LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report
Friday, September 9, 2011

For pro-life news updated throughout the day, visit LifeNews.com.

Current Headlines

Top Stories
• Study: Unborn Babies Can Differentiate Touch, Pain in Womb

• Mother Who Refused Abortion of Conjoined Twins Gives Birth

Planned Parenthood Abortion-Referral Biz Closes in Delaware
• Shock: 56% of Abortions in New York City are Repeat Abortions

More Pro-Life News
• Planned Parenthood Stimulus Failure: Abortions Don t Drop
• Perry, Gingrich, Bachmann Back Bill Banning Abortions
• New Lil Wayne Video How to Love Presents Pro-Life Message
• U.S. Govt. Largest Population Control Promoter in Philippines
• Pro-Life Republican Could Pull Off Upset in New York Race
• North Carolina Choose Life License Plates Face New Lawsuit
• Adult Stem Cells Could Help You Grow Your Own Transfusion
• Missouri Senate Committee Backs Embryonic Stem Cell Research
• Mississippi Abortion-Personhood Amendment Gets November Vote

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Study: Unborn Babies Can Differentiate Touch, Pain in Womb
A new study from England finds unborn children have the capacity to differentiate touch from pain in the womb and they are able to do so as early as 28-35 weeks into pregnancy. Other studies have shown unborn children can experience pain much earlier.

Conducted by researchers at the University College London, the study found unborn children can feel pain around the 35th week of pregnancy. The scientists determine this by using EEG to record brain activity in response to pain and comparing the responses from a positive touch versus a painful prick in the foot.

Babies can distinguish painful stimuli as different from general touch from around 35 to 37 weeks gestation just before an infant would normally be born, Lorenzo Fabrizi, lead author of the study, told ABC News about the study published in the journal Current Biology.

The babies the researchers evaluated were between the ages of 28 and 35 weeks into pregnancy and they all showed the same increased levels of brain activities to both the touch and painful prick, but the study found babies at 35 weeks gestation have a greater brain activity level to the prick than the touch.

Dr. David Prentice, a former biology professor at Indiana State University who is now a fellow with the Family Research Council, told LifeNews that fetal pain is not a new concept and that it is measured much earlier than this study suggests. He also cautions about the interpretation of the study, pointing out that an ABC News report saying Babies Feel Pain at 35 to 37 Weeks of Development, Experts Say is inaccurate and misleading.

It s important for people to understand that the study suggests unborn babies can differentiate touch from pain at 35 weeks, Prentice said. But numerous studies document that unborn babies can certainly feel pain well before this point in their life. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/09/09/study-unborn-babies-can-differentiate-touch-pain-in-womb/

Mother Who Refused Abortion of Conjoined Twins Gives Birth
The Illinois mother who refused a doctor s suggestion to have an abortion after learning she was pregnant with conjoined twins has given birth. Amanda Schulten of Marengo, Illinois, declined the abortion, saying their fate is in God s hands.

Schulten is a devout Catholic and refused to end her pregnancy and she named her baby girls Faith and Hope. Today, in a post on her blog titled God is good, she said they were born on Tuesday.

Faith Rosemarie and Hope Lillian were born September 6th 2011 weighing a total of 8 lbs. 10 oz and born crying and kicking, Schulten said. The girls length was 15 1/2 inches and Mommy and Daddy are so proud of them. Time they were born is 9:24 a.m. and we will celebrate each day at 9:24 their beautiful life they share together. The girls have lots of soft brown hair and the prettiest eyes.

God is good and he knows what he is doing, Schulten said. September 6th was a day miracles happened and I gave birth to the 2 most beautiful conjoined twins.

She indicated the doctors and nurses were amazing and that she had the birth via Caesarian section, which was a miracle and [I] could possibly have natural child birth in future pregnancies.

Thanks everyone who s praying for my little precious gifts from God, Schulten said. I sit with them all day waiting patiently to soon one day get to hold them in my arms. I cry tears of joy, that God made them so perfect. I can t express enough how much I adore and love them. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/09/09/mother-who-refused-abortion-of-conjoined-twins-gives-birth/

Planned Parenthood Abortion-Referral Biz Closes in Delaware
The Planned Parenthood abortion referral facility in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware closed with little warning on September 1 as officials with the abortion business say it wasn t getting enough customers to remain open.

Emily Knearl, vice president of public affairs for Planned Parenthood of Delaware, told the Cape Gazette newspaper that the center closed for lack of business. Although it did not do abortions directly it promoted birth control and STD testing it referred women for abortions at Planned Parenthood centers in the northern part of the state outside Philadelphia.

