Missouri Judge Grants Planned Parenthood’s Request to Seal Alleged Health Violations

A St. Louis judge has granted Planned Parenthood’s request to seal a list of health violations alleged by the state of Missouri and has denied the state’s request that he reconsider his order requiring the health department to make a formal decision on whether to renew the facility’s license.

Circuit Court Judge Michael Stelzer granted the request by Reproductive Health Services (RHS) of Planned Parenthood to seal a “statement of deficiencies” filed by Missouri’s Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS).

Abortion clinic watchdog group Operation Rescue received copies of the deficiency report
 (Exhibit A) on June 14, before the court sealed the document. Click here for more

House Democrats pass appropriations bill with Hyde Amendment intact

The House of Representatives passed a combination appropriations bill on Wednesday afternoon that renews the Hyde Amendment, preventing federal Medicaid funds from being used for abortions.

The bill passed by a vote of 226-203 on June 19 and contains funding for four separate spending areas, including the Department of Health and Human Services and the provisions of the Hyde Amendment. Click here for more

Congressman warns of 'pro-abortion legislation on steroids'

Late last night, two pro-life amendments to H.R. 2740, the House Appropriations bill, were defeated by nearly uniform opposition from pro-abortion Democrats. The amendments were on pro-life policies related to conscience rights of healthcare providers and taxpayer dollars going to facilities that provide abortion. More votes are expected, and National Right to Life strongly opposes final passage of H.R. 2740. A current scorecard of pro-life votes can be viewed here. The following is excerpted from remarks delivered Wednesday on the House Floor regarding HR 2740.

Mr. Speaker, the bill under consideration today reverses several—at least nine—life affirming pro-life policies including conscience protection, Title X reform, the Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance and more.

This is pro-abortion legislation on steroids.

But passage won’t be the last word.

President Trump made it clear last January—in writing—that he will veto any piece of legislation that undermines, weakens, or nullifies any pro-life policy, regulation or rule. Click here for more

Senators seek FBI update on Planned Parenthood’s aborted body parts criminal referrals

Two U.S. senators are asking authorities for an update to a previous Judiciary Committee investigation, which issued criminal referrals for Planned Parenthood Federation of America and several affiliates and organizations connected to the sale of the body parts of aborted children. A press release issued by Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) this week states that he and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) “sent a letter to Attorney General William Barr and FBI Director Christopher Wray following up on Grassley’s 2016 referral of eight organizations for investigation and potential prosecution for the alleged sale of human fetal tissue following a 2016 Grassley-led Committee investigation.” Grassley was the former Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman at the time of the hearings and states that in June, the FBI confirmed to the Committee they had received the referrals.

A previous Live Action News report at the time the criminal referrals were issued named the eight organizations as follows:

Planned Parenthood Federation of America
StemExpress, LLC
Advanced Bioscience Resources, Inc. (ABR)
Novogenix Laboratories, LLC
Planned Parenthood Mar Monte
Planned Parenthood Los Angeles
Planned Parenthood Northern California
Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest

Click here for more

Planned Parenthood Refuses to Respond to Congressional Request for Information Regarding What Percentage of Abortions the Organization Performs on Women of Color

Pro-life and human rights advocates are asking the simple question, "What is Planned Parenthood trying to hide?"
 
On March 11, 2019 Congressman Russ Fulcher (pictured) sent a letter to Planned Parenthood's President, Dr. Leana Wen, asking her to, "Please provide to me what percentage of abortions your organization performs on women of color."

In that March 11 letter, Congressman Fulcher stated, "Margaret Sanger embraced a philosophy of racial discrimination and eugenics." He goes on to say, "I must do all that I can to ensure her racist and eugenic policies are still not being implemented today."

In a letter sent to Dr. Wen on June 13, 2019, Congressman Fulcher shares, "It is most troubling that, after three months, I have not been given the courtesy of a response from you or your organization.  I do not know the reason for your disregard of my request or the apparent lack of respect for the very institution responsible for allocating over 500 million dollars a year to Planned Parenthood."

Mr. Fulcher once again asks for Planned Parenthood to provide the percentage of abortions they perform on women of color and concludes with this stern warning. "If you chose not to respond, I will pursue all avenues available to me as a member of Congress to obtain this information."  Click here for more.

American Medical Association Votes to Continue Opposition to Physician-assisted Suicide. But Will the American Nurses Association Follow?

Over the last few years the American Medical Association (AMA) has been under enormous pressure from assisted suicide supporters and groups like Compassion and Choices as well as some other professional associations to change its’ long standing opposition to physician-assisted suicide to “neutrality”.

This month, the AMA House of Delegates decisively approved a strong report from AMA’s Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs [CEJA] reaffirming current AMA policy on physician-assisted suicide stating that:

“permitting physicians to engage in assisted suicide would ultimately cause more harm than good. Physician-assisted suicide is fundamentally incompatible with the physician’s role as healer, would be difficult or impossible to control, and would pose serious societal risks. Instead of engaging in assisted suicide, physicians must aggressively respond to the needs of patients at the end of life.”

Dr. Shane Macaulay, MD, of Kirkland, Washington, speaking for the Washington delegation supported the report, stating that:

“Oregon legalized assisted suicide in 1997 with repeated assurances that it would stay contained and would not become euthanasia” (but) “Just last month, the Oregon state House of Representatives approved a bill to allow patient death by lethal injection, showing the inevitable progression from assisted suicide to euthanasia once physicians have accepted the idea that taking a patient’s life is permissible.”  Click here for more.

Pro-abortion man who roundhouse kicked pro-life woman receives probation

Jordan Hunt, the Toronto hair stylist caught roundhouse kicking a pro-life woman in a viral video last fall, received a conditional discharge and eight months’ probation Thursday on two charges of assault and one of mischief under $5,000.

