Health care vote a race to the wire

The House of Representatives on Saturday night passed an amendment to pending health care legislation that prohibits federal funds for abortion services in the public option and in the insurance “exchange” the bill would create.

The vote passed 240-194.

The amendment was introduced by anti-abortion Democrats. Its consideration was considered a big win for them and for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which used its power — especially with conservative Democrats in swing congressional districts — to help force other Democratic leaders to permit a vote that most of them oppose.

The prohibition, introduced by Democratic members, including Rep. Brad Ellsworth, D-Indiana, and Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Michigan, would exclude cases of rape, incest or if the mother’s life is in danger.

Republicans strongly supported the measure.

The GOP accounted for 174 of the votes in favor of the amendment, with 1 Republican voting “present.”

On the Democrat’s side, 64 voted for the measure, and 194 voted against.

The vote came just before the House was set to vote on the full health reform bill, and indications were that the vote could come down to the wire.

House Democrats needed 218 votes to pass the health care bill. Without any Republican support, that meant Democrats can lose no more than 40 of their own members. And as the House appeared to near a vote late Saturday night, CNN confirmed at least 35 Democrats planned to vote no. Another dozen or so had not made public commitments or were undecided.

In other words, if no Republicans voted yes, Democrats could afford to lose only five more members of their 258-member caucus on the issue.

As late as 8:30 p.m. ET, some key Democrats were still undecided.

According to their offices, Reps. Bob Etheridge, D-North Carolina, and Daniel Lipinski, D-Illinois, were still wrestling with a vote that was expected within hours.

Nonetheless, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic leaders repeatedly insisted they will have the 218 votes necessary to pass their health care bill when it comes up for a vote. In a sign that could indicate confidence, Pelosi’s office called a news conference following the health care vote listing the time at about 11 p.m. ET.

Earlier Saturday, President Obama said members of the House of Representatives face the chance of a lifetime as they consider the legislation.

After a meeting with the House Democratic leadership, the president said he told lawmakers that “opportunities like this come around maybe once in a generation.”

“This is their moment, this is our moment, to live up to the trust that the American people have placed in us,” Obama told reporters in the White House rose garden. “Even when it’s hard, especially when it’s hard, this is our moment to deliver.”

He had just returned from Capitol Hill, where the House had begun debate on the nearly $1.1 trillion health care bill.

A senior Democratic aide quoted the president as saying during the meeting that he was “absolutely confident” that they would pass the legislation.

“When I sign this in the rose garden, each and every one of you will be able to look back and say, ‘This was my finest moment in politics,’” the aide quoted Obama as saying. Anti-abortion Democrats will introduce an amendment to the measure that would ban most abortion coverage from the public option and other insurance providers in the new so-called “exchange” the legislation would create, three Democratic sources told CNN.

The prohibition would exclude cases of rape, incest or if the woman’s life is in danger.

House Minority Leader John Boehner said the GOP leadership strongly supports that amendment.

“We believe taxpayer funding of abortion is wrong, and we will do everything we can to stop that from happening, by passing the Stupak amendment,” he said.

The fact that the amendment will be allowed to be proposed is a big win for anti-abortion Democrats and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which used its power — especially with conservative Democrats in swing congressional districts — to help force Democratic leaders to permit a vote that most of them oppose.

“We didn’t have a choice,” said a Democratic leadership source. “We didn’t have the votes” on health care without agreeing to this compromise.

Planned Parenthood decried the amendment, saying it would result in the elimination of abortion coverage currently offered by most private health insurance plans.

“This amendment would violate the spirit of health care reform, which is meant to guarantee quality, affordable health care coverage for all by creating a two-tiered system that would punish women, particularly those with low and modest incomes,” the group said in a statement.

The Democratic sources said people would be able to use their own money to purchase insurance policy riders that include abortion coverage.

“I foresee for poor women in America a return to the dark ages,” said Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Florida.

Meanwhile, members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus staunchly oppose including a provision that would bar undocumented workers from using their own money to buy health insurance policies available through the exchange.

