'Wrongful Birth' Suit: Parents of Disabled Boy Sue Hospital for $2.3 Million Claiming Ultra-Sound Failure Robbed Them of Option to have an Abortion

via: Telegraph.co.uk
Rupert Parsons' mother is claiming £1.5 million ($2.3 Million American Dollars) in interim compensation for "wrongful birth" on the grounds that the hospital should have picked up on his "severe, profound and multiple disabilities" before the 20th week of her pregnancy.

Rupert was born at Musgrove Park Hospital in his home town of Taunton, Somerset, suffering congenital heart defects, a cleft palate, a vertebral abnormality and with only one kidney.

Robin Oppenheim, QC, respresenting the family, told the High Court in London that the disabilities meant Rupert spent much of his time in a wheelchair. and needed 24-hour ventilation via a tracheotomy. He was also fed through a tube.

His devoted mother, Franchesca Parsons, 25, had the "extraordinarily demanding" task of caring for him, he added.

The court heard Rupert's father, Lee Barrett, suffered from congenital heart problems and his maternal grandmother was born with spina bifida.

A pre-natal scan was reported as showing "no obvious fetal abnormality" in Rupert, but the family claims more detailed tests would have picked up on the boy's disabilities before the 20th week of pregnancy.

Although Rupert was now a very much loved member of his family, his mother has sued the hospital's managers, Taunton and Somerset NHS Trust, arguing that she never had the option of terminating the pregnancy.

The family's lawyers said Rupert's parents were concerned throughout the pregnancy that he might be born disabled and did not want to see him suffer in the way his father had done.

Mr Oppenheim said the NHS had "admitted liability" in 2006, opening the way for a multi million pound compensation claim to cover the costs of a lifetime's care.

He added that it was too early to finally assess the compensation due to uncertainties over how Rupert's condition will develop as he grows up.

But in the meantime, Mr Oppenheim asked Mr Justice Blair to award an interim payment of pounds 1.5 million so that Rupert and his family could move to a more suitable home and put in place a professional care regime, with two nurses on hand day and night.

Mr Oppenheim told the judge that Rupert's family has already received pounds 500,000 in interim payments, but his current care regime only allowed for one carer to be on hand at night.

Mr Oppenheim said the family's most "pressing need" was to move to a new home which could be specially adapted for Rupert's care. The boy became "frustrated" at the lack of space, the court heard.

Urging the court to sanction the £1.5 million payout, Mr Oppenheim said: "The strain on this family is immense; bluntly it is at the point of breaking down. A move to a new home is essential as well as a stable care regime".

Women are routinely offered an ultrasound scan at around 20 weeks’ gestation, to check that the baby is developing normally. Unless any concerns are discovered this is the last scan they will receive before the birth

Abortion is allowed in Britain up to the 24th week of pregnancy. Beyond this a termination can only be sanctioned if the fetus has a severe disability, or of the mother’s life is at risk.

The NHS Trust is disputing the amount of the interim payment. The case was adjourned and a decision will be announced at a later date.

Funeral Services Set for Infant Baby Found Dead in a Dumpster

(07-16) 15:51 PDT Union City -- SFGate Home of the San Francisco Chronicle
Her tombstone will read Matea Esperanza, even though nobody knows her name.
It was the name chosen by the Union City police dispatcher, who took the call May 18 that an infant girl with the umbilical cord still attached was found dead in a dumpster at the Parkside Apartments.

It means gift of God in Hebrew, and the surname means hope in Spanish.

No one has come forward to claim the girl, so the Union City Police Department is holding a public funeral for her at 1 p.m. Wednesday at Chapel of the Chimes in Hayward.

"This case touched so many people in our department," said Detective Steven Mendez. "We were flabbergasted. There is a fire station a few blocks away where the baby could have been safely surrendered. Our station is half a mile away. It's tragic all the way around."

California's Safely Surrendered Baby Law allows mothers to surrender their newborns three days after birth at hospitals, fire stations and police stations. Assembly Majority Leader Alberto Torrico, D-Newark, has written a bill that would stretch the deadline to 30 days.

Torrico is expected to speak at the funeral, along with Union City Police Chaplain Albert Valencia. Police Chief Greg Stewart and members of the police department and Union City Fire Department will also attend, Mendez said.

Investigators have not been able to locate anyone who can help them find the infant's parents, Mendez said.

Matea's will be buried at Chapel of the Chimes, the same location as her service: 32992 Mission Blvd. She will be buried in a donated white christening dress and bonnet, and her tombstone will read: Matea Esperanza, Adopted with love by UCPD.