Hunt, 27, also apologized to "everyone I hurt by my actions” in an undated letter which Justice Michael Block read out to the court. Click here for more

Cover-up? Judge seals records of badly botched abortions at Missouri Planned Parenthood

In a shocking move that appears to be a cover-up attempt to protect RHS Planned Parenthood in St. Louis, Missouri, and its abortionists, Judge Michael F. Stelzer has sealed documents attached to the Missouri Department of Health and Human Services motion known as “Exhibit A,” which contains multiple damning pieces of information about the facility, including serious deficiencies on the part of the abortionists. It appears that Judge Stelzer sealed Exhibit A at the request of RHS Planned Parenthood.

Pro-life watchdog group Operation Rescue is reporting that Judge Stelzer, who kept Reproductive Health Services Planned Parenthood in St. Louis open despite the expiration of its license, has denied a motion on behalf of the DHHS asking that the Court reconsider or amend the Preliminary Injunction he issued on June 10, 2019. Multiple botched abortions, serious injuries to women, and failure to follow basic protocol expected of any medical facility followed by a complete refusal to be interviewed by the Department of Health show that RHS Planned Parenthood has zero interest in protecting and helping women. Click here for more

2020 Dems to debate who’s most pro-abortion at Planned Parenthood candidates’ forum

Eleven Democrats running for the party’s presidential nomination will descend on South Carolina next weekend for a candidate forum organized by Planned Parenthood Action Fund, presumably for the attendees to demonstrate who has the most aggressive devotion to abortion-on-demand.

The event will take place on Saturday, June 22 at the University of South Carolina, The State reported, running concurrently with the South Carolina Democrat Party Convention. Click here for more

The Supreme Court must overturn Roe v. Wade. Precedent demands it

With the recent spate of pro-life legislation being passed across America, many people are wondering about the future of the Supreme Court’s 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade. The decision, upheld in 1992’s Planned Parenthood v. Casey, wrote the “right to have an abortion” into our Constitution despite the silence of that document on any such “right.”

The Roe decision is irredeemable; it has been thoroughly criticized even by believers in abortion for its overtly regulatory, policy-making nature. During the writing of it, as Bob Woodward reported in his book on the Court, “The clerks in most chambers were surprised to see the Justices ... so openly brokering their decision like a group of legislators[.] ... There was something embarrassing and dishonest about this whole process.” Click here for more

Heartbreaking video: Dad begs for his baby’s life as mom goes in for the abortion

It is one of the most heart-rending videos I have ever seen. It was shot outside the grotesquely named Hope Clinic for Women and shows a young man wearing a blue hoodie and a grey baseball cap pulled backwards over his shaggy hair pleading in front of the clinic doors. He is crouching, hands outstretched towards the closed door, pleading in a shrill tone of desperation that cuts straight to the soul. “Please don’t kill our baby! Abby, please don’t kill our baby! Abby…” and the voice shatters and trails off into wrenching sobs.

This video went viral on Twitter on Father’s Day. It was first posted to pro-life activist John Ryan’s Facebook account this past weekend with the following description:

Fathers Day weekend nightmare. This father is kneeling at the doors of this abortion mill crying out hysterically for the life of his child. His name is Tyler. Mothers name is Abby. Please pray for him. He said Abby has been abused in her life and one of those involved in the abuse, her stepmother, is the one that brought her here to kill their child. He said she has three other children at home including a 4 1/2-year-old who is very much aware that mom is pregnant and looking forward to the birth of her sibling. He said they planned this baby. The baby at risk is 12 weeks old. In the attached videos you can hear this father crying out for his child’s life. It is heartbreaking. This is what a real father does when his child is in imminent danger. Click here for more

Sick: Proceeds from Selena Gomez’s ‘1973’ necklace support late-term abortion

Singer Selena Gomez hasn’t exactly been quiet about her love for abortion, but now she is donning a necklace that directly supports late-term abortion along with some of the country’s most notorious abortionists. Gomez’s “1973” necklace is a nod to Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the United States based on the notion that preborn human beings, like slaves were to slave owners, are not persons.

But the necklace isn’t just a symbol of Gomez’s love of abortion; it’s a call to action for her fans to follow suit and financially support a major organization of abortionists to the tune of $380 a necklace. The necklace was created by Sophie Ratner Jewelry, which is donating 30 percent of the proceeds to the Physicians for Reproductive Health, a group closely aligned with controversial abortionists.  Click here for more.

VIDEO: Abortion botched in Chicago, the same day Illinois law passed

A post-abortive woman at a facility in Chicago was rushed to the hospital last week after suffering from what seems like symptoms of a hemorrhage.

According to Operation Rescue and the Pro-Life Action League, a 911 call was placed for a woman who had undergone a surgical abortion at the Family Planning Associates facility in Chicago. Operation Rescue obtained audio of the 911 call.“The patient had an outpatient surgical procedure today which was uneventful,” a physician’s assistant said. “But after surgery, she started to become hypertensive and tachycardic. She’s not responsive to fluid boluses. She’s responsive, her vitals are stable now that they’re down a little bit. She can get up and walk to the bathroom, so she’s stable but she needs to go to the hospital.”  Click here for more.

Court rules that US Government must allow taxpayer-funded abortions for undocumented minors

On Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. circuit blocked a Trump administration ruling that prevented undocumented teens under the government’s care from getting taxpayer-funded abortions.

According to the 2017 policy, minors in government shelters or holding facilities were not permitted access to abortion facilities. Then-director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), Scott Lloyd, whose pro-life track record includes representing the parents of Terri Schiavo in court, has said that he does not believe in the dubious “constitutional right” to abortion, nor that it is “health care.” Lloyd thus argued it was not required for the ORR to provide it routinely to undocumented immigrants in federal care.  Click here for more.

Republicans call on Trump admin to stop abortion funding for congressional staff

Nearly 100 pro-life members of Congress are calling on the Trump administration to stop subsidizing congressional health insurance plans that cover abortion, a practice supposed to be forbidden under federal law.

The 1984 Smith Amendment bars federal funds from being used to “pay for an abortion, or the administrative expenses in connection with any health plan under the Federal employees health benefits program which provides any benefits or coverage for abortions,” except in cases of rape, incest, or to save a mother’s life. Click here for more.