Learn about the bill

The measure is already included in the Senate Finance Committee’s version of the bill and is backed by the White House. Some conservative House Democrats have also indicated their support for the Senate language.

Several Hispanic Caucus members who discussed the issue with Pelosi on Friday said they had received assurances the Senate language would not be included. Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, D-Texas, warned Thursday that several caucus members might try to block the House bill if it’s changed to conform to the Senate measure.

Pelosi’s bill includes various requirements for immigrants to verify their citizenship before getting federal subsidies to buy health insurance. Conservatives, however, have called the requirements insufficient.

Many conservatives and Blue Dog Democrats also continue to raise questions about the overall cost of the bill.

“The speaker’s bill includes job-killing taxes and mandates that will hurt small businesses,” Boehner said Friday. “For the sake of our families and small businesses, this job-killing bill needs to be defeated.”

The House bill would extend insurance coverage to 36 million uncovered Americans and guarantee that 96 percent of Americans have coverage, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

Among other things, the bill would subsidize insurance for poorer Americans, establish a new government-run public option and create health insurance exchanges to make it easier for small groups and individuals to purchase coverage. It would also cap annual out-of-pocket expenses and prevent insurance companies from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions.

Pelosi’s office has said the bill would cut the federal deficit by roughly $30 billion over the next decade. The measure is financed through a combination of a tax surcharge on wealthy Americans and spending constraints in Medicare and Medicaid.

My abortion struggle,November 9 2002

Every year I live I struggle every day to fight past the battle of my abortion.As I know deep in my heart I shall never forgive myself as I know and back then I knew I was taking two precious lives who could have grown up with talents but perhaps not with the best schooling…I took my daughters’ lives over their father.It should’ve been the other way around but I can’t turn back time.If I could redo time I’d do it all over again.Honestly..This coming June my daughter’s would be turning 8(June 16 2003)…but one thing I would love to do is get back in touch with my baby’s father someday and see what happens if God ever unites us that is.Again not on my terms but whatever God has for me in terms of relationships is what I will accept.AND some may think because I follow the Duggar family on television may be the reason why I would let GOD give me X amount of kids but that’s not the case.It is because of the very fact I took two precious lives who could have already gotten to know God and I can never forgive myself for it,is the very reason I find each child special…But again if that is not what God has planned so be it.Bottom line for the rest of my life I will be fighting this battle and I most times will never forget it.Having an abortion is one of the worst battles I have faced more so than a man cheating,verbally abusing,physically abusing,sexual abuse,going through group homes,hospitals,foster homes,being in jail etc etc and the list goes on and on.

I just want to write this letter to my daughters and I don’t mind sharing it with the world.Again this is the reason I let the people of the world able to read this site so they know what I am about.I may not speak it or im to others but if you search my name you will find things you never knew or expected.

Dear Allyssasandrah & Shizuko,
This year is going to make 7 years since I “killed” two precious souls whose love is truly stronger than their daddy.It’s a struggle for me to fight this battle every year and every day because every few months reminds me of something to do with the two of you or being a mom but I know that in spirit I am still,always and forever your mommy.But I am doing good.I have fought a “short” battle of depression with my second ex fiance,Augustus Boadu, from Ghana who resides in the UK.Yet I overcame it.I am working on a Advance Healthcare Directive to limit the amount of healthcare I can recive.I will most likely do the same for a Mental Health Care Advance Directive.This year your maternal great grandpa,Tadao Akamine,died.He’s up in heaven with his two great granddaughters.He never knew you but I wished he did.I am sure he’s met up with you two in heaven though.I know that your souls are still alive…Your great grandpa was 97 years old.It was getting rough but he passed away in peace.I told him my goodbyes that morning and I am at peace with his death but I feel that he’s still with me and will never leave me.I had a wonderful relationship with him.I have a dog now and her name is Lacey.She’s sweet and smart.Wise and a rascal.She helps me get through every day even if it’s a battle she’s right there.I want you to know that mommy is in good hands and I hope with all my heart and soul that I will be with you someday soon.Your grandma is still in real estate and your grandma’s mom is still in a nursing home.I don’t talk to her.I cut off talk with your grandma’s family pretty much.
Loving You Always and forever,
Your Mom
PS.Your dad ,Romaine Thomas,is married to your step mom,Dhee Thomas.I never met her but she sounds like the type of step mom I’d want you to have.

