Sleep Apnea

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The Nov. 14 concern with the New Yorker examined Democratic efforts to “compromise” on recruiting candidates who oppose abortion rights. The Democrats’ support of abortion rights is perceived as “pro-abortion,” even though Republicans have “managed to develop an impression of tolerance for differing opinions” on the subject, based on the New Yorker. As a result, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), chair with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, realized that the “Democrats have to be a bigger-tent” party and began to recruit and fund candidates who could defeat Republicans inside the 2006 statewide elections. The article cites Pennsylvania State Treasurer and abortion-rights opponent Robert Casey (D) as an example with the party’s compromise. By recruiting him to run against Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) in 2006, some members with the party hope that Casey’s position supporting restrictions on abortion will “neutralize” his Santorum’s “edge” inside the parts of Pennsylvania that vote based on “traditional values,” allowing him to draw a distinction with Santorum on issues that Democrats traditionally support. Despite the fact that hesitant at 1st, abortion-rights advocates say they have begun to “develop a rationale” for supporting a Democrat who doesn’t support abortion rights (Boyer, New Yorker, 11/14).

NPR’s “Morning Edition” on Friday reported on how Democrats are increasingly discussing religious and moral values, which includes their positions on abortion. The segment includes comments from Karl Agne, consultant for Democracy Corps; Sean Casey, professor of politics and religion at Wesley Theological Seminary; Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean; John Green, senior fellow at the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life; Virginia Lt. Gov. and Gov.-Elect Tim Kaine (D); Rep. David Price (D-N.C.); and Jim Wallace, a liberal evangelical minister and editor of Sojourners’ Magazine (Bradley Hagerty, “Morning Edition,” NPR, 11/11). The complete segment is obtainable on-line in RealPlayer.

“Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Day-to-day Wellness Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for e-mail delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Day-to-day Well being Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a totally free service with the Henry J. Kaiser Family members Foundation . 2005 Advisory Board Organization and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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Article Opinions:1 posts
U.S. Sen. Jon Corzine (D) on Tuesday defeated Republican candidate Douglas Forrester with 53% of the vote to become New Jersey’s next governor, the Newark Star-Ledger reports (Howlett, Newark Star-Ledger, 11/9). Corzine is really a strong advocate of abortion rights and expanded embryonic stem cell investigation, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Although Forrester stated he supports abortion rights and stem cell investigation, he previously advocated for restrictions on abortion and opposed expanding stem cell research, the Inquirer reports (Turcol, Philadelphia Inquirer, 11/8). Some Republicans had stated they wouldn’t vote for Forrester, former mayor of West Windsor, N.J., as a result of his support of abortion rights and an endorsement from the Republican Majority for Choice (Kaiser Every day Women’s Well being Policy Report, 11/4). In his acceptance speech, Corzine said, “We can and we will invest in embryonic stem cell analysis as well as other forms of stem cell study that will save, restore and extend the quality of lives for our loved ones. And we can and we will defend a woman’s correct to choose” (Solomon, “Morning Edition,” NPR, 11/9).

“Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You are able to view the whole Kaiser Everyday Well being Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Every day Well being Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free of charge service of the Henry J. Kaiser Loved ones Foundation . 2005 Advisory Board Business and Kaiser Household Foundation. All rights reserved.

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The Los Angeles Times on Friday examined antiabortion groups’ “reservations” concerning the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito towards the U.S. Supreme Court (Reynolds, Los Angeles Times, 11/11). President Bush last month nominated Alito to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who has stated she will remain on the court until her successor is confirmed (Kaiser Everyday Women’s Wellness Policy Report, 11/9). Socially conservative groups — such as the Family members Research Council and Concerned Ladies for America, which both oppose abortion rights — endorsed Alito “without reservation,” in accordance with the Times. Nonetheless, groups that focus specifically on overturning Roe v. Wade — the 1973 Supreme Court case that effectively outlawed state abortion bans — have expressed concern over the nomination. Richard Collier, president with the Morristown, N.J.-based Legal Center for the Defense of Life, stated, “I don’t know what his private views are, but I know that he has ruled on pro-life circumstances 4 times and he has ruled against pro-life positions 3 times. And also the fourth was a split decision” (Los Angeles Times, 11/11). The 4 instances are summarized below.

