December 24, 2020
December 23, 2020
University of Pittsburgh used Skin from Scalps of Aborted Children to Study Infection in "Humanized" Mice
Due to the recent controversy surrounding the development and production of some COVID-19 vaccines, pro-life advocates have taken a closer look at how body parts harvested from aborted children are used in research. One disturbing study that was published by the University of Pittsburgh in September used tissue harvested from aborted children to test how the organs of "humanized" mice would respond to staph infection.
Because it is unethical to purposefully infect people with diseases in order to study them, University of Pittsburgh researchers instead obtained "full-thickness human skin," spleens, lymphatic tissue, and other immune system cells harvested from aborted children. The skin was harvested from the backs and scalps of children aborted between the gestational ages of 18 and 20 weeks.
While it may be unethical to purposefully infect others, abortion is also unethical. Two wrongs in this scenario do not make a right.
The pictures below show human hair and skin growing on the backs of mice twelve weeks after the cells from aborted babies were transplanted.
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| photo from study published on Nature |
Pro-life advocate Dr. Stacy Trasancos, Ph.D. wrote for the National Catholic Register about this study as well as two others that involved cells harvested from unborn children. Click here to read more from that article.
Rep. Gabbard Introduces Legislation to Protect Pain-Capable Unborn Children
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| Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) photo credit: Gage Skidmore / Flickr |
Democrats for Life of America thanked Rep. Gabbard on Facebook for introducing a second pro-life bill. “Former Democratic Presidential Candidate Tulsi Gabbard introduced her SECOND Pro-Life bill this week, which would amend Title 18 of the U.S. code to give pain-capable fetuses rights under the law. Tulsi has previously voted against this bill three times, but is now the SPONSOR of the new bill.”
There are times in the past during which Tulsi Gabbard held a 100% pro-abortion voting record, but Gabbard has advocated for some restrictions on abortion, especially during the third trimester.
December 22, 2020
Federal Court Allows Arkansas Dismemberment Abortion Ban to Take Effect
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| photo credit: Bill Oxford / Unsplash |
Among the pro-life measures that Arkansas can now enforce are a ban on sex-selective abortions, regulations on the preservation and disposal of aborted children's remains, a ban on "dilation and evacuation" abortions (which involve the dismemberment of unborn children), and a requirement that abortionists notify the police where abortion patients under 14 years old reside.
The Associated Press reported that the laws could take effect as soon as Dec. 22.
Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin Fights Pro-life Laws in Federal Court
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| photo credit: American Life League / Flickr |
The laws in question also require a patient seeking an abortion to see a doctor on two separate appointments before having an abortion procedure, and that patients receive abortion pill prescriptions directly from a doctor.
By having these laws overturned, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin would be able to have midwives and nurses give prescriptions and commit abortions without a doctor being present.
Tanya Atkinson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, told Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR), “Planned Parenthood Wisconsin is challenging these restrictions because they do interfere with a person’s ability to make their own health care decisions and make it more difficult to access the care they need.”
She also told WPR that Planned Parenthood would offer abortions at more of its facilities if the pro-life laws are overturned. Currently, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin only offers abortion at three of its 21 facilities in the state, and abortions are only completed by part-time physicians.
Julaine Appling, president of Wisconsin Family Action, argued that having these laws overturned would put women at risk. “We believe this is a dangerous road for the state to go down,” she said. “Medical abortion [the abortion pill] is not without risk. If Planned Parenthood prevails, and they open up all of their sites to do these, women will suffer from that, and certainly their unborn children will be killed because of the courts.”
December 21, 2020
Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Vermont Hospital for Forcing Nurse to Participate in Elective Abortion
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Wednesday that it filed a civil lawsuit in federal court against a Vermont hospital for forcing a nurse to participate in an elective abortion against her will in 2018.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) investigated the incident at the University of Vermont Medical Center (UVMMC) and came to the conclusion in August 2019 that the hospital had forced a nurse to participate in an abortion against her will. At that time, it filed a notice of violation against the hospital for violating the Church Amendments, a statute that prohibits health care entities from discriminating against health care workers who refuse to participate in abortions as a matter of conscience.