Illinois Passes Abortion Law More Radical Than New York’s, Networks Refuse to Report

On Wednesday, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed into law a new abortion bill that is being called more radical than New York’s law that was passed in January.

So far none of the broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, NBC) have reported on the Illinois law that – among other things – does away with that state’s ban on partial-birth abortions.

This continues the broadcast network news trend to ignore passage of far-left abortion legislation while depicting state laws meant to protect the rights of the unborn as “extreme.”

From the morning of May 7 (when Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed the Life Act into law) through the morning of June 13 (the day after Illinois’s law was signed), the Big Three networks filled their evening and morning shows with 3 hours, 20 minutes of coverage often including loaded language depicting these new pro-life laws as “extreme” and “restrictive” attacks on women’s rights – as opposed to “protective” of the rights of the unborn.

But when New York passed its radical law legalizing late term abortions in January, the networks gave it zero coverage. The legislation, signed into law by liberal New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, eventually received 12 seconds of coverage on the May 16 NBC Nightly News.

So far the networks have devoted 0 seconds to the Illinois law which, according to reports from Fox News and Live Action, is even worse than New York’s.

On June 12 Fox’s Caleb Parke reported the following:

“The bill, effectively immediately, repeals a 1975 Illinois abortion law. It eliminates spousal consent, waiting periods, criminal penalties for abortion providers and restrictions on abortion facilities, such as licensing requirements and health and safety inspections. It also repealed the state’s Partial-birth Abortion Ban Act and establishes ‘that a fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus does not have independent rights under the law, of this State.’ Former Illinois state representative and Thomas More Society Vice President Peter Breen slammed the measure as ‘the most radical sweeping pro-abortion measure in America and makes Illinois an abortion destination for the country,’ protecting abortion to a greater degree than Free Speech and other First Amendment rights.”    Click here for more.

Chicago's bubble zone law goes to the US Supreme Court

The challenge to the Chicago law creating a “bubble zone” around abortion clinics moves on to the United States Supreme Court with a June 7, 2019, docketing of a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in Veronica Price et al. v. The City of Chicago et al. Attorneys from the Thomas More Society charge that the restrictive ordinance is an unconstitutional, content-based abridgment of free speech.

The Chicago “bubble zone” ordinance, applied exclusively at abortion facilities, designates a 50-foot radius from the entrance as an area in which persons are prohibited from intentionally coming closer than eight feet to any other person, unless that person gives permission, “for the purpose of passing a leaflet or handbill to, displaying a sign to, or engaging in oral protest, education, or counseling with such other person.”  Click here for more.

VIDEO: Seventh woman in 16 weeks taken by ambulance from NYC Planned Parenthood

Operation Rescue has reported that yet another woman was transported by ambulance from New York City’s Margaret Sanger Center Planned Parenthood on June 7. This marks the seventh woman transported in just 16 weeks from this dangerous abortion facility.

Pro-life activists praying at the scene obtained photographs and video footage of a woman being loaded into an ambulance after coming out of the facility. Two ambulances were called to the scene to assist the woman, a trend which Operation Rescue has noticed with increasing regularity. The organization previously surmised that the Sanger Center may be attempting a workaround of the 911-system, resulting in confusion with multiple ambulances dispatched for one patient. Bypassing the 911-exchange would mean that there were no public records of the ambulance dispatch.

Click here for more

House Democrats Block Pro-Life Amendments to Appropriations Bills

Late last night, two pro-life amendments to H.R. 2740, the House Appropriations bill, were defeated by nearly uniform opposition from pro-abortion Democrats.

“We are extremely disappointed, but not at all surprised, that Democrats are using legislation to fund the government to attack critical and popular pro-life policies related to conscience rights of healthcare providers and taxpayer dollars going to facilities that provide abortion,” said National Right to Life President Carol Tobias. “We thank President Trump and his administration for their commitment to vetoing legislation that rolls back pro-life protections.”

The first Amendment, sponsored by Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), was defeated by a vote of 230-192. All Republicans voted in favor and were joined by 3 Democrats.

H.R. 2740 would block implementation and enforcement of the recent rule, “Protecting Statutory Conscience Rights in Health Care,” issued by the Department of Health and Human Services. That rule would enforce approximately 25 existing longstanding statutory civil rights provisions that protect health care providers from suffering discrimination if they do not participate in abortion, sterilization, or assisted suicide.

The Cole Amendment would have struck this language and permitted the ”Protecting Statutory Conscience Rights in Health Care” rule to stand.

“It is clear Democrats want to roll back the clock and put increasing pressure on health care providers to violate their moral convictions with regard to abortion,” said Tobias.

The second Amendment, sponsored by Rep. Martha Roby (R-Ala.), was defeated by a vote of 231-191. All Republicans voted in favor and were joined by 3 Democrats.

H.R. 2740 would block the Administration’s final rule related to prolife changes to the Title X family planning program. Under the rule, abortion facilities may not be in the same location where family planning services are delivered. The rule also states that Title X grantees may not refer for elective abortion.

The rule does not cut one dime of funding for family planning, but ensures that funding goes to health facilities that do not perform or promote abortion as family planning. Under the Obama Administration policy (which H.R. 2740 would restore), Title X consistently funded family planning through organizations that promoted and provided abortions.

The Roby Amendment would have struck the language that prevents the implementation of the pro-life Title X rule. Click here for more

Judge with Planned Parenthood ties orders David Daleiden to pay $200k fine

Last week, the Ninth Circuit Court refused to consider an appeal by David Daleiden, the citizen journalist who exposed alleged trafficking of baby body parts obtained in abortions. The appeal was of a nearly $200,000 fine imposed by District Judge William Orrick for Daleiden’s allegedly violating a disputed gag order.

