NRL News
Page 5
February 2008
Volume 35
Issue 2

Pro-Life News in Brief
By Liz Townsend

Man Charged with Attempt on Unborn Baby’s Life

Ventura County, California, officials charged 20-year-old Jaime Solis Olmos with attempting to murder his unborn baby by staging a fake robbery and beating of his pregnant girlfriend, Justina Cornejo.

Cornejo suffered bruised kidneys and ribs and facial cuts during the January 10 attack but her 11-week-old baby survived, according to the Ventura County Star.

“The defendant wanted the victim to abort the child,” Deputy District Attorney Andrea Tischler told the Star. “When she did not, he decided to hire someone to beat her severely enough to lose the child.”

One of the alleged attackers, Michael Andrew Navarrete, 19, has been arrested on drugs and weapons charges, but police have not said whether he will also be charged in the assault on Cornejo, according to the Star. Olmos is being held on $5 million bail for conspiracy to commit a crime and conspiracy to commit murder, and could be sentenced to 25 years to life in prison if convicted. His arraignment is scheduled for February 13.

“This is a despicable person who would attempt to do this on his unborn child,” Thousand Oaks Police Chief Dennis Carpenter told the Star.

Spanish Abortion Clinics Go on Strike

Protesting what they termed “persecution” by officials investigating illegal activities in abortion clinics, a group of Spanish abortion mills held a five-day strike beginning January 8, according to the Guardian.

The Association of Accredited Clinics for the Interruption of Pregnancies (ACAI), which represents the clinics that perform almost 98% of abortions in Spain, said that protests by pro-lifers and “systematic harassment” by authorities led to the work stoppage. Only “emergency” abortions were carried out during the five days, postponing the scheduled deaths of about 2,000 unborn babies, the Guardian reported.

The charges of “harassment” stemmed from several recent arrests. Abortion clinic owner Carlos Morín has reportedly been in jail since November, after a Dutch TV journalist filmed him agreeing to perform an abortion of a seven-month-old unborn baby, according to the New York Times. Other arrests resulted from raids of abortion clinics in Barcelona and Madrid, where officials discovered activities such as abortionists with fraudulent medical certificates and evidence of illegal late-term abortions, the Associated Press reported.

Spanish law allows abortions up to 12 weeks in cases of rape, up to 22 weeks for “fetal malformation,” and at any time if the pregnancy is harmful to a woman’s physical or mental health. “Opponents claim doctors get around the law by falsely certifying a risk to the mother’s mental health to provide legal cover for what would otherwise be an illegal abortion,” according to the Guardian.

Abortions in Spain now total about 100,000 per year, doubling over the past decade, the New York Times reported.

The abortion clinics and ACAI are advocating for a change in the law to allow for abortion on demand up to 12 weeks of pregnancy, according to IPS. However, the Socialist government faces elections in March, and is unlikely to introduce such a controversial measure in the near future, the Guardian reported.

Parole Board Refuses to Release Latimer

Robert Latimer, the Saskatchewan man convicted of killing his severely disabled daughter Tracy in 1993, filed an appeal January 23 of the Canadian National Parole Board’s refusal to grant his day parole request.

Latimer is serving a life sentence for placing his 12-year-old daughter, who was a quadriplegic with cerebral palsy, in his truck and piping in exhaust gas until she died of carbon monoxide poisoning, according to CanWest News Service. Latimer, whose conviction was upheld by the Canadian Supreme Court in 2001, asked the parole board that he be moved from a minimum-security prison in British Columbia to the state capital, Ottawa, and be allowed release during the day to seek answers from the federal government and courts about his conviction, CanWest News Service reported.

Latimer insisted throughout the December 5 parole hearing that killing Tracy “was the right thing to do,” Canadian Press (CP) reported. In light of his statements, the board concluded that he shows no remorse, and therefore should not be allowed parole. “We were left with a feeling that you have not developed the kind of sufficient insight and understanding of your actions,” said Kelly-Ann Speck, chair of the three-member National Parole Board panel, according to CP.

