What’s interesting in the news today?
1. Despite the bad weather many turned out for yesterdays March for Life. Numerous plane and bus delays, as well as cancellations did lower the numbers.
From LifeSiteNews, photos at the link. “Tens of thousands of pro-life activists endured frigid temperatures and a snow storm Wednesday as they gathered at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., to mark the 41st anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling that has prepared the way for an estimated 56 million abortions.”
“Taking the stage to welcome the marchers shortly after noon, March for Life organizers insisted pro-lifers wouldn’t be daunted by the frigid weather in D.C. “We may be freezing, but we’re freezing for the best cause in the world,” said Patrick Kelly, chairman of the March for Life Education and Defense Fund. “No sacrifice is too great for this cause,” said Jeanne Monahan, the group’s newly minted president.
Speakers at the rally included Dr. James Dobson, Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL), Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO), and Washington State Democratic Legislator Roger Freeman.”
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2. Democrats took the anniversary of Roe v. Wade as an opportunity for reaffirming their commitment to abortion. The DNC trotted out the tired, old “war on women” meme in a tweet aimed at the Republicans above who dared to stand up for life.
“On the 41st anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the GOP actually postponed it’s winter meeting to rally against women’s rights.”
The President did exactly what you would expect. He reminded folks that without abortion, some women wouldn’t be able to fulfill their dreams.
Also from LifeSiteNews “President Obama reaffirmed his support for the “right to reproductive freedom” in a statement celebrating the 41st anniversary of Roe v. Wade, a ruling which has paved the way for over 56 million abortions.”
““Today, as we reflect on the 41st anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, we recommit ourselves to the decision’s guiding principle: that every woman should be able to make her own choices about her body and her health,” the president said.
“We reaffirm our steadfast commitment to protecting a woman’s access to safe, affordable health care and her constitutional right to privacy, including the right to reproductive freedom,” he continued. “And we resolve to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies, support maternal and child health, and continue to build safe and healthy communities for all our children. Because this is a country where everyone deserves the same freedom and opportunities to fulfill their dreams.”
Except for the unborn, right Mr. President?
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3. This, like the March, is encouraging. A Knights of Columbus/Marist poll shows 84% of Americans support significant restriction on abortion.
From KOFC.org “A new survey of Americans finds strong support for abortion restrictions – including among those who identify as “strongly pro-choice.” Eighty-four percent of Americans would limit abortion to, at most, the first three months of pregnancy, with 58 percent of strongly pro-choice Americans supporting such limits.
The Knights of Columbus/Marist Poll also found that almost three-quarters of Americans (74 percent) favor a ban on abortions after 20 weeks except to save the life of the mother, a majority of Americans (53 percent) believe life begins at conception, and more than 6 in 10 (62 percent) think abortion is morally wrong.
More than 8 in 10 Americans (84 percent) do not see the abortion debate as an all or nothing proposition, saying that laws can protect both the well-being of a woman and the life of the unborn.”
80% support parental notification, 79% support a 24 hour waiting period, and 76% oppose allowing abortions to be performed by non-doctors as well.
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4. Here’s another interesting poll. And this ain’t no right-wing pollster. 🙂
From Quinnipiac.edu “American voters give President Obama a negative 40 – 54 percent approval rating, compared to 41 – 53 percent January 8, and 38 – 57 percent December 10, indications that his plunge has leveled off.
But voters give Obama his lowest grades for their top priorities:
Negative 39 – 56 percent for his handling of the economy;
Negative 36 – 59 percent for his handling of healthcare;
Positive 48 – 41 percent for handling terrorism;
Negative 40 – 49 percent for foreign policy;
Negative 39 – 47 percent for handling Iran.”
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5. And they won’t be the only ones.
From CNBC “Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini told CNBC on Wednesday that Obamacare has failed to attract the uninsured, and he offered a scenario in which the insurance company could be forced to pull out of program.
The company will be submitting Obamacare rates for 2015 on May 15.
“Are they going to be double-digit [increases] or are we going to get beat up because they’re double-digit or are we just going to have to pull out of the program?” Bertolini asked in a “Squawk Box” interview from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “Those questions can’t be answered until we see the population we have today. And we really don’t have a good view on that.”
“He said that so far, Obamacare has just shifted people who were insured in the individual market to the public exchanges where they could get a better deal on a subsidy for coverage. “We see only 11 percent of the population is actually people that were firmly uninsured that are now insured. So [it] didn’t really eat into the uninsured population.”
Why would it? After all, nothing else has been as advertised. Why would this be any different?
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Wandering Views 
This protecting women’s access to healthcare garbage makes me so angry I cannot even speak. There are enough ways to prevent pregnancy. I don’t mean to be too crass but a box of condoms is a whole lot cheaper than a package of diapers. I have also had to sign off on more paperwork for my daughter to have a TOOTH PULLED than SHE would have to sign to get an abortion! Last year I took her to the doctor because of her endocrine problems we thought it would be a good think to take her to the gynocologist to make sure development hadn’t be effected. It was the first time IN HER LIFE I wasn’t allowed to be in the exam room with her!!!! It was against her right to privacy—SHE WAS 15!!!!! I am her mother! Her health is one of my priorities.
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There’s no issue that rivals abortion for spawning more doublespeak, euphemism, and completely willful ignorance, in addition to the other Orwellian feature of Big Brotherism KimH refers to. We have a merciful, forgiving God, and abortion/advocacy is certainly not an unpardonable sin, but wow, those people who support the right to do it are *rabid* fools.
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I remain so grateful to God that I didn’t become pregnant before I was a believer, as I fear I would’ve had an abortion, and that decision would have haunted me throughout my life. I am strongly pro-life today but completely bought the lie that a fetus is just a blob of tissue as a teen, when I was also a staunch atheist. God had so much mercy on me — and protected me from myself so many times– even when I denied His existence. I have friends who had abortions in college and the emotional fallout was huge.
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Annms: I feel the same way, from a male perspective. I marvel at how ignorant and apathetic I was about the issue; however, as technology has advanced and information is now so easily accessible–including some good work by pro-lifers in articulating the cause–abortion is becoming more and more like cigarette smoking–it’s much harder to claim ignorance about something so obvious.
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I don’t understand why women continue to support a party who seems to think that avoiding children is the only thing we care about.
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