The Thomas More Society, which has been defended Daleiden for more than three years, released a statement about the developments. “First, Mr. Daleiden and his criminal defense counsel remain subject to an exorbitant penalty for doing nothing other than trying to defend him against baseless, politically motivated criminal charges,” said Sarah Pitlyk, special counsel for the society and a member of Daleiden’s defense team. Click here for more

Teen Vogue tells 16-year-old how to get abortion against parents’ wishes, state laws

Teen Vogue, which often serves up titillating and harmful advice to its young audience, contains a regular sex-and-relationship column by Nona Willis Aronowitz. Most recently Aronowitz published a letter from a pregnant 16-year-old who wants to get an abortion without informing her pro-life parents.

The advice columnist, who is neither a doctor, nor a lawyer, nor a professional counsellor, told the girl that she had nothing to be ashamed of in being pregnant, not because parenthood is the natural outcome of sexual intercourse, but because “accidents happen.” Aronowitz also confused biological maturity with psychological immaturity by telling her readers, “it’s only logical that if teens are mature enough to become parents, they are mature enough to decide whether or not they want to give birth.” Click here for more

NRLC Urges House to oppose H.R. 2740 Appropriations Omnibus

Dear Member of Congress:

This week, the House will begin consideration of H.R. 2740, the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Defense, State, Foreign Operations, and Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 2020.

The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) urges you to oppose H.R. 2740 in its current form, as it includes several provisions that roll back current pro-life policies. Unless the three amendments described below are adopted, NRLC will include the roll call on passage of H.R. 2740 in its scorecard of key pro-life votes of the 116th Congress.

Conscience Rights of Healthcare Providers

H.R. 2740 would block implementation and enforcement of the recent rule, “Protecting Statutory Conscience Rights in Health Care,” issued by the Department of Health and Human Services (RIN 0945– 20 AA10). That rule would enforce approximately 25 existing longstanding statutory civil rights provisions that protect health care providers from suffering discrimination if they do not participate in abortion, sterilization, or assisted suicide.

Representative Cole is expected to offer an amendment (#14) to strike this language and permit the ”Protecting Statutory Conscience Rights in Health Care” rule to stand. We urge you to vote in favor of this amendment, and will include a roll call on the Cole Amendment in our scorecard of key pro-life votes of the 116th Congress.

The Protect Life Rule and Title X

H.R. 2740 would block the Administration’s final rule related to prolife changes to the Title X family planning program. Under the rule, abortion facilities may not be in the same location where family planning services are delivered. The rule also states that Title X grantees may not refer for elective abortion. The rule does not cut one dime of funding for family planning, but ensures that funding goes to health facilities that do not perform or promote abortion as family planning. Under the Obama Administration policy (which H.R. 2740 would restore), Title X consistently funded family planning through organizations that promoted and provided abortions.

Representative Roby is expected to offer an amendment (#169) to strike the language that prevents the implementation of the pro-life Title X rule. We urge you to vote in favor of the Roby Amendment, and will include a roll call on this amendment in our scorecard of key pro-life votes of the 116th Congress.

Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance program/Permanent repeal of Mexico City Policy

H.R. 2740 contains language that would effectively overturn the current pro-life Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance program, and further, it would create a statutory prohibition against a future Administration ever issuing a similar pro-life policy again.

This vital pro-life policy, sometimes referred to as the Mexico City Policy, was originally adopted by President Reagan and announced at a 1984 population conference in Mexico City. The policy was reinstated by President Bush in 2001, and restored and expanded under President Trump in 2017. Under the Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance program, in order to be eligible for U.S. “population assistance,” a private organization must sign a contract promising not to perform abortions (except to save the mother’s life or in cases of rape or incest), lobby to change the abortion laws of host countries, or otherwise “actively promote abortion as a method of family planning.”

The most important characteristic of the Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance policy is that it establishes an eligibility criterion for U.S. funding: If a group is unwilling to agree to avoid promotion of abortion, that group will not receive any type of U.S. support. In short, the Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance Policy is not about how an organization keeps its books. Rather, it is about the type of groups the United States is going to support. If a specific organization declines to accept the policy, then the same funds are channeled to other organizations that agree to the contract. There is, therefore, no overall reduction in funding for family planning programs resulting from the Policy.

Representative Marshall is expected to offer an amendment (#79) to strike the provision that eliminates the Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance program and bars such pro-life policies in the future. We urge you to vote in favor of the Marshall Amendment, and will include a roll call on this amendment in our scorecard of key pro-life votes of the 116th Congress.

Unless all three of these amendments are adopted, NRLC opposes passage of H.R. 2740, and will include the roll call on passage of H.R. 2740 in its scorecard of key pro-life votes of the 116th Congress.

Thank you for considering NRLC’s views on this legislation.

Sincerely,

Governor J.B. Pritzker signs abortion bill SB 25 taking effect immediately

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed into law this morning (June 12th) a bill that has been called worse than New York’s Reproductive Health Act, signed into law on January 22 of this year. Pritzker said of the new law, “If you believe in standing up for women’s fundamental rights, Illinois is a beacon of hope in the heart of this nation,” and “We proudly proclaim that we trust women.”  Obviously he wasn't speaking of the pre-born women.

The new Illinois RHA does away with things the state’s ban on partial-birth abortion, ends the need for licensing abortion facilities by the state, allows non-physicians to commit abortions, and allows for abortion at any time, for any reason, including for reasons of “health” which may include “physical, emotional, psychological, familial” or any other type of “health” the abortionist will accept. And abortionists have made clear that they believe the very state of being pregnant and not wanting to be is reason enough to commit an abortion.  It repeals the Illinois Abortion Act of 1975 and the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, removing criminal penalties for doctors who perform the procedures and allowing abortions at any point during pregnancy to protect “the health of the patient” and also also requires insurance coverage for elective abortion and expands coverage for contraception.

By creating a “fundamental right” to abortion, the Parental Notice of Abortion Act, requiring the parents of a minor girl to be notified forty-eight hours prior to having an abortion is now threatened and the next step for Democrats to make Illinois the most extreme pro-abortion state in the nation.  This is a dark day for Illinois.