In the appeal, Latimer’s attorney contended that the parole board should only consider whether an inmate is a danger to the community or will commit the same crime once released. “Although it has a role at sentencing, the objective of denunciation plays no part in the consideration of whether Mr. Latimer should be granted day parole,” wrote Gratl, according to CBC News.

If the appeal is unsuccessful, Latimer will be eligible for full parole on December 8, 2010.

Search Continues for Man Charged with Killing Pregnant Marine

Authorities in the United States and Mexico are searching for Marine Cpl. Cesar Laurean, charged with one count of first-degree murder for killing fellow Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach and burning her and her unborn baby in a firepit in his North Carolina backyard.

The remains of Lauterbach and her baby were discovered January 11. An autopsy later determined that she died December 14 of blunt-force trauma to her head, and that the baby was still in her womb when she died, according to the Associated Press (AP). This finding is especially important because North Carolina does not have a law that protects unborn victims of violence.

The state only has an “injury to a pregnant woman” law, according to the Raleigh News & Observer. Therefore, “the death of Lauterbach’s unborn child is essentially treated as an aggravating factor that would make Laurean guilty of a ‘felony one class higher than the felony committed,’” columnist Jameson Taylor wrote in the newspaper.

Lauterbach had accused Laurean of raping her on their Marine base in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and the investigation into her charges is continuing, the AP reported. It is not known yet whether Laurean was the father of the unborn baby, or why Lauterbach went to his home where she died.

The remains were discovered when Laurean’s wife Christina told authorities that her husband left a note before he fled saying that he buried Lauterbach in the backyard after she killed herself, according to the AP. Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown expressed his deep sadness at the discovery of Lauterbach and her baby, whose perfectly formed hand, as large as the sheriff’s thumb but curled up because of the heat of the fire, was found in the pit.

“One of the things that will stick with me for a long time, and forever, is that little hand, the way those fingers were turned,” Brown told WRAL.

Mourners at St. Christopher Catholic Church in Lauterbach’s hometown of Vandalia, Ohio, paid their respects January 31, filing past two caskets—Lauterbach’s draped in the American flag next to a tiny one holding her unborn baby, the AP reported.

Arizona and Missouri May Get Choose Life License Plates

Motorists in Arizona and Missouri are closer to being able to obtain “Choose Life” license plates after positive court decisions in January.

A pro-life coalition in Arizona applied for the specialty license plate, which features a childlike drawing of a boy and a girl with the words, “Choose Life,” in 2002. After the License Plate Commission refused the application, the coalition sued on free-speech grounds, according to the Associated Press (AP).

Although the pro-lifers lost a lower court decision, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled January 28 that the commission’s decision violated the right of free speech. The commission “clearly denied the application based on the nature of the message,” wrote Judge Richard Tallman for the unanimous court, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

“The Life Coalition’s message has been censored for six years,” attorney Peter Gentala told the AP. “Now it’s time for the commission to act quickly to approve the plates so they can go into production as law allows.”

In Missouri, U.S. District Judge Scott O. Wright issued a ruling similar to the appeals court when he decided January 23 that the license plates are covered under free-speech rights.

The state legislature’s Joint Committee on Transportation Oversight rejected the “Choose Life” license plates in June 2006, based on the objections of pro-abortion senators, according to the Daily Record.

The group that requested the plates, Choose Life of Missouri, quickly filed a lawsuit. Judge Wright ruled in the group’s favor, saying that the state law creating license plate program lacks sufficient safeguards to protect the freedom of speech, the AP reported.

“Although the specialty license plate was made available through state statute,” wrote Judge Wright, “the private individual chooses to spend the money to purchase the specialty plate and display it on a vehicle.”

The state has not yet decided whether to appeal the ruling. If it is not appealed, the plates should be available within the year, according to the Daily Record.