Sadly, the dumpster is the final resting place for nearly 1 million children legally killed per year in our country by abortion. Please pray for an end to this holocaust.
For Thier Lives, Georgia

Astronauts Launch Pro-Life TV Ad Commemorating 40th Anniversary of Neil Armstrong's First Moonwalk

Houston, TX (LifeNews.com) -- A pro-life group whose first two television commercials were rejected by NBC and CNN has unveiled a new ad that promote the potential of human life. The ads feature clips of astronaut Neil Armstrong and they have the support of top astronauts Dr. Joseph Kerwin and Gene Krantz.

Featuring video images of a 3-D ultrasound of an unborn baby, a message shows saying, "At 5 weeks, his heart will beat, at 9 weeks his feet will form, at 80 weeks he will take his first step."

The images move to a scene of Armstrong landing on the moon and audio of his famous words saying it was "one giant leap for mankind."

The message concludes, "at 2,024 weeks ... Life, Imagine the Potential."

Dr. Joseph Kerwin, the first American doctor in outer space, joined other former NASA greats yesterday at a press conference sponsored by the Catholic pro-life group Fidelis, the creator of the new advertisement and its popular web site CatholicVote.org.

The event commemorated both the fortieth anniversary of Apollo 11’s historic landing on the moon and the new ad buy from Fidelis.

“For thousands of years, man has looked at the moon and the stars in awe. But forty years ago, we did the unthinkable: We landed on the moon. This new ad by CatholicVote.org captures the spirit of this historic mission by highlighting the potential of human life,” Kerwin said.
Gene Krantz, best known as the flight director at mission control manager during Apollo 13, was also on hand to premiere the ad.

Brian Burch, the president of the group, told LifeNews.com that putting a man on the moon was once thought impossible.

“Neil Armstrong will go down in history as one of the greatest explorers. His long journey to the moon started, as each of us started, with a small kick in our mother’s womb,” said Burch. “Today, we salute the astronauts of Apollo 11 and all other brave pioneers who give meaning to the potential of every human life.”

With today marking the anniversary of the liftoff of Apollo 11 and July 20 marking the anniversary of the first moonwalk, the new Fidelis pro-life commercial comes at an appropriate time.

In a note to supporters of the organization, Kerwin talked more about the new "Imagine" television commercial. He said it would "be running regularly on local Houston television stations for the next several weeks."

"Their new ad is already creating buzz in Houston, and I can't wait for the rest of the country to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Apollo 11 with this new ad," he said.

"Next Monday, media outlets around the world will commemorate the historic achievement of Apollo 11. The courage and dedication of the astronauts aboard Apollo 11, and hundreds of others involved in our nation's space program make me proud of our great country," Kerwin added. "But most importantly, the achievements of the space program remind me of the potential of every human life."

"May we never cease to marvel at the gift, and potential of every human life," he concluded.

Retired astronaut Dr. Bill Thornton also joined Kerwin and Kranz at the press event.

Fidelis sponsored an ad that NBC and CNN rejected but that was viewed over 1.8 million times on the Internet thanks to the controversy generated by the censorship. A previous ad focused on adoption.

Bombshell: Sotomayor Admits Promoting and Engaging in Radical Abortion-Rights Legal Efforts

By Dawn Eden | July 16, 2009
In a bombshell admission, Judge Sonia Sotomayor — who yesterday spoke of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund as being a “mainstream” organization — admitted she was aware that the group, on whose board she served for twelve years, fought common-sense regulations on abortion.

Responding to a question by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on the six briefs filed by the PRLDEF during her tenure as a board member there — briefs which argued that abortion was a “fundamental right” — she responded.

“I can’t answer that question, because I didn’t review the briefs. I did know that the fund had a health-care docket that included challenges to certain limitations on a woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy under certain circumstances.”

One brief on the PRLDEF’s “health-care docket”argued against Ohio’s parental-notification law. It said:

that establishment and free exercise clause concerns also militate toward the invalidation of these abortion-specific notice statutes. If Justice Stevens is correct that the belief that life begins at conception is religious, [cit. omit.] then these statutes would seem to both reflect and accomplish state endorsement of religious beliefs. [cit. omit.] The Court would need to examine whether the ostensible secular purposes are “sham,” [cit. omit.] in light of the fact that abortion is singled out for notice from other, at least, equally life-shaping reproductive choices based on a purpose to save “lives”, and that parents who are religiously opposed to abortion are among its primary beneficiaries. It would also need to consider whether the state, through giving the parents confidential information (far more valuable here than financial assistance), has enhanced these parents’ ability to indoctrinate, control, or punish their minor daughters who choose abortion, and, thereby, has crossed the critical line between respecting the parents’ privacy right to inculcate religion in their children.

