Catholic Fire

The House Judiciary Committee today approved legislation that will put in place a complete ban on taxpayer funding of abortions that ensures abortions are not directly funded in any federal governmental program or department. The legislation combines several policies that must be enacted every year in Congressional battles and puts them into law where they will not be in jeopardy of being overturned every time Congress changes hands from pro-life lawmakers to those who support abortions. Continue reading.

Sen. Julia Lynn, Rep. Steve Brunk, Sen. Mary Pilcher-Cook, KFL Legislative Dir. Kathy Ostrowski, KFL Lobbyist Jeanne Gawdun, KS Catholic Conference Dir. Michael Schuttloffel; KS Catholic Conference Lobbyist, Edward Larson look on as Governor Sam Brownback signs the Pro-life Protections Act into law. Hip Hip Hooray! Another victory for life in Kansas! I just received this exciting news today from Kansans for Life: This morning, Governor Sam Brownback signed HB 2253, the Pro-life Protections Act, into law.  HB 2253 codifies abortion informed consent materials authorized by the state health department, and removes all tax streams that pay for abortion and give tax advantages to abortion businesses. The informed consent section has an added mandate for the state health department to facilitate medical information access and community support for families facing pre-birth and post-birth diagnoses of Down Syndrome and other conditions. HB 2253 assures taxpayers are not direct...

Atlanta, GA – Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, together with Dr. Alveda King, Pastoral Associate of Priests for Life and niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., are calling for passage of the recently re-introduced Prenatal Non-Discrimination Act. "Sex selection abortions are a reality in the United States,” said Dr. King. “And last year we saw that Planned Parenthood was willing to accept donations earmarked for the abortion of only African American babies. While few doctors would admit that they perform abortions because they or babies’ parents are motivated by sexual or racial prejudice, the reality is that such abortions occur. These womb lynchings must stop.” Fr. Pavone added, “It would be difficult for abortion advocates to oppose this legislation without revealing that their loyalty is not with the woman seeking an abortion, but with the abortion industry that profits in the process. It will be fascinating to hear the verbal gymnastics that our Presi...

It appears the Senate will likely vote on a pro-life amendment to cut federal funding of Planned Parenthood early next week. The vote will likely occur on either Monday or Tuesday as the Senate continues its debate on the omnibus spending bill that also funds the nation's largest abortion business. Senate leaders today agreed to allow votes on several Republican-sponsored amendments to the omnibus spending bill next week. Among those is an amendment sponsored by pro-life Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana prevent taxpayers from having their money sent from the federal government to Planned Parenthood. Article ACTION: Contact your members of the Senate and urge strong support for the Vitter amendment to cut off funding to Planned Parenthood. You can find contact information for any senator at http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Washington, DC ( LifeNews.com) -- On Wednesday, members of the U.S. Senate defeated an amendment sponsored by pro-life members to restore the Mexico City Policy that President Barack Obama rescinded last week. The policy prevents taxpayers from funding groups like Planned Parenthood that promote or perform abortions overseas. Sen. Mel Martinez, a Republican from Florida, drafted an amendment offered to the SCHIP bill to ask members of the Senate to override Obama's executive order. The Senate defeated the Martinez amendment on a 60-37 vote with only one Democrat, Sen Bill Nelson of Nebraska, joining most of the chamber's Republicans to support it. Article This isn't surprising, but I am happy that they brought it up for a vote. As expected, both Kansas congressmen voted "Yea." Check out the list in the article to see how your congressmen voted. Then take ACTION : 1) Contact your members of the Senate by going to http://www.Senate.gov and responding to how they v...

Richard Doerflinger, associate director of the Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, on Friday was awarded one of six Life Prizes at a gala at the National Building Museum in Washington D.C. Speaking about the pro-life movement, he encouraged pro-lifers to persevere and insisted that Catholic predictions about societal decline had proven correct. Doerflinger spoke in an interview with Kathryn Jean-Lopez for National Review On-Line. In the interview, he encouraged pro-life Americans not to “despair and give up.” “Our situation is similar to what it was in 1993: the White House and both chambers of Congress basically against us on the abortion issue. Our opponents thought they would soon reverse the Hyde amendment against federal abortion funding, begin funding destructive human embryo research, and pass the Freedom of Choice Act,” he told National Review Online. “None of these things happened, and President Clinton’s repeated vetoes of a ban on ...

The Senate approved a measure that requires doctors to give expectant mothers more comprehensive information if they receive a positive test for Down syndrome. The bill is the product of an unusual partnership between Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback, an anti-abortion Republican, and Sen. Edward Kennedy, an abortion-rights advocate from Massachusetts. About 90% of women who learn they are carrying a fetus with the genetic disorder have an abortion. Kennedy is a longtime advocate of disabled and children with special needs. The bill requires doctors to give parents information about caring for children with disabilities and about support services. Via Kake News.

Denver, Jul 29, 2008 (CNA).- Colorado for Equal Rights, an organization backing a measure on the Colorado ballot that would define a person in the state’s Constitution as “any human being from the moment of fertilization,” has released a list of over 70 physicians and pharmacists from around the United States who agree that a person includes any human from the moment of conception. "We are honored to have received these endorsements from such respected physicians," stated Kristi Burton, head of Colorado for Equal Rights. "Science clearly proves that life begins at the time of fertilization. We are secure in the fact that we have science and reason on our side, and we are pleased to have the medical community supporting our efforts." "As support for Amendment 48 accumulates, we are very encouraged as we get closer to November's election," Burton said. "Every human life should be protected, and the endorsements we continue to receive prove that our ...

Act protects women from financial pressure to abort children with genetic disorders - In an important blow to the eugenics movement, President George Bush yesterday signed into law a bill preventing health insurance companies and employers from discriminating against born or unborn individuals on the basis of genetic information. "It protects our citizens from having genetic information misused, and this bill does so without undermining the basic premise of the insurance industry," said Bush of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). Proponents of the GINA have expressed fears that healthy individuals with genetic dispositions toward certain diseases could end up paying more for insurance. They also fear that employers would only hire or retain individuals without genetic dispositions towards disease in order to avoid future instances of an unhealthy workforce. The version of the GINA signed yesterday included important language protecting families from discrim...