Stupak's amendment strikes this language and clearly forbids the use of federal monies to support abortion or abortion coverage. Ellsworth's plays a shell game, a 3-card Monty that hides the subsidies through misdirection.

Pelosi allowed Ellsworth a vote because Ellsworth's amendment doesn't impact the bill's ability to fund abortion coverage -- but gives Pelosi enough political cover to strip away a few nominally pro-life Democrats to vote for her bill.

~Ed Morrissey, HotAir.com, November 6

The left is so smug about being the reality-based, pro-science community but they are in full-on denial of both science and reality to support abortion.

~Poster inmypajamas, commenting on the JillStanek.com Quote of the Day (11-3-09), November 5

Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D-Pa.) voted in favor of an amendment offered by Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) in the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee that mirrored the language of the Hyde amendment and would have prohibited federal funds from paying for any part of a health insurance plan in the federally funded health insurance programs set up by the bill.

The amendment failed, and the bill approved by the committee would permit federal funding of abortion. Despite this, Casey voted in favor of the bill in the committee.

Casey is pro-life?

~CNSNews. November 5.

~ Jodi Jacobson, Senior Political Editor for Reproductive Health Reality Check, as quoted by RH RealityCheck, November 2

Since the mid-1970s, abortion opponents have managed to cut off insurance coverage for the procedure for a larger and larger number of Americans. With exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother, federally funded abortions are banned for women covered by military insurance, Medicaid, the health benefits program for federal employees, and the Indian Health Service. This is, of course, the result of deep religious conviction.

It's a legal medical procedure -- and insurance should cover it.

Editorial in USAToday, November 2

[T]hose who planted their crops in despair will shout hurrahs at the harvest.

So those who went off with heavy hearts will come home laughing, with armloads of blessing.

Carhart looks DEPRESSED...like there is no life behind those eyes. What a horrible life...to kill children every day. And yet he chooses that life. I just can't comprehend it.

Pro-life Commenter Sydney M, on Stanek Post: Late-term abortionist on hand to cheer Pelosi's healthcare bill, October 29

There is no greater form of discrimination than declaring a human being a non-human for the express purpose of wantonly destroying that human being.

~Commenter Chris Arsenault, "Victory: Abortion/Obama graphics displayed at liberal bastion Berkeley," October 28

... Obama fought hard to protect the ability of mothers and doctors to perform this procedure. I think it's worth remembering that our President literally believes it is OK to kill live, born, baby humans. (Perhaps he has changed his mind since, but all we know is that he later lied to cover up his positions, which means he regrets people knowing his positions, not that he has changed his mind.)

Oddly, this is a fact that can prejudice a jury against a doctor, but apparently not an electorate against a candidate for President.

~Poster "pudge," referring to Obama's opposition of BAIPA, Sound Politics, October 26

NARAL recently sent a letter to supporters singling out Stupak for criticism and asking them to call their members of Congress to make sure he doesn't prevail.

Instead, it appears they may have to take the risk of letting Stupak try to block action on the underlying bill, which he intends to do by assembling "no" votes on a procedural measure that needs to pass before debate can begin.

~ APNews, October 23

He'll never be able to spell his own name, but that's fine. He's almost three months or so. He's good. I had just been feeding him, so I took this photo ... he had the cutest smile.

Elisabeth Hasselbeck, 32, On Monday -- nearly three months after welcoming her third child, Isaiah Timothy, showed off a photo she took shortly after the baby's Aug. 8 birth.

As quoted by USMagazine. Oct 19.

... from almost any angle, the abortion-rights stance is so much "easier." For starters, it's far more politically correct. It requires no personal sacrifice.

I also find it so telling that I've not heard of an abortion provider that gives away services, and I don't know of an anti-abortion crisis pregnancy center that charges for theirs.

~Betsy Hart, Indiana Gazette, October 20

I have a newfound respect and admiration that borders on worship of my wife. Just to see her turn into a mother overnight is amazing.

