Tag Archives: abortion

Education, Featured, Government Accountability, Politics, US

Teacher Placed On Leave After Questioning School Walkout

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Rocklin, CA— California high school history teacher Julianne Benzel is on paid suspension after engaging her students in a discussion where she shared her perspective on the politics of organized protests in anticipation of the National School Walkout, which took place on the morning of March 14.

“We had a dialogue in class about it in Thursday and Friday. And today I received the call. So I am aghast,” Benzel told CBS Sacramento.

Benzel said that she questioned her students as to the appropriateness of schools sanctioning a protest against gun violence and whether the school administration was willing to allow protests for other causes, but she noted that she never discouraged her pupils from taking part in the walkout.

“If you’re going to allow students to walk up and get out of class without penalty then you have to allow any group of students that wants to protest,” Benzel said.

“And so I just kind of used the example which I know it’s really controversial, but I know it was the best example I thought of at the time,” Benzel told CBS Sacramento. “[If] a group of students nationwide, or even locally, decided ‘I want to walk out of school for 17 minutes’ and go in the quad area and protest abortion, would that be allowed by our administration?”

According to Benzel, her students understood the purpose of her discussion, but on Wednesday, she received notification that she was being placed on leave. While students were walking out of class, Benzel was informed she was being placed on paid administrative leave.

“I didn’t get any backlash from my students. All my students totally understood that there could not be a double standard,” she said.

School officials didn’t elaborate on the specific nature of the issue, but released a statement reading in part:

A Rocklin High School teacher has been placed on paid administrative leave due to several complaints from parents and students involving the teacher’s communications regarding today’s student-led civic engagement activities.

Benzel said that she hopes the national student walkout will facilitate broader discussion not focused entirely on second amendment gun rights, but also on free speech.

Student Nick Wade, who didn’t walk out, told CBS13 that he believes the politics behind the protest played a large role – and that protests related to a more “conservative” cause would likely be denied by school officials.

“I feel like if we were to go to school and say something like I want to walk out maybe for abortion rights, then you know they probably wouldn’t let us because that’s more of a conservative push. But someone wants to say let’s walk out for gun control then the school’s going to go with it because it’s more of a popular view,” said Wade.

Benzel told the news station that she acquired legal counsel and plans to meet with the school administration on Thursday.

Activism, Civil Liberties, Election, Government Accountability, Politics, US

Evangelist Franklin Graham Leaves GOP Due To Planned Parenthood Funding

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The Republican Party has been abandoned by Evangelist Franklin Graham following last week’s passage of a budget by the Republican-led Congress. Graham called the budget “wasteful” and criticized continued government funding of Planned Parenthood, which he compared to the Nazis.

“Seeing and hearing Planned Parenthood talk nonchalantly about selling baby parts from aborted fetuses with utter disregard for human life is reminiscent of Joseph Mengele and the Nazi concentration camps!” Graham wrote. “That should’ve been all that was needed to turn off the faucet for their funding.”

In previous statements Graham has spoken of not having faith in any of the parties. Rejecting his affiliation with the GOP is a sign of continued discontent with the right and the continuation of a trend among evangelicals supporting non-establishment candidates such as Donald Trump.

Trump has drawn praise from Graham in the past including siding with the GOP frontrunner on issues such as a proposed ban of Muslims in the U.S.

Graham’s criticism of the budget deal centers around the continued funding of Planned Parenthood to the tune of $528 million annually. This accounts for upwards of 40% of the organizations budget and comes mostly by way of Medicaid payments from services rendered to low-income Americans. Planned Parenthood is prohibited from utilizing federal taxpayer dollars to pay for abortions.

The defunding of Planned Parenthood has been a long time priority for social conservatives, an effort that was renewed earlier this year after undercover videos were released by an anti-abortion activist.

The videos appeared to show officials at Planned Parenthood negotiating prices of fetal organs for sale to medical researchers, a practice which could be considered illegal and unethical. The organization has since denied all claims it profited from these sales and announced it would no longer carry on the practice.

Following the 2014 midterm elections, the GOP took control of both the House and Senate. Expectations from some in the party were that funding for Planned Parenthood would be eliminated from the 2016 budget. Some social conservatives in the party threatened a government shutdown if action wasn’t taken against the organization.

An event in November when Robert Lewis Dear, a lone gunman who called himself “a warrior for the babies” and shot and killed three at a Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood, changed the dynamic for politicians.

The result was funding of Planned Parenthood at previous levels. Graham, the son of well known evangelist Billy Graham, was among many religious conservatives incensed by the lack of action.

“This is an example of why I have resigned from the Republican Party and declared myself Independent. I have no hope in the Republican Party, the Democratic Party, or Tea Party to do what is best for America,” said in a Facebook Post last Monday.

