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Focus on Supreme Courts
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Supreme Court of the U.S. Rules against Abortion Clinic Regulations
The
Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) struck down a Texas law
(H.B.2) that sought to protect women's health by requiring abortion
clinics follow minimum standards for ambulatory surgical centers and
that abortionists have surgical privileges at a hospital within 30
minutes of the abortion clinic.
In a 5-3 decision, SCOTUS decided in Whole Woman's Health V. Hellerstedt that the Texas law posed "[u]nnecessary
health regulations that have the purpose or effect of presenting a
substantial obstacle to a woman seeking an abortion impose an undue
burden on the right". The case was filed by an abortion business operating in Texas.
In
his dissenting opinion, Justice Alito, with Chief Justice Roberts
concurring, expressed disbelief that the five justices opposed sections
of H.B. 2 that imposed reasonable safety measures on abortion clinics.
Justice Alito wrote, "Provisions that are indisputably
constitutional--for example, provisions that require facilities
performing abortions to follow basic fire safety measures--are stricken
from the books. There is no possible justification for this collateral
damage. The Court's patent refusal to apply well-established law in a
neutral way is indefensible and will undermine public confidence in the
Court as a fair and neutral arbiter."
Justice Thomas in a separate dissent quoted the late Justice Scalia on the pro-abortion leaning of the Court, "Today
the Court strikes down two state statutory provisions in all of their
applications, at the behest of abortion clinics and doctors. That
decision exemplifies the Court's troubling tendency "to bend the rules
when any effort to limit abortion, or even to speak in opposition to
abortion, is at issue." Stenberg v. Carhart, 530 U. S. 914, 954 (2000) (Scalia, J., dissenting)."
He also explained the purpose of his dissent, "I
write separately to emphasize how today's decision perpetuates the
Court's habit of applying different rules to different constitutional
rights--especially the putative right to abortion."
Pro-life response to the decision highlighted concern for women's health and safety. The American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists' press release, SUPREME STUPIDITY: Common Sense Health and Safety Requirements for Elective Abortion Struck Down by Supreme Court, stated:
"By striking down common sense health
and safety regulations that apply to all standard surgical procedures,
the Supreme Court has not only taken away the ability of State
Governments to regulate the practice of medicine within their
borders but has also made elective abortion mills exempt from controls
of any kind.
"This
politically motivated decision by the Supreme Court will drastically
reduce the safety of abortions across the country, as now abortion
clinics and abortionists will be accountable to no one for the
conditions inside their walls. Surgical abortion carries
all the risks of any other surgery, and offices which perform abortion
should have to meet the same safety standards as those who perform any
other comparable surgery. Medical abortion frequently leads to severe
hemorrhage resulting in the need for emergency surgery and
transfusions. Today's Supreme Court ruling means that abortion clinics
across the nation are now permitted to be incapable of responding to
these known and predictable surgical emergencies."
Abortionists
do not face the kind of accountability and safety environments in which
all other physicians operate. Today the Supreme Court made abortionists
immune from peer accountability and immune from state regulation. This
lack of accountability legally minimizes the safety of women undergoing abortion procedures."
U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), Co-Chairman of the Bipartisan Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, made the following statement: "The
Supreme Court's tragic decision today shields the abortion industry
from accountability and minimal medical standards. Abortionists should
not get a free pass on commonsense safety standards. Women deserve
better than this decision that prioritizes the abortion industry's
profit margin."
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Court Refuses to Hear Religious Liberty Appeal from Pharmacists
In
a second action, SCOTUS refused to hear an appeal from a family owned
pharmacy in Washington State that believes life begins at conception and
refuses to sell abortion-inducing drugs and the morning after pill
citing doing so violates their conscience as Christians. A law in
Washington was designed to force the Stormans family to sell the drugs
despite referring customers to other pharmacies. As a result of the
Court refusing to hear the case, the family is left without legal
recourse to protect their freedom of religious belief.
Justice
Alito's dissenting opinion, joined by Chief Justice Roberts and Justice
Thomas, raises great concern for the future of religious liberty in the
United States. He warns:
"This case is an ominous sign.
"At issue are Washington State regulations that are likely to make a
pharmacist unemployable if he or she objects on religious grounds to
dispensing certain prescription medications. There are strong reasons
to doubt whether the regulations were adopted for-or that they actually
serve-any legitimate purpose. And there is much evidence that the
impetus for the adoption of the regulations was hostility to pharmacists
whose religious beliefs regarding abortion and contraception are out
of step with prevailing opinion in the State. Yet the Ninth Circuit held
that the regulations do not violate the First Amendment, and this Court
does not deem the case worthy of our time. If this is a sign of how
religious liberty claims will be treated in the years ahead, those who
value religious freedom have cause for great concern."