Adult Stem Cells Help Transplant Patients Accept New Organs

A study published in the January 24 New England Journal of Medicine found that patients can be weaned off anti-rejection medications if bone marrow stem cells from the donor are injected during a kidney transplant.

Four out of five patients treated at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston have healthy new kidneys and do not have to take strong anti-rejection drugs. Led by doctors David Sachs and Benedict Cosimi, the medical team first weakened the patients’ own immune systems, according to the Associated Press (AP). Then, the donor kidneys—which were not perfect matches—were transplanted along with adult stem cells from the donors.

The donor bone marrow cells mixed with the patient’s own cells, so the body’s immune system accepted both types without rejection. Within 8 to 14 months, the patients no longer needed anti-rejection medications.

The one patient who could not tolerate the first donor kidney eventually received a normal transplant and is still alive, but continues to need the anti-rejection drugs, the AP reported.

The technique has been tested in animals for 30 years, according to the Los Angeles Times. Successful experiments in monkeys have shown that “there is reason to hope these patients will be off drugs for the rest of their lives,” said Sachs, the Times reported.

Researchers plan larger studies to determine if this technique is successful on a larger population and with organs other than kidneys.

Germans Reject Embryonic Stem Cell Research

A January opinion poll conducted in Germany found that 61% believe that only stem cells obtained without harming a human embryo should be used for medical research.

An even larger majority, 65.2%, said that they approve of Germany’s law banning embryonic stem cell research.

The poll shows that the German public is increasingly opposed to embryonic stem cell research. The newspaper Westfalische Allgemeine Zeitung reported that only 26.9 percent said they supported embryo-destructive research, down from 32.9 in 2007.

The number of people saying that scientists should only use adult stem cells or those obtained by reprogramming other cells without harming an embryo increased from 56.3% in 2007 to 61% in 2008.

Advocacy Groups Spread Education about Down Syndrome

Parents and advocacy groups are increasing their efforts to educate the public about Down syndrome to reduce the fears and misinformation that often result after a diagnosis which so often lead to an abortion.

Their work is a response to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ January 2007 recommendation that all pregnant women be given the option of testing for Down syndrome. Previously, only women over age 35 were routinely given the tests, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

Studies have shown that a large majority of unborn babies diagnosed with Down syndrome are killed in utero. For example, an English study put this rate at a devastating 92%, according to the AP.

“I think you can see rather quickly why our community would be concerned about it when you are talking about eliminating a whole race of people,” Amy Allison, executive director of the Down Syndrome Guild of Greater Kansas City, told the AP.

Parents of children with Down syndrome have formed groups to help others find resources and support. “You have to grieve,” Jessica Miles, whose daughter has Down syndrome, told the Jackson Citizen Patriot. “That dream of the perfect baby has been taken away from you. But you have to remember you’re still a mom.”

Many children with the condition face serious health problems that can put stress on families. Miles’s daughter Murielle was born with congestive heart failure and pneumonia, but she triumphed over her early difficulties and is now a happy nine-year-old, the Patriot reported.

Murielle is the true face of Down syndrome, and educating the public about children like her is the goal of advocacy groups. The National Down Syndrome Congress uses the theme “We’re More Alike Than Different” to emphasize the humanity and achievements of people with the condition.

“If we can get it in their heads that people with Down syndrome are ‘More Alike Than Different’ maybe Down syndrome won’t be such a devastating piece of news,” Sue Joe, a resource specialist for the National Down Syndrome Congress, told the AP. “The more we can get a positive image into people’s heads the more likely people are to say, ‘I can do that.’”

South Dakota Legislature Passes Ultrasound Screening Bill

The South Dakota House and Senate have passed bills that would require pregnant women to have access to ultrasound images before they decide to  have an abortion.

“Ultrasound provides a window to the womb and allows mothers to see their unborn children,” Mary Spaulding Balch, NRLC director of state legislation, told NRL News. “It is a powerful, positive witness to the very existence of the tiniest living human being, which all too often is denied.”

