By now, probably everyone in Wisconsin has seen the television ad which essentially accuses State Supreme Court Justice David Prosser of assisting in ignoring the sexual abuse of children by a Catholic priest over 30 years ago. The ad is very damaging, as is its intent. It’s one of those ads which makes you grimace as you watch it.
Fortunately, the two victims in that case immediately came forward to denounce the ad and exonerate Prosser. For those who personally know Justice Prosser, it is no surprise that he is not guilty of the actions which the ad alleges. Prosser is a highly respected jurist and person. Hopefully, the voting public will see through this vicious smear campaign and re-elect a thoughtful justice who deserves another 10 years on the bench.
This blog post is from Wesley Smith, posted at his firstthings blog:
Another big breakthrough on the IPSC front: Skin cells from a patient with Parkinson’s–a variety caused by a genetic condition–have been turned into neural cells, and then studied as the Parkinson’s destroys the tissue. From the story:
There are no cures because research has been very hard to do, for two specific reasons: Only humans get the disease, so laboratory animals aren’t good models for testing. And it is impossible to extract cells from deep inside the brains of patients. By the time patients die, the brain cells are dead, too. “It is a huge bottleneck to research,” Langston said.
But a new technique has changed all that. By inserting certain genes into skin cells, scientists can turn back the clock, causing them to revert to “induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells” — with embryonic-like traits. Then they are coaxed into becoming mature cells, such as neurons. This “disease in a dish” technique holds promise for not just Parkinson’s but a whole range of other disorders, including Type 1 diabetes, Huntington’s disease, Down syndrome and muscular dystrophy. Stanford scientists have even used the technique to build small faulty hearts to better understand rhythm disorders.
Genia Brin, an applied mathematician and retired research scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, was considered to be the perfect donor because she has the genetic form of the disease. Scientists reason that they would have a better chance of replicating the disorder with her cells, rather than the cells of someone with a more sporadic form of the disease. While rare, her form of the disease behaves just like the more common form, so it might offer important lessons.
This is what was promised from human cloning research. That hasn’t worked–and we shouldn’t try. That ethical line is easier to defend now that IPSCs are proving so valuable without having to risk women’s health by harvesting their eggs, or creating, and then destroying, embryos.
Will the 2011 spring election be like previous ones when there was a race for State Supreme Court? Low voter turnout is the norm in these elections. Here are the number of votes cast in previous State Supreme Court races:
2007
Ziegler 487,422
Clifford 342,371
2008
Gableman 425,101
Butler 402,798
2009
Abrahamson 473,277
Koschnick 319,481
The range is roughly between 793,000 and 831,000 votes cast in these three elections. Low voter turnout. This means your vote is worth a lot on April 5. Prosser can win this race if historic voting patterns prevail. Will this be like previous spring elections? There is a lot riding on the outcome of this year’s race. You need to do your part to make sure that people get to the polls and vote for Prosser.
On the first anniversary of the passage of Obamacare, a highly-touted $125 million Health Information Campaign to let the public know what the new law really does has apparently fizzled. This costly plan was unveiled last June by Andrew Grossman who heads the Wal-Mart Watch. The goal was to spend $25 million a year for five years using 10-15 operatives and luminaries like Tom Daschle, Vicki Kennedy and Anita Dunn to tout the new law and change public opinion.
Almost a year later, the Health Information Campaign is invisible and the luminaries are not returning phone calls. Grossman now says, “The law is in effect, and the best thing we can do now is explain it.” Not so lofty anymore. Wesley Smith comments on the silence of the luminaries: “That could be because the law is a disastrous mess and the luminaries are unwilling to stake their reputations on trying to sell it.”
Started in 1995, the Wisconsin Right to Life Veritas Society media campaign is the longest-running, most consistent campaign or its kind in the country. For the 16th year, the Veritas Society is hitting the airwaves and Internet this spring using television, radio, Facebook and the Internet to educate literally millions of Wisconsin residents about abortion.
The stated goal of the program is to create a culture of life and reduce the number of Wisconsin abortions. Polling tells us the culture is building, fueled by the right-to-life attitudes of young people. The Wisconsin abortion decrease is stunning — abortions have decreased 33% since 1995 when the Veritas Society first began airing ads. Most importantly, Wisconsin abortion ratios, the number of abortions per 100 live births, have decreased a dramatic 37%.
How does Wisconsin compare to the rest of the nation? In 2009, Wisconsin recorded 8,542 abortions. That same year, Minnesota had 12,388 abortions, Michigan had 22,357 abortions and Illinois, a whopping 47,717 abortions. The national abortion ratio is 24 abortions per 100 live births, while Wisconsin’s abortion ratio is half of that number at 12 abortions per 100 live births.
We estimate that the number of Wisconsin babies saved cumulatively since 1995 is 89,966!
This is a million dollar program with million dollar results. Many thanks to the Trustees and supporters who make this important program possible.
Discussion about legalization of doctor-prescribed death has ominous consequences even for those who are not ill.
A Minnesota man, William Melchert-Dinkel, was convicted last week for using the Internet to encourage two people to commit suicide. According to the AP, “Prosecutors said Melchert-Dinkel,…was obsessed with suicide and hanging and sought out potential victims online. When he found them, prosecutors said, he posed as a female nurse, feigned compassion and offered step-by-step instructions on how they could kill themselves. Melchert-Dinkel told police he did it for the ‘thrill of the chase.’ He acknowledged participating in online chats about suicide with up to 20 people and entering into fake suicide pacts with about 10 people, five of whom he believed killed themselves.”