The intent of the Washington State Board that imposed the regulations is called into question by Justice Alito who writes:
"For
it seems to me likely that the Board's regulations are not neutral and
generally applicable. Quite the contrary: The evidence relied upon by
the District Court suggests that the regulations are targeted at
religious conduct alone, to stamp out religiously motivated referrals
while allowing referrals for secular reasons (whether by rule or by
wink). If that is so, the regulations are invalid unless the State
can prove that they are narrowly tailored to advance a compelling
government interest."
The American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians commented on the Court's action,
"This
decision in the Stormans v. Weisman case by the Supreme Court was
clearly a political win for those in the current Administration who seek
to wipe out Conscientious Objection to participation in the killing of
human beings. This Court has set the stage for unfettered State
coercion; a coercion that extends even to forcing American citizens to
have to participate in the killing of other human beings. This decision
will go down in history next to Dred Scott as a decision shaming the
United States and violating the foundations of this nation."
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Mexico: Supreme Court Decides Against Legalizing Abortion
The Supreme Court of Justice in Mexico decided 3 to 1
to reject a proposal to overturn federal law and declare that the
criminalization of abortion is unconstitutional and that women have the
right to make their own decisions on abortion. Currently abortion is
illegal on the federal level with a rape exception. Three justices
rejected the attempt by Justice Arturo Zaldívar
to change the federal criminal code; he argued that the restriction of
abortion 'violates women's rights to personal development, sexual and
reproductive health, and freedom from discrimination'. The ruling centered on the case of Margarita Pino Salazar
who was denied an abortion at a federal hospital and instead had it
performed in a private health facility. Zaldívar attempted to have
declared as unconstitutional two provisions of the Federal Penal Code
that deal with the criminalization of abortion citing the case of
Salazar but the fact that the articles did not apply to her helped to
weaken the case. It
was the first time that the Court has considered the penalization of
abortion on the federal level. Pro-life advocates celebrated the
decision. An official tweet from the Court suggests that there will be
future considerations on abortion: "La @SCJN decidió no pronunciarse, por el momento, sobre la interrupción del embarazo en hospitales federales." Translation: The @SCJN declined to rule, for the moment, on the termination of pregnancy in federal hospitals.
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International Pressure for Abortion
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Lancet Promotes Abortion for Adolescents
Lancet, known for its medical journal, and highly esteemed at the United Nations, has released a new report, Our future: a Lancet commission on adolescent health and wellbeing, through which it addresses the health of adolescents, the group who "will be the policy makers of 2030", the year the SDGs conclude.
The report begins by acknowledging that today's youth are the "largest generation of 10 to 24 year olds in human history" reflecting concerns by population control elites for the reproductive potential of what is called the "youth bulge".
Access to abortion is cited throughout the report and listed under various categories. Abortion is described as an 'essential health-care response' for all girls with the report declaring, "Health
services should provide all essential health-care responses, including
modern contraception and safe abortion regardless of age, marital, and
socioeconomic status; providers should have the skills to provide
confidential and non-judgmental care."
Abortion is included as 'accessible preventive health care' which is described as: "Care
should include guarantees of preventive care to all sexually active
adolescents, maternal health care when necessary, and access to
affordable modern contraception, particularly long-acting reversible
contraceptives; if unwanted pregnancy does occur provide access to
legal, safe abortion."
Abortion is also listed as a 'health service intervention' detailed as: "Health
service interventions involve the provision of information and
counselling, contraception, prenatal and postnatal care and delivery,
abortion services and post-abortion care, treatment and prevention of
sexually transmitted infections, HIV testing and counselling, and care
for sexual and gender-based violence."
PNCI
notes that it is regrettable that the Lancet commission does not
hesitate in promoting access to abortion, an act, more than any other
action, that negatively impacts a country's development by eliminating
its very future, its children.
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Pro-Life Actions
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Majority of Americans find abortion morally unacceptable
Gallup polling company asked Americans to rate the moral acceptability
of a number of issues including abortion, suicide, use of embryonic
stem cells for medical research, and cloning of humans, regardless of
whether or not they believed that it should be legal. A majority of
Americans--47%--deemed abortion to be "morally wrong" with 43% finding
abortion to be "morally acceptable". When divided according to political
affiliation, 24% of Republicans considered abortion to be "morally
acceptable", compared to 62% of Democrats and 44% of Independents.
