Buchanan Urges Congregation to Fight for Life

ANCHORAGE DAILY NEWS, March 8—“Presidential candidate Pat Buchanan capped a three-day campaign swing through Alaska with a brief spell at the pulpit Sunday, where he urged parishioners at the Anchorage Baptist Temple to take action in the fight for the right to life,” reported the Alaskan paper. Buchanan called the pro-life movement “God's cause … above all other today.” Four of Buchanan's eight Alaska stops — in Kenai, Fairbanks and Anchorage — were at right-to-life fund-raisers, reported the paper. “We've got to make both parties pro-life, and then we've got to get together and make all America pro-life again,” he told the Sunday congregation, according to the report. The paper also reported that Buchanan would visit several other states, among them North Dakota, South Dakota and Iowa.

Northern Ireland Bans Pro-Life Advertisement

BELFAST TELEGRAPH, March 9—The Northern Ireland newspaper reported that two Ulster radio stations banned a pro-life group from the air-waves. Citybeat and Downtown told the pro-life group Precious Life they could not run its advertisements. “The advertisements were part of an allout campaign by the group to oppose any change to abortion legislation in Northern Ireland.” It added that the County Antrim-based organization has already “bought advertising space on 70 billboards and 300 buses for the major publicity campaign.” Bosses at Downtown said the advertisements were refused “because it might cause offense.” Sales director Ciaran Boyle told the paper, “We would avoid any ad which was likely to stir up a contentious public debate.” Citybeat station manager Simon Walker said his station had “referred the advertisement to the radio advertising watchdog … which advised them to drop it.” Walker added, “We run the risk of incurring a fine from the watchdog if we run politically sensitive advertising,” reported the paper.

Pro-Life Supporters Sue Over Taxes

MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE, March 5—According to the newspaper report “more than 40 pro-life supporters have filed suit in U.S. District Court in Minnesota charging that the use of Medicaid funds for abortions violates their right to freedom of religion. The suit also argues that the court must adhere to federal rulings that public funds may be used for abortion only in cases of rape, incest or to save a woman's life.” The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that the suit “seeks to overturn a December 1995 Minnesota Supreme Court ruling that a previous state ban on suing medical assistance funds for abortions interfered with a woman's so-called right to have an abortion because it added financial considerations to that decision.”