Abortion contributing to disturbing decline in birth rates

For years, the abortion industry has touted choice, saying women should be able to have children when they are financially secure and ready to parent. The call for “reproductive freedom” has been championed so loudly that now, “[t]he human race is approaching the point where it’s no longer reproducing enough to expand the global headcount,” according to a recent story in Bloomberg, adding, “In the world’s biggest economies — the U.S., China, Japan and Germany — it’s already happening or will soon.” The story points out the population crisis is underpopulation, not overpopulation, as abortion advocates have perpetuated for years.

Of the four largest economies cited as having a declining birthrate, three are notable for their high abortion rates: Japan, China, and the U.S.

Click here for more from Live Action News.

Trump Administration and ACLU back in court in battle over abortions secured by teens illegally in US

The Trump administration and the ACLU were back in court Wednesday, the latest page in a lengthy story over whether the federal government must “facilitate” the abortions of unaccompanied minors who entered the country illegally and are currently in the custody of the Health and Human Services Department’s Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR).

The case at hand began in 2017 when U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan said the legal status of “Jane Doe” was “irrelevant” and that “despite the fact that she’s in this country illegally, she still has constitutional rights.” Judge Chutkan ordered the Trump administration to allow the 16-year-old teenager to have an abortion which she did on October 25, after a series of court battles.

Click here for more from NRL News.

Pro-life groups ask Trump to veto spending bill that funds Planned Parenthood

Despite two years of promises by Congress to defund the nation’s most profitable abortion chain, Planned Parenthood, the latest government funding bill that the legislative body sent to President Trump still contains funding for the wealthy corporation. Several pro-life groups have penned a letter to the president, asking him to veto the bill.

The letter calls on President Trump to keep the pro-life promise he made, which said he would “Defund[] Planned Parenthood as long as they continue to perform abortions, and reallocat[e] their funding to community health centers that provide comprehensive health care for women.” Now, they say, the rubber meets the road as this budget goes before the president.

Click here for more from Live Action News.

Pro-lifers to line highways and byways in the U.S. and Canada for National Life Chain

On the next two Sundays, pro-life advocates in Canada and the United States will gather along roadways and intersections for National Life Chain. National Life Chain Canada is set for September 30, a week earlier than the American event to avoid conflict with Canada’s Thanksgiving weekend.

National Life Chain in the United States is set for October 7.

In a public witness to the sanctity of human life, they will stand and pray silently while holding signs with messages such as “Abortion kills children;” “Adoption the Loving Option;” “Abortion Hurts Women;” “Life the first inalienable right.”

Click here for more on the United States Life Chain.

Click here for more from Life Site News.

‘Unplanned,’ Abby Johnson’s pro-life conversion story, coming to theaters

Eight years ago, former Planned Parenthood clinic director Abby Johnson (pictured) released a book telling the story of her transformation from abortion advocate to pro-life advocate. Now for the first time, Johnson’s conversion is being told in a narrative film, Unplanned, that will hit theaters in March 2019.

The $6 million budget drama was written and directed by God’s Not Dead writer-directors Chuck Konzelman and Cary Solomon, and filmed under the working title Redeemed. Bolstering the creative muscle are producers Daryl Lefever and Joe Knopp, whose latest release, I Can Only Imagine, has grossed more than $83 million on a $7 million budget.

Click here for much more from Live Action News.

HHS feels pressure, ends contract with fetal tissue harvester

In a press release dated September 24, 2018, The Department of Health and Human Services announced that it is terminating its contract with Advanced Bioscience Resources, a fetal tissue procurement company which contracted with multiple Planned Parenthood abortion facilities to harvest aborted fetal body parts to then sell to researchers. ABR was referred for criminal investigation by Congress after a thorough investigation into illegal fetal tissue trafficking in the United States.

The HHS press release states:

After a recent review of a contract between Advanced Bioscience Resources, Inc. and the Food and Drug Administration to provide human fetal tissue to develop testing protocols, HHS was not sufficiently assured that the contract included the appropriate protections applicable to fetal tissue research or met all other procurement requirements. As a result, that contract has been terminated, and HHS is now conducting an audit of all acquisitions involving human fetal tissue to ensure conformity with procurement and human fetal tissue research laws and regulations.