The DOJ alleged in the new lawsuit that UVMMC has not updated its policy to comply with the Church Amendments since the incident, and they are seeking for a federal court to acknowledge the violation and force UVMMC to change its policy.
An excerpt from a DOJ press release reads:
"The United States’ complaint alleges that UVMMC violated the Church Amendments when it chose intentionally and willfully to discriminate against a nurse who plainly made her objection to participating in abortions based on her religious beliefs or moral convictions known to UVMMC. Despite knowing of her objection, UVMMC deliberately scheduled this nurse to assist with an elective abortion while deceptively misleading her to believe the procedure did not involve abortion. Once the deceived nurse entered the procedure room she learned the true nature of the procedure. After she reiterated her objection, UVMMC refused to find a non-objecting nurse to take over, effectively forcing the nurse to continue assisting in the abortion (or abandon the patient) despite her well-known religious objection. This example makes up just part of UVMMC’s ongoing pattern, practice, and policy of discriminating against health care providers who believe that the performance, or the assistance in the performance, of abortions is contrary to their religious beliefs or moral convictions."
HHS to Block $200 Million in Medicaid Funding to California in Response to Abortion Coverage Mandate
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| Roger Severino, Office of Civil Rights Director at the Department of Health and Human Services |
Unless California starts complying with the Weldon Amendment, which bans state and local governments from discriminating against entities that don't pay for abortions, the state will withhold $200 million per quarter starting on Jan. 1, 2020.
The OCR found California in violation of the amendment on January 24, 2020. Health plan issuers in the state were being forced to fully cover the cost of all abortions or be banned by California from issuing any insurance plans there. The HHS warned California at that time that it would face consequences unless it complied, but has refused to do so for 11 months now.
“Entities that receive HHS funds should think twice before flouting federal law and refusing to come into compliance. As a result of our actions today, California will be losing $200 million in federal funds per quarter […],” said Roger Severino, OCR Director. “Whatever one thinks of the legality of abortion, no one should be punished for declining to pay for or assist in the taking of human life.”
December 18, 2020
Pro-Lifer Testifies to Congressional Subcommittee Discussing End of Hyde Amendment
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| Screenshot from House Appropriations Committee video |
The Hyde Amendment has been attached to every spending bill Congress has passed for decades, and its purpose is to prevent federal tax dollars from being used to fund abortion. Pro-abortion legislators are threatening to end the Hyde Amendment by arguing that it prevents poor women from having abortions that wealthier women can access. With the same logic, these lawmakers argue that the Hyde Amendment is inherently racist. Arguments over this topic started earlier this year, even holding up a federal stimulus bill to which pro-abortion lawmakers refused to add Hyde Amendment language.
Bennett was the only person to give pro-life testimony last week, but she was able to cover several different reasons why government funding of abortion is unethical.
Afterward, Bennett spoke Live Action about several of the arguments she made in her written and spoken testimony. Among them were how government-funded abortions enabled sex-traffickers and abusers to coerce women into abortion who otherwise may not have chosen to abort, how abortion disproportionately ends the lives of minority unborn children, and how unethical practices of the abortion industry would be rewarded by simply paying it with tax dollars.
“This is a government that has had so many abuses against people of color, and to think that on top of that, it’s going to fund abortion!” Bennett wrote in her written testimony to the subcommittee, “[It is] at the least irresponsible and at the most sinister to allow the federal government with a history of eugenics, slavery, Jim Crow laws, and other forms of systemic racism to pay for-profit organizations to end the lives of the vulnerable.”
