Anti-choice terrorist gets another life sentence

James Kopp, a religiously motivated terrorist, is already serving a sentence of 25 years to life in the U.S. for the murder of Dr. Barnett Slepian in 1998. He is also a suspect in four non-fatal shootings. Now James Kopp has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for violating the FACE act and another ten years for using a firearm to do violence.

FACE stands for Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances. It was passed during the term of U.S. President Clinton in 1994. FACE prohibits the use of "force, threat of force or physical obstruction" to prevent someone from providing or receiving reproductive health care services.

According to National Abortion Federation statistics,

The very visible prosecution and conviction of anti-abortion extremists like Kopp along with the enforcement of the FACE Act have led to a decrease in major acts of violence against abortion providers.

Jesus wept...anti-abortion groups celebrate "Christian" terrorists

There's a blog called "archy" -- read his article. Protest to your local church and ask them to comment on this "religious" activity: Jesus wept.

Just when we think the vileness that people will commit in the name of God can't get any worse, we get this:

George L. Wilson of Children Need Heroes and Drew Heiss of Street Preach are planning to honor Paul Hill in a series of events called "Paul Hill Days" in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, July 26th - 29th -- "to honor him as God's man and our hero."

On July 29, 1994 Paul Hill, who sought to set a good example for Christian theocratic revolutionaries, assassinated abortion provider Dr. John Britton and James Barrett one of his escorts, and seriously wounding another, June Barrett, outside an abortion clinic in Pensacola, Florida.

...the "Paul Hill Days" stunt has a larger purpose than just to "honor" Hill or educate children about a "hero." The event also sends a message to abortion providers everywhere that there are still those who believe in terror lurking in the crowds and they could be next. The highlight of the "Paul Hill Days" stunt is a reenactment of the assassination.

U.S. Supreme Court respects "life within the woman"

The new, conservative U.S. Supreme Court has voted, on the convictions of five old Catholic men, to enshrine protection for "the life within the woman." The life of the woman can go hang. The link shows a cartoon by Ann Telnaes.

And read her bio. It says that the cartoons are born in Sweden.


(Thanks to Feministing for mentioning this!)

The link is not functioning, so here is the rest of the cartoon:

Anti-choice lies on billboards

In my town I'm seeing anti-choice billboards that imply that abortion causes breast cancer. They show a teenage girl, the phrase, "Why didn't they tell me?" and a web address with "cancer" in it.

There is no link between abortion and breast cancer. The topic has been researched again and again and there's nothing. It's just a lie, a myth, a scare tactic, a bogeyman.

Why isn't someone suing these people? Why isn't the Canadian government making them back down on their lying claims?

Federal Conservatives drop effort to get New Brunswick to comply with Canada Health Act

New Brunswick continues to to restrict abortion to hospitals with multi-doctor approvals, even though they are in contravention of the Canada Health Act.

Hyprocritical anti-choice

Keanus says:

Weekly I escort patients at a Planned Parenthood clinic, shielding them from harassment by anti-abortion protesters. Those protesters are every bit as honest as Mr. Paszkiewicz (a history teacher who said in class that anyone who doesn't believe in God belongs in Hell, then lied about it, then was confronted with an audio recording).

Many times every day they scream or try to hand out literature with claims that abortion causes breast cancer, cervical cancer, sterility, and "post abortion syndrome" and that it's certain to destroy the relationship with the father. They're shameless. I've requested from them the scientific literature that supports those claims. They've yet to furnish it. So I remind them weekly that I'm being entirely truthfiul to call them liars and violators of the ten commandments--[they] are shameless liars.

Many fundies of whatever persuasion--both protestant and Catholic--are professional liars. Incidentally the nearest Catholic church, which is three blocks away, ejects from their congregation anyone who's had an abortion or is related to someone who's had an abortion or works at Planned Parenthood. Whatever became of that old Christian adage "Love the sinner, hate the sin."

Access denied: Romania

Romania, long a country where birth control was unavailable and abortion was a crime, is still suffering horrendous child abuse, child poverty, and child mortality rates.

