- http://www.lifenews.com/2011/12/21/a-generation-damaged-by-abortion-protects-future-generations/

CONSCIENCE

Court: New Jersey Nurses Don’t Have to Assist in Abortions

A federal court late Thursday gave pro-life advocates a huge victory in the case of 12 nurses being forced to assist with abortions at a New Jersey hospital.

The court held a hearing concerning a motion filed by Alliance Defense Fund attorneys on behalf of the nurses that asks the court to issue a preliminary injunction that would halt any efforts by the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey to coerce the nurses in violation of federal law while their lawsuit moves forward.

Under an agreement UMDNJ agreed to the nurses can remain in their current positions and not be pressured to assist in any part of an abortion procedure. The nurses are only required to help if a life-threatening emergency materializes with the mother involved in the abortion and no other non-objecting staff are available to assist and only until such a time as other can be called up on to relive them.

Fe Esperanza Racpan Vinoya, one of the plaintiffs in the case, told AP she was delighted by the decision but nurse Racpan Vinoya said she was still concerned the hospital would retaliate against her by transferring her or cutting hours. “I’m still scared about the part of them having four nurses brought in and we might become the surpluses,” Racpan Vinoya said.

Matt Bowman, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, said he was pleased with the agreement.
For remainder of article, visit -- http://www.lifenews.com/2011/12/23/court-new-jersey-nurses-dont-have-to-assist-in-abortions/


Nurses Were Right to Resist Pressure to Assist Abortions
A major victory for conscience protections last week.

This was indeed a great victory, and the credit goes to twelve brave and principled nurses who stood their ground, and attorney Matt Bowman of the Alliance Defense Fund for his skillful and equally courageous defense of the nurses. There is a fundamental principle at stake here, one that is testing all of our established human anthropology, metaphysics, ethics, and jurisprudence.

Are medical professionals autonomous human beings or vending machines acting at the behest of patients and the state?

A government hospital in New Jersey was extremely backward thinking. They claimed that the medical professionals must assist in procedures that their well-formed consciences told them was inhuman and immoral, legality notwithstanding.
For remainder of article, visit -- http://www.lifenews.com/2011/12/26/nurses-were-right-to-resist-pressure-to-assist-abortions/





New Zealand Sees More Doctors Refusing to Assist Abortions

Right to Life is pleased that an increasing number of doctors in New Zealand recognise that abortion is not healthcare and are refusing to be involved in the killing of unborn children.

The Abortion Supervisory Committee in its report to Parliament for 2011 advise that the number of certifying consultants for the year ending the 30 June 2010 number 175, a reduction of 21 consultants on the 196 registered in 2009. This is good news for women and their unborn children.

The Committee reports that the total number of appointed certifying consultants continues to fall each year with fewer applications for new consultants being received and many consultants choosing not to apply to have their appointments renewed. The Committee notes that the “workforce” appears to be aging with fewer specialists being available.

The approval of two certifying consultants is required to authorise the killing of an unborn child. A consultant receives a fee of $135 for a 10 to 15 minute face to face consultation with a woman seeking an abortion.

The Committee reports that fees to consultants totalled $4,551,929 [GST exclusive] for the year ending 30 June 2011. The highest paid consultant received $138,915 for approving 1028 abortions, while declining only one. The second highest paid consultant received $135,270 for approving 1000 abortions and declining just two.

There are more than 11,000 doctors registered in New Zealand, 3,500 being general practitioners. Right to Life applauds those doctors who are faithful to their medical ethics by upholding the right to life of their unborn patients and protecting the health and welfare of mothers facing an unplanned pregnancy.

Abortions kill innocent and helpless unborn children, they also damage women’s physical and mental health and may cause the mother a lifetime of grief and sorrow. Doctors who authorise and perform abortions may genuinely believe that they are acting in the best interest of women. It is however always wrong to kill the innocent.

The unborn are also patients. Abortion violates the human rights of unborn children who are the weakest and most defenceless members of the human family. Right to Life urges these doctors to promote a culture of life by respecting the right to life of the unborn and to refuse to authorise or execute their killing. Right to Life calls upon them to promote open adoption as the loving option.