~Taye Diggs, as quoted by People.com

~ Life Training Institute

I think of Mother Teresa and Mother Teresa said that we wouldn't have world peace until we ended abortion and I think personally, for me, that it's Obama's radical abortion position that makes him the least qualified for the prize.

~Rachel Campos-Duffy, former reality-TV star and current blogger for Anderson Cooper's AC360 blog, who guest hosted for Elizabeth Hasselbeck on the October 12 edition of The View. She is pregnant with her 6th child. As quoted by NewsBusters, October 12

I love being nurturing and caring because I love to see other people happy. Who better to devote my time to than my own child?

Jennifer Hudson, as quoted by People.com, October 8

When I was a little over 18 weeks pregnant with my now pre-school child, I did a 2nd trimester abortion for a patient who was also a little over 18 weeks pregnant. As I reviewed her chart I realized I was more interested than usual in seeing the fetal parts when I was done, since they would so closely resemble those of my own fetus.

It was one of the more raw moments in my life. Doing 2nd trimester abortions did not get easier after my pregnancy; in fact, dealing with little infant parts of my born baby only made dealing with dismembered fetal parts sadder.

~ From The Abortioneers blog, October 5

The House Democrat leadership would probably like nothing more than to end the ban on federally-subsidized abortion. And Pelosi, Hoyer and Clyburn probably saw the health care bill as the vehicle to achieve that goal, especially with the nearly 80 vote majority Democrats enjoy in the Lower Chamber. But, then, along came three dozen or so right-to-life House Democrats, led by Reps. Dan Boren, of Oklahoma and Bart Stupak of Michigan, who refused to support sweeping health care legislation unless it includes an explicit reaffirmation of the federal ban on taxpayer-subsidized abortion. But all those conscientious lawmakers are doing is holding Pelosi, Hoyer and Clyburn to their word that they want to reduce the number of abortions in this country, that abortion is an undesired outcome to a woman's pregnancy, and that we should defend the afflicted - like the helpless unborn.

~Examiner.com. Oct 2.

In the largest shift in sentiment since pollsters began asking about the topic in 1995, support for abortion rights dropped from 54 to 47 percent in one year.

~ Washington Times. Oct 4.

Your hands made me and formed me; give me understanding to learn your commands.

Here was a fantastic caller to the Rush Limbaugh program yesterday.

Susan from Glendale, California called and just unloaded on Rush-unloaded her passion for our country and her frustration at seeing our Constitution and our values trampled underfoot in Washington. Limbaugh let her go for a whole segment without interrupting even once. She speaks for millions of patriotic Americans, and like her, we're not going to sit still any longer while socialists take the land of the free and the home of the brave down the toilet.

~As quoted by Dakota Voice. Oct 1.

My baby is moving like crazy!

~ Kourtney Kardashian

We're home every night looking at baby books and baby magazines. I just want to stay home with her, enjoy her company, look at her stomach and be with her.

~..her beau Scott Disisck

As quoted by Us Weekly. Sept 29.

I don't need to walk by on my way to class and see mutilated bodies. It's ridiculous.

Bobby McConnell, Student at Penn State U. yelled at volunteers from the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform (CBR) and Students for Life, who displayed pictures of aborted unborn children at the campus. As quoted by The Collegian

Spain's socialist government has formally unveiled plans to liberalize the country's abortion law. Under the proposal approved by the cabinet, abortion would be made available on demand for the first time. Girls as young as 16 would be allowed to terminate a pregnancy without parental consent. Ministers say it is about "rights and respect" for women. The conservative opposition says young people may see abortion as a form of contraception. Spain's current law allows a pregnancy to be terminated in three circumstances - in the aftermath of a rape, when a fetus shows genetic defects, and when the health of the pregnant woman is at risk. The government's proposal is that abortion should be made available on demand during the first 14 weeks of a pregnancy.

~ BBC News. Sept 26.

It's hard to get dressed when you're seven months pregnant almost!

