Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Prolife congresswoman's miracle baby

Abigail Rose Beutler with her parents (via Congresswoman Beutler Facebook page)

A few weeks ago we posted the sad news that prolife Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler's (R-WA) unborn daughter was diagnosed with Potter's Syndrome, with essentially a zero percent chance to survive long after birth. We're pleased to report Abigail is alive and well, breathing on her own, but in need of a kidney transplant. She was born on July 15 and was two pounds and 12 ounces!

Congresswoman Herrera Beutler shared the news on her Facebook page. 

Through the outreach of a parent who had faced a similar situation, we found a group of courageous and hopeful doctors at Johns Hopkins who were willing to try a simple, but unproven treatment by amnioinfusion. Every week for five weeks, doctors injected saline into the womb to give Abigail's lungs a chance to develop. With each infusion we watched via ultrasound as Abigail responded to the fluid by moving, swallowing and “practice breathing.” The initial lack of fluid in the womb caused pressure on her head and chest, but over the course of the treatment we were able to watch them reform to their proper size and shape. Her feet, which were clubbed in early ultrasounds, straightened. There was no way to know if this treatment would be effective or to track lung development, but with hearts full of hope, we put our trust in the Lord and continued to pray for a miracle.

A day after the fifth infusion, Jaime went in to pre-term labor. After four days of trying to prevent pre-term delivery, Abigail prevailed and arrived. The doctors and nurses were prepared for the worst - but immediately after she was born, she drew a breath and cried!  After a few minutes, it was clear that her lungs were very well developed for a baby born so early.  The infusions had stopped the Potter’s Sequence.


 

Monday, July 29, 2013

Ariel Castro gets life without parole plus 1,000 years

Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro made a plea bargain to receive life in prison without parole. He was facing the death penalty for two aggravated murder charges in the deaths of unborn children of one of the victims he held captive.

The women's escape from Castro's home two months ago at first brought joy to the city where they had become household names after years of searches, publicity and vigils, then despair at revelations of their treatment.

Their rescue brought shocking allegations that Castro fathered a child with one of the women, induced five miscarriages in another by starving and punching her, and assaulted one with a vacuum cord around her neck when she tried to escape.

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Newborn killed at Sleeping Bear Dunes campground

Police in Benzie County have arrested and charged an 18-year-old Illinois woman with homicide after she allegedly gave birth in a tent at Sleeping Bear Dunes campground and then fatally injured her child.

Bates said the 18-year-old was vacationing with her parents at a campsite when she gave birth sometime after 11 p.m. on July 22. She had told her parents she wasn't feeling well and apparently went to the family's tent, where she gave birth.

Some time later, her father walked into the tent and found the baby. He called 911, police said.

The child, a girl, already had been injured when the father made the discovery. The infant, named Marie Morales, was taken to Munson Medical Center but died the following morning.

FULL STORY

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

BREAKING: Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast pays $1.4 million settlement in Medicaid fraud case

After announcing last week that they were closing three of their clinics, Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast has agreed to pay $1.4 million dollars for fraudulently over-billing Medicaid.

In a statement issued Wednesday, the attorney general's office said the group would pay $1.4 million for fraudulently overbilling the health care program for the poor.

An investigation by the attorney general and the Texas Health and Human Service Commission showed that the family planning organization overbilled the state for products and services not actually provided to patients. The statement said a whistleblower triggered the investigation.

FULL STORY

Another Michigan lawsuit filed against the HHS Mandate

Lawsuits continue to pile up against the HHS Mandate. Today two brothers in Michigan with a family-owned law firm filed suit in federal court. One is Catholic, the other is Protestant, but both oppose being forced to provide services they find morally objectionable.

Should the Willis lawfirmrefuse to abide by the requirements of the HHS Mandate, they would face tax penalties equivalent to $100 per day per employee for 15 full-time employees or approximately $547,500 each tax year.  The Mandate also exposes them to substantial competitive disadvantages, in that they will no longer be permitted to offer health insurance.

The lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of the HHS Mandate under the First Amendment rights to the Free Exercise of Religion, Free Speech and the Establishment Clause.   It also claims that the HHS Mandate violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Administrative Procedure Act.

FULL STORY

Networks provide 3 times more coverage to pro-abortion filibuster compared to entire Gosnell trial

Severed feet of aborted children at Gosnell's clinic
When pro-abortion Texas State Senator Wendy Davis filibustered a prolife bill to ban abortions after 20 weeks and regulate abortion clinics, she became an instant celebrity.  Her pink sneakers were the featured topic on the network news.  The same network news stations turned a blind eye to the murder trial of abortionist Kermit Gosnell, who was found guilty for killing babies who survived abortion.

A new report by the Culture and Media Institute finds the new stations provided 3 time more coverage to Davis than the entire Gosnell trial.   

Davis, a previously unheard of Texas state senator, staged a filibuster last month in a successful bid to derail a late-term abortion bill. Cheered by rowdy pro-abortion activists, Davis spoke for 11 hours against a bill outlawing abortions after 20 months of pregnancy and mandating that abortion clinics meet the same sanitary and safety standards as any other Texas medical facility.

Via the Dallas News
Davis became an instant celebrity – a comely blonde single mom who stood up for “women’s health” in pink tennis shoes, fighting against “severe” abortion restrictions. Nowhere has her “rock star” status been more apparent than on the broadcast networks.

In the 19 days since her June 25 filibuster, ABC, CBS and NBC have devoted 40 minutes, 48 seconds of their morning and evening news programs to stories including Davis. That’s more than three times the 13 minutes 30 seconds they gave Gosnell during the entire 58 days of the murder trial.

FULL STORY