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Virginia Lt. Gov. Tim Kaine (D) on Tuesday was elected to become the state’s next governor, the Washington Post reports. Kaine, with 52% of the vote, defeated Republican candidate Jerry Kilgore, who garnered 46% with the vote, and state Sen. Russell Potts — a Republican who ran for governor as an independent — received 2% (Shear, Washington Post, 11/9). Kaine supports some restrictions on abortion, such as parental consent and notification laws for minors searching for abortion along with a ban on so-called “partial-birth” abortion (Kaiser Everyday Women’s Well being Policy Report, 10/28). In a one-hour debate in October, Kaine and Potts both stated that in the event the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade — the 1973 Supreme Court case that efficiently barred state abortion bans — they would veto any try to make abortion illegal in Virginia (Kaiser Day-to-day Women’s Wellness Policy Report, 10/4). Kilgore said he opposes abortion except in instances of rape or incest or when it really is necessary to safeguard a pregnant woman’s life (Kaiser Everyday Women’s Well being Report, 10/28).

“Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You are able to view the entire Kaiser Everyday Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Every day Well being Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a cost-free service with the Henry J. Kaiser Loved ones Foundation . 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Household Foundation. All rights reserved.

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Sens. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) on Tuesday after meeting with Supreme Court nominee Judge Samuel Alito stated he didn’t appear to be keen on overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court case that efficiently outlawed state abortion bans, the Los Angeles Times reports. “He basically stated … that Roe was precedent on which individuals, a lot of individuals, relied, and had been precedent now for decades and consequently deserved great respect,” Lieberman, who supports abortion rights, stated (Reynolds, Los Angeles Times, 11/9). Collins, also an abortion-rights supporter, said, “I asked him whether it created a difference to him if he disagreed with the initial choice but it had been reaffirmed several times considering that then. … I was obviously referring to Roe in that question. He assured me that he has tremendous respect for precedent and that his approach is to not overturn instances due to a disagreement with how they were originally decided” (Babington/Fletcher, Washington Post, 11/9). Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), who opposes abortion rights, stated he didn’t particularly discuss Roe when meeting with Alito on Tuesday but added that the nominee indicated he is “open to a evaluation of cases” (Stolberg/Kirkpatrick, New York Times, 11/9). Brownback stated Alito, who at present serves on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, “did articulate that he thinks one must look in the Constitution as the document is set and try to interpret from that document, not attempting to bring in issues or seeing it as a living document” (Holland, AP/Philadelphia Inquirer, 11/9). President Bush last month nominated Alito to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who has said she will remain on the court until her successor is confirmed. Alito’s confirmation hearings are scheduled to begin on Jan. 9, 2006 (Kaiser Daily Women’s Well being Policy Report, 11/7).

WBUR’s “On Point” on Wednesday, within the very first hour of the program, is scheduled to incorporate a discussion of Alito’s nomination and abortion rights. Guests on the program are scheduled to incorporate Richard Garnett, professor of law at the University of Notre Dame; Cynthia Gorney, author of “Articles of Faith: A Frontline History of the Abortion Wars;” Susan Hill, president of the National Women’s Well being Organization; and Jeffrey Leving, household law attorney and advocate of father’s rights (Ashbrook, “On Point,” WBUR, 11/9). The total segment is going to be accessible on the internet in RealPlayer and Windows Media soon after the broadcast.

WBUR’s “Here & Now” on Tuesday discussed Alito and “The Last Abortion Clinic,” a PBS “Frontline” episode that examines abortion-rights opponents’ successes in reducing access to abortion nationwide. Guests on the program included Terry Herring, president of Pro-Life Mississippi, and Betty Thompson, a former abortion clinic director in Jackson, Miss. (Young, “Here & Now,” WBUR, 11/8). The complete segment is available on the internet in RealPlayer.

“Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You’ll be able to view the entire Kaiser Every day Wellness Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Day-to-day Well being Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free of charge service with the Henry J. Kaiser Family members Foundation . 2005 Advisory Board Firm and Kaiser Loved ones Foundation. All rights reserved.

