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September 29th, 2010
11:24 AM ET
White House ties pregnancy aid grants to 'common ground' abortion planThe Obama administration announced its first round of grants from a new fund aimed at helping pregnant women and parenting teens on Wednesday, a move the White House framed as part of its "common ground" approach to abortion. The Health and Human Services Department distributed $27 million for the federal government's Pregnancy Assistance Fund on Wednesday, the department said in a press release, awarding grants to 17 states and 13 American Indian tribes The grants support programs helping pregnant women and teen parents who are trying to complete high school or who need assistance with health care, child care and housing, HHS said. The grants can also be used to combat violence against pregnant women. The Obama administration sought to tie the announcement to the President's attempt to dial down the culture wars over abortion, a goal he articulated in a speech last year at the University of Notre Dame. "These programs affirm President Obama's statement in his speech at Notre Dame that we must begin 'reducing unintended pregnancies, and making adoptions more available, and providing care and support for women who do carry their child to term,'" the Health and Human Services release said. In his 2009 Notre Dame address, Obama called upon abortion rights supporters and opponents to "work together to reduce the number of women seeking abortions." Obama's appearance at Notre Dame, one of the country's premier Catholic institutions, drew protests from some abortion opponents. The Pregnancy Assistance Fund was created by the health care bill that Obama signed in March. In an e-mail announcing the establishment of the fund to nonprofit groups last summer, the Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships at HHS tied the initiative to the abortion issue. "It was only a year ago that President Obama gave a seminal speech at Notre Dame urging our nation to find common ground on the issue of abortion and unintended pregnancies," said the e-mail, which was obtained by CNN. "...This funding is another critical step in the President's vision for common ground." Moderate religious groups hailed the fund's creation. "Pro-life and pro-choice people have gotten behind it so it's a good first step at reducing abortion and providing support for healthier babes and mothers," Kristen Day, executive director of the anti-abortion rights group Democrats for Life of America, told CNN when HHS launched the fund in July. "Once we show how effective this is we can go back and expand this program." But conservative anti-abortion groups greeted the fund more skeptically. "This money is mandated for services for pregnant teens and women - violence prevention, vocational training," said Carrie Gordon Earll, a spokeswoman for CitizenLink, the public policy arm of the evangelical group Focus on the Family. "It would be inaccurate to characterize it as 'abortion common ground' since it doesn't specifically address abortion." The new health care law appropriates $25 million for the Pregnancy Assistance Fund each year through 2019, according to HHS. |
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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Awesome issues here. I am very satisfied to look your post. Thank you a lot and I am having a look forward to contact you. Will you please drop me a mail?
Religious fundies beg the practice of p*ssing on religious materials left in hotels! 🙂
http://bit.ly/twitterwhybs (life is short; why bs?)
One more thought: The baby/embryo/fetus is not the woman's body. It exists in its own environment, a residence within the mother, attached by a feeding tube.
CD6910,
LIfe has another champion!!! Danke Schoen!!!
@CD6910
I am curious....So, do you believe that no matter what the scenario, a woman.. regardless again of age and circ-u-m-stances should be unduly 'forced' by 'law' and have no choice or say in the matter--to have to give birth.....?
Very (sincerely) curious....
Peace...
@ CD6910
Let me say up front that peace2all and I do not like each other... He finds me repugnant.. I think he's obnoxious. That having been said, it seems that we find ourselves in reluctant agreement on this matter. The question remains – (Can't believe I'm cut/pasting you peace..)
"So, do you believe that no matter what the scenario, a woman.. regardless again of age and circ-u-m-stances should be unduly 'forced' by 'law' and have no choice or say in the matter–to have to give birth.....?"
Count 2 waiting....
@honestanon
Actually, you mislabled me and started attacking me without warrant. I don't mind spirited debates... but, if you attack me and any other of my friends who have been blogging on these posts along time, I will take you to task.
So, with that said... You can continue to feel whatever the way you feel about me and my other friends... But, I don't find you repugnant.
How about we stick to the issues.... and ... you never know, we may have more things in common than not...
We and my friends can spend time mud-slinging with you.... or we can just post our thoughts like adults....in which sometimes we may just disagree....sometimes we may agree....
For instance.... there was no need to attack me personally here on this post to @CD6910...? I don't feel the need to attack you back..
Let's just stick to the issues.... It is your call... If you want to go after each other and mudsling fine... It's up to 'you'...
Let me know...?
Peace...
@honestanon
And... 1 point I forgot.... Some of my best friends on this blog are the one's that..... well, we are absolutely on opposite ends of the spectrum... philosophically speaking, and yet we debate, learn from each other, and have some fun...
So, whatever it's worth.... I have made an effort to hopefully raise our mutual dialogue to a 'higher and better place'
Hopefully.... You will concur.. and we can enjoy good solid debate... and learn from each other...
Again... It's up to you....
Peace...
@ Peace
I simply stated my opinion of you based upon your caliber of posting. You called me "Hitler" several weeks ago after I stated (correctly) that you were a troll. So naturally thought your opinion of me was that of "repugnant". I offered a simple olive branch and you slapped it away... as I thought you would. If you think that this const-ituted an 'attack,' you need a reality check. And soon.
My pro-life stance comes from logic. The stages of life are defined by terms. Hence, a person is defined as a baby, infant, toddler, child, pre-teen, tennager, young adult, adult, middle aged, elderly. It's still a person. Same goes for embryo, fetus, etc – they all still define what a person is. To reject the fact that it is uniquely human is illogical.
