A Senate committee had stripped that language, which declares that life begins at fertilization and that the state should afford no exceptions to the prohibition on abortion except to save the life of the mother.
But with the original language restored, senators then approved --18 to 17, with Lt. Gov. Dennis Daugaard casting the deciding vote -- an amendment allowing exceptions to save the health of the mother. Rep. Matt McCaulley, R-Sioux Falls, who wrote the bill, said he would have to examine the amendment and its effect on his desire to have the law used as a challenge to Roe vs. Wade.
Great Reader Comments
From The Daily Republic, Mitchell, SD.
by: Tim Lindgren
ndlife@linkup.net
North Dakota had a bill to criminalize abortion in 2003. ND Right to Life and the ND Catholic Conference opposed it on similar grounds. ND Life League supported the bill. God bless those who persevere in this battle for Christ and His little ones.
by: Patrick Johnston, D.O.
docjohnston@yahoo.com
I am truly convinced that the Right to Life is more concerned about making money on abortion than outlawing it. They have betrayed the unborn. Just as Judas Iscariot was the one who hurt Christ the most, Right to Life's betrayal of God's unborn children must grieve His heart and hasten His wrath on our nation for its child-killing.
by: Matthew Hermanson
matthermanson@aandaelectric.com
It seems that South Dakota Right to Life is more interested to their right to life.
Abortionist's Retrial Soon
Pendegraft's Retrial May Start Soon,
Conspiracy, attempted extortion and mail fraud
OCALA - The retrial of Dr. James Scott Pendergraft IV could soon be headed back to court. Lawyers for Pendergraft and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida have agreed to continue the case through March, in the wake of a ruling by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals throwing out part of the government's evidence from the first trial. Steve Cole, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office, said the case could go back to trial at the end of March, but there's no guarantee that it will by then. Pendergraft, the owner of the Ocala Women's Center and four other abortion clinics statewide, was convicted in February 2001 of conspiracy, attempted extortion and mail fraud. His business associate Michael Spielvogel was convicted of the same charges and two additional counts.
Mother Gets 25-Year for Killing Her Baby
NEWPORT - A Cocke County judge on Monday sentenced a Newport woman to 25 years in prison for rolling her 4-month-old son's pacifier in OxyContin and killing him. Debra Kirk Moore, 23, must serve at least 85 percent of the sentence before being eligible for parole. Moore was convicted of aggravated child abuse and criminally negligent homicide in January in the July 22, 2002, death of Lacie Moore III. She had been charged with first-degree murder.
Man May Face Fetal-Homicide Charge
RACINE - Prosecutors are considering charging David Larsen with homicide for allegedly causing his ex-wife to miscarry a baby when he beat and kidnapped her last month. Larsen, 39, of Wind Lake, already faces state charges, including attempted murder, for the crime. He's accused of beating her, stuffing her inside a trash container and then leaving her to die in an unheated, rented storage facility in Illinois. Teri Jendusa-Nicolai, 38, was five weeks pregnant when she was attacked. She suffered a miscarriage after the attack, according to her doctors.
Fetal Homicide Law
On June 25, 2003 Charmaine Holbrook was in a car accident when another driver hit her head-on. Charmaine was 37 weeks pregnant at the time and her baby, Sady Raelynn, died on impact and was stillborn. Charmaine's trauma multiplied when she learned, under the law, a person could be charged with killing a pregnant mother, but not the death of her unborn child. In September 2003, Charmaine went to Frankfort to endorse a Fetal Homicide Bill. She teamed up with State Representative Stan Lee, of Lexington, to fight for a bill that would allow the prosecution of someone who killed a fetus.
Peterson Case Used to Push Fetal Rights
WASHINGTON - The House of Representatives will begin debating proposed legislation today that would make it a federal crime to injure or kill a fetus at any stage of development. The bill is likely to pass the House on Thursday but not before Republican sponsors hold news conferences and anti-abortion and pro-choice groups sound off about fetal homicide. Also, the mother of Laci Peterson, the pregnant California woman whose husband was charged with her murder, will call lawmakers. Although the bill explicitly would exempt abortion-related activities, opponents fear the measure would eventually erode Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion, because it would give legal status to a fetus at all stages of prenatal development. The bill is ''part of a cynical strategy to keep whittling away at the abortion rights guaranteed under Roe v. Wade and to set the stage legally for its reversal,'' according to a statement by the National Organization for Women.
Pro-Life Action Must Originate from Principle
By Rep. Ron Paul, MD / LewRockwell.com
The worst offender of federalism is the so-called Unborn Victims of Violence Act, which not only indirectly surrenders the pro-life principle but actually directly undercuts the right to life by granting a specific exemption to abortionists! This exemption essentially allows some to take life with the sanction of federal law. By supporting this legislation, pro-lifers are expressly condoning a legal exemption for abortionists – showing just how far astray some in the pro-life community have gone.
