Posts Tagged ‘Life’
“Gifted Hands” Kindly Rebuffs President Obama
Ever since the pep rally that was the white coat ceremony in the backyard of the White House, I’ve been waiting to see what the doctors who I hold in highest regard have to say on the issue of health reform.
Then this came to my attention. It is the strong, yet characteristically kind, words of Dr. Ben Carson. And, he appears to be more in the mainstream of physicians than not:
[W]ith credibility and acclaim the world over for the pioneering surgeries he has and his personal story of overcoming hardship, recently ripped the dominant health care legislation before Congress in a critique similar to that of conservatives and libertarians. Benjamin Carson, director of pediatric neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore, Md., and recipient of numerous awards including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, criticized in a recent interview the approach of the current bills for their mandate, creation of a “public option,” and lack of malpractice liability reform.
“My biggest problem is I feel it’s going in the wrong direction,” Carson told reporters at TV station WLOS in Asheville, N.C. (Video here.)“It’s giving us more government and less autonomy. And I think we should be going in exactly the opposite direction. We should be having more autonomy and less government. And that is the kind of thing that brings the prices down.”
Considered one of the best neurosurgeons in the world, Carson gained acclaim in the ’80s and ‘90s for his pioneering operations separating conjoined twins joined at the head and other procedures that have saved children from epilepsy and brain cancer. But Carson is also celebrated for his personal story of overcoming poverty and prejudice. An African-American, Carson grew up in a single-parent home Detroit ghetto, but his mother pushed him and his brother to achieve excellence. He is the author of the popular autobiography “Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story,” which was made into a TV movie this year with Cuba Gooding Jr. portraying Carson. And he does much philanthropic work through charities such as his “Carson Scholars” fund.
via Big Government » Blog Archive » “Gifted Hands” Surgeon Rips Into Obamacare.
I included that last paragraph because I wanted to give kudos to Cuba Gooding’s potrayal of Dr. Carson – you really ought to watch it sometime. Dr. Carson’s story is among the most inspiring in our nation’s history.
But I digress, or do I? You see, what Dr. Carson is reacting to is the force medical paternalism that squelches the freedom to succeed, to exceed, and to advance medical breakthroughs and life-saving, life-affirming techniques for which he is renown. Imagine the conjoined twins he separated receiving the “gifted hands” of Dr. Ben Carson under health reform. Weighing the costs and benefits, wouldn’t it be more likely that these unique creations would have had their resources allocated elsewhere?
PRC’s: A Passion to Serve
Because the policy battle for funding abortions, regulating abortion procedures, and litigating breaches of abortion practices often overshadow, the unsung, heroic work of pregnancy resource centers is often overlooked. Politicians that beg for the “common ground” of making progress at stemming the tide of unwanted pregnancies rarely account for the magnificent results that come from the shoe-string budgets of pregnancy resource centers. And rare is the day that our taxpayer dollars fund them.
That is the heart of the Family Research Center’s (FRC), “Passion to Serve, A Vision for Life” report. Moira Gaul, director of this initiative at FRC elaborates at FRCblog.com:
Wednesday, September 30th, FRC was very pleased to announce the release of a groundbreaking report, “A Passion to Serve, A Vision for Life: Pregnancy Resource Center Service Report 2009” which coincides with the 40-year anniversary of the pregnancy resource center movement (“PRC”) in the United States. A collaborative project with the three major pregnancy resource center networks Care Net, Heartbeat International, the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates, and LIFE International the report tells the story of a movement contributing in significant ways daily to the enhancement of maternal and child health nationwide, as well as around the world.
Go to www.apassiontoserve.com to learn more about the PRC movement and the report, view news stories, to order/download a copy of the report, and/or to view the press conference web cast.
Story continues at www.frcblog.com.
WSJ: “Antiabortion Provision in Health Bill Defeated”
The Wall Street Journal offers this coverage of yesterday’s finance committee meeting that declined to extend conscience protections or preclude taxpayer subsidies for elective abortions:
The sparring over abortion Wednesday underscored the sweep of the health legislation, which not only makes fundamental changes to a key segment of the U.S. economy, but also inflames passions on a range of social issues.
Mr. Baucus said he didn’t want to add abortion to the debate. “This is a health-care bill,” he said. “This is not an abortion bill. We are not changing current law.”
The legislation sets up subsidies for lower-income people to buy insurance and makes the subsidies subject to existing limits on federal funding of abortion. Those limits, enacted annually in routine government spending bills, bar the use of federal funds, except in cases of rape, incest and saving the life of the mother. Under the Baucus bill, private health plans would be required to prevent federal insurance subsidies from mingling with any private funds used for abortions.
But Sen. Orrin Hatch (R., Utah) said the limits in the current law could easily lapse. He called on Mr. Baucus to fold the language into the health bill, making it permanent law. “Let’s codify it,” he said.
More via the Wall Street Journal.
Trends Favor Traditional Values
The following is an interesting graph from a recent Gallup poll:
Dan Gilgoff from U.S. News and World Reports’ God & Country Blog notes: Read the rest of this entry »
Sen. Rockefeller’s Silence Guarantees Expansion of Abortion
Junior Senator says only “No” twice during hearing to prevent taxpayer subsidies for elective abortions, extend conscience protections.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Today, Sen. Rockefeller ignored calls from West Virginians, led by the Family Policy Council of West Virginia, to protect innocent human life and current conscience protections in the, “America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009.”
“Senator Rockefeller’s silence at today’s hearing speaks volumes for his support of abortion on demand,” said Jeremy Dys, president and general counsel of the Family Policy Council of West Virginia. “For the pre-born and for medical professionals of conscience, Senator Rockefeller’s vote was anything but, ‘family friendly.’”