~Kourtney Kardashian admits it was tough to decide how to dress her bump for Sunday's Emmy Awards. As quoted by usmagazine

The bigger you get in the end, it's better to go small [dress-wise]

~Heidi Klum, who is expecting her fourth child, a daughter, next month -- opted for a form-fitting black Marchesa dress.

Yes, I was an abortion addict and I do not wish for a scapegoat. Everything can be explained, justified, our last century tells us. Everything maybe, except for the burden of life interrupted that shall die with me.

~ Irene Vilar, as quoted by ABC News, September 21. Vilar's upcoming book, Impossible Motherhood: Testimony of an abortion addict chronicles her dark choices: 16 abortions in 15 years, much of it as a married woman. It will be released by Random House on October 6.

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.

~ Psalm 8:1-2, New International Version

"I always thought that when my dad died that I wouldn't have anybody coming to the services because he was hated so much in town. But here I had to deal with a larger crowd than I ever would have expected."

~ Mary Jo Pouillon, daughter of martyred pro-life activist Jim Pouillon, heartened by over 250 people attending a September 16 memorial service for her father in Owosso, MI, as quoted by Argus-Press.com, September 18. Mary Jo is pictured above singing at the memorial.

[Photo via the New York Times]

Vicious, Venal and Violent. This is really the only title that adequately describes the murderous movement known as "pro-choice" or "pro-abortion." It is now frightening, thought not at all surprising, how absolutely hardened and inhumane our culture has become because of this satanic force that has grown strong through 36 years of wholesale murder of God's precious innocents. The pro-choice movement has made murder just a casual pastime now, part of the general round of things that the news reports routinely. Yet, how surprised should we be at this when we stand back and see the unclean spirit that is behind the movement whose sole motivation is death? The fruits of this movement are universally demonic: a callous disregard for the sanctity of life, the insane promotion of death through lies, distortions and hate-filled propaganda. The nastiness of this movement is no longer able to be contained.

Father Thomas Eutenerer, president of Human Life International, Reaction to Jim Pouillon's Killing, as quoted by CalCatholic.com. Sept 17.

"Slain abortion opponent 'loved the controversy' his protests generated"

~ Title of September 16 New York Times article about pro-life activist James Pouillon, who was murdered for his stance on September 11

Pardon me for being cynical about not completely believing Obama's "death panel" denial when the people writing the health care bill(s) will fight to the last for the glorious right to kill babies. Given that, why would offing a geezer here and there be considered so incredibly immoral?

Michelle Malkin posted this on her live-blogging of the President's speech. Sept 9.

"You can have a serious life or a non-serious life, Teddy. I'll still love you whichever choice you make. But if you decide to have a non-serious life, I won't have much time for you. You make up your own mind. There are too many children here who are doing things that are interesting for me to do much with you."

~ Ted Kennedy quoting his father Joe in his posthumously released book, True Compass

We seem not only to disagree with each other more than ever, but to have come almost to detest one another. Politically, culturally, racially, we seem ever ready to go for each others' throats.

One half of America sees abortion as the annual slaughter of a million unborn. The other half regards the right-to-life movement as tyrannical and sexist....

In what sense are we one nation and one people anymore? For what is a nation if not a people of a common ancestry, faith, culture and language, who worship the same God, revere the same heroes, cherish the same history, celebrate the same holidays and share the same music, poetry, art and literature?...

Consider but a few issues on which Americans have lately been bitterly divided: school prayer, the Ten Commandments, evolution, the death penalty, abortion, homosexuality, assisted suicide, affirmative action, busing, the Confederate battle flag, the Duke rape case, Terri Schiavo, Iraq, amnesty, torture.

Now it is death panels, global warming, "birthers" and socialism. If a married couple disagreed as broadly and deeply as Americans do on such basic issues, they would have divorced and gone their separate ways long ago. What is it that still holds us together?

The European-Christian core of the country that once defined us is shrinking, as Christianity fades, the birth rate falls and Third World immigration surges. Globalism dissolves the economic bonds, while the cacophony of multiculturalism displaces the old American culture...

