Catholic group fighting HHS mandate disappointed exemption still unissued

The US Department of Justice did not drop its appeal of a HHS mandate lawsuit by the Catholic Benefits Association on Monday.

After the US Department of Justice did not drop its appeal of a contraceptive mandate lawsuit by the Catholic Benefits Association on Monday, the group expressed its disappointment.  “It is disappointing that that process hasn’t moved forward. It does seem to be stalled currently,” Douglas Wilson, CEO of the Catholic Benefits Association, told CNA Tuesday.

While the mandate ordered employers to provide cost-free coverage in their employee health plans for contraceptives, sterilizations, and abortion-inducing drugs, the government offered an “accommodation” to non-profits that conscientiously objected to complying with the mandate. They would notify the government or the third party administrator of their plan of their objection, and their administrator would then provide the coverage to the employees.

Many non-profits, including the Archdiocese of Washington and the Little Sisters of the Poor, claimed that this “accommodation” still forced them to cooperate with morally-objectionable practices.

Click here for more from CNA/EWTN News

Trump appoints pro-life governor Gov. Sam Brownback to protect freedom worldwide

President Trump has appointed one of the most pro-life and pro-natural marriage advocates to an ambassadorship designed to protect the rights of religious people the world over.

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback is Trump's pick for a religious persecution watchdog post called "Ambassador for Religious Freedom." Brownback will lead the Office of International Religious Freedom, under the State Department, which monitors how people of religion are treated across the globe.

Click here for more from LifeSiteNews

Billionaire’s surprising tweet: World headed toward collapse without more children

When billionaire Elon Musk (the Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder) tweeted about population growth earlier this month, some of his more than 10 million Twitter followers assumed he was lamenting “overpopulation.”

However, Musk’s message was that some of the world’s countries are not replacing themselves in population and they are in danger of demographic collapse.  In saying so, he inadvertently communicated to his sizable audience what the pro-life movement has said for years: The problem is NOT that we’re having too many kids.

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Culture of death out, culture of life in

Dennis Rima, a spokesman for Clarity Clinic, told American Family Radio personality JJ Jasper that the clinic has experienced so much growth in its programs related to sexual purity, parenting, and post-abortion healing, that additional space is needed to accommodate its influx of clients.

Rima explained that when their lease was due to expire, they located another building to purchase – a Planned Parenthood facility in Dubuque.

According to Rima, they knew such a purchase "would be a big leap of faith financially," but they also knew they could close the abortion facility. Representatives of the abortion provider had stated it would continue to operate and provide services until somebody bought their building.

After a period of prayer, Clarity Clinic board members voted to purchase the building.

Click here for more from OneNewsNow

Unborn babies can detect different languages, new study says

A new study from researchers at Kansas University has found that unborn babies are able to distinguish between different languages as early a month before they are born.

The study found that unborn children, at an average of 8 months in the womb, are able to distinguish the difference between someone speaking in English and someone speaking Japanese, even if the languages were being spoken by the same person.

Two dozen pregnant American women and their in-utero babies took part in the study conducted by a team from KU’s Department of Linguistics, and published in the journal NeuroReport.

Click here for more from CNA/EWTN News

Vision 2020 - Week 25 - Sen. Neil Anderson (R) and Sen. Jason A. Barickman (R)

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 6:12

Will you step up to be a guardian of our cities and our state through your prayers?

Will you be the prayer warrior that Illinois is so greatly in need of today?

Vision 2020 and the Illinois Federation for Right to Life would like to invite you to join us in praying for our state legislators.  We will send out information about a couple different state representatives each week for you to pray over.

Consider sharing this information with your ministry partners, your church family, on your website and/or your Facebook page.

We know that prayer changes things.  And we know that NOTHING is impossible with God. So let's join our hearts and voices together and petition heaven on behalf of the great state of Illinois!

Some of our legislators need prayer that God will open their eyes and change their hearts (or move them out of their positions) and some need prayers that they will have the strength, courage and boldness to be able to stand firmly against the opposition as they fight for life and family values.

