$100 million award in lawsuit
Clintons renew support for abortion
Abortionist, administrator indicted
Duncan jailed and fined
Bauer running for president
‘Unite for Life’ campaign announced
Bill would make killing unborn a crime
$100 million award in lawsuit
A federal jury has ordered anti-abortion activists to pay more than $100 million, in the conclusion of a lawsuit launched by a coalition of pro-abortion groups aimed at silencing what they described as some of the U.S.’s “most militant abortion opponents.” Plaintiffs included Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri, Planned Parenthood of Columbia-Willamette, Portland Feminist Women’s Health Centre, late-term abortionist Warren Hern of Boulder, Colo., and abortionists Elizabeth Newhall, James Newhall and Karen Sweigert.
The lawsuit alleged that “wanted” posters for abortionists, as well as an Internet website called The Nuremberg Files, put out information on abortionists that amounted to threats. The plaintiffs claimed that violated federal racketeering laws, and statutes protecting abortuaries under the 1994 “Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act.” The defendants included the American Coalition of Life Advocates and Advocates for Life Ministries.
Monica Miller, a Wisconsin anti-abortion activist, had testified that posters listing the home addresses of a dozen abortionists were meant to shame, not threaten. “Those fliers contained nothing illegal, no threats,” she testified. “We did not intend … that abortion providers would be frightened.” Defence lawyer Chris Ferrara pointed out that the lawsuit was about threatening to kill or injure, “which is simply not there … Opinions? Yes, sometimes harsh. But no violence.”
Michael Bray denied that any of the defendants named in the lawsuit were responsible for the Nuremberg website, which is operated by a Georgia-based computer programmer not named in the case. Another defendant, Bruce Murch, said he has always opposed violence.
After the judgment, the defendants denounced the verdict and vowed they would appeal on the basis of free-speech rights guaranteed under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. They also said they would not pay any damages.
Clintons renew support for abortion
The scandal-plagued husband-and-wife team of Bill and Hillary Clinton reiterated their fervent support for abortion “rights” again this year during the 26th anniversary of the momentous U.S. Supreme Court Roe v. Wade decision, as thousands of pro-life supporters from across the U.S. excoriated the pair in the annual March for Life outside their headquarters.
Hillary Clinton addressed the National Abortion Rights and Reproductive Action League on Jan. 22, claiming with a straight face that husband Bill could take the credit for a 12 per cent decrease in abortions, and reduced rates of teen pregnancies and unintended pregnancies. “All of this happened under a pro-choice president who has refused to back down (and defends) a woman’s ‘right to choose,'” she crowed to thunderous applause from pro-abortion fanatics. She also announced $50 million in federal funding for “family-planning” programs.
Bill, meanwhile, tossed another $4.5 million at abortuaries for alarm systems, bullet-proof windows, motion detectors, lighting and closed-circuit cameras under a White House plan to counter what it sees as escalating violence around abortuaries.
Outside the White House on the Roe v. Wade anniversary, the atmosphere was completely different, however. “We have an evil president and an evil first lady,” said one March for Life demonstrator through a loudspeaker. New Jersey Representative Christopher Smith called on the crowd to pray and fast for the Clintons to get them to change their stance on abortion. “The scandals that have rocked the White House pale to near-insignificance when compared to the anti-child policies so methodically pursued by our abortion president and his administration,” he said.
The Family Research Council and Focus on the Family blasted the Clinton administration both for its inaction in overturning Roe v. Wade and for the added monies for abortuary security. “The Clinton administration, hand-in-hand with the abortion lobby, shows us once again that they simply do not care about the women who die or suffer injury by abortion, to say nothing of the children abortion destroys,” said Teresa Wagner, the Family Research Council’s analyst for life issues. “They care about protecting the profits of a business that exploits women in their need by taking their money and destroying their children.”
Carrie Gordon, bioethics analyst for Focus on the Family, said 26 years is “long enough” for the abortion industry to prey on mothers caught in difficult situations. “Widespread abortion has brainwashed Americans into believing that human life is of little worth – particularly if it’s inconvenient … We are seeing a culture steeped in death.”
Abortionist, administrator indicted
An abortionist and abortuary administrator have been arrested and indicted in Phoenix, Ariz. after being accused of allowing a client to bleed to death. John Biskind, a Cleveland, Oh. gynecologist who regularly flew to the now-closed Phoenix A-Z Women’s Centre to perform abortions, and Carol Stuart, were charged with manslaughter in the death of Lou Anne Herron last April. They have pleaded not guilty. “The conduct by Dr. Biskind is so outrageous, it shocks the conscience,” observed county attorney Rick Romley. “It is our opinion that Lou Anne Herron did not have to die.”