Click here for more from Live Action News.

New Study Offers Financial Opportunity for Pregnancy Center Clients

Researchers at Baylor University are offering $50 Walmart gift cards to expectant mothers and fathers who complete their study over the next few weeks. Conducted by university professors, the study focuses on expectant married couples’ experiences in the workplace with the hope of addressing discrimination they may face.

“As parents ourselves, we were interested in the discrimination that women in the workforce often face while pregnant,” says Dawn Carlson, Ph. D., professor of management at Baylor University. “As such, we designed a study with the goal of understanding what women are experiencing in terms of discrimination both while pregnant and after they return to work, in hopes of helping organizations and policy makers to pursue changes that enhance women’s experiences in the workplace.”

But that’s just the beginning. Carlson and her colleagues also want to hear from expectant fathers.

“While following this path, we also became interested in the role of paternity leave for fathers and its growing popularity in organizations today,” Carlson said. “Thus, we wanted to understand the support needed by men during the pregnancy and return to work process of their wives, again so that organizations might provide a culture for support of this experience.”

Pregnant women in their third trimester and their spouses are eligible to participate in the study. Participants must both be considered full-time employees (30 hours per week or more), be 18 years or older, and reside in the U.S. Participation simply involves completing three online surveys, approximately 20 minutes each, and is completely confidential to the extent allowed by the law.

If both husband and wife complete all three surveys, participants will receive a $50 Walmart gift card.

This opportunity presents yet another way that pregnancy centers can connect clients to financial support, as well as a way to support their clients in the workplace.

Click here for more from NRL News Today.

Pro-life women say they were overlooked by Netflix documentary 'Reversing Roe'

A new Netflix documentary claims to show both sides of the abortion debate in the U.S., but pro-life advocates say the film depicts old stereotypes and ignores the many women leading the modern pro-life movement.

“In so many cases, it is women who are at the forefront of the movement to value and protect every human life. Sadly, that fact was left out of the documentary,” said Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life.

“Had it been included, viewers would have been given the chance to see that the pro-life movement is fundamentally pro-women, because every abortion harms both mother and unborn child,” she said in a statement to CNA.

Click here for more from CNA/EWTN News.

Vice President Pence: White House ‘stands without apology for the sanctity of human life’

The Vice President spoke at the Values Voter Summit in Washington, DC, an annual gathering which draws conservative Christians from around the country. 

“If you look at the last year and a half, this is the most pro-life administration in American history,” continued Pence.  “You know, it was my privilege to be the first sitting vice president to ever address the March for Life.  And earlier this year, President Trump made history when he became the first president to address the March for Life from the Rose Garden live from the White House.”

Click here for more from Life Site News.

Illinois facility halts abortions, continues actual ‘women’s health’ services

Until recently, Women’s Health Practice (WHP) in Champaign —home of to the main campus of the University of Illinois— had been doing abortions up to 24 weeks. But this morning we heard from local pro-life activist Renee Mullen, who informed us that WHP is no longer doing abortions at all! What’s more, all mentions of the word “abortion” appear to have been removed entirely from the Women’s Health Practice website.

WHP had been the site of 40 Days for Life prayer campaigns in the fall of 2017 and the spring of 2018, and Renee had also led a Peace in the Womb Christmas caroling event there in December 2017. When she contacted WHP to ask why they were no longer doing abortions, she was told it was due to “picketers” and that WHP didn’t want “picketers hurting their other business.”

Click here for more from Live Action News.

Congress, pro-life leaders urge government to stop buying aborted babies

Recently, 85 members of Congress, along with a number of pro-life groups, have sent letters to the federal government in opposition of the FDA’s purchase of freshly aborted fetal remains for the purpose of research.

An emailed press release notes that Congressman Chris Smith (R-N.J.), Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.), and Congressman Mark Walker (R-N.C.), along with 82 other members of Congress, are urging FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb to put an end to the contract the FDA has with Advanced Bioscience Resources, a fetal tissue procurement company that was referred for criminal investigation by the House Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives following a lengthy investigation into the illegal trafficking of aborted fetal body parts. The FDA is reportedly paying $15,900 to ABR for “fresh human fetal tissue” used by researchers to make mice with human immune systems.

