Life Voice Blog - Wisconsin Right to Life

New Standard for Euthanasia: “Tired of Living”

mark — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:04:32 +0000

Really. This is not a joke. A Dutch “Right to Die” campaign has garnered 100,000 signatures to support legalization of lethal injections for healthy people who are simply “tired of living.” Under this plan, non-medical people would be trained to inject people over age 70 who “consider their lives complete” and have a “heartfelt and enduring desire” to die.

This is the slippery slope run amuk and The Netherlands has long been the grand laboratory. The Dutch have gone from failing to prosecute assisted suicide and euthanasia even though it was illegal to legalizing euthanasia to euthanizing people without their consent to establishing guidelines to allow parents to have their newborns with disabilities euthanized.

Alex Schadenberg of the Canadian Euthanasia Prevention Coalition reports that at a World Federation of Right to Die Societies Conference in 2006, the leader of the Dutch euthanasia society spoke openly of the final goal — “euthanasia for those who are ‘tired of living.’” This is their “final solution.” Does it sound eery? And all too familiar?

Lest one dismiss this effort as some of those crazy Europeans, think again. Pro-euthanasia forces in the U.S., buoyed by their recent successes in legalizing assisted suicide in Washington and Montana, are now polling in seven states — Vermont, Massachusetts, Maine, Wyoming, Arizona, Hawaii and Colorado — to test the waters for ballot initiatives in 2012.

They are excited. We are terrified.

Barbara Lyons

Bookmark and Share

Will Abortion Kill Obamacare?

mark — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:40:39 +0000

Every day the stakes get higher:

*Stupak and his pro-life Democratic colleagues are holding firm — no prohibition of abortion funding, no vote for Obamacare.

*Senate Republicans say that if policy, such as prohibiting abortion funding, is in the reconciliation bill, they will raise a point of order to require 60 votes. They vow to use abortion or any other policy “fix” to kill the bill altogether.

*Pro-abortion groups have written to the President, Reid and Pelosi demanding that Obamacare become even more laden with abortion funding. More policy fixes to complicate the process.

The only thing clear at this time is that Pelosi doesn’t have the votes in the House to pass the Senate bill. If she did, this would have all been over months ago.

Barbara Lyons

Bookmark and Share

Assisted Suicide News from Georgia, Washington, Connecticut

mark — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:02:08 +0000

Four members of a group called Final Exit Network (FEN) were indicted in Georgia by a grand jury for offering assistance to help John Celmer, a 58-year-old man, to commit suicide. They were also charged with tampering with evidence and violating Georgia’s anti-racketeering law. Three of the four were arrested a year ago during a sting operation using an undercover agent who sought out the group to ask for assistance with suicide. FEN is reported to have assisted numbers of suicides by offering an “exit guide” which instructs people to purchase helium tanks and a hood.

Washington State released a report on assisted suicides for the first year the law allowing assisted suicide was in effect. According to the report, 63 prescriptions for lethal drugs were obtained and 36 people used them to commit suicide. Physicians for Compassionate Care Education Foundation Washington reports that only 7% of the patients were referred for psychiatric evaluation despite the fact that the most significant underlying reason for requesting suicide is depression. As in Oregon, the most common reasons for suicide requests were concerns about losing autonomy, decreased ability to participate in activities, and perceived loss of dignity.

A hearing was held earlier this week in a Connecticut court on a lawsuit filed by Compassion and Choices and several physicians who are seeking to overturn Connecticut’s law prohibiting assisted suicide. Attorneys for the state have asked the court to dismiss the case, arguing that this is an issue more properly dealt with by legislatures. Advocates of assisted suicide have asked the court to declare that “aid-in-dying” is a medical term of art which should replace “assisted suicide.”

Barbara Lyons

Bookmark and Share

Kind, Kagen Listed as Undecided on Obamacare

mark — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:12:45 +0000

Today’s issue of the Hill lists Wisconsin Congressman Ron Kind as undecided on voting for Obamacare. Read the Hill article here. Real Clear Politics lists Wisconsin Congressman Steven Kagen as undecided as of this morning. Read the Real Clear Politics article here.