Abortion activist files restraining order against priest she hit with her car

The abortion facility volunteer who almost ran over a Catholic priest with her car while fleeing the scene after attempting to steal pro-life signs has filed for a restraining order against the priest.

In a move pro-life advocates say is part of a concerted tactic by the abortion lobby, Michelle Davis filed for a civil stalking protection order against Father Joseph Klee, a priest of the Diocese of Columbus, in June.

Click here for more from LifeSiteNews

U.S. warned: U.N. could spur Charlie Gard death cases in U.S.

Right before the tragic death of 11-month-old Charlie Gard in a United Kingdom hospice Friday, a sober warning was issued to President Donald Trump by a group of parental rights legal experts – alerting him that United Nations policies could soon sway court rulings in the United States … effectively sentencing terminally ill children to an early death.

After examining at the rationale and influence behind the tragic decision, the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) is pleading with Trump to break America free from the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, as the Christian legal experts on parental rights warned that the such legislation strips away the ability of parents to decide what is best for their children – essentially handing it over to the government.

“The Charlie Gard situation highlights the stark difference between our national values and those of internationalists who believe that government bureaucrats and the courts should decide how children should be raised – and even whether a life is worth living,” HSLDA attorneys explained in their letter to the White House, noting that the Clinton administration signed the convention, but Senate never signed it. “[The international strategy] elevates government bureaucrats over parents in deciding what is in a child’s ‘best interests.’ It is this same standard that has enabled bureaucrats and courts in the United Kingdom to overrule the wishes of Charlie Gard’s own parents.”

Click here for more from OneNewsNow

Abortion-Expanding Obamacare to Remain Law for Now

In the early hours of Friday morning, in a stunning blow, 3 Republican Senators, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), Sen. Murkowski (R-Ak), and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), joined with all of the Democrats ending the current attempt to move away from the abortion-expanding Obama Health Care law.

The so-called “skinny bill” would have defunded abortion giant Planned Parenthood for one year and would likely have gone to conference where further pro-life modifications might have been made.

While there have been numerous stops and starts, Congressional Leadership and the White House have both signaled that they would like to move on to other items for the short term.

Click here for more from National Right to Life

Little Charlie Gard has died

Charlie Gard died July 28th.

“’Our beautiful little boy has gone, we are so proud of you Charlie,” said his mom, Connie Yates, who with Chris Gard fought an unresponsive judiciary and determined hospital which steadfastly refused their plea to permit them to take their own son to the United States for experimental therapy.

We know Charlie was taken to an undisclosed hospice, presumably in London. In his ruling Justice Nicholas Francis made it clear Thursday that Charlie’s ventilator would be quickly disconnected and that Charlie would “inevitably” die soon.

“Charlie’s Army” consisted of many more than those who contributed nearly $2 million online to defray expenses. The support voiced by Pope Francis and President Trump helped galvanize world-wide concern about a case which, at its most fundamental, turned on the question who decides what is in a child’s “best interests,” a hospital, a judge, or a child’s parents?

Click here for more from National Right to Life

US Senate again fails to defund Planned Parenthood, repeal Obamacare

The U.S. Senate voted 51 to 49 to reject a "skinny" repeal of Obamacare and defund Planned Parenthood in the early hours of the morning on July 28.

The "skinny" repeal of Obamacare would have effectively ended individual and employer mandates to purchase health insurance. It also would have defunded Planned Parenthood, America's largest abortion provider.

Click here for more from LifeSiteNews

NRLC urges Senate to extend Hyde Protections to the Senate Bill’s Tax Credit

National Right to Life urges adoption of Amendment no. 389 from Sen. Luther Strange related to extending Hyde Protections to the Senate Bill’s Tax Credit provisions.

The Better Care Reconciliation Act contains several essential elements that mark a substantial improvement from the Obama Health Care Law. The bill creates a “State Stability and Innovation Program” which will bring many changes to both the private market and to plans eligible for tax credits. The “State Stability and Innovation Program” contains protections wherein plans that utilize these important dollars cannot cover elective abortion. Because the “State Stability and Innovation Program” is seated in the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), it is currently prohibited from paying for elective abortion – and this prohibition is part of the program permanently.