Economic injustice leads to more abortion in U.S. under Bush

An independent study by an ethics professor and statistician at Fuller Theological Seminary finds that, contrary to popular belief, abortion has actually risen in the US during George W. Bush's presidency and that the increase is linked to greater economic inequality.

"Under President Bush, the decade-long trend of declining abortion rates appears to have been reversed," said Glen Stassen, a leading evangelical divinity school professor.

Citing connections to rising unemployment and soaring healthcare costs, Stassen noted that "economic policy and abortion are not separate issues. They form one moral imperative."

Using data from the Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, the Guttmacher Institute, and reporting by individual states, Stassen found that US abortion rates declined 17.4% in the 1990s to a 24-year low when Bush took office.

Many expected that downward trend to continue under the conservative president, but Stassen found the opposite: 52,000 more abortions occurred in 2002 than would have been expected under the pre-2000 conditions, and abortion has risen significantly in those states reporting multi-year abortion statistic

From an incest survivor

"As an incest survivor, I defy the right of any other human on the planet to look me in the face and tell me that I would not have the right to an abortion if I had been impregnated by my FATHER."

Tags: abortion

Abortions in history: Armand Hammer (Republican)

From Armand Hammer's biography:

5 Jul 1919 Armand Hammer (who has no medical degree at this time) performs an illegal abortion on Marie Oganesoff, wife of a Russian diplomat. She dies of complications, and Armand's father Julius decides to take the fall. Julius sentenced to three years hard labor for this crime he did not commit. (Dossier.)

Tags: abortion

RCMP officers who commit sexual assault remain in jobs

Ross Kentner Commentary for Tuesday, May 23rd 2006:

Sometimes, women have to ask men, "What part of ‘no’ don’t you get?" And I have to ask top brass in the RCMP, "What part of keeping an officer who has been convicted of sexual assault don’t you get?"

Inspector Alain Heon is a district commander of the force in New Brunswick. He was convicted of sexually assaulting the wife of an officer who reported to him. For that, he has been given a six-month conditional sentence. It means two months of house arrest and being entered in the National Sex Offender Registry but, at least for now, he keeps his job.

Here’s the problem and it’s a big one. Precedent has a lot to do with how such cases are decided. And it turns out that in four similar situations where RCMP officers were convicted of sexual assault, they all got to stay on the force. One of them initiated unwanted sexual contact with two different women and harassed a third. You would think that three strikes and you’re out, but a little demotion, counselling and a transfer did the trick. The other two officers lost 10 days pay for having initiated unwanted sexual contact with sleeping women.

What’s wrong with this picture? You would think it would be pretty clear to those whose responsibility is to uphold and enforce the law. Is the law that one takes advantage of a sleeping woman? Certainly not. Is losing 10 days pay the appropriate penalty for doing so. Most certainly not.

Now, if you are a woman who has been raped or battered, how good will you feel calling the RCMP? What if the very officer who comes to your door just happens to have been convicted of sexual assault? You’ll be glad he was demoted, got counselling and was transferred, right?

A final determination on Inspector Heon’s future with the RCMP still has to be reached. While it should have something to do with Heon’s ability and service it should have much more to do with ensuring that the women who need police protection can be confident protection is what they will get from the RCMP. It should have much to do with changing the culture in the RCMP so that officers know that sexual assault leads to the exit door. In short, this officer has got to go.

Whither Canada's anti-choice movement?

from "Canada's dying anti-choice movement" by Joyce Arthur:

In Canada, the anti-choice movement has little or no political influence or power. Although active and vocal, it is quite insular—mostly ignored by the mainstream media and dismissed by influential politicians. It spends its resources on battles it hopes it may have some effect on, such as lobbying against stem cell research, public funding of abortions, and gay marriage. Anti-choice activists in Canada rarely express any hope or resolve to make abortion illegal, except by means of occasional court cases where they try to obtain legal personhood for fetuses. All such efforts have failed completely, resulting in strongly worded rulings that have entrenched women's equality under the constitution while negating any supposed rights for fetuses.

Follow the link to read more about the anti-choice movement in Canada.

Book: The Fundamentals of Extremism: The Christian Right in America

Kimberly Blaker, who edited the book, offers an overview in her article, "Your Body is Not Your Body."

