LifeLines - May/June
Rochester Area Right To Life
LifeLines - May/June |
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Rochester Area Right To Life |
LifeLines - July/August 1999
LifeLines is the newsletter of the Rochester Area Right to Life. Older, complete issues in print are available in the Rochester office. These articles have been selected from the issue in print.
Pro-abortion
legislators win – again
160 children to be killed daily by Medicaid-funded abortions
When the NY State Senate and Assembly passes a FY 1999-2000 budget, it will contain millions of dollars to pay for Medicaid abortions. Governor Pataki put money to fund abortions in his proposed budget. The Senate voted opposition to the funding; the Assembly found abortion funding acceptable.
On 3/22/99 in the Assembly, an amendment was introduced that no money in the budget be spent for abortion except in medical necessity to save maternal life or if pregnancy was result of rape as defined by law The amendment lost Y= 46 N= 97. Local Assemblymembers voting for the amendment: 123rd Jay Dinga; 128th Robert Oaks; 129th Craig Doran; 130th James Bacalles; 134th Joseph Robach and 137th Charles Nesbitt.
The NY Senate passed a bill restricting Medicaid abortion funding: 33-23. Voting for the ban were upstate NY Senators: Thomas Libous 51st, John Kuhl 52nd, Michael Nozzolio 53rd, James Alesi 55th, Patricia McGee 56th. William Stachowski 58th, Dale Volker 59th, Mary Kou Rath, 60th, George Maziarz 61st.
The only upstate Senator voting for Medicaid funding of abortion was Anthony Nanula 57th. Richard A. Dollinger 54th has a 100% voting record in support of Medicaid abortion funding. For this vote in 1999, Senator Dollinger was absent.
1996 is the last year for which NY State Dept. of Health has actual figures available. In 1996, 145,469 abortions were done in NY State. Medicaid funded 66,000, i.e. 45% of the total at a cost of $32.9 million to NY taxpayers.
Under NY State Social Service Law 365-a, only "medically necessary" abortions qualify for Medicaid reimbursement. The New York State Legislature and Governor have absolutely no legal requirement to make NYS taxpayers support killing thousands of children each year.
Medicaid, a federal program, splits total eligible abortion costs 50/50 with each state. Thee federal government, for many years, pays only for "medically necessary" abortions. The NYS Dept of Health Bureau of Biometrics reported 92% of all abortions done in NY State were performed at "the patient request" rather than for medical necessity. NY state is one of only 14 states that funds abortion-on-demand, i.e. .no claim or tests of medical necessity.
Thus NY State receives no money from the federal government for Medicaid-abortions done in this state. State taxpayers cover the total cost of Medicaid abortions each year.
Under NYS law (New York City v Wyman, 30NY,2d,538) only "medically necessary" abortions qualify for Medicaid funding. There is no evidence of doctors being required to provide documentation of any reason for an abortion. NY State pays for abortion for any Medicaid-eligible woman requesting the procedure, i.e. abortion-on-demand.
There is no evidence that this situation is the will of the people. Each year there have been bills and amendments offered to have no state money pay for abortions. These measures, quite constitutional, are never passed by both houses.
There would be no money in the budget for abortions if the Governor had not put it there. Both Governors Cuomo and Pataki routinely budgeted money to cover abortion.
Partial-birth abortion ban unlikely to be passed in NY in 1999
The NYS Senate passed a ban on partial-birth abortions. Governor Pataki, a self-described as "pro-choice", had said he would sign a partial-birth abortion ban passed by the legislature
The PBA ban has been constantly blocked in NYS As-sembly. The Health Committee has routinely refused to send it to the full Assembly floor. A "motion to discharge" effort was sabotaged by Assembly Majority Leader Sheldon Silver.
On Wednesday evening, 6/30/99, Assemblyman Patrick Manning (R-Hopewell Junction) again tried to force a vote on the Assembly floor about banning partial-birth abortions in NY State. This was done by attaching the PBA ban bill as an amendment to a piece of legislation already being discussed on the floor. This was done to bypass the committee system so hostile to pro-life initiatives.
