A Congressional committee has taken the first steps in investigating the Planned Parenthood abortion business over abuses ranging from financial disparities to its compliance with federal regulations on taxpayer funding to concerns that it is covering up cases of sex trafficking.
In a September 15 letter LifeNews.com obtained, Rep. Cliff Stearns, a Florida Republican who is the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Investigations, writes to Cecile Richards, the president of Planned Parenthood.
“Pursuant to Rules X and XI of the United States House of Representatives, the Committee on Energy and Commerce is examining the institutional practices and policies of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) and its affiliates, and its handing of federal funding,” Stearns writes. “That Committee has questions about the politics in place and actions undertaken by PPFA and its affiliates relating to its use of federal funding and its compliance with federal restrictions on the funding of abortion.”
The letter asks Richards to comply with current federal regulations and legal obligations by providing Congress with a wide range of documents within two weeks of the date of the letter.


 (read full article)

Missouri House Speaker Steve Tilley, R-Perryville, kept his opinions to himself during Friday's debate over restrictive language that some abortion opponents wanted to add to the Missouri Science and Innovation Reinvestment Act. Known as MOSIRA for short, the act calls for tax breaks to encourage job-creation in scientific research.
But most of his 104 Republican colleagues knew where he stood -- which might have played a role in the House's narrow decision to keep out the language and approve the Senate version unchanged. As a result, the MOSIRA bill goes directly to Gov. Jay Nixon's desk.
Tilley -- who now is running for lieutenant governor is 2012 -- has said for several years that he does support embryonic stem-cell research. He reaffirmed that view in an interview after Friday's vote.
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The Missouri state House defeated an amendment supported by Missouri Right to life that would have put pro-life limits on embryonic stem cell research and human cloning in the Missouri Science Innovation & Reinvestment Act (MOSIRA).
Earlier, the Missouri Senate disappointed pro-life advocates when it passed the bill without adequate pro-life protections. Today, the Missouri House followed the Missouri Senate in supporting public funding of human cloning and embryonic stem cell research by supporting the Senate version of the Missouri Science Innovation and Reinvestment Act (MOSIRA).Pam Fichter, the president of the pro-life organization, talked about the day’s events.  “MOSIRA sets up a fund, channeled through the state budget, to be administered by the pro-cloning Missouri Technology Corporation, to provide state money and/or tax incentives for new technology businesses, including businesses engaged in human life sciences research,” Fichter explained. “This legislation gives to the cloning industry the funding they sought with their deceitful $30 million campaign for Amendment 2 which narrowly passed in 2006 largely because voters believed they were actually banning human cloning with their support.”
“The votes on SB 7 show Missouri pro-life citizens which legislators are willing to be consistent in their pro-life principles and to stand up to the powerful pro-cloning lobby and those who do their bidding in the Missouri Capitol,” Fichter said. “SB 7 now moves to Governor Nixon’s desk for approval.  
(read full article)
link to pdf to find out how your legislator voted

September 11, 2001, was, in many respects, a rather ordinary day. I began the day working at my desk, writing. But my plans quickly changed. Many of us spent hours staring not at our computer screens but at our television screens. We were stunned, staggered, overcome with disbelief.
But others still managed to put in a full day’s work. American business continued on. American culture, though shocked, continued on. We were dismayed, terrorized, but we kept on. Because the business of America is business, we kept going.
Among those keeping on, having productive days, were those who brutally murdered more than three thousand innocent people. It was all in a day’s work for them — an ordinary day’s work. The police were there, representing the full force and power of the government, protecting these men. On September 10, 2001, these men also took more than three thousand innocent human lives. On September 12, they did the same. Today, ten years later, they are still about their grisly work of butchering babies. Today, more than three thousand will die. Just like yesterday, and like tomorrow. That Muslim terrorists took more than three thousand lives on one day causes us to wring our hands, to weep and mourn, to implore heaven for answers. That abortionists do the same each and every day doesn’t even register with us. It is business as usual. Today it is happening again.
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Three Republican presidential contenders are now on record as supporting a pro-life bill that has been introduced in Ohio and may be heading to other states that would ban abortions at the point when a unborn child’s heart starts to beat.
At 22 days into pregnancy, before most women know they are pregnant, unborn children complete the development of their heart to the point that a heartbeat begins and the bill, supported by the pro-life group Faith2Action and other pro-life groups, would stop abortions at that point. The Ohio legislature took up the legislation this year and it received a legislative committee hearing and an approving vote from the state House.
Now, three Republican presidential candidates have signed on to support the legislation, with pro-life Texas Gov. Rick Perry the latest to do so. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and pro-life Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota both supported the legislation in May and Perry added his name to the list of backers this week.
(read full article)

