Abortion

A group of evangelicals supporting Mitt Romney is defending the GOP front-runner against claims by a pro-life organization that he has been inconsistent on the issue of abortion. Evangelicals for Mitt insists that the former Massachusetts governor would be the country's most pro-life president, if elected.

Personhood USA had released a statement Monday, arguing that Romney has a very spotty record when it comes to abortion. The pro-life group was responding to a fact sheet published by Planned Parenthood that described Romney as the anti-abortion candidate.

The pro-life group highlighted a number of instances in which Romney signed legislation supportive of abortion during his time as governor of Massachusetts from 2003-2007. It pointed to a recent instance in which Romney declined in December to sign its Presidential Pledge asking GOP candidates to commit to supporting and advancing the personhood rights of the pre-born. According to the organization, five presidential hopefuls signed the pledge, including Speaker Newt Gingrich, Sen. Rick Santorum, Rep. Ron Paul, Rep. Michele Bachmann, and Gov. Rick Perry. more >>

The case of Chen Guangcheng, the blind Chinese dissident who captured the world's attention with his escape from house arrest, is seen as a victory for human rights and many have praised the self-taught lawyer who challenged China's one-child policy, calling him a hero who worked for a noble cause.

The Pennsylvania Pastors' Network, a Bible-based group of clergy and church liaisons who describe themselves as a non-partisan organization encouraging "informed Christian thinking about contemporary social issues," said in a statement Monday that Chen's work on behalf of women and unborn children should be honored.

"Chen Guangcheng, who defended Chinese women from the crime of forced abortion, is finally free and for that we ultimately thank our Lord Jesus Christ. Chen is a tremendous human rights leader whose cause is to end China's One Child Policy and forced abortion. Chen and his wife, Yuan Weijing, and their children, have endured treatment that most of us will never know in our lifetimes, but Chen suffered for the cause of the unborn and the lives of the women and families in China," Colin Hanna, president of the network, said in a statement. "For this he is honored and is a living example to those in America, demonstrating how to act on our convictions to the very end." more >>

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius addressed Georgetown University graduates at an awards ceremony Friday despite opposition from conservative Catholics over her invitation.

Although Sebelius did not directly address the controversy surrounding the birth control mandate she helped craft, she cited John F. Kennedy's famous 1960 speech on the separation of church and state.

"In that talk to Protestant ministers, Kennedy talked about his vision of religion and the public square, and said he believed in an America, and I quote, 'where no religious body seeks to impose its will directly or indirectly upon the general populace or the public acts of its officials – and where religious liberty is so indivisible that an act against one church is treated as an act against us all," she recalled. more >>

In an article published in the May issue of Decision Magazine, evangelist Franklin Graham says there is no room for compromise in the upcoming presidential election, especially on the topics of abortion and same-sex marriage.

"I realize our nation needs constructive, wise policies for the economy, national defense, energy and a number of other key concerns. My lifetime spans 12 presidents, some liberal and some conservative. They have approached these topics with different policies. At least there is some room for sincere debate on these issues," Graham writes in the article dated May 1.

"However, there is no place for compromise on straightforward moral issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage. God has given us clear, biblical direction that we must follow and obey." more >>

An abortion law in Oklahoma signed by Gov. Mary Fallin last year has been ruled as unconstitutional by a district court judge because it violates a woman's privacy.

House Bill 1970, which placed restrictions on a drug used by women to induce abortions, was found by Judge Donald L. Worthington to be "an unconstitutional law in violation of the fundamental rights of women to privacy and bodily integrity." Worthington, an active retired district judge from Payne and Logan counties who was assigned to hear the case, gave his decision on May 11.

Arguing that the restrictions on the abortion-inducing drug served no other purpose but to make it harder for pregnant women to receive this option, Worthington deducted that the law was "so completely at odds with the standard that governs the practice of medicine that it can serve no purpose other than to prevent women from obtaining abortions and to punish and discriminate against those women who do." more >>

In a "crazy" twist the White House is requiring that people registering for a White House Tour also register their unborn children. The White House is now adding unborn babies to their official guest list.

"We have received a number of calls regarding how to enter security information for a baby that has not yet been born," wrote Ellie Schafer, Director of the White House Visitors Office (VO), in a May 8 morning email. "Crazy as it may sound, you MUST (emphasis Ellie's) include the baby in the overall count of guests in the tour. It's an easy process."

Heartbeat International applauds the official White House VO policy of counting unborn visitors and tracking their birth details with subsequent reporting. more >>