Abortion support falls sharply, new research finds

Support for abortion rights has fallen sharply in the past year, with Americans now split roughly 50-50 between those who back legal access to abortion and those who oppose it, according to a new survey. The findings mark a dramatic shift in public opinion, supporters of abortion rights have outnumbered opponents for many years, with one brief exception, studies have shown.

But only 47 percent of Americans now feel abortion should be legal in all or most cases, a drop from 54 percent a year ago, according to the poll.

Meanwhile, 45 percent say it should be illegal in all or most cases. That’s up from 41 percent a year ago.

Given the survey’s margin of error, the two camps are statistically tied.

“These data suggest that a number of people have changed their minds in the past year,” said Gregory Smith of the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, one of the survey’s authors.

It’s not only one type of person or group whose opinion has changed, he said. “There was a drop seen in many, many demographics: men and women, people with a college degree and those with less education, people with various religious backgrounds,” he said.

The only groups whose opinions on abortion did not change were African-Americans — who tend to oppose it — and young people and those not affiliated with any particular religion, who tend to say it should be legal, he said.

“Beyond that, this movement [was] across the board,” he said.

Anti-abortion activists welcomed the findings.

“This is great news. This poll shows that the pro-life movement is winning hearts and minds. Pro-lifers are making an effective case that all women deserve better than abortion and that every child deserves a chance to be born,” said Cathy Ruse, the senior fellow for legal studies at the anti-abortion Family Research Council in Washington.

The Rev. Flip Benham, a Dallas, Texas-based anti-abortion activist, said the survey reflected a change he had already seen taking place.

“It’s something that we have known for a long, long time that’s been beneath the radar,” he said. “The heart of America is changing and only with time do the laws reflect that change.”

“When the church will come out into the streets, we win the battle,” said Benham, director of operations for Operation Save America.

“We have to return to the God of our founding fathers and our pilgrim fathers,” he said.

But Terry O’Neill, the president of the National Organization for Women, firmly rejects religious opposition to abortion.

“Abortion is a blessing when it is chosen freely by a woman who needs it. It is a blessing,” she said, citing the Rev. Katherine Ragsdale, dean of the Episcopal Divinity School.

O’Neill has been in that position herself, she said.

“When I was in my early 20s, I thought I needed an abortion. I was escaping a very violent marriage that lasted about eight months,” she said. “The young man I was married to exploded and severely battered me.”

She fled to her parents’ home. A month later, she began to suspect she was pregnant with her abusive husband’s child.

“If I had had a baby, I would have been tied to that man for the rest of my life,” she said. “I didn’t need the abortion, as it turned out, but if I had needed that abortion, it would have been a blessing.

“I knew I was going to become a mother, but not with that man, not with that pregnancy,” she said.

She said it was important to distinguish between people who oppose abortion and those who want it to be against the law.

“I do realize that a lot of people in this country consider themselves to be pro-life,” she said. “They also don’t want it to be a crime for a woman to get an abortion.”

Smith, the researcher, suspects the election of President Obama, a pro-choice Democrat, may be one cause of the shift in public opinion.

“Look at the timing,” he said. “Through October of last year, the findings were consistent, with supporters outnumbering opponents,” he said.

Pew first noticed the change in public opinion in a survey in April, and did a larger study in August to confirm it.

Opponents of abortion feel more strongly about it than supporters of legal access, he said.

“Some people, particularly on the right, have become more entrenched, more certain of their own positions on abortion,” he said.