These are the views that Sotomayor now admits she knew she was promoting as a board member of the PRLDEF and as chair of its litigation committee. These are the views that the Supreme Court nominee considers “mainstream.”

AUL’s Sotomayor411.com has the full story on the PRLDEF briefs, including full-text links.

Hear Dr. Charmaine Yoest, President of Americans United for Life,Discussion & Goals in Questioning Sotomayor during the Senate Hearings




A message from AUL President, Dr. Charmaine Yoest:
AUL Senior Fellow Dawn Eden has done a terrific job live-blogging the Sotomayor hearings. Following her live-blogging will give you the latest information about these crucial hearings. You can help us by getting the word out to your friends and family. Encourage them to learn more by visiting Sotomayor411.com and the AUL Blog. Also, please visit our AUL Action website to find other ways you can take action on your concerns.

If you are on Facebook or Twitter, please take a minute to find me there. I will be “tweeting” from behind the scenes as we get ready for my testimony tomorrow. I would love to hear from you.

For Life,
Charmaine Yoest, Ph.D.
President & CEO

Holy Pro-Life Catholic Image Desecrated to Promote Sotomayor

Mocking Our Lady of Guadalupe is utterly disgraceful! If you twitter, let Felix Sanchez know that his actions are vile! Tell him to remove this photo desecrating Our Lady!

(NewsBusters)With the start of Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s Supreme Court nomination confirmation hearings the topic of abortion naturally arises – not only because it one of our most polarizing legal and social issues, but also because Sotamayor claims to be Catholic, a religion that adamantly and explicitly teaches the evil of abortion.

And while her Catholicism scares some liberals, others are using it as a selling point, and in doing so desecrating a holy image of the Virgin Mary. Felix Sanchez, the CEO of D.C. government and public relations firm TerraCom and chairman of the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts, has updated his Twitter page with a background of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Over Our Lady’s face, the likeness of Sotomayor has been superimposed (shown at right).

The patron saint of all the Americas, Our Lady of Guadalupe has a special place in the hearts of Hispanic Catholics, especially Mexicans (which Sotomayor is not). But Sanchez seemed to use the image to appeal to all Hispanics and to promote his plea to “Confirm Sonia Maria Sotomayor,” as his Twitter page says.

Besides showing the desecration of a holy image, Sanchez’s image has a sick irony. For many reasons including sash symbolizing pregnancy that the Virgin wears in the image, Our Lady of Guadalupe is often associated with and used as a symbol of the Catholic pro-life movement. She is also the “Patroness of the Unborn.”

While Sotomayor may claim to be Catholic, her views on abortion are unclear. She told the Senate Judiciary Committee that "there is a right of privacy. The court has found it in various places in the Constitution,” and “all precedents of the Supreme Court I consider settled law.”

However, she also upheld the Mexico City Policy, a policy which prohibited federal funding to NGO’s who provide or support abortion in other countries, and which President Obama has recently overturned.

The fact is that both sides of the abortion debate have concerns with Sotomayor’s unknown abortion stance. As a Catholic, however, her stance should already be clear. The Catholic Church explicitly teaches and upholds the sanctity of life from conception to natural death. Sotomayor, who attended Catholic school, must know this. Catholic politicians, and all Catholics, are expected to also uphold this teaching and make it a priority. Sotomayor’s assertion that legal abortion is “settled law” should worry Catholics and all who value the sanctity of life.

Read: Poll: Americans Opposed to Nomination of Sonia Sotomayor for Supreme Court

Sarah Palin Blasts Obama in Washington Post Op-ed: The 'Cap-and-Tax' Dead End

(Newsbusters)In a scathing rebuke of the Obama administration, Sarah Palin took off the gloves to attack the recently House-passed American Clean Energy and Security Act, disaffectionately known as cap-and-tax.
Brilliantly, Palin also took this opportunity to chide her not so adoring press.

By Sarah Palin
Washington Post: Tuesday, July 14, 2009
There is no shortage of threats to our economy. America's unemployment rate recently hit its highest mark in more than 25 years and is expected to continue climbing. Worries are widespread that even when the economy finally rebounds, the recovery won't bring jobs. Our nation's debt is unsustainable, and the federal government's reach into the private sector is unprecedented.

Unfortunately, many in the national media would rather focus on the personality-driven political gossip of the day than on the gravity of these challenges. So, at risk of disappointing the chattering class, let me make clear what is foremost on my mind and where my focus will be:

I am deeply concerned about President Obama's cap-and-trade energy plan, and I believe it is an enormous threat to our economy. It would undermine our recovery over the short term and would inflict permanent damage.

