Controversy over ‘pro-life’ designation
Hillary Clinton to face pro-life protests
Charlton Heston addresses culture war
Mormons oppose most abortions
Oregon suicide stats released
Nurses less tolerant of abortion
Pro-life obstetrician loses lawsuit
Robertson back at Christian Coalition
Charges against abortionist stayed
Controversy over ‘pro-life’ designation
A decision by the National Right to Life Committee, the largest U.S. pro-life organization, to certify possible presidential candidate George W. Bush as “pro-life” has angered some pro-lifers who say he does not deserve the designation. Bush is reported to favour the option of abortion throughout the three trimesters of pregnancy in cases of rape, incest and danger to a mother’s life.
“I don’t see how a ‘compassionate conservative’ can be ambiguous about protecting unborn children,” said another Republican candidate, Gary Bauer. “There is no way his stance can be described as pro-life,” said Colleen Parro, director of the Republican National Coalition for Life.
But Carol Tobias, head of the NRLC’s political action committee, said Bush’s position would still put an end to 98 per cent of abortions currently being performed. “We would certainly regard that as a pro-life position,” she said.
Tobias was backed by such figures as Christian Coalition chair Pat Robertson, who said he “totally” agrees with Bush’s approach.
In a March interview, Bush described himself as “a pro-life person,” but observed that “America is not ready to ban abortions.” Lawmakers, he said should focus on attainable goals, such as requiring parental notification and the banning of partial-birth abortions.
On other fronts, Elizabeth Dole has been unwilling or unprepared to spell out her position on the abortion issue, while Bauer, Pat Buchanan, Alan Keyes, John R. Kasich and Robert C. Smith have adopted no-compromise positions, stating that all of their appointees to the Supreme Court would have to oppose abortion. Dan Quayle, Steve Forbes and John McCain have also adopted strong pro-life positions, though they are less explicit about it. Lamar Alexander, like Bush and Dole, is seen more as a “moderate” on the question of abortion.
Hillary Clinton to face pro-life protests
U.S. First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton was to address a major teachers’ union convention in Niagara Falls, N.Y. April 22 – right in the middle of an eight-day “Operation Save America” pro-life event scheduled for nearby Buffalo. One organizer of the event suggested Clinton, a staunch abortion supporter, can expect pro-life demonstrators to pay her a visit. More than 600 people were arrested during a similar “Spring of Life” campaign in Buffalo in 1992.
One of the leaders of that 1992 campaign, Rev. Robert Schenck, now says that the days of Operation Rescue-style protests are over. He has been calling for a new approach since abortionist Barnett Slepian was slain in his suburban Buffalo home last October. “This is a new time, it calls for new methods,” he said.
Scheck, who said he will not participate in Operation Save America, suggested pro-lifers focus on providing alternatives to abortion through crisis pregnancy centres, and by prompting governments to better regulate abortionists and abortuaries. He is part of the Buffalo Coalition for Common Ground, whose members are pledging to respect each other’s views. The coalition was hoping to collect thousands of signatures in support of its mission prior to Operation Save America.
Charlton Heston addresses culture war
Famed actor Charlton Heston, noted for his roles in such epic films as The Ten Commandments and Ben Hur, delivered a speech on “Winning the Cultural War” at the Law School Forum of Harvard University recently. In his address, Heston noted that, “We are now engaged in a great civil war, testing whether this nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure.” He said that an “Orwellian fervour” is mandating only “acceptable” thoughts and speech. “I marched for civil rights with Dr. (Martin Luther) King in 1963 … But when I told an audience last year that white pride is just as valid as black pride or red pride or anyone else’s pride, they call me a racist.
“I’ve worked with brilliantly talented homosexuals all my life. But when I told an audience that gay rights should extend no further than your rights or my rights, I was called a homophobe … During a speech, when I drew an analogy between singling out innocent Jews and singling out innocent gun owners, I was called an anti-Semite.” Heston then called on his listeners to practise peaceful disobedience when subjected to “pervasive social subjugation.”
Mormons oppose most abortions
Mormon Apostle Dallin H. Oaks has reiterated his church’s firm stance against most abortions and for the sacredness of the family. In a recent address to several thousand students at Brigham Young University, which is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, he cautioned his listeners to be wary of terms like “pro-choice” and “diversity.”
“Moral relativism has no legitimate place at Brigham Young University,” he said, adding that “choice” on abortion is a method, not a goal. He said “choice” is a seductive slogan, but “only righteous choices will move us toward our eternal goals … The church opposes elective abortion for personal or social convenience,” he added.
Oregon suicide stats released
Fourteen Oregon doctors were sanctioned to administer lethal medications to 23 people in the care last year, says a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. A chart depicting the characteristics of 21 of the victims shows that their median age was 69, but there was no age range indicated, except that they were between their third and 10th decades of life. Under that rubric, as many as 12 of the victims could have been in their 30s. The study concluded that, “As compared with persons who were married, those who were divorced or had never married were more likely to choose physician-assisted suicide.”
Nurses less tolerant of abortion
Nearly two-thirds of hospital-based nurses polled by RN Magazine say partial-birth abortions should be prohibited by law. Just as significant: 61 per cent said they would not work in an ob-gyn ward where abortions were performed; a decade ago, a 52 per cent majority said they would.
“We saw perhaps the most striking change among those nurses who actually care for a mother and baby,” said editor, Marianne Dekker Mattera. “Only 37 per cent of the respondents who work in obstetrics or the nursery say they would work in a unit where abortion is performed, a decline of 18 percentage points since 1988.” RN is an award-winning magazine that focuses on clinical and professional topics of importance to hospital-based registered nurses.
Pro-life obstetrician loses lawsuit
A $1.85 million judgment has been levied against a pro-life obstetrician who, the court decided, failed to offer a woman a prenatal test that would have revealed her unborn child had Down syndrome. A jury found Dr. James Delahunty guilty and dedicated $1.5 million of the award to the care of Michael Imbergamo III, now four. The mother, 34-year-old Deborah Campano, worried that people will think she doesn’t love her child. “Of course I love my son. He’s a beautiful little boy,” she said. However, in the same breath, she said she would have “terminated the pregnancy” if she had known her son would be born with birth defects.
Delahunty, who was not in the courtroom at the time of the verdict, was reported to be extremely angry and disappointed. “My concern is this child, now 4 1/2, will grow up knowing she would have killed it,” said Delahunty, adding that the court’s verdict points to the “degrading fiber of society today.”
Robertson back at Christian Coalition
Pat Robertson has reassumed the presidency of the Christian Coalition political organization after spending several years as one of its senior advisers. The post became vacant when Donald Hodel, a former Reagan administration cabinet secretary, left to pursue other interests. The coalition is in the midst of defending some of its past political activities. The Federal Election Commission has sued it, accusing it of illegally spending thousands of dollars to promote various Republican candidates.
Charges against abortionist stayed
The California Supreme Court has suspended a murder prosecution against abortionist Bruce Steir, and ordered a review of whether anti-abortion politics motivated it. He was charged with second-degree murder after Sharon Hamptlon died following an abortion in 1996. Prosecutors contended Steir showed a “conscious disregard” for Hamptlon’s life by failing to call for emergency medical assistance even though he knew he had perforated her uterus. Hamptlon, 27, bled to death on her way home from an abortion at Steir’s clinic.