Life Advocacy Briefing

Abortion in ObamaCare: Competing Senate Amendments

THE SENATE BEGAN DELIBERATING AMENDMENTS to ObamaCare last week, and abortion coverage was an issue right from the start. We publish the voting records on the Mikulski and Murkowski amendments at the close of this Life Advocacy Briefing.

Using recent controversy over women’s cancer screening as cover, Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) offered an amendment dealing with “preventive services” for women, granting massive authority to the Secretary of Health & Human Services to mandate coverage even in the still-legal private sector; though she had been requested to add a provision explicitly excluding abortion as a “preventive service,” she ignored the request, leaving it up to Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and her successors as to whether to mandate abortion coverage in both public and private sector coverage. When Sen. Mikulski offered a similar amendment in committee, it was endorsed by a long list of abortion lobby groups, including Planned Parenthood and NARAL. Her amendment was adopted Thursday 61 to 39.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) offered a competing amendment, which would have clarified that federal bureaucrats could not bar coverage of such “preventive services” as mammograms and cervical cancer screening but explicitly excluded abortion. The Murkowski amendment also, critically, sought to bar the application of “competitive effectiveness research” for rationing healthcare. “Murkowski” fell short, 41 to 59.

Abortion Fight Heating Up

MORE AMENDMENTS ON EXCLUDING ABORTION COVERAGE are likely, including at least one probable Trojan Horse amendment.  Sen. Robert Casey (D-PA) told The Hill he is collaborating with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) to produce “a more measured approach.”

Sen. Casey was reacting to a vow by Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) to file a Stupak/Pitts/Hyde Amendment for Senate consideration.  Mr. Casey was “urg[ing] fellow Senators to resist sticking to too firm of positions in negotiations,” hoping, no doubt, both to marginalize Sen. Nelson and to undercut his efforts to garner backing for his pro-life amendment.

Though Mr. Nelson went along with his party in voting Nov. 21 to proceed to the measure, he delivered a bombshell last week to the party leaders. “The Huffington Post,” writes Kathleen Gilbert in LifeSiteNews.com, “reports that when asked by reporters if he would support a [healthcare takeover] bill that lacked his amendment, [Sen.] Nelson replied, ‘No.’” Should the Nebraska Democrat follow through on that vow, Sen. Reid and the White House will have to turn at least one Republican in order to win a cloture vote on final passage. Republicans united against the motion to proceed, and so far, no GOP Senator has appeared to wobble.

It is critical that pro-life citizens contact their Senators now and ask that they vote to back Sen. Ben Nelson by putting Stupak/Pitts/Hyde language into the “healthcare” bill – that they represent their voters by absolutely excluding abortion subsidies from this bill.

Senators may be contacted via the Capitol switchboard at 1-202/224-3121 and/or by electronic mail through the Senate website at www.senate.gov. Calling their in-state offices is also appropriate; contact information for local offices can be obtained from the Senate website or from local library reference desks.

The abortion lobby swarmed Capitol Hill last Wednesday to lobby against Stupak/Pitts/Hyde, which threatens to cut their enterprise out of the action. Among the event’s sponsors: Planned Parenthood, NOW, NARAL, the ACLU, Feminist Majority Foundation and the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. According to Life Issues Institute, it took the organizers some 50 organizations to produce an expected 500 participants, though “they [had] hoped for thousands … [and] had planned for weeks. … ‘I think it’s getting harder to find support for their radical agenda,’” commented Brad Mattes, Life Issues executive director.

Radical Nomination Moving in Senate

ON A 12-to-7 VOTE, THE SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE last Thursday advanced the nomination of Wisconsin Judge Louis Butler to consideration by the full Senate.  Mr. Butler is seeking confirmation to the US District Court for Wisconsin’s western district.

Here is how Family Research Council President Tony Perkins describes the nominee in his Dec. 2 Washington Update: “After losing a seat on the state Supreme Court – not once but twice – [Mr.] Butler has been tapped for a promotion, a lifetime post on the federal district court. The President’s latest nominee is so unpopular in his own state,” writes Mr. Perkins, “that when he campaigned for the Supreme Court in 2000, he lost in all 72 counties. …

“In his years on the [lower] bench, … [Mr.] Butler proved to be a liberal judicial activist who would side with radical abortion and same-sex ‘marriage’ special interest groups,” notes Mr. Perkins. “Last year, he was endorsed by the who’s who of the extreme left,” writes Mr. Perkins, “including Wisconsin’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender PAC and Planned Parenthood. His reputation on criminal cases was so slanted,” Mr. Perkins reveals, “that it earned him the nickname ‘Loophole Louie.’ In one case involving a murderer who pummeled a woman to death with a baseball bat,” writes Mr. Perkins, “[Judge] Butler ignored the Supreme Court precedent and threw out evidence used to convict the killer.

“He’s also shown a penchant for throwing out the US Constitution,” reports the FRC president. “In a 2008 interview,” writes Mr. Perkins, “[Mr.] Butler said, ‘In applying the Constitution, you need to look at where things have evolved and adapt accordingly.’”