 The Missouri Senate Jobs, Economic Development and Local Government Committee voted "do pass" Senate Bills 7 and 8, which contain the economic development package titled  Missouri Science Innovation & Reinvestment Act (MOSIRA). MOSIRA sets up a fund, channeled through the state budget, to be administered by the pro-cloning Missouri Technology Corporation, to provide state money and/or tax incentives for new technology businesses, including businesses engaged in human life sciences research...
MRL has proposed language preventing the use of tax dollars for unethical research. The Republican-controlled committee, like the Obama administration in Washington, has opted to fund open-ended research unrestricted by the moral and ethical beliefs of pro-life Missourians.

Voting against SB 7, the MOSIRA bill, was one Republican, Sen. Brian Nieves (26). Voting for the pro-cloning and embryonic stem cell research bill were Senators Eric Schmidt (R-15), Ron Richards (R-32), Bob Dixon (R-30), Victor Callahan (D-11), Jack Goodman (R-29), John Lamping (R-24), Ryan McKenna (D-22) and Luann Ridgeway (R-17). Sen. Ridgeway joined Sen. Nieves in voting against SB 8. All other members of the committee voted for SB 8.  
(read full press release)
To send a "thank you" to Senator Nieves for his vote against MOSIRA, go to:  http://www.senate.mo.gov/11info/members/mem26.htm

Susan Cossabone is growing new leg bone thanks to adult stem cells. She was in a terrible head-on collision, and thought her injured leg would have to be amputated.

“I thought I would lose the leg. If you could have seen it when they cut off my favorite jeans — you could just see bones sticking and flesh. You couldn’t see much of a leg.”

But world-renowned foot and ankle specialist Dr. Mark Myerson of Baltimore’s Mercy Medical Center used adult stem cells to help regrow the bone in her leg, and now she is beginning to walk again.
(read full article)

ScienceDaily (Sep. 4, 2011) — For the first time, researchers have successfully injected cultured red blood cells (cRBCs) created from human hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) into a human donor, according to study results published inBlood, the Journal of the American Society of Hematology (ASH). As the global need for blood continues to increase while the number of blood donors is decreasing, these study results provide hope that one day patients in need of a blood transfusion might become their own donors.
French scientists took hematopoietic stem cells (HSC’s; the adult stem cells that form all blood cells) from a human donor and from those cells, generated billions of “cultured red blood cells” (cRBC’s) in the laboratory. They first tested the function of the cells by injection into mice, showing that the lab-generated cells were able to mature fully.
Then they took adult stem cells from a human volunteer donor, made more cells in the lab, and injected ten billion cells back into the human donor. The cells survived and functioned comparable to normal red blood cells.
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After being advertised in two local newspapers and with over 1300 invitations sent on Facebook, a “pro-choice” rally at the Kansas Statehouse attracted only 30 abortion proponents. The rally was sponsored by Speak for Choice which bills itself as a “reproductive justice” organization. The group allies with other progressive so-called “social justice” groups in order to increase participation.

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JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — An amendment that seeks to define life as beginning at conception and one about eminent domain can appear on the Nov. 8 general election ballot, the Mississippi Supreme Court ruled on Thursday.

A majority of the nine justices reinforced a 2000 ruling that said they cannot rule on the constitutionality of measures until voters or legislators have had a chance to pass them. The court dismissed challenges filed by opponents.
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