Click here for more from Live Action News.

Effort to end taxpayer funding for abortions to be appealed to Illinois Supreme Court

The suit over a new Illinois law providing taxpayer funding for abortions will head to the Illinois Supreme Court, after the Illinois Appellate Court upheld Monday the dismissal of a lawsuit seeking an injunction against the measure.

Thomas More Society filed the suit on behalf of hundreds of thousands of Illinois taxpayers, seeking to stop the bill previously known as “House Bill 40” in December 2017. The suit alleges that the Balanced Budget requirement of the Illinois Constitution prohibits the abortion funding, because the General Assembly has not estimated funds available, and that abortion claims from before June 1 are not valid under the Illinois Constitution’s Effective Date of Laws section, which prohibits laws passed after the conclusion of the General Assembly’s regular session from becoming effective before the following June 1. In this case June 1, 2018.

Click here for more from Illinois Review.

A Bill Allowing College Campus Abortions Shows Reckless Disregard for Young Women

SB 320—deceptively titled the “College Student Right to Access Act”—would require public universities with on-campus student health centers to provide abortion pills to young college-aged women by January 1, 2022. If signed, California would be the first state to require access to chemical abortions on-campus, and abortion activists will make SB 320 model legislation for the rest of the country.

Legal abortion has created a pathway for bills like SB 320 that try to reinforce the idea that abortion is healthcare. Elective abortion—the taking of innocent unborn life—should never be considered healthcare, and if anything, legislation like SB 320 shows a reckless disregard for the health of young women and presumes that education and motherhood are not compatible.

Click here for more from the FRC Blog.

The abortion industry is now pushing dangerous home abortions

When the abortion industry speaks about women dying from “home abortions”, they leave out the fact that historically, they were the ones lined up to assist women in obtaining illegal abortions. Today, the trend seems to be continuing. “Abortion AMA: Can I give myself an abortion?” published weeks ago by Bustle and written by Danielle Campoamor, points out that even though abortion is legal in the US, groups like Women Help Women are advising women on “self managed abortions.”

A June 2018 BBC article reported, “By buying pills online and sharing medical advice through WhatsApp groups, women are increasingly turning to technology to sidestep legal barriers to abortion.” Women on Web, an international group that helps women obtain illegal abortions, suggests women lie about complications and tell the doctors they had a miscarriage instead. Despite warnings against purchasing drugs online, activists Francine Coeytaux and Victoria Nichols created the website, PlanC, to push dangerous home abortions.

Click here for more from Live Action News.

Even at Planned Parenthood, legal abortion kills and hurts women

Newly chosen Planned Parenthood president Dr. Leana Wen claims that as an emergency room physician, she saw a patient die from an at-home abortion. In the video announcing her as Planned Parenthood’s new head, Wen says, “I remember seeing a young woman lying on a stretcher pulseless and unresponsive. Because of a home abortion. Because she was too scared to seek medical care. I did everything I could to resuscitate her, but she died….” Wen then speaks glowingly of her new employer, saying, “There is no more important time than now. And no more important organization than Planned Parenthood.”  However, Planned Parenthood, Dr. Wen’s new employer, actually advocates for home abortions and making abortion legal hasn’t made it safe. Not even at Planned Parenthood.

No matter what, any death (mother or child) from abortion (legal or illegal) is tragic. And preventable. But most of us would object to the idea that no organization on the planet is more important than Planned Parenthood.  We may never truly know how many women are dying or injured from so-called “safe and legal” abortions initiated by Planned Parenthood (or other abortion providers), either chemically or surgically, because only half of U.S. states are even required to report abortion complications. Planned Parenthood is the number one abortion provider in the nation, committing more than 320,000 abortions every year, by its own count. Along with that, legal abortion at the abortion corporation has harmed plenty of women — women just like the one Dr. Wen saw in the emergency room.

Click here for much more from Live Action News.

Even an ‘early abortion’ kills a human being… a remarkably developed one

Pro–abortion feminist Jessica Valenti wrote about her two abortions in her book, Sex Object. She had her first abortion in her 20s at a private abortion facility, for which she paid over $1,000. She spent this money because she did not want to wait in the waiting room with other women, and the abortion facility provided her with a cup of tea right before they killed her baby. It was an early abortion, which doesn’t frequently happen.