No reason is given for Kind being on this list. Kagen is quoted as saying he wants the bill split up into smaller bills. This opens up renewed opportunities for Kind’s and Kagen’s constituents to contact them immediately. Action Alerts with phone numbers for local congressional offices can be found here.

News reports this morning quote Rep. Bart Stupak as saying he is “optimistic” the abortion problem can be fixed. One wonders how with action in the Senate problematic if the House even passes H.R. 3590.

Barbara Lyons

Bookmark and Share

Who is the Dumbest Democrat in the House?

mark — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:27:06 +0000

The one who votes for the Senate bill and the so-called “reconciliation” bill believing that the Senate will actually take up the “reconciliation” bill, says Senator Lindsey Graham. He has a good point. Once the House passes the Senate bill, the President has his moment in the sun signing a health care reform measure, leaving everyone else holding the bag. House members are stuck with a vote on a bill with abortion funding and all of the other onerous parts of the Senate bill and no fixes. The Senate is happy that its bill became law and moves on to other issues.
Today’s Wall Street Journal cynically suggests that the President is “playing” House Democrats, talking up reconciliation knowing it will be difficult to accomplish to maneuver the House into passing the Senate bill. He gets what he wants and House Democrats get nada.

Recognizing the high stakes gambling that is occurring, the National Right to Life Committee issued the strongest statement possible on Friday:

“Any House member who votes for the Senate health bill is casting a career-defining pro-abortion vote.”

There is renewed talk about solving the abortion problem with a “sidebar” bill that would walk hand in hand with the Senate version of Obamacare through the House and into the unknown. Only a fool would believe that the Senate will take up an abortion fix.

Defeating the Senate bill is the ONLY strategy that works to protect unborn children from death and older Americans from rationing.

Read the full NRLC statement here.

Barbara Lyons

Bookmark and Share

March 18 Set for House Vote on Obamacare: Stupak Holding Firm

mark — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:45:27 +0000

Pushing ahead for a House vote on the Senate version of Obamacare, it appears that Thursday, March 18, will be the date. As Speaker Pelosi continues to claim that the Senate bill does not include abortion funding, Rep. Bart Stupak continues to hold firm. He and approximately 10 other Dems will not vote for the Senate bill because of its abortion components.

An area of concern is Pelosi and company holding out the “promise,” as HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius did a few days ago, that the abortion problem will be “fixed” somewhere down the line (wink, wink). Stupak and company should not be so foolish as to trust Pelosi or anyone in the Administration.

Barbara Lyons

Bookmark and Share

Obama Calls for Vote This Month on Pro-Abortion Obamacare

mark — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:30:11 +0000

In his remarks today, President Obama called for a vote in the next few weeks on Obamacare. He, Reid and Pelosi are officially stating (to no one’s surprise) that they will use the process known as the nuclear option, reconciliation, or its new name — a simple majority — to attempt to ram the measure through Congress.

The first obstacle for Obama and company is the passage of the Senate bill (H.R. 3590) in the House. The Senate bill, says Doug Johnson of National Right to Life, “would result in direct federal funding of abortion through Community Health Centers, tax subsidies for private abortion plans that cover abortion (including some federally administered plans), and pro-abortion federal administrative mandates, among other problems.” Johnson says, “…the Senate produced a final bill that is the most pro-abortion single piece of legislation to reach the floor of either house of Congress since Roe v. Wade.”

If the Senate bill can be passed, it will be accompanied by a “sidecar” bill with changes that can be passed using the 51 vote reconciliation procedure in the Senate. Senator Kent Conrad has publicly stated that changes to the abortion language would likely not be permitted in the “sidecar” bill under reconciliation.

As calculated in earlier blogs, Speaker Pelosi does not have the votes for the Senate measure at this time because of a death, retirements, vote changes, and the stubborn Rep. Bart Stupak who continues to insist that the abortion issue will cost her 10 of her original 220 “yes” votes. Other blogs are reporting that abortion is the key sticking point for Obamacare.

Wisconsin Right to Life is initiating a major LAST CHANCE alert to prevent a huge expansion of abortion at taxpayer expense. Continue to watch our home page for news and ways to take action.

