by JivinJ, host of the blog, JivinJehoshaphat

• According to MSNBC, 1,000 aborted children have been found at a Buddhist temple in Thailand, in addition to the 300+ found earlier this week. Police have arrested one woman who admitted performing illegal abortions.
• Politico has an article about how National Right to Life is pushing hard for Rep. Joe Pitts to get “the gavel of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health” if Fred Upton (mixed voting record on life issues) is given the chairmanship of the full committee:

“… This prospect raises the gravest concerns from the pro-life perspective,” Johnson wrote.

“We acknowledge that Mr. Upton has voted pro-life on a number of significant issues, including curbs on direct federal funding of abortion. Moreover, in recent weeks he has stated his intent to actively move certain pieces of key pro-life legislation. But these statements do not greatly comfort us, in light of [his] 24-year record…. If, however, the Health Subcommittee were to be chaired by a Member with a long history of bold leadership on pro-life issues, our objections… would be greatly mitigated.”

• At National Review, Greg Pfundstein relates some of what happened at the NYC Council committee hearing on a measure to regulate CPCs:

  [Council Member Dan ] Halloran (pictured left), who is concerned about the bill for scope-of-government reasons, pressed [Dept. of Consumer Affairs rep and bill supporter Fran] Freedman and her co-panelist, Dr. Susan Blank of the NYC Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene, on the “truth in advertising” contention. Did they honestly think that anyone would be confused about what an organization called Bridge to Life, the Sisters of Life, or Life Center does? Both officials averred that indeed, people would, since not everyone is well-versed in the vocabulary of the culture war. That is, Blank and Freedman believe that a reasonable person might assume that an organization called the Sisters of Life performs abortions.

  The councilman then asked whether a person might also think an organization called Planned Parenthood focuses its efforts on assisting women who choose parenthood. No, said Blank and Freedman, a reasonable person would not assume that an organization called Planned Parenthood is primarily concerned with parenthood.

But the most damning testimony against the law was given by a young lady who was confused by the name “Planned Parenthood,” which led her to have a very strange experience just last week. The address 44 Court Street in Brooklyn is home to EMC, Planned Parenthood, and Dr. Emily’s Abortion Clinic. 28 weeks pregnant and happily so, but a little “financially strapped,” the young lady went to 44 Court Street looking for an organization that had assisted a friend of hers a few years earlier. She couldn’t remember the name of the organization, just the address. What she wanted was a car seat, since you’re not allowed to leave the hospital without one. Looking at the directory in the lobby, she saw Planned Parenthood and assumed that it must be the organization she was looking for. But when she went inside and explained her situation, she was told that they could not help her get a car seat, but that since she was financially strapped, she could sign documents indicating that she was under psychological stress and get a medical waiver for a late-term abortion.

[Images via council.nyc.gov and plannedparenthood.org]