McCain Under Fire for Flip-Flop on Tissue Research

BOSTON GLOBE, Feb. 13—Sen. John McCain has come under fire in his presidential campaign for a 1992 vote which went against his word to oppose research done on fetal tissue taken from elective abortions, reported the Globe.

South Carolina Citizens for Life has aired radio ads urging voters to oppose McCain because, the ads said, the Arizona Republican had “flipflopped” on a promise to maintain the ban on federal funds for research “that uses the body parts of aborted babies.”

The Globe reported that in April 1992 McCain voted in favor of authorizing funds for the National Institutes of Health that included a provision to lift the federal fetal-research moratorium that presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush had put in place.

Also, McCain was the chief sponsor of a bill, enacted in 1997, that provides $100 million a year for finding a cure for Parkinson's disease; however, he opposed an amendment that would have banned research on fetal-tissue transplants, reported the Globe.

Parish Priest Rebukes Pro-Abortion Legislator

RUTLAND HERALD, Feb. 10—A priest's pro-life homily has stirred controversy in a Vermont parish where pro-abortion State Rep. Paul Poirier worships, the Herald reports.

Father Daniel Rupp chastised Poirier's committee in the state legislature for bottling up legislation that would require notification to parents of a minor who wants an abortion, reported the Herald.

“He used the sacred Mass to make a political point, and that's where I got upset. I believe it was an attempt to intimidate me personally,” Poirier said. “I was preaching to everybody. I wasn't trying to single him out,” said Father Rupp, an associate pastor at St. Monica's Church. “I was trying to tell the people that this is an issue … that I think, as Catholics, we are called to be involved in.”

Father Rupp said he was following in a tradition of priestly opposition to such government-approved practices as capital punishment, abortion and same-sex marriage, reported the Herald.

Media Campaign Launches in Southern California

RIGHT TO LIFE OF MICHIGAN, Feb. 10—A number of pro-life organizations in California have joined together to launch a pro-life television advertising campaign. The alliance, called Association for Life, needed $550,000 to reach the 2.8 million people of San Diego County with the ads. The local San Diego Diocese raised half the needed funds — a figure that was matched through the combined efforts of the other pro-life organizations.

The media campaign in San Diego began Jan. 24 on all major broadcast networks and cable stations, and will run through the beginning of April. This concept of a network of life organizations that is formed for this purpose is spreading as other California regions are coming together and raising funds for media advertisements.

Permission Needed for Abortion Facility Inspections

BATON ROUGE MORNING ADVOCATE, Feb. 12—Louisiana health officials must obtain an abortion facility's permission or an order from a judge to inspect state abortion facilities, according to a settlement reached last month between state attorneys and pro-abortion organizations, reported the Advocate.

The compromise precludes a trial that had been slated for Feb. 12 in U.S. District Court.

The case arose after five abortion facilities filed suit against the state, calling a 1999 law that gave state health officials “broader authority” in inspecting abortion facilities a violation of the Fourth Amendment protection against search and seizure. The abortion facilities claimed that the new law allowed for inspections without a warrant or the consent of the owner.