The movie, which premiered last week in Des Moines, promotes a strategy of pursuing federal legislation that would grant civil rights to fetuses, on the grounds that their equal protection rights are protected by the Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment, an idea championed by current presidential contender Newt Gingrich.

In a recent article, two physicians argue that the film is problematic because, in medicine, physicians must learn to separate their personal feelings from those of their patients.

Via ReligionDispatches.com:

Dr. Anthony Levatino, interviewed at length in the film, is an OB/GYN who formerly performed abortions. Levatino and his wife had fertility problems and were seeking to adopt a child; at one point he describes his regret as he was performing a first trimester abortion while he and his wife were undertaking that process. They eventually adopted a child who was later tragically killed after being hit by a car. Levatino describes a second trimester abortion he performed after the death of his daughter, after which he concludes about his patient, “I didn’t see her wonderful right to choose and I didn’t see what a great doctor I was helping her with her problem pregnancy.”

The Gift of Life draws on Levatino’s personal tragedy to portray his decision to stop performing abortions as a policy answer, rather than an individual, understandable response to grief. Dr. Daniel Grossman, senior associate at Ibis Reproductive Health, told me, “It is true that abortion providers often have conflicting feelings about the work we do.” But, he went on, “most of us have those feelings and are able to separate our personal feelings from those of our patients and what they need and want to do with their current pregnancy.”

Dr. Douglas Laube, Board Chair of Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health, echoed this view, describing Levatino’s reaction as “normal” given his circumstances, but noting that his patient’s reaction was not discussed. “I see it as a disconnect,” said Laube. “It does not connect logically with a reason not to support the right to choose. It’s his feelings versus her right to choose.”

Laube goes on to argue that the film peddles several abortion falsehoods, such as a claim that all fetuses feel pain and that abortion providers attempt to maximize the number of abortion procedures they perform, in order to profit from them:

The anti-choice activist Carol Everett claims she once worked for an abortion provider that aimed to perform three to five abortions on 13-18 year old girls so they would be accustomed to using abortion as a birth control method into adulthood. Dr. Laube called these claims “pure nonsense,” “pure fiction,” and “really a stretch.” He noted that abortion comprises 3-5% of Planned Parenthood’s budget, and that abortion is “certainly not a money-maker. At best, it’s a break-even.”

The fetal personhood movement, which aims to define life from the moment of conception, has swept the country in recent years. Personhood initiatives have cropped up in many states — most notably in Mississippi, where a personhood amendment was recently rejected by voters despite support from state policy-makers. In Florida, personhood organizers have told The Florida Independent that they are currently working toward placing an amendment on the state’s 2014 ballot.

In an interview conducted last month, Laube told the Independent that attempts to define human life from the moment of conception “flies in the face of common sense” and could have “wide-reaching impact to access to women’s health: cancer treatment, fertility treatment, birth control.”

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (FLORIDA INDEPENDENT/ Cooper Levey-Baker) 

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (FLORIDA INDEPENDENT/ Cooper Levey-Baker)

Former presidential contender and Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has teamed up with Citizens United to promote “fetal personhood,” a movement sweeping the country in the form of amendments that aim to define as beginning at the moment of conception.

Huckabee acts as narrator in Gift of Life, a film that promotes legislative action meant to overturn the landmark abortion rights act Roe v. Wade. He spoke about the film during a segment that aired last Saturday on his eponymous Fox News program, saying he had a recent discussion with his 5-year-old grandson about his passion for abortion issues.

Huckabee says that the film, which he helped produce, will remind voters that, “while the economy and jobs are center stage, treating every human with worth and dignity is still essential in selecting a leader.” Throughout the film, Huckabee espouses his support for fetal personhood bills, which have become increasingly divisive. Though supporters argue they only want to outlaw abortion, critics have argued that defining life in such broad terms could lead to a variety of unintended consequences and have wide-ranging impacts on cancer research as well as in vitro fertilization.