Knearl told the paper that Planned Parenthood informed its customers by letter of the closing of the facility and provided them with a list of other places they could go for the same services. She said the abortion business was looking at another location with lower rent prices as an option, but ultimately decided to close.

Planned Parenthood is saddened by the closure and hopes to offer sexual and reproductive health services again in Sussex County. In the interim, Planned Parenthood will continue to serve Sussex County with a variety of education classes and community outreach, she said.

Carrie Keane, a midwife with Bayside Health Association, worked at the Planned Parenthood office and told the Gazette that it did not have medical staff on site and that it faced financial problems. She said all patient records would be transferred to the Dover and Newark Planned Parenthood centers. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/09/09/planned-parenthood-abortion-referral-biz-closes-in-delaware/

Shock: 56% of Abortions in New York City are Repeat Abortions
New research from a organization that has spent considerable time unpacking new statistics showing the abortion rate in New York City is twice the national average shows Manhattan may have the highest abortion rate of any city in the U.S.

The Chiaroscuro Foundation examined the data surrounding New York City s staggering 41% abortion ratio, breaking the figures down by zip code, and its new analysis shows the zip code with the highest abortion ratio in the city, 67%, is in Manhattan s Chelsea-Clinton neighborhood.

The data, which was provided by the New York City Department of Health at the Chiaroscuro Foundation s request, show the abortion rate by the zip code of residence of women receiving abortions in New York City, the organization noted. The zip code with the highest ratio, 10018, is in the Chelsea-Clinton neighborhood of Manhattan, with a ratio of 67%, followed by rates of 60% in two Jamaica, Queens zip codes and in Manhattan s Greenwich Village, 10012, and Central Harlem-Morningside Heights neighborhoods.

The five zip codes with the lowest abortion ratios are on the Upper East Side, in Lower Manhattan, on the Upper West Side, and in Borough Park, Brooklyn. The lowest ratio, 6.12%, is in 10162, it continued.

The Chiaroscuro Foundation also asked for information from the city s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene about the number of repeat abortions and it found that, in 2009, 48,627 of the 87,273 abortions in New York City, or 56%, were repeat abortions and 33,401, 38%, were paid for by Medicaid. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/09/09/shock-56-of-abortions-in-new-york-city-are-repeat-abortions/

Announcing: National Association of Pro-life Nurses announces its 2011-2012 scholarship for student nurses. Scholarship application deadline is Feb. 15, 2012. Application can be found online at http://www.nursesforlife.org


Planned Parenthood Stimulus Failure: Abortions Don t Drop
Recently, Planned Parenthood received a major blow in their attempt to be seen as the end-all, be-all in reducing unintended pregnancies, funded by you the taxpayer. This time, the hit came in an analysis from their close allies at the Guttmacher Institute.

It happened when Guttmacher studied the rate of unintended pregnancies from 2001-2006. Added details from the pro-abortion agency can be found by clicking here. Guttmacher concluded that increased government funding for Planned Parenthood has made ZERO impact on decreasing the unintended pregnancy rate across the nation. Yes, you read that right, ZERO. It gets even more alarming. They found the pregnancy rate for poor women jumped by over 50%. It s appalling.

This is a HUGE revelation because, according to Planned Parenthood, their main reason for existence is the reduction of unintended pregnancies, all the while begging the federal government for your tax dollars to fund their agenda.

The willingness of pro-abortion activists and politicians to insist on continued funding of a failed agenda of Planned Parenthood becomes even more infuriating when crunching the specific numbers associated with Planned Parenthood s actions as a whole.

America s largest chain of abortion mills kills over 330,000 babies every year, which generates lots of money for the abortion industry giant. This helps them reach their obscene budget of over one billion dollars a year. The steady increase of government funding into Planned Parenthood s coffers is now over $363 million a year. In the midst of all this, the number of abortions at Planned Parenthood continues to rise. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/09/09/planned-parenthood-stimulus-failure-abortions-dont-drop/

Perry, Gingrich, Bachmann Back Bill Banning Abortions
Three Republican presidential contenders are now on record as supporting a pro-life bill that has been introduced in Ohio and may be heading to other states that would ban abortions at the point when a unborn child s heart starts to beat.