“Conservative Republicans are more certain about the correctness of their own position and less likely to say they want to see compromise. They are concerned that Obama will go too far in supporting abortion rights as president,” he said. “On the left you see some relaxing of views.”

But the survey also found that the number of people who felt passionately about abortion is falling.

About four out of 10 people in the survey could not define Obama’s position on abortion.

“That is an indicator that although opinions have moved, this issue right now is not at the top of the political debate,” Smith said.

But the subject has crept into the battle to reform America’s health care system, with opponents of abortion in both parties determined to prevent federal dollars from funding abortions. Under the Hyde amendment, federal money currently can be used to pay for abortions only in case of rape, incest and to protect the life of the mother.

There have been at least two abortion-related slayings in the United States this year, one on each side of the debate.

George Tiller, a doctor known for performing abortions, was killed in May.

Tiller was shot in the head at point-blank range on May 31 as services began at Reformation Lutheran Church in Wichita, Kansas. Scott Roeder, a 51-year-old anti-abortion activist, is charged in Tiller’s killing. He has pleaded not guilty.

Anti-abortion activist Jim Pouillon, 63, was shot dead outside a school in Owosso, Michigan, on September 11. He was associated with Benham’s Operation Save America.

Harlan James Drake, 33, is accused of shooting him and another man in separate locations that day.

Authorities do not believe that Drake knew Pouillon; only that he was offended by anti-abortion material that Pouillon had displayed across from the school all week, according to Sara Edwards of the Shiawassee County prosecutor’s office.

The Supreme Court, the country’s main legal battleground on abortion, has ruled only once on the hot-button subject since 1992, in a close 2007 decision that upheld federal restrictions on a controversial late-term abortion procedure called “partial birth abortion” by its opponents.

Judge Sonia Sotomayor, then a federal appeals court judge, deflected questions about abortion this summer when she faced Senate confirmation hearings for a seat on the Supreme Court. She was confirmed. The court has not announced any abortion-related cases on its 2009-2010 docket.

The 1973 Supreme Court ruling Roe v. Wade effectively legalized abortion in the United States.

In 2005, 1.21 million abortions were performed, down from 1.31 million in 2000, according to data compiled by the Alan Guttmacher Institute, which aims to “advance sexual and reproductive health worldwide through research, policy analysis and education.”

About 2 percent of American women age 15-44 had an abortion in 2005, the latest year for which the institute has information. The rate has been falling gradually since 1981, when it peaked at just under 3 percent, institute figures show.

The new findings come from a telephone survey of more than 4,000 adults in August 2009, conducted by the Washington-based Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life and the Pew Research Center for The People & The Press.
Also read the report:”http://people-press.org/reports/pdf/549.pdf

40 days of life:Day 9

“I did my first hour Friday night at 10 as part of my
church’s adopted day. I could sense such evil,” wrote
one first-timer. “It was powerful to pray there for
the end to abortion and the conversion of the
doctor.”

Another first-time participant writes, “This issue
has been close to my heart for a long time, but to be
honest, participating in the vigil Friday has put
this front and center in my heart now.”

“I wish there was a way I could bottle the experience
and send a copy to each of you so you could
experience it fully right from the comfort of your
living room, but this is something you’ll simply need
to experience for yourself,” said Carol Marie of the
40 Days for Life campaign in the Reno/Tahoe area of
Nevada and California.

“I believe that when we go to the sidewalk and pray
to end abortion we each are given a special grace so
that we can better address the issue,” she added.

“Because we are each called to play our own
particular role in this effort, that grace varies
from person to person, and thus the experience also
differs. How is God calling you to help? What role
are you meant to play?”

Pamela is another person who had never taken part in
40 Days for Life — or even participated in any
visible pro-life activities — until this campaign.
“I have to tell you,” she said, “it was an eye
opening and powerful experience.”

She prayed that God would give her courage. “I have
to admit that I was scared,” she said. “The knowledge
that I could potentially watch a woman walk into a
facility carrying a baby and watch her come out
without one brought me to tears.”