The bills passed January 29, by 21–13 in the Senate and 38–31 in the House, according to the Rapid City Journal.

The Senate bill reads, “No facility that performs abortions may perform an abortion on a pregnant woman without first offering the pregnant woman an opportunity to view a sonogram of her unborn child. The woman’s response to the offer shall be documented by the facility, including the date and time of the offer and the woman’s signature attesting to her informed decision.”

The Senate bill also includes a provision that abortionists must report the numbers of women who receive the sonogram offer and how many accepted or declined. The House version is simpler, merely requiring that records be kept, the Journal reported.

Since the bills differ slightly, a joint Senate-House committee will meet craft one bill that will then go back to the legislators for their approval.

“Mothers have the right to this information before making a life and death decision which will affect the rest of their lives and the lives of their children,” Balch added. “I applaud the South Dakota legislature and urge other states to pass similar legislation.”

Baby Delivered from Brain-Dead Mother

Doctors in Istanbul, Turkey, delivered a healthy baby boy by Caesarean section two weeks after his mother was pronounced brain dead. Born January 25, he joins two sisters and his father, who initially asked the hospital to remove his wife’s life support in fears that he couldn’t raise three children alone, according to Today’s Zaman.

Yildiz Alçi contracted meningitis and lapsed into a coma January 3. Doctors at Cerrahpasa Medical Center pronounced her brain dead, but decided to continue her life support to bring her six-month-old unborn baby closer to term, Today’s Zaman reported.

Her husband, Erdinç Ceyhan, initially objected to keeping his wife on a ventilator. “I didn’t want the child because I was afraid that I would not be able to take care of it on my own,” he said, according to Today’s Zaman.

However, Turkish law grants unborn children rights, and it would be illegal for the doctors to kill the baby by cutting off life support. “In Alçi’s case, there is a chance to save the baby,” criminal lawyer Hüseyin Çinar told Today’s Zaman. “Preventing his/her birth would be a crime.”

The hospital responded to Ceyhan’s financial situation by agreeing to cover all costs of his wife and baby’s care. In addition, Ceyhan and his three children will receive help from the local government. “We decided to give an apartment to the baby when it is born,” Istanbul Greater Municipality Mayor Kadir Topbai told Today’s Zaman. “We aim at providing more favorable conditions for the unborn baby and its family.”

Baby Born at 24 Weeks Celebrates First Birthday

Born by emergency Caesarean section 16 weeks before she was due, Charlie Jo Glover weighed only 1 pound, 4 ounces last February 6. But she has defied all predictions and reached her first birthday weighing 15 pounds, 3 ounces, a healthy and happy baby at home in Greater Manchester, England.

“This time last year I just didn't think we would get here,” Charlie Jo’s mother told This Is Lancashire. “So many people said she was born too soon and she was given just a 50-50 chance of being a normal baby. But she is a normal baby, she’s perfect.”

Parents Janice Snalam and Michael Glover feared the worst when Snalam began bleeding heavily only 24 weeks into her pregnancy, the Daily Mail reported. Although medications were tried to stop labor from advancing, she continued to bleed and doctors at the Royal Bolton Hospital had to deliver Charlie Jo.

Charlie Jo received oxygen in an incubator, and Snalam and Glover couldn’t hold their baby until she was eight days old. Three months after birth, she was strong enough to return home with her parents and older sister Holly, according to the Daily Mail.

Despite a few health scares, such as a bout of bronchitis in October, Charlie Jo has grown steadily, This Is Lancashire reported.

“Charlie Jo's fantastic,” Snalam told the Daily Mail. “She's got two teeth, she's eating off a spoon and she's sitting up on her own. She's had her eyes and her ears checked, she's absolutely perfect.

“Charlie Jo's first birthday is such a milestone for us. She was so very poorly when she was born, we didn't think she would survive. But she's such a little fighter. We feel so lucky to have both of our children.”