U.S. Senate girds for close vote on Planned Parenthood funds

Within the next few weeks, the U.S. Senate is expected to vote on a special fast-track bill, H.R. 3762, that would block about 89% of the federal funds that go to Planned Parenthood -- about $400 million in the next year.

The Republican Senate leadership is moving the bill through a rare, special process called "reconciliation," which prohibits it from being blocked by a filibuster. But the bill still requires majority support.

The bill already passed the U.S. House of Representatives, on October 23, 2015, by a vote of 240-189. The strong House vote reflected a wave of visible support from grassroots pro-life activists nationwide. In the U.S. Senate, however, a razor-close vote is expected, and it will require an even greater nationwide outpouring of support from grassroots pro-life citizens in order to pass this legislation.

Please act now -- urge your two U.S. senators to support the "pro-life reconciliation bill" (H.R. 3762), to defund Planned Parenthood! Please do not assume that your senators will support the bill -- they need to hear from you!

It takes just minutes to send an email to your two U.S. senators, employing the easy-to-use tools at the National Right to Life Legislative Action Center. When you enter your address, your messages will automatically be directed to the correct senators. You'll be shown a model message about the pro-life reconciliation bill, which you can modify as you see fit before you send it.

Click here to go to the Legislative Action Center now.

Illinois Teen Charged with Murder After Throwing Newborn Baby Out Eight-Story Window

An Illinois teen is facing a murder charge after being accused of throwing her newborn baby out of her apartment window—located on the eighth floor of the building.

Mubashra Uddin, 19, was denied bail Saturday after being arraigned in Cook County Bond Court on a first degree murder charge. Police believe that Uddin gave birth Wednesday night and then threw her newborn daughter out of the window onto the grassy area below.

The baby was found at approximately 11:45 p.m. by a bystander who wrapped the baby in blankets while waiting for paramedics to arrive. The child, who was breathing at the time she was found, was rushed to Weiss Memorial Hospital, but was pronounced dead. She suffered numerous injuries, including a fractured spine, skull and ribs, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Click here for the originating article from ChristianNews

Abortion evangelist Leroy Carhart featured at family planning forum in Chicago

The Association of Reproductive Health Professional met in Chicago Monday, and the infamous late term abortion evangelist Leroy Carhart was among the guests leaving the Palmer House Hilton Monday, where dozens of pro-life activists were protesting.

ProLife Action League caught a photo of Carhart, who was among those attending the ARHP's 2015 Annual Meeting in conjunction with the North American Forum on Family Planning. The "family planning" discussions involved groups that are accused of selling baby body parts acquired during abortions.

ARHP's meeting took place as a pre-conference to the Forum on Saturday, November 14, 2015, from 7:30 am to 11:30 am

Click here for the originating article from Illinois Review.

Couric: Pro-Lifers Make It ‘Harder Than Ever’ to Work at Planned Parenthood

Liberal, pro-abortion journalist Katie Couric on Tuesday interviewed the President of Planned Parenthood and worried about how “tough” pro-life supporters were making things for the organization. Couric snidely noted, “While Planned Parenthood says that abortions account for just three percent of its clinical work, opponents won’t be happy until that number is zero.”

(Couric did not point out that the organization makes hundreds of millions from abortions.) Talking to President Cecile Richards, the journalist, who now interviews people for Yahoo, fretted, “The videos inflamed already passionate critics, making it harder than ever for the organization to do its job. How tough is it to find clinicians who are willing to work at Planned Parenthood clinics and what kinds of challenges do they face?”

Speaking of scandal related to undercover videos, Couric gently questioned:

KATIE COURIC: Planned Parenthood has always had its opponents, but the videos created outrage in the anti-abortion community and galvanized conservative members of Congress. The result? The real possibility of cutting taxpayer dollars that go to Planned Parenthood. Eliminating 41 percent of its 1.3 billion annual budget. What would defunding Planned Parenthood have done to this organization?

The journalist should be commended for at least asking a few tough questions. She referred to Planned Parenthood as “controversial” and pressed about the hidden footage: “Did they, even if they were edited in your view, expose a side of Planned Parenthood that needed exposing?”

But, overall, the interview tilted towards sympathy for Richards. That shouldn’t be surprising as Couric in 2008 won an award from the pro-abortion National Organization for Women.

Click here for the originating article from Newsbusters via National Right to Life.

Living Hope that Speaks to Life

The words still haunt my mind: “In memory of our aborted grandchild.”

I have signed hundreds of acknowledgments for gifts given in memory of someone, but this one—it just seemed out of place. What was it doing there with the others? What kind of culture do we live in that precipitates such unnatural sorrow?