Please follow the link to the Swans ideas and commentary site to read her detailed and absorbing article.

(Button from www.evolvefish.com)

Operation Miscue

"By 1991, Operation Rescue was already in shambles...."

"In the early days of the movement, police were hesitant to arrest anti-abortion protesters. Those arrested were usually let off with a slap on the wrist, often to the extent that they were able to get arrested and released several times over the course of a single blockade. After a few cities were overwhelmed by Operation Rescue's antics, police, prosecutors and judges began to get tough, seeking felony convictions and handing out more serious sentences."

Read on by following the link.

Read more at "All about Operation Rescue and their tactics."

El Salvador forces ectopic pregnancies to burst fallopian tubes

In El Salvador, women aren't allowed to have abortions "for their own convenience"—which includes stopping an ectopic pregnancy until it is a life-threatening medical emergency.

An ectopic pregnancy means that the embryo has settled in the fallopian tube. It will grow there, burst the tube, and without surgery, the woman will die. Ectopic pregnancies have symptoms—pain, for one. If one is detected, it is much safer for the woman to have surgery right away, before the falliopian tube is destroyed and starts bleeding into her abdomen. That also preserves her chance to have another pregnancy using that tube. The embryo can not survive and grow into a baby, whether or not it takes her with it.

But surgery would kill that tiny organism. Brainless and without the ability to survive without its human container, it is still a "life" in Catholic El Salvador. So the woman must wait until her tube ruptures. She won't survive without modern emergency surgery, now. And she may die anyway. But that must be God's will.

To bring El Salvador closer to a perfectly Godly state by controlling its women, it is a crime to comfort a woman who has had an abortion. And there are inspectors who internally examine women for signs of former abortion. Is it any wonder that rational people despise the cruelty of the God-obsessed?

(Button from www.evolvefish.com)

"A Heartless Abortion Law in the U.S.": Heather Mallick, CBC

South Dakota: making rape victims bear their own siblings since 2006.

Conservative Party can't hide its anti-choice agenda

The newly reconstituted Conservative Party has a not-so-hidden agenda to regulate, restrict, or re-criminalize abortion in Canada.

In a media interview on Wednesday, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper indicated that he would allow legislation against abortion in a second term, but not during a first term.

"Let's not forget that most of the new Conservative Party is simply the old Alliance party in sheep's clothing," said Joyce Arthur, spokesperson for the Pro-Choice Action Network. "Many of the Alliance MP's were anti-choice and still are, as proven by health critic Rob Merrifield's wish to pass a law forcing women to undergo third-party informed consent — a scheme for foisting anti-abortion propaganda onto vulnerable women."

Arthur pointed out that since 1996, anti-choice Reform and Alliance MP's have introduced at least eight different private motions trying to regulate abortion, most within the last couple of years. "With a new Conservative government, this pattern would not only continue, but likely escalate." Indeed, Harper said yesterday that he can't stop his MP's from introducing private motions and bills, and would allow free votes on such bills.

Stock's woman problem

Margaret Wente writes:

Back at Westmount High, Stockwell Day was the life of the party and the king of the prom. He never had a problem getting girls. Would those same girls vote for him today? Not a chance.

"I'd rather drink battery acid," said the other woman at my table at the big Canadian Alliance dinner in Toronto. (It was a Bay Street crowd, and the ratio of women to men was around 1 to 5.) Multiply that comment by a hundred, and you'll get a representative sampling of opinion on Mr. Day among the women I'm acquainted with.

To get ahead, Stockwell Day has to win over at least a few women among the vast middle class of urban and suburban baby boomers. But in Ontario, their dislike for him is visceral, bordering on irrational. No matter that they're completely fed up with Jean Chrétien. Even the hard-line tax conservatives can't bring themselves to vote Alliance. Nearly all the women I know are convinced that, no matter what he says, Mr. Day's Agenda of Respect includes a hidden agenda to roll back the right to choose. And they are not going to let him get away with it.

