'Webcam' abortions? 4 states ban them

     

Nebraska Gov. David Heineman signed into law May 26 a bill to prohibit "telemedicine," or webcam, abortions in the state.

The Republican governor's signature made Nebraska the fourth state this year to enact legislation to address the abortion industry's effort to expand its business through videoconferencing. Kansas, Oklahoma and Arizona also have adopted measures to prevent the relatively new practice.

The law requires a woman using the two-step drug RU 486 for an abortion to take it in the physical presence of a doctor, thereby preventing a "telemed" abortion.

Planned Parenthood initiated "telemed" abortions in Iowa nearly three years ago and threatened to transport the technique to its centers in the neighboring state of Nebraska. As used by Planned Parenthood, a doctor in Des Moines or another city counsels by means of videoconferencing a woman seeking an abortion at another Planned Parenthood center in the same state. After he reviews sonogram images and visits with the woman, the physician can dispense the two-step abortion drug to her by pressing a computer button, thereby opening a drawer from which the woman in the remote clinic may remove the pills.

Heineman signed the bill into law only two days after the Nebraska Legislature passed it in a 38-9 vote.

"Huge kudos to the Nebraska Legislature for stopping [webcam] abortions before they get started in our state," said Julie Schmit-Albin, executive director of Nebraska Right to Life, in a written release.

Legislative efforts to protect the unborn did not fare as well in Minnesota. There, Gov. Mark Dayton vetoed three pro-life bills in two days.

On May 24, the Democratic governor rejected a measure in a larger Health and Human Services bill that would have prohibited human cloning for both research and reproductive purposes. In research cloning, the human embryo is destroyed, normally five to 10 days after its creation.

On May 25, Dayton vetoed two pro-life bills, one to ban abortions after 20 weeks' gestation based on scientific evidence a baby in the womb experiences pain by that point and another to prohibit state funding of elective abortions. Legislators fell short of veto-proof majorities in approving both measures.

Pro-lifers are "very disappointed," said Scott Fischbach, executive director of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, after the May 25 vetoes.

"These are reasonable provisions, not extreme, and have overwhelming support from Minnesotans and legislators," Fischbach said.

Contact: Tom Strode
source: Baptist Press.

House OKs pro-life changes to ObamaCare

     

The U.S. House of Representatives is working on making changes to ObamaCare, specifically when it comes to abortion funding.
 
In a 234-182 vote, the House recently approved the Foxx Amendment to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (aka ObamaCare), which would have set aside funds to be spent without congressional oversight. The amendment offered by Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (R-North Carolina), however, would make those discretionary funds reviewable by Congress each year.

"My amendment [says] that none of these funds could be used for elective abortions, and also that none of the funds could be used to train doctors for elective abortions," she explains. Also under the amendment, medical schools that discriminate against healthcare providers who refuse to do abortions because of their conscience will not receive funds.
 
But despite the House's approval, the prospect of passage in the Senate is slim, says the lawmaker -- and not just because of political correctness. Foxx points out that 23 senators are up for re-election, so they do not want to take a position on the issue.

"That's not the way it's supposed to be," she contends. "We have important business that needs to be done in this country, and the American people are not here simply to re-elect these people to a secure term so that they can sit around and contemplate their navels. We need work done by them."

Congresswoman Foxx argues the House's action reflects what voters say they want, especially in the area of no tax dollars for abortion.

Contact: Charlie Butts
Source: OneNewsNow

National Right to Life Responds to Latest Guttmacher Report

'When tax dollars pay for abortion, you get more abortion'

    

On May 24th, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of 50 state right-to-life affiliates, disputed claims that restrictions on abortion "disproportionately affect" poor women.  The assertion was made in, "Changes in Abortion Rates Between 2000 and 2008 and Lifetime Incidence of Abortion, published online yesterday in the June 2011 issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology by researchers from  the Guttmacher Institute (originally founded as a special research affiliate of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America).

"Data showing an eight percent drop in abortion rates across the board from 2000 to 2008 are encouraging," said Randall K. O'Bannon, Ph.D., National Right to Life director of education and research.

"Guttmacher suggests that higher abortion rates among poorer woman and abortion restrictions are somehow connected, yet it's a thesis that goes undefended," O'Bannon further noted.  "How common sense regulations like right-to-know laws, which tell women about abortion's risks and alternatives which are better for both them and their unborn children, and similar protective measures, are supposed to hurt poor women is hard to fathom."

The overall downward trend seems to indicate that such laws, along with the assistance provided by pregnancy care centers, which provide lifesaving alternatives to abortion, are enabling more women to choose life for their unborn child. However, several states -- California, New York and at least a dozen others -- publicly fund abortion for poor women.  "While the abortion industry saw declines among most demographic groups, it just happened to see growth among women for whom states were covering abortion costs," observed O'Bannon. 

"The fact is, when tax dollars pay for abortion, you get more abortion," O'Bannon observed.

The Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), according to their own 2008-2009 annual report, showed over $1 billion in revenues, including $363.3 million in "Government Grants & Contracts" (an increase from $165 million in 1998).  At a time when the overall number of abortions has decreased, PPFA reports performing 332,278 abortions for the period covered in the 2009 report -- accounting for more than 27% of all abortions performed annually in the United States.

O'Bannon noted: "The abortion industry likes to argue that high abortion rates are due to insufficient government funding for 'family planning,' but the record seems at odds with that assertion.  As abortion industry giant Planned Parenthood has received hundreds of millions of tax dollars each year, abortions at their facilities have steadily increased at rates that very nearly match their increases in government funding."

"Ultimately, the report says less about pro-life laws and more about the aggressiveness of the abortion industry that, funded by tax dollars in many states, exploited poorer women during the recession and profited from their misery. If more women choose life for their unborn children as a result of pro-life legislative initiatives, the abortion industry knows that it will adversely impact their financial bottom line," O'Bannon concluded.

Contact: Jessica Rodgers
Source: National Right to Life

MTV's close ties with abortion giant

     

Though MTV has cancelled a pro-life group's ad because of its "tactics," it will continue its partnership with Planned Parenthood.
 
MTV has banned a media campaign of life-affirming, call-for-help commercials produced by Heroic Media, which were scheduled to run this month.

"The official reason that they gave us was that it was hard to separate Heroic Media's tactics from their commercials, and therefore they would no longer air any commercials from Heroic Media," explains president Bill Eisner of Nonbox, the agency that placed the ads.

He says those "tactics" refer to a media campaign that has stirred a degree of controversy and impacted African-Americans.

"The billboard campaigns certainly were legal [and] certainly were within their First Amendment rights of free speech," Eisner contends. "I think what's controversial about them is the billboards have a headline that says, 'The most dangerous place for an African-American is in the womb.'"

That is a reference to the fact that 36 percent of the abortions in the United States kill unborn black babies. But that is apparently offensive to Planned Parenthood, the biggest abortion-provider and referral service in the U.S. So MTV president Stephen Friedman cut the Heroic Media pro-life ads, suggesting they would cause conflict between the network and the abortion giant.

Contact: Charlie Butts
Source: OneNewsNow

John Stamos to Join Beach Boys for Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Concert

     

Actor, musician and "Full House" star John Stamos will join The Beach Boys during the June 12th performance at the Fraze Pavilion in Kettering, Ohio.

The Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network is delighted to announce that John Stamos will be joining The Beach Boys for the second annual Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Concert in Kettering, Ohio (near Dayton), Sunday, June 12th.

John Stamos, best known for his work in television on the ABC sitcom Full House, is gifted on drums, keyboards, guitar, bass and various percussion instruments and has been performing on occasion with The Beach Boys since 1985. Stamos also has provided vocals on the song, "Forever," from the Beach Boys 1992 album, "Summer in Paradise" and directed the band's music video, "Hot Fun in the Summertime."

"We are just thrilled that John Stamos is planning on being there for this special concert event. It will only add to what is sure to be a fun and memorable evening for everyone coming to the concert," stated Director of Development, and Terri Schiavo's sister, Suzanne Vitadamo.

You can go directly to the Fraze Pavilion Box Office to purchase tickets, or go online to the Fraze Pavilion!

Terri and her legacy continue to touch and change lives every day thanks to the work of Terri's Life & Hope Network, a 501(c) (3) tax exempt organization, established to educate and assist families. Proceeds from ticket sales and sponsorships for this event will allow Terri's Life & Hope Network to continue advocating for the lives of vulnerable persons by serving as a resource for families needing counsel and support in the United States and throughout the world.

Contact: Wanda K. Willis
Source: w2 Event Solution

Support for abortion: the media has it wrong

     

A 2011 Gallup poll released this week caused quite a media stir. For the first time in recent years, Americans identifying themselves as "pro-choice" slightly outnumbered those who consider themselves pro-life. But a closer reading of the data reveals why the abortion lobby's spin of the data is actually misinformation.

The report concluded, "Majorities of Americans indicate some reluctance about abortion on both moral and legal grounds." In fact, the report indicated broad support for restricted abortion.

Key findings included facts such as:

51% of Americans believe abortion is morally wrong while only 39% believe it is morally acceptable.

60% of political Independents are evenly divided on the moral correctness of abortion, but tilt "fairly strongly toward restrictive abortion laws." In fact, 60% of Independents believe abortion should be legal in "few or no circumstances."

61% of all Americans believe that abortion should be legal in "only a few circumstances or no circumstances" while only 37% want abortion legal "in all or most circumstances."
Americans United for Life President and CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest observed that this study debunked a huge myth promulgated by the abortion industry.

"The American people support regulations and common sense checks and balances to protect women and girls' lives, and to respect the life in the womb," noted Dr. Yoest. "With 61 percent of the American people hoping for life affirming policy, AUL looks forward to partnering with them."

To read the entire poll, click here.