Abortion
was one of the three most contentious issues along with doctor-assisted
suicide, which 53% found to be "morally acceptable" while 41% thought
it was "morally wrong", and medical testing on animals which 53% found
to be "morally acceptable". Suicide was one of the issues most
considered to be "morally wrong" by 73% with only 18% considering it to
be "morally acceptable" and only 13% found the cloning of humans to be
"morally acceptable". In contrast, the use of embryonic stem cells for
medical research received a 60% "morally acceptable" with 32% finding it
to be "morally wrong".
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Focus on the United Nations
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Request for UN to Mark International Safe Abortion Day
Pro-abortion NGOs are petitioning UN officials to mark September 28 as International Safe Abortion Day.
The day has been used by pro-abortion activists to protest pro-life
laws and stage events promoting abortion since 1990 but now the NGOs are
seeking official recognition to aid their agenda. A letter will be sent
on July 4 to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and to the heads of UN agencies stating, "We,
the undersigned, are writing to support the proposal of the
International Campaign for Women's Right to Safe Abortion that you
declare 28 September, International Safe Abortion Day, an official
international UN Day."
The
letter cites calls by select treaty monitoring bodies, notorious for
distorting treaties and instructing countries to overturn pro-life laws,
as a reason for officially recognizing a day for abortion:
In the past 5-10 years, a growing number
of UN human rights bodies - including CEDAW, the Committee against
Torture, the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Committee on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Committee on Civil
and Political Rights, the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights, the UN
Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and
practice (UN Working Group), and the African Commission for Human and
Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) - have called for abortion to be made safe and
on a growing list of grounds, also legal. In January 2016, ACHPR called
for the decriminalisation of abortion across Africa and in April 2016
the UN Working Group also called on all States to "discontinue the use
of criminal law to punish woman for ending a pregnancy".
The agency heads receiving the letter are Phumzile
Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director, UN Women, Helen Clark,
Administrator, UN Development Programme, Margaret Chan, Director
General, World Health Organization, Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive
Director, UN Population Fund, Anthony Lake, Executive Director, UN
Children's Fund, Irina Bokova, Director General, UN Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization, and Michel Sidibé, Executive
Director, UNAIDS.
The letter ends, "We
therefore call on you, as UN agencies whose work touches on women's
health and rights in so many ways, to send a strong signal to the
international community and to all our governments, with a simple but
highly symbolic statement of support for safe abortion, by agreeing to
make International Safe Abortion Day, 28 September, an official UN day."
PNCI
notes that the ICPD Programme of Action recognized that laws on
abortion are to be determined "according to the national legislative
process"; a fact that pro-abortion activists choose to ignore.
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Legislative News
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Members of EP Discuss "Secularism in Europe"
In an interview for Conscience Magazine,
published by self-described 'Catholics for Choice', four women Members
of the European Parliament (EP) commented on "secularism in Europe".
Sophie in 't Veld began her comments by stating that the European
Party Platform for Secularism was established "to fill a secular,
ethical vacuum that had existed at the EU since its beginnings" an
vacuum that she believes became clear after what she described as a
"controversy" when faithful Catholic Italian Rocco Buttiglione was being
considered for the position of Commissioner for Fundamental Rights for
the European Commission. She distorts Buttiglione's pro-life and
pro-family beliefs and reflects on his candidacy stating, "If certain
religious groupings have privileged access to the corridors of power,
this is dangerous. It means we are not making policies for everybody
anymore."
Tanja Fajon of Slovenia makes clear her disdain for Christian-based organizations which she describes as promoting an ideologically driven agenda which "is against all fundamental rights". She proclaims, "I
call them extremists because these groups go far beyond their religious
convictions. They try to oppose fundamental European principles in many
ways. They claim that abortion is murder, homosexuality is pedophilia
or sex education is collective masturbation at school. These groups are
obsessed with abortion and homosexuality. Moreover, they are making many
attempts to influence European institutions to pass legislation setting
back the clock on these issues. Our challenge is to counter these
attacks on recognized human rights."
Heidi Hautala from Finland expresses her view that there are "improper
relationships between state power and religious influence" citing the
influence of the Orthodox Church in Russia and questions what she
portrays as a 'partnership' between 'ultraconservative religious leaders
and ultraconservative governments'. She believes that both are
committed to "rolling back civic freedoms" including "the right to
access safe abortion".
Cecilia Wikström from Sweden refrained from ideological hyperbole on issues and organizations stating, "But
differing religious views are better than no religion at all. Freedom
of religion does not mean abolish religion everywhere in Europe, which
some people would like to see. I value the religious freedom I enjoy
within the European Union."
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Canada: Euthanasia Law Clears Senate and House
The Canadian Senate approved
Bill C-14 to permit euthanasia in the country by a vote of 44 to 28.
