Here’s the report from the Associated Press: AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A federal appeals court has reinstated most of Texas’ new abortion restrictions. A panel of judges at the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling Thursday evening, three days after District Judge Lee Yeakel said one provision serves no medical purpose. The panel says that the law requiring doctors to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital can take effect while a lawsuit moves forward. The Texas attorney general’s office argued that the law is a constitutional use of the Legislature’s authority. Lawyers for Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers had argued that the regulations did not protect…
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Texas attorney general to defend abortion law
By now, many of you have heard the news that a Federal Judge has blocked an important part of Texas’ new abortion law—the one made famous by Wendy Davis’ filibuster last summer. In particular, the judge blocked the part requiring abortion doctors to have admitting privileges in a local hospital. Almost as soon as the decision was released, the Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott vowed to appeal the ruling. General Abbott also says that he sees the case going all the way to the Supreme Court. If this case does go all the way, that’s when things could get interesting. Will the Supreme Court revisit any of the major holdings…
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Joe Carter gives a well-earned wallop to NY Times coverage of abortion bill
Mainstream media coverage of the abortion debate has always been really frustrating. It’s good to remind ourselves from time to time how much the pro-life movement has to overcome to get their message out. Enter Joe Carter’s commentary on the NY Times’ misleading coverage of the restriction on 2nd trimester abortions passed by the House of Representatives yesterday. Carter concludes:
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An abortion doctor explains to Congress what is involved with a second trimester abortion
Dr. Anthony Levatino performed over 1,200 abortions during his career as an OBGYN, some of them up to 24 weeks of pregnancy. In the video above, Dr. Levatino testifies before Congress about what exactly is involved in an abortion during the second trimester. This is very difficult to listen to, but I think this needs a wide hearing. This barbarism cannot bear the light of day, and that’s precisely why we need to let the light in. (HT: Justin Taylor)
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Fifteen-year old girl helped kill live-babies in Gosnell’s abortion clinic
There is more grisly testimony emerging from the Gosnell trial (see previous post). Business Insider reports: Former clinic worker Ashley Baldwin, who’s now 22, testified that she helped Gosnell perform abortions and saw five aborted babies moving and breathing, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. One baby even screamed, Baldwin said.
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If you pay for an abortion, you are owed a dead baby
George Will comments on the chilling video of a Planned Parenthood spokesman in Florida defending the right to infanticide. He writes: Recently in Florida, Alisa LaPolt Snow, representing Florida Planned Parenthood organizations, testified against a bill that would require abortionists to provide medical care to babies who survive attempted abortions. Snow was asked: “If a baby is born on a table as a result of a botched abortion, what would Planned Parenthood want to have happen to that child that is struggling for life?” Snow replied: “We believe that any decision that’s made should be left up to the woman, her family and the physician.” She added, “That decision should…
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Bishops reject “compromise” on abortion mandate
Cardinal Timothy Dolan has released a statement today on behalf of the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The Bishops have rejected the so-called “compromise” that the Obama administration proffered last week. The Bishops rightly conclude that the mandate still requires Catholic hospitals and schools to provide contraception and abortifacient drugs to their employees. Cardinal Dolan writes, The Administration’s proposal maintains its inaccurate distinction among religious ministries. It appears to offer second-class status to our first-class institutions in Catholic health care, Catholic education, and Catholic charities. HHS offers what it calls an “accommodation,” rather than accepting the fact that these ministries are integral to our Church and worthy of the…
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Michael Gerson nails it on the abortion mandate
I gave my analysis last week of President Obama’s proposed revision of Obamacare’s abortion mandate. I said then that the revision is not a compromise, despite the favorable media coverage that would suggest otherwise. It’s just more of the same, and it still implicates Christian business owner’s in the killing of unborn children. The clearest analysis of the new rules that I have read, however, comes from Michael Gerson in today’s Washington Post. Here’s the bottom line:
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The abortion mandate still stands
The Obama administration announced “updates” this morning to Obamacare’s abortion mandate. The original mandate was a shell-game, and this latest “change” is only more of the same. The original rule required religious employers to pay money to an insurance company that would then provide abortion-inducing drugs for employees that wanted them. That is still true today despite the overhyped announcement. There’s no substantive difference. The changes are cosmetic at best. The underlying religious objection has not been addressed, and employers would still be morally implicated in paying for abortion-inducing drugs for their employees.
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The abortion mandate is losing in court
Hobby Lobby is not the only for-profit company to have filed suit against Obamacare’s abortion mandate. Hobby Lobby is just the one that you’ve heard about because they failed to get relief and have become subject to crippling fines. Michael Foust reports that there have been 44 separate lawsuits filed against the mandate. Fourteen rulings involve for-profit companies, and 10 out of 14 have been able to get relief from the courts. In short, for-profit companies are winning the majority of these cases, which means that eventually this is going to come before the Supreme Court. The Alliance Defending Freedom has represented for-profit companies seeking relief. Michael Foust reports on…