The partial-birth abortion ban was attached to a bill dealing with involuntary outpatient mental treatment. The proposed amendment was ruled "non-germane to the bill; a vote was taken on that ruling. The PBA ban amendment’s acceptance as an attachment was defeated 67-61. This was a vote on procedure, not the merits of the amendment.
Until pro-life legislation is passed in the Assembly, NY State will continue to hold the disgraceful distinction of being an abortion "capitol."
Area Assemblymembers who supported the action of attaching the partial-birth abortion ban to another bill so it could come up for a vote were: J. Bacalles 130th; J. Dinga 123rd; C. Doran 129th D. Fessenden 126th; J. Johnson 136th; M. Luster 125th; C. Nesbitt 137th; R. Oaks 128th; J. Robach 134th; G. Winner 127th. Even though the effort to achieve an opportunity to vote on the partial-birth abortion bill failed, the Assembly-members above deserve a word or note of thanks.
So too a note of disappointment is due members who refused to even allow a vote. They are S. John 131st; J. Morelle 132nd; D. Gantt; 133rd D. Koon 135th.
The Leo Holmsten Human Life Committee of the Rochester Area Right to Life Committee, Inc. Education Fund and 12 area pro-life group sponsors are pleased to announce the recipients of the 1999 award: Dr. Thomas Sweeney and Jeanne Sweeney, R.N. The award, named for Leo Holmsten, MD, a respected pro-life obstetrician/gynecologist, is given to individual(s) who work to provide and foster respect for human life threatened by abortion.
David Hoselton received the award in 1998.
The Sweeneys will receive the award at a dinner and celebration of their pro-life accomplishments on September 14th. Deadline for Holmsten Event reservations is September 1st. This provides sufficient time to make plans with friends to attend and be seated together at a table. Reservations for tables of 8 will be accepted until 9/1. Although more than a month away, the Holmsten Award Celebration, like all seemingly "far from now" events, will be upon us quickly.
Don’t take a chance of missing it. Reservations and other details.
Health Commissioner with a Pro-life Record
Nominated on 6/3/99, Dr. Antonia C. Novello was overwhelmingly confirmed by the NY State Senate on 6/15/99 as New York State’s Health Commissioner.
Dr. Novello, a pediatrician worked with the National Institutes of Health from 1978-90. She was U.S. Surgeon General from 1990 – 93 under the Bush administration.
During that time, the Associated Press said, she held that abortion should not be permitted except in cases of rape, incest or danger to the life of the mother. In 1999, the New York Times described her position as "opposition to abortion except in cases of rape, incest or a threat to the health of the mother."
We welcome a pro-life NY State Health Commissioner.
Christians and Jews for Life (CJFL) is a new, national political action committee (PAC) founded by Conservative, Jewish activist Chris Gersten. The group has said:
"The new organization will seek to bring the two religious communities together to sanctify human life. The initial efforts will focus on organizing support in the Jewish community for banning partial-birth abortion. 150 rabbis have already signed a statement to Congress supporting the ban. CJFL will also seek to bring Christians and Jews together to end the spread of euthanasia and assisted suicide and will focus on the moral problems posed by the new cloning technology."
Some Advisory Board members: Wanda Franz, President of Nat’l Right to Life Committee; Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa); Rev. Richard John Neuhaus; Rabbi David Novak (University of Toronto); Rabbi Moses Birnbaum of Long Island. Board Chairman Santorum expressed belief that this campaign to win Jewish community support of a partial-birth abortion ban will play a significant role in the upcoming debate in Congress.
Peter Singer, a bioethicist, advocates killing certain disabled babies within the first month of their lives. He has said: "Killing a defective infant is not morally equivalent to killing a person. …sometimes it is not wrong at all."
Singer arrived at Princeton University on July 1. He has been appointed a tenured faculty member for the fall semester.
Republican presidential candidate Steve Forbes, a Princeton alum and member of the Board of Trustees, asked the Princeton president to rescind the Singer appointment. Forbes has a daughter attending Princeton and contributes substantially to the school. Forbes’ objections to Singer were emphatic.
