Recent US News

Wednesday July 21, 2010 Montana Personhood Amendment Only 6,000 Signatures Short of Reaching Ballot By James Tillman HELENA, Montana, July 21 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Montana Personhood Amendment Initiative fell only 6,000 signatures short of the required 48,674 signatures necessary to put the amendment on the 2010 ballot. “We have barely begun the fight for the rights and liberties of unborn babies, and we will keep working at it until their personhood is established in our Montana Constitution,” promised Dr. Annie Bukacek, the initiative organizer. “All unpaid volunteers, this grassroots prolife network will work to influence the November elections and bills […]

Wednesday July 21, 2010 Sperm Bank Offers Celebrity Look-A-Like Donors By James Tillman LOS ANGELES, California, July 21, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) — California Cryobank, a 30-year-old fertility business, has launched a “Donor Look-A-Like” program which allows women to search for sperm donors that the company claims resemble Tom Cruise, Viggo Mortensen, Will Smith, and other celebrities or athletes. The program has drawn harsh criticism from pro-life quarters for effectively turning children into commodities to be bought and sold. Dr. David Stevens, Chief Executive Officer of the Christian Medical and Dental Associations, told LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) that the “program is another step down […]

Tuesday July 20, 2010 Elena Kagan Nomination Approved by Senate Judiciary Committee By Peter J. Smith WASHINGTON, D.C., July 20, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee has approved the nomination of Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court by a vote of 13-6, after two hours of further debate. The full Senate will now have to take up the task of confirming Kagan, President Obama’s choice to succeed the retiring Associate Justice John Paul Stevens. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) broke ranks with fellow Republicans on the committee to cast the only GOP vote in favor of Kagan. Graham […]

By James Tillman July 23, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – ABC Family, which was founded in 1977 as an extension of Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcast Network, has earned a “good” rating from the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) for its “LGBT-inclusive” programming, which took up 37% of its original prime time programming over the 2009-2010 season. The only network with a higher percentage of “LGBT-inclusive” programming was MTV, which also became the first TV network to win an “excellent” rating from GLAAD for its portrayal of homosexuals in shows such as “The Real World” and “America's Best Dance Crew.” Among […]

By Kathleen Gilbert WASHINGTON, D.C., July 23, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The non-partisan fact-checking site FactCheck.org has vindicated the National Right to Life Committee's (NRLC) claim that federal monies were on the brink of funding abortions in state high-risk insurance pools before the matter was exposed by NRLC, prompting the Obama administration to retroactively enforce Hyde-amendment restrictions. The controversy erupted a week and a half ago, when NRLC revealed that abortions would be funded under a $160 million Pennsylvania program, a fact that contradicted the repeated assurances of President Obama and pro-life Democrats that abortions would not be funded under the federal health care […]

By James Tillman WASHINGTON, DC, July 23 (LifeSiteNews.com)—The Freedom Federation, a federation of faith-based and policy organizations representing more than 30 million people, has written to members of the Senate asking them to vote against or filibuster the FY 2011 Defense Authorization Act because of the negative impact it would have “on the members and culture of the military.” There are two provisions of the act with which the Freedom Federation is concerned.  The first is the Burris amendment, which would repeal 10 U.S.C. § 1093(b)1 and thereby permit abortions at overseas and domestic military hospitals. The second is the Lieberman amendment, […]

By Peter J. Smith WASHINGTON, D.C., July 23, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The left-leaning group Catholics United is dedicating $500,000 to bailing out the campaigns of key congressional “pro-life” Democrats who voted for the national health care reform, which was decried by pro-life leaders as vastly expanding abortion. Catholics United, which has many times conflicted with the U.S. Catholic Bishops over the primacy of pro-life teachings, intends to help defend the seats of Democrat Reps. John Boccieri (OH-16), Kathy Dahlkemper (PA-03), Steve Driehaus (OH-01), and Tom Perriello (VA-05). The lawmakers face an all-out pro-life assault in the November elections, a contest […]

By Kathleen Gilbert and John Jalsevac NEW YORK, July 23, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The author of a recent New York Times article on modern abortion providers may have made a strategic misstep in the abortionist that she chose to feature, if her intent was to paint a sympathetic picture of abortion practitioners. The lengthy article shines the spotlight on abortionist Emily Godfrey, who worked for several years at what may be the United States' most bizarre abortion clinic – the Northern Illinois Women's Center (NIWC) in Rockford, Illinois. While Godfrey attempted to paint a grim picture of a threatening crowd of pro-lifers who allegedly “surrounded” her as she walked to and […]

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 23, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Family Research Council, Liberty Institute, and over a dozen pro-family groups are accusing the Obama administration of conducting a weak defense of the National Day of Prayer and have filed a motion in federal court to be allowed to help defend it from a constitutional challenge. “President Obama's Justice Department filed a brief that doesn't go far enough in defending the National Day of Prayer, which is why we are petitioning the court to participate in oral arguments,” said FRC President Tony Perkins. “The President's attorneys failed to cite any of the key […]

Friday May 21, 2010 Suit Challenges Regulations Hitting Crisis Pregnancy Centers By James Tillman GREENBELT, Maryland, May 21, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund filed suit this Wednesday against Maryland’s Montgomery County on behalf of the Centro Tepeyac Women’s Center. The suit concerns a new regulation that would force some crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) to post signs telling women that the CPC does not have a licensed medical professional on staff and that the Montgomery County Health Officer encourages women to consult with such an individual. “There is no abortion exception to the First Amendment,” said Mark […]