Prosecutors: Affair with Amber was motive to murder Laci
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — Outlining a motive in the Laci Peterson case for the first time, prosecutors alleged in court documents that Scott Peterson's affair with another woman drove him to murder his pregnant wife. Defense attorneys insisted Tuesday the documents contained "out-and-out falsehoods." In papers filed Monday, prosecutors sketched the broad outlines of what they believe led Scott Peterson to kill his wife, Laci, citing Peterson's affair with massage therapist Amber Frey and his conflicting statements about it to police.
Cadaver-Sniffing Dogs
Peterson lawyer:
Bloodhound 'hit more spots than Paris Hilton'
The use of cadaver-sniffing dogs is under dispute in Scott Peterson's double-murder trial, with prosecutors maintaining they provide important clues to how Peterson disposed of his wife's body and the defense arguing the canines are unreliable. Tuesday's testimony focused on Cindee Valentin, whose bloodhound was called in to find Laci Peterson after her disappearance Dec. 24, 2002, and Eloise Anderson, who trained a labrador retriever who was brought into to sniff Peterson's boat and warehouse for signs that his pregnant wife had been there.
What to do with Doctors
Who Kill People in Hospitals
There is one side of this monetary quagmire we never read or hear anything about -- and I believe it's the one side of this story that would solve the problem of high medical bills, insurance rates and attorney fees.
Senate Backs Adding Language to State Constitution
The stage is set for the state Senate to debate adding language to the Tennessee Constitution declaring that a woman is not guaranteed the right to an abortion — except in some circumstances. The measure by Sen. David Fowler's resolution would add the following to the state constitution: ''Nothing in this constitution secures or protects a right to abortion or the funding thereof.'' Critics of the proposed amendment say it is a ploy by conservatives to divide voters in upcoming elections.
"Morning After Pill" Could Soon
be Purchased Without Prescription
Women in Illinois could soon be able to purchase the "morning after" pill without a prescription if a bill working its way through the legislature is approved. A house committee voted 13-5 on Tuesday to approve the sale of the emergency contraception at pharmacies without a doctor’s prescription. According to the proposal, the pill would have to be kept behind the counter at the pharmacies and pharmacists would have to provide information about the drug when they sell it.
Problems After RU-486?
Call Attorney and Sue!
If you or someone you know has suffered physical injury or emotional harm from the use of the drug Mifepristone, also known as the "abortion pill" RU-486, or, the labor inducing drug Misoprostol also know as Cytotec, you may obtain emotional counseling, medical attention and/or legal assistance by contacting one of the following.
Murder Alleged in Baby Shaking
NEW BRITAIN -- A 20-year-old Hartford man was charged with murder Tuesday after he reportedly admitted to police that he shook his 2-month-old son in the Rocky Hill Wal-Mart parking lot before the infant was hospitalized with fatal injuries. Omar Guzman, 20, of 58 James St., Hartford was served with an additional warrant Tuesday -- involving a single count of murder -- after he was transported to New Britain Superior Court for a previously scheduled appearance.
Man held in East P.A. Killing is Freed
San Mateo County prosecutors have dropped all charges against a Menlo Park man accused of committing one of East Palo Alto's most notorious slayings in recent years. Dontae McCoy Hurd, 19, once charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the June 2003 shooting death of 19-year-old Lisa Juarez Hernandez and her unborn child, walked out of the county jail a free man Monday afternoon after eight months behind bars, his attorney said. The charges were dismissed earlier in the day. Eyewitness accounts of Hernandez's death outside an East Bayshore Road convenience store differed so much that prosecutors felt they couldn't prove beyond a reasonable doubt Hurd was the gunman, said San Mateo County Assistant District Attorney Martin Murray on Tuesday.
Clonaid Claims First Cloned Embryo in Korean Lab
Clonaid, a U.S.-based company that claims to have produced the first human clone, said on Tuesday it used a South Korean laboratory to create its first human clone embryo. ``The first human clone embryo was indeed created in South Korea, back in September 2001 by the Clonaid team, Clonaid said in a press release.
Cloning Debate Focuses on Researchers
SEATTLE - Shin Yong Moon is an obstetrics professor whose specialty is in-vitro fertilization. He is a beer-drinking Methodist, whose wife warned him against experiments with human cloning that might go against God's will. Woo Suk Hwang is a professor of veterinary medicine who has cloned more than 40 cows and pigs. He is a Coca-Cola-sipping Buddhist workaholic whose wife's biggest fear was that his work in human embryonic cloning would leave them with even less time together.
Kenya Delegates Reject Pro-Abortion Bid
Delegates yesterday declined to back moves that would be used to legalise abortion in the new constitution. The technical committee on citizenship and the Bill of Rights said the right of the unborn had to be protected.