Iceland Aborting Virtually All Children With Down Syndrome

Abortion, , ,

A chilling news report from CBS found that in Iceland nearly all unborn babies diagnosed with Down syndrome in the womb are aborted.

One tagline for the article said, “Iceland is on pace to virtually eliminate Down syndrome through abortion.”

But despite what many people are saying, Iceland isn’t eradicating Down syndrome. Rather, they’re killing unborn babies who are at risk for Down syndrome.

John Stonestreet with the Colson Center for Christian Worldview writes,

Make no mistake—what we’re witnessing here is the systematic extermination of children who are, by society’s standards, less than perfect.

As Stonestreet points out, research published in the American Journal of Medical Genetics found that 99% of individuals with Down syndrome report being happy and just 4% of parents regretted their decision to keep their child with Down syndrome.

You can read Stonestreet’s entire commentary on this subject here.

READ MORE

Timeline of the State’s Decision to Cut Ties With Planned Parenthood

Abortion, , ,

This week a federal appeals court ruled Arkansas could cut Medicaid reimbursements to Planned Parenthood. This ruling comes following nearly two years of litigation in federal court.

Below is a timeline of this issue and the legal battle surrounding it.

  • November 8, 1988: Voters in Arkansas passed Amendment 68 to the Arkansas Constitution prohibiting public funds from paying for abortion, except to save the mother’s life.
  • July 25, 1994: Following a lawsuit by an abortion clinic in Little Rock, a federal court blocked enforcement of Amendment 68, saying it violated the Hyde Amendment–a rider on the federal budget Congress passed in 1994 prohibiting public funding of abortions except in cases of rape or incest or to save the life of the mother.
  • July 25, 1995: The Eight Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the lower court’s ruling.
  • March 18, 1996: The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the ruling, essentially saying Amendment 68 could only be blocked insofar as it conflicted with the Hyde Amendment. Practically speaking, this has prevented public funding of abortion in most cases, with the exception of abortions paid for with Medicaid funds in certain circumstances permitted by the federal Hyde Amendment.
  • August 14, 2015: Governor Asa Hutchinson directed the Department of Human Services to terminate its Medicaid contract with Planned Parenthood.
  • October 2, 2015: U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker issued a preliminary injunction forcing the State of Arkansas to continue making Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood following a lawsuit by three of Planned Parenthood’s patients.
  • September 29, 2016: U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker expanded that ruling to apply to all of Planned Parenthood’s patients in Arkansas. Arkansas’ attorney general appealed the ruling to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
  • August 16, 2017: A three judge panel from the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Arkansas can decline to provide Medicaid reimbursements to abortion providers.

READ MORE

Eighth Circuit Hands Down Another Pro-Life Victory

1 CommentAbortion, , ,

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, August 16, 2017

On Wednesday a three judge panel from the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Arkansas can decline to provide Medicaid reimbursements to abortion providers. The ruling comes as part of an ongoing lawsuit filed after the State of Arkansas cut Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood in 2015.

Family Council President Jerry Cox issued a statement saying, “The Eighth Circuit did the right thing today. Arkansans have made it clear time and again they do not want tax money going to abortion providers. Many Arkansans have moral objections to abortion. They don’t want their hard-earned money subsidizing abortion providers.”

Cox praised Governor Asa Hutchinson and Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge for defending the state’s decision to cut Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood. “Governor Hutchinson’s bold leadership is what led the state to cut ties with Planned Parenthood in the first place. Our governor has always been a staunch pro-life advocate. Arkansas’ attorney general is defending at least seven pro-life laws and policies in court right now. I don’t know of any attorney general in America who is doing more to fight for the right to life. Her team has won some major victories in the past few weeks, and I believe we will see more in the months to come.”

Photo Credit: By Brian Turner (Flickr: My Trusty Gavel) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

READ MORE