The issue is even more urgent, Huckabee says, because of the recent FDA approval of over-the-counter sales of the Plan B pill — which Huckabee called “a drug that kills a developing baby.”

The personhood movement has had its setbacks recently — an attempt at an amendment in Florida never yielded enough signatures for ballot placement and, despite support from state legislators, a personhood amendment in Mississippi on the state’s November ballot failed.

A Personhood Florida spokesman told The Florida Independent that, despite those recent setbacks, his group would again attempt an initiative for 2014.

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi (Photo: myfloridalegal.com)

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is slated to co-host a Republican presidential candidate forum on Fox News’ Huckabee this Saturday, exactly one month before the Iowa caucuses. Bondi will interview candidates alongside Oklahoma Attorney General E. Scott Pruitt, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

Candidates Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Rick Perry, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum have all been confirmed for the event. No word on whether or not one-time frontrunner Herman Cain, who is currently being dogged by accusations of a longtime affair with a Georgia woman, will also appear. According to The New York Times, the network is also awaiting responses from Rick Perry and Jon Huntsman.

“This forum is an excellent opportunity to engage each of the candidates in a candid conversation about issues that are important to voters in our state and across the nation,” Bondi said in a press release sent out by the Republican Party of Florida. “This will be a historic election, and I am excited to play a part in helping voters gain a better understanding of candidates’ beliefs on fundamental issues such as constitutionalism and the role of government.”

Bondi appeared alongside many of the GOP presidential contenders in August, when she spoke at CPAC FL. During the event, Bondi sat on a panel that discussed  strategies to end “unconstitutional ObamaCare.”

The forum will take place at 8 p.m. Sat., Dec. 3.

According to Mason Buzz, on Friday, Huckabee told the Mason, Ohio, crowd of 350 to make sure that those opposed to Senate Bill 5 do not make it to their polling place on election day:

“Make a list… Call them and ask them, ‘Are you going to vote on Issue 2 and are you going to vote for it?’ If they say no, well, you just make sure that they don’t go vote. Let the air out of their tires on election day. Tell them the election has been moved to a different date. That’s up to you how you creatively get the job done.”

While Huckabee may have been joking, voter suppression is no laughing matter, especially in a state where Republicans are in the process of pushing through two draconian voting measures.

One — House Bill 194 -– will go to voters via a citizen’s referendum in 2012. That legislation would shorten the window for both early voting and absentee voting, making it less likely for provisional votes to be counted and punishing voters for honest mistakes made by poll workers.

Another bill, currently in the Ohio Senate after passage by the House, would require all voters to present a valid, state-issued ID card, driver’s license, military ID or passport when voting. The proposed law, which has been called the “nation’s most restrictive voter ID law” by the American Civil Liberties Union, is opposed by Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted.

“Huckabee’s disgusting comments show that Building a Better Ohio and its corporate-funded supporters will do anything, even advocate for illegal tactics, to keep Ohioans from voting against Issue 2,” said NAACP Ohio Conference President Sybil Edwards-McNabb, according to Mason Buzz.

The event will also feature John Stemberger, president of the anti-gay and anti-abortion Florida Family Policy Council, as a speaker.

Also attending the “briefing” is David Barton.

Barton is an evangelical Christian minister and activist who has had the ear of influential conservatives such as Mike Huckabee and Glenn Beck. Barton is also a self-proclaimed historian who believes that America’s separation of church and state is a myth.

He is the founder and president of WallBuilders, which describes itself as “a national pro-family organization that presents America’s forgotten history and heroes, with an emphasis on our moral, religious and constitutional heritage.” One of the group’s main goals is to “educate the public concerning the periods in our country’s history when its laws and policies were firmly rooted in Biblical principles.”

The theme of the Pastors’ Policy Briefing is “Rediscovering God in America.” The event has been held before and is typically aimed at getting churches and pastors more involved in political action. According to an announcement about the event, lodging and meals are all paid for by the Florida Renewal Project.