Source: Americans United for Life

Pro-choicers stepping up their game

     

NARAL Pro-Choice New York has revealed a national strategy aimed at shutting down pro-life pregnancy centers in urban areas and directing women to abortion providers.
 
Care Net is a national operation of pro-life centers designed to convince women to save their babies' lives. Spokesman Dean Nelson tells OneNewsNow the NARAL strategy is telling.

"Essentially what they hope to do is to connect with city council members [and] county council members in urban areas to try to place high restrictions and stiff penalties and fines on pregnancy centers," he explains.

So abortion proponents are looking for left-wing elected officials who might enact ordinances against the pro-life centers, in spite of the fact that a federal court declared similar ordinances in Baltimore unconstitutional.

"I was there in Baltimore, and I could not find one pastor in Baltimore that was supportive of this particular ordinance," Nelson accounts. "When you communicate to these leaders that these restrictions are trying to close down faith-based centers that are providing free services to women in need, they are actually...quite upset about it."

So he is hopeful Care Net will find that level of resistance when NARAL and its supporters try to force the restrictions on pro-life clinics.

Contact: Charlie Butts
Source: OneNewsNow

Defunding abortuaries not OK with feds

     

The federal government might attack Indiana's new law that defunds the state's abortion providers, but one pro-lifer is confident the measure will stand.
 
The Obama administration has 90 days to look over the law that would impact use of Medicare funds for abortion. Mike Fichter of Indiana Right to Life says indications are the federal government will not approve the changes.

"Well, it's not surprising that the most pro-abortion administration in the history of this country would come out strongly against Indiana's new law that defunds Planned Parenthood," he notes. "We certainly hope that Indiana will stand strong. We think our attorney general will do a wonderful job in defending this law and that Indiana will refuse to be intimidated by the federal government."

But Fichter also believes Indiana is being singled out.

"The defunding of Planned Parenthood in Indiana is sending a clear opportunity for other states to do the same, so I think you do see a federal administration that will be trying to make an example out of Indiana using strong-arm tactics to get the state to back off of this new law," the pro-lifer suggests.

And he further believes this situation exposes the administration's agenda -- the same one that ordered its Justice Department to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

Contact: Charlie Butts
Source: OneNewsNow

House OKs ban on abortion training funds

     

The U.S. House of Representatives approved May 25 a measure that would bar federal funding for the training of medical residents to perform abortions.

The House voted 234-182 for an amendment by Rep. Virginia Foxx, R.-N.C., that would have the following effects on a new program established by last year's controversial health-care reform law:

-- Prohibit the project, which helps teaching health centers form or enlarge residency programs, from funding abortions.

-- Ban money in the program from paying for the training of abortion doctors.

-- Bar health centers funded through the program from discriminating against residents and other health-care professionals who refuse to provide or refer for abortions.

The roll-call vote on Foxx's amendment broke down largely along party lines: 221 Republicans and 13 Democrats voted for the proposal, while 172 Democrats and 10 GOP members opposed it.

"Should taxpayers foot the bill for elective abortions or to train abortion doctors? I don't think so," Foxx said in a written statement after the vote. "If organizations want to provide elective abortions or train abortion doctors they need to find someone other than taxpayers to write the checks. Taxpayers should not be on the hook for subsidizing the abortion industry."

The Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission and other pro-life organizations supported Foxx's amendment.

Two leading abortion rights organizations -- the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and NARAL Pro-choice America -- sharply criticized the amendment.

Pro-life congressional members "will use any bill to launch attacks on a woman's right to choose," NARAL President Nancy Keenan said in a written release after the vote.

"Regardless of how one feels about legal abortion, reasonable lawmakers can agree that doctors should be as well trained as possible to deal with any medical situation that may arise," she said.

The reaction of Planned Parenthood and NARAL to the amendment "makes it crystal clear that they want the federal taxpayer to fund training of the next generation of abortionists," said Douglas Johnson, legislative director of the National Right to Life Committee. "In fact, pro-abortion activists are also trying to make it impossible to become certified in and to practice in some medical fields without participating in providing abortions."

Johnson called for stronger federal laws to protect pro-life medical providers against discrimination.

Foxx's amendment came to a bill, H.R. 1216, that would change the 2010 health care law's required appropriation for some graduate medical training programs to one that must be approved yearly by Congress. The House approved H.R. 1216 in a 234-185 roll call later May 25.

The 13 Democrats who voted for Foxx's amendment were Reps. Jason Altmire of Pennsylvania, Dan Boren of Oklahoma, Jerry Costello of Illinois, Mark Critz of Pennsylvania, Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Tim Holden of Pennsylvania, Dale Kildee of Michigan, Dan Lipinski of Illinois, Mike McIntyre of North Carolina, Collin Peterson of Minnesota, Nick Rahall of West Virginia, Mike Ross of Arkansas and Heath Shuler of North Carolina.