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Campaign strategists for a California abortion-related ballot initiative that would have required well being care providers to notify parents or guardians of unmarried minors looking for abortion on Wednesday cited voters’ “just say no” attitude, along with their “fear” that some girls might be at risk if the measure passed, as possible reasons for its failure, the Los Angeles Times reports (Warren, Los Angeles Times, 11/10). California voters in a particular election on Tuesday rejected the initiative 52.6% to 47.4%. Known as Proposition 73, the measure also would have changed the legal definition of abortion from a “medical treatment intended to induce the termination of a pregnancy” to a medical treatment that causes the death of “a child conceived but not however born” (Kaiser Every day Women’s Wellness Policy Report, 11/9). Proponents of Proposition 73 said voters may have connected the initiative with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s (R) other propositions on the ballot, which also had been voted down, the Los Angeles Times reports. Opponents with the initiative, for example President of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California Kathy Kneer, said they may have received an “environmental bounce from some of these other aspects that had nothing to do with [the] campaign.” She added that voters “put teen safety first and express[ed] their respect for the constitutional rights of all California women” (Los Angeles Times, 11/10). In accordance with the Sacramento Bee, much more voters supported Proposition 73 than the other initiatives on the ballot. Mark DiCamillo, director of Field Poll, stated, “Even in this political environment in California, parental notification was embraced in concept” (Hecht, Sacramento Bee, 11/10). Thirty-four states presently need “some parental involvement” in teens’ decisions to undergo abortion (Kaiser Every day Women’s Wellness Policy Report, 10/17). While proponents of Proposition 73 have indicated they will regroup, some want to concentrate on other concerns, such as restricting Medicaid payments for abortion and implementing conservative rules for sex education, the Times reports (Los Angeles Times, 11/10).

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Healthcare Prof:

The AP/San Jose Mercury News on Saturday examined the “simple and complex” reasons why abortion is “central towards the debate” more than “modern judicial nominations,” such as the present debate over Judge Samuel Alito’s nomination to the Supreme Court. In accordance with an Alan Guttmacher Institute estimate based on existing abortion rates, one-third of U.S. females will have had an abortion by age 45, making abortion “directly and intensely relevant within the lives of a huge swath of the population,” the AP/Mercury News reports. Additionally, many men and women view abortion as “the pre-eminent moral problem with the times — a matter of life and death,” and also the concern also raises “broader” concerns involving judicial involvement, privacy and a multitude of social concerns, based on the AP/Mercury News. Lawmakers and advocacy groups also “help stir the pot” by “tapping into people’s passions and fears concerning the issue to mobilize voters and collect their dollars,” based on the AP/Mercury News (Benac, AP/San Jose Mercury News, 11/12). Referring to the emphasis on abortion rights in confirmation debates, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on Friday said, “The entire judiciary now is becoming held, in a sense, hostage to that 1 concern.” Speaking to students at the University of Alabama School of Law, Thomas said, “We cannot say that all of the examination of nominees has improved the court,” adding, “I think we all needs to be honest with one an additional that the only issue, the central issue in all of this, is abortion. It’s not the other points that men and women throw out.” He said he has never met a judge who attempted to invoke a individual agenda through rulings, so the “whole process of attempting to ferret out the individual agenda via the confirmation method isn’t an endeavor that I think is worth the price we’re paying” (Reeves, AP/Lexington Herald-Ledger, 11/11).

Coalition Opposing Nomination Focusing on Other Issues
A coalition of groups opposing Alito’s nomination that consists of NARAL Pro-Choice America and Planned Parenthood Federation of America is planning to move the debate “beyond abortion rights” to problems including employment discrimination and police searches in an upcoming tv advertising campaign, the New York Times reports. NARAL Pro-Choice America President Nancy Keenan stated the group understands the should highlight problems other than abortion in Alito’s record, “to look in the entire man, so to speak.” Though a poll conducted by the coalition showed “potential” in attacking Alito’s record on other concerns, the ad campaign strategy also “reflects the difficulty in pinning down” Alito’s stance on abortion rights, according to the Times (Kirkpatrick, New York Times, 11/14).

