U.S. House Passes Parental Notification of Interstate Teen Abortions
GA Gov Signs Informed Consent for Abortion Bill
Congress May Vote Soon on Embryo-Destructive Stem Cell Research Funding…
HOUSE PASSES PARENTAL NOTIFICATION OF INTERSTATE TEEN ABORTIONS — The Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act (H.R. 748), sponsored by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), passed 4/05 on a bipartisan vote of 270-157. John Ensign (R-NV) introduced a similar parental notification bill in the Senate, but Democrats who oppose the measure have blocked it, much to the dismay of pro-life groups.
BANNING RU-486 Sen Demint (R-SC) & Rep Bartlett (R-MD) have reintroduced an act dubbed Hollys Law to ban RU-486 from the market. Several known deaths have occurred, esp. among teens, in the USA & Europe since the abortifacient has been released. [Rt to Life Greater Cincinnati, 4/05]
GA GOV SIGNS ABORTION INFORMED CONSENT BILL — Women considering an abortion will be entitled to information about its risks and alternatives thanks to legislation signed into law by Gov Sonny Perdue. The new law is the first major abortion measure in the state since the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion. Perdue said that women deserve to have all of the information they need before deciding to have an abortion; he called the bill “a common-sense approach to a sensitive issue.” Sadie Fields of the GA Christian Coalition said the signing was a “victory for women in Georgia.” Under the information component of the bill, women thinking about an abortion would receive a brochure showing the development of the unborn child 24 hours ahead of the abortion. The brochure details medical risks, and discusses adoption. “If you are truly pro-choice you should be for women getting all the information [about abortion],” Fields said. Planned Parenthood of GA and other abortion advocates opposed the bill. The measure also puts in place a parental notification requirement that parents must be told about their teenage daughter’s request for an abortion. [LifeNews.com, 11May05]
CONGRESS MAY VOTE SOON ON STEM CELL RESEARCH BILL OPPOSING BUSH — The U.S. House may soon vote on a bill that would overturn President Bush’s policy of limiting taxpayer funding for embryonic stem cell research that destroys human life. The president put his stem cell research policy in place in August 2001. He said that his administration would not fund any new embryonic stem cell research because it destroys the life of unborn children in their earliest days. Bush favors the use of adult stem cells, which have produced dozens of treatments and cures, and he has funded adult stem cell research with more than $190 million from the National Institutes of Health. Reps. Mike Castle (R-DE) & Diane DeGette (D-CO) have sponsored legislation, HR 810, that would overturn Bush’s limits and authorize federally funded research using human embryo-destructive stem cells. The process of collecting the cells destroys the human being. Embryo-destructive stem cell research has never been banned; only federal funding of it has been limited. “It is important for pro-life citizens to tell their federal representatives that they support President Bush’s policy against funding research that requires the killing of human embryos,” Douglas Johnson [National Right to Life]. The bill already has 198 co-sponsors, just 20 short of the number needed to give the bill a majority vote in the House. A vote is expected on the bill this summer. In an August 2004 poll conducted by Wilson Research Strategies, 53 percent of American respondents said that they opposed using tax dollars to pay for the kind of stem cell research that requires the killing of human embryos, while only 38 percent supported it.
[“ACTION: Contact your U.S. Rep at http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW.shtml; contact your Senators at http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm. You can also reach members of Congress at 202-224-3121.” Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com Editor, 10May05 http://www.lifenews.com/bio952.html; Related web sites: http://www.cloninginformation.org and http://www.nrlc.org]
BANKRUPTCY REFORM BILL stalled for years because Sen Schumer (D-NY) attached an amendment that would have excluded any judgment against pro-lifers from being able to file bankruptcy. With the new Senate, the bill finally passed; the pro-abortion amendment was defeated 53-46. [Rt to Life Greater Cincinnati, 4/05]