Barbara Lyons

Bookmark and Share

Showdown Likely This Month on Pro-Abortion Health Care Bill

mark — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:35:52 +0000

President Obama and top Democratic congressional leaders have launched a final all-out push to enact a massive health care restructuring till that, among other things, contains sweeping pro-abortion provisions.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is currently involved in writing a new bill that would make certain changes to H.R. 3590, the health care proposal that was passed by the U.S. Senate on December 24, 2009. Democratic congressional leaders, with the encouragement of President Obama, are using a fast-track procedure called “reconciliation” that would not be subject to a Republican fillibuster in the Senate. This so-called “sidecar” bill will include some of the changes that President Obama wants made to the Senate bill. However, none of the changes would fix the abortion problems in the Senate-passed bill.

This is no time to relax! Call and email your U.S. House member and urge him/her to oppose the Senate-passed health bill (H.R. 3590), no matter what cosmetic changes are proposed or promised because of the provisions that would result in abortion mandates and abortion subsidies.

If you’re not sure who your U.S. House member is or if you need contact information, click here

Bookmark and Share

Abortion the Big Obstacle on Obamacare

mark — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:20:24 +0000

The curtains have come down on yesterday’s Obamacare summit mega-drama. As expected, no new ground was broken. The President and the House and Senate leadership vow to move forward and have every intention of using reconciliation to ram through the extravagant, pro-abortion, rationing measure known as Obamacare.

As stated in yesterday’s blog, the math does not compute well for Speaker Pelosi in the House. She needs 218 votes and may have around 206 votes to pass the Senate bill, the first step that must be taken. Where will she get those votes?

The Stupak contingent of 10-12 Congresspersons, who are not budging on opposing any bill which contains abortion funding, is blocking Pelosi’s path to victory. If she gives in to them and states that the second bill (the reconciliation bill) will remove the objectionable sections of the Senate bill on abortion, she will lose numbers of pro-abortion members of the House.

It is stalemate with abortion the big obstacle, as it should be.

Barbara Lyons

Bookmark and Share

A Drama With Too Many Acts: The Health Care Reform Summit

mark — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 14:48:13 +0000

The suspense and intrigue are palpable as the curtain rises on today’s health care reform summit. In many ways, this is a drama in too many acts with the life and health of Americans hanging in the balance. Here is how the drama unfolds:

Act 1: President Obama announces the February 25 health care reform summit featuring rolling cameras.

Act 2: President Obama releases a health care reform plan as a starting point. His bill expands abortion beyond the unacceptable Senate bill. It also includes rationing for senior citizens and limits the ability of all Americans to buy health care with their own money.

Act 3: Posturing, posturing, posturing by everyone.

Act 4: Key Democrats float the “reconciliation” balloon. President, Speaker and Senate leader say reconciliation is on the table. Is it a threat or a promise?

Act 5: House leaders announce that Speaker Pelosi doesn’t have the votes in the House for the Senate bill whose passage in the House is the first step in using the reconciliation process. The math adds up. She started with 220 votes. Two votes have retired, one vote is deceased, and one vote is the lone Republican who supported Obamacare in the House but will not support the Senate bill because it is pro-abortion. Take away another 10-12 Dems who voted for Obamacare because the Stupak Amendment was adopted but will not vote for the Senate bill because it is abortion-laden. That leaves Ms. Pelosi about 15 votes shy of what she needs.

Act 6: Enter the hero of the play, Rep. Bart Stupak, off stage, who says the President’s bill is unacceptable because it includes public funding of abortion.

Act 7: Enter pro-abortion House Democrats, also off stage, who vow they will not vote for Obamacare if the Stupak language is included.

Act 8: Just before the curtain rises, the White House tantalizes viewers by leaking that another scaled-down bill is lurking in the shadows. Will it contain abortion coverage and funding? Probably. Rationing? Probably.

Act 9: The entire cast enters the stage, scripts in hand, prepped for cameras which are already rolling. The curtain rises on this mega-drama. Lights, camera, action.

Stay tuned for the conclusion of this drama which has life or death consequences for all of us.

Barbara Lyons

Bookmark and Share