American prosperity has always been driven by the steady supply of abundant, affordable energy. Particularly in Alaska, we understand the inherent link between energy and prosperity, energy and opportunity, and energy and security. Consequently, many of us in this huge, energy-rich state recognize that the president's cap-and-trade energy tax would adversely affect every aspect of the U.S. economy.

There is no denying that as the world becomes more industrialized, we need to reform our energy policy and become less dependent on foreign energy sources. But the answer doesn't lie in making energy scarcer and more expensive! Those who understand the issue know we can meet our energy needs and environmental challenges without destroying America's economy.

Job losses are so certain under this new cap-and-tax plan that it includes a provision accommodating newly unemployed workers from the resulting dried-up energy sector, to the tune of $4.2 billion over eight years. So much for creating jobs.

In addition to immediately increasing unemployment in the energy sector, even more American jobs will be threatened by the rising cost of doing business under the cap-and-tax plan. For example, the cost of farming will certainly increase, driving down farm incomes while driving up grocery prices. The costs of manufacturing, warehousing and transportation will also increase.

The ironic beauty in this plan? Soon, even the most ardent liberal will understand supply-side economics.

The Americans hit hardest will be those already struggling to make ends meet. As the president eloquently puts it, their electricity bills will "necessarily skyrocket." So much for not raising taxes on anyone making less than $250,000 a year.

Even Warren Buffett, an ardent Obama supporter, admitted that under the cap-and-tax scheme, "poor people are going to pay a lot more for electricity."

We must move in a new direction. We are ripe for economic growth and energy independence if we responsibly tap the resources that God created right underfoot on American soil. Just as important, we have more desire and ability to protect the environment than any foreign nation from which we purchase energy today.

In Alaska, we are progressing on the largest private-sector energy project in history. Our 3,000-mile natural gas pipeline will transport hundreds of trillions of cubic feet of our clean natural gas to hungry markets across America. We can safely drill for U.S. oil offshore and in a tiny, 2,000-acre corner of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge if ever given the go-ahead by Washington bureaucrats.

Of course, Alaska is not the sole source of American energy. Many states have abundant coal, whose technology is continuously making it into a cleaner energy source. Westerners literally sit on mountains of oil and gas, and every state can consider the possibility of nuclear energy.

We have an important choice to make. Do we want to control our energy supply and its environmental impact? Or, do we want to outsource it to China, Russia and Saudi Arabia? Make no mistake: President Obama's plan will result in the latter.

For so many reasons, we can't afford to kill responsible domestic energy production or clobber every American consumer with higher prices.

Can America produce more of its own energy through strategic investments that protect the environment, revive our economy and secure our nation?

Yes, we can. Just not with Barack Obama's energy cap-and-tax plan.

Major Victory for Soldier who Challenged Obama's Legitimacy to Serve as President

By Chelsea Schilling and Joe Kovacs
© 2009 WorldNetDaily
A U.S. Army Reserve major from Florida scheduled to report for deployment to Afghanistan within days has had his military orders revoked after arguing he should not be required to serve under a president who has not proven his eligibility for office.

His attorney, Orly Taitz, confirmed to WND the military has rescinded his impending deployment orders.

"We won! We won before we even arrived," she said with excitement. "It means that the military has nothing to show for Obama. It means that the military has directly responded by saying Obama is illegitimate – and they cannot fight it. Therefore, they are revoking the order!"

She continued, "They just said, 'Order revoked.' No explanation. No reasons – just revoked."

A hearing on the questions raised by Maj. Stefan Frederick Cook, an engineer who told WND he wants to serve his country in Afghanistan, was scheduled for July 16 at 9:30 a.m.

"As an officer in the armed forces of the United States, it is [my] duty to gain clarification on any order we may believe illegal. With that said, if President Obama is found not to be a 'natural-born citizen,' he is not eligible to be commander-in-chief," he told WND only hours after the case was filed.

"[Then] any order coming out of the presidency or his chain of command is illegal. Should I deploy, I would essentially be following an illegal [order]. If I happened to be captured by the enemy in a foreign land, I would not be privy to the Geneva Convention protections," he said.

The order for the hearing in the federal court for the Middle District of Georgia from U.S. District Judge Clay D. Land said the hearing on the request for a temporary restraining order would be held Thursday.

Cook said without a legitimate president as commander-in-chief, members of the U.S. military in overseas actions could be determined to be "war criminals and subject to prosecution."

He said the vast array of information about Obama that is not available to the public confirms to him "something is amiss."

