Life Links 3/30/09

Harry Reid and his staff might want to confer about Reid’s position on the abortion issue because according to John McCormack, they don’t seem to be on the right page unless the term “prolife” has completely bereft of meaning.


Wesley Smith notes legislation in California which could force medical personnel to share information with patients regarding abortion.

The latest example of such legislation is SB 374 in California, that would make it a crime not to provide patients with information about the legality or availability of abortion, and which could also be grounds for stripping the doctor or nurse practitioner of their license to practice. Worse, if the professional has a conscience objection, he or she must still participate in ensuring that the patient receives detailed information about deciding whether or not to have an abortion.

The LA Times has an editorial by Michael Hiltzik citing the numerous problem plaguing California’s embryonic stem cell agency created by Proposition 71.

With the change of administrations in Washington and the deterioration in the state's fiscal health, the time has come for a fundamental rethinking of the stem cell program. The debate over its future has to take place in the context of the state's overall needs, not merely among a small group of self-interested board members.

Proposition 71 endowed the program with what looked like an embarrassment of riches. The danger is that, without better oversight and broader debate about its policies and goals, it will become simply an embarrassment.

A jury found abortion George Tiller not guilty after a lackadaisical prosecution but he’s not in the clear just yet. The Board of Healing Arts is dealing with a complaint which could cost him his medical license.

The complaint before the board covers the same allegations for what appears to be 11 of the abortions addressed by the criminal case. The complaint also accuses Tiller of unprofessional or dishonorable conduct or incompetence and says he and Neuhaus had a "symbiotic relationship."

Governor Kathleen Sebelius did end up signing prolife legislation in Kansas. I guess who could consider this silver lining in Obama appointed her to be the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. I don’t doubt for an instant she would have vetoed this legislation if going before a Senate panel wasn’t in her future. But what will the response of pro-choice bloggers be?


Prolifers in Spain rallied en masse against plans to liberalize the nation’s abortion laws.