Princeton students, pro-life groups and groups repre-senting disabled people staged large, angry protests. Neither Republican Senator Bill Frist, Princeton trained heart transplant surgeon nor Democratic presidential hopeful Bill Bradley, a Princeton trustee, voiced objections to the appointment.
Singer, Australian and a vegetarian, has been known in the US as an animal rights advocate. He has said: "Even an abortion late in pregnancy for the most trivial reasons is hard to condemn unless we also condemn the slaughter of far more developed forms of life for the taste of their flesh."
His controversial teachings include suggestions that parents be given the right to kill infants, up to 28 days old, who have severe disabilities. At that age, he says, children don’t understand what it means to be alive. Those with serious health and physical concerns may become burdens on society, and the goal, he claims, is to terminate world suffering in the world.
Princeton Students against Infanticide, led by Christopher Benek, a student, will keep momentum going as they draw attention to the Singer views and bring well-known speakers to Princeton to speak against the Singer teaching.
| Writing to Clinton
Administration Mr. & Mrs. Clinton, as well as Mr. and Mrs. Gore can be reached via electronic mail: You will only receive only one electronic response saying your e-mail
message was received. Recipient’s name |
Republican Presidential candidates’ addresses Lamar Alexander www.lamaralexander.com Gary Bauer www.bauer2k.com Pat Buchanan www.gopatgo2000.com George W. Bush www.georgewbush.com Elizabeth Dole www.edole2000.org Steve Forbes www.forbes2000.com Alan Keyes www.keyes2000.org John McCain www.mccain2000.org Dan Quayle www.quayle.org Sources: NFRW and Pittsford Women’s Republican Club |
| E-mail
addresses (other) To date, no similar collection of e-mail addresses has been found for candidates of any other party. As that information becomes available, it will be included in a forthcoming Life-Lines publication. As always, do check with the RARTL office: 716-621-4690 as we will attempt to have all of this type of information on file as soon as possible. |
|
The wife of Vice-President Al Gore was the keynote speaker in December at the annual meeting of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Many remember Mrs. Gore as a champion of improved quality of music lyrics developed for children and young adults. Concern about children was not her focus as she addressed the Planned Parenthood folks.
At the meeting, Tipper Gore supported a "woman’s right to abortion."
She said she was concerned that the abortion debate lately "has been
reduced to murder and maiming." It appears that Mrs. Gore’s concern for children
is only for those who are allowed to be born.
Right to Life Educational Foundation, Inc. bulletin; Cincinnati; 5/99
On 5/6/99, Gloria Feldt, leader of Planned Parenthood Foundation of America (PPFA), spoke at a Nebraska pro-abortion rally. She said: "We need to think and plan beyond what our (pro-life) adversaries are doing to us. We need to force them to worry about what we are doing to them."
She expects PPFA’s national PAC to double its candidate donations to at least $2.4 million in 2000. Feldt also said she hopes to mobilize 1,000,000 Planned Parenthood activists to rally in March. She warned her friends: "Don’t let loud voices ever intimidate you to silence. You don’t have to accept things. You can take the lead."
She said PP officials must convince lawmakers that PPFA sets the agenda and are the ones to be reckoned with. Infonet Digest #678; 5/20/99.
Your Taxes Support Planned Parenthood
In the year 1997-98, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) received grants of government money of $165,000,000. Those are our tax dollars.
Three-fourths of the total came from the federal government, the balance from state and local governments.
With the help of President Clinton, Planned Parenthood has asked for additional money this year. Clinton has asked for an increase n Title X, Domestic Family Planning, from $240,000,000 to $265,000,000. He wants an increase for International Family Planning from $385,000,000 to $400,000,000.
Right to Life Educational Foundation, Inc. bulletin; Cincinnati; 5/99
Newest Planned Parenthood Factsheet
NRLC’s Educational Trust Fund has an attractive, effective piece that can be used to conclusively demonstrate PP’s deep involvement in the American abortion holocaust. The four page, black and white (reproducible) piece is loaded with useful information, e.g.