At 22 days into pregnancy, before most women know they are pregnant, unborn children complete the development of their heart to the point that a heartbeat begins and the bill, supported by the pro-life group Faith2Action and other pro-life groups, would stop abortions at that point. The Ohio legislature took up the legislation this year and it received a legislative committee hearing and an approving vote from the state House.

Now, three Republican presidential candidates have signed on to support the legislation, with pro-life Texas Gov. Rick Perry the latest to do so. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and pro-life Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota both supported the legislation in May and Perry added his name to the list of backers this week.

Perry, according to an AP report, announced his support for the legislation at a private gathering for conservative activists hosted by major Perry donor Dr. James Leininger.

We re grateful to Governor Perry for his strong support of the Heartbeat Bill. I don t think there s a bill in America with more support, Faith2Action President Janet (Folger) Porter said. At a meeting in Texas, Governor Perry announced his support before a group of 250 pro-life and pro-family leaders. His response of support to a question about the Heartbeat Bill received an extended standing ovation. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/09/09/perry-gingrich-bachmann-back-bill-banning-abortions/

New Lil Wayne Video How to Love Presents Pro-Life Message
First I want to warn people that this video contains some disturbing scenes that could be offensive to some, but they are real, raw and very relevant in my opinion.

I am not going to go as far as calling Lil Wayne pro-life or pro-chastity, but I think he nailed a lot of reality in this video. It shines a much needed light on the fact that so many men are failing as fathers, husbands and men. I strongly believe that most women who end up in these circumstances could have avoided them if there were men in their lives who actually acted like men and loved them the way they needed to be loved.

Don t get me wrong: I am not saying that men are better than women or that women will always end up as strippers or prostitutes without a good man in their life. What I am saying is that when men fail to be the fathers they need to be to their children, when they fail to be the husbands they need to be to their wives, and when they fail to be respectful and treat women as the gifts that they are, it can have horrible effects on the women in their lives.

Everyone must take responsibility for their actions and answer to God for those actions. As a father I also feel the responsibility to show my daughters the love they need so they don t end up in situations like this. I think Chris Rock said it best when he said in a comedy routine about his daughter, My only job in life is to keep her off the pole .

I have three daughters and three sons and my oldest daughter is just 8 months away from becoming a teenager. Most people will ask me about how I will protect my daughters and make sure they don t end up with some idiot guy. While I think about that a lot, I also think a lot about how I will teach my sons not to be that idiot guy. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/09/09/new-lil-wayne-video-how-to-love-presents-pro-life-message/

U.S. Govt. Largest Population Control Promoter in Philippines
A diplomatic cable recently published by the controversial website Wikileaks confirms the depth of support by the U.S. government for population control initiatives in the Philippines over the past 40 years, including support for the highly contested Reproductive Health (RH) Bill currently under consideration in the Philippine legislature. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/09/09/u-s-govt-largest-population-control-promoter-in-philippines/

Pro-Life Republican Could Pull Off Upset in New York Race
Republicans are poised to pull off a major upset in Tuesday s special election in New York to fill the vacant seat left by disgraced pro-abortion Rep. Anthony Weiner (D). According to a Siena Research Poll released Friday, pro-life Republican Bob Turner holds a 6-point lead over pro-abortion Democrat David Weprin. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/09/09/pro-life-republican-could-pull-off-upset-in-new-york-race/

North Carolina Choose Life License Plates Face New Lawsuit
Abortion advocates have filed a lawsuit seeking to stop the production of the new Choose Life license plates in North Carolina that allow motorists to share a pro-life, pro-adoption message. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/09/09/north-carolina-choose-life-license-plates-face-new-lawsuit/

Adult Stem Cells Could Help You Grow Your Own Transfusion
Scientists have shown for the first time that cultured red blood cells can be grown in the lab from adult stem cells and injected successfully into a human. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/09/09/adult-stem-cells-could-help-you-grow-your-own-transfusion/

Missouri Senate Committee Backs Embryonic Stem Cell Research
On Wednesday night, the Missouri Senate Jobs, Economic Development and Local Government Committee voted do pass on two bills that pro-life advocates are concerned will lead to taxpayer funding of embryonic stem cell research. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/09/09/missouri-senate-committee-backs-embryonic-stem-cell-research/

Mississippi Abortion-Personhood Amendment Gets November Vote
Mississippi voters will be able to vote on the personhood amendment in the state when it goes to the polls in its statewide elections in November, but abortions will not necessarily be banned even if it s approved. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/09/09/mississippi-abortion-personhood-amendment-gets-november-vote/


 

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