CBO estimated that plans utilizing the “State Stability and Innovation Program” funds will have premiums that are 20-30% lower than those plans not utilizing the funds. It is likely that the cost pressure to access these funds will have the practical effect of making abortion-containing plans far more expensive and highly undesirable. However undesirable and expensive, plans eligible for tax credits could still continue to legally cover abortion.

If the Hyde protections are struck from the bill’s tax credit provision, this amendment from Sen. Strange would ensure that all plans eligible for tax credits would be subject to the SCHIP Hyde protections already in law. The amendment would direct premium assistance through SCHIP’s stability fund. Sen. Strange’s amendment no. 389, would keep the tax credits, but reduce the amount of subsidy to 10% of their existing amount, and direct funds through the “State Stability and Innovation Program” at an amount of 90% of what the credits would have been.

Importantly, that 90% match for premium assistance through SCHIP would be subject to SCHIP’s existing Hyde protections.

Click here for more from National Right to Life

Planned Parenthood VP admits brutal abortion methods, shady legal loophole

A new video from the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) shows a Planned Parenthood vice president discussing how a "checkbox" allows abortionists to declare their compliance with the law banning partial-birth abortion and then do the procedure as they wish.

Dr. Suzie Prabhakaran, the Vice President of Medical Affairs for Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida, explained to CMP investigators posing as fetal tissue buyers the standard practice of abortionists who don't use digoxin. Digoxin is a chemical injected into the human in the womb to kill him or her. It stops the baby's heart from beating. The baby is then removed from the mother's womb. But, if digoxin is used in an abortion, it prevents the baby from being harvested.



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US Senate votes to NOT defund Planned Parenthood, repeal Obamacare

Yesterday, the U.S. Senate voted 55 to 45 to reject the repealing of Obamacare and defunding of Planned Parenthood.  The vote was on an amendment to the American Healthcare Act (AHCA) that would swap the AHCA with a simple repeal of Obamacare. The AHCA outlines some provisions "replacing" Obamacare.

The vote doesn't mean that the Senate still won't end up repealing (and possibly replacing) Obamacare and defunding Planned Parenthood. The process of Senate debate over the AHCA – and introductions of various amendments to it – will carry on throughout the week. However, today's vote showed which Republicans flip-flopped on their opposition to Obamacare.

Click here for more from LifeSiteNews

Charlie will not be allowed to go home to die, Justice Rules

After many public (and private) back and forths between the family and the Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), Justice Francis announced unless an agreement can be reached for alternative arrangements by noon on Thursday (6am Eastern Standard Time), Charlie will be transferred to a hospice and his ventilator disconnected.

Connie and Chris have asked, through their attorney Grant Armstrong, to spend four days of ‘tranquility’ with their son before withdrawing his life support. GOSH was having none of that.

GOSH attorneys fixated on the idea that Charlie’s ventilator couldn’t make it through the front door of Connie and Chris’s flat. But that was just for starters. According to the Daily Mail

The court heard the hospital was insisting a ‘full team’ of paediatric intensive care doctors and nurses would be needed, along with a ‘health and safety assessment’, a special bed and ‘security personnel and a police escort’ to take Charlie home.

For one 11 month old baby who is dying.

The Daily Mail quoted a family friend:

‘The hospital have set the bar so high that in terms of clinical team for Charlie’s end of life nothing seemed good enough for GOSH.

‘The reality is Charlie is very stable, not in pain and rarely needs a doctor. It is therefore difficult to understand why Charlie could not die at home.

Click here for more from National Right to Life

Pro-life politicians need more encouragement and less negativity

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell

There is a tremendous amount of momentum and new resolve in the pro-life movement, building on the 2016 election victories and the continued victories in the special elections held in recent months.