Over the course of Billy Graham’s years in the public eye, he withdrew from politics, claiming it took focus away from his evangelism. His son, however, has been more vocal in offering his take on electoral issues and politicians.

With prayer rallies scheduled in advance of the the Iowa caucus, Graham will likely continue his denunciation of the establishment wing of the Republican Party, emphasizing his desire to “challenge Christians to live out their faith at home, in public and at the ballot box.”

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Featured, Government Accountability, Politics

Senate Passes Bill Repealing Obamacare Provisions, Defunding Planned Parenthood

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The United States Senate passed a budget bill on Thursday that aims to repeal several key provisions of the Affordable Care Act and seeks to halt funding to Planned Parenthood.

HR 3762, the “Restoring Americans’ Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015,” would overhaul Obamacare provisions such as the requirement for most people to obtain healthcare coverage, the expansion of Medicaid, and the taxes imposed on income, insurance policies and medical devices that were required to fund Obamacare.

The bill would also put an end to the nearly $450 million given to Planned Parenthood annually. While the Senate did vote on over a dozen amendments to the bill, they rejected two amendments that would have given money to Planned Parenthood.

[RELATED: Federal Court: Obamacare Contraceptive Mandate Violated Religious Freedom]

The Senate also blocked proposals for increased gun control that were pushed after a mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, on Wednesday.

Although President Obama has promised to veto the bill, it marks the first time legislation of its kind could make it to the president’s desk without being prevented by Democrats in Congress.

Needing 51 votes to pass, the bill passed in the Senate 52-47, and will go on to the House of Representatives where it is expected to pass, as a similar bill was passed on Oct. 23.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said the bill presents Obama with a choice that could lead to “better care” for Americans with his consent.

“President Obama will have a choice,” McConnell said. “He can defend a status quo that’s failed the middle class by vetoing the bill, or he can work toward a new beginning and better care by signing it.”

Healthcare spending topped $3.03 trillion in 2014, up 5.3 percent from 2013, which marked the highest growth since 2007.

In terms of GOP presidential candidates, the bill received the approval of Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Tx.), Marco Rubio (R-Fl.) Rand Paul (R-Ky.). Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) did not vote.

Politics, US

Planned Parenthood Ends Acceptance of Reimbursements for Fetal Tissue

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Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) President Cecile Richards wrote a letter to National Institutes of Health stating that the organization will cease accepting payments for tissue donations.

Richards maintained in the letter that despite the new decision, PPFA has continually operated within federal law regarding its procurement of reimbursements for fetal tissue donations.

Richards wrote that she was following up on a July 29 letter she’d written that had “outlined the very limited role that Planned Parenthood plays in fetal tissue research that can contribute to important medical breakthroughs.”

“Our role in fetal tissue research is an extremely small part of what we do,” Richards wrote. “In fact, just 1% of our health centers currently facilitate tissue donation for fetal tissue research.”

Richards went on to rebuke opponents who have made “false claims” about PPFA in an effort to advance legislation that would “deny women access to basic health care and to impose medically unnecessary restrictions on safe and legal abortion.”

[pull_quote_center]In order to completely debunk the disingenuous argument that our opponents have been using – and to reveal the true political purpose of these attacks – our Federation has decided, going forward, that any Planned Parenthood health center that is involved in donating tissue after an abortion for medical research will follow the model already in place at one of our two affiliates currently facilitating donations for fetal tissue research. That affiliate accepts no reimbursement for its reasonable expenses – even though reimbursement is fully permitted under the 1993 law. Going forward, all of our health centers will follow the same policy, even if it means they will not recover reimbursements permitted by the 1993 law.[/pull_quote_center]

PPFA fell under scrutiny earlier this year after several edited undercover videos were released by the Center for Medical Progress claiming that monetary negotiations were being made by PPFA, in violation of federal law, for various samples of aborted fetal tissue. The first video was widely debated as Senior Director of Medical Services Dr. Deborah Nucatola was seen and heard discussing graphic details regarding fetal tissue while eating lunch and sipping wine: “We’ve been very good at getting heart, lung, liver, because we know that, so I’m not gonna crush that part, I’m gonna basically crush below, I’m gonna crush above, and I’m gonna see if I can get it all intact,” said Nucatola.

Several pro-life groups described Nucatola’s comments in the video as evidence that Planned Parenthood was making a profit on aborted fetuses, a claim that was quickly and strongly denied by PPFA. Richards acknowledged that Nucatola’s behavior in the video lacked “compassion” and apologized for “the staff member’s tone and statements.”

