Roundup: Spending Bill Allows DC Abortion Funding

Jul 17, 2009, 11:54am

Spending Bill Allows DC Abortion Funding; U.S. Teens Don't Get Enough Education About Contraception; Anti-abortion Protester Challenges Buffer Zone Law.

Spending Bill Allows DC Abortion Funding
Under a bill passed by the House Thursday, abortion funding in the District of Columbia could become reality. The Associated Press
reported that the bill was passed by a 219-208 vote, with many
anti-abortion Democrats voting against it because they did not want
locally raised tax revenues to pay for abortions.

The bill will
also reduce the government’s funding for the anti-drug media campaign
from $70 million to $20 million because of questions regarding the
campaign’s effectiveness, according to AP.

U.S. Teens Don’t Get Enough Education About Contraception
On
Thursday, results from data collected by the government showed that
although U.S. teens are getting sex education, they are not learning
about contraceptive use from their parents, according to Reuters.

The article
also said that the rate of AIDS and syphilis diagnosis are up,
reflected the report’s results. Representatives from the Center for
Disease Control said teens need better sex education in its weekly
report on death and disease.

"The data presented in this report indicate that many young persons in
the United States engage in sexual risk behavior and experience
negative reproductive health outcomes" the report said.

According to Reuters,
the Obama administration is cutting some of the Bush administration’s
conservative policies including abstinence-only sex education funding.

Anti-abortion Protester Challenges Buffer Zone Law
The Los Angeles Times reported that Oakland, CA Baptist minister Walter Hoye
was the first person convicted of breaking a 2008 law that prohibits
abortion protesters to be within eight feet of an abortion clinic.Hoye was trying to talk women out of having abortions as he held a sign that read "God loves you and your baby. Let us help you."

Hoye was sentenced to 30 days in jail, but ended up only serving 18 days. Hoye
still stands outside the same abortion clinic in Oakland, but because
he is not allowed to call out to women entering the clinic, he instead
hands out a leaflet, the article said.

According to the Los Angeles Times, what Hoye calls "sidewalk counseling," abortion rights advocates call harrassment.

The article also said:

"Prior to this ordinance," said Jackie Barbic, executive director of
Family Planning Specialists, "the protesters would actually put their
heads in patients’ cars and get very close to them. You would have mom
and dad bringing their teenage daughter in, and these people would
follow them along the sidewalk to the front door of the office." Some
women, she said, were coming in for procedures after miscarriages. "Our
patients were shocked and upset, and some of the partners would get
very angry."

OTHER NEWS TO NOTE:

July 17: Catholic Culture: PRO-LIFE, PRO-MARRIAGE VICTORIES IN ARIZONA LEGISLATURE

July 17: Politico: On abortion, don’t ask, don’t tell

July 17: Morning Call: Health reform should benefit local centers

July 16: Georgia Bulletin: Money should fund education, not abortions, pro-life youths protest

July 17: Washington Examiner: Senator’s abortion comments cause a stir among conservatives

July 16: Christian News Wire: House Pro-Life Members Muzzled by Pelosi’s Pro-Abortion Leadership

July 16: Feminists for Choice: Push for C-sections an attack on choice.

July 16: Choice USA:Obama Admin Gives Immigrants Legal Support

July 16: HuffPo:Health-Care Reform: What I Saw Today on Capitol Hill

July 16: CBCP News: Church confident to beat family planning bill

July 16: Choices Campus Blog: Summer opportunity for NYC feminists!