Biskind was arrested at his winter home in Scottsdale, Ariz. Romley said the criminal investigation will be expanded to include Moshe Hachamovitch, the owner of the A-Z Women’s Centre and a New York abortionist whose other abortuaries in Texas (where a 15-year-old client died) and New York (where one 19-year-old client died) have also experienced problems. Bond was set at $250,000 for Biskind and Stuart. The pair face penalties ranging from probation to 12 years in prison. Herron’s family, meanwhile, is also expected to launch a lawsuit against Biskind, Stuart and Hachamovitch.
The scandal surrounding Herron’s death has already led to action by Arizona lawmakers, who have voted to begin regulating abortuaries. Without dissent, a special panel studying outpatient medical procedures concluded that abortuaries should be subject to state licencing and inspection. And, in a strange and macabre twist, the new regulations will also require that the bodies of babies aborted in the second or third trimester be sent to Arizona’s Department of Health Services. The department would then examine the bodies to determine whether they were, in fact, of the age the abortionist estimated.
Abortionists will also be required to file reports in incidents that result in death or serious injury to a mother, or to what is being described as “a viable fetus.”
Duncan jailed and fined
Neville W. Duncan, the Milwaukee, Wis. abortionist who beat his wife and was arrested by police with crack cocaine in his pocket, has been sentenced to 30 days in jail, fined $250 and placed on 18 months’ probation. “I’m not familiar with his practice, and I’m not going to delve into what he does as a doctor,” said Judge Maxine Aldridge White in passing sentence. But, “When you are providing medical services to others, they expect you to be healthy and in a good way,” she added.
Duncan told the court he was “ashamed” and “deeply sorry” for the incidents that led to his arrest last September. But the latest jail term is only the tip of the iceberg of Duncan’s problems. His attorney said Duncan was already serving a 90-day jail sentence for failing to pay child support regarding a previous marriage. And Duncan also faces disciplinary action from Wisconsin’s Medical Examining Board for his latest escapades.
All of which must come as music to the ears of Milwaukee-area pro-life activists, who were once “mooned” by his wife when they demonstrated outside the couple’s New Berlin, Wis. home.
Bauer running for president
Gary Bauer, president and chairman of the board of the Family Research Council, has formally announced his intention to run for the Republican nomination for president. “I’m anxious and enthusiastic about getting into this debate and seeing if we can elevate it, see if we can put some real issues on the table for the American people,” he told the NBC TV program Meet the Press.
FRC vice-chairman Lee Eaton said the organization’s board of directors accepted Bauer’s letter with profound regret. Executive vice-president Chuck Donovan noted that Bauer “built a tremendous legacy at the Family Research Council, trasnforming a small think tank into a public policy research and educational organization that has had a powerful impact on the debate over ideas.
“On the frontlines of an often-lonely fight, Gary Bauer has spoken with passion and reason in the public square on issue after issue. As FRC communicates daily with Congress, the national media and federal policymakers on dozens of subjects, we will strive to continue Gary’s vision, eloquence and enthusiasm for the principles that fortify the American family and our nation as a whole.”
‘Unite for Life’ campaign announced
The American Life League has launched a “Unite for Life” campaign to bring together all pro-life organizations throughout the U.S. “We must stand as one, unified movement in order to advance our cause and preserve the real meaning of the phrase, ‘pro-life,'” said ALL president Judie Brown.
Brown noted that within the last year, ALL welcomed nine new divisions into its fold and expects as many as 50 more to join within the next two years. “The weakest point of the pro-life movement is our lack of principled unity,” she said. “It is reasonable to expect that we should and must prepare for the future by solidifying our core.”
Bill would make killing unborn a crime
Lawmakers in the state of Delaware are considering making it a crime to cause the death of an unborn child, a move that would draw attention from the legal community and the medical profession, as well as pro-abortion and pro-life groups. The decision came after a Delaware woman was murdered last year, and her unborn, full-term child died with her. Although the woman’s husband was charged in her death, no charges were laid in relation to the unborn child’s death.
“The big issue here is the balancing act which will have to be realized between those who believe in the right to life and those who are ‘pro-choice,'” said Representative William A. Oberle, who has been working on a bi-partisan bill with other members of the state legislature. The bill is patterned on a similar law in effect in Iowa.
“We would support (the bill) because we recognize the humanity of the unborn child,” said Mary Spaulding-Balch of the National Right to Life Committee in Washington.