Six per cent of abortions are by RU-486
Choose Life licence plates stymied
Lawmakers want abortuary regulation
Bishop requests move of inaugural services
No state right to abortion funding
Six per cent of abortions are by RU-486
NEW YORK – According to a study by the pro-abortion Alan Guttmacher Institute, usage of the abortion pill RU-486 accounts for six per cent of all abortions committed in the U.S. The institute estimates that there were 37,000 RU-486 abortions in the first six months of 2001. Study authors Lawrence Finer and Stanley Henshaw said that the “growing acceptance” of the abortion pill indicates that “the decrease in surgical abortion providers may be offset by an increase in the number of providers that offer medical abortion.” Danco Laboratories, the U.S. manufacturer of the pill, claims that at least 130,000 American women have used RU-486 since it was approved by former president Clinton’s Food and Drug Adminstration in September 2000. Pro-life groups have petitioned the FDA to re-examine the drug’s approval, noting that not only does it destroy the life of an unborn child, but it is harmful to women. Reports have surfaced of women experiencing serious illness after its use and two women, including one Canadian, have died in the past two years using it.
Choose Life licence plates stymied
COLUMBIA – Senior U.S. District Judge William Bertelsman declared South Carolina’s “Choose Life” license plates unconstitutional because they provide a forum for pro-life advocates that abortion supporters do not have. Planned Parenthood, which has also challenged such plates in Florida and Louisanna, argued that it is unconstitutional for the government to provide a forum for one group and “discriminate by viewpoint.” Tracey Green, an assistant deputy state attorney-general, said PP has no standing in the case because the organization hasn’t shown that the state would deny it a pro-abortion plate. But Green added that the licence plates, approved by the state legislature, communicate “the state’s oft-expressed preference for childbirth over abortion.” The state said it will appeal judge Bertelsman’s decision.
Lawmakers want abortuary regulation
DENVER – Colorado state representatives David Schultheis and Doug Lamborn introduced House Bill 1022, which would set standards and license clinics that perform five or more abortions a month. It is a measure they say will protect women. Schultheis, a Republican, said, “Some clinics have less regulation than a vet clinic … It’s a woman’s health issue.” A Planned Parenthood representative complained that while the bill will increase the cost of abortion, the real intent of the bill is to make public the names of abortionists so pro-life activists can “harass” them.
Bishop requests move of inaugural services
TOPEKA, Ks. – Roman Catholic Archbishop James Patrick Keleher asked Kathleen Sebelius, a pro-abortion Democrat (and Catholic) to not use Assumption Catholic church for her interfaith inauguration service. Archbishop Keleher of Kansas City said, “I must note that Governor-Elect Sebelius is at odds with our Catholic faith on that most fundamental moral issue of respect for the right to life of the unborn.” Sebelius supported abortion as a state representative and Archbishop Keleher said her voting record was “particularly distressing, since she is a Catholic and as such has a moral responsibility to embrace the Gospel of Life.”
No state right to abortion funding
AUSTIN, Tx. – A Texas Supreme Court ruling has upheld a state law prohibiting funding for abortion, saying the state is not constitutionally obligated to pay for abortions for poor women. The 8-0 ruling, with one abstention, held that the state has a legitimate interest in promoting childbirth over abortion. Modelled on the federal Hyde Amendment that limits abortion funding, Texas prohibits the use of state Medicaid money for abortions except in cases of rape or incest, or when the mother’s life is in danger. Abortion proponents said the funding restrictions discriminate against women. Jeff Boyd, an attorney for the state, said, “It’s only those women who make that ultimate choice to have an abortion who are treated differently.”