Pro-Life News: Supreme Court, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Michigan Abortion 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
October 30, 2006
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas Latest to Discuss Abortion
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — After Justices Antonin Scalia and, to a lesser extent, Samuel Alito discussed abortion in recent public forums, Justice Clarence Thomas is the latest to refer to the controversial issue. Thomas told an audience in Atlanta that the issue of abortion has inappropriately dominated the confirmation process for Supreme Court justices. "Some of it is our own doing," he said. "We’re drifting into areas people have strong feelings about … We’re getting into social issues where I don’t think we should be making decisions." The abortion issue, Thomas suggested, "has changed the confirmation process and not for the better." "I don’t think we’re better off," he said of what have become protracted confirmation hearings. "We don’t have a better court. … We are getting to be political footballs." Last week, Scalia said that abortion and assisted suicide have nothing to do with the Constitution and that judges that allow those so-called rights pervert the democratic process. He indicated that such issues are best left to the political process — ballots and state legislatures. "Take the abortion issue," he said. "The court could have said, ‘No, thank you.’ The court could have said, you know, ‘There is nothing in the Constitution on the abortion issue for either side,’ " Scalia said. "It could have said the same thing about suicide, it could have said the same thing about . . . all the social issues the courts are now taking."
Pennsylvania Senate Candidate Bob Casey: Abortion Not a Priority
Harrisburg, PA (LifeNews.com) — Pennsylvania Democrat Bob Casey said Thursday that abortion would not be his top priority if he’s elected to the U.S. Senate. The comments came despite his pro-life position on abortion and his claims to be as pro-life as his opponent, pro-life Sen. Rick Santorum. Still, Casey said he would have a pro-life voting record in the Senate. "It doesn’t mean that I’m not going to be true to my principles on important issues, but I think on the question of abortion, what I want to see more of is an emphasis on what brings people together rather than what tears people apart," he said. "I’m pro-life and that means that I support initiatives which would reduce the number of abortions. … I think I have been very honest about that, and I think people know where I stand." "I think we can move the country forward, and not just reduce the finger-pointing but the number of abortions as well," Casey said. Santorum has trailed Casey in polls for months. He has led numerous pro-life battles on abortion, embryonic stem cell research and human cloning.
Oregon Abortion Advocates Lead Parental Notification Funding Battle
Salem, OR (LifeNews.com) — Abortion advocates are leading the spending battle in Oregon over a battle on a statewide measure that would allow parents to know when their minor teenager daughter is considering an abortion. New spending reports filed with the Secretary of State’s office show that Committee to Protect Our Teen Daughters, which favors the measure, has raised $785,604 and spent $798,717. With payments still owing, the group is $112,280 in debt. Their opponents, the pro-abortion No on 43 committee, have outraised and outspent them, bringing in $1.29 million and spending $1.17 million. The last report showed supporters having raised $207,000 while opponents had raised $706,000. But a poll released late last month shows Oregon residents strong support the November ballot initiative. Sponsored by the Oregonian newspaper and KATU, the survey found 56 percent of Oregon voters support the parental notification initiative while just 38 percent oppose it. Some 6 percent of voters are undecided on Measure 43 Under the ballot measure, a teenager would not be able to have an abortion unless her parents are notified 48 hours in advance. According to research from University of Alabama professor Dr. Michael New, similar laws in other states have significantly reduced the number of teen abortions.
Michigan Governor Granholm Attacks DeVos on Abortion Issue
Lansing, MI (LifeNews.com) — Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who backs abortion, has launched a new political ad attacking pro-life businessman Dick DeVos on the issue of abortion. Against a black-and-white still picture of a young woman, the ad claims Granholm "personally opposes abortion. But Jennifer Granholm believes that this deeply personal decision should be made by a woman and her doctor, and not by politicians." The commercial goes on to say that Republican challenger Dick DeVos "wants to make all abortions a crime, even when a woman has been the victim of rape or incest. The difference is clear. It’s time to take a stand." The ad is an attempt by the Granholm campaign to shore up her support with pro-abortion voters but it may turn off a number of pro-life Democrats and moderates in this state, which is liberal but tends to be more pro-life than most. The DeVos camp contends that Granholm is the extremist on the issue, because in 2003 she vetoed a bill that would ban partial-birth abortions.