The legislation that has now passed the House of Commons and Senate
permits assisted suicide to a person whose "natural death is reasonably
foreseeable", however the bill fails to include critical definitions.
The bill also fails to include any protections for psychiatric illness
in seeking euthanasia. Alex
Schadenberg with the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition called the bill
"horrific", saying it was worse than the current law in Belgium.
"The
biggest question is, can this bill as written right now actually
protect somebody who is either depressed, having mental illness issues,
or is incompetent," said Schadenberg. "And the answer is no." Senator
Betty Unger said she was spoke for those who "weep that Canada's moral
fabric is being destroyed" and warned that under the approved
legislation, "the innocent are certain to be killed." Following the
bill's passage, it received royal assent and is now law.
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Australia: Victoria Parliamentary Committee Recommends Assisted Suicide
The Victorian Parliament's Legal and Social Issues Committee has released a report recommending the state legalize assisted suicide. "The
Government should introduce legislation to allow adults with
decision-making capacity, suffering from a serious and incurable
condition who are at the end of life to be provided assistance to die in
certain circumstances," said the report. The Committee made 49
recommendations for changing the law to permit patients to request
euthanasia and to protect doctors who perform them. The report next
calls for the creation of a task force to initiate legislative change.
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Ireland: Bill Criticized for Discriminating against Children with Disabilities
Parents
of unborn babies with conditions of anencephaly and Trisomy 13 have
spoken out in opposition to a bill by Mike Wallace, TD. They object to
language they deem to be 'cruel and discriminatory' which they believe
is designed to push the abortion agenda. The bill advances the eugenic
view that it should be legal to abort unborn children who have what
Wallace describes as 'fatal, foetal abnormality' and as 'incompatible
with life'. Wallace's bill seeks to expand the grounds for legal
abortion to allow abortion in the case of such conditions. Parents of the Every Life Counts organization wrote to Wallace stating,
"These conditions meant that our children's lives were all-too short,
but we did everything we could to make sure they knew nothing but love
in their lives. These babies were our children. They had a severe
disability. They were not a 'fatal abnormality', nor were they less than
human. Their lives mattered, because every child matters, whether we
have two hours or ten years to cradle and love them, to make memories
and find healing."
They
have asked that the term 'incompatible with life' not be used stating
that it is an "ugly phrase which uses the cruel language of
discrimination, is misleading and dishonest". Spokeswoman of the organization, Tracy Harkin, states:
"If Mr. Wallace and others believe in legalising abortion as a matter
of choice, please be honest about that. But please stop dehumanising our
children and using their disability to justify abortion."
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Executive News
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US: South Carolina Governor Signs Law Banning Abortion after 20 Weeks
South Carolina's Governor Nikki Haley signed
the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act into law, banning
abortions after 20 weeks gestation based on the unborn child's ability
to feel pain. Doctors who violate the new law could face fines of up to
$10,000 and three years in prison. South Carolina becomes the 13th
state to impose a ban on abortion and protect the lives of unborn
children. Governor Haley held a symbolic re-signing of the law
surrounded by children with disabilities. "What we need to do when we leave this bill-signing is we celebrate life," said Haley. "But
we go with a responsibility to not judge those that are contemplating
abortion, or choosing abortion. But to see it as our responsibility to
tell them those stories (of those who chose to give birth). Because the
reason people contemplate abortion is out of fear."
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US: Michigan Enacts Laws to Ban Coerced Abortion
Michigan Governor Rick Snyder signed
two bills into law to protect women from being pressured into abortion.
One bill makes coercion to abort a crime under the current
anti-extortion/coercion law and the second law makes violations
punishable with fines up to $10,000. The new regulation with require
abortion clinics to post a notice stating it is illegal to coerce to
abort and screen women for signs they are being pressure into the
abortion. Studies have shown that as high as half of post-abortive women
say they felt pressured to abort, and often victims of abuse and
sex-trafficking are forced to have abortions.
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Netherlands: Health Minister Seeks Changes to Abortion Law
Dutch health minister Edith Schippers informed parliament in a letter of her plans to introduce legislation in the fall to amend the Termination of Pregnancy Act to allow general practice physicians to prescribe an abortion-inducing drug during the first six weeks and two days of a pregnancy.Doctors
would be required to obtain a special license to prescribe the drug and
would have to report all prescriptions to a special regulatory body
established by the health ministry. Currently Dutch women go to an abortion clinic or hospital for the abortion pill, named Sunmedabon, and Schippers claims that many women prefer discussing abortion with their family doctor.