But in some pro-life circles, a certain political cynicism raises its ugly head, and it is dangerous to our mission. When things don’t happen quickly enough, our pro-life congressmen and senators are accused of being cowardly, traitorous or lazy politicians. We often say, in regard to passing pro-life legislation, that we need to put pressure on those we elected and “hold their feet to the fire.” While it is true that our legislators are accountable to us, the people they represent, we need to avoid an attitude of distrust, doubt, and expectant failure. We are the ones who put these people in office, and before we talk about their feet, we should talk about their arms. As Aaron and Hur held up Moses’ arms during a battle in which the Israelites were engaged, so must we "hold up the arms" of our elected lawmakers. As long as Aaron and Hur continued to support Moses, the Israelites were winning. But as soon as they dropped their support, they started losing. The victory was dependent on their active support. And support is not passive or automatic.

We, too, need to support our elected officials. When we elect them, we willingly share in the burden of their responsibility. We do not vote them in and then take a back seat and watch what they can do for us. Our government is by the people and for the people. That means we need to be directly involved and be ready to stand with them actively in any pro-life battle rather than take a judgmental attitude toward them. We affirm pro-life members of Congress by actively backing them up. This is not a dynamic of "them" against "us." We are in this together. When they succeed, we succeed. In engaging a positive spirit to affirm them, we affirm ourselves, and the fact that our votes make a difference. And they do.

Click here for more from Priests for Life via LifeSiteNews

'Rolling abortionist' in heaps of trouble

James Pendergraft's medical license has been suspended five times. Operation Rescue's Cheryl Sullenger says the abortionist was arrested in October 2015 for operating a home abortion service from his van in South Carolina.

"That's a problem for several reasons," the pro-life explains. "One, he's not even licensed to practice [medicine] in South Carolina – and he was also caught in possession of several illegal narcotics that were used to sedate women for abortions. He was also caught with marijuana and LSD."

Arresting officers also found instruments used to terminate preborn babies and containers of aborted babies. He has been indicted on ten charges. His trial is expected to begin later this week.

Click here for more from OneNewsNow

New legal dispute between Charlie Gard’s parents, hospital

A British court is expected to settle a new legal dispute between Charlie Gard’s parents and the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London.

On July 24, the parents withdrew their appeal for permission to try experimental treatment for their child after concluding that any realistic chance of successful treatment had passed. They have asked that they be allowed to bring their child home during his final days.

The hospital, however, insists that it is “not practical to provide the level of life-support treatment to Charlie at the couple’s London home,” according to a BBC report, as a ventilator cannot fit through the front door. The hospital seeks to place the infant in a hospice.

Click here for more from Catholic World News

For more information you may also wish to read Charlie Gard: Judge to decide where baby's life will end (BBC)

The Senate Votes to Begin Debate on Repealing Obamacare

Tuesday afternoon the Senate voted 51-50 in favor of a motion to proceed to begin debate on repealing major provisions of Obamacare. 50 Republicans voted in favor of the motion while all 50 Democrats along with Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) voted against.

In dramatic fashion, Sen. John McCain (R-Az.) unexpectedly returned to Washington, fresh on the heels of a surgery and cancer diagnosis. Additionally, Vice President Mike Pence was required to come to the floor to break the tie.

The Senate now will begin debate and has the chance to protect life by moving away from multiple destructive abortion provisions of Obamacare. Heavy work lies ahead, with multiple substitutes and amendments forthcoming.

There will be an initial period of 20 hours of debate, followed by an open amendment process. If this effort fails, Obamacare remains, along with its abortion-expanding provisions.

Click here for more from National Right to Life

As Senate health care vote nears, will pro-life provisions be included?

As the Senate prepares to vote later today to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, pro-life leaders are working to ensure pro-life language is included in the final version of the bill voted on.

“There is no reason for private non-governmental organizations, like Planned Parenthood, to receive millions of dollars every year in taxpayer money. I will keep working with my colleagues to include pro-life provisions in the healthcare bill because abortion is not healthcare,” Senator James Lankford (R-Okla.) said.

The Senate is set to vote Tuesday on repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, although it has not been announced which replacement bill will ultimately be voted on.

However, there are concerns that the final legislation voted on in the Senate will not include pro-life provisions.

Click here for more from CNA Daily News