Pamela arrived late — and nervous. “I felt an
overwhelming need to pray; and there in the grass I
wept and prayed for the men and women who entered the
facility to work and receive services.”

She prayed for everything she could possibly think of
that God could offer these people to change their
hearts and minds.

“What I observed this morning was a demonstration of
grace and truth,” she said. “If anyone feels the same
hesitation and uncertainty I did, please consider
coming to the event with another group or a group of
friends. I am certain you will be blessed and
awakened by the experience.”

Brian Westbrook of the St. Louis 40 Days for Life
campaign said if people like Pamela can find the
courage to stand for Life on the sidewalk, “then so
can you. We will not end abortion by sitting at
home,” he said, “but we must proclaim the truth from
our roof tops and on the street corners.”

On Monday,I will be helping out at the abortion clinic called Planned Parenthood and I can imagine how painful it must be for some people to see people abort a child or even consider the procedure I can relate completely but it won’t take me by shock or surprise either.Even as difficult as it may be to watch women go through this I believe God is putting this on my heart to share my experience.For the first time am I ever talking about my abortion publicly where the world can read it.But you know what,it’s my past.I accept it and I can relate that it will never ever happen again as long as I shall live.

The next post is going to be about my abortion and my first serious relationship with my babies’ father.

For the first time I get involved with the community

Besides standing up behind certain bills and laws in Hawaii and aside from the “Legalizing same sex marriage” I haven’t really helped in the community.This does not include volunteering at hospitals.The last time I actually was “out” in the community was when I was doing community service while on probation so for me to actually take a stand and willingly get out there is really a plus in my life.Because I am not doing it just for myself.Not because GOD told me to as He didn’t tell me to but I made the choice on my own and I feel at ease and peace with it that I should stand for this cause of saving lives of unborn children.If you want to read up on why I am helping with this cause “40 days of life” on this site search these words:abortion,allyssasandrah & shizuko akamine-thomas,loreen akamine,romaine thomas.You will find out why.Like I said before I got nothing to hide from the world.If anyone wants to know anything type in my name and you will find out what you need to know.

A note on abortion to beloved daughters watching me from Heaven

To my beloved children,
Although you may be in Heaven watching over me your spirits are alive and am thinking about you every day.You have never left me and never will.When you left” life” a part of me left with both of you.Mommy’s going to take a stand on abortion so we can help save more babies’ lives and hopefully their mommies will make the right decision to keep their children so they have a life to live.Miss you both so much..Hugs and Kisses from Earth to Heaven..Mommy

40 days of life!

Go to 40daysoflife.com and find your location in your state.Volunteer and help lift up your voices and prayers to help save many babies’ lives and help them have a chance to live.You know I dealt with abortion and that’s the worst thing any mother can do.To this day I am still very guilty for doing so and I hope to make a difference that more mothers will choose life and if they don’t want their child to put it up for adoption where they can find loving families to care for these babies.

Mackenzie Phillips Confesses to 10-Year Consensual Sexual Relationship With Father Stepmother Doubts Phillips’ Drug-Fueled Incestuous Relationship with Rocker Dad

Former child-star Mackenzie Phillips, whose life has been marred by drug abuse and arrests, confessed today that she engaged in a 10-year consensual sexual relationship with her father, rock star John Phillips. Phillips, 49, the former star of ’70s-’80s sitcom “One Day at a Time,” told Oprah Winfrey that she was first raped by her father in a hotel room when she was 18 while passed out after a drug binge but continued to use drugs and have consensual sex with him for years.

The relationship continued long after she married Jeff Sessler when she was 19, and ended only when she became pregnant and feared her father was the baby’s father, Phillips said. John Phillips, she said, paid for an abortion.

Reading an excerpt from her new book, “High on Arrival,” on Winfrey’s show today, Phillips said of her first sexual experience with her father: “I woke up that night from a blackout to find myself having sex with my father. I don’t know how it started.”