LifeNews.com Note: Ken Orr is the spokesman for Right to Life of New Zealand.
[Ken Orr | Wellington, New Zealand | LifeNews.com | 12/29/11, http://www.lifenews.com/2011/12/29/new-zealand-sees-more-doctors-refusing-to-assist-abortions/]

Conscience Clauses Needed Worldwide for Medical Professionals
The moral conscience of health care providers is under attack. Increasingly they are being forced to provide medical services that go against their moral beliefs.
For remainder of article, visit -- http://www.lifenews.com/2011/12/19/conscience-clauses-needed-worldwide-for-medical-professionals/

LEGISLATION

Constitutional Experts: Pro-Life ‘Terrorists’ Could be Permanently Detained Without Trial Under This Law
The controversial new law allowing for permanent detention of suspected terrorists without trial was signed by President Barack Obama on December 31.

Constitutional experts warn a new law that allows the president to permanently detain U.S. citizens without trial could be used against pro-life activists, who have already been defined as potential terrorists in documents by some government agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security.
John Whitehead, founder of the Rutherford Institute

“This law can apply to pro-lifers, yes,” said John W. Whitehead, a constitutional attorney and founder of The Rutherford Institute. Whitehead told LifeSiteNews.com the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (NDAA) “would allow the military to show up at your door if you’re a ‘potential terrorist,’ and put you in military detention where seeing a lawyer is difficult.”

The NDAA, which President Barack Obama signed on December 31, allows the president to hold enemy combatants in military detention facilities without trial until the end of hostilities, if the person “substantially supported al-Qaeda, the Taliban, or associated forces that are engaged in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners.” The law allows the president to determine which groups may be considered terrorists without judicial or congressional oversight, although Secretary of Defense is required to “regularly brief” Congress about “covered persons.” ...

Under this administration, the Department of Homeland Security has listed pro-life organizations as potential domestic terrorists and held joint training sessions with the FBI to monitor pro-life websites.

An April 2009 DHS report entitled “Rightwing [sic.] Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment,” identified as likely terrorists “groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration,” or who would be “antagonistic toward the new presidential administration and its perceived stance on a range of issues.” Such groups, the report concluded, “are the most dangerous domestic terrorism threat in the United States.” The DHS later pulled the report.

However, last August DHS and FBI agents attended a terrorism training seminar hosted by Planned Parenthood, the National Abortion Federation, and the Feminist Majority Foundation that equated free speech and distributing literature with violence. An 84-page resource guide listed three pages of potential extremist websites including Priests for Life, National Right to Life, the American Life League, Concerned Women for America, Human Life International, the American Center for Law and Justice, and the Christian Broadcasting Network.

In 1994-6, the Clinton administration’s Justice Department subpoenaed longtime pro-life activists in hopes of uncovering a terrorist conspiracy to kill abortionists.

The Violence Against Abortion Providers Conspiracy (VAAPCON) program compiled a vast database of information on anti-abortion groups and individuals, including the National Right to Life Committee, the late John Cardinal O’Connor of New York, the late Rev. Jerry Falwell, Concerned Women for America, the Christian Coalition, Feminists for Life, and the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops, which condemned the secret database...
[January 04, 2012, Ben Johnson, http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/constitutional-experts-pro-life-terrorists-could-be-permanently-detained-wi?utm_source=LifeSiteNews.com+Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=c09879ed6f-LifeSiteNews_com_US_Headlines01_04_2012&utm_medium=email

Pennsylvania OKs Bill That Could Shut Down Abortion Businesses

The Pennsylvania state House signed off on a state Senate passed bill that could close other abortion centers that, like the one run by Kermit Gosnell, fail to follow health and safety standards protecting women’s health.

The bill would finally subject abortion centers into the state to regular inspections that could result in fines or closing them if they breach state health and safety laws like the one run by Gosnell in Philadelphia that was described as so dilapidated it was a “house of horrors.”

The House passed SB 732 and the measure, once it gets a final Senate vote, will head to pro-life Gov. Tom Corbett, who is expected to sign the legislation into law. Passage of the bill comes the same day as Pearl Gosnell, Kermit’s wife, pleaded guilty to various charges including assisting in abortions as an unlicensed clinic worker.

