Legislating for Life On the same January day that John Boehner took the oath of office to become the next U.S. House speaker, the pro-abortion group NARAL Pro-Choice America asked its supporters to take their own oath.

Nancy Keenan, the group’s president, urged Americans to sign a pledge to support abortion. Keenan argued that the new speaker must learn “that his anti-choice agenda is out of step with our country’s values and priorities.” Some are calling Boehner, who has said there is “no cause more noble than the defense of human life,” the most pro-life speaker since the Supreme Court’s 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade legalized abortion.

But he is not alone on Capitol Hill. Last November a majority of Americans chose life as one of the country’s values: The conservative surge brings as many as 246 pro-life lawmakers to the House.

The top priority for pro-life groups is a bill scrubbing every bit of abortion funding out of the federal government. Reps. Chris Smith, R-N.J., and Dan Lipinski, D-Ill., are expected to introduce legislation establishing a permanent, government-wide prohibition on taxpayer funding of abortion. The blanket ban would prevent pro-life legislators from having to fight each year to insert abortion limits in numerous spending bills.

Meanwhile, Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., has introduced legislation that would prevent tax dollars from being sent to abortion providers under the federal program called Title X, created to provide family planning for the needy.

Targeting funding is not the only pro-life legislative goal for the 112th Congress. Also on the wish list: a federal law, similar to the one passed last year in Nebraska, banning late-term abortions based on when a fetus can feel pain (estimated at about 20 weeks into a pregnancy). (Edward Lee Pitts/WNS)

Haiti Mourns on One-Year Anniversary of Earthquake A thousand crosses cover a rocky hillside north of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, serving as symbols of hope for the nation and as a memorial for the more than 200,000 people who are buried beneath them in a mass grave. Haitian President Rene Preval visited the site Jan. 11 to help place flower wreaths beside the crosses and call on the nation to remember lost loved ones on the eve of the one-year anniversary of the earthquake.

Samaritan’s Purse began ministering to the people of Haiti within a day of the quake, providing emergency medical aid, food, water, and shelter in the name of Jesus. “At the first anniversary of this terrible earthquake, it’s important that we don’t forget about Haiti,” Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham said. “The need is so great and will be for years to come.” (WNS)

Repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Brings Challenges for Chaplains The first casualties of the congressional repeal of the ban on homosexuals serving openly in the military may be chaplains and religious liberty. That is the concern of both retired and active-duty military chaplains after the successful push to end the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that has ruled the armed forces for nearly two decades. President Obama signed the repeal of the policy into law on Dec. 22.

“To say we are just repealing a 17-year-old law is highly inaccurate,” says retired Navy chaplain Mark Jumper of Illinois. “We are repealing a military practice that goes back to George Washington and the American Revolution.” Now chaplains are afraid conservative denominations eventually may pull their support for the U.S. chaplain program. (WNS)

Canadian Court Elevates Gay Rights The Saskatchewan Appeal Court ruled Jan. 10 that marriage commissioners must perform same-sex marriage ceremonies even if they conflict with their deeply held religious beliefs. The case stems from 2005, when commissioner Orville Nichols, a Baptist, refused to marry a same-sex couple because it ran counter to his religious beliefs. Two alternative new laws protecting conscience rights of marriage commissioners went before the Canadian court for a preliminary opinion as to their constitutionality. The court said either law would “violate the equality rights of gay and lesbian individuals.” (WNS)