Adding to this disturbing development is the sale of suicide kits through the mail. A two-person company in Southern California sells a “helium hood kit” for $60. Randi Bjornstad writing in The Register-Guard describes the kit as follows: “The small, white box, measuring 10 by 7 by 3 inches and decorated with a butterfly, holds a brown paper packet, its edges zigzagged with pinking shears and stitched shut on a sewing machine. Inside the packet is a clear plastic bag with an elasticized band sewn to the open end, to slip over the head and fit snugly around the neck. The box also contains clear plastic tubing, for hooking up tanks of lethal helium gas.”
A very sad commentary for individuals and their families.
It has been one year since the abortion-laden Obamacare health care plan was enacted into law by the Congress. President Obama and his allies truly believed the public would forget and grievously underestimated opposition to this measure. Rasmussen Reports released a poll this week which reveals that opposition among likely voters remains strong with 62% favoring repeal of Obamacare and 51% strongly favoring repeal. Only 33% oppose repeal with 24% strongly opposed.
According to Rasmussen, “Support for repeal of the national health care law has reached its highest level since May of last year. The number of voters who believe the plan will increase the cost of care has tied its highest level since the law’s passage last March.”
Democrats are divided, as they were during the 2010 elections, as to whether they should even mention the issue. Congressman Anthony Weiner (D-NY) says “Look, we tried the hiding-under-our-desk strategy on this issue during campaign 2010. Too many candidates who did that lost.” Weiner believes President Obama should make Obamacare “a centerpiece of his re-election campaign and sell voters on its benefits ‘every single day.’”
Sound political advice or sending the President on a suicide mission? You decide.
The lengthy expose about the horrendous late-term abortion practice of Kermit Gosnell in Philadelphia sent shock waves throughout the nation. The most egregious discovery was the lack of inspection of abortion clinics by the Department of Health (DOH) dating back to the 1970s.
The DOH resumed inspecting clinics last year and uncovered two more run by Soleiman Soli that needed to be closed down. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, “Pennsylvania’s failure to oversee abortion clinics, which allowed a West Philadelphia facility to operate for decades with grave deficiencies, also enabled two other Philadelphia-area clinics to endanger patients and ignore rules.” Soli’s clinics had NEVER been inspected before late 2010.
At Soli’s clinics, there was a “lack of resuscitation equipment and no documentation of patients’ vital signs, such as blood pressure, before or after care,” according to DOH officials. Inspectors also said “Medications and syringes — uncovered and uncapped — were kept directly on the floor under a cabinet in the exam room to hide them from potential burglars…”
The 83-year-old Soli promptly closed his clinics and retired. He was not disciplined but records show Soli has been sued for malpractice at least six times, including one case that was settled for $35 million.
Here is Soli’s recorded farewell message following the clinic closures: “The doctor has decided to spend more time with his family. He would like to thank everyone who has come to the office. It has been a joy and a wonderful experience for him.” Not so joyous and wonderful for the babies he killed and the women he injured.
The Texas House has followed the Senate in passing legislation that would require that a woman seeking an abortion view an ultrasound of her unborn child and listen to the baby’s heartbeat. Yesterday, we wrote about public support for such a measure which is about to be introduced in Wisconsin as part of the Woman’s Protection Act.
Who, you ask, could be opposed to this? The proponents of abortion, of course, who view the most common sense and beneficial of provisions to somehow be an “assault” on women. David Andrusko of National Right to Life points out the hollow arguments used by abortion proponents to oppose required ultrasounds. “First, [they] continue to act as if abortion clinics don’t already use sonograms. But do that lie one better …. Rage and fume that pro-lifers are demanding an invasive, insulting, inhumane procedure: a sonogram scan ‘in the woman’s uterus.’”
Here’s the truth. Abortionists routinely do ultrasounds to determine the age and size of the baby to determine which abortion procedure to use. They just don’t want the mother to see her ultrasound. Take her money and keep her in the dark. Women deserve better.
The Woman’s Protection Act (WPA) is a high priority for Wisconsin Right to Life this legislative session. A new Rasmussen Reports poll shows strong support for one key part of the WPA — requiring that a woman seeking an abortion view an ultrasound of her unborn child. Poll participants were asked if they approved of a proposed law in Texas which would require the ultrasound and listening to the child’s heartbeat. By a 48%-38% margin, they approved of it. They also, by a 62% majority, “think it is at least somewhat likely that such a law would reduce the number of abortions,” according to Rasmussen.
The WPA is being proposed just for that reason — to give women full information so that abortions can be reduced. Wisconsin’s Woman’s Right to Know Act, which requires that the woman seeking an abortion be given full information with 24 hours to think about it, went into effect in 1998. In the very first year, Wisconsin abortions decreased 12% and have continued a steep decline.
We have always believed that you don’t help the baby unless you help the mother. Giving a woman the full range of information not only helps her but has been demonstrated to reduce the number of abortions. The WPA continues in that tradition and needs to become law in Wisconsin. Kudos to Senator Mary Lazich and Rep. Michelle Litjens for authoring this important bill.
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