California ProLife Council News 

COUPLE THAT KIDNAPPED DAUGHTER FOR FORCED ABORTION MOTIVATED BY RACE
Salem, NH -- A Maine couple that kidnapped their pregnant 19 year-old daughter and attempted to take her to New York to have an abortion did so because they were apparently upset that her boyfriend is black. The couple was apprehended after their daughter escaped in a department store and used a cell phone to call police. A Maine sheriff said Tuesday that the kidnapping was racially motivated. Cumberland County Sheriff Mark Dion told the Associated Press that Katelyn Kampf, the daughter, indicated her mother "was pretty irate at the fact that the child's father was black, and she had made a number of disparaging remarks about that." Source: Life News, September 17, 2006

ILLINOIS SUPREME COURT MAY FINALLY ENFORCE PARENTAL NOTIFICATION ON ABORTION
Springfield, IL-- The Illinois Supreme Court may finally craft rules to enforce a measure designed to help parents help their teenager daughters avoid abortions. On Monday, the state high court released a one-sentence statement saying it would resurrect the parental notification law. Court spokesman Joseph Tybor told the Associated Press there has been no date set for when that process may be completed. Paul Linton, one of the pro-life attorneys that wrote the court last week oin behalf of several pro-life groups, indicated the Illinois Supreme Court said it is writing the new rules "on its own initiative." Source: Life News, September 19, 2006

VATICAN STEM CELL RESEARCH CONFERENCE FOCUSES ON FALSE EMBRYONIC HOPES
The Vatican -- The Catholic Church held a conference on stem cell research at The Vatican on Friday. At the forum, a leading bioethics watchdog for the U.S. Conference of Catholic bishops told the audience that embryonic stem cell research continues to pose ethical problems that and political activists are misleading the public about its potential. Richard Doerflinger, who is the interim director of pro-life activities for the U.S. bishops, delivered his brief talk as part of an international congress titled “Stem Cells: What Future for Therapy?” that took place September 14-16 at the Augustinianum Institute. Source: Life News, September 18, 2006

NEBRASKA GROUP UPSET SECRETARY OF STATE DUMPED INITIATIVE ON DISABLED
Lincoln, NE -- A Nebraska group that lost its effort to get state voters to approve an initiative to protect the elderly and disabled is upset that Secretary of State John Gale did not approve the measure. The organization says Gale relied on outdated information in saying that it did not gather enough signatures to get on the November ballot. Gale said that Nebraskans for Humane Care failed to turn in the necessary number of signatures to qualify. But, the group said Gale used a higher standard for the number of signatures needed than necessary because his office used incorrect information. "We call upon Secretary Gale to act now, while time yet remains, to fix errors by his people that threaten to disenfranchise the citizens of Nebraska for 2006," NHC spokeswoman Heidi Verougstraete said at a Capitol news conference, according to an AP report. Source: Life News, September 18, 2006