In 2008, Mike Huckabee spoke at the last Florida Renewal Project event as a presidential candidate.

At the center of the controversy is the recent revelation that the Iowa Family Policy Center (IFPC) might have used taxpayer dollars to wage a campaign against same-sex marriage in the state.

Shorty after The American Independent’s sister site The Iowa Independent began reporting on IFPC’s Marriage Matters program, IFPC announced they had agreed in September 2009 to stop accepting money from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) for the counseling operation. Marriage Matters was funded by federal government dollars while the organization carried out a campaign to oust three state Supreme Court judges whose 2009 ruling legalized same-sex marriage in Iowa.

But IFPC did not officially relinquish the grant funding until nearly a year later, The Iowa Independent reported.

In a letter dated Aug. 3, 2010, HHS’s Administration for Children and Families (ACF) asked IFPC President Chuck Hurley to submit a formal relinquishment letter explaining the group’s reasoning for rejecting the funds. That was the first step in the process. The next step in the process, as ACF Grants Management Specialist Abangolee J. Caulcrick explained in that initial letter, would be for IFPC to submit a final financial status report and a final progress report.

As to the reason for rejecting additional government money, on Aug. 10, 2010, Hurley wrote:

“While the process has been invigorating, we believe the federal constraints are impeding our progress to help a broader range of couples. We believe organizationally we are in a position to become privately funded.”

After filing a records request with ACF, The American Independent discovered that IFPC never filed the required documentation. On Dec. 30, 2010, Caulcrick sent Hurley a letter stating:

“I am contacting you for the last time to submit your final financial status report and program progress report along with your property inventory and disposition statement. If I do not receive these reports on or before January 7, 2011, I will be left with no alternative but to administratively closeout your grant.”

However, according to the ACF FOIA office, IFPC’s grant file is still open, because that documentation was never received.

The ACF communications department was not forthcoming with further information about the closeout process and would not answer questions as to whether IFPC violated federal policy by not submitting the requested reports.

Even less forthcoming was The Family Leader, who declined to explain why it has not submitted financial documents for the final year that it received funding.

“We have made a decision as an organization not to grant any more interviews on that subject,” Family Leader spokesperson Julie Summa told The American Independent (TAI), referring to the Healthy Marriage grant. “The public records are [available].”

Unanswered questions

While neither ACF nor The Family Leader will answer questions about process, larger ethical questions remain concerning the funding of the grant itself.

In her explanation as to why IFPC will not comment on the Healthy Marriage grant, Summa referenced the Associated Press article that sparked outrage among LGBT-rights groups in Iowa because it showed a funding overlap for the taxpayer-funded program and the political anti-same-sex-marriage campaign. Adding to the ire was the revelation gay and lesbian couples were shut out of the marriage-counseling program. Early this month, LGBT-advocacy group One Iowa launched a petition asking The Family Leader to return the $2.2 million dollars it received in grant funding back to America’s taxpayers.

In a phone interview, University of Iowa Professor Brad Richardson, who was paid to evaluate IFPC’s grant, told TAI he had never heard of an organization turning down a full year’s worth of federal funding for a successful program.

“I’ve never seen anybody turn back money, so they must have had a good reason,” Richardson said.

As a third-party evaluator, Richardson — who also evaluated IFPC’s federally-funded Compassion Capital Fund demonstration grant projects in 2004 and 2005 – reviewed the organization’s proposal and achievements. Richardson’s semiannual evaluation report from October 2010, obtained by TAI, reflects progress: IFPC met each of its goals by about 25 percent, and data from the Iowa health department shows that as of 2005, the state’s divorce rate has been on a steady decline.

What concerned Richardson in the initial proposal, however, was the fact that gay and lesbian couples were explicitly written out of the project.

“Early on in the project, as I was looking at the materials, [I noticed] the materials were implying couples [they would] be serving were male and female,” Richardson said. “I mentioned, ‘What about if they are not male and female?’ They told me that it wasn’t a target population they were focusing on.”