Regarding the second video that was released by the Center for Medical Progress, Truth In Media’s Barry Donegan wrote that PPFA Medical Directors’ Council president Dr. Mary Gatter was seen on video refusing to “quote the costs of fetal tissue specimens from abortions but instead asks actors posing as buyers at a business lunch to throw out an offer.”

PPFA stated in response to the second video that “a well funded group established for the purpose of damaging Planned Parenthood’s mission and services has promoted a heavily edited, secretly recorded videotape that falsely portrays Planned Parenthood’s participation in tissue donation programs that support lifesaving scientific research.”

 

Opinion

COOK: Both Political Parties Ignore the U.S. Adoption Industry Racket

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Both political parties have weighed in on the controversy of reports claiming that Planned Parenthood is selling aborted baby parts for profit. When the story broke, people were outraged after watching the undercover videos and many Republicans called for Planned Parenthood to be defunded.

Hillary Clinton admitted that the videos were “disturbing,” but went on to express her support for Planned Parenthood.

The Planned Parenthood controversy sparked a debate between pro-choice and pro-life groups and individuals, and the issue of abortion has been a key discussion in this campaign season. Out of the Planned Parenthood scandal arose a new movement on social media: #ShoutYourAbortion.

According to CNN, the movement was started on Facebook by a woman named Amelia Bonow who felt an “inexpressible level of gratitude” about her decision to have an abortion.

Seattle writer Lindy West took a screenshot of the Facebook post and added the #ShoutYourAbortion hashtag.

shoutyourabortionThe reaction to this provocative tweet was met with both praise and criticism.

But the one thing that the right and left ideologies ignore, that the pro-life vs. pro-choice groups ignore, an issue that presidential candidates ignores, is the complete racket that is the multi-billion dollar adoption industry in the U.S.

Adoption should be an issue that unites us all, but the high costs and long waits make adoption close to impossible for Americans.

Why does an adoption cost $1,500 in the Phillipines while it may cost a couple up to $40,000 in the U.S.?

Mike Papadopoulos, who is an orphan advocate in the Phillipines, says that the adoption process is simple where he lives.

Papadopoulos said that in the Phillipines, there are simple methods to connect loving families with orphans. The orphan can live with the family while the paperwork is being processed and adoption costs are only $1,500 compared to anywhere from a few thousand to $40,000 in legal fees in the U.S.

Politicians should focus on lowering the costs, and streamlining the process in an efficient and timely manner to better connect orphans with loving families.

Hopefully this important issue will be raised during the presidential debates. I believe that both sides of the abortion issue can all agree that we need to find new ways to make adoption easier for all Americans.

Election, Featured, Health, Opinion, Politics, US

Fact Check: Ben Carson Slams Media On Fetal Tissue Study He Participated In

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August 14, 2015– In the wake of multiple investigative videos surfacing appearing to show Planned Parenthood selling aborted fetus tissue for profit, Republican Presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson has been a vocal critic of Planned Parenthood and the practice of using fetal tissue for medical research. However, critics have uncovered a study that researched fetal tissue, which Carson participated in, leading to claims that Carson’s participation contradicts his vocal opposition.

Last month, in an interview with Fox News’ Megyn Kelly, Carson said that the benefits of fetal tissue research were over-promised and under-delivered. Carson also said that there was nothing that couldn’t be done without using fetal tissue. However, Carson would not completely condemn and call for an end to the use of fetal tissue research.

“Yes, Dr. Ben Carson has done research on fetal tissue and published his findings,” wrote Dr. Jen Gunter, who originally challenged Carson in a blog post. The media took the story and ran the narrative that Carson had studied fetal tissue from aborted fetuses. “Ben Carson Once Did Research On 17-Week Aborted Fetal Tissue,” reads a headline from Huffington Post.

Carson took to Facebook to explain the true circumstances surrounding the study and trade jabs at the media. Carson says that the aborted fetal tissue was from a microscope slide that a separate pathology lab used to compare with the tumors he had removed from his own patients. “Today I was accused by the press as having done research on fetal tissue. It simply is not true… My only involvement in this study was supplying tumors that I had removed from my patients,” declared Carson. “The fetal tissue that was viewed in this study by others was not collected for this study.”

After clarifying his involvement in the study, Carson went on to hit his critics and reassure his supporters.

“I am sickened by the attack that I, after having spent my entire life caring for children, had something to do with aborting a child and harvesting organs. My medical specialty is the human brain and even I am amazed at what it is capable of doing,” wrote Carson. “Please know these attacks are pathetic attempts to blunt our progress.”

In only a few short hours, the post generated almost 150,000 likes and 40,000 shares, making it one of his most successful social media posts of the campaign.

