Life Links 3/21/11

A local TV station recently covered a pro-choice rally in Anchorage, Alaska. It looks like there are 20, maybe 25 people there. Here's a quote from the Planned Parenthood spokeswoman:

"Planned Parenthood is here to provide prevention and life saving resources for Alaskan women," said Clover Simon, Spokesperson for Planned Parenthood Great North West. "By cutting our funding, you are not decreasing the abortion rate; you are actually making it higher. When women don't have access to birth control methods, they are more likely to suffer from an unintended pregnancy."

"Not so fast," says National Right to Life's Randall O'Bannon who recently showed how the number of abortions provided at Planned Parenthood has risen almost step by step with the amount of government funding they've received.

Revenue Planned Parenthood receives in "Government Grants & Contracts" has gone from $165 million in 1998 to $363.3 million in the organization's fiscal year ending June 30, 2009. During the same time, and at roughly the same rate, abortions have more than doubled at Planned Parenthood, from 165,509 in 1998 to 332,278 in 2009.

The Philadelphia Inquirer looks deeper into how abortionist Kermit Gosnell was able to operate for so long despite the complaints against him. It also notes how Gosnell likely got rid of some lawsuits.

Cassandra Barger knew something was wrong almost immediately. Kermit Gosnell, the abortion doctor charged in January with eight counts of murder, had begun giving her anesthetic to end a pregnancy. Barger ripped the IV from her arm.

Racked by convulsions, she crashed from the exam table to the floor. She would stay there nearly an hour while Gosnell and his staff refused to call 911 or allow her companion to leave the locked clinic for help, according to a lawsuit her lawyer filed......

Barger filed her case, alleging negligence and battery, in September 2005.

Gosnell responded, denying the allegations, without a lawyer. That was a red flag for Barger's Philadelphia attorney, Derek Layser. A malpractice-insurance carrier typically provides counsel, he said.

As in most states, physicians and surgeons in Pennsylvania must carry liability insurance. The requirement is aimed at deterring negligent care and giving wronged patients some recourse.

Layser wrote to the Department of State on Sept. 13, 2005, requesting an investigation into Gosnell's self-representation. Soon afterward, Layser said, Barger stopped returning his phone calls.

"As far as I know," Layser said, Gosnell "contacted her directly and paid her some amount, and then I couldn't get a hold of her."

In Florida, charges of practicing healthcare without a license and tampering with evidence against abortion clinic owner Belkis Gonzales have been dropped after doctors set to testify against her changed their positions. Belkis Gonzales was charged after a woman gave birth at her abortion clinic and she allegedly put the child in bag and hid the bag.


CBS News has an article on the prolife legislation in various states.

In April 2010, Nebraska passed a law barring abortions after 20 weeks on the premise that the fetus could feel pain at that point. Opponents of the law dispute the science that allegedly proves that point -- but whether the science is valid or not, the law clearly disregards the viability test (by focusing instead on pain). The law went into effect in October but has yet to face any legal challenge.

"Frankly, I don't think they want to have a public debate about the fact the child can feel pain," McConchie of Americans United for Life said, speculating as to why pro-abortion rights advocates have not challenged the law. "That is a PR battle they don't want to have... We can't force the other side to take the bait if we put it out there."

With no challenge forthcoming, there are at least a dozen states where similar legislation was introduced this year, including Georgia, Florida and Oklahoma.