Whether the full Senate confirms this judge with the 60 required votes may be up to you. Now that the nomination has emerged from committee, it is not too soon to seek commitments from your Senators (1-202/224-3121) to vote “no” on Judge Louis Butler.

Opening the Floodgate

SCIENTISTS AT THE NAT’l INSTITUTES OF HEALTH (N.I.H.) ARE BEGINNING to experiment with 13 new stemcell lines derived from killing embryonic boys and girls, according to a Washington Post report by staff writer Rob Stein.

The lines were developed by killing embryonic human beings rejected by their parents after being produced through techniques designed to overcome infertility. Scientists at the ironically named Children’s Hospital in Boston developed 11 of the cell lines, and the other two were produced by scientists at New York’s Rockefeller University.

NIH Director Francis Collins called the development “‘a real change in the landscape,’” writes Mr. Stein. “‘This is the first down payment on what is going to be a much longer list … that will empower the scientific community to explore the potential of embryonic stemcell research.’”

The move implements a policy change ordered in March by Pres. Barack Obama, reversing a bar by Pres. George W. Bush on federal funding for experiments on cell lines produced by killing embryonic humans after the Aug. 9, 2001, date of the Bush order.

“‘This is what we’ve been waiting for,’ said Amy Comstock Rick of the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research, the group,” writes Mr. Stein, “that has been leading the lobbying effort to loosen federal restrictions on [funding] the research. ‘We’re very excited.’ …

“‘What we’re talking about today,’” said Mr. Collins in the Post, “‘is just the beginning.’”

Indeed, Mr. Stein reports the 13 lines approved last week are just the first to be cleared through the NIH review processes. “Another 96 lines are awaiting vetting,” writes Mr. Stein, “including 20 lines [which] will be considered by the advisory committee on Friday, and researchers,” he reports, “have indicated at least 254 more will be submitted for approval, [Mr.] Collins said. … “Many other grant requests have been submitted by researchers hoping to use some of the $10 billion the NIH received as part of the economic stimulus program for embryonic stemcell research, Collins said,” according to the Post. That’s $10 billion with a “b.”

The Effective, Ethical Alternative

ADULT STEM CELLS ARE PROVING EFFECTIVE in treating lung disorders, in a variety of recent studies involving animal subjects, hopefully leading eventually to human research trials and eventual therapies. Adult stem cells can be harvested from born human beings or umbilical cord blood without risk to the research subject and with no ethical concerns.

Writing in his Internet blog for Family Research Council, David Prentice MD notes researchers at Boston’s Children’s Hospital have “found that bone marrow stromal cells, a type of adult stem cell, can reduce inflammation in lung tissue,” an important potential advance for treating premature babies. The study’s promising results are published, notes Dr. Prentice, in the American Journal of Respiratory & Critical Care Medicine, which has also published results from a team at Edmonton, Alberta, making similar findings.

Published in the journal Cell Transplantation are positive results from a study in South Korea finding that mesenchymal stem cells, a type of adult stem cell found in umbilical cord blood, “had a protective effect,” writes Dr. Prentice, “against low-oxygen-induced lung injury. [Researchers] noted that their findings could have important therapeutic potential for the currently untreatable hyperoxic neonatal lung disease or bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in premature human infants. …

“And in a final breath of adult stemcell fresh air,” writes Dr. Prentice, “a team at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine identified adult stem cells in the bone marrow of mice that could prevent and treat acute lung injury. … When injected into mice with acute lung injury, the cells repaired the lung injury, prevented fluid build-up and improved survival of the mice. Results were published,” he notes, “in the journal Stem Cells.”

Quoteworthy

Washington & Lee University Law Prof. Robin F. Wilson, JD, in “Human Research Oversight Is Too Lax,” Arizona Daily Star, Sept. 21, 2009: “The progress of science is important. But the lives of individual participants in scientific experiments are just as important. A single human being cannot be sacrificed to advance the interests of science.”

Mission of Mercy

A CANADIAN-BASED PRO-LIFE NEWS ORGANIZATION IS ASKING pro-life citizens in both Canada and the United States to send Christmas cards to an imprisoned pro-life sidewalk counselor named Linda Gibbons.

“For 15 years, since 1994, this grandmother has been in and out of Ontario prisons,” reports LifeSiteNews.com. “Her totally accumulated jail time is seven years.

“What is her crime? Linda prayerfully and quietly witnesses in front of Ontario abortion clinics,” reports LifeSite, “in violation of an unjust ‘bubble zone’ law.

“This past session has been particularly onerous,” notes the news service. “She has been behind bars since last January, and this will be her second consecutive Christmas in jail.”

LifeSite lists her address as: “Attn. Linda Gibbons, Vanier Center for Women, 655 Martin St., Box 1040, Milton, Ontario, L9T-SE6, Canada.” First-class postage to Canada is 75 cents for a letter weighing up to one ounce.