It is a culture of death, a culture that results from hopelessness and leads to hopelessness. This culture persuaded the son or daughter of the above grandparents that things were hopeless and the only way out of this situation was the death of the baby. But the reality of this desperate and hopeless act only brought despair and hopelessness.

It struck me on a personal level that I was about to sign this one as I signed all the others, those given in memory of a grandma or a husband, etc., as if they were the same. The culture of death fosters that kind of thinking as well. It numbs us to the scope of the horror of abortion and of choosing death to solve our problems at any stage of life. Our culture leads us to believe these are just “issues” on par with so many others.

Click here for the originating article from Lutherans for Life via National Right to Life.

Jahi Family: Examining Neurologist Finds She’s Alive

When last we visited the Jahi McMath case, a judge gave her mother the chance to file an amended complaint showing that Jahi is alive, with the assurance that if properly pleaded, evidence of life could be brought She seems to have done just that.

From Thaddeus Mason Pope’s blog Medical Futility, quoting the amended complaint:

 In the opinion of the pediatric neurologist who has examined Jahi, having spent hours with her and reviewed numerous videotapes of her, that time has proven that Jahi has not followed the trajectory of imminent total body deterioration and collapsed that was predicted back in December of 2013, based on the diagnosis of brain death. Her brain is alive in the neuropathological sense and it is not necrotic. At this time, Jahi does not fulfill California’s statutory definition of death, which requires the irreversible absence of all brain function, because she exhibits hypothalamic function and intermittent responsiveness to verbal commands.

If the neurologist testifies to what the complaint says–and if he or she has the credentials claimed–history could be made.

Click here for the originating article from National Review

Dads Need a Life-Giving Voice in Crisis Pregnancies

The crucial role of men in society and the family has been sidelined for many reasons. Whether men feel their diminished importance is due to forces outside of themselves, or they just lack the desire to live up to their God-given responsibilities, the bottom line is, too often, the voices of men have been silent in the life decision.

Instilled within every man are the desires and capabilities to be a father—a provider and protector of his family. But 42 years and tens of millions of abortions this side of Roe v. Wade have left many men in a position of passivity and indecisiveness, confused and helpless when it comes to the most basic duty of protecting their own preborn children.

Meanwhile, legalized abortion provides an escape hatch of sorts for men who are unwilling to accept the responsibility to care for the life they have helped to create. Others, threatening to leave or even physically harm the mother of their child in order to avoid fatherhood, coerce their partner into aborting her preborn child against her will.

Click here for the originating article from Pregnancy Help News

Adoption: A loving, life-saving, realistic alternative to abortion

Infant adoption has become rarer since 1973. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Adoption USA Chartbook, prior to 1973, about 8.7% of never married women who gave birth made a plan for adoption. However that dramatically dropped to 1% in the 1990s.

While the HHS Chartbook mentions the role of reproductive technology such as in vitro fertilization giving childless couples the chance to conceive on their own, the abortion deaths of millions of babies who could have been available for adoption also surely played a role.

There is great openness to adoption in the American public. A 2002 survey of women aged 18-44 found 33.1% considering abortion with 23.2% of those actually taking steps to adopt a child. An adoption activist writing in 2008 said that there were more women seeking to adopt unrelated children than there were foster children awaiting adoption (Katz, Washington Post, 11/8/08).

Adoption affirms the unborn child’s right to life, allowing each baby to enter the world as a blessing for another family. Adopted children do well in school and show high levels of self-esteem, optimism, social competency, feelings of security. They are less likely to be depressed, use alcohol, and engage in vandalism, theft, group fighting, and use weapons.

Click here for the originating article from National Right to Life.

Supreme Court Grants Review in HHS Mandate

Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, announced this afternoon that the US Supreme Court has accepted the Priests for Life case against HHS mandate.

Six other cases were also granted review by the Court, and they are listed below.

"This is a great day in our battle for religious freedom against the culture of death, which wants us to participate in the spread of abortion. We will not do so, and we look forward to making our case at the Supreme Court," Fr. Pavone said.

"This is great news that the Court has granted cert in our case against the HHS mandate," said Robert Muise of the American Freedom Law Center, which represents Priests for Life. "Along with the other cases that have been consolidated along with ours, it is particularly appropriate that Priests for Life has been fighting this mandate, since the very purpose of the organization is to oppose the very activities that the mandate supports, particularly abortion."

Click here for the originating article from Christian Newswire.

A Surprising, Pro-Life Lesson from Dr. Seuss

“A person’s a person, no matter how small!”

