Empire State Bldg Not Lit For Mother Teresa Birthday

The Empire State Building was lit in red, white and blue on Thursday night for women's suffrage as more than 100 people protested a refusal by the iconic skyscraper's owner to mark Mother Teresa's 100th birthday.

Yet the colors that the Catholic League had requested in her honor were the most luminous against the darkened skyline: The building's 203-foot pinnacle blazed a brilliant blue, while the stories just below glowed a frosty white. A fading red was just visible underneath.

The colors chosen were intended to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which gave women the right to vote.

Nevertheless, more than 100 people led by the Catholic League protested the building owner's decision to deny the organization's request to change the colors of its lights to blue and white in honor of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning nun.

Illuminating the 102-story Manhattan skyscraper in different colors is a tradition. The building has been lit up for the release of Mariah Carey's album in 2008, for the 25th anniversary of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 2009, for religious holidays such as the end of Ramadan and Easter and for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

But the building's owner, Anthony Malkin, declined the Catholic League's request to honor the ethnic Albanian nun, citing a policy of not illuminating the edifice for religious figures. Malkin did not respond to a phone message on Thursday requesting comment.

New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan said Mother Teresa, who was born Aug. 26, 1910, may not have approved of the brouhaha over the lighting of the skyscraper.

Dolan, speaking at St. Patrick's Cathedral with members of Mother Teresa's order in the pews dressed in the blue-and-white saris she favored, said she "might be a little unhappy."

"She was humility personified," he said. "She didn't like a lot of attention."

Mother Teresa died Sept. 5, 1997, at age 87. In 2003, she was beatified by the Roman Catholic Church — a step toward possible sainthood.

In her honor, billboards in Times Square were illuminated.

Virginia Able to Regulate Abortion Centers

In an opinion released late last week, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli states that the Commonwealth of Virginia can regulate abortion centers absent legislation by the General Assembly. This means that these centers can be regulated through the state’s normal regulatory process.

The opinion was sought by state Senator Ralph Smith (R-22, Roanoke) and Delegate Bob Marshall (R-13, Manassas).

Providing safety standards for Virginia’s abortion centers has been a legislative priority for The Family Foundation for many years. Until the mid 1980s centers were regulated but that ended due to constitutional concerns. Since that time, abortion centers have been seen by the state as doctor’s offices, which require no emergency equipment for resuscitation or hemorrhage. The Family Foundation has worked to improve safety standards in abortion centers to those required for ambulatory (outpatient) surgery centers. After all, abortion is an invasive, surgical procedure.

Of course, the abortion industry in Virginia, Planned Parenthood and NARAL, have fought with all their might against safety standards for their centers. They argue that the procedure is safe, despite the fact that the state doesn’t have any reporting requirements for complications to abortion (also fought against by the abortion industry) so there is no way to really know. They also argue that abortion centers shouldn’t be “singled out” for regulation. What they don’t say is that other outpatient surgery businesses are self-regulated through respected, national accreditation organizations that require significant safety measures for their seal of approval. No such respected accreditation group exists for abortion.

The Attorney General’s opinion gives Governor McDonnell’s administration the opportunity to create necessary regulations for abortion centers without approval from the General Assembly. Since state agencies such as the Board of Health already have the power to regulate medical facilities this is not a new policy or a policy change that should require legislation. Previous governors simply have not acted on this ability.

(Source:  Family Foundation)