So let me get this straight.... From reading the posts on this blog, along with other posts on other blogs, it seems that the majority of people against abo-rtions are also religious and against bigger government. One post even said that pro abo-rtion people are facists. I can deduct from these statements that they have no problem with the government telling people what they can and cannot do, as long as it is what they agree with because it is in the bible. How do you know that your god is man made? Because he hates all the same things as you. For a group that whines about their "freedom", they sure do spend alot of time trying to infringe on mine. If you do not believe in abo-rtion, don't get one.
Eric, The issue is these people, and me in fact, believe abortion is murder. They will not go along with your "if you don't believe it don't do it" logic any more than they'd go along with "if you don't believe in murder don't murder". They want LAWS to protect the unborn human beings. I personally, as stated earlier, give in to the pro-choice movement. As I've stated if a woman does not want to provide their child the use of their womb I think they should have the choice to terminate their pregnancy so long as the fetus cannot survive outside the womb.
Some words of wisdom for all parents and se-x education teachers to pass on to their teenagers. They can read all about right here if they are the shy types.
For new members only:
It is obvious that inte-rcourse and other se-xual activities are out of control with over one million abo-rtions and 19 million cases of S-TDs per year in the USA alone.
from the CDC-2006
Se-xually tra-nsmitted diseases (S-TDs) remain a major public health challenge in the United States. While sub-stantial progress has been made in preventing, diagnosing, and treating certain ST-Ds in recent years, CDC estimates that approximately 19 million new infections occur each year, almost half of them among young people ages 15 to 24.1 In addition to the physical and psy-chological co-nsequences of S-TDs, these diseases also exact a tremendous economic toll. Direct medical costs as-sociated with S-TDs in the United States are estimated at up to $14.7 billion an-n-ually in 2006 dollars.
How in the world do we get this situation under control? A pill to temporarily eliminate the s-ex drive would be a good start. (Andy Ro-oney of 60 Minutes, 4/18/2010 described them as anti-desire pills). And teenagers and young adults must be co-nstantly reminded of the dangers of se-xual activity and that o-ral s-ex, birth control pills, con-doms and cha-st-ity belts are no protection against ST-Ds. Might a list of those having an ST-D posted on the Internet help? Said names would remain until the S-TD has been eliminated with verification by a doctor. Lists of s-exual predators are on-line. Is there a difference between these individuals and those having a S-TD having se-xual relations while infected???
@Dancing With Trolls
Like her father, my daughter is smart. She has a degree, and is living on her own. Also, she is an atheist. I am more than proud. She came by her atheism on her own.
No, there are a ton of posts. I will try to find yours.
The question was not about her religious persuasion, her intelligence, or your pride in her...
The question was how can you pontificate and pass judgments on these blogs when you didn't have the cojones to help your daughter with the facts of life?
Never Mind. I'm done here.
@ David
How sad. You have a child, but you don't have the courage, capacity, or maturity to talk with her about $ex. Did you even participate with your wife during 'the talk' with your daughter, or did you skip out on it and down a Bud while you watched the game? Bet you'll just sit there sputtering in your soup when you find out she get pregnant too early... Or will you have something to say then?
You're either being too obvious in your trolling, or you're a poor excuse for a parent. I trust for your daughter's sake it's the former. Did you read my earlier post about cognizant belief? Just wondering.
You post on these boards quite a bit... don't you? You sure have a lot to say in here... You need to get off the dam keyboard and go talk to your daughter.
Birth control IS vital and necessary for economic success in the world. Therefore, it should be taught in schools.
So teach it in school then . It won't get my vote though because it's a private matter to be discussed in families. Of course I realize that my vote and my view is tiny unless I convince others of it and I don't choose to spend my time that way. Proper hygiene is essential to economic success in the world. Wiping our asses is essential to proper hygiene in an economically developed society. Lets teach it in schools.
It must be taught in schools. Most parents are not equipped to teach the subject. They simply don't have the information or the skills. Many parents are embarrassed to talk to their children about $ex. I for one am very glad I had a wife to talk to my daughter. I don't think I could have done it.
Some parents won't want their children to learn this in school. True of the fundies, probably. That's okay. If the majority of the kids get the right information, it will still do a world of good.
I
@ David Johnson
How sad. You have a child, but you don't have the courage, capacity, or maturity to talk with her about $ex. Did you even participate with your wife during 'the talk' with your daughter, or did you skip out on it and down a Bud while you watched the game? Bet you'll just sit there sputtering in your soup when you find out she get pregnant too early... Or will you have something to say then?
You're either being too obvious in your trolling, or you're a poor excuse for a parent. I trust for your daughter's sake it's the former. Did you read my earlier post about cognizant belief? Just wondering.
You post on these boards quite a bit... don't you? You sure have a lot to say in here... You need to get off the dam keyboard and go talk to your daughter.
@David: I have to say I"m a little surprised by you not participating in "the talk". But I don't really know you personally, and I understand that it's a VERY embarrassing topic. I just want to say though, that a girl needs her dad even in topics about se-x. She needs to understand that boys should be part of the decision-making and responsibilities when se-x is involved. And even your embarrassment while being there could be helpful for her to see she is not the only one who has difficulties with dealing with se-x. She might see that as tough as it is for you, you still are there to be part of that conversation for her. And that could build trust for other areas too.
A very interesting article, "The Only Moral Abortion is My Abortion" – When the Anti-Choice Choose.
http://mypage.direct.ca/w/writer/anti-tales.html