The 10 Republicans who opposed the amendment were Reps. Charles Bass of New Hampshire, Judy Biggert of Illinois, Brian Bilbray of California, Mary Bono Mack of California, Shelley Capito of West Virginia, Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania, Robert Dold of Illinois, Michael Grimm of New York, Richard Hanna of New York and Joe Heck of Nevada.

Source: Baptist Press

State legislatures OK more pro-life bills

     

State legislators continue to send pro-life bills to supportive governors for their signatures.

Measures restricting abortion are awaiting endorsement from the governors of Florida, Kansas and Texas. All the governors -- Florida's Rick Scott, Kansas' Sam Brownback and Texas' Rick Perry -- are expected to sign the bills, and all are Republicans.

The actions add to a variety of pro-life measures already signed into law in this year's state legislative sessions.

The Florida legislature passed five pro-life bills in the late days of its session -- four Scott is expected to sign and one that voters will consider. The measures sent to Scott will, according to a May 9 article by the Florida Baptist Witness:

-- mandate ultrasounds for women seeking abortions in their first trimester, although they can decline to view the sonogram images or hear descriptions of their unborn children.

-- prohibit insurance coverage of abortions in a future state exchange established by last year's federal health-care reform law.

-- toughen limitations on underage girls seeking judicial bypasses for abortions without their parents being notified.

-- change the method of dispersing funds gained from the sale of Choose Life license plates.

The measure to go before Florida's voters in 2012 would amend the constitution to ban the use of state funds for abortions.

Bill Bunkley, the Florida Baptist Convention's legislative consultant, told the Witness legislators would accomplish nothing that would "leave a more lasting legacy in their tenure than the future babies they stood in the gap for these last few weeks. I am very proud of all of them."

In Kansas, the Senate gave final approval April 27 to legislation that will strengthen health and safety requirements for abortion clinics, according to The Wichita Eagle. Unannounced inspections would take place yearly after the measure takes effect.

In Texas, the House of Representatives provided final passage May 5 to a bill mandating that most women seeking abortions have an ultrasound at least 24 hours before the procedure and be given a verbal description of the child, the Southern Baptist TEXAN reported.

In other state actions:

-- The Minnesota House passed two pro-life measures May 6: 1) A ban on abortions after 20 weeks of gestation based on scientific evidence a baby in the womb experiences pain by that point and, 2) a prohibition on state funding of elective abortions.

-- North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue, a pro-choice Democrat, signed into law April 29 a bill which criminalizes violent acts against unborn children during crimes against their mothers.

contact: Tom Strode
Source: Baptist Press

Information Update in Embryonic Stem Cell Lawsuit

     

In the latest update regarding Sherley et al. v. Sebelius et al., the lawsuit challenging federal taxpayer funding of human embryonic stem cell research, a Motion was filed on May 18, 2011, to allow both sides to file supplemental briefs with the U.S. District Court.

This motion to provide additional information to the Court was agreed upon by both sides. A similar previous motion filed on May 9 was opposed by the Department of Justice.

The motions follow the April 29 decision by the Appeals Court to vacate the preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Lamberth in August 2010. While the Appeals Court ruling maintained the status quo regarding the flow of federal taxpayer funds for embryonic stem cell research, there are still a number of issues to be resolved, awaiting the decision of Judge Lamberth.

If the new motion is approved, both sides would be allowed to provide supplemental information in briefs due on or before June 24, 2011, and limited to 10 pages.

Contact: David Prentice
Source: National Right to Life

Pro-Abortion Judicial Nominee Goodwin Liu Blocked in Senate on near Party-Line Vote

     

The nomination of Goodwin Liu, named by President Obama to the powerful U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, was blocked in the U.S. Senate today on a near party-line vote.

Only 52 senators voted to "invoke cloture" (end debate) on the Liu [pronounced "loo"]nomination.  That was 8 votes short of the 60 that were required to advance the nomination to an up-or-down vote.

Of the 44 Republican senators who were present to vote, only one — Lisa Murkowski (Ak.) — voted in favor of advancing the Liu nomination.  Of the 52 Democrats who were present, only one — Ben Nelson (Ne.) — voted to block Liu.   The official roll call is here.

Liu, age 40, is a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley.  He has never served as a judge, but he has written and testified extensively on legal issues.

The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) had urged pro-life senators to oppose cloture on Liu's nomination.

"Liu is strongly committed to judicial activism and to an expansive judge-made 'right' to abortion," commented NRLC Legislative Director Douglas Johnson.  "Indeed, when John Roberts was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court, Liu published an opinion piece in which he specifically attacked Roberts as a threat to 'abortion rights.'"

NARAL Pro-Choice America conducted an extended lobbying campaign on behalf of Liu, calling him a "champion of the constitutional right to privacy."  In a press release issued after the vote, NARAL claimed to have generated 20,000 messages to senators in support of Liu's nomination.

Ed Whelan, president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, who has written extensively and critically regarding Liu's record, wrote on National Review Online on May 17, "Liu presents a volatile mix of aggressive left-wing ideology and raw inexperience.  He's the rare nominee who would threaten to make the Ninth Circuit worse than it already is."