Gosnell’s center was found to be filthy and in violation of numerous state health and safety laws and he put women’s health at risk with botched abortions that ultimately killed at least one woman and injured others. Gosnell also used a live birth abortion technique that essentially had him birthing unborn children for the sole purpose of killing them in infanticides using medical scissors to “snip” their spinal cords. The aftermath of numerous investigations found state officials ignored complaints about the abortion center and that the state government had not inspected it or other abortion businesses.

Gosnell and several staffers at his abortion center, including his wife Pearl, were arrested in January after a grand jury indicted them on multiple charges after officials raided his abortion business following a woman’s death and discovered a “shop of horrors” filled with bags of bodies and body parts of deceased unborn children and babies killed in infanticides. Pearl Gosnell, Kermit’s 49-year-old wife who has no medical license, faces a charge of providing an abortion at 24 or more weeks and conspiracy and other charges.

Last March, the Pennsylvania Department of Health found the abortion center had violated more than a dozen health and safety laws ranging from a lack of equipment and drugs for emergency resuscitation to not having a way to get patients to a hospital or a backup physician. In the raid, officials found jars containing the remains of pre-born babies dating back 30 years along with filthy and unsafe conditions and evidence that unlicensed workers had been illegally treating patients. The office has no access for a stretcher in the case of an emergency. In previous emergencies, care was delayed because exit doors were padlocked shut or blocked with debris from the clinic.

But, the grand jury investigation also shows state officials did nothing when reports came in about problems at Gosnell’s abortion center, which has upset incoming pro-life Governor Tom Corbett who fired several state employees.

The abortion industry has been forced to suspend two abortion businesses that employed embattled abortion practitioner Kermit Gosnell, who has been the subject of national controversy over his abortion business in Philadelphia.

Following revelations that Gosnell is associated with two other abortion centers in Louisiana and Delaware, the National Abortion Federation made the decision to suspend the memberships of both. Atlantic Women’s Medical Services, the Delaware abortion business that employed Gosnell one day a week to do abortions, and the Delta Clinic abortion center of Baton Rouge, have both had their memberships suspended. Leroy Brinkley owns both abortion businesses. Atlantic operates abortion centers in Wilmington and Dover.

Governor Tom Corbett took action against abortion center atrocities by signing SB 732, a bill intended to hold abortion facilities accountable to better health and safety standards. The measure is a response to the massive tragedy in West Philadelphia, where abortion practitioner Kermit Gosnell is charged with the murders of seven newborn babies and one female patient. [http://www.lifenews.com/2011/12/22/pennsylvania-gov-signs-bill-to-stop-more-kermit-gosnells/
http://www.lifenews.com/2011/12/13/pennsylvania-oks-bill-that-could-shut-down-abortion-clinics/]

Obama Admin. Denies Federal Money to Texas Unless State Funds Planned Parenthood

The Obama Administration says it will refuse to fund a massive Texas health program unless the state agrees to pass some of the money along to Planned Parenthood.

Gov. Rick Perry signed legislation this past summer that stripped the national abortion organization of all state funds and prompted the closure of multiple abortuaries. But when the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) submitted a request for federal funding of the state’s Medicaid Women’s Health Program, the Commission was told that it would have to defy the new law if it wanted the money.

According to the Texas Tribune, Cindy Mann, director of the federal Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services, sent a letter to Texas officials claiming that attempting to block Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid funds violated the Social Security Act.
Gov. Perry accused the Obama Administration of “holding women's health care hostage because of Texas' pro-life policies.”

“We want to be very clear [that] Medicaid does not pay for abortions and will not pay for abortions,” Mann told the Tribune in a phone interview. “The issue here is not whether Medicaid funding is involved but whether the state can restrict access to a qualified health provider simply because they provide other services Medicaid doesn’t pay for.”

The news service also reported that Mann said the agency intended to continue to fund the Texas program until March while a decision was made as to how to proceed.

Tom Suehs, HHSC’s executive commissioner, said in a statement that the denial of funds was itself “inconsistent with federal law,” since states have the right to “establish qualifications for Medicaid providers.”

In a statement issued Monday, Gov. Perry accused the Obama Administration of “holding women’s health care hostage because of Texas’ pro-life policies.”