Is America, too, breaking up?

~ Patrick Buchanan in a September 10 WorldNetDaily.com column, via Drudge

But in Monday's newspaper, after reciting Obama's twin goals, "extending coverage" and "slowing costs," The [Washington] Post adds its own take on what went wrong this summer for Obamacare. The Post's account, strangely enough, completely meshes with the liberal Obama-ish line: "In August, opponents seized control of the discussion, elevating side issues such as abortion and end-of-life counseling."

But let's not just add emphasis to those 2 words, "side issues." Let's really dwell on them: "elevating side issues such as abortion and end-of-life counseling." To Right to Lifers, is abortion a side issue? Uh, no. And since 51% of Americans count themselves as pro-life, according to a Gallup poll released in May, concern over abortion is hardly on the side - it is front and center. Indeed, it's fair to say that plenty of Americans who see themselves as pro-choice still have mixed feelings about including abortion in taxpayer-funded health-insurance plans.

James Pinkerton's column, "Why Obamacare will fail and the media will fail to notice its flaws," Foxnews.com, September 8

From the Words of Choice blog, September 7:

... But it was especially gratifying to see a picture of the ad hoc ProChoice Mobile in Bellevue, NE, on August 28-29, as supporters of choice delivered a roaring response to anti-abortion protesters at the clinic of Dr. LeRoy Carhart....

Operation Rescue, on the other hand, is known for its hideous trucks with ultra-magnified photos of bloody images, which it claims (and others dispute) are fetal remains....

This is an image that should be emblazoned and imprinted on the minds of every pro-choice activist as a brilliant idea that merits repetition.... [T]he gesture is uplifting and joyful, and that also mocks the cynical and ugly propaganda of OR.

The prayer intercessions at the funeral mass, the endless eulogies, the image of the Cardinal Archbishop of Boston reading prayers, and finally Cardinal McCarrick interring the remains sent an uncontested message: One may defy Church teaching, publicly lead others astray, deprive innocent lives of their rights, and still be seen a good Catholic, even an exemplary one.

EWTN News Director Raymond Arroyo, as quoted by Boston.com. Sept 2.

This is the divide between pro-aborts and pro-lifers. To the pro-lifer, abortion is the murder of an innocent child. To the pro-abort, abortion is an "issue" that one can either agree or disagree with since there can be no wrong answer, much like a school board debating the color of school buses.

Pro-life commenter Cranky Catholic on Stanek Post: Kennedy: "a gentle man," Me: "Draconian, cruel, dark, hedonistic, and overly Unchristian"

Our doctors are graying and are not being replaced.

~Susan Hill, president of the National Women's Health Foundation in Raleigh, N.C., which operates abortion clinics in largely rural states, including Georgia, Indiana and Mississippi, where only one doctor in the state performs pregnancy terminations. As quoted by the Washington Post. Sept 1.

No rational person can reasonably be expected to take seriously Catholic opposition to abortion when a champion of the Culture of Death, who repeatedly betrayed the Faith of his baptism, is lauded and extolled by priests and prelates in a Marian basilica.

~ C. J. Doyle, executive director of the Catholic Action League of MA, referring to Sen. Ted Kennedy's Catholic funeral, as quoted by the The American Spectator, August 31

My uterus is really flattered that everyone cares, but sorry, no occupants.

Actress Anna Paquin, as quoted in US magazine, August 25

HT: Proofreader Laura Loo; photo via US]

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) a champion of the voiceless, the powerless and the most needy of our citizens.

Cardinal Roger Mahony, leader of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. As quoted by the LA Times. August 26.

HT: [Newsbusters.org]

At a meeting at the Kennedy compound in Hyannisport, Mass., on a hot summer day in 1964, the Kennedy family and its advisers and allies were coached by leading theologians and Catholic college professors on how to accept and promote abortion with a "clear conscience."