Missouri’s scandal-plagued last abortion mill allowed to stay open until June 21, judge rules

A scandal-plagued abortion facility in St. Louis can keep its abortion license at least until June 21, thanks to another temporary injunction from Circuit Judge Michael Stelzer.

Reproductive Health Services of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region has been fighting the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services over its annual license renewal, arguing the state is trying to “intimidate” abortionists by making renewal contingent on interviewing them about patient complaints. Click here for more

Time magazine Promotes Hotel Offer of Free Lodging for Women Getting Abortions

The dinosaur publication Time magazine, which you may have forgotten still existed (or you only see at the dentist now), still pumps out liberal spin and reporting from a left-leaning perspective.

The latest example of that trend is an article published in the Sunday, June 9 edition that focused on a small hotel in Michigan offering pregnant women free stays and no-cost transportation from states that have “severe restrictions” on abortion.

In an item written by Alejandro de la Garza, the Time reporter stated:

In May, Shelly O’Brian wrote in a Facebook post that her small-town, 100-year-old hotel located in Yale, Mich., would offer lodging to women coming from other states with more severe restrictions in order to have an abortion.

She had no idea of the enormous response that the single post would garner, both in anger from those who opposed her initiative and support from those heartened by her action. Click here for more

Democrats’ spending package threatens to roll back hard-won pro-life provisions

This week, the House of Representatives will begin debating H.R. 2740 which covers various spending programs for the fiscal year 2020. Despite a statement today from the Trump Administration to veto the legislation over several issues including pro-life concerns, the House, under pro-abortion Democrat leadership, is moving forwards with a large spending package that threatens to roll back several hard-won provisions. The President’s veto threat can be read here.

The first offending provision relates to the conscience rights of healthcare providers. H.R. 2740 would block implementation and enforcement of the recent Administration Rule, ‘‘Protecting Statutory Conscience Rights in Health Care’’ issued by the Department of Health and Human Services.

That rule would enforce approximately 25 existing long-standing statutory civil rights that protect health care providers from suffering discrimination if they do not want to participate in abortion, sterilization, or assisted suicide.

The second offensive provision relates to the Protect Life Rule and Title X.  H.R. 2740 would block the Administration’s final Title X rule related to prolife changes to the Title X Family Planning Program. H.R. 2740 would require the Title X program to be carried out in the way it was in 2017, under the Obama Administration.

Under the current rule, the Administration directs that abortion facilities may not be in the same location as where family planning services are delivered.  The rule also states that Title X grantees may not refer for elective abortion. The current rule does not cut one dime of funding for family planning, but merely ensures that funding goes to health facilities that do not perform or promote abortion as family planning.

Under the Obama Administration, the Title X consistently funded family planning through organizations that promoted and provided abortions.

The final major anti-life provisions relates to the Mexico City Policy.  H.R. 2740 contains language that would effectively overturn the current pro-life Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance program (which expanded and enhanced the Mexico City Policy). And worse, it would create a statutory prohibition against a future Administration ever issuing a prolife Mexico City Policy.

This vital pro-life policy was originally adopted by President Reagan and announced at a 1984 population conference in Mexico City.  The policy was reinstated by President’s Bush in 2001, and restored and expanded under President Trump in 2017.

Under the Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance program, in order to be eligible for U.S. “population assistance, a private organization must sign a contract promising not to perform abortions (except to save the mother’s life or in cases of rape or incest), lobby to change the abortion laws of host countries, or otherwise “actively promote abortion as a method of family planning.

The most important characteristic of the Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance policy is that it establishes an eligibility criterion for U.S. funding.  If a group is unwilling to agree to avoid promotion of abortion, that group will not receive any type of U.S. support.

In short, the Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance Policy is not about how an organization keeps its books.  Rather, it is about the type of groups the United States is going to support.  If a specific organization declines to accept the limitations contained in the policy, then the same funds are channeled to other organizations that do agree to the contract.  To reiterate, there is no overall reduction in funding for family planning programs resulting from the Policy.

House Members are expected to offer amendments to strike these anti-life provisions, but in the Democrat-controlled House determined to expand abortion, the amendments are unlikely to succeed.  With the threat of a veto from President Trump, and a Senate unlikely to allow these provisions, chances are  this legislation will not be the final product signed into law. Click here for more

VIDEO: Adults shout down 13-year-old comparing abortion to slavery, but she keeps going

A 13-year-old girl’s plea to end abortion in her city at a recent city council meeting was met with shouts, jeers, and tears, as citizens reacted to her comparing abortion to slavery.

Addison Woosley, 13, spoke during the June 4 Raleigh, North Carolina city council meeting, at one point having to raise her voice over jeers from the audience, the Charlotte Observer reports, some of whom took issue with her recalling past injustices against African-Americans. “There’s no way around it,” the teen stated. “Abortion is murder.” Click here for more

42 prosecutors in 23 states declare they’ll refuse to enforce state pro-life laws

Attorneys general and district attorneys from nearly two dozen states have declared they will refuse to prosecute violations of duly-enacted laws banning abortion within their jurisdictions, siding with Supreme Court “precedent” over the will of lawmakers and voters in their states.

In a joint statement dated June 2019, a group calling itself Fair and Just Prosecution claimed to represent prosecutors who differed with one another on abortion from both moral and legal perspectives, but were nonetheless united in “our view that as prosecutors we should not and will not criminalize healthcare decisions such as these” (in fact, identifying abortion as “healthcare” is itself a pro-abortion ideological claim, not a statement of fact). Click here for more

By a nearly two-thirds margin, AMA votes to retain opposition to assisted suicide

The American Medical Association affirmed the recommendation of its Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs that the influential AMA remain opposed to assisted suicide.

What made the victory even sweeter was the margin– an overwhelming 65-35 vote.

After many years of hard and detailed work examining the dangerous trends and effects of legalizing assisted suicide, a year ago the Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs (CEJA) issued a report to the full AMA to maintain their opposition position to assisted suicide. In June 2018, proponents of assisted suicide celebrated the decision by AMA’s House of Delegates not to accept the CEJA’s recommendation to maintain the AMA’s firm opposition to physician-assisted suicide is a setback and to continue “studying” the issue. The battle would be fought again in 2019.