PP’s performance of nearly 12% of all abortions annually performed in the U.S.
PP’s promotion of abortion through research, advertising, litigation and political action
The "big business" aspects of abortion for PP
PP’s current policies and practices are examined in light of the organization’s founder, Margaret Sanger’s beliefs in eugenics.
The Planned Parenthood fact sheet is free from NRL Educational Trust which can be reached at (202) 626-8809 or call the RARTL office at (716) 621-4690. We have ordered a good supply and expect them to be delivered by the time you read this notice.
Planned Parenthood "Victorious"
Planned Parenthood sought to reduce population and promoted/provided abortion to do that. From 1 to 1.3 million children have died from abortion each year since 1973. The impact of that loss is no longer a warning of a future problem. The annual loss of at least 1,000,000 children, before birth, by abortion, is showing definite, measurable effect now in 1999.
Abortion has brought a serious economic crisis. This message has come from Alan Greenspan, Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. The following are some of his remarks at the 35th Annual Conference on Bank Structure and Competition of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago on May 6, 1999.
"Of most concern is how long this remarkable period of prosperity can be extended. As I have said on previous occasions, there are imbalances in our expansion that, unless redressed, will bring this long run of strong growth and low inflation to a close.
…The worker depletion continues a critical upside risk to the inflation outlook because it presumably cannot continue without eventually putting increasing pressure on labor markets and on costs.
The number of people willing to work can be usefully defined as the unemployed component of the labor force plus those not actively seeking work, and thus not counted in the labor force, but who nonetheless say they would like a job if they could get one. This pool of potential workers aged 16 to 64 currently numbers about 10,000,000, or just 5-3/4% of the corresponding population. This is the lowest such percentage on record –which begins in 1970—(emphasis added) and is 2-1/2 points below its average over that period.
The rapid rise in aggregate demand has generated growth of employment in excess of the growth in population (emphasis added), causing the number of potential workers to fall, since the mid-1990s, at a rate of a bit under 1,000,000 annually.
Editor’s Note: The cause of the 1,000,000 shortfall of laborers per year is the success of abortion in killing 1-1.25 million potential workers per year, in some states in 1970 and then nationally since 1973.
We cannot judge with precision how far this level can decline without sparking upward pressures on wages and prices. Accelerating productivity may have appeared to break the link between labor market conditions and wage gains in recent years, but it cannot have changed the law of supply and demand."
The Wall Street Journal and New York Times 5/7/99 editions carried excerpts from the Greenspan speech. The above sections were excluded. The full speech, "The American economy in a world context" is available at http://www.bog.frb.fed.us/boarddocs/speeches/1999/19990506.htm
Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic invited United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to target the Kosovar population in a "reproductive health" campaign. This information came from a Population Research Institute (PRI) report after a fact-finding trip to the region by Austin Ruse of Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute.
Most information has come from Sterling Scruggs, UNFPA’s head of external communication. He confirmed Milosevic’s invitation to UNFPA and that UNFPA will conduct "reproductive health programs" in Kosovo as natives return.
The campaign will include distribution of "reproductive health supplies" including abortifacient "morning after" pills, crude IUDs no longer used in Western countries and "manual vacuum aspirators (MVAs) to use in early term abortions.
The PRI report included reports of interview of numerous Kosovar refugee women. Little to no demand for "reproductive health services" was heard from them. In fact, Kosovars pride themselves in having one of the highest birthrates in an otherwise shrinking Europe population. Wanderer; 7/29
United Nation abortion plan almost kept secret
On July 2nd UN delegates at the Cairo+5 conference set policies that will affect the lives of millions of people in 179 countries.
The UN finalized plans, first set in motion at Cairo in 1994, established new rules that
abortion should be "accessible" and not just "available" worldwide
parents will be excluded from talks their children have with distributors of UN funded contraceptive and sex education literature.
The Cairo Program of Action was at least a partial defeat for radical pro-abortionists. They wanted a "right to abortion". Austin Ruse, a pro-life lobbyist, reported that the pro-abortionists got "an explicit prohibition of abortion as a method of family planning." They also wanted, according to Ruse, "to shove the family out of the way." What they got was insistent language on the importance of the family.
