Life Links 5/3/13

During the Pennsylvania's governor race will the media investigate whether Democratic candidate Allyson Swartz's abortion clinic referred late-term patients to Kermit Gosnell?  

At Blackwell, the answers aren't clear, either. The doctors there don't perform abortions on site, but they do refer patients to abortion clinics in the area. These days, Blackwell's policy is to provide no referrals for any patient seeking an abortion past 21 weeks of gestation. The law in Pennsylvania allows for abortions up until 24 weeks, but a Blackwell employee who answered the phone says a woman after 21 weeks would have to travel to New Jersey or Delaware to get an abortion that late. Why?

"No clinics in Pennsylvania will take patients past 21 weeks," the employee confirmed.

Not anymore, but there was a time when at least one clinic in the Philadelphia area was performing late-term abortions on women who were past 21 weeks of gestation: Gosnell's. Late-term abortions were his specialty, particularly for poor minority women. If a woman at 23 weeks came to Blackwell looking for an abortion, where would Blackwell refer her to if not Gosnell's clinic?

In Arizona, the Republic covers Live Action's sting of The Family Planning Associates Medical Group and got a statement from the abortion clinic. 

The Family Planning Associates Medical Group's e-mail said: "The individuals in the video were never in the position to provide direct medical care to patients undergoing second trimester abortions and no longer counsel patients at our clinic. Family Planning Associates Medical Group strictly adheres to all applicable state and federal laws regarding the delivery of abortion care."

This seems to claim that Laura Mercer wasn't going to do the late-term abortion and was just there to read the state-mandated law.


Abortion advocates are gearing up for Hillary Clinton to run for president in 2016. 

The liberal backlash against President Obama coincides with a new, nationwide campaign to elect a female president -- with his former rival-turned-secretary-of-state at the top of the list. The "Madam President" initiative was launched Thursday by EMILY's List, which raises money for female, Democratic candidates who support abortion rights.

"There is one name that seems to be getting mentioned more than the others. We do not know if Hillary is going to run, but we are hopeful that she will," EMILY's List President Stephanie Schriock said.

Former tennis star Jimmy Connors is claiming Chris Everet's decision to have an abortion played a role in ending their relationship. 

He has indicated that his fiancée decided to have an abortion after he made her pregnant. He was 22 at the time, with a volatile bad boy reputation, while she was 19, the all-American girl from a devout Catholic family....

"Chrissie, however, had already made up her mind that the timing was bad and too much was riding on her future," he writes. "She asked me to handle the details."

He adds that he told her: "Well, thanks for letting me know. Since I don't have any say in the matter, I guess I am just here to help."