The nurse at the abortion facility told Valenti that it was best for her not to come in too soon, because an early abortion is not often successful, and the procedure might have to be repeated. In fact, the first attempt at an abortion missed the baby, and Valenti did have to come in for second procedure.

Click here for much more at Live Action News.

In two years, Iowa flips from ‘worse than New York State’ to pro-life

Pro-life advocacy group Life Right Action notes on its website, “In 2010, Iowa had 29 Planned Parenthood locations – most selling dangerous webcam abortions.” Today, only eight remain. And the group shares an encouraging list of other pro-life advances made in the state in the past several years, which has caused the state to “flip” from being one of the most pro-choice to one of the most pro-life in the nation. LRA’s Jennifer Bowen notes that in the past two years alone, many changes have come, writing, “In November 2016, 93 of 99 Iowa counties voted against the pro-abortion presidential candidate, retired 6 pro-abortion senators; flipping the Iowa Senate and maintaining the pro-life House.” She adds:

This resulted in the passage of an historic amount of pro-life legislation in 2017-2018, Iowa moved from “worse than New York State” to one of the most pro-life states in the nation in just two years with the passage of:

-The 20 Week Abortion Ban
-A 72-hour waiting period before an abortion*
-The defunding of abortion providers in our State Family Planning budget
-A first-of-its-kind Safe Haven Expansion Law
-An important ban on the trafficking of unborn baby parts
-The Fetal Heartbeat Bill**
-And the rejection of the Iowa Supreme Court decision allowing parents to sue a doctor for wrongful birth – wrongful life.

Click here for much more from Live Action News.

Despite skewed polls on Roe, new poll proves majority still against abortion

At National Review, Dr. Michael New notes the number of polls that have analyzed Americans’ views on whether Roe v. Wade should remain the law of the land. The problem with those polls is that most, if not all, either didn’t correctly explain what Roe actually did, or explained it incorrectly. (One company was even forced to walk back its poll for telling respondents that overturning Roe v. Wade would make abortion illegal — a complete untruth — rather than returning the decision to individual states to set their own laws on the matter, just as they did prior to Roe.) The best way to tell how Americans feel about abortion is to ask them not about Roe v. Wade, but about abortion itself, says New.

But a poll from Hill.TV and HarrisX, released last week, asked 1000 registered voters “about circumstances in which abortion should be legal.” And as you might imagine, the results were very different than what Roe v. Wade approval polls have purported to show.

Click here for much more from Live Action News.

VIDEO: New Planned Parenthood head spins abortion as ‘health care,’ dodges fact-check on ‘The View’

Newly-minted Planned Parenthood president Leana Wen opened the discussion on 'The View' by hailing the United States’ largest abortion provider as “an organization that for the last 100 years has done more for women’s health than any other.” She repeated the claim from her introductory video that Planned Parenthood supplied her poor family with “basic medical services like cancer screening and family planning” as new immigrants from China.

“And I’m taking on this role in part because I’m a new mother myself. I have a baby who just turned one, and nothing has been more clarifying for me than being a parent,” Wen added. “Because it clarifies my values and what it is that I want to fight for. And what I want to fight for is the same access to health care that everybody should have, that health care should be understood as a human right.” Nobody on the panel asked her to explain how raising a baby reinforced her devotion to an organization that aborts babies.

Click here for much more from Life Site News.

UN disability committee: Abortion ‘prerequisite’ for ‘safeguarding women’s human rights’

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) monitor compliance with their respective human rights treaties by nations who have ratified them. Neither treaty, nor any other global human rights treaty, mentions abortion explicitly, but for decades, treaty monitoring bodies have exerted nonbinding pressure on UN member states to liberalize their abortion laws.

That the committees on the rights of women and persons with disabilities joined together to issue the statement was notable, as there have recently been disputes between UN human rights experts as to whether a prenatal diagnosis of a disability should be considered as a justification for abortion in law. Earlier this year, an event at the UN highlighted the "prenatal genocide" of children with Down Syndrome by abortion.

Click here for more from Life Site News.