The former Jesuit priest Albert Jonsen, emeritus professor of ethics at the University of Washington, recalls the meeting in his book "The Birth of Bioethics" (Oxford, 2003). He writes about how he joined with the Rev. Joseph Fuchs, a Catholic moral theologian; the Rev. Robert Drinan, then dean of Boston College Law School; and three academic theologians, the Revs. Giles Milhaven, Richard McCormick and Charles Curran, to enable the Kennedy family to redefine support for abortion.

Mr. Jonsen writes that the Hyannisport colloquium was influenced by the position of another Jesuit, the Rev. John Courtney Murray, a position that "distinguished between the moral aspects of an issue and the feasibility of enacting legislation about that issue." It was the consensus at the Hyannisport conclave that Catholic politicians "might tolerate legislation that would permit abortion under certain circumstances if political efforts to repress this moral error led to greater perils to social peace and order."

~Anne Hendershott's Wall Street Journal Column 'How support for abortion became Kenndy dogma'

Last week a British Catholic journal, in an editorial titled "US bishops must back Obama," claimed that America's bishops "have so far concentrated on a specifically Catholic issue - making sure state-funded health care does not include abortion - rather than the more general principle of the common good."

The editorial has value for several reasons. First, it proves once again that people don't need to actually live in the United States to have unhelpful and badly informed opinions about our domestic issues. Second, some of the same pious voices that once criticized US Catholics for supporting a previous president now sound very much like acolytes of a new president. Third, abortion is not, and has never been, a "specifically Catholic issue," and the editors know it. And fourth, the growing misuse of Catholic "common ground" and "common good" language in the current health-care debate can only stem from one of two sources: ignorance or cynicism.

Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver has accused The Tablet of displaying "unhelpful and badly informed opinions" on American domestic issues - and knowingly misrepresenting Catholic teaching on abortion. as quoted by: Telegraph.co.uk August 25.

President Obama isn't being straight when he says current health care proposals don't provide government funding for abortion. They do. If Democratic plans are passed, your taxes will pay for abortions.

That's not what Associated Press reports. On Aug. 5, an AP story was headlined "Gov't insurance would allow coverage for abortion." There's no wiggle room in that headline - or in the legislation. As AP reported: "Since abortion is a legal medical procedure, experts on both sides say not mentioning it would allow health care plans in the new insurance exchange to provide unrestricted coverage...

~Washington Times editorial, "Your taxes to pay for abortions," August 24

A child is not a right. Unfortunately in todays society, children are seen as product to be had rather than gifts. If you don't want that product, you may abort it. If you want that product, we can create one in a lab for you. The problem that the Church has with IVF is the same problem it has with contraception; it destroys and separates the two aspects of the conjugal act, the unitive and the pro-creative. Contraception is sex without babies. IVF is babies without sex. The two go hand-in-hand, to artificially separate them goes against God's design of the conjugal act. This is so beautifully and throughly hammered out in JPII's Theology of the Body, and as I am now learning, especially in Christopher West's commentary "Theology of the Body Explained."

JillStanek.com moderator Bobby Bambino, as quoted by Stanek post Céline Dion pregnant with 8-year-old frozen embryo

"Informed consent" laws are an insult to women because they begin with the assumption that women who seek abortions don't even know what it is that's growing inside of them. Most doctors concur that informing women that the fetus they want aborted has arms and legs is not, in fact, medically relevant information, and that requiring such information to be discussed violates the doctor-patient relationship.

Pro-abort Alexa Dobson, from her August 19 column, "OK 'informed consent' abortion law overturned," at the Anchorage Liberal Examiner

I can't even tell you how many people just say 'Oh, get an abortion.' Like it's not a big deal.

For me, all the reasons why I wouldn't keep the baby were so selfish. It wasn't like I was raped, it's not like I'm 16. I'm 30 years old, I make my own money, I support myself, I can afford to have a baby. And I'm with someone who I love.