Many children grow up reading Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who, the classic story of a brave elephant who works to protect the tiny people of Whoville from destruction. At the end of the tale, the Whos are saved because Horton believes he has a duty to protect those who can’t protect themselves. Horton famously states, “A person’s a person, no matter how small!” Though Dr. Seuss may not have intended it, this story teaches a timeless lesson on the value of life, no matter how small it is.

It is interesting that such a simple and eloquent pro-life statement was spoken by a fictional elephant. If only some Members of Congress would think like Horton and see the value inherent in all lives. If only they would see that a child is a child no matter how small and that we all have a duty to protect life from those who wish to take it away.

There was a time when the abortion industry thrived on the lie that life does not begin at conception, and therefore an abortion does not kill a child. However, science caught up and debunked this claim, so next the industry took refuge in the belief that unborn children do not feel pain, which has now also been disproven. Now, with their foundation crumbling beneath them, the abortion lobby has elected to ignore the life matter altogether and focus on women’s rights (or, as was the case during a recent Planned Parenthood hearing, the need for gun control, better sex education, and various other off-topic subjects).

Click here for the originating article from the FRC Blog.

Medicare to Pay for End-of-Life Planning

I have no objections to paying doctors to help people plan the kind treatment they would want if incapacitated. And now, Medicare is paying for it. From the New York Times story:

Under the rule, officials said, Medicare would pay $86 for the first 30 minutes of “advance care planning” in a doctor’s office and $80 for the service in a hospital. In both settings, they said, Medicare will pay up to $75 for 30 additional minutes of consultation. These standard amounts can be adjusted for differences in costs in different parts of the country.

While this isn’t a “death panel,” it is important that the conversations don’t push people into refusing care–which some fear could happen (not unreasonably) given the cost-saving drive of the Obamacare technocracy.

Politicians say the focus should be on making sure patient decisions are honored.

Click here for the originating article from National Review.

Planned Parenthood Sells Building and is now Paying $1 a Month to Rent it Back

Planned Parenthood of Illinois sold its Springfield building to the Springfield Mass Transit District for the district's future bus transfer center.

Planned Parenthood received $470,000 in federal grant funding from SMTD for its property at 1OOO E. Washington St.

Planned Parenthood is now paying only $1 per month as a month-to-month lease with SMTD.

Tim Moore, the president of Springfield Right to Life, stated that he learned of the sale recently and has pledged to work to prevent Planned Parenthood from opening a facility elsewhere in the Springfield area.

Moore said pro-lifers will call upon local zoning officials and municipal officials to turn down any such requests from Planned Parenthood.

Some information taken from the State Journal Register.

It can’t be true, right? Adult Stem Cells Effective Against MS

Image: Macrophages accumulating around 

a lesion caused by MS. Credit: Marvin 101 / Wikimedia

THIS CAN’T BE TRUE! Embryonic stem cells are the ONLY HOPE, “the scientists” and their media and celebrity camp followers repeatedly insisted–as they urged priority funding for studies from embryonic stem cells.

Except, those who argued that adult stem cells offered great potential are the ones being proven right–as embryonic successes are almost nowhere to be seen. Now, the early indications of a possibly efficacious treatment for MS are looking to be even more hopeful.

From the Science Alert story:

A group of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients have had their immune systems destroyed and then rebuilt using their own blood stem cells. Three years later, 86 percent of them have had no relapses, and 91 percent are showing no signs of MS development.

Click here for the originating article from National Review.

Uninspected Illinois abortion clinics death traps for women

The problem in Illinois is that often there is almost no regulation of abortion facilities.

“With about half the abortion clinics in Illinois, we can't even find out what's happening inside these places because they are under no inspection regime,” Scheidler tells OneNewsNow.

“So I hope this is ... a call to the state officials of Illinois to finally restore state oversight and inspection of abortion clinics.”

Scheidler says there's no way to know what horrific conditions might be present, so women are potentially taking a risk by having abortions in Illinois.

Click here for the originating article from OneNews.

“I don’t think Planned Parenthood should get a red cent from the taxpayer” says new House Speaker Paul Ryan

If you had the chance to watch newly elected pro-life Speaker of the House Paul Ryan(R-Wi.) on even a couple of the Sunday talk shows yesterday (he was on five!), you could readily see why he is pro-life John Boehner’s successor. Ryan is smart, articulate, funny, quick on his feet, and aware that the White House is still controlled by pro-abortion President Barack Obama with Senate Democrats more dedicated than ever to protecting Planned Parenthood .

Asked about defunding Planned Parenthood on “State of the Union,” Ryan told CNN’s Dana Bush

“I don’t think Planned Parenthood should get a red cent from the taxpayer. I’ve always believed that, even before these disgusting videos came out. But I believe we need to do our oversight. We’re just beginning to start a committee to investigate Planned Parenthood. That’s important. So the special committee on Planned Parenthood, I think, should be in the driver’s seat overseeing this process.”