Kurt Warner Talks About Pro-Life Views, Taping Stem Cell Research Ad
Tempe, AZ (LifeNews.com) — Pro-life quarterback Kurt Warner, who was a star with the St. Louis Rams and now plays for the Arizona Cardinals, talked this past week about his views. He also shared about why he joined other pro-life luminaries in taping a commercial against a Missouri proposal that would promote human cloning and embryonic stem cell research. Warner says his deep Christian faith led to his decision to appear in the commercials. "I am all for finding a cure for any and every disease known to man," Warner said in an interview with The Associated Press "but there are certain issues that outweigh just finding a cure and doing research, and life is one of those. I think life is too sacred to ever take it in any circumstances, even for the cure of a disease or something like that." He said he had not seen the controversial commercial prepared by actor Michael J. Fox that misrepresents the views of pro-life lawmakers on the controversial issue. "I still feel a heavy responsibility for the people of Missouri because of the respect they have for me but also the things they’ve done for me," he said, "and I don’t want them to make an uninformed decision on something that can change their constitution in the long term and can have lasting effects not only in the state but I think also nationally." He said pro-life advocates approached him about taping the ad.
Taiwan Abortion Advocates Oppose Comprehensive Proposal on Abortion Law
Taipei, Taiwan (LifeNews.com) — A proposed amendment to the ROC law governing abortion is causing an uproar among abortion advocates. The bill, drafted by the Executive Yuan and approved by that body Oct. 18 says women seeking an abortion must wait three days before having one. The measure also requires proof that women obtaining abortions consulted with a physician beforehand. Other parts of the proposal include making sure married women inform their husbands before having an abortion, although permission is not needed. The consent of a parent or legal guardian would still have to be obtained before unmarried minors–in Taiwan, the age of majority is 18 years–can obtain an abortion. But abortion advocates oppose the ideas. After the Executive Yuan approved the bill, it was reported that three members of the Commission on Women’s Rights Promotion quit in protest. Representatives of women’s rights groups called an Oct. 23 press conference to outline their reasons for opposing the bill. Abortion was legalized in Taiwan in the mid 1980s. According to the Journal of the Royal Society of Health, a study involving 17,000 women conducted between 1991 and 1992 showed that 46 percent of Taiwanese women had had abortions previously.
French Woman Gets Two Year Sentence for Killing Disabled Daughter
Rouen, France (LifeNews.com) — A French court convicted an 80 year-old woman last week of killing her disabled daughter in a so-called mercy killing. The court gave the woman only a suspended two year sentence. Leonie Crevel was the sole caregiver for Florence, a 42 year-old who was paralyzed and blind. Crevel was accused of tying a rope around her daughter’s neck in July 2004 and pushing her off the bed before calling police. She collapsed into her lawyer’s arms and cried when the verdict was read. "I’m relieved," she told the Associated Press afterwards. Defense lawyer Jean-Francois Titus, who had pleaded for her acquittal, said the court took into account his client’s "personal situation, what she lived through, and once again law and justice prevailed." The prosecutor, Delphine Miennel, had asked for a tougher sanction, a five-year suspended sentence. "Florence had the right to live, even if she was heavily disabled. Florence never asked for that her suffering be brought to an end," Miennel told AP.
Maryland Man Who Planned to Bomb Abortion Business Pleads Guilty
Greenbelt, MD (LifeNews.com) — A Maryland man who stands accused of planning to bomb a local abortion business pleaded guilty Friday to several federal charges. Robert Weiler, a 25 year-old Forestville resident, admitted that he constructed the pipe bomb and planned to "shoot doctors who provided abortions" at a local abortion center. He will serve a five year sentence on the charges after beiung turned in by his parents. Weiler’s father, Robert Weiler Sr., previously told the Washington Post that he felt he had no other options than to contact police and tell them of his son’s plans. He and his wife Catherine are both pro-life but they don’t support violence as a means to stop the violence of abortion. "[O]ur concern was just to make sure nobody got hurt," he said. "It’s just something that he believed in very fervently, and in my opinion he went way over the top," Weiler told the Post. "We became aware of what he was doing, and we felt obligated to contact the police." Weiler told the newspaper his son, who had been living with them, disappeared from their home a week prior to the incident. Police went to the home of a friend where the homemade bomb he planned to use was located. The bomb went off as a technician attempted to disabled it. No one was injured, but the house was set ablaze. The target of his planned attack appeared to be Metropolitan Family Planning Clinic abortion business in Greenbelt, Maryland.
Wyoming Gubernatorial Candidate Would Ban Abortions if Roe Goes
Cheyenne, WY (LifeNews.com) — Ray Hunkins, the Republican candidate for governor, says he would push for an abortion ban in Wyoming if the Supreme Court ever overturns the Roe v. Wade decision. He thinks the high court will eventually do that and he will help promote an abortion ban at that time. "If this all at once comes back to the states, which I think is most likely, people are going to have to declare themselves," Hunkins said Wednesday in an interview with The Associated Press. "We’re going to have to decide: Do we want abortion, or don’t we want abortion? What does it mean to abort a baby? What does it mean to abort a one-week-old baby? What does it mean to abort an eight and one-half month-old baby?" "I believe that abortion is murder, the homicide of a human being," Hunkins said. He said abortion was a big difference between he and pro-abortion Gov. Dave Freudenthal, who doesn’t want to change the state’s abortion law.