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Editor’s Pick, Featured, Politics, Videos

Second Planned Parenthood Exec Caught on Film Apparently Negotiating Fetal Tissue Prices

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Just one week after Planned Parenthood Federation of America president Cecile Richards offered an apology for the “tone” of a video, released by the Center for Medical Progress last week, which appeared to show Planned Parenthood senior director of medical services Dr. Deborah Nucatola haggling over prices of aborted fetal tissue during a business lunch, another Center for Medical Progress video emerged on Tuesday, this time apparently showing PPFA Medical Directors’ Council president Dr. Mary Gatter attempting to maximize revenues by seeking higher prices for aborted fetal tissue specimens.

In Tuesday’s video, which can be seen in an edited format above, Dr. Gatter refuses to quote the costs of fetal tissue specimens from abortions but instead asks actors posing as buyers at a business lunch to throw out an offer. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Kyle Wingfield uncovered a full-length version of the undercover video, which can be seen below.

During the negotiations, Dr. Gatter made a statement that seemed to imply that prior fetal tissue specimen transfers did not significantly increase Planned Parenthood’s costs. “It was logistically very easy for us, we didn’t have to do anything. So there was compensation for this,” she said.

“I wouldn’t object to asking Ian, who’s our surgeon who does the cases, to use an IPAS [manual vacuum aspirator] at that gestational age in order to increase the odds that he’s going to get an intact specimen,” said Dr. Gatter, suggesting that she might encourage a surgeon to modify an abortion procedure out of an interest in obtaining revenues from fetal tissue specimens. She also offered to employ a “less crunchy technique” that would cause less damage to viable organ specimens.

“Let me just figure out what others are getting, and if this ($100 per specimen) is in the ballpark, then it’s fine; if it’s still low, then we can bump it up,” Dr. Gatter stated, seemingly seeking a market price. She then joked, “I want a Lamborghini!”

Selling aborted fetal tissue specimens for a profit is a violation of federal law.

A Planned Parenthood statement on the new video read, “At several of our health centers, we help patients who want to donate tissue for scientific research, and we do this just like every other high-quality health care provider does — with full, appropriate consent from patients and under the highest ethical and legal standards. There is no financial benefit for tissue donation for either the patient or for Planned Parenthood. In some instances, actual costs, such as the cost to transport tissue to leading research centers, are reimbursed, which is standard across the medical field.”

“A well funded group established for the purpose of damaging Planned Parenthood’s mission and services has promoted a heavily edited, secretly recorded videotape that falsely portrays Planned Parenthood’s participation in tissue donation programs that support lifesaving scientific research. Similar false accusations have been put forth by opponents of abortion services for decades. These groups have been widely discredited and their claims fall apart on closer examination, just as they do in this case,” Planned Parenthood’s statement continued.

Center for Medical Progress project lead David Daleiden told Fox News that the shorter edited video was just provided as a summary and that viewers can choose for themselves whether it was inappropriately edited after watching the full-length video. “Anybody can go and, if they want to watch an hour to three hours of baby parts negotiations, they can judge for themselves if we just chose the highlights,” he said. Daleiden indicated that the Center for Medical Progress has “at least 12, really solid videos” with similar footage and plans to release more of them.

Politics, US

Wendy Davis’s Real Biography Exposed

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Texas state senator Wendy Davis became a rising star in the Democrat Party after she filibustered for abortion rights in June 2013. In October 2013, Davis announced her plans to run for Governor of Texas in the 2014 elections.

But now, Davis is under intense scrutiny for lying about her biography — in fact, she may have even lied under oath.

“My language should have been tighter,” the state senator said, admitting that she had blurred many key facts regarding her personal history.

Davis told the Dallas Morning News that she lied about multiple life events, including her first divorce. In a federal lawsuit she previously claimed, “I got divorced by the time I was 19 year old.” It has since been revealed that Davis was actually divorced at age 21.

But that is not all. Davis also failed to disclose the fact that her second husband paid her law school tuition — and that she divorced him the very day the last payment was made. Later in her life, her ex-husband accused her of adultery and was given custody of their two daughters.

Additionally, Davis had conveniently never mentioned that she previously ran for city council in Fort Worth, Texas… As a Republican.

In a lengthy write-up, the Dallas Morning News reported, “The basic elements of the narrative are true, but the full story of Davis’ life is more complicated, as often happens when public figures aim to define themselves. In the shorthand version that has developed, some facts have been blurred… Likely Republican nominee Greg Abbott and his allies are expected to focus on different details to tell voters a competing story. Some will question how much of her success was her own doing, and how bad her circumstances were to start.”

It is likely that Davis’s fuzzy “facts” will hurt her chances of becoming the new Governor of Texas. We will keep you up-to-date on the situation as news breaks.

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