Ruse opined that reproductive rights radicals cannot win at ballot boxes. So they must go around that stumbling block by going to the courts. They also go around it through the United Nations.
The new document is non-binding. The future must be closely watched so that this miniscule victory for the pro-abortionists does not grow like a weed.
Embryo research steadily gaining approval
Debate about human embryo research began in November, 1998. At that time researchers had learned how to isolate stem cells from embryos and fetal tissue. Human embryos are believed to be a source of material for potential cell replacement therapies in treatment of degenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.
Some researchers believe that human pluripotent stem cells have potential to be turned into any cell type in the body. If that proves true, stem cells could be used to treat innumerable injuries and illnesses.
The opposition of numerous people and organizations prevented a quick rush down this newly opened path. Richard Doerflinger , associate director for policy development at the bishops’ Secretariat for Pro-life Activities stated the US Catholic bishops’ position:
"The moral problem of encouraging the destruction of human embryos for their stem cells is independent of any possible benefit expected from such research.
From the time of the Nuremberg Code, ethical norms on human experimentation have demanded that we never inflict death or disabling injury on any unconsenting individual of the human species simply for the sake of benefit to others."
Many shared the bishops’ concerns but the 7/13 recommendation of the 17 member National Bioethics Advisory Commission changed the discussion. The issue is no longer whether the federal government should be involved in experiments with live embryos. It is now how the government will be involved.
White House sources claim that the National Institutes of Health is developing an oversight procedure to insure that all cells in federally funded procedures are obtained in an ethical manner. Support for the federal government ‘s involvement in stem cell research is far from unanimous. Rep. Jay Dickey (R-Ark) has vowed to fight permitting the NIH from moving forward with embryo usage in research. He told the National Catholic Register, 7/25- - 31 he opposes embryo research "because it is immoral to murder, it is immoral to do anything that would harm any human being, regardless of their age or development.
Dickey sponsored a 1995 ban on federal funding of embryo research and is expected to do something similar now.
New Jersey has parental notice law
New Jersey became the 25th state to enact a parental notification law. It will go into effect on September 28th.
The law requires that doctors notify parents in writing 48 hours before performing an abortion on their daughter if she is under age 18. There is a medical emergency provision that permits exceptions only for physical health. "Mental well being" and similar vague terms were strictly avoided.
The bill permits a pregnant minor to seek a waiver from a Superior Court judge. The judge will be asked to rule on whether he/she finds that notification is or is not in the best interests of the minor girl.
NJ Governor Christine Todd Whitman signed the bill on June 28th. The governor is well known for her support of abortion. so many had expected a veto. She was interviewed on various TV shows at that time. She emphasized that she did not like or approve of the bill. She reported that the numbers were so highly in favor of the bill that a veto would be overridden. She reported she had signed the bill feeling she had no choice and regretted that this had been the case.
New York parents still without notification
In the FY 99-00 NY State Legislative Session, bills seeking to require parental involvement when a minor seeks an abortion have again been filed. Following a long-standing, pro-abortion Assembly tradition, proposals for bills seeking parental involvement laws are referred to the Assembly Health Committee. If tradition holds in this session, the bills will receive no attention until the last moments of the 99/00 session.
New York has no law requiring either notification or consent of parents of a minor seeking abortion. Is it any wonder NY is considered an "abortion haven"?
Child Custody Protection Act (CCPA)
DESCRIPTION: This pro-life bill would make it a federal crime to transport a minor across state lines for an abortion, if this abridges the right of her parents to be involved in the minor’s abortion decision under the laws of her home state. Offenders would be subject to both criminal penalties and private lawsuits by parents whose rights are abridged by such activity.
BACKGROUND: This is a second attempt to pass this bill. This year it was re-introduced by Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fl) and Senator Spencer Abraham (R-Mi). 25 states, not including New York, have laws requiring parental or court involvement in a minor’s abortion decision and would be covered by the CCPA. Transporting a minor to procure an abortion without parental consent/knowledge would become illegal under the CCPA.