Following today's Senate vote, Whelan noted that only one potential Liu supporter missed the vote, "so the Liu nomination appears dead."

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is one tier under the U.S. Supreme Court in the federal judicial system.  It handles appeals from federal district courts in California, Arizona, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Alaska, and some territories.

Source: National Right to Life

DOJ Panders to Abortion Proponents with False Allegations of F.A.C.E. Violations

     

In January 2010 David Hamilton was peacefully and lawfully handing literature to women entering EMW Surgical Center, an abortion clinic in Louisville, Kentucky. Mr. Hamilton was not only interfered with illegally by clinic volunteers who locked arms to block him, he is now being prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice for assaulting a volunteer -- but in actuality -- the volunteer assaulted him. The "escort" attempted to forcibly block Mr. Hamilton to prevent him from sharing literature with women entering the clinic, literature that would have offered women real choices, alternatives to abortion.

Over a year after the date of the incident, rather than serving the clinic volunteer with a legal complaint for the illegal conduct, the DOJ served Mr. Hamilton with a legal complaint, alleging that he violated the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE). The DOJ used their resources, funded by the American taxpayer, to track down and serve Mr. Hamilton although he had moved to Texas permanently only two months after the assault by the "escort."

"This administration continues to increase the budget deficit by pandering to the abortion lobby, wasting taxpayer monies to hunt down and prosecute the victim rather than the perpetrator. The allegations against Mr. Hamilton are absolutely ridiculous!" states Dana Cody, President and Executive Director of Life Legal Defense Foundation.

Attorneys Michael Hirsh and Vince Heuser, of the law firm of Hirsh and Heuser, are defending Mr. Hamilton, responding to Mr. Hamilton's prosecution with motions to dismiss and to strike the complaint against him. Life Legal Defense Foundation congratulates Attorneys Hirsh and Heuser for their swift response to the DOJ's absurd actions and is proud to support the defense of Mr. Hamilton.

Contact: Vince Heuser
Source: Life Legal Defense Foundation

NARAL Video Reveals National Strategy to Shut Down Pregnancy Centers in Urban Areas

     

In a YouTube video (http://youtu.be/Tpya05pQGAQ) posted May 10th, NARAL Pro-Choice New York has revealed a national strategy to specifically target pregnancy centers in urban areas for hostile legislation intended to shut down these centers and direct women to abortion providers.

Care Net President Melinda Delahoyde said the video is a helpful tool in exposing current strategies of abortion advocacy groups. "This video reinforces the fact that legislation against pregnancy centers is part of a nationwide strategy by abortion advocacy groups aimed at shutting down the competition," Delahoyde said. "It also reveals for the first time that these legislative attacks will be focused on urban areas, the very areas where abortion providers are prevalent, support for abortion alternatives is lacking, and abortion rates are skyrocketing."

In NARAL's video, a representative from the National Institute of Reproductive Health highlights the "Urban Initiative," an effort to network local legislators across the country in order to pass legislation, such as anti-pregnancy center bills. "Our goal is to create a movement, to have each of these bills, not just an isolated victory, but really to address these crisis pregnancy centers, one urban area at a time," says Angela Hooton, the group's Interim Executive Director.

Rev. Dean Nelson, Care Net's Vice President of Underserved Outreach, said that NARAL's efforts will be met with opposition from community leaders, especially clergy. "Talk to pastors in urban areas and see if they support efforts to promote abortion and to crack down on organizations that are supporting pregnant women," said Rev. Nelson. "I was there in Baltimore when the anti-pregnancy center bill mentioned in this video was being discussed, and not a single local pastor I spoke with was in support of that bill. This so-called 'urban initiative' is an injustice toward the very women, children, and families that live in urban areas."

Currently, a majority of abortion providers are located in metropolitan areas. Many of them are in predominantly minority-populated communities, thereby contributing greatly to the disproportionate impact of abortion on minorities. Statistics show that African American and Latina women account for 27% of the female population in the U.S., yet they undergo 59% of all abortions. In many urban communities, abortion providers outnumber pregnancy centers by a ratio of five to one. Care Net is working on expanding access to pregnancy centers so that women in urban areas are empowered to carry their pregnancies to term.

Contact: Kristin Hansen
Source: Care Net

MTV Pulls Pro-Life Organization's Commercials Off the Air, Continues Partnering with Planned Parenthood

     

MTV has banned a media campaign of life-affirming, call-for-help commercials produced by Heroic Media which were scheduled to run on the network during May 2011.

MTV notified the press of their decision to pull the call-for-help commercials on May 5th, but did not inform Heroic Media until the following afternoon.

An MTV sales representative who notified Heroic Media's advertising agency of the decision indicated that MTV President, Stephen Friedman, made the decision.

According to the sales representative, MTV, "Was in the works with doing a partnership with Planned Parenthood and different opportunities for PSA's when he decided that he did not want to run Heroic Media on MTV."