“We are committed to protecting life in Texas, and state law prohibits giving state dollars to abortion providers and affiliates - a fact the Obama Administration ignores,” Perry said, adding that Texas women were “pay[ing] the price” for the administration’s “pro-abortion agenda.”

He urged the administration to grant a waiver that would allow the state to continue receiving the funds necessary to operate the Women’s Health Program.

The Lone Star State is not the first to have its federal funds threatened in retribution for refusing to give money to Planned Parenthood. The New York Times reported in May that the administration had threatened to withhold Medicaid money from Indiana for the same reason.

Then, in July, a New Hampshire official revealed that federal officials had ordered the state to fund Planned Parenthood by August 15, saying that refusal to comply could lead to sanctions in the form of withheld federal health care funds. The Obama administration subsequently went over the heads of state officials and awarded a federal grant to Planned Parenthood in the state.
[15 Dec 11, Christine Dhanagom, Austin, http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/obama-admin-denies-federal-money-to-texas-unless-state-funds-planned-paren?utm_source=LifeSiteNews.com+Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=df9860b951-LifeSiteNews_com_US_Headlines12_14_2011&utm_medium=email

COURT CASES

Utah Court: Unborn Baby is a “Minor Child” in Criminal Law

The Supreme Court of Utah has deemed a preborn baby a “minor child” under Utah statute after a health clinic in Provo disregarded Amelia Sanchez’s plea to induce labor when she was pregnant, likely resulting in the death of her unborn son in April of 2006.
For remainder of article, visit -- http://www.lifenews.com/2011/12/27/utah-court-unborn-baby-is-a-minor-child-in-criminal-law/

Law Telling Women of Abortion-Suicide Link Back in Court

The full U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit on Monday agreed to review the only remaining provision of South Dakota’s informed consent law that the court has not already upheld in a failing lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood. The provision requires women to be informed of abortion’s documented risk of suicide.

In September, a three-judge panel of the 8th Circuit upheld the majority of South Dakota’s law, including a requirement that doctors inform pregnant women that they have “an existing relationship” with an “unborn human being.” Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund filed a friend-of-the-court brief last year on behalf of several pro-family and pro-life groups. Harold Cassidy, one of nearly 2,100 attorneys in the ADF alliance, filed the initial appeal to the 8th Circuit on behalf of a group of pregnancy centers that successfully intervened in the suit to protect the interest of women.

“A woman’s right to make a fully informed choice is more important than Planned Parenthood’s bottom line,” said ADF attorney Steve Aden. “If Planned Parenthood truly cared about the well-being of women, it would not try to prevent them from being informed of the well-documented risk of suicide that accompanies abortion.”

“A child’s life is worth more than Planned Parenthood’s bottom line,” Aden said. “Planned Parenthood and other proponents of death work diligently to restrict the information mothers have about abortion and the life within them. It was incredible for the lower court to have determined that the law cannot acknowledge that a ‘pregnant woman has an existing relationship with that unborn human being’ because some human beings are somehow not ‘persons.’ The 8th Circuit rightly determined that it’s perfectly constitutional to inform women of an undisputed biological fact.”

In 2005, the South Dakota Legislature passed House Bill 1166, which revised state law to require that women be given critical biological, relationship, and medical information before undergoing an abortion. Planned Parenthood, the operator of the state’s only abortion clinic, filed the suit Planned Parenthood v. Rounds to block implementation of the law. After the 8th Circuit lifted a lower court injunction against the law, it was returned to federal district court.

In August 2009, a district court judge ruled that portions of the law requiring doctors to inform women contemplating abortion that they are terminating a human life are constitutional, but she also ruled that other portions requiring doctors to tell women of their legally protected relationship with the preborn child and warning them of the documented risks of depression and suicide from abortion were unconstitutional. The 8th Circuit reversed her decision concerning all provisions except for the “risk of suicide” provision.

Arguing that the “risk of suicide” provision should have been upheld, Circuit Judge Raymond Gruender wrote in dissent that “even the evidence relied upon by Planned Parenthood acknowledges a significant, known statistical correlation between abortion and suicide. This well-documented statistical correlation is sufficient to support the required disclosure that abortion presents an ‘increased risk’ of suicide, as that term is used in the relevant medical literature.” He noted that Planned Parenthood did not challenge the disclosure regarding the documented risks of depression.

