Pro-Life Advocates Bash William Saletan's Abortion-Contraception Compromise
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Cathy and Austin Ruse, two respected national pro-life advocates, say they don't support the abortion-contraception compromise journalist William Saletan proposes in a recent New York Times editorial. Saletan says the pro-abortion movement must further promote contraception (something it already does) while pro-life advocates must embrace it. The Ruses, who are leaders the groups C-FAM and the Family Research Council, say in a First Things editorial response that the contraception idea is nothing new and that contraception is already pushed by society and very widely available. They say contraception has proven not to lower abortions. "The United States is awash in a contraceptive culture, yet more than one million American children die every year through abortion," they write. "The plain fact is that more and more contraception over the years has not meant fewer and fewer abortions." They suggest that, in some nations like Sweden, Scotland and elsewhere, more contraception has resulted in more abortions. "While this correlation might be counterintuitive, it is certainly not mysterious: More contraception tends to mean more sex, and more sex means more chances for unexpected pregnancies [that lead to abortion]," they explained. Ultimately, the Ruses say Saletan is merely changing the subject when the real discussion needs to be centered on abortion. "This is not a public-policy alternative but a political strategy designed to mask the left's efforts to soften pro-life concerns and thereby garner votes. That's bad medicine and bad policy and just plain phony."

Episcopal Divinity School Dean Gives Sermon Saying Abortion is a "Blessing"
Cambridge, MA (LifeNews.com) -- The new Dean of the Episcopal Divinity School has given a sermon describing abortions as a "blessing" for the women who have them. The Rev Katherine Hancock Ragsdale also thinks that the people who run abortion businesses are "heroes" and even "saints." Ragsdale, speaking in Birmingham, Alabama, said that "when a woman becomes pregnant within a loving, supportive, respectful relationship; has every option open to her; decides she does not wish to bear a child; and has access to a safe, affordable abortion - there is not a tragedy in sight - only blessing." She goes on to say, “When a woman wants a child but can't afford one because she hasn't the education necessary for a sustainable job, or access to health care, or day care, or adequate food, it is the abysmal priorities of our nation, the lack of social supports, the absence of justice that are the tragedies; the abortion is a blessing." In her speech, she tells the audience, “These are the two things I want you, please, to remember – abortion is a blessing and our work is not done. Let me hear you say it: abortion is a blessing and our work is not done." The announcement last month that Ragsdale was appointed as the sixth and newest president of the divinity school had pro-life Episcopalians shaking their heads. Her view that abortion is wonderful shouldn't surprise, as she has been on the board of NARAL and the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice.

Former Missouri Governor Blunt: My Administration Never Profiled Pro-Life People
Jefferson City, MO (LifeNews.com) -- In recent weeks, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has been criticized that a report generated by the Missouri Information Analysis Center that targets pro-life residents. A national scandal emerged in Missouri, after their MIAC Fusion Center issued an eight page document which made many false claims, including saying pro-life advocates were more likely to engage in crimes. The documents attempted to politicize police and cast suspicion on millions of Americans. Nixon originally defended the report saying that getting such information was something “we're going to continue to do," but then he backed down and said he isn't responsible for the report and blamed it on former Gov. Matt Blunt's administration. Blunt has responded. "To my knowledge, MIAC never issued anything similar to the recent report while I was governor. If they had, I would not have defended it. I would have taken corrective action immediately and certainly held those responsible accountable for their actions," he said. "The assertion that I am somehow responsible for an offensive report that was issued more than a month after I left office and that profiles conservatives is so absurd that one would not think it requires a response from me, but evidently it does."

New Zealand Pro-Life Group Says Massey University Study on Abortion Flawed
Wellington, New Zealand (LifeNews.com) -- Family First New Zealand says that a Massey University Department of Communication, Journalism & Marketing mail survey of 1000 New Zealanders on the topic of abortion is flawed and designed to achieve a pre-conceived ideology. Participants were asked whether they thought it was right or wrong for a woman to have an abortion if the woman’s health was seriously endangered by the pregnancy, the woman became pregnant as a result of rape, if there was a strong chance of a serious defect in the baby, or if the family had a very low income and couldn't afford any more children. “But the research has failed to assess views on the most common reason for abortions – that is the simple choice of a woman to abort the child under the guise of ‘mental health’ grounds. This is the basis of 99% of the 18,000 plus abortions performed in NZ,” Bob McCoskrie, the director of the pro-life group, told LifeNews.com. “Interestingly enough, the closest category to ‘choice’ is the low income scenario, and only a 1/3’rd of the participants fully supported that decision, which would suggest that NZ’ers are not as liberal as the researchers are making out. Massey University researchers have attempted to paint a picture of the acceptance of abortion, but flawed questioning and a probing into the figures suggests a completely different message.”

Montana Pro-Life Lawmakers Upset Legislative Democrats Block Abortion Bill Votes
Helena, MT (LifeNews.com) -- Republican lawmakers opposed to abortion last week blasted their Democratic colleagues at the state legislature for blocking several pro-life bills this past week. Sen. Dan McGee, a Republican who was the sponsor of two of the bills, says pro-life advocates may try to get a measure on the state ballot in 2010 as an alternative to trying to get legislation approved defining an unborn child's life as beginning at conception. “When the people of Montana are able to express themselves — and they will — they will define that a person is a person,” he said at a news conference. Twenty-nine Republican lawmakers attended the news conference, the day after House Republicans failed to revive five pro-life bills that were stuck in committee because of Democratic legislators opposing them there. All nine Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee voted against each bill last week, killing the measures unless three-fifths of present House members vote to bring the bills to the floor. Attempts to gain the three-fifths majority failed on each bill Monday evening, with all but a few Democrats in the 50-50 House voting against the attempts. Had the bills made it to the floor, they could have been approved and sent to the Senate for consideration. The pro-life bills included those that would license abortion clinics in Montana, make harming an unborn child a criminal offense, revise parental notification for minors seeking an abortion, and amend the state constitution in ways that could ban abortion.

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