"That and the fact the individual who is occupying the White House has not been entirely truthful with anybody," he said. "Every time anyone has made an inquiry, it has been either cast aside, it has been maligned, it has been laughed at or just dismissed summarily without further investigation.

"You know what. It would be so simple to solve. Just produce the long-form document, certificate of live birth," he said.

Cook said he was scheduled to report for duty tomorrow, on July 15, to deploy to Afghanistan as part of President Obama's plan to increase pressure of insurgent forces there.

He told WND he would be prepared for a backlash against him as a military officer, since members of the military swear to uphold and follow their orders. However, he noted that following an illegal order would be just as bad as failing to follow a legal order.

Before news of the orders being revoked were reported, MSNBC anchor Keith Olbermann tonight called Cook a "jackass" and Taitz a "conwoman," as he labeled both of them the "worst persons in the world."

He flayed the soldier as "an embarrassment to all those who have served without cowardice." (sidenote from me:If the accusations are so "bogus" Mr. Olbermann, than why were the orders REVOKED so quickly? If the President's legitimacy is so obvious..this soldier would be well on his way to Afghanistan by now..with all do respect, sir.)

Named as defendants in the case are Col. Wanda Good, Col. Thomas Macdonald, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Obama, described as "de facto president of the United States."


According to the court filing, Cook affirmed when he joined the military, he took the following oath: "I, Stefan Frederick Cook, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the president of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to the regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God."

According to the claim, "Plaintiff submits that it is implicit though not expressly stated that an officer is and should be subject to court-martial, because he will be derelict in the performance of his duties, if he does not inquire as to the lawfulness, the legality, the legitimacy of the orders which he has received, whether those orders are specific or general."

The military courts offer no option for raising the question, so he turned to civilian courts to consider "a question of paramount constitutional and legal importance: the validity of the chain of command under a president whose election, eligibility, and constitutional status appear open to serious question."

"Barack Hussein Obama, in order to prove his constitutional eligibility to serve as president, basically needs only produce a single unique historical document for the Plaintiff’s inspection and authentication: namely, the 'long-form' birth certificate which will confirm whether Barack Hussein Obama was in fact born to parents who were both citizens of the United States in Honolulu, Hawaii, in or about 1961," explains the complaint.

Taitz said she will attend the hearing to amend the temporary restraining order to an injunction because more members of the military have joined the cause.

"We are going to be asking for release of Obama's records because now this completely undermines the military. It revoked this order, but it can come up with another order tomorrow. It can come up with orders for other people," she said. "Am I going to be flying around the country 1,000 times and paying the fees every time they issue an order?"

Taitz said the issue "must be resolved immediately," and she will continue working to ensure Obama proves he is eligible for office.

"We're going to be asking the judge to issue an order for Obama to provide his vital records to show he is legitimately president," she said. "We're going to say, we have orders every day, and we'll have revocations every day. This issue has to be decided."

She said there cannot be any harm to the president if he is legitimately holding office.

"If he is legitimate, then his vital records will prove it," Taitz said. "If he is illegitimate, then he should not have been there in the first place."

Asked what this decision means for every other serviceman who objects to deployment under a president who has not proven he is eligible for office, Taitz responded:

"Now, we can have each and every member of the military – each and every enlistee and officer – file something similar saying 'I will not take orders until Obama is legitimately vetted.'"

Multiple questions have been raised about what that would mean to the 2008 election, to the orders and laws Obama has signed and other issues, including whether he then is a valid commander-in-chief of the military.

WND has reported that among the documentation not yet available for Obama includes his kindergarten records, his Punahou school records, his Occidental College records, his Columbia University records, his Columbia thesis, his Harvard Law School records, his Harvard Law Review articles, his scholarly articles from the University of Chicago, his passport, his medical records, his files from his years as an Illinois state senator, his Illinois State Bar Association records, any baptism records, and his adoption records.
Read the rest of the article HERE

The billboard campaign follows an ongoing petition campaign launched several months ago by WND Editor and Chief Executive Officer Joseph Farah.
The billboards are intended to raise public awareness of the fact that Obama has never released the standard "long-form" birth certificate that would show which hospital he was born in, the attending physician and establish that he truly was born in Hawaii, as his autobiography maintains.

The question over Obama's eligibility now also being raised on billboards nationwide.

Send a contribution to support the national billboard campaign that asks a simple question: "Where's the birth certificate?"

Join the petition campaign to make President Obama reveal his long-form, hospital-generated birth certificate!

Want to turn up the pressure to learn the facts? Get your signs and postcards asking for the president's birth certificate documentation here.