Last month, MTV partnered with Planned Parenthood on a promotion called "Get Yourself Tested," which was promoted on both MTV and Planned Parenthood's websites.

Planned Parenthood reported performing 332,278 abortions in the United States in 2009. On their website, MTV has listed Planned Parenthood as an adoption referral resource. Planned Parenthood made 977 adoption referrals in 2009.

The newly 'banned' commercial, which has been running on MTV since May of 2010 is called "We Can Help" and features a young woman struggling with an unexpected pregnancy. The script follows:

Young Woman: I'm pregnant.
Adult Woman: It happens.
Young Woman: I'm afraid.
Adult Woman: That's normal.
Young Woman: I'm worried, My boyfriend's scared, my parents are mad.
Adult Woman: Get a grip people. You're not alone. We can help.

Graphics:
Text PREGNANT to 95495
877-877-9927
Logo: Heroic Media

Jeannie Kedas, Senior Vice President MTV Networks, issued the following official statement to Heroic Media seven days after giving it to the press, "Upon further review, it was hard for us to separate some of the recent tactics of the organization behind the ads themselves, so we have opted to not accept them for air at this time."

Heroic Media has asked MTV to reconsider this decision and allow Heroic Media and other organizations to make women aware of hopeful alternatives to abortion.

Heroic Media is a faith-based non-profit that reduces abortion by creating a culture of life through television, billboard and internet advertising which connect women in crisis with life-affirming pregnancy centers. In communities where Heroic Media's commercials have run consistently, abortions have dropped by as much as 20%.

To view the TV spot go to: www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfu3ZebO4HM

Contact: Bill Eisner

HB2093 passed out of the IL Senate today

HB2093 passed out of the IL Senate today and is on its way to the Governor.

 

It passed the House on April 7, 2011 with 110 yes, 0 Nays and 0 Present;  it passed out of the Senate on May 12, 2011 with 57 yes, 0 Nays and 0 Present.

This bill amends the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. Extends the list of persons required to report child abuse or neglect to include any physician, physician's assistant, registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, medical technician, certified nursing assistant, social worker, licensed professional counselor, office personnel, or volunteer of any office, clinic, or any other physical location that provides abortions, abortion counseling, abortion referrals, contraceptives, contraceptive counseling, sex education, or gynecological care and services.

We feel that the Governor will sign the bill since it passed without any opposition.  This is a victory for the pro-life movement in Illinois!

HB2093 passed out of the IL Senate today

HB2093 passed out of the IL Senate today and is on its way to the Governor.

 

It passed the House on April 7, 2011 with 110 yes, 0 Nays and 0 Present;  it passed out of the Senate on May 12, 2011 with 57 yes, 0 Nays and 0 Present.

This bill amends the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. Extends the list of persons required to report child abuse or neglect to include any physician, physician's assistant, registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, medical technician, certified nursing assistant, social worker, licensed professional counselor, office personnel, or volunteer of any office, clinic, or any other physical location that provides abortions, abortion counseling, abortion referrals, contraceptives, contraceptive counseling, sex education, or gynecological care and services.

We feel that the Governor will sign the bill since it passed without any opposition.  This is a victory for the pro-life movement in Illinois!

Ignore Misleading Figures, Planned Parenthood IS "Big Abortion"

Q&A with Randall K. O'Bannon, Ph.D.


Dr. Randall K. O'Bannon

NRL News: Let's start with this claim that abortion represents "only 3% of Planned Parenthood's services," the single most common PPFA defense. Where does this come from and is it in any sense true?

Randall K. O'Bannon, Ph.D.: If you were PPFA, above all you want people's eyes distracted from the 330,000+ abortions you perform a year. How could you minimize its prevalence and its importance to your bottom line? (This is complicated, so please bear with me.) By bundling services when it serves your purpose, and unbundling when it makes you look better. It arrives at this 3% figure by using some very strained mathematics, by counting everything given to, or done for, a given patient as a separate service. So if a young mom comes into a Planned Parenthood clinic for an abortion, she'll probably also have a pregnancy test, maybe a test for an STD, and then may receive a packet of birth control pills after her abortion. So, is that one "service" or four? Planned Parenthood counts each of these as a separate service.

Moreover, this same woman coming in for an abortion may receive three, four, or more additional services, such as an ultrasound, an antibiotic, and an Rh type and hemoglobin test, all connected to her abortion visit. When counted separately, it makes it look like abortion was only one among several other more conventional "reproductive health care" services or procedures. [See PPFA's 3/11 fact sheet on services]

PPFA offers the "3% of services" mantra day in and day out. It is accepted uncritically by the media. The figure is purposefully confusing. A much more understandable—and accurate—measure is to look at the numbers of clients, rather than the number of "services." That tells a very different story.

Outside of places like National Right to Life News and NRL News Today, you virtually never read that the percentage of PPFA's clients that receive abortions is 12%. As we shall see in a moment, that is important not only because it reveals its enormous investment in abortion, but also because abortions generate a hefty share of clinic revenue.

