Sanctity of Life

Russell Korobkin writing at The Volokh Conspiracy: "In a [post yesterday], I described why I think Judge Royce Lamberth’s decision on Monday that the Dickey-Wicker Amendment prohibits the federal government from funding human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research is wrong on the merits. Technically, however, the decision was not a ruling on the merits. Lamberth actually granted the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction. Because the issue is a pure question of statutory interpretation, and because the opinion in no way suggested that it was tentative in nature, it seems almost certain that Lamberth will eventually replace the preliminary injunction with a permanent one. But the government is entitled to another day in court before this can happen."

E. Christian Brugger, D. Phil, Senior Fellow in Ethics at the Culture of Life Foundation: "The secret that the Ella establishment doesn't want you to know is this: from a pharmacological perspective, Ella is not an emergency contraceptive (EC). It is an abortion drug . . . federal funds would be allowed to cover Ella abortions, and private insurance plans will be forced to pay for them."

OneNewsNow: "A spokeswoman for Americans United for Life says it's obvious the Obama administration wants to circumvent the law and make federal funds available for research that requires the killing of unborn babies."

"Baraq [Barack] was the name of the winged horse-like creature that took Mohammed to Paradise in the Night Journey . . . . . The Arab African Muslim has always been associated with slavery because Islam is the driving force in the history of world slavery . . . "

ScienceMag.org / Science Insider: "More ongoing grants will come up for annual review in the coming months, so they will also be halted if the injunction stands. In addition, Steven Aden of the Alliance Defense Fund, a co-counsel in the plaintiff's suit, says the plaintiffs haven't ruled out a challenge to the Adminstration's interpretation of the ruling."

Regent Law Family Restoration: "The case of Sherley v. Sebelius was brought by Dr. James L. Sherley, Dr. Theresa Deisher, Nightlight Christian Adoptions, and the Christian Medical Association, who are represented by Advocates International (AI), the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), and the firm Gibson, Dunn, and Crutcher, LLC . . . When human life is destroyed, respect for family strength and stability is also dramatically weakened. How we treat our children, and particularly our unborn offspring, whether embryonic or fetal, will determine our level of honor and respect toward families."

PressTV: "'The American people should not be forced to pay for experiments -- prohibited by federal law -- that destroy human life. The court is simply enforcing an existing law passed by Congress that prevents Americans from paying another penny for needless research on human embryos,' [Steven H. Aden] said."

First Amendment - Balancing Public Safety and Freedom of Speech Outside Reproductive Healthcare Facilities - McCullen v. Coakley 571 F.3D 167 Robert P. Orthman, 6 J. Health & Biomedical L. 159 (2010) "In McCullen v. Coakley . . . the First Circuit correctly determined that the Massachusetts buffer zone law struck an appropriate balance between protecting an individual's right to reproductive services and upholding the right of individuals to demonstrate outside those clinics."

MinnPost: "In a bit of non-surprising news, Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota South Dakota Action Fund today swung its support to DFL [Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party] gubernatorial candidate Mark Dayton."

Chicago Sun-Times: "22 projects that were due to get yearly checks in September, $54 million worth, 'will be stopped in their tracks,' said NIH Director Francis Collins . . . 'The American people should not be forced to pay for experiments -- prohibited by federal law -- that destroy human life,' said [Steven H. Aden], the group's senior legal counsel."

Associated Content: "'The American people should not be forced to pay for experiments — prohibited by federal law — that destroy human life. The court is simply enforcing an existing law passed by Congress that prevents Americans from paying another penny for needless research on human embryos,' senior legal counsel of the group, [Steven H. Aden], said."

Law.com: "The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed on a technicality a lower court that upheld the state's Code of Judicial Conduct, which bars judges and candidates in judicial elections from making statements that are 'inconsistent with the impartial performance of judicial office.' The court dismissed the case, brought by Indiana Right to Life Inc., as unripe. The defendants were the Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications and the Indiana Disciplinary Commission." Bauer v. Shephard, No. 09-2963 (7th Cir. Aug. 20, 2010)

Washington Post editorial: "But do the women of the commonwealth need additional protection? Has the state experienced a spike in abortion-related complications, including those that, as Mr. Marshall suggests, imperil future pregnancies? No, and no. State medical and health boards already provide oversight of abortion facilities and the medical personnel who perform roughly 25,000 abortions each year." | Cuccinelli's opinion is here: PDF / Google Viewer (Va. AG Opinion #10-067)

LifeNews: "The Republican Party is predominantly pro-life and one of just a handful of pro-abortion Republicans in the U.S. Senate may have lost her bid party's nomination for her re-election campaign. Sen Lisa Murkowski is currently losing to pro-life candidate Joe Miller, after Tuesday night's primary."

LifeNews: "Representative Diana DeGette, a Colorado Democrat, is responding to a judge's decision issuing a temporary injunction against the funding President Barack Obama mandated through his executive order . . . Before the ruling, DeGette had filed legislation intended to codify Obama's executive order and overturn the Dickey-Wicker law preventing taxpayer funding involving the destruction of human embryos the judge used to stop Obama's order . . . Thomas G. Hungar, one of the lawyers for the plaintiffs, which includes the Alliance Defense Fund and the Christian Medical Association, said [that the statute] 'bans public funding for any research that leads to the destruction of human embryos.'"

Marybeth Hicks writing at Townhall: "Next year’s Academy Awards program ought to have a new category: Best Portrayal of a Sperm Donor. At least, that’s the role that’s being cast with increasing — and alarming — frequency."

LifeNews: "The new poll has Perry earning 49% support, while Democrat Bill White, a former mayor of Houston, receives 41% of the vote."

Boston Herald: "A study by two Children’s Hospital doctors has found that Google searches on 'abortion' rise in areas with more conservative abortion policies or where the procedure is less available."

The Washington Post: "Lamberth, 67, is no stranger to controversy. Tall, garrulous and proudly Texan, Lamberth commands his court with the presence and wit of a Sydney Greenstreet character cast as a heroic defender of the Alamo . . . Larry Klayman, former chairman of Judicial Watch, a conservative activist and a Clinton antagonist who accused his administration of improperly accessing FBI files in a case that Lamberth finally dismissed after more than a decade, has called the judge 'an iconoclast who has a healthy skepticism of government power, and . . . is sensitive to the needs of the common man, a trait sometimes lacking in conservatives.'"

Reuters: "Dr. James Sherley, whose lawsuit against the National Institutes of Health has threatened to stall human embryonic stem cell research, has challenged authority before but has also been honored by the NIH itself for his work."