~Pregnant Kourtney Kardashian says she considered getting an abortion. Kourtney said after consulting her doctors on the risks of abortion, and reading horror stories on the Internet, she did some soul-searching.
As quoted by People Magazine.
August 19

Former Celtics coach Rick Pitino told police he had sex with and paid for an abortion for the woman accused of trying to extort him for $10 million, the Courier-Journal of Louisville (Ky.) reported on its website last night. Pitino, the Louisville men's coach, told police he had been drinking in a Louisville restaurant and had sex with Karen Sypher in August 2003. The police report said he denied allegations by Sypher that he raped her after the restaurant closed. He said later he gave her $3,000 for an abortion.

~ Boston Globe, August 12

Records on file with the Nebraska Department of Heath indicate that Carhart has falsified entries on patient charts, interrupted abortions due to fatigue or exhaustion, engaged in personal phone conversations in the middle of abortions, and failed to train his staff on infection control protocols.

Wendy Halverstadt, as quoted by the Baltimore Examiner, August 16

The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, "This is what the Sovereign Lord says."

But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel like that rebellious house....

~ Ezekiel 2:4-8, New International Version

Medicine is the keystone of the arch of socialism.

~ Vladimir Lenin

It's about time we stopped calling anti-abortion terrorists "pro-life."

... If they eliminate abortions through a campaign of terrorism and intimidation, all that will result is a higher rate of "back-alley" abortions resulting in two deaths instead of just one....

~Alexa Dobson, writing in the Anchorage Liberal Examiner, who apparently doesn't realize she's just contradicted herself in her own straw man column, August 13

The president has a problem. For, despite a great election victory, Mr. Obama, it becomes ever clearer, knows little about Americans. He knows the crowds--he is at home with those. He is a stranger to the country's heart and character.

It took this battle over health care to reveal the bloom coming off this rose, but that was coming. It began with the spectacle of the president, impelled to go abroad to apologize for his nation - repeatedly. It is not, in the end, the demonstrators in those town-hall meetings or the agitations of his political enemies that Mr. Obama should fear. It is the judgment of those Americans who have been sitting quietly in their homes, listening to him.

~Dorothy Rabinowitz, the Wall Street Journal, August 10

I just don't get it. Why the insane rush to pass a bill, any bill, in three weeks? And why such an abject failure by the Obama administration to present the issues to the public in a rational, detailed, informational way? The U.S. is gigantic; many of our states are bigger than whole European nations. The bureaucracy required to institute and manage a nationalized health system here would... vampirically absorb whatever savings Obama thinks could be made. And the transition period would be a nightmare of red tape and mammoth screw-ups, which we can ill afford with a faltering economy....

The ethical collapse of the left was nowhere more evident than in the near total silence of liberal media and Web sites at the Obama administration's outrageous solicitation to private citizens to report unacceptable "casual conversations" to the White House. If Republicans had done this, there would have been an angry explosion by Democrats from coast to coast. I was stunned at the failure of liberals to see the blatant totalitarianism in this incident, which the president should have immediately denounced. His failure to do so implicates him in it.

~Camille Paglia, libertarian columnist and Obama supporter, Salon, August 12

A spokesman for Rep. Louise Slaughter, a Democrat and the chairman of the House Rules Committee, admitted to a reporter: "The starting point for Rep. Slaughter on the healthcare debate was protecting abortion rights." Groups like Planned Parenthood know what they want out of healthcare reform: a platform to ensure that American women have easy access to abortion. The Democratic powerhouse in Washington is all too eager to comply.

~Kathryn Lopez, columnist for TownHall.com, August 7

The Lord is known to be fair.
Evil people are trapped by what they have done.

But those who are in need will always be remembered.
The hope of those who are hurting will never die.

~ Psalm 9:16-18, New International Readers Version

My best friend had an abortion. She had been staunchly pro-choice up until that point. After the abortion, she had horrific nightmares and panic attacks, suffered from depression and intense grief, and eventually had a nervous breakdown.