According to those familiar with the vote and preliminaries, over 20 medical students, interns, and residents provided testimony at yesterday’s Reference Committee meeting. Additionally, numerous other physicians testified at Reference Committee. Click here for more

Illinois’ Grotesque “Reproductive Health Act” Nothing to do with Health

I’ve mentioned a few times that the possibility that Roe v. Wade might be in play (overturned or at least rolled back), has prompted a significant uptick in state action on abortion. Some states are moving to limit abortion, hoping to be the source of the case that will be considered by the Supreme Court. Other states are racing to ensure that unrestricted abortion remains available within their borders.

In other words, the possible demise of Roe in no way signals the end of this decades-long struggle against abortion. The struggle has only shifted from the federal courts and Congress to the states.

Already this has led to radically extreme pro-abortion bills being passed in various states. Gone are protestations and hand-wringing that abortion is a “tragic necessity.” Instead, abortion is increasingly treated as a positive good. In fact, a few states seem to be in a competition for who can pass the most radical laws.

The leader in this grotesque competition at the moment: Illinois. Click here for more

Battle to defend undercover journalist exposing Planned Parenthood continues

In two civil lawsuits and a criminal prosecution, the Chicago-based Thomas More Society continues to defend the embattled David Daleiden against the powerful California abortion industry. Daleiden is the undercover journalist who, in 2015, published videos exposing the abortion industry’s involvement in illegal baby body parts trafficking.

On June 5, 2019, a Ninth Circuit panel announced it would not consider an appeal of a nearly $200,000 penalty levied on Daleiden and his criminal defense attorneys for using the video footage in the furtherance of his defense. The federal judge presiding over related civil lawsuits, District Judge William Orrick, had held that criminal defense counsel’s use of the videos violated a gag order he imposed in one of the federal civil actions. Daleiden and his defense counsel appealed, arguing that Orrick had improperly imposed a criminal contempt penalty without granting the accused due process and that the federal civil injunction should not apply to Daleiden’s state criminal proceeding. Click here for more

ICE-PAC director attacks language in abortion bill

Illinois Citizens for Ethics-Political Action Committee (ICE-PAC) Executive Director David Avignone believes the authors of Senate Bill 25 wrote the state's controversial new abortion legislation with intentional opaqueness.

“It is clear that the authors of SB25, including but not limited to State Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago), the ACLU, and various abortion doctors, intentionally wrote the bill without providing clear definitions on ‘health’ and ‘viability,’” Avignone said in a statement released after the Illinois Senate Public Health Committee heard testimony on the bill May 30. His use of the term “but not limited to” references language in the bill used to define the characteristics of a patient that doctors would have to consider before performing a third-trimester abortion. Click here for more.

Dems want abortion on demand

So much for safe, legal, and rare, as Democrats have changed their tune when it comes to abortion.

Even former Vice President Joe Biden says he now opposes the Hyde Amendment -- something Jeanne Mancini of March for Life thinks is really sad.

"He was in favor of the Hyde Amendment, and he was also pro-life for many, many, years, but he has flip-flopped on so many things, and sadly he has now lining up with every other pro-abortion Democratic candidate unfortunately," she says. Click here for more.

Parental notification an undue burden on abortion rights?

Illinois pro-abortion groups may use a new law to get rid of the requirement that parents be notified if their minor daughter seeks an abortion.

Illinois lawmakers this year passed the Reproductive Healthcare Act, which opened the door most of the way for abortion to take place through the ninth month of pregnancy.  So if a court challenge is filed, it could be expected pro-abortion attorneys will argue that dealing with a minor girl's parents puts an undue burden on her access to abortion. The Thomas More Society fought a 15-year court battle against the American Civil Liberties Union over the law which passed in 1983 before the state Supreme Court ruled the parental notification law into effect six years ago. Click here for more.

Three times politicians accidentally admitted abortion is killing

When pro-abortion politicians — who normally ignore the preborn child in the abortion issue — acknowledge abortion kills a child, we should take note. At a recent Fox News town hall, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (who is also a presidential candidate) defended her position. Gillibrand is a Democrat from New York, one of a growing number of states where it is legal to end the life of a preborn child through all nine months. At one point, Gillibrand said, “The facts are that women in this country have had a constitutional right for over 30 years to make this fundamental life and death decision.”

She concedes that abortion is a life or death decision. While she may have been referring solely to the woman — pushing the idea that a woman’s life is at grave risk by pregnancy and ignoring the fact that most abortions are done for entirely elective reasons — Gillibrand’s words are telling. Whose death are we talking about in an abortion? It is the preborn child who suffers a gruesome death (though many women have, in fact, died from legal abortion). Gillibrand’s statement is a tacit, albeit indirect, admission that it kills human beings.  Click here for more.

PBS documentary shows woman killing her unborn twins like it's nothing at all

A PBS documentary is going viral on the internet Tuesday for its chilling depiction of a pregnant woman nonchalantly taking the abortion pill to terminate her twin pregnancies.

Pro-life activist Obianuju Ekeocha shared a snippet of the documentary on Twitter Monday, captioning it, "This PBS documentary airbrushes abortion to make it look like some healthy new age practice."

"The woman in blue is pregnant with twins and she is filmed here taking the abortion pill to kill them," she explained. "You witness their killing.  Click here for more.

Facebook Censors Illinois Federation for Right to Life Facebook Page

Facebook has started taking down posts made by the Illinois Federation for Right to Life from our Facebook Page.  We are encouraging anyone who Likes or Follows the IFRL on our Facebook page to join our Facebook Group ensuring that you will receive all the news, alerts and posts and not just the ones that Facebook allows you to see.

