Scientists Take Issue With Anti-Abortion Movement’s ‘Pro Life Is Pro Science’ Slogan

The "pro-science" emphasis is a somewhat new one for the anti-abortion advocates, who are gearing up for the March for Life on Friday, but march leaders say now is the perfect time to embrace the slogan. Scientists in the field, however, say the movement's vocal opposition to fetal tissue research is at fundamental odds with the "pro-science" branding.

Stat: Anti-Abortion Leaders Are Rebranding As "Pro-Science." Are They?

In recent months, anti-abortion advocates have advocated for the cancellation of a federal research contract for fetal tissue procurement and pushed to halt other research they view as immoral. The results: a $2 million project to test HIV drugs derailed and another pair of studies, including one to develop cancer immunotherapies, left in limbo. The movement’s latest objective: to force President Trump to fire the renowned director of the National Institutes of Health, Francis Collins, the country’s top biomedical research scientist. (Facher and Thielking, 1/15)

The Hill: Pence To Speak At Anti-Abortion Fundraiser

Vice President Pence will speak at a fundraiser commemorating the country's largest anti-abortion march, organizers said Monday. The Rose Dinner, taking place Friday night, follows the March for Life, the annual march against abortion in Washington. (Hellmann, 1/14)

In other news —

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Planned Parenthood President: ‘Politicians Have No Role In The Exam Room’

More than 400 abortions restrictions have become law in the last seven years throughout the United States, Wen said during a Friday interview. Twenty abortion-access related cases are one step beneath the Supreme Court — and if the high court takes any of them, the landmark 1973 case that guaranteed abortion rights could be further neutered, or erased. “The decision about someone’s health should not be made by politicians, whether they’re politicians in Washington or politicians in statehouses around the country,” [Leana] Wen said. (Kilpatrick, 1/13)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Kentucky Republican Lawmakers' Goal: End Legalized Abortion

Emboldened by two conservative justices added to the U.S. Supreme Court in the past two years, a top Republican legislator believes Kentucky could be at the forefront of an effort to end legalized abortion nationwide. ...Undeterred by costs of litigation, lawmakers say Kentucky will push forward with a "fetal heartbeat" bill certain to face an immediate legal challenge if enacted. (Yetter, 1/14)

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