Supporters of Mrs. Gibbons requested that correspondents observe the following guidelines, inasmuch as prison staff will read whatever is sent to an inmate at the detention center: No stickers – including pro-life stickers or even return address labels – on the envelope or card; no laminated items; no questions about daily activity in the prison; write your name and address inside the card or letter, not just on the envelope; any monetary gifts must be by money order made out to “Linda Gibbons.” She can receive Christian reading material, including pro-life material showing a baby’s development but nothing bearing post-abortion photos, nor can she receive books.

Sold Out for Life

THE JAN. 23 NAT’l CONFERENCE OF STUDENTS FOR LIFE OF AMERICA is already sold out at 778 registered participants, reports Kristan Hawkins, executive director.

The conference will be held in Washington, DC, at Catholic University and will conclude the weekend of activities for students participating in the Jan. 22 annual March for Life.

Senate Voting Records

Mikulski Amendment to Reid/Obama Healthcare Takeover bill – Providing authority to mandate private coverage of “preventive care” for women with no abortion exclusion – Dec. 3, 2009 – Adopted – 61-39 (Democrats in italics; “Independents” marked “I”)

Voting “no” / pro-life: AL/Sessions & Shelby, AK/Murkowski, AZ/Kyl & McCain, FL/LeMieux, GA/Chambliss & Isakson, ID/Crapo & Risch, IN/Lugar, IA/Grassley, KS/Brownback & Roberts, KY/Bunning & McConnell, MS/Cochran & Wicker, MO/Bond, NE/Johanns & Nelson, NV/Ensign, NH/Gregg, NC/Burr, OH/Voinovich, OK/Coburn & Inhofe, SC/DeMint & Graham, SD/Thune, TN/Alexander & Corker, TX/Cornyn & Hutchison, UT/Bennett & Hatch, WI/Feingold, WY/Barrasso & Enzi.

Voting “yes” / pro-abortion: AK/Begich, AR/Lincoln & Pryor, CA/Boxer & Feinstein, CO/Bennet & Udall, CT/Dodd & Lieberman (I), DE/Carper & Kaufman, FL/Nelson, HI/Akaka & Inouye, IL/Burris & Durbin, IN/Bayh, IA/Harkin, LA/Landrieu & Vitter, ME/Collins & Snowe, MD/Cardin & Mikulski, MA/Kerry & Kirk, MI/Levin & Stabenow, MN/Franken & Klobuchar, MO/McCaskill, MT/Baucus & Tester, NV/Reid, NH/Shaheen, NJ/Lautenberg  & Menendez, NM/Bingaman & Udall, NY/Gillibrand & Schumer, NC/Hagan, ND/Conrad & Dorgan, OH/Brown, OR/Merkley & Wyden, PA/Casey & Specter, RI/Reed & Whitehouse, SD/Johnson, VT/Leahy & Sanders (I), VA/Warner & Webb, WA/Cantwell & Murray, WV/Byrd & Rockefeller, WI/Kohl.

Murkowski Amendment to Reid/Obama Healthcare Takeover bill – Excluding abortion  coverage in “preventive care” and barring rationing via application of “comparative effectiveness research” – Dec. 3, 2009 – Rejected – 41-59 (Democrats in italics; “Independents” marked “I”)

Voting “yes” / pro-life: AL/Sessions & Shelby, AK/Murkowski, AZ/Kyl & McCain, FL/LeMieux, GA/Chambliss & Isakson, ID/Crapo & Risch, IN/Lugar, IA/Grassley, KS/Brownback & Roberts, KY/Bunning & McConnell, LA/Vitter, ME/Collins & Snowe, MS/Cochran & Wicker, MO/Bond, NE/Johanns & Nelson, NV/Ensign, NH/Gregg, NC/Burr, OH/Voinovich, OK/Coburn & Inhofe, SC/DeMint & Graham, SD/Thune, TN/Alexander & Corker, TX/Cornyn & Hutchison, UT/Bennett & Hatch, WY/Barrasso & Enzi.

Voting “no” / pro-abortion: AK/Begich, AR/Lincoln & Pryor, CA/Boxer & Feinstein, CO/Bennet & Udall, CT/Dodd & Lieberman (I), DE/Carper & Kaufman, FL/Nelson, HI/Akaka & Inouye, IL/Burris & Durbin, IN/Bayh, IA/Harkin, LA/Landrieu, MD/Cardin & Mikulski, MA/Kerry & Kirk, MI/Levin & Stabenow, MN/Franken & Klobuchar, MO/McCaskill, MT/Baucus & Tester, NV/Reid, NH/Shaheen, NJ/Lautenberg  & Menendez, NM/Bingaman & Udall, NY/Gillibrand & Schumer, NC/Hagan, ND/Conrad & Dorgan, OH/Brown, OR/Merkley & Wyden, PA/Casey & Specter, RI/Reed & Whitehouse, SD/Johnson, VT/Leahy & Sanders (I), VA/Warner & Webb, WA/Cantwell & Murray, WV/Byrd & Rockefeller, WI/Feingold & Kohl.

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