by Robin Burchfield and Jim Brown
(AgapePress) – A woman who was the victim of a botched abortion has won a settlement against the nation’s largest abortion provider.
The woman, referred to only as “J.B.” in court records, has been awarded more than $650,000 from Planned Parenthood. Her suit was the result of a botched abortion in which her unborn child lost two limbs in the abortion attempt before being aborted months later.
According to the Pro-Life Infonet, J.B. underwent the abortion in December 1997, but at a two-week checkup, she mentioned that she still felt pregnant. She even called the clinic several times for advice, but was told her symptoms were normal.
It was later discovered J.B. had been pregnant with twins, and the abortion had only aborted one of the babies. She had unknowingly been carrying the second baby for six months.
Since Planned Parenthood does not do late-term abortions, J.B. was sent to a California facility, where the ultrasound revealed the remaining baby had only one arm and leg.
Following the second abortion, J.B.’s attorney said his client was haunted by visions of babies being killed and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
“She has been unable to be in a relationship since this happened. She can’t get in close proximity to a man without shaking and, sometimes, vomiting,” he said.
This trial dealt strictly with how much J.B. was owed for her pain, not whether Planned Parenthood was liable. Planned Parenthood has vowed to appeal the reward. Regardless of the outcome of the appeal, the award will be reduced. A 1975 California law limits non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases to $250,000.
(This update courtesy of Agape Press.)
Canadian Bishop Rebukes Catholic Political Leader
CALGARY, ALBERTA (LSN.ca) – On Calgary's Dave Rutherford QR77 radio show on Tuesday Bishop Fred Henry spoke about the “scandalous behavior” of Roman Catholic Progressive Conservative Leader Joe Clark who declares himself “pro-choice” while calling himself Catholic. The Bishop stated “Practically speaking, this may mean that Joe Clark is not going to be a welcomed personage to speak in Catholic schools in this diocese. And it may well be that should Joe Clark predecease me, he may not have the bishop burying him from the cathedral.”
Joe Woodard of the Calgary Herald reported the radio quotes. He notes that the bishop said he was not going to deny Clark a Christian burial, but he was going “to call him to account for his statements in public, which I think are scandalous.” Henry said that, rather than defending their professed faith, “sometimes politicians prefer to bury their heads in the sand and thereby expose another part of their anatomies for public viewing.”
When asked if he would excommunicate Clark, the bishop said that would be handling it the “wrong way.” “One is seeking to get people to convert — to change their minds, and hitting them over the head with a club is not going to do much good.”
Bishop Henry compared the common political line, “I'm personally opposed to abortion, but I cannot force my morality on others” to someone being “personally opposed to child abuse” but unwilling to defend them. “We do it (impose morality) all the time; it's a matter of what morality we're going to impose,” Henry said.
“If one happens to be a Catholic, there cannot be a split between one's
internal kind of views and thoughts. . . and what one says publicly. One has a duty, whether he likes it or not, to preach the word of God. This is part of the very mission of the church, which is not confined to guys like myself who wear this funny Roman collar . . .”
New Laws to Blame for 43% Rise in Irish Abortions
DUBLIN, Ireland (LSN.ca) – Abortion statistics reported in Ireland demonstrate the dismal failure of a 1995 abortion related law supposedly aimed at reducing abortions. The statistics showed that there were 4,921 Irish women reported traveling abroad to abort their babies in by September 2000, compared to 3,444 for the same period in 1999. The Pro-Life Campaign blamed the results on liberal legislation enacted in 1995 known as the Abortion Information Act.
“The Act which made it legal to provide the names and addresses of abortion clinics and for clinics to advertise in Irish newspapers has singularly failed in the then government's stated intention of reducing abortions,” said a spokesperson for the pro-life group. 1999 saw the largest number of Irish babies – 6,226 – aborted, but a new high will be set if the current trend continues.
Turner Donations Used for Population Control
NEW YORK, NY (LSN.ca) – The vast majority of grants from CNN mogul Ted Turner to the United Nations were used in the area of population control. A United Nations report said that “last year $74 million was allocated to the work of the United Nations from the $1 billion donated by Ted Turner in 1998, with a majority ($42 million) of the grants going to projects dealing with women and population issues.”
The data are found in a report by Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the UN Fund for International Partnerships (UNFIP), the body established to liaise with the UN Foundation, a public charity created by Ted Turner to channel his contribution.
(This update courtesy of LifeSite Daily News.)