ADF filed the brief on behalf of the Family Research Council, CareNet, Heartbeat International, and The National Institute of Family and Life Advocates.

A March 2004 report from the National Institutes of Health revealed that suicide is now the third leading cause of death among America’s young people. In fact, for teen girls and young women, the suicide rate has tripled over the past 25 years.

While suicide among women in the typical abortion age range is rising, suicide rates for Americans in general are dropping across the country.

Dr. David Reardon, director of the Springfield, Illinois-based Elliot Institute, says abortion is partly to blame for the increase.

“Given the fact that more than half of all women having abortions are under the age of 25, and more than 20 percent of women having abortions are teenagers, the increased suicide rate among teens and young women is sadly not a surprise,” Reardon said.

One study published in August 2003 edition of the British Medical Journal found that women who had abortions were seven times more likely to commit suicide than women who gave birth.

Reardon says unwanted abortions are a reality for teens and young women who are often pressured by boyfriends or parents to have abortions. e says as many as one in six abortions are performed as a result of such coercion and a study the Elliot Institute conducted among women experiencing post-abortion problems reveals that 80 percent said that would not have had an abortion if they had received support from others to have the child.

“Even if their families might give them the support they need to have their babies, many teens often undergo secret abortions without telling their parents,” Reardon said. “Either way, these girls and young women often have no one to turn to when they are in despair over an abortion.”

Another Elliott Institute study also found that women who have abortions are more likely to commit suicide.

Reardon’s group examined Medi-Cal records for more than 173,000 low-income California women who had abortions or gave birth in 1989. Linking these records to death certificates, the researchers found that women who had state-funded abortions were 2.6 times more likely to die of suicide compared to women who delivered their babies.

The study also found that women who have abortions have a higher suicide rate than women in general. In fact, giving birth reduces women’s suicide risk, the study showed.

Other studies have found higher rates of depression, mental illness, miscarriages and substance abuse among post-abortive women compared to women who gave birth.
[Ertelt | Pierre, SD | LifeNews.com | 12/8/11,  http://www.lifenews.com/2011/12/08/law-telling-women-of-abortion-suicide-link-back-in-court/]

INTERNATIONAL

Philippines Pro-Life Advocates Close 2011 With Victories
As 2011 drew to a close, a huge push was made by supporters of the anti-life Reproductive Health (RH) Bill to have the legislation passed by the end of the year – exactly as Philippine President Benigno Aquino promised would happen.
http://www.lifenews.com/2012/01/05/philippines-pro-life-advocates-close-2011-with-victories/



Pro-Abortion UN Agencies Fail Audit, Millions Unaccounted For
A confidential audit of UNICEF and UNFPA found “gross” failures in transparency and surprisingly billions of dollars of unspent cash.

Both agencies refused to disclose information on staff costs and travel. The auditor found that donors have “little knowledge regarding the ultimate destiny” of funds.

The report found UNFPA was unable, or unwilling, to account for $200 million a year funneled to governments and non-governmental groups. It refused to disclose details of wages, salaries, travel, consultant costs, and other items.
http://www.lifenews.com/2012/01/05/pro-abortion-un-agencies-fail-audit-millions-unaccounted-for/

Pro-Aborts Ousted from Peruvian Government Posts
Peruvian president Ollanta Humala has ousted at least two major pro-abortion feminists from his administration in a move against the leftists who helped to bring him to power.

Among those who have left their posts in recent days is Women’s Minister Aida Garcia Naranjo, who was reportedly pushing for the decriminalization of abortion in the country.

In the same administration sweep, pro-abortion activist and obstetrician Susana Chavez has resigned from her position after several controversial months as advisor to the vice-minister of health.

The resignations appear to be part of a larger shake-up of the executive branch by President Humala, who appears to be rejecting his leftist constituency in favor of a more centrist and pro-business approach...
[14 Dec 11, MC Hoffman, http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/pro-aborts-ousted-from-peruvian-government-posts?utm_source=LifeSiteNews.com+Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=df9860b951-LifeSiteNews_com_US_Headlines12_14_2011&utm_medium=email]