Roundup: Abortion Decriminalization Push in Queensland

Aug 17, 2009, 11:25am

Amy Dempsey

Obama administration may drop push for public option; abortion law reform under consideration in Queensland, Australia; North Carolina college will not provide contraception.

Obama Administration Considers Dropping Public Option

The New York Times reports that the Obama administration may be willing to scrap a public option in order to get health care reform legislation through Congress, in favor of non-profit insurance cooperatives:

The White House, facing increasing skepticism over President Obama’s
call for a public insurance plan to compete with the private sector,
signaled Sunday that it was willing to compromise and would consider a
proposal for a nonprofit health cooperative being developed in the
Senate.

Progressive Democrats continue to speak out in favor of a public option:

On Sunday, Senator John D. Rockefeller IV,
Democrat of West Virginia, affirmed his support for the public option.
“I believe the inclusion of a strong public plan option in health
reform legislation is a must,” Mr. Rockefeller said in a statement. “It
is the only proven way to guarantee that all consumers have affordable,
meaningful and accountable options available in the health insurance marketplace.”

Abortion Law Reform Considered in Queensland, Australia
In Queensland, Australia, draft abortion reform laws have been revealed by Bonny Barry, a former Labor MP, reports The Australian. Barry is speaking out to reform Queensland’s abortion laws, which only allow abortion if the mother’s life is at risk.

According
to Barry, laws pushing for the decriminalization of abortion were drawn
up in 2003, but were ignored by Premier Anna Bligh and the previous
premier Peter Beattie.

Bligh, meanwhile, "reaffirmed her position that, while she would
personally support legislation to decriminalise abortion, the
government would put no such bill before parliament."

North Carolina College Will Not Provide Contraceptives
The
President of Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina said he would
close the school’s before going against the church’s teachings about
contraception, the Washington Times
reported. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) decided
that Belmont Abbey violated discrimination laws by not covering
contraception, and the two are now in a fight involving health
insurance laws and religious freedom.

"By denying prescription contraceptive drugs, [the college] is
discriminating based on gender because only females take oral
prescription contraceptives," the EEOC wrote in a letter to the North
Carolina college. "By denying coverage, men are not affected, only
women."

"I hope it would never get this far," college President William K.
Thierfelder told The Washington Times, "but if it came down to it we
would close the college before we ever provided that."

Catholics Forgiving Rick Pitino
Some Catholics are
saying University of Louisville’s basketball coach Rick Pitino should
be removed from his position after having extramarital sex with a woman
who later had an abortion. Other church members are forgiving Pitino,
and say his decisions are between Pitino and God, The Associated Press reported.
The article said:

The 56-year-old Pitino has admitted to police that he had sex in 2003
with Karen Cunagin Sypher, who was indicted in May on charges of lying
to the FBI and attempting to extort up to $10 million from the coach.
The 49-year-old has pleaded not guilty in that federal case.
In police documents which became public last week, Pitino acknowledged
giving Sypher $3,000 after she said she was pregnant and was getting an
abortion, but didn’t have health insurance. Pitino’s lawyer, Steve
Pence, has insisted the money was for insurance and Pitino never paid
for an abortion.

OTHER NEWS TO NOTE:

August 17: Post Crescent: Survey, poll results can tell you only so much

August 17: Cleveland Plain Dealer: Would abortions be funded under health reform measure?

August 17: RenewAmerica: The making of a pro-life advocate

August 17: San Francisco Chronicle: Misconception over key issues at core of debate

August 17: Globe and Mail: Health minister retreats on plans to tighten rules for abortion clinics

August 17: Catholic Exchange: Radical NGO Paints Abortionists as Human Rights Defenders

August 17: Omaha World-Herald: Gearing up for abortion protests

August 16: LifeNews: Pro-Life News: No Public Option? Euthanasia, Kansas, Quebec, Pitino, Abstinence, Obama

August 16: Rocky Mount Telegram: Relative of Dr. King to speak against abortion

August 17: WaPo: Abortion and the Virginia Race

August 16: AP:Some Catholics in Louisville forgiving of Pitino