It is reported that the
measure is opposed by Christian political parties which do not want to
see general practice physicians in the business of abortion. Their support is critical in the Senate; a similar measure was blocked last year.The Netherlands-based pro-abortion group Women on Waves,which sells abortion pills online and uses drones to deliver abortion pills, opposes the proposed change claiming that it "will effectively criminalise the termination of a very early pregnancy", is "a violation of international women's and human rights" and that "the Netherlands is following the same restrictive abortion politics as the United States and Poland."
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Isle of Man: Chief Minister Seeks Change in Laws against Abortion
Isle of Man's chief minister, the equivalent of prime minister, stated
during demonstrations for and against abortion that he believed that
laws on abortion "need changing". Current law allows abortion if
'necessary to preserve the life of the pregnant woman', in the case of 'grave
permanent injury to the physical or mental health of the woman', if the
child is 'unlikely to survive birth' or if there is a risk of 'serious
handicap', excluding in the case of Down Syndrome which is not allowed,
and if the pregnancy is the result of rape, incest or indecent assault.
Pro abortion activists are looking to influence the September
parliamentary elections. Chief
Minister Allan Bell has stated that legislation to expand access to
abortion will be reviewed after the general election in September.
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Louisiana: Governor Signs Legislation on Aborted Baby Body Parts
Governor
John Bel Edwards signed legislation that prohibits the buying, selling
or donation of human organs and body parts obtained from aborted babies.
The action comes as the House Select Committee on Infant Lives
investigates the abortion industry. The bill, H.B. 815 passed both
houses in the Louisiana legislature with overwhelming bipartisan
support. The bill is based on the "dead donor rule" which according to
the Bio Ethics Defense Fund "is a longstanding ethical norm that
protects the integrity of human organ donation by providing (a) that
organ donors must be dead before procurement of organs begins, and (b)
that organ procurement itself must not cause the death of the donor."
In addition, "The
dead donor rule is further violated because the human being whose fetal
organs are procured does not have the capacity to consent to organ
donation, and because proxy consent for donation by the unborn child's
mother is invalid given that the unborn child is alive at the time the
consent forms are signed."
More information on the legislation can be found here.
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Judicial News
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US: Kentucky Court Rules for State Regulation of Abortion Clinics
The Kentucky Court of Appeals ruled
that the state has the right to regulate abortion clinics. The ruling
reversed a lower court decision which had blocked the state's injunction
against the EMW Women's Clinic which was brought forth due to "filthy"
conditions, the lack of an ambulance agreement, and the performing of
abortions without a state license. The Court of Appeals ruled that the
clinic must be licensed as an abortion facility as opposed to a doctor's
office that performs abortions. "Today marks an important victory for the rule of law in Kentucky," said Governor Matt Bevin. "We are pleased by the Court's recognition that an unlicensed abortion clinic is prohibited from performing abortions." The clinic plans to appeal the case to the state's Supreme Court.
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Issues
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Northern Ireland: Drone Delivers Illegal Abortion Pills
A coalition of abortion activists orchestrated a drone flight
into Northern Ireland to deliver abortion pills into the pro-life
country. Women on Waves, the primary sponsor of the event, is known for
illegally bringing abortion into countries that protect the right to
life. The drone transported the abortion pills mifepristone and
misoprostol a short distance from the Republic of Ireland to Northern
Ireland, and were then reportedly taken by two women as police and media
watched the spectacle.
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India: Islamic Seminary Issues First Fatwa against Sex Selective Abortion
The largest Islamic seminary in India, Darul Uloom of Deoband, has issued
a fatwa against the abortion of unborn baby girls. The step, the first
of its kind, was taken after reports showed worsening sex ratios
favoring boys. "It's
a first fatwa against sex-selective abortions. The act is against Islam
and there is no grace in the eye of Allah for those doing it," said Deoband spokesperson Maulana Ashraf Usmani. "We
appeal to Muslims to refrain from any act which discriminates the girl
child. Our vice chancellor has termed sex-selective abortions
cold-blooded murders."
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Parliamentary Network for Critical Issues
Advancing global respect and dignity for life through law
and policy.
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www.pncius.org |
Visit us on the web!
www.PNCIUS.org
has been updated with expanded information on Human Dignity and critical
issues including: Abortion, Bioethics, Child Mortality, End of life issues,
Infanticide, Maternal mortality and Sex-selective abortion.
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Contact PNCI |
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Parliamentary Network for Critical Issues
P.O. Box 20203
Washington, DC 20041
703-433-2767
info@pncius.org
All news articles include links to original source. PNCI cannot verify that the
information contained in the news articles is accurate.
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