Alito Wrote Abortion Rights Not Constitutionally Protected in 1985 Application
Alito in a 1985 application to turn out to be deputy assistant to former Attorney General Edwin Meese wrote that he “personally believe[s] quite strongly” within the legal position that abortion isn’t a constitutionally protected proper, the Washington Times reports. Speaking of his service as an assistant to former Solicitor General Rex Lee inside the Reagan administration, Alito wrote, “I am especially proud of my contributions in current circumstances in which the government has argued in the Supreme Court that racial and ethnic quotas ought to not be allowed and that the Constitution doesn’t shield a right to an abortion.” In addition, he wrote, “I disagree strenuously using the usurpation by the judiciary of decision-making authority that ought to be exercised by the branches of government responsible to the electorate” (Sammon, Washington Times, 11/14). President Bush last month nominated Alito to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who has said she will stay on the court until her successor is confirmed. Alito’s confirmation hearings are scheduled to start on Jan. 9, 2006 (Kaiser Everyday Women’s Well being Policy Report, 11/9).

AP/San Jose Mercury News

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Healthcare Prof:

The New York Times on Sunday examined how the Bible addresses abortion and how, “in several ways, what the Bible actually says, and based on whom, is exactly where the battle over abortion begins.” Evangelicals — “or no less than the members of the vocal religious correct who have dominated the problem more than the last two decades or so” — rely on Biblical text to support their antiabortion arguments to show that life begins in the “moment of conception,” in accordance with the Times. Abortion-rights supporters use other parts of the text to highlight areas with the Bible where it might be interpreted to show that there is a noticeable difference between the “value” of a fetus along with a woman, the Times reports. Interpreting the Bible is even more difficult when religious scholars are asked to determine how, and to what extent, abortion ought to be legislated. “We’re usually attempting to work out legal implications from [Biblical passages], as if they were a legal kind of text, like interpreting a constitutional document,” John Goldingay, a professor with the Old Testament in the Los Angeles-area Fuller Theological Seminary, stated, adding, “The difficulty is that wasn’t what they were designed to do.” Nonetheless, Craig Mitchell, an assistant professor of Christian ethics at Forth Worth, Texas-based Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, said, “Just because [the Bible is] not primarily about abortion doesn’t mean we shouldn’t draw anything from it.” Ultimately, “it is a complicated business, bringing a complicated Bible into a complicated world,” the Times reports (Luo, New York Times, 11/13).

New York Times

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3 (1 votes)

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The 2nd District Court of Appeals in Florida on Thursday ruled 2-1 that a 17-year-old minor seeking abortion can undergo the process with out initial notifying her parents, the… Lakeland Ledger reports. The court’s ruling reversed a lower court choice denying the minor judicial bypass to a state mandate that calls for abortion providers to notify the parents of a minor seeking abortion before performing the procedure. The three-judge panel noted this was the very first case in which it was necessary to “sort out and apply a brand new and uninterpreted” parental notification law (Geary, Lakeland Ledger, 11/11). The Florida parental notification law (SB 1908), which Gov. Jeb Bush (R) signed into law in May, needs doctors to notify in individual or by phone the parents or legal guardians of minors looking for abortion a minimum of 48 hours in advance of performing the process or 72 hours in advance by certified mail if the parents or guardians can not be reached otherwise. The law allows for exceptions in situations of medical emergency, if the minor is married or has kids, if a judge determines the minor is mature sufficient to create her own choice, if the girl is a victim of abuse or if notifying a parent isn’t inside the girl’s greatest interest (Kaiser Day-to-day Women’s Health Policy Report, 7/11). In this case, the minor and her boyfriend went to a medical clinic looking for abortion, but she didn’t undergo the process and was referred to a juvenile justice program that could aid her petition for a judicial waiver with the parental notification law (Lakeland Ledger, 11/11).

Testimony, Rulings
The minor, who is going to be 18 years old next month, testified that she lives with her parents and stated they would “adamantly oppose her decision” to undergo abortion and may well kick her out with the home, the AP/Miami Herald reports (AP/Miami Herald, 11/11). She also testified that she became pregnant by her boyfriend, whom she plans to marry subsequent year, and is searching for abortion because she is just not prepared for the responsibilities of parenthood. Polk Circuit Judge Ellen Masters in October heard the arguments and denied the minor’s request for judicial bypass, ruling that she failed to meet the criteria for a waiver. The minor earlier this month appealed the ruling. Second District Judges Stevan Northcutt and Carolyn Fulmer, who formed the majority opinion, wrote that the minor demonstrated sufficient maturity to select regardless of whether to acquire the abortion without notifying her parents. Judge Charles Davis dissented, citing inadequate evidence showing that the minor considered alternative options and understood all of the risks with the process (Lakeland Ledger, 11/11).

“Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You are able to view the entire Kaiser Day-to-day Wellness Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for e-mail delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Day-to-day Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free of charge service of the Henry J. Kaiser Loved ones Foundation . 2005 Advisory Board Firm and Kaiser Family members Foundation. All rights reserved.

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Supreme Court nominee Judge Samuel Alito on Tuesday stated that his statement that the “Constitution doesn’t protect a correct to an abortion,” which he made in a 1985 job application for a position inside the Department of Justice, will not have a bearing on how he would rule on abortion-related circumstances as a Supreme Court justice, the Washington Times reports (Hurt, Washington Times, 11/16). Alito in a 1985 application to grow to be deputy assistant to former Lawyer Common Edwin Meese wrote that he “personally believe[s] very strongly” in the legal position that abortion just isn’t a constitutionally protected appropriate. Speaking of his service as an assistant to former Solicitor General Rex Lee in the Reagan administration, Alito wrote, “I am particularly proud of my contributions in current circumstances in which the government has argued in the Supreme Court that racial and ethnic quotas should not be allowed and that the Constitution doesn’t safeguard a correct to an abortion” (Kaiser Every day Women’s Health Policy Report, 11/15). Albert Lauber, who served with Alito inside the solicitor general’s workplace, stated Alito produced a “major contribution” to a 1985 brief towards the Supreme Court that argued, in part, that Roe v. Wade — the 1973 case that efficiently outlawed state abortion bans — must be overturned, but that Alito “didn’t write that particular part with the argument.” The brief — which asked the Supreme Court to uphold laws in Pennsylvania and Illinois that imposed a number of restrictions on abortion — stated that precedent ought to not be what prevents the Supreme Court from overturning Roe since “a choice as flawed as we believe Roe v. Wade to be becomes a focus of instability, and thus is less aptly sheltered by that doctrine” of precedent. Lauber said former Solicitor Common Charles Fried had written most of the argument, but he added that Alito “did the investigation, the thinking, along with the legal research and analysis” for other parts with the brief (Kranish, Boston Globe, 11/16).

Comments to Senators
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, soon after meeting with Alito on Tuesday said Alito told her his scenario in 1985 was “different” than it is now. She added, “[Alito] stated, ‘I was an advocate searching for a job, it was a political job and that was 1985. I’m now a judge. I’ve been on the [3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals] for 15 years, and it is very different. I’m not an advocate; I don’t give heed to my individual views. What I do is interpret the law’” (Stolberg/Kirkpatrick, New York Times, 11/16). Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) said he had a comparable conversation with Alito, adding that Alito thinks he ought to be judged on his record as an appellate judge (Babington/Russakoff, Washington Post, 11/16). Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), also a member with the judiciary committee, said Alito told him he has a “better grasp and understanding of constitutional rights and liberties” than he did 20 years ago (Lochhead, San Francisco Chronicle, 11/16). Alito, in a current interview with Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.), stated that “Roe was precedent on which people, a lot of individuals, relied, and had been precedent now for decades and as a result deserved great respect,” based on Lieberman. Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) stated that he did not particularly talk about Roe when meeting with Alito but added that the nominee indicated that he is “open to a assessment of cases” (Kaiser Everyday Women’s Wellness Policy Report, 11/9). President Bush last month nominated Alito to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who has said she will stay on the court until her successor is confirmed. Alito’s confirmation hearings are scheduled to begin on Jan. 9, 2006 (Kaiser Everyday Women’s Wellness Policy Report, 11/15).

NPR’s “Day to Day” on Tuesday included an interview with Dahlia Lithwick, legal analyst for Slate, about Alito’s 1985 application and his meeting with Feinstein (Chadwick, “Day to Day,” NPR, 11/15). The complete segment is accessible on the internet in RealPlayer. Additionally, video of an interview with Feinstein about the meeting is obtainable from CBSNews.com (CBSNews.com, 11/15). The total segment is offered online in RealPlayer.

“Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. It is possible to view the whole Kaiser Day-to-day Well being Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Day-to-day Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of the Henry J. Kaiser Loved ones Foundation . 2005 Advisory Board Organization and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.