She was raped by her father, lead singer of “The Mamas and The Papas,” in the hotel room in the late 1970s, Phillips said. “For a moment, I was in my body for a horrible truth,” she said of waking up and realizing she had had sex with her father.

“I boxed it away. I started very early on in my life compartmentalizing. … This was the mother of all difficult experiences. … I [have spent] the last 30 years trying not to look at it,” she said.

Michelle Phillips, Mackenzie Phillips’ stepmother and a member of the ’60s group “The Mamas and the Papas,” told the Hollywood Reporter she believed the allegations were false.

Phillips said Mackenzie had “a lot of mental illness” and that “she’s had a needle stuck up her arm for 35 years.”

“Mackenzie is jealous of her siblings, who have accomplished a lot and did not become drug addicts,” Michelle said.

Mackenzie told Winfrey she confronted her father about the rape, but he characterized their relationship as romantic, Mackenzie said.

“After the first experience, I went to my father and said we need to talk about how you raped me. My dad said: ‘Raped you? Don’t you mean made love?’ In that moment, I thought I’m really on my own here.”

In 1980, soon after she’d been fired from “One Day at a Time” because of her out-of-control drug use, Phillips began to travel with her father’s new band, “The New Mamas and the Papas.” It was during that time, she said, that she began regularly doing drugs and having sex with her father.

“It didn’t happen every day, it didn’t happen every week, but it certainly happened and happened many times,” she said. Mackenzie Phillips Forgave Her Father

“It became a consensual relationship over time. I can’t believe I’m the only one this happened to,” she said.

“No matter what kind of incest, it is an abuse of power … a betrayal of trust.”

She forgave her father on his deathbed, but his death, in 2001, relaunched her abuse of drugs, Phillips said.

In excerpts from “High on Arrival” printed in People magazine, Phillips writes: “On the eve of my wedding, my father showed up, determined to stop it. I had tons of pills and dad had tons of everything too. Eventually I passed out on Dad’s bed.

“I was a fragment of a person, and my secret isolated me,” she writes, according to People. “One night Dad said, ‘We could just run away to a country where no one would look down on us. There are countries where this is an accepted practice. Maybe Fiji.’”

Phillips was supposed to be reunited last year with her former television co-stars on the “Rachael Ray Show” but was arrested at Los Angeles International airport for possessing cocaine.

Former co-star Valerie Bertinelli learned of Phillip’s incestuous relationship while backstage during the taping of the Winfrey show.

“You’re only as sick as your secrets,” Bertinelli told her old friend and said she regretted not being there to help Phillips earlier.

Phillips hails from a famous Hollywood family. Her sisters are singer-actress Bijou Phillips and Chynna Phillips. She has been married three times and has one son, born in 1997.

So today’s my birthday

So today at 3pm(HST) I turn 28 years old.I don’t feel 28.See,I may not have a man but it’s my choice.Many tell me let go of the past and find a new love. I see where everyone is going telling me to start over.I know many good men are STILL out there and if GOD tells me to give a man a chance I will but it will not be on my own “will”.This time I will need to hear it from the LORD Himself.I am not trusting my own judgements when it comes to “love” relationships.I made many mistakes and as many know I am