Click here to join the IFRL Facebook Group

Abortion survivor to Congress: ‘We see abortion as political but I live with it every day’

The Judiciary Subcommittee on Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties held a hearing on Tuesday called Threats to Reproductive Rights in America. It focused on the rise of pro-life laws in states around the country. Live Action News contributor Christina Bennett and abortion survivor Melissa Ohden shared their compelling stories with the subcommittee, testifying in favor of the right to life for preborn human beings.

During his opening statement, Constitution Subcommittee Ranking Member Mike Johnson (R-LA) called abortion an act during which “a living human being is literally and brutally ripped to pieces limb by limb.” What he described is a (usually second trimester) D&E abortion in which an abortionist dismembers the preborn child in utero while he is still alive. Most of the time, the abortionist is successful, but sometimes, as was the case for Nik Hoot, a child can survive this horrific procedure...  Click here for more.

UN human rights official: ‘It’s clear’ US pro-life laws are ‘torture’

It’s “clear” that American laws restricting the starvation, dismemberment, and poisoning of preborn humans are “torture,” according to United Nations deputy high commissioner for human rights Kate Gilmore.

“We have not called it out in the same way we have other forms of extremist hate, but this is gender-based violence against women, no question,” Gilmore told The Guardian, lamenting recent pro-life legislation in some U.S. states and the Trump administration’s refusal to advocate for abortion abroad.

“It’s clear it’s torture — it’s a deprivation of a right to health,” she said.  Click here for more.

House Democrats hold hearing to advocate for abortion without limits until birth

House Democrats held a hearing ominously entitled, “Threats to Reproductive Rights in America,” mean to criticize the wave of pro-life laws passing in the states and reinforce Democrats’ full-throated commitment to allowing abortion for any reason up to the moments of birth.

In their statements and their questions, Democrat members of Congress doubled-down on what has now become the standard position of Democrats, including all those running for President.

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said in his opening statement:

It is my hope that today’s hearing is Congress’ first step towards shoring up the right to abortion across this country through legislation like Representative Judy Chu’s Women’s Health Protection Act which would put an end to states banning or otherwise limiting access to abortion or Representative Barbara Lee’s EACH Woman Act which would end abortion coverage bans or other legislative initiatives.

An analysis of these two radical pieces of legislation show how committed to abortion on demand through all 40 weeks the Democrats have become.

H.R. 2975, formally titled the “Women’s Health Protection Act,” is sponsored by Rep. Judy Chu (D-Ct.) and strongly opposed by National Right to Life. The bill is strongly supported by the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, NARAL, and other pro-abortion activist groups. A more accurate title for this radical bill would be the “Abortion Without Limits Until Birth Act.”

H.R. 2975, if enacted and upheld by the federal courts, would invalidate nearly all state limitations on abortion, including waiting periods and women’s right-to-know laws. For example, it would invalidate state laws to protect pain-capable unborn children after 20 weeks fetal age — and would require all states to allow abortion even during the final three months of pregnancy based on an abortionist’s claim of “health” benefits, including mental health.

H.R. 2975 would also invalidate nearly all existing federal laws limiting abortion. For further information on this sweeping legislation, including testimony against it presented to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee by NRLC President Carol Tobias in 2014, click here.

The “EACH Woman Act” (H.R. 1693) sponsored by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Ca.) and also strongly opposed by National Right to Life, would mandate coverage of abortion without limitation in Medicaid, Medicare, CHIP, and other federally funded health insurance programs. (An array of federal laws currently restricts such coverage in some, but not all, federally subsidized health programs.)

In addition, the bill would nullify the laws in effect in about half of the states that restrict coverage of abortion in health plans sold on the Obamacare exchanges, and all other state laws or policies that “inhibit insurance coverage of abortion by private health plans.”  Click here for more.

Joe Biden’s latest flip-flop on the Hyde Amendment

Quick, read this fast. Otherwise, by the time you finish this post, pro-abortion Joe Biden may have already flip-flopped his flip-flop.

NBC News reported today that the presidential campaign of Biden, who (for what it’s worth) is currently the favorite choice among Democrats to take on pro-life President Trump, “confirmed to NBC News that Biden still supports the Hyde Amendment, a four-decade-old ban on using federal funds for abortion services, except in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the woman.”

Of course, most everyone picked up on this is not what Biden recently told the pro-abortion ACLU (in a video posted on Twitter by the ACLU on May 8), including NBC News which wrote

Biden’s continued support for Hyde not only sets him apart from the rest of his 2020 Democratic competitors, but it may surprise progressive groups like the American Civil Liberties Union, which promoted a recent tweet by one of its activists appearing to get Biden to commit to ending Hyde during a rope-line exchange in South Carolina. Biden’s campaign told NBC he would be open to repealing Hyde if abortion avenues currently protected under Roe were threatened.  Click here for more.

HHS cancels UCSF contract for research involving human fetal tissue from elective abortions

The Trump Administration is taking additional steps to ensure that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will not be funding its own research that uses tissue from elective abortions and will continue to pursue development of ethical alternatives.

In a six-paragraph explanation, HHS noted that last September

the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) terminated a contract between Advanced Bioscience Resources, Inc. and the Food and Drug Administration that provided human fetal tissue from elective abortions to develop testing protocols. The Department was not sufficiently assured that contract included the appropriate protections applicable to fetal tissue research or met all other procurement requirements. As a result, HHS also initiated a comprehensive review of all HHS research involving human fetal tissue from elective abortions to ensure consistency with statutes and regulations governing such research, and to ensure the adequacy of procedures and oversight of this research in light of the serious regulatory, moral, and ethical considerations involved.

When the audit and review began, HHS had an existing contract with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) regarding research involving human fetal tissue from elective abortions. HHS has been extending the UCSF contract by means of 90-day extensions while conducting its audit and review. The current extension expires on June 5, 2019, and there will be no further extensions.

With that as backdrop, HHS went on to add to put the decision in context:

Promoting the dignity of human life from conception to natural death is one of the very top priorities of President Trump’s administration. The audit and review helped inform the policy process that led to the administration’s decision to let the contract with UCSF expire and to discontinue intramural research – research conducted within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) – involving the use of human fetal tissue from elective abortion. Intramural research that requires new acquisition of fetal tissue from elective abortions will not be conducted.

