Philly Abortion Facility Closes

PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, Feb. 21 — The Elizabeth Blackwell Health Center for Women, which opened in 1975 as one of the first abortion facilities in Pennsylvania, has closed due to financial troubles.

“The financial situation and the changes in the health care landscape did what the anti-abortion protesters could never do to us — shut us down,” said Jennifer Vriens, executive director of the abortion business.

“Praise the Lord, I can't believe it,” John Stanton, executive director of the Pro-Life Union of Southeastern Pennsylvania, said. “The fewer sources [of abortion] you have, the less women and babies will be victimized.”

N.C. Abortions Down 23%

WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL, Feb. 15 — Abortion rates have dropped dramatically across North Carolina since 1990, and no one can pinpoint an exact cause for the decline.

The number of abortions performed in the state dropped by 23% — from 34,565 in 1990 to 26,612 in 2000, according to the N.C. Center for Health Statistics.

The reason may be that more stringent standards were put in place in 1995, including limiting access to the state money to women who have been the victims of rape or incest or where the pregnancy would endanger the life of the mother.

Since the new standards were adopted, no one has used public money, state officials said.

W.V. Senator's Prayer

THE CHARLESTON GAZETTE, Feb. 16 — At the end of an hour long public hearing on state legislation to mandate informed consent and 24-hour waiting periods for women seeking abortions, the lead sponsor of the bill explained why his eyes were closed during much of the meeting.

Sen. Leonard Anderson, D-Summers, said that he wasn't sleeping, but was praying for God to “open the eyes of the opponents of the bill.”

“I'm totally opposed to abortion. I think it's sin. I think it's murder,” said Anderson, appearing to be on the verge of tears. “I can't imagine a heathen nation doing what we're doing in America.”

Nathanson in the Philippines

THE PHILIPPINE STAR, Feb. 17 — Dr. Bernard Nathanson, a former abortion practitioner and head of a pro-abortion organization, who later became a pro-life advocate, told residents of the Philippines not to legalize abortion.

Nathanson accepted an invitation from pro-life groups in the Philippines to help in their mission to persuade Filipinos “not to follow in the bloody footsteps of the United States and Western Europe with respect to abortion.”

Dr. Nathanson said there are innumerable alternatives to contraception and abortion, some of which are virtually fool-proof — natural family planning, for example.