In my post yesterday, “NOLA Planned Parenthood resumes construction; contractor says will walk for payoff,” I wrote that Absolute Concrete Services had not returned my calls requesting comment.

Today, Ronald Backes did.

Ronald is the son of Melvin and Linda Backes, and he clarified that Linda solely owns Absolute Concrete Services (which I said I’d correct), and he works for her. He said his parents are divorced.

Ronald wasn’t present to hear the conversation between his parents and Pastor Shanks, but he denies they made these comments Pastor Shanks attributed to them:

Per Gallup, February 9:

In 2015, 34% of Americans say they are satisfied with current U.S. abortion policies. This is the lowest percentage since Gallup first asked the question in 2001.

Gallup determined Republicans were the most dissatisfied political group, and they want stricter rather than less strict laws:

You may have heard of the measles outbreak. Reported the Associated Press on January 30:

In the span of two years, the number of abortion clinics in Texas has dropped from 44 to 17, with the possibility of another drop to seven, pending a 5th Circuit panel’s decision on whether the state can impose clinic regulations on abortion clinics and force abortionists to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals.

by Susie Allen, host of the blog, Pro-Life in TN, and Kelli

• Wesley J. Smith discusses the latest culture of death idea. We’ve heard of “abortion doulas,” but what about death doulas? These individuals, according to two authors, would become “suicide facilitators” by “fill[ing] a gap between treatment doctors and hospice workers.”

A Politico article today about new abortion cases that could reach the Supreme Court gave bare mention of its potential review of RU-486 regulation.

But due a circuit court split on laws regulating the administration of RU-486, such a review looks likely - and promising for the pro-life side.

by Susie Allen, host of the blog, Pro-Life in TN

• Judie Brown of American Life League discusses an issue that sometimes separates pro-life activists. She believes pro-lifers should not waste time and resources fighting for laws that force abortionists to have admitting privileges at local hospitals. While many pro-lifers rightfully think abortionists fail to meet that standard, and this is a way to expose them and shut down abortion centers when no physician qualifies, Brown quotes ALL’s Jim Sedlak, who voices an alternative opinion:

  While pro-lifers get caught up in trying to argue for these kinds of laws, statements are made that you would never expect from a pro-life person. In fact, after the Alabama decision, one pro-life leader, who is one of the strongest fighters for life in the country, actually argued that these laws are needed to protect women who are choosing to have an abortion.

  This has brought us a long way from the days when it was clearly recognized that the energies of the pro-life movement were focused on saving the baby, praying for the woman, and finding a way to show women that abortion was not her only solution to her perceived problems.

I’ve written previously (here and here) about the possible connection between autism and vaccines made with aborted fetal cells.

Now, the September issue of the prestigious Journal of Public Health and Epidemiology has published a study conducted by scientists at Sound Choice Pharmaceutical Institute that shows an spike in autism in country after country where vaccines using fetal cells from aborted babies have been introduced.