Federal Judge Denies Trump Administration's Request to Enforce Abortion Pill Regulations Again
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| photo credit: Joe Gratz / Flickr |
In August, Chuang went even further by allowing people to purchase abortion pills both online and in pharmacies without ever seeing a doctor in-person.
Also in August, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to stay Chuang's motion on the basis that “judges are not to second-guess how officials address public health concerns,” but the court chose not to rule on the merits of the injunction. Instead, it simply asked the government to “dissolve, modify, or stay the injunction, including on the ground that relevant circumstances have changed,” and for the District Court to rule again after receiving a renewed motion from the Trump administration.
On December 9, Chuang denied the Trump administration's renewed motion. The administration argued that because some states were relaxing their restrictions and the medical community had made progress on both treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, there should be a stay or dissolution on Chuang's injunction. Chuang disagreed, calling these arguments “premature.”
“Accordingly, while the progress on vaccines and medical treatments for COVID-19 are cause for optimism and may advance the day that the Preliminary Injunction will no longer be warranted, the impact of these advances to date has not meaningfully altered the current health risks and obstacles to women seeking medication abortions. The Court therefore finds that these factors do not materially alter the likelihood of success on the merits or warrant a stay or dissolution of the injunction at the present time.”
In situations where an unborn child has surpassed the gestational age at which an abortion via the abortion pill regimen is no longer safe, or the mother has an ectopic pregnancy which would pose an even greater risk to the mother if she were to take the abortion pill regimen, REMS safety requirements can be lifesaving. By continuing to prevent the FDA from enforcing these guidelines, Judge Chuang is increasing the risk that the abortion pill has to injure or kill women in addition to their unborn children.
December 17, 2020
Massachusetts Gov. Baker Line Vetoes Abortion Expansions in Budget Bill
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| Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker (R) |
UPDATE: The Massachusetts House of Representatives and Senate both voted Wednesday to reject all of Gov. Baker's line vetoes. With the margins of those votes, they could override even a full veto from the governor. The story below was written before these developments.
Last Friday, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker signed off on the state's 2021 budget bill, but he line-vetoed several parts that would have expanded abortion. He took issue with the expansion of late-term abortions and the allowance of 16 and 17-year-olds to obtain abortions without the consent of their parents.
Massachusetts Citizens for Life (MCFL) Executive Director Patricia Stewart, while frustrated with parts of the legislation that he accepted, thanked the governor for taking the stance he did. “Although there remains much in this bill with which to take issue, we thank Governor Baker for the common sense recommendation to raise the age for consent to abortion to 18.”
C.J Williams with MCFL wrote, “He retained the section permitting abortion at and after 24 weeks in cases of so-called ‘fatal fetal abnormalities,’ even though that term is ambiguous and not defined in the bill and opens the door to fatal error.”
Pro-lifers and Gov. Baker have all expressed frustration that this policy was mixed with the state's annual budget.
“I do share some of the unhappiness that was raised by a number of members of the Republican Party — that putting policy in the budget was something that both leaders in the House and Senate said they would not do,” said Gov. Baker. “And it’s pretty hard to argue that this isn’t a major policy initiative that is now in the budget.”
Legislators can either accept the governor's changes, amend the bill further, or attempt to override his veto with a two-thirds vote in both houses. The House of Representatives could override his veto with the same votes the budget had when it passed.
New Pennsylvania Shutdown Exempts Abortion Businesses
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| Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf (D) |
The governor's forces businesses such as gyms and theaters to close their doors. Restaurants, much like in Illinois, are required to resort to outdoor-dining and takeout orders if they are to operate at all. Abortion clinics are allowed to continue business as usual, however, receiving special treatment from Gov. Wolf.
It is presumed that for five months starting near the end of February and ending in July, the state Health Department did not inspect abortion facilities at all, since the department's website does not show inspection reports for any of that time. Pro-life advocates are concerned that this new lockdown might once again mean that abortion clinics are not held accountable to Pennsylvania's health standards.
Earlier this