“I don’t know what would happen today,” Richardson continued, referring to fact that in 2009, same-sex marriage was legalized. “Because you’d be excluding people that were legally married. It would be a bigger issue today.”

The question of funding overlap comes from the fact that, according to the AP, IFPC spent $192,000 of the $550,000 it received in 2009 on salaries and employee benefits for five employees, including Hurley. The AP revealed that in April, when the news organization asked Marriage Matters operations manager Chris Nitzschke which IFPC employees were paid through the grant, Nitzschke only mentioned IFPC Vice President Mike Hartwig was paid; he did not mention more than half of his own salary came from the grant.

Additionally, the Healthy Marriage grant money was spent on telephone, Internet and rent for the same building out of which IFPC was operating its campaign to overturn the gay-marriage Supreme Court ruling.

Political connections

One of the paid employees, Matt Reisetter — who was running the Northeast Iowa Marriage Alliance (NIMA) for the Marriage Matters program and is now the Family Leader’s director of development — was running for state political office and working for a presidential candidate at the same time.

In 2006, Reisetter, a Republican, ran a failed bid for Iowa House District 19 seat against the Democratic incumbent Bob Kressig. And in late 2007, he was hired by then-GOP presidential candidate and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Reiseitter’s job as director of coalitions was essentially to help pastors figure out how much political activity they could engage in without violating the law.

Huckabee was publicly endorsed by IFPC President Chuck Hurley.

In IFPC’s grant project abstract, obtained by TAI, IFPC proposed to pay Reisetter for 1,140 hours of work at a rate of $22 an hour, or $25,080. As part of the proposal, $19,100 of Reisetter’s salary would be paid by federal money; the rest would be matched by NIMA funds.

As part of the Healthy Marriage grant conditions, IFPC was required to sign a form “Assurances – Non-Construction Programs” (PDF) drafted by the Office of Management and Budget, which stipulates grant recipients “will comply, as applicable, with provisions of the federal Hatch Act (5 U.S.C. § 1501 and 7324-7328) which limit the political activities of employees whose principal employment activities are funded in whole or in part with Federal funds.”

Richardson told TAI it was not his job to evaluate whether or not there was any improper usage of the federal grant money received by IFPC. He said that would likely be the job of the operations manager, who is not talking.

Randall Wilson, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Iowa, which is investigating how the IFPC spent the Healthy Marriage federal funds, told TAI the ACLU is trying to determine whether taxpayer funding for this project was diverted as a subsidy for political activity.

“One does not want federal money to be funding religious organizations to be engaging in political activity,” Wilson said.

The investigation, however, is stalled because the ACF has not fulfilled the ACLU’s FOIA request filed months ago.

Matt Whitaker, formerly Gov. Pawlenty’s Iowa chairman, will join the Iowa Perry campaign as statewide co-chairman, serving alongside current statewide chairman, Robert Haus.

“We have a strong Iowa team that will help me take my vision to get America working again all across the Hawkeye State,” said Perry. “I am proud to have these top-notch individuals leading our efforts in Iowa, helping carry my record and vision for job creation and fiscal conservatism to caucus voters.”

Whitaker is managing partner of Whitaker Hagenow GBMG law firm in Des Moines. He served as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa from 2004 to 2009. Whitaker also earned a bachelor’s degree, law degree and master of business administration degree from the University of Iowa. As an undergraduate, Whitaker was a tight end on the 1990 Big Ten Champion football team and played in the 1991 Rose Bowl and the 1991 Holiday Bowl.