NOT

the type who will repeat the same mistakes and patterns twice.What I am very blessed about my 28th birthday is that it’s been exactly 10 years counting from 1999 to 2009 that a judge from the juvenile court has dismissed all crimes against me as a juvenile on the exact date September 9 1999.I have had many times through the past 10 years I could have gotten a police record but by God’s protection I never got arrested again.Through these past 10 years since then I’ve ran away,done prostitution,gotten pregnant(Interestingly,I got pregnant on my birthday in September 9 2002),aborted giving up my precious daughters whose watching over mama,been through 2 placements,went to school for a short time and trying to pursue my dreams.I also have been out of placements since 2004 dating it to 5 years of no psychiatric placements as of July 5th,2009.I’ve been engaged twice and both didn’t work for different reasons.I found the man of my dreams,Augustus Boadu but due to family issues it didn’t work.My heart will always be with him even though I know I will hold absolutely no future with him whatsoever.
I may not work or go to school but for those who wonder where does she get her income from:I get SSI for my bipolar and seizures every month.My parents are my guardians and therefore pays everything else which is what the SSI is for.My insurance is covered by that state.Because the fact my parents are my guardians has no reason and effect on why I choose not to work.I chose not to work(which I haven’t since my early 20’s)because I don’t see myself moving,going back to school,having or adopting children,marrying in the near future.If I do have any type of relationship it will be casual into the years of my parents needing more help will I then look for a man and be more open.Till then people can search my name and find whatever they need to know.As said before I have got nothing to hide from the world.What I know the world can know.I am not ashamed of my past or the present.I was here for my grandpa’s last years of life.To show my love for him..After all he was the one who gave me permission to date a african american so for those african/african american men who think just because I don’t give my info to you or contact you because you’re black you’re wrong.My grandpa was full blooded OKinawan and he gave me the ok to date a black man.I didn’t have to ask for his permission but due to the love I had for him I wanted it to be ok with him first.I didn’t want to bring any man of any race without his approval first.I always had an excellent relationship with him and I am so glad I came back to Hawaii to help care for him in his final days and years.What an awesome grandpa he was!He gave me my middle name-Shizue so I am honored that he is my blood relative and today I still love him even though he’s in heaven.I am blessed to have a great church and slowly reconnecting with friends.I’ve bumped into several of my former classmates since I came back to Hawaii.I’ve also got the best dog in the whole world.She’s so spoiled but I love her.All I want in life is to continue living it peaceful and relaxing with the Great God in control of my life and not doing it on my own.I am truly blessed and given what I’ve been through this is really something to celebrate and I am honored to say I made it this far.TO end,I want to say a prayer:
Dear Lord,
I thank you for everything you have done for me in life.Standing by me through tough times,guiding me in your faith and never leaving you.Finding me the best church in Hawaii.Meeting up with past friends from school and churches.Being there for Grandpa’s last days…Meeting new family members…10 years of no crime…THat my birthday falls on the day I was born,dad,mom,lance and lacey(the greatest pup),for not being in placements and many more that september 9 will celebrate.Father I honor you everyday and will never let my faith be undone for all that you’ve done in life!Thank You for this awesome day in your presence and whatever money I get for my birthday if anything will be given to the church and other charities.In Jesus Name I pray that you will watch over children of orphans,those who are poor,those who need healthcare,education that you will meet their needs,animals who need to be saved and rescued-Father give them good homes to those who can and are able to love each animal,work on the issues of your great world that you created.Bring the world to become more of a godly and righteous upbringing.I also pray that you will watch over Michelle Duggar & her family including her baby that it will be a healthy delivery keeping their faith in you not worrying what others think.We know that you are guiding them by faith and not by sight.Amen!

Protests to focus on doctor who performed 60,000 abortions

If LeRoy Carhart’s abortion clinic had a terror alert scale, it would be at Code Red this weekend.

Anti-abortion protesters plan demonstrations this weekend outside Dr. LeRoy Carhart’s clinic in Bellevue, Nebraska.

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“I feel safer on an airplane than I do in my clinic,” Carhart said, sitting at his desk in his windowless office in Bellevue, Nebraska.

“You try to think about every way an attack could happen. You try to do all you can to prevent it, but obviously Dr. [George] Tiller thought he was safe in church.”

It’s been nearly three months since Tiller, one of the world’s most well-known doctors performing abortions, was shot in the head at point-blank range on May 31 as services began at Reformation Lutheran Church in Wichita, Kansas.

Anti-abortion groups, led by Operation Rescue, plan to launch protests outside Carhart’s clinic this weekend in Bellevue, just south of Omaha. They will be the first major anti-abortion protests since the Tiller killing.

