Tag: “Abortion”
Pope compares having an abortion to ‘hiring a hit man’
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis on Wednesday compared having an abortion to “hiring a “hit man” to eliminate a problematic person, in comments sure to be welcomed by conservative Catholics who have accused the pontiff of not speaking out enough on “cultural war” issues.
Abortion is a raging political battle in a number of countries, including the United States, where many conservatives hope the Supreme Court will eventually overturn the landmark 1973 ruling known as Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion.
Francis made his off-the-cuff comments on abortion, some of his toughest to date, in an address to tens of thousands of people gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his weekly general audience.
The pope denounced what he called the contradiction of allowing “the suppression of human life in the mother’s womb in the name of safeguarding other rights”.
“But how can an act that suppresses an innocent and helpless life that is germinating be therapeutic, civilized or even simply human?” he said.
“I ask you: ‘Is it right to ‘take out’ a human life to solve a problem? What do you think? Is it right? Is it right or not?” he said in unprepared remarks.
Many in the crowd shouted “No”.
“Is it right to hire a hit man to solve a problem? You cannot, it is not right to kill a human being, regardless of how small it is, to solve a problem. It is like hiring a hit man to solve a problem,” he said.
The Roman Catholic Church teaches that life begins at the moment of conception and ends at the moment of natural death. It also forbids euthanasia but says that a family or a patient can decide to stop using extraordinary means to keep people alive.
Shortly after becoming pope in March 2013, Francis appeared to downplay the importance of “cultural war” issues such as abortion, contraception and gay marriage, saying in an interview the Church had become “obsessed” with them.
“It is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time,” he said in that interview, adding that the Church’s stand on them was very clear and that it also had to address social issues such as poverty, injustice and immigration.
Article via Reuters
Ex-Trump staffer accused of slipping abortion pill into girlfriend’s smoothie
A former Trump campaign spokesperson was accused of slipping an abortion pill into his pregnant girlfriend’s smoothie — sending her to the hospital and nearly causing her to go into a coma, according to court documents.
Jason Miller — who served on President Trump’s 2016 campaign and transition team — announced he was quitting his role as CNN political commentator Saturday to “focus on clearing [his] name” and fighting the accusations detailed in recent court documents.
The explosive court filings, first reported by Splinter News, allege that prior to Miller’s high-profile extramarital relationship with A.J. Delgado — another Trump campaign staffer — he had an affair with an unnamed woman he met at Rachel’s Gentleman’s Club, an Orlando strip club.
When the dancer found out she was pregnant, Miller allegedly dosed her drink with an abortion pill, without her knowledge, according to the court documents.
The pill caused the woman to wind up in the emergency room “bleeding heavily and nearly went into a coma,” the documents state. She was hospitalized for two days with “the abortion pill possibly reacting with potential street drugs in her system” at the time she drank the smoothie, according to the documents.
When the alleged relationship began in 2012 Miller was working for the prominent Republican ad firm Jamestown Associates.
The court documents were filed Sept. 14 in Miami-Dade Circuit Court as part of an ongoing custody battle between Miller and Delgado. With the allegations entered into court record, Delgado asked for Miller to undergo psychological evaluation, saying she fears for their son’s safety.
“I’m concerned for my safety (more importantly, my son’s) with Miller and afraid of his reaction if I add comment,” she said to Splinter News.
Delgado conceived a son during an affair that began when she and married Miller were both working on the 2016 campaign. At the time, Miller’s wife was also pregnant with their second daughter.
In December of that year, President-elect Trump announced that he would be appointing Miller as his communications director, but Miller backed out two days later, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family.
In a series of tweets Saturday, Miller decried the filing as false, calling it part of Delgado’s “continuous attempts to smear me.” He accused Delgado of having mental and emotional issues and promised to clear his name and hold Delgado and Splinter accountable.
State abortion ballots prepare for post-Roe world
Many states have turned to both ballot measures and legislation to enact abortion policy in the event of a dramatic Supreme Court decision.
Anti-abortion initiatives on the ballot in West Virginia and Alabama this November could lay the foundation for the states to ban or sharply limit legal abortion as change comes to the Supreme Court.
Both ballot measures were in the works before President Donald Trump nominated conservative Judge Brett Kavanaugh to replace the more moderate Justice Anthony Kennedy on the high court. But they take on greater import — and will likely draw far more national attention — given the shifting ideological balance on the court.
“They’re setting the stage for if and when Roe falls,” West Virginia abortion rights activist Margaret Chapman Pomponio said. “The criminal code will immediately be triggered.”
No ballot initiative can outright ban abortion as long as Roe v. Wade remains the law of the land. But the West Virginia and Alabama measures would amend their respective state constitutions to declare that abortion rights are not protected. That would pave the way for conservative state legislatures to ban or restrict abortion if the Supreme Court acts.
It’s too late to get similar measures on the ballot in other states this November, but another burst of activity could happen by 2020, according to Elizabeth Nash, senior state issues manager at the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights.
Read more via: State abortion ballots prepare for post-Roe world
Body of pregnant teen found in suitcase on side of road
The body of a pregnant teen from the Dominican Republic was discovered in a suitcase on the side of the road.
Police have confirmed that the remains found Friday were of 16-year-old Emely Peguero, who was five months pregnant, according to People.
Further examination revealed that Peguero had suffered a blunt blow to the head and her uterus was punctured, according to the Dominican Republic Attorney General’s Office. The mutilation to her uterus indicated she had an abortion, which is illegal in the country.
Her boyfriend Marlon Martinez, a U.S. citizen, was arrested after he allegedly confessed to dumping her body in a landfill. He told authorities that he panicked when she died from an abortion.
Authorities searched the landfill and did not find her body.
His mom Marlyn Martinez has also been detained in connection to her death. Before the body was found, she allegedly offered information to police on Peguero’s whereabouts and was arrested.
Authorities took into custody a third person whose identity has not been released.
The Martinez family has reportedly received threats since the arrests.
“While I agree that this is a horrendous tragedy, and my heart breaks for Emely and her family, it also breaks for Marlon, Marlyn and their family,” Criminal Justice Reform Advocate Leyla Martinez told People. “It hurts to see how people are calling for them to be stoned or lynched.”
A GoFundMe page was created to raise money for Peguero’s funeral.
via: http://nypost.com/2017/09/07/body-of-pregnant-teen-found-in-suitcase-on-side-of-road/