The abortion issue is a total loser everywhere east of the Bible belt, and Mr. Day, no dummy, knows it. It's no accident that the A-word has been scrubbed right out of the official platform. The A-word does not appear once in the 24 pages of campaign bumf that we were served up along with the beef Wellington. Nor did it rate a mention in Mr. Day's remarkably bland dinner speech, which was filled with sunny words such as "hope" and "families." And nowhere does it appear on the Alliance Web site.

And so, when the A-word popped up this week by surprise, it confirmed those women's worst fears that Mr. Day is dissembling through his teeth.

As The Globe discovered, the briefing books sent to Alliance candidates say the party would hold referendums on contentious social issues such as abortion or capital punishment if 3 per cent of voters signed a petition. Aha! The opposition jumped, and hammered hard. Joe Clark said now we know what the hidden agenda is. Mr. Chrétien, the first to raise the A-word in this campaign, was able to say he told us so.

How scary is this?

Well, the petition part is easy, as Campaign Life president Jim Hughes told me. "In 1985, we presented a petition to the Mulroney government with over a million signatures." But so what? As Mr. Hughes himself says, this isn't California. There's no law that says referendums are binding. No House and Senate would vote to repeal abortion rights, and if they ever did, no such law could be enacted without repealing the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Mr. Day knows all that, too. But try explaining it in a media scrum. The A-word is such a firecracker that it shuts down all rational conversation. So Stock got sandbagged on both sides. By claiming that abortion is the very, very furthest thing from his mind these days, he's denied his core supporters. "I don't know how he thinks he got elected as leader," says Jim Hughes. "He wouldn't even be there if it weren't for the grassroots, pro-life, pro-family Canadians that voted for him."

Annoy your friends and scare the folks whose trust you need to win. Then get mad at the media. Not a formula for electoral success.

Is Stock sincere when he says he wouldn't impose his own moral beliefs on the rest of us? I have no doubt about it. I believe he would gladly never speak the A-word again if it meant the baby-boomer women of Ontario would let him sign their dance card. He is not a single-issue candidate. Trouble is, that single issue, for women, is a deal-breaker.

Many politicians' public positions on abortion are more a matter of expediency than principle. In the United States, even liberals such as Hillary Clinton are obliged to say they're personally against it even though they defend choice. Even Mr. Chrétien was anti-choice once upon a time, before it became a political liability.

The trouble with Stock is that he believes it, and that this belief has been central to his life. In 1988, Valorie Day founded a pro-life pregnancy counselling clinic in Red Deer, and Stock helped raise money for it. (This week, the television show W-Five used a hidden camera to show how the clinic uses scare tactics on vulnerable young women, though Mr. Day says they didn't do that back then.) That same year, when he was a lowly MLA, he spoke more graphically about abortion than he has ever since—in public, at any rate. He said he thought that greater access to abortion would probably lead to a rise in child abuse. "The thinking is, if you can cut a child to pieces or burn them alive with salt solution while they're still in the womb, what's wrong with knocking them around a little when they're outside the womb?"

The women Mr. Day needs to win over will never forgive, and they'll never forget.

—MARGARET WENTE, Thursday, November 9, 2000

Tags: abortion , Canadian politics

Alliance Party's abortion stumble has sinister overtones

The more lasting and possibly sinister impression left by Allinace's contradictory position is that the party has a platform to campaign on and has an agenda to govern with - and that they're not the same thing. Day fought to have abortion removed from medicare coverage when he was in the Alberta government. Has he changed his mind on an issue of basic principle (abortion), on a platform issue of governance (referendums), or is he simply diluting his position to make it more palatable to voters?...In California, where referendums are disguised as electoral "propositions," the results have often been to the advantage of the comfortable and organized, at the expense of the poor and the disenfranchised.
—Robert Howard, Hamilton Spectator, November 8, 2000

Tags: abortion , Canadian politics

Alliance Party mixes signals on abortion

Alliance strategist, Rick Anderson - "So we might have a referendum on abortion. Big deal." Alliance strategist, Rod Love said that as prime minister Day would not campaign on a referendum question. [unlike Chretien, who did campaign for the no side in the Quebec referendum. CR]

—Les Whittington, Tim Harper, Hamilton Spectator, November 8, 2000

Tags: abortion , Canadian politics