“Congressman Ryan has a deep, abiding respect for all human life, including unborn children and their mothers, the disabled, and the elderly,” said National Right to Life President Carol Tobias. Ryan has compiled a 100% voting record from National Right to Life ever since he entered the House in 1989.

Click here for the originating article from National Right to Life.

Illinois Governor deaf to appeals to defund abortion giant

The Illinois movement to defund Planned Parenthood has arisen due to the undercover videos of Planned Parenthood executives discussing the harvesting and sale of aborted baby body parts. David Smith, who heads the Illinois Family Institute, has instigated a multi-pronged approach to defund the abortion-provider.

“A group of over 200 pro-life citizens from across the state of Illinois met at the governor's mansion in Springfield and did a prayer walk around the governor's mansion, a Jericho prayer march, demanding, praying, hoping and witnessing for life,” he explains.

Smith says they are asking that all state business with Planned Parenthood be terminated, but Governor Bruce Rauner hasn't shown a real acknowledgement of their demands. “They did respond to the media saying 'no comment,'” he tells OneNewsNow.

Click here for the originating article from OneNewsNow.

Twenty-Seven Year Battle Delivers Pro-Life Victory in Chicago

The Albany Medical-Surgical Center Family Planning Associates abortion clinic, 5086 N. Elston Avenue in Chicago, closed its doors on October 17, in the wake of safety inspections conducted by the Illinois Department of Public Health. The shutdown follows 27 years of community objection to the center, led by the Pro-Life Action League, and the group's pressure on state officials to hold the clinic accountable for safety violations.

Eric Scheidler, Executive Director of the Pro-Life Action League, stated, "This is a victory for all who value human life. This abortion provider operated for years without any safety inspections, and multiple women have died following abortions performed there. Now that its doors have closed, this neighborhood is safer for women and their unborn children." From the time that the clinic opened in 1988, the Pro-Life Action League has organized sidewalk counseling, conducted protests and coordinated prayer vigils outside of the Albany neighborhood abortion provider.

Albany Medical-Surgical Center was sued by the family of 13 year-old Deanna Bell, who died during an abortion there in September 1992. The same Elston Avenue Family Planning Associates abortion clinic was cited in the abortion deaths of 22 year-old Maria Rodriguez in 2000, Maria Leho—a mother of three—in 1999 and Nakia Jorden in 1998.

Click here for the originating article from Christian Newswire.

Prayer march calls for Illinois to end Planned Parenthood funding

Saturday, pro-life supporters marched around Illinois' Governor's Mansion, calling on Republican Governor Bruce Rauner to cut state funding to abortion provider Planned Parenthood.

Thus far, Governor Rauner has not responded to any pro-life groups' calls to investigate the 18 Planned Parenthood clinics throughout the state, nor has he initiated executive action to cut the budget expenditure as his GOP colleagues in others state have.

The pray-ers requests Saturday were not unseemly or outrageous, as the Daily Caller reports nearly 25 other states - including Illinois' neighbors to the north and east - no longer send taxpayer funds to Planned Parenthood clinics.

Click here for the originating article from Illinois Review.

US House votes to defund Planned Parenthood, but not without controversy

Amid continuing controversy over fetal tissue harvesting at abortion clinics, the U.S. House of Representatives voted Friday to defund Planned Parenthood and to reroute funding to community health centers.

“Women have the most to gain from congressional action to reroute these tax dollars to community and rural health centers, which provide comprehensive health care services to women, but do not abort the lives of unborn children and harvest their body parts,” the pro-life political action committee the Susan B. Anthony List said Oct. 23.

The bill also guts key parts of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, including the repeal of the law’s individual health insurance mandate and the employer health insurance mandate. This ultimately drew the opposition of Democratic pro-lifers.

Click here for the originating article from CNA/EWTN News.

Boehner selects GOP panel to probe abortion practices

In what critics say is an attempt to placate conservatives, outgoing House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has announced his picks for the new Select Investigative Panel that will probe the practices of abortion providers like Planned Parenthood.

The new committee will have the resources and subpoena power to “get to the bottom of these horrific practices, and build on our work to protect the sanctity of all human life,” Mr. Boehner said.

The following Republican representatives will make up the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s new investigative panel: Rep. Marsha Blackburn, Chairman (R-TN), Rep. Joe Pitts (R-PA), Rep. Diane Black (R-TN), Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-IN)Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI), Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), Rep. Vicki Hartzler (R-MO), and Rep. Mia Love (R-UT).

Click here for the originating article from Illinois Review.