This wasn't because of guilt being forced on her from outside. She was surrounded by pro-choice people who praised her decision as "the right one." It nearly destroyed her

Commentor Kayley on Stanek post, "'Defying Gravity' producer: Stay tuned, show is pro-abortion," August 7

It's one thing to insist that a "fetus" is an unborn baby. But once the "fetus" has been removed - and survives - what is the excuse for journalists to search for a "fetus" on the lam? This baby that first saw the light of day in such a foul and violent fashion deserved better than to be described merely a "fetus," with all the compassion you would offer a stolen lab rat.

Brent Bozell, as quoted by NewsBusters, Aug 5

As a supporter of Sarah Palin for taking over the Republican Party, I'm one of her great advocates. I mean, what an attractive, young, neoconservative reactionary! Wow! There's never been one like her.

House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.), sarcastically stating he is a supporter and great advocate of Sarah Palin, as quoted by CNSNews, Aug 3

If the Hyde Amendment is effectively overturned, those Catholics and evangelical Christians who gave you the benefit of the doubt on the abortion issue because you promised to seek common ground will bolt in 2010 and 2012 and beyond.

~ America Magazine, Aug 3

If you are born mentally or physically deficient, the government says your best contribution to society... is as a guinea pig for biological and chemical weapons testing.

~Im Chun-yong, former military captain for the North Korean Army, who had to give up his 12-year-old daughter who was mentally ill for human experimentation. Initially he resisted, but after mounting pressure from his military superiors, he gave in. Captain Im watched as his girl was taken away. She was never seen again. As quoted by: Military.com July 24.

Although House Speaker Nancy Pelosi continues to say she has the votes to get a health care measure passed in the House, [Rep. Bart] Stupak says unless the abortion issue is resolved, Pelosi will never get enough Democrats on board, and he claims he's got the votes to bring the House debate to a grinding halt.

~as quoted by Fox News, July 23

In government health care reform debates, abortion coverage is the third rail. Should some abortion be implicitly, if not explicitly, covered? Should Congress promote the use of contraception? And if abortion were covered, would Barack Obama's mother have had one?

~ Ben Buchwalter, as quoted by Mother Jones, July 22.

No matter what your views are on abortion, you shouldn't ask people to use their tax dollars if they think that abortion is taking a life.

Sen. Judd Gregg, R-NH, as quoted by ABC News, July 20

President Obama and his aides haven't clearly stated whether he supports the use of taxpayer funds for abortion in the new healthcare bill. But they also haven't ruled it out. When asked directly about it Sunday, White House Budget Director Peter Orszag said that federal funding of abortion is a "controversial issue" and is "one of the questions that is playing out in this debate."...

"The Obama administration has been attempting to smuggle into law the greatest expansion of abortion since Roe v. Wade, and the statement is significant because they're starting to be fleshed out on what they're up to," said Douglas Johnson, legislative director for the National Right to Life Committee.

~ The Hill, July 20

Abortion By Any Other Name Is In Health Care Bill....Obama may be caught in a lie -- a lie to the Pope, no less.

~Elisabeth Meinecke, columnist for Human Events, July 18

She's [been with] every hot guy from Brad Pitt to John Mayer. She's not tragic; she's amazing.

~Kathy Griffin, sharing her perspective of Jennifer Aniston's dating history with People

I think in Ruth "Buzzi" Ginsburg's case, when she says that she thinks Roe was about population growth, particularly growth in populations you don't want to have too many of, she's probably thinking about aborting conservatives. But the problem with that is it's the liberals that are aborting each other, or themselves -- their future generations.

~Rush Limbaugh, as quoted by Media Matters, July 16

I like to draw cards because I can raise money to help the orphans and help them have a home to live in.

~Seven-year-old Isabelle Redford, who started selling cards at garage sales and to her friends and family, and now her cards are sold through the Global Orphan Project in Kansas City, MO., a charity that builds and runs orphanages around the world. So far, Isabelle has earned more than $10k - half of which was enough to build an orphanage in Haiti, where she visited last month, as quoted by ABCNews, July 14

The pope has a lot to learn about Catholic politics in America. Barack Obama can teach him.

~Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, former Lt. Gov. of MD, as quoted by Newsweek, July 9

Tyrants will be gone. Mockers will be finished. All who look for ways to do wrong will come to an end: those who make people sin with words, those who lay traps for judges, those who, without any reason, deny justice to people who are in the right.

When they see all their children, the children I made with my hands, they will acknowledge my name as holy. They will treat the Holy One of Jacob as holy. They will stand in terror of the God of Israel.

~ Isaiah 29:20,21,23, God's Word translation

My oldest brother is adopted, and I have every intention of adopting at some time. I'm very grateful for having my brother in my life. I couldn't be more pro-adoption. There are plenty of kids in the world that need it.

~Actor Ryan Reynolds, married to actress Scarlett Johansson , as quoted by The Daily News, July 10

[HT: proofreader Laura Loo]

It would be exciting if Sarah Palin were to decide to expend her energy promoting the sanctity of life as well as the abstinence message. Palin is sound on the pro-life issue, even opposing killing the other innocent victim if pregnancy results from the crime of rape/incest - the baby. She would be an articulate, savvy spokesperson, likely the most prominent we've ever had next to President Reagan.

~Jill Stanek, as quoted by the Washington Independent, July 7

The National Education Association, the nation's largest labor union, voted July 5 to reject a proposal officially to remain neutral on the issues of abortion and family planning.

Also during its annual meeting in San Diego July 1-6, the NEA went on record as supporting laws legalizing civil unions and "gay marriage" -- it said either are acceptable -- and it backed efforts to repeal federal legislation that "discriminates" against same-sex couples, which presumably could target the Defense of Marriage Amendment.

~as quoted by Baptist Press, July 6

... I roll my eyes at people who have kids to shore up fading relationships, because they just happen to need a hobby, because they want someone to carry their name, or just because they never stopped to ask if that's what they really want to do.

If anything, bringing a child into the world under shady circumstances has always struck me as more suspect than having an abortion for seemingly frivolous reasons, since once you have a child, you're bringing a helpless person into the situation.

~Amanda Marcotte, who ignores the fact that a woman already has a "helpless" child once she is pregnant, as quoted by RH Reality Check, July 6

Now the Lord is the Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

~ II Corinthians 3:17, New King James Version

I have wondered for some time if this country really deserved someone as honest as Sarah Palin. Now, it looks like I have my answer. We don't.

This marks a new low in American politics: run a decent person out of office by making nasty attacks on their children. Those uber liberals who say that such nasty attacks are just "normal politics" should be ready for someone to start attacking Obama's kids, and see how they like it then.

~Pro-life commenter Doyle Chadwick, as quoted by Stanek Post: Palin quitting as governor

As you long you have three minutes, you can get it done.

~ Actor Mark Consuelos, husband of actress and TV co-host Kelly Ripa, telling actor Josh Duhamel how a busy celebrity can start a family, on Live! With Regis and Kelly, June 29

[HT: proofreader Laura Loo]

No lawmaker or administration can support such a policy change and still claim to support "reducing abortions."

~ Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia, chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities and representative of the Archdiocese of Washington, expressing opposition in late June to a provision in President Barack Obama's 2010 budget that would permit taxpayer funding of abortions in DC, as quoted by The Catholic Spirit, July 1

Do you think that Republicans now should sort of shift the emphasis, though, from stressing social and family values and shift to more - to economic issues and be a party of economic conservatives rather than putting so much emphasis on these social issues?

~ CBS's Bob Schieffer, showing his bias, as quoted by NewsBusters, June 29

We cannot support any health care reform proposal unless it explicitly excludes abortion from the scope of any government-defined or subsidized health insurance plan.

~ A group of 19 pro-life Democrats in the House of Representatives have joined together to craft a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The letter contained a non-perfunctory request that the House not advance any health care bill that doesn't specifically prohibit abortion coverage or funding, as quoted by LifeNews, June 26