HHS has already begun a review of whether there are “adequate alternatives” in HHS-funded research and “will ensure that efforts to develop such alternatives are funded and accelerated.”  Click here for more.

ACTION ALERT - Proposed Cook County Resolution 19-3758 (Reproductive Health Act) Hearing

We would encourage as many folks as possible to come and to speak during public testimony on Wednesday June 5th at 11 am.  Please note: typically the meetings sometimes run late/behind, so patience is appreciated, further I wouldn’t be shocked if they intentionally try discourage or out last speakers by slowing down the process making folks sit around waiting so as to make speakers lose will of purpose.

Here is some back ground information on what actually occurred last week, it also contains a link to register to speak and also to send in a position slip into the county.

Please note:  even if you/someone do not register to speak but show up last minute, you can request permission at the time of the actual hearing during public testimony to speak on the item.

Democrats on the Cook County Board of Commissioners are pushing a resolution in support of Illinois House Bill 2495 - Reproductive Health Act, which backers and opponents agree would be the most liberal (and extreme) reproductive health care measure in the entire country. This resolution was quietly introduced on May 23 and sent to committee for approval in June. Of course, My Democrat colleagues and the pro-abortion supporters were notified in advance of this resolution, but I was not until 8:45am the day of and more than 30 of them were on-hand to speak in support of it.  Unfortunately, I was the only dissenting "NO" vote to send this resolution to committee and the lone dissenting voice in the entire board room... Outnumbered 50 to 1.

The resolution was assigned a committee hearing date so now people who oppose House Bill 2495 and the massive expansion of abortion will have the opportunity to publicly voice their sentiments on the record before the Cook County Board of Commissioners. I strongly urge you to attend this meeting and provide public testimony on this item.

The resolution is listed as Item 19-3758 and will be called before the Legislation & Intergovernmental Committee on Wednesday, June 5 at 11:30AM in the County Board Room (5th Floor) of the Cook County Building located at 118 N. Clark Street, Chicago.  I've included a link which offers you the options to sign-up for public testimony or submit a written statement if you're unable to attend in-person. Click here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JUNE52019MTGS.

Amazing: New ultrasound device lets moms see their babies using smartphones

The Times of Israel reports that a new “handheld ultrasound device” is in its finishing stages. It will “allow pregnant women to check on the health of their baby” by connecting to a smartphone.

Created by PulseNmore LTD, this device is really designed to provide peace of mind to expectant mothers, as it “display[s] the images on its screen and send[s] them to the pregnant woman’s personal doctor for examination.”

Prof. Israel Meisner of Rabin Medical Center stated that “Women sometimes don’t feel movement, call their doctor and are told to go to an emergency room. Here there’s the option to put a phone on her stomach and see her baby.” This, the designers believe, could cut down on ultrasound costs for this reason.

The device is not meant to be used as a diagnostic tool. While not yet fully approved in Israel, the company notes that the device “has been successfully tested in the United States.”

Of course, pro-lifers can see the benefit of such technology as well. When many women who are considering abortion see their preborn babies on the ultrasound screen, they choose life. This is why the abortion industry isn’t a fan of informed consent laws requiring them to show women their ultrasounds, even though ultrasounds are considered standard procedure before an abortion to find the preborn baby’s gestational age and to rule out an ectopic pregnancy.  Click here for more.

Illinois Gov. Pritzker expected to sign radical new abortion bill

Governor Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who has already signaled his support for the “Reproductive Health Act,” is expected to sign the bill into law making Illinois arguably the most pro-abortion state in the Union.

The RHA cleared the state Senate Friday night by a vote of 34-20 with three abstentions. The implications are awful not just for Illinois, but also surrounding states.

“[State Rep. Kelly] Cassidy, who is part of a Democratic majority in the legislative body, supports the bill not just to preserve abortion access for the people of Illinois, she said, but also for the people from neighboring states — where restrictions are harsher — who go to Illinois for abortions,” according to ABC News Radio.

“In 2017, more than 5,500 women came to Illinois to get abortions, the Chicago Tribune reported.”

Following last Tuesday’s 65-40 vote in the House, Gov. Pritzker issued a statement saying

“Illinois is making history, because our state will now be the most progressive in the nation for reproductive healthcare. In Illinois, we trust women to make the most personal and fundamental decisions of their lives — and now, that will be the law of the land, even as it’s under threat in other states.”

Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider captured just how far Illinois Democrats have come in a statement following the House vote:

“In just a few short years, the Democrat party in Illinois went from advocating ‘safe, legal and rare’ to abortion on-demand, at any time, for any reason, and funded by taxpayers. This is not the typical pro-life vs. pro-choice debate I have been accustomed to in my lifetime. The RHA goes much further. It’s an extreme bill that functionally eliminates any and all restrictions for the termination of a life up until the moment of birth. That is unconscionable and I urge the Senate and the Governor to reject this bill.”

The Thomas More Society analyzed the bill and concluded it would comprise “the most radical piece of abortion legislation that has ever been introduced in Illinois, and…the most radical proposed in any state to date,” said Peter Breen, Vice President and Senior Counsel for the Thomas More Society, and former Illinois House Minority Floor Leader.

“The barbaric procedures promoted by this legislation are nothing short of infanticide. These bills go well beyond the recent New York law and would turn Illinois into a third-trimester abortion destination and an underage abortion haven. Governor J.B. Pritzker promised that his Illinois Democrats would turn the state into the most ‘progressive’ in the country on abortion, and these bills deliver on that violent promise: Pritzker and his Democratic supermajorities would convert the ‘Land of Lincoln’ into the ‘Abortion Capital of America.’”

Under the category “you can’t make this stuff up,” Pritzker tweeted

Who’d like to wager that the more the number of women who came to Illinois to get abortions in 2017 – more than 5,500–will escalate?  Click here for more.