As the U.S. draws closer to Election Day, candidates and voters alike are grappling with life and family issues. Here’s a round-up of some noteworthy recent developments:
Backtracking in Pennsylvania
Republican Gov. Tom Corbett this week denied having ever supported a 2012 informed consent bill that would have required mothers to view an ultrasound image of their baby prior to having an abortion. “I never [supported it],” he told a Democratic operative. “I didn’t sign the bill.”
The Democratic Party was quick to accuse Corbett of lying, producing an internet video purporting to prove the governor’s prior support for the bill. The footage, however, shows that the governor’s support for the bill was tepid at best, as he repeatedly stressed that “you can’t make somebody watch [an ultrasound],” and “you just have to close your eyes.”
As to Corbett’s claim that he “didn’t sign the bill,” he never had the chance. It stalled in the legislature before ever making it to his desk. Still, this week, he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the ultrasound bill was “silly” and that he regretted that in trying to placate the pro-life Republican base, he had inadvertently offended women.
Also in Pennsylvania, porn scandal takes out judge
A member of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has been suspended after being implicated in a scandal that allegedly involved the exchange of hundreds of pornographic emails among employees of the state attorney general’s office and the court.
Justice Seamus McCaffrey will reportedly be prevented from performing any of his legal duties as long as he is under investigation by the Judicial Conduct Board. Several other high-ranking government officials have already resigned over the scandal, which came to light as the state re-examines its handling of the Jerry Sandusky child molestation case.
Fighting for marriage in Idaho
Republican Gov. Butch Otter announced this week that he is requesting an en banc rehearing of the case against the state’s marriage protection law in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Previously, a 3-judge panel had struck down the law on the grounds that by defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman, it denies homosexual couples their rights under the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution.
While other states have opted not to continue fighting similar rulings, particularly in the liberal 9th Circuit, Otter said that the potential impact on religious business owners such as the proprietors of the Hitching Post wedding chapel – who are suing the city of Coeur d’Alene because their anti-discrimination law would force them to perform gay “weddings” – are simply too severe to ignore.
“One of the key arguments against the Idaho Constitution’s defense of traditional marriage has been that redefining it to include same-sex couples would not harm anyone. But the Hitching Post example shows the fallacy of that position,” Otter said in a press release.
“I have repeatedly pointed out to the courts that unaccountable judges imposing their perception of social change on the law – rather than public policy being changed through the democratic process – undoubtedly will lead to increased religious strife and restrictions on private property. For these important reasons, I will continue defending Idahoans’ self-determination and the will of Idaho voters who decided that traditional marriage is a core principle of our society.”
Meanwhile, in Idaho…
340 people responded to a Spokesman-Review poll asking whether the state should follow the lead of neighboring Washington and Oregon by allowing assisted suicide. Out of the 340 respondents, 210 (61.76%) said they would oppose the adoption of an assisted suicide law. Only 125 of 340 (36.76%) said they would support such legislation. 5 respondents (1.47%) said they were undecided. Assisted suicide is currently a felony offense in Idaho, thanks to a bill passed by the legislature and signed by Gov. Otter in 2011.
Planned Parenthood scare tactics in Colorado
Planned Parenthood has accused a pro-life Republican candidate for State Senate of wanting to criminalize miscarriage in a misleading mailer to women in his district, 9News reported. The mailer was actually sent by Mainstream Colorado, a political action committee, but when 9News contacted them to ask about the mailer’s questionable content, the PAC referred them to Planned Parenthood.
“We know that Tim Neville has supported personhood measures in the past,” Cathy Alderman, VP of public affairs for Planned Parenthood Votes Colorado, told 9News. “If a woman were to lose that pregnancy or choose to terminate that pregnancy that is then determined to be the death of a person, and so any actions she takes in regards to that pregnancy could be investigated as a potential felony or a manslaughter claim,” she said.
Neville dismissed Planned Parenthood’s accusations as absurd. “”I have people in my family who have suffered miscarriages,” he told 9News. “I understand there's nothing more heart wrenching than a family that is trying to have a baby and has a miscarriage. Why would anybody in their right mind try to do something like that?”
Big abortion floods N. Carolina senate race with cash
Planned Parenthood has already spent $1.5 million to reelect embattled pro-abortion Democrat Kay Hagan to the U.S. Senate, and they’re not done yet. The abortion giant has pledged $3 million to the race, which has narrowed Hagan’s lead to the slimmest of margins as the senator has fielded accusations of corruption and skipping out on critical committee meetings to attend fundraisers.
Also in N. Carolina, magistrate who refused to wed gay couple will lose his job
Gary Littleton, 56, will not be returning to his job as a county magistrate after his term expires this December, the Virginian-Pilot reported. Littleton made waves this week when he refused to “marry” two men, citing his religious objections to same-sex “marriage.” County officials denied those actions led to his ouster. Rather, they claimed he is being let go over charges of assault and communicating threats related to an alleged fight at a children’s football game – charges that were investigated and later dropped. Despite the lack of a conviction, local judge Christopher Bean said that the accusation alone was enough to disqualify Littleton from service, as magistrates must be held to a “higher standard.”
Walk for Life Guam draws more than 1,000 participants
After being postponed for a week by Typhoon Vongfong, Guam’s March for Life drew more than 1,000 people to participate in the peaceful protest against abortion. The annual event has been held since 1998, and Guam Catholic Pro-Life Committee director Tita Tenorio told KUAM news that it has grown steadily each year. Normally, the event is held on Respect Life Sunday, the first Sunday of October, but heavy rains and flooding meant the event was held October 12 instead.
Burlington, VT officials try to rework abortion facility buffer zone laws
After the Supreme Court unanimously smacked down Massachusetts’ “buffer zone” law as an unconstitutional infringement on pro-lifers’ right to free speech, city officials in nearby Burlington, VT are scrambling to do what they can to limit pro-life activities at abortion facilities.
In response to increased pro-life protests outside Burlington’s Planned Parenthood clinic following the Supreme Court ruling, the liberal enclave unanimously approved changes to the city’s existing buffer zone law. The law now defines “harassment” as following someone in a threatening way, using abusive language, continually attempting to talk with someone after they have said they don't want to talk, intentionally touching someone, or making threatening gestures. Those interpreted by police as having violated these guidelines can be forced to stay more than 25 feet from the facility for a period of 12 hours.
Planned Parenthood praised the city council for the new ordinance, but said it didn’t go far enough. Spokeswoman Jill Krowinski said it was a “tough compromise on what little options the Supreme Court case gave us,” and called it “a first step in the right direction.”
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback speaks out in defense of marriage
At a Family Research Council rally in Wichita, Republican Gov. Sam Brownback spoke strongly against legalized same-sex “marriage,” as the state awaits a federal court ruling that may strike its marriage protection law down.
“The state of Kansas has voted on this, the people of Kansas have voted on this,” Brownback said of the law, which he said 70 percent of Kansans voted for. “We need to keep pushing those issues and keep surging … surge forward into the election cycle.”
“We need to push forward our candidates that stand for this country, that stand for faith, that stand for family, that stand for freedom,” Brownback added. “This faith, family, freedom … [is] the name of the basic American philosophy, guys. The motto of the nation remains, ‘In God we trust.’”
Connecticut prisoner sues over anti-porn policy
A convicted murderer serving a 58-year sentence in a Connecticut prison is suing the state over its ban on pornography in jail, arguing it violates his constitutional rights. The prisoner, Dwight Pink, Jr. filed a federal suit after guards confiscated an art textbook that showed him how to draw the nude human form. The state, meanwhile, denies that the ban is a violation of his rights.