NRL News: So, to be clear, that means that nearly one in eight women walking through the door of a Planned Parenthood clinic receiving services has an abortion?

O'Bannon: Well, even that probably understates the abortion-related traffic to Planned Parenthood. In 2009 over 1.1 million women coming to Planned Parenthood had a pregnancy test. We don't know what percentage of those were positive. What we do know is that of the services Planned Parenthood reported that would have involved pregnant women (abortion, prenatal care, adoption referrals), 97.6% were abortion.

On the PPFA Services fact sheet, Planned Parenthood says it provided services for three million people in 2009. That would mean roughly a third were tested for pregnancy. Considering how a woman can buy a relatively inexpensive pregnancy test from her local drug or grocery store, she must have had a reason to seek out Planned Parenthood. If the availability of abortion was the reason, that would mean that abortion was pulling in even more than the 12%.

NRL News: Even so, 12% of the business being devoted to abortion would be a significant percentage, would it not?

O'Bannon: That it would be. But to reiterate, abortion certainly accounts for a great deal more than just 12% as a portion of PPFA's business, especially if you're looking at it in monetary terms.

To see how significant abortion is to Planned Parenthood's bottom line, there is no equivalency between a $15 pregnancy test or a $6 pack of condoms or $15–$50 packet of birth control pills and an abortion which runs $350–$950 for a first-trimester abortion [see www.plannedparenthood.org/health-topics/abortion/in-clinic-abortion-procedures-4359.asp].

Here's some very basic math. At $451 (the Guttmacher Institute's estimated average cost for a standard first-trimester surgical abortion), the 332,278 abortions Planned Parenthood performed in 2009 would represent $149.9 million—37% of the $404.9 million in clinic revenues PPFA took in for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2009 [see PPFA 2008–09 Annual Report ].

NRL News: That's a far cry from the 3% we started with.

O'Bannon: And since Planned Parenthood clinics also advertise and perform more expensive chemical abortions, like those with RU486, and later surgical abortions, which average more than $1,500 at 20 weeks, that income and that percentage are probably much higher. One thing is clear from the data we have, data that comes from Planned Parenthood itself. In spite of the spin and the deflections, Planned Parenthood certainly is "Big Abortion"– the nation's biggest performer and most aggressive promoter of abortion.

NRL News: We know we have to be 100% accurate or the 99% that is correct gets tossed away. What are some common mistakes with regard to the data?

O'Bannon: Speaking in terms of Planned Parenthood's "profits" instead of "revenues."

Another is to confuse its clinic or "health center income" with the total revenues of the organization. Planned Parenthood had total revenues of $1.1 billion in FY 2009, but only 37% of that came from clinic income. It got another $363.3 million in "government grants and contracts" and private contributions totaling $308.2 million, and another $24.5 million from other sources.

One thing people also need to do is to be specific. Don't say that 90% of Planned Parenthood's patients have abortions, because that isn't correct. What is true is that in looking at those services intrinsically connected to pregnancy—abortion, prenatal care, and adoption—97.6% of those were abortion.

NRL News: Anything else you want to say about this 3% claim that Planned Parenthood has popularized?

O'Bannon: If I may, let me briefly mention three other related issues. First, PPFA is building up its abortion business in a major way (see the editorial on page 2). This is 180 degrees away from the organization's attempt to act as if abortion is incidental to what it does.

Second—to borrow from the article I wrote that appears on page 11—a secondary Planned Parenthood tactic is to argue that increased funding will enable it to reduce the numbers of abortions, but its own organizational reports don't seem to show that.

The revenue Planned Parenthood receives in "Government Grants & Contracts" has gone from $165 million in 1998 to $363.3 million in the organization's fiscal year ending June 30, 2009. During the same time, and at roughly the same rate, abortions have more than doubled at Planned Parenthood, from 165,509 in 1998 to 332,278 in 2009. All this while abortions in the U.S., as a whole, dropped by about 25%. To say that Planned Parenthood is committed to reducing abortions is to go against decades of evidence that shows the exact opposite.

Third, to return to the original question, we've shown that PPFA is heavily invested in—and derives enormous income from—abortion. But even if abortion constituted "only" 3% of its business—which masks the truth—this organization boldly and unapologetically destroys over 300,000 innocent human lives every year, making millions in the process, and unapologetically defends its doing so.

This is not only an absolute corruption of the very notion of "health care," it is a gross abuse of our most basic human rights, something that no civilized society should tolerate, much less pay for.

Federal Judge Denies Planned Parenthood's Request for Restraining Order Against New Indiana Law

National Right to Life applauds U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt's decision to deny a request by Planned Parenthood of Indiana for a temporary restraining order against a new Indiana law that denies state-directed funding for businesses and organizations performing abortions in the state. Judge Pratt's order allows the funding cuts passed by the Indiana legislature and signed by Governor Mitch Daniels earlier this month to immediately take effect.