Gov. Perry also named several individuals to the Iowa field team, including:

• Rob Anderson, Central Iowa, formerly served as regional field director on the Pawlenty campaign; received bachelor’s degree from University of California, Santa Barbara
• Robert Crawford, Statewide Volunteer Coordinator, formerly served on the Robertson for President campaign and has worked as a Realtor in Virginia, California and Iowa; attended University of Iowa
• Rachelle Crawford, Des Moines Headquarters, formerly worked as an educator in Virginia; earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa
• Gabe Haugland, North Central Iowa, served in the U.S military and led more than 50 combat missions in Operation Enduring Freedom; was a previous Cerro Gordo County organizer for Pawlenty; received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa and a law degree from Drake University
• Travis Holler, Northwest Iowa, formerly served as a regional field director for the Pawlenty campaign and aide to Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell; received a bachelor’s degree from George Washington University
• Annie McEniry, Northeast Iowa, formerly worked as a fundraiser for the Republican National Committee, legislative correspondent for U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley’s Senate Finance Committee, and served on the Iowa Branstad-Reynolds 2010 campaign and the McCain-Palin presidential campaign; received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa
• Dane Nealson, Central Iowa, former served as a field representative on Pawlenty campaign, served as chairman of Iowa Federation of College Republicans and worked on Huckabee for President campaign; received bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University
• Drew Selden, Southwest Iowa, served as scheduler and researcher on Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley 2010 campaign and worked as PGA Tournament Director in West Palm Beach, Fla.; received bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University
• Mike Thom, Southeast Iowa, formerly served as field representative for Pawlenty campaign and legislative clerk in Iowa House of Representatives; received a bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University and master of public administration from Drake University

Perry previously announced Matt Gronewald as state director, Haus as state chairman and Ruth Haus as a senior consultant.

A website touting Mississippi’s Amendment 26 says that, at its core, the “Personhood” movement is about challenging legal decisions: “When a court makes a horribly unjust, immoral, and unconstitutional ruling , it should not be allowed to stand in perpetuity – if so, we would still be treating some African Americans as property because of Dred Scott.”

In a blog post on Colorlines, Akiba Solomon writes that the group is perverting black history in its to fight to end abortion.

From Colorlines:

To be sure, I’m not surprised by this perversion of my history. After all, Personhood Mississippi is the same group that sponsored a “Conceived in Rape” tour championing the inalienable rights of rapists’ sperm. The organization is also headed up by Les Riley, an “eighth-generation Mississippian” and “one stubborn Celt” who has blogged for a Christian secessionist group. But I do fear folks like this. We’re in a dangerous time where ideologues make mystery meat out of basic history and widely distribute this propaganda on conservative radio, online and on Fox News. And they’re tapping established political figures to perpetuate the distortions. Just yesterday, former Arkansas governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee keynoted a fundraiser for Personhood Mississippi. I don’t consider Huckabee legitimate, and the Colorado personhood measure he backed in 2008 did fail. But I can’t sleep on the fact that a national figure like Huckabee can make a fringe group look bigger and sounder than it is.

Huckabee has also spoken on behalf of Heroic Media, a controversial anti-abortion group that has compared Planned Parenthood’s efforts to “genocide,” at speaking engagements in Florida.

Though many are now familiar with the nationwide push by Personhood USA to end abortion and some forms of birth control, many might be unaware that the group is also just as concerned with human cloning and embryonic stem cell research.

In fact, Mississippi’s Amendment 26 (which will be voted on this November) aims to not only stop abortion, but to stop cloning, as well. According to its website, if the majority of Mississippians vote “yes” on Amendment 26, “abortion will be outlawed in our state; cloning and other forms of medical cannibalism will be effectively stopped; and a challenge will be set up to Roe v. Wade.”

A Mississippi high court recently upheld the decision to include the “Personhood” initiative on the state’s November ballot.