The proposed legislation explicitly includes elective abortion and would subsidize health plans that cover all elective abortions. It would also undermine current conscience protections by not protecting health plans from being forced to cover elective abortions.
“Senator Rockefeller has helped the powerful abortion lobby to create a backdoor way around current Federal prohibitions to stick taxpayers with the bill to subsidize abortion services,” said Dys. “What may be worse, this legislation now allows for medical professionals to be coerced into performing such services – even against their own conscience.”
Today’s votes continue the trend by those in Congress to vote against the inclusion of life and conscience protections in health care reform. So far, every pro-life amendment proposed to the health care reform measure has been defeated.
Visit www.familypolicywv.com/Rockefeller for more details.
The Family Policy Council of West Virginia is a servant organization advocating for policies that embrace the sanctity of human life, enrich marriage, and safeguard religious freedom. On the web at www.familypolicywv.com.
# # #
FPCWV to Sen. Rockfeller: Protect Innocent Human Life
Key vote to limit taxpayer subsidies for abortions in health care reform expected Wednesday.
CHARLESTON, WV – The Family Policy Council of West Virginia announced Tuesday that it is calling upon West Virginia Senator Jay Rockefeller, chairman of the Senate Health Care Subcommittee on Finance, to protect innocent life in the proposed health care reform package.
“No one – including Sen. Rockefeller – should be allowed to decide that an innocent human life is worthless,” said Jeremy Dys, president and general counsel of the Family Policy Council of West Virginia. “Though the public option portion of health care reform may be a debatable point for many West Virginians, the protection of innocent human life is not. By allocating more taxpayer dollars to subsidize abortion activists like Planned Parenthood, Sen. Rockefeller is permitting innocent, pre-born life to be treated like a commodity to advance a political business.”
According to Tuesday’s New York Times, pro-life advocates are gaining broad support in Congress for an amendment designed to preclude government-subsidized abortion services in health care reform. Yet, according to Dys, instead of working to ensure that the rights of the pre-born are given access to health care, Sen. Rockefeller is aligned with the controversial, liberal website MoveOn.org to strengthen his political connections with the most liberal political base in West Virginia.
Pro-life West Virginians should visit www.familypolicywv.com/rockefeller for more details.
The Family Policy Council of West Virginia is a servant organization advocating for policies that embrace the sanctity of human life, enrich marriage, and safeguard religious freedom. On the web at www.familypolicywv.com.
# # #
Life at Center of Health Reform Debate
Good news this morning from the New York Times:
Abortion opponents in both the House and the Senate are seeking to block the millions of middle- and lower-income people who might receive federal insurance subsidies to help them buy health coverage from using the money on plans that cover abortion. And the abortion opponents are getting enough support from moderate Democrats that both sides say the outcome is too close to call.
As the Senate returns today to consider amendments to the health care reform package, proponents of life are gaining ground – not that we would know it from Sen. Rockefeller’s recent comments in the press. Instead of working to ensure that the rights of the pre-born are given access to health care, Sen. Rockefeller is working closely with the controversial, liberal website MoveOn.org to strengthen his political connections with the most liberal political base in West Virginia.
The New York Times continues:
How to Answer Abortionist Logic
Today’s article in the Gazette has set off progressive liberals in the online comments section. They are making two stunning arguments.
First, they effectively say that because unwanted pregnancies, carried to term, end in a child living in squalid conditions to abusive parents, it is better that they be killed than continue to live in such deplorable conditions. Someone should ask Leonardo da Vinci about that sometime. Conceived in an unwanted pregnancy and born to a peasant woman in the dark ages, Leonardo’s early life would have surpassed even the poorest among as as the most regrettable of circumstances. But, because he was given life, the world is much the better.
And, moreover, if we can morally justify the killing of pre-born humans to stem the tide of children living in squalid, abusive conditions, what is to stop us from killing born human children to stem the tide of children living in squalid, abusive conditions?
Second, they are lecturing anyone who dares be “pro-life” that you’re not really pro-life unless you adopt. The argument fails as soon as it is argued, but it moves us to point out two compelling resources. First, Focus on the Family has created icareaboutorphans.org website and the “Wait No More” campaign. Adoption has always been close to the heart of pro-life activists – including Jim Daly, new President of Focus on the Family who is himself an adopted child.
In addition, Live Action Films has created a series of You Tube videos that help you answer these self-defeating – but oft-intimidating – arguments. To this question about adoption, consider the following video:
“Abortion is about life”
The Charleston Gazette this morning reports of Dr. Susan Wicklund’s visit to Charleston yesterday for a book signing and speaking engagement with the Woman’s Club of Charleston. Wickland, a long-time abortionist from Montana, offers praise for her profession. The Gazette article, unsurprisingly, is glowing in its coverage. But it is the actual words of Dr. Wicklund that left me stammering for words.
Consider, for instance, her description about what abortion is:
“Abortion is about life: quality of life for infants, children and adults. Everywhere and in every sense of the word. Life, not death,” she writes in her book, “This Common Secret, My Journey as an Abortion Doctor.”
I am at a complete loss for comment on such a statement. Abortion is “about life?” Really? Clearly, the abortion industry has done much to justify, conceal, and rationalize their life-ending practices for decades, but is this the new face of pro-abortion activists like Dr. Wicklund? In recent years, the rhetoric of pro-abortion politicians has shifted from discussing the actual procedure to focusing on the focus-group approved message of making abortion safe and rare. President Obama has infamously declared that, though we may disagree, we ought to agree on ending unwanted pregnancies. Such an argument, it would seem, is lost on Dr. Wicklund, who would rather end a human life to improve quality of life for another.
However, as I think about, Dr. Wicklund has actually made a profoundly correct statement.
