NEWS SHORTS FOR WEDNESDAY

NEWS SHORTS FOR WEDNESDAY Planned Parenthood Pushes for Free Birth Control Under Obamacare      As health reform regulations begin to take shape, Planned Parenthood has begun a quiet campaign to ensure that birth control is counted among the free preventive services that health insurers must cover under the Affordable Care Act. Birth control barely came up in the health care reform debate, brushed aside by the more heated debate over abortion language and coverage. But with numerous religious groups opposed to contraceptive use, this issue is all but certain to become a flash point as implementation moves forward. Beginning Sept. 23, six months after the reform law passed, many health insurance plans will be required to provide free preventive services coverage, with no co-pays or out-of-pocket costs. During the reform debate, Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) added an amendment that specified guaranteed "additional preventive care and screenings" specific to women's health would also receive coverage. Click here for the entire article. SC House-Senate Budget Conference Committee Abandons Unborn Babies In State Budget Compromise           South Carolina House       of Representatives The six-man (FOUR REPUBLICANS, two Democrats) House-Senate Budget Conference Committee *** agreed to throw out the SC House-passed amendment (March 17-18) banning state-funding of abortions in the State Health Insurance Plan for rape, incest, and unrestricted life of the mother "abortions", in the FY 2011 State Budget compromise [ FY 2011 State Appropriations (Budget) Bill - H 4657 ]. The Republican-majority SC Senate had earlier (April 28) refused to pass the same amendment. Click here for the entire article. Women in Italy to Be Offered $5,514 to Not Have Abortions           Roberto Formigoni In a policy welcomed by anti-abortion campaigners but dismissed by critics as propaganda, women in northern Italy who cannot afford to have their babies are to be offered €4,500 (£3,700; $5,514) not to have an abortion. Roberto Formigoni, the centre-right governor of the Lombardy region, said that the offer was to fulfil his pledge in regional elections in March that no woman should have to have an abortion because of economic difficulties. During the regional poll the ruling centre-right coalition, led by Silvio Berlusconi, the Prime Minister, made a pitch for the Catholic vote by supporting Vatican policies on issues such as abortion and birth control. Click here for the entire article. 26 Pro-Life Groups Unite in Nationwide Protest Against Birth Control Pill           Protest the Pill Day American Life League and 26 other pro-life organizations have joined together for "Protest the Pill Day: The Pill Kills the Environment" on June 5. At the national event launch at 11 a.m. outside of Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, D.C., Dr. James Joyce, M.D., Jennifer Giroux, R.N., and pro-life activists Marie Hahnenberg, Michael Hichborn and Katie Walker will testify to the harmful effects birth control has on our environment and our health. The event will draw attention to the environmental and health hazards of the nation's most commonly used contraceptive method – the birth control pill – which turns 50 years old this year. Click here for the entire article. Pro-abortion Speaker Pelosi says public policy should line up with Christian teachings           Speaker Nancy Pelosi House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, addressing a May 6 Catholic conference on Capitol Hill, said she believes Catholics must pursue public policy in keeping with the values of "the Word made flesh" and must be prepared to answer to Jesus Christ for how their actions "measured up." Pelosi, a pro-abortion rights Catholic, has been rebuked for her statements supporting abortion. Her recent comments on religion came at the event "A Washington Briefing for the Nation's Catholic Community," sponsored by the National Catholic Reporter and Trinity Washington University. Click here for the entire article.