The demonstrations are set to culminate Saturday with so-called Truth Trucks — delivery trucks with giant rolling billboards of dismembered fetuses on the sides — parking outside Carhart’s clinic and canvassing area neighborhoods. Protesters carrying anti-abortion signs also are expected.

Operation Rescue President Troy Newman has vowed a peaceful demonstration and said that any hints of possible violence are ginned up by what he calls left-wing groups and the liberal media.

His group scaled down plans to protest at Carhart’s facility Friday when it learned women’s rights groups, including the National Organization for Women, would be there. Operation Rescue will hold a rally at a church instead Friday.

“Operation Rescue has said Dr. Carhart is the next target …,” said Katherine Spillar, executive vice president with the Feminist Majority Foundation. “We fear that these kinds of activities can eventually erupt in violence, and I urge the community to make sure violence doesn’t happen.”

Abortion rights supporters were predominant in the 50 to 75 people gathered outside the clinic Friday morning.

“Welcome, welcome, this clinic stays open,” some shouted when cars pulled into the clinic’s driveway.

Newman said earlier, “I’m not interested in putting our folks in any situation where the other side might flare up. I’m very confident about our side. They’re very peaceful moms and dads and families that will be showing up with signs.”

He said he abhorred the killing of Tiller.

“Shooting someone in the head in a church,” he said, “is not a pro-life act. Sorry, it doesn’t qualify.”

Scott Roeder, a 51-year-old anti-abortion activist, is charged in Tiller’s killing. He has pleaded not guilty.

Newman said he wants Carhart shut down — through legal means. He said he was confident his organization would have shut down Tiller this summer through a legal battle.

“I vehemently disagreed with what Mr. Tiller did, as well as all abortionists for what they do. But they’re still human beings, and they deserve due process,” Newman said.

Tiller was one of about a dozen U.S. doctors who performed late-term abortions. In the wake of his death, his family decided to close his clinic permanently.

Carhart was a close friend and understudy of Tiller’s. He performed abortions at Tiller’s clinic for a week every month, including late-term procedures.

Carhart has vowed to open an office in Kansas and said he’ll keep doing abortions as long as he’s healthy. He said he’s performed more than 60,000 abortions in the past two decades. About 400 of those were after 24 weeks, he said.

Staring across the room at a poster of Tiller, he said, “I don’t want his death to be in vain. He spent his whole life trying to ensure better health care for women.”

Carhart was performing an abortion in his clinic when Tiller was killed that Sunday morning.

He learned of the news by phone from Tiller’s head nurse. “That’s when she told me that George had been shot in church and that he was dead.”

Carhart is unlike many abortion doctors. He’s doesn’t parse his words about his profession. The outside of his office has the name of his clinic in bold letters: Abortion & Contraception Clinic of Nebraska. He said he takes pride in the term abortionist.

“I do abortions, and that is what I do,” he said.

On Friday, Carhart teared up when talking about the abortion rights supporters outside his clinic.

“It’s unbelievable,” he said of the support.

Mark Gietzen, the driver of a truck for Operation Rescue, beamed with pride ahead of the protests. He stood outside his truck in Wichita adorned with a poster showing the dismembered hand of a fetus on a quarter. Across the top of the van, it reads, “Abortion is an ObamaNation.com.”

He said he knew Tiller “quite well” from the vantage point of a peaceful common enemy over the years and said the killing was a setback for “pro-lifers.”

He’s only had one encounter with Carhart — when the doctor drove his car by protesters and “quacked like a duck.”

Carhart acknowledges he might’ve done that.

Gietzen’s message to Carhart: “Please respect the life of the babies. Stop the killing, stop committing such a horrible act for money.”

Newman, the head of Operation Rescue, said he’ll keep praying Carhart “turns back to the healing arts and not taking babies’ lives.”

Carhart remains unmoved. “When they’re ready to accept our position, then we’ll sit down. We say choice is right. If you don’t want to have an abortion, don’t have one.”

Here in America’s heartland, a battle is being waged and both sides are entrenched. There is no middle ground