The “Personhood” initiative, which aims to define a person from the moment of conception, has become increasingly popular in the state. Critics argue that the passage of such an amendment could ban birth control or even lead to criminal prosecutions against women suffering miscarriages. #

The “Personhood” movement has not yet made much headway in Florida, but in Mississippi, the movement has gained considerable steam. Mississippi Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant, who is currently running for governor, fervently supports it — as does the American Family Association, which recently committed more than $100,000 to the initiative. #

Huckabee, a staunch anti-abortion advocate, has acted as a keynote speaker at more than one such controversial event. In February, he spoke at an Orlando event sponsored by Heroic Media, a group known for its race-based anti-abortions billboards and its founder’s stance against Planned Parenthood. #

The “Personhood” banquet will be held at an area Baptist church. Tickets will start at $50. #

“It was from that position that I was later intrusted with responsibilities that are so often overlooked by many — to be a party chairman in Wayne County, Michigan. And, from there, I was later honored to be a member of the State Central Committee of the Michigan State Republican Party,” McCotter told a multi-county gathering of Iowa Republicans at Clear Creek Amana High School.

U.S. Rep. Thaddeus McCotter’s speech was the first time many Iowans had an opportunity to see him in person. For the introduction, McCotter praised GOP activists from the past and challenged current activists for the future. (Photo: William Dahlsten/Linn County GOP)

“So believe me when I tell you this, your job is not thankless. It is indispensable. Because you, as Republicans, are the heirs to the party of Lincoln and Reagan. … As their heirs, you will again be confronted with a momentous challenge. Because we live amidst the crucible of liberty where you will be called upon to define freedom for future generations. And, unlike some, you will not shrink from this duty, you will embrace it because, as Republicans, it is what we’ve always done and it is what we will continue to do.”

The current generation of Americans, he said, are facing challenges similar to those faced by the Tom Brokaw-named Greatest Generation — moving forward in a new economic society, facing an enemy, realizing communism is a strategic threat and wondering whether or not our Constitution can survive relativism — but today’s society has the added complication of facing these four challenges simultaneously.

“My fellow Republicans, make no mistake, liberty and self-government — as they were in 1860 and as they were in 1980 — are the wave of the future in 2012,” he said. “That is why we will be called upon to make a change in this administration; not only because Barack Obama is nothing more than Jimmy Carter in a better suit, but … [because we understand government] has to be restructured for the 21st century. And the principle that will begird the restructuring of the federal government will be simply this, and one we learned from presidents from Lincoln to Reagan: The welfare state takes individuals who can help themselves and tries to make them dependent on government.”

That basic premise is why McCotter believes recent health care reforms are “out-dated and immoral.”

“[Y]ou cannot empower an individual while making them dependent upon another one,” McCotter explained, adding that the government safety net must return to a time when it helped those that cannot help themselves and provides temporary assistance “to those who want to once again return to the dignity of self-reliance.”

While never exactly stating what he would do, if elected President, or what the immediate actions of a McCotter administration might be, the Michigan Republican spoke more generally about what “the next President” or “the next administration” would need to tackle in order to preserve the country.

“We know that not only self-government, but the voluntary civic associations in which we engage for the common good are critical to the sustenance and the exceptionalism of our free republic. That is why the next administration will ensure that around your hearth of home, and around your civic organizations, you will never see the prehensile hand of a federal bureaucrat, or an activist judge, or an international organization try to come between you and your children, or try to dictate to your community what your new beliefs should be,” he said.

Such allusions were the only references McCotter provided in his mostly introductory address to the numerous social issues around which many state activists have recently rallied, but he also appears willing to build his brand with Iowa’s social and religious conservatives.

This week, which is the lead-up to the much hyped Ames Straw Poll, McCotter will travel alongside a Values Voter Bus Tour organized by nationally-known social conservative organizations that oppose gay rights. At the straw poll, McCotter, an avid musician, will be joined on stage by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, the winner of the 2008 Iowa caucuses who is believed to have garnered much of his support from the state’s Evangelical community. The treat of choice at the McCotter straw poll presence will be Blue Bunny Ice Cream, an Iowa-based company that has recently come under scrutiny and boycott for political contributions made by its executives to Bob Vander Plaats and a religious conservative PAC that fought and continue to fight against marriage rights for gays and lesbians in Iowa.

Listen to McCotter’s full remarks at The Iowa Independent.