New York, with no parental involvement laws, has been an "abortion haven." Girls from nearby states with such laws, e.g. Pa. Mass. are often brought to NY for abortions without parental knowledge. Making it a crime to transport a girl to a state where she can have an abortion without parental involvement would drastically reduce total number of abortions in the US.
As this is written, there is no known date scheduled for the Senate vote. If the Senate approves the bill, a presidential veto is expected. The Clinton administration has expressed strong opposition to the bill.
The Senate must be flooded with letters and calls urging support for the bill to insure its passage and then the 2/3rds necessary to override a veto.
Neither Senators Moynihan nor Schumer are pro-life. However, this legislation is about far more than abortion. It really goes to the heart of supporting the family in its rightful role with its children.
Contact both New York’s US Senators, at their district offices or:
| Daniel Moynihan 464 Russell Office Bldg. Washington, DC 20510 (202) 224-4451 |
Charles Schumer 313 Hart Senate Bldg Washington, DC 20510 (202) 224-6542 |
*Use your own words and include no more than 2 points
*Parents, far more than school counselors or boyfriends, have a right to be involved if their daughter is contemplating abortion.
*Often minor girls may be unaware of factors in their own medical history or family history which might place them at heightened risk of physical complications or death from an induced abortion. Such factors are more likely to be provided for the decision making when a parent is present.
*Often high-school age girls are impregnated by substantially older men – often in their 20s. These men are vulnerable to statutory rape charges; they stand to benefit from a secret abortion to keep the sexual relationship secret.
*The Clinton-Gore Administration opposes the bill and is demanding that the bill be amended to give "close" family members, e.g. grandmothers, aunts, siblings the same rights as parents. This is not acceptable to an overwhelming number of Americans
Baselice & Associates 6/98 poll asked 1,000 registered voters: "Should a person be able to take a minor girl across state lines to obtain an abortion without her parents’ knowledge?" 78% strongly disagreed; 7% somewhat disagreed, for a total of 85%, while 3% somewhat agreed and 6% strongly agreed. Additional Resources
National Right to Life News; June 10, 1999
"Why We Need the Child Custody Protection Act" available at www.nrlc.org/Federal/CCPA/why_we_need_CCPA.htm
At its 6/21/99 meeting, the Board accepted, with deep regret and appreciation of
their countless hours of volunteer efforts, the resignations of
Michelle Castelli
Barbara Gutowski
Alan Purcell
The June 19 Family Fun Run was proclaimed a success by organizers, Bob and Page Burke. With cooperative weather, runners covered the course comfortably. Although a success, this event has plenty of additional ground to cover to become the size of most runs. The Burkes and others are already at work with plans for the 2000 run.
January 22 &-23, 2000 and Monday, January 24
Convention:
Saturday, January 22, 11:00 AM. Opening Session I is 1 – 5:00 PM Saturday; Session II is Saturday at 7:30 PM; Session III is Wrap-up and Action Items on Sunday, 1-5:00 PM. Registration is $20 for each session or $50 for all three.Please become a daily prayer partner. We invite people to become prayer partners by spending 5-10 minutes daily in prayer about life issues and RARTL. We hope this partnership will fill 24 hours of each day to have a prayer shield over the area. Please join in the following suggested weekly prayer themes for
August 22 – Those battling life-threatening illness;
August 29 – The efforts of all who work to replace the culture of death
with the Gospel of life;
September 5 – Mothers encountering a difficult pregnancy;
September 12 – Changes of heart of abortionists and staff
September 19 - Patience for those laboring to sow the truth about abortion
as they wait for their work to bear fruit,
September 26 - Those in professions which can help ill or troubled
individuals make life-affirming decisions,
October 3 – Openness to God’s tremendous gift of life;
October 10 – Strength and patience for those challenged by caring for
ill or disabled persons;
October 17 – Religious leaders that they never tire of proclaiming the
right to life as the most fundamental right,
October 24 – Memory of the Lord’s command to not be afraid when we
face difficult choices involving innocent, human life;
October 31 - – The local and national media to support life
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