Judge Tanya Walton Pratt

"Planned Parenthood is the nation's largest provider and promoter of abortion," said National Right to Life President Carol Tobias.  "As Planned Parenthood's government funding increased so did the number of abortions they performed."

According to Planned Parenthood Federation of America's annual report for 2008-2009, which reported over $1 billion in revenues, the amount it received in "Government Grants & Contracts" has grown from $165 million in 1998 to $363.3 million in the organization's fiscal year ending June 30, 2009.  During the same time, and at roughly the same rate, abortions have more than doubled at Planned Parenthood, from 165,509 in 1998 to 332,278 in 2009.  With just over 1.2 million abortions performed annually nationwide, abortions done in Planned Parenthood clinics account for more than 25% of the national total.

"Using the average estimates for the cost of a first-trimester abortion ($451), Planned Parenthood clinics derived more than one-third ($149.9 million) of their reported $404.9 million in income from abortions in 2008-2009," Tobias noted.

National Right to Life Director of Education and Research Randall K. O'Bannon, Ph.D., has done extensive research and reporting on Planned Parenthood's abortion business.  His two most recent analyses can be found here:

"Planned Parenthood: More Funding, More Abortion"

"Ignore Misleading Figures, Planned Parenthood IS Big Abortion"

"While other businesses and non-profit organizations struggled during the recession, Planned Parenthood's bottom line continued to swell," Tobias added. "The bottom line is, taxpayers shouldn't be forced to underwrite Planned Parenthood and its affiliates."

Source: National Right to Life

Pro-life ‘victory’ as Indiana law cuts all Planned Parenthood funding

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels signed into law a bill that cuts Planned Parenthood state funding and adds other restrictions on abortion.

"It's a great victory," said Glenn Tebbe, executive director of the Indiana Catholic Conference. "This is an achievement we've been working towards for a number of years."

He thought the law offers "a very good chance" to reduce the number of abortions in Indiana.

"That's probably the most important aspect," he said.

The law ends all state-directed funding for businesses that do abortions except for hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers, USA Today reports. It cuts $2 million of the $3 million the Indiana Planned Parenthood organization receives annually in government funds.

The law also makes Indiana the first state to prohibit the use of Medicaid at Planned Parenthood.

"It's good that our tax dollars don't have to support an agency that performs abortions," Tebbe told CNA on May 11.

He credited the "persistence" of pro-life groups and the pro-life community over past years which allowed them to take advantage of the opportunity to pass the legislation.

Daniels was supportive of the legislation "from the beginning," Tebbe reported.

"There wasn't a need for him to play a leadership role because there were so many other people involved for a long period of time."

Daniels, a possible Republican presidential candidate in 2012, attracted attention and some criticism because he called for a "truce" on social issues like abortion and marriage in favor of focusing on fiscal and economic issues.

Though Tebbe said he had no inside information, he thought the remark was "more a tactical matter than substantive" and was intended to address divisions within Daniels' party.

The new Indiana law has its critics.

The state's Family and Social Services Administration has voiced concern that the funding restrictions could violate Medicaid policy and endanger $4 million in federal money for family planning.

Planned Parenthood of Indiana President Betty Cockrum said the provision threatened basic health care for Indiana women and will lead to undetected cancers, untreated sexually transmitted diseases and unplanned pregnancies.

Gov. Daniels said his administration confirmed that all non-abortion services will remain "readily available" in all 92 counties of Indiana. He has also ordered the Family and Social Services Administration to ensure that Medicaid recipients receive "prompt notice" of nearby care options.

Any clinic affected by the law can resume receiving taxpayer dollars immediately by "ceasing or separating its operations that perform abortions," the governor said.

Planned Parenthood of Indiana and the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana sought a temporary restraining order against the bill. A federal judge refused to grant an emergency hold on May 11, but will take more time to consider whether the law should stand, the Indianapolis Star reports.

Indiana Right to Life characterized the new law's provisions as "the most sweeping pro-life initiatives" in the state since the 1973 Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade.

"This legislation places Indiana on the vanguard of efforts to protect the unborn, to deny public funds to businesses that profit from abortion, and to ensure that women considering abortion have full and factual information about such issues as fetal development and alternatives to abortion," said the group's president and CEO Mike Fichter.

Many of these provisions have been on Indiana pro-lifers' "to-do list," Tebbe explained.

The new law opts Indiana out of abortion coverage in any state health insurance exchanges required under the 2010 federal health care law.

While the state previously restricted abortion based on the ambiguous standard of "viability," the law now restricts abortions after 20 weeks into a pregnancy.

The law requires doctors who perform abortions to provide full information about abortion to women considering the procedure. These doctors must also maintain local hospital admitting privileges in order to streamline emergency access for any women injured during an abortion.

These features will provide more information to women considering abortion, Tebbe said, "and with that we think they are more likely to make the better choice."

Source: CNA/EWTN News