The Guttmacher Institute’s survey found abortion occurs at roughly equal rates in regions where it is legal and regions where it is highly restricted.

It did note that improved access to contraception had cut the overall abortion rate over the last decade.

But unsafe abortions, primarily illegal, have remained almost static.

And it’s never the time for a man to “push” his girlfriend into either a pregnancy or an abortion.

Okay, “push” may be the operative word here, but it seems to me like this says a man never has any role in the abortion issue. Yes, it is the woman’s body, and she has the ultimate decision, but it seems to me that in the average situation the man should have some input. He should be able to at least make his case to the woman about what he feels should happen. It is, after all, partly his doing.

Futhermore, if you dig into the issue you’re likely to find that a majority of people are pro-choice with restrictions (ie. first trimester, parental consent).

Those sixty seats you have are nice and comfy, it would be a shame if someone were to take them away for you simply because you decided it would be nice to get an invite to a wingnut coffee party.

The family of slain abortion provider George Tiller said Tuesday that his Wichita clinic will be “permanently closed,” effective immediately.

In a statement released by Tiller’s attorneys, his family said it is ceasing operation of Women’s Health Care Services Inc. and any involvement by family members in any other similar clinic.

“We are proud of the service and courage shown by our husband and father and know that women’s health care needs have been met because of his dedication and service,” the family said.

The man who (allegedly) killed Dr. Tiller was a member of an Operation Rescue cell. Operation Rescue helped him to stalk Dr. Tiller. And now Jill Stanek (you’ll remember her from ads pushed by conservatives in the 2008 election) is working with Operation Rescue to publish the addresses and pictures of other doctors who perform abortions for their patients.

Lest you think this the fringe, Operation Rescue, Stanek, and other operatives appear quite regularly on the Fox News Channel.

More from Bill O:

One of the nation’s few late-term abortion providers was acquitted Friday of misdemeanor charges stemming from procedures he performed, but moments after the verdict was announced the state’s medical board announced it was investigating similar allegations against him.

Prosecutors had alleged that Dr. George Tiller had in 2003 gotten second opinions from a doctor who was essentially an employee of his, not independent as state law requires, but a jury took only about an hour to find him not guilty of all 19 counts.

Tiller, who could have faced a year in jail for even one conviction, stared straight ahead as the verdicts were read, with one of his attorneys patting his shoulder after the decision on the final count was declared. His wife, seated across the courtroom, fought back tears and nodded. The couple declined to speak to reporters afterward.

For many Americans, the recession is affecting their most intimate decisions about sex and family planning. Doctors and clinics are reporting that many women are choosing abortions and men are having vasectomies because they cannot afford a child.

Planned Parenthood of Illinois clinics performed an all-time high number of abortions in January, many of them motivated by the women’s economic worries, said CEO Steve Trombley, who declined to give exact numbers. Abortions at Planned Parenthood’s St. Louis-area clinics were up nearly 7% in the second half of 2008 from a year earlier — ending a stretch in which the numbers were dwindling.

Planned Parenthood said it has no up-to-date national abortion figures, nor do other private or government agencies. However, Stephanie Poggi of the National Network of Abortion Funds, which helps women in need pay for abortions, said calls to the network’s national helpline have nearly quadrupled from a year ago.

“A lot of women who never thought they’d need help are turning to us,” Poggi said. “They’re telling us, ‘I’ve already put off paying my rent, my electric bill. I’m cutting back on my food.’ They’ve run through all the options.”

The following is being issued by Randall Terry, founder of Operation Rescue:

A Press Conference will be held at the Washington Press club on Wednesday, March 25, to unveil plans to prevent President Obama from Speaking at Notre Dame’s commencement on May 17.

Time: 10:00 A.M.

Location: National Press Club, 14th and F Streets, the Murrow Room.

Who: Randall Terry, Founder, Operation Rescue.

Go to www.stopobamanotredame.com for background information.

Also, Mr. Terry will release a new interview with Archbishop Burke, a top Vatican official. We will provide a written transcript, as well as a broadcast quality DVD for video and sound.

Archbishop Burke uses searing language on several issues; he refers to President Obama as an “agent of death,” and makes clear that U.S. bishops are required to withhold communion to pro-abortion politicians.

Background:

As the New York Times reported on July 20, 2001, “One of his [Terry's] most avid followers in Binghamton was James E. [sic: C.] Kopp, now charged in the 1998 murder of a doctor who performed abortions in Buffalo [New York].” Kopp was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

Randall Terry was last seen in the MSM where he became one of the point men in the Terri Schiavo debacle. This is the kind of guy who becomes a leader on the right.

RELATED: Newt Gingrich, guardian of Catholic values

So how many minutes until Mr. Steele has to clear out his desk?

A senior Vatican cleric has defended the excommunication of the mother and doctors of a nine-year-old girl who had an abortion in Brazil after being raped.

Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, head of the Catholic church’s Congregation for Bishops, told the daily La Stampa on Saturday that the twins the girl had been carrying had a right to live.

‘It is a sad case but the real problem is that the twins conceived were two innocent persons, who had the right to live and could not be eliminated,’ he said.

…

The regional archbishop, Jose Cardoso Sobrinho, pronounced excommunication for the mother for authorising the operation and doctors who carried it out for fear that the slim girl would not survive carrying the foetuses to term.

“God’s law is above any human law. So when a human law … is contrary to God’s law, this human law has no value,” Cardoso had said.

He also said the accused stepfather would not be expelled from the church. Although the man allegedly committed “a heinous crime … the abortion – the elimination of an innocent life – was more serious”.

Yeah. Good luck with that.

* Headline corrected to indicate who was actually excommunicated

“Here we have a black president taking money from the taxpayers in a time of economic crisis and giving it to organizations—many of which are anti-Catholic—so they can spend it on killing non-white babies in Third World nations. And Obama is known as a progressive.”

WTF? I know Donohue has had racial issues in the past, but this just sounds like weird right-wing blubbering.

It’s like having a black president is burning their brains.

>> Obama to overturn global gag rule ‘in one of his first acts.’

UPDATE: President Obama on a woman’s right to choose.

On the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we are reminded that this decision not only protects women’s health and reproductive freedom, but stands for a broader principle: that government should not intrude on our most private family matters. I remain committed to protecting a woman’s right to choose.

While this is a sensitive and often divisive issue, no matter what our views, we are united in our determination to prevent unintended pregnancies, reduce the need for abortion, and support women and families in the choices they make. To accomplish these goals, we must work to find common ground to expand access to affordable contraception, accurate health information, and preventative services.

On this anniversary, we must also recommit ourselves more broadly to ensuring that our daughters have the same rights and opportunities as our sons: the chance to attain a world-class education; to have fulfilling careers in any industry; to be treated fairly and paid equally for their work; and to have no limits on their dreams. That is what I want for women everywhere.

President Obama will issue an executive order on Thursday reversing the Bush administration policy that bans the use of federal dollars by non-govermental organizations that discuss or provide abortions outside of the United States.

Obama will sign the executive order on the 36th anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion in all 50 states.

Guess they don’t want to offend the base of the base.

UPDATE: Ricky Gervais says Palin is David Brent. Kind of makes sense when you consider how she talks without thinking.