--------------------------------------------------------------------------- Life Communications - Volume 5, No. 3 February, 1995 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- This newsletter is intended to provide articles and news information to those interested in Pro-Life issues. All submissions should be sent to the editor, Steve . --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) Ruling: U.S. Schools MUST Teach Abortion Skills The Chicago-based Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), which controls graduate medical education accreditation in the U.S., announced a unanimous decision to require abortion training. All U.S. medical programs that train doctors in obstetrics will be required to teach abortion skills. Programs that refuse to do so risk losing accreditation, which teaching hospitals must have in order to qualify for federal reimbursement for services that medical residents provide to patients. Also, most doctors must graduate from accredited training programs to get certified as competent in their specialties. Any teaching program with a moral or religious objection to providing the training will be required to contract the services of another facility, meaning that a hospital which refuses to provide abortion training must materially help another facility to train their OB Residents in order to retain their accreditation. This clause of the revision violates laws in 25 states that exempt conscientiously opposed hospitals. Also, the reported ACGME announcements did not mention any provisions for personal conscience clauses. The ACGME seems to have found this new rule necessary because 31 percent of obstetrics residency programs did not offer abortion training in 1991 (up from 7.5 percent in 1978). Dr. William Andrews, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, supports the new rule, saying that abortion providers would be less likely to be targets of violence if there were more of them. - Tim Thornton --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) New Information Threatens Foster Nomination As if the increase in the number of abortions Dr. Henry Foster, Jr. is reported to have performed (from "under a dozen" to at least 700 before 1978) and reports of his performing forced hysterectomies on mentally retarded women in the 1960s and 1970s weren't enough, Foster has now been linked to the Tuskegee Experiment wherein indigent black men were allowed to remain untreated for syphilis for the purposes of research. Foster denies knowledge of the experiment before 1972 but reports allege that he was informed as early as 1969. Reports also suggest he willingly kept quiet about the experiment. President Clinton's nomination of Dr. Foster as Surgeon General has generated a heated debate on Capitol Hill between the pro-choice faction that pushed for a pro-abortion litmus test for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1992 and members of the Right to Life now suggesting a pro-life Republican litmus test in 1996. President Clinton, who supported abortion "on demand" during his presidential campaign, now contends that abortions should remain safe, legal, and "rare." Dr. Foster served for several years on the board of directors for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America starting in 1975; he later served on its National Leadership Committee to Keep Abortion Safe and Legal. Both the Christian Coalition and the Massachusetts Citizens For Life groups have called for President Clinton to withdraw Dr. Foster's nomination; Even the Southern Baptist Convention has come out against Clinton's nominee, asking the people they represent to call their senators. - Stephanie Herman [For Senate contact information, ask for resource file "94SenateList" -Ed.] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) Across the Pond: Lancashire Woman Pressured into Aborting Twins Cathleen McCullagh was pressured into aborting twins by social workers who told her that if they were born, the social workers would try to have the children taken into care. Two doctors refused to give their permission for the termination because there were no medical grounds for it. Mrs. McCullagh was never accused of abuse, but the social workers argued that she was an 'unfit' mother because they said she had a low I.Q. and they claimed she was prone to aggressive mood swings, accusations which Mrs. McCullagh denies. One month after the abortions, the 24-year-old McCullagh was sterilized, claiming that social workers encouraged her to have the operation. Mrs. McCullagh says about the abortion: "[The social workers] kept grilling me all the time. They kept threatening me. It makes me feel sad and bitter with them. But there is nothing I can do about it. Because I didn't want to go through with it. I didn't want to have a termination. I wanted to keep my baby like a normal mother." Similarly, another pregnant single mother, who was not identified, claims she was also told that if she gave birth her child would be taken into care. The social worker, who was not allowed to talk to the documentary makers, drove her to a private clinic where the mother paid approximately 290 U.S. dollars for the operation. Newspaper reports cite this second mother as saying: "When I told them I was pregnant, he said: 'Well, you do know you won't be able to keep it, don't you?'." Reports also indicate that she tried to commit suicide shortly after the abortion, an all-too-common post-abortion reaction. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) American Shorts *FCC Quashes Fair Use* On November 22 the Federal Communications Commission ruled that nothing in the Reasonable Access law "precludes a broadcaster's exercise of some discretion with respect to placement of political advertisements so as to protect children. There is evidence in this record indicating that the graphic political advertisements (featuring aborted children) can be psychologically damaging to children... Accordingly, we (the FCC) are unwilling to infer that Congress, in affording federal candidates a limited statutory right to purchase reasonable amounts of broadcast time, intended to strip licensees of all discretion to consider the impact of political advertisements featuring graphic depictions of abortions on children in their audience." [So the FCC just ruled that broadcasters may keep the truth of abortion off television during times _they_ believe children _may_ be watching... So much for the Reasonable Access law that granted federal candidates protection from being censored by the media elite.] *Political Action Committee (PAC) Wars* The Susan B. Anthony List (SBA), a new political action committee dedicated to helping elect pro-life women, reveals it supported 11 candidates for Congress, seven of whom won election. Meanwhile, pro-choice Emily's List (for Democratic women) and WISH List (Republican women) fared worse. EL lost seven of its 10 endorsed House incumbents, but only two of its eight challengers prevailed, compared to SBA's six out of 10. The "SBA Seven" have pledged leadership on pro-life issues in the 104th Congress. *Elders Encore* Joycelyn Elders has told the news media that President Clinton's new nominee for surgeon general, Henry W. Foster, Jr., is "wonderful." Foster appears to share Elders' radical views on combatting teen pregnancy. He is a national leader in promoting school-based clinics that promote contraceptive distribution. He has 17 years' affiliation with the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, most recently as a leader of its "National Campaign to Keep Abortion Safe and Legal." The Senate confirmation hearings begin with the Labor and Human Resources Committee chaired by Nancy Kassebaum (R-KS). A tough confirmation fight is expected. *Generation X A-OK?* A compilation of opinion polls by the American Enterprise Institute found that 18- to 29-year-olds are the most likely adult age group to agree that "abortion is murder." Fifty-four percent say "yes," while 38 percent disagree (CBS/New York Times, Jan. 1995). The youngest cohorts are also saying that "divorce should be more, {not less} difficult to obtain," according to the National Opinion Research Center (NORC). Why would Generation X'ers hold more conservative values? Possibly because they are the children of divorce and have known abortion personally - and understand the destructive effects. *Clinic Protection Funds Denied* In the first vote in Congress on abortion, Rep. Pat Schroeder (D-CO) unsuccessfully tried to put money in the crime bill to protect abortion clinics. The House rejected the amendment 266-164, with majority Republicans arguing that the measure gave the clinics special legal status. *Washington, DC* - The U.S. Supreme Court recently denied an appeal from members of Operation Rescue who charged the SanDiego Police with using excessive force in removing non-violent protestors blockading abortion-clinic entrances. The police used the technique of squeezing the wrists of the demonstrators, a "pain compliance" method to remove the protestors, complying with a SD police policy barring officers from dragging or carrying the demonstrators to prevent possible injuries [to whom, one might ask... Ed.]. The demonstrators complained that the technique resulted in bruises, a pinched nerve and one broken wrist. The Supreme Court denied the appeal without any comment or dissent. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) New Congress Considers Pro-Life Legislation: The November Republican tidal wave has resulted in a flood of Pro-Life bills. These bills run the gamut from outright reversals of _Roe_ to changes in the IRS code. Some examples include: H.R. 4 Personal Responsibility Act. Restricts government-funded family planning clinics from pushing abortion, provides for orphanages, etc. (Part of the Contract With America) H.R. 11 Strengthens the rights of parents; denies information to teens. H.R. 172 Creates adolescent health pilot projects which forbid discussion of abortion. H.R. 222 Allows states to deny Medicaid funding to victims of rape and incest; essentially would reverse the impact of the Clinton executive order that forced many states (like Louisiana) to change their state laws to permit state funds to be used to pay for these abortions. H.R. 230 Alters RICO statute to specifically exempt pending cases concerning non-profit groups (such as _Scheidler v. NOW_). H.R. 231 Changes IRS code to disallow abortion as a medical expense. H.R. 237 Reverses the 1973 _Roe v. Wade_ decision that overturned all restrictions and legalized abortion throughout the United States. S.B 24 Civil Rights of Infants. Prohibits abortion for gender selection and other purposes. S.B. 28 Unborn Children Act. Declares that abortion is the taking of a human life. It is not clear that the new Congress will act resolutely on any of these proposed bills. It is absolutely vital that pro-life Americans speak up now to make it clear that abortion is not to be condoned, and that the right to life of every human individual is not to be infringed. For information on contacting your congressional representative or senator, check the ProLife News archives at http://www.pitt.edu/~stfst/PLResources or contact the moderator . --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) Announcements *Intercollegiate Federation for Life Conference - March, 1995* To be held the weekend of March 31st-April 2nd, 1995 at Penn State University in State College, PA. Call 814-867-6263 for more information. *23rd Annual National Right to Life Convention - June, 1995* NRLC '95 "Alive and Growing!" in Music City USA! Nashville, Tennessee June 29, 30, and July 1 at the Sheraton Music City Call. Call 615-885-2200 to reserve your room(s) at the special flat rate of $84 for NRLC '95 attendees. The room block will be released on May 28, 1995. Reservations made after that date may not receive the special room rate. Get your registration form by writing: NRLC'95, 419 7th St. NW, Suite 500, Washington, D.C. 20004. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) On-Line Resources *New ProLife Web Page* American Collegians for Life is proud to announce the opening of its home page/web site on World Wide Web. The site has opened at and will be updated frequently. At the home page, you can access a copy of the January ACL newsletter, the largest college right to life newsletter in the nation. ACL plans on making each issue of its national newsletter available at the Web site as well as providing a way for students to be placed on the mailing list, retrieve other ACL information, and interact with the officers. *New Pro-Life Discussion List* In other internet news, ACL is currently working to establish a moderated college right to life listserver, "The College Right to Life Connection" [CRLC-LIST]. For information, send mail to , otherwise contact Steve Ertelt for more information. For an index to the growing collection of pro-life web resources, connect to URL . --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) Reader Questions: [ Responses can be sent to the editor, . ] Looking for Pro-Life Contacts in Copenhagen: I am looking for the address (e-mail or snail mail) of any pro-life groups in Copenhagen. It's for a group here in Cork that are intending going to the UN Summit for Social Development starting on the 3rd March. It's a follow-up to the Cairo Conference. This group were at the Cairo Conference, but would like to make contact with other pro-life groups that are intending to attend this conference. You might know of some from the States that are going. Thanks very much for any information or advice that you might be able to give. - Loretta O'Connor -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- BBS Debate Support Sought: Can you please send some people who know how to debate and do it well over to ISCABBS? This guy can push my buttons too well so I cannot do it. He's positively evil and plays very dirty. He's a known liar but the proaborts will back him completely (and the whole BBS is proabort). I can't handle him very well. - Lara Ray "Zyklon-B ...was made by a pest-control firm Degesch, the vermin > combatting corporation, a satellite of I.G.Farben." Clearly two different companies. - Dan Weise --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) Pro-Life Job Opportunities *Administrative Assistant* Large pro-life service and education group in Southern California looking for administrative assistant. Applicant must have strong people skills, as receptionist duties are included. Must be computer literate (word processing skills). Salary is $20,000/year plus health insurance. Please contact: > Teri Reisser (e-mail address: TeriKR@aol.com) > Right To Life League of So Cal > 1028 N. Lake Ave. #102 > Pasadena, CA 91104 > (818) 398-6100 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- *Communication Coordinator* A Midwest-based right to life group seeking Communication Coordinator. Applicant needs to have strong journalistic, writing, research, and speaking skills. Must also possess good interpersonal skills, have the ability to develop a good rapport with media, and be well-organized. Send resume to: > NRL News > 419 Seventh St., N.W., Suite 500 > Washington, D.C. 20004 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quote of the Month: "I don't think he (Foster) will be confirmed. I think people are ready for a Dr. Welby, M.D. (a folksy television doctor)" - Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Credits: | | 1 - From Feb. 15 AP story and Feb. 19 _Denver Post_ article. | | 3 - From _The Independent_, 12 December, 1994 (p. 1) covering a story | | on a December, 1994 TV programme on Channel 4, called "Dispatches" | | on social workers in Lancashire, UK. Many thanks to reader | | Christopher Coope. | | 4 - FCC info from a 9 January letter by congressional candidate Michael | | E. Bailey. Many thanks to Phil McLane and the pro-life infonet. For | | more info on Bailey for Life for Congress, call 812-941-0777. PAC, | | Elders and Generation X info from the Family Research Council's | | _Washington Watch_ Volume 6, No. 5, Feb 21, 1995. Contact the FRC at| | 700 13th St. N.W. Suite 500, Washington, DC 20005 phone 202-393-2100| | Also, the FRC offers a weekly legislative alert hotline. Call 202- | | 783-HOME. Many thanks to Landon Cox . | | Clinic funding info from the _Denver Post_ "The Week In Review" by | | Paul Page, Sunday, Feb, 19, 1995, p. 2A. Many thanks to Landon Cox | | and the pro-life infonet . | | 5 - From California Abortion Rights Action League announcements (CARAL).| | 6 - ACL and MIT announcements courtesty of _Prolife-Infonet Mailing | | List_ For information contact the infonet moderator at | | . IFL announcements courtesy of the | | Intercollegiate Federation for Life, P.O. Box 10664, State College, | | PA 16805. | | 9 - Listed in the NRLC News (Dec 13). Many thanks to reader Bruce Hall. | |QOM- _Denver Post_, "The Week In Review" by Paul Page, Feb. 19, 1995. | +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Anyone desiring information on specific pro-life groups, literature, or help with problems is encouraged to contact the editor. For those on the web, there is a preliminary WWW page at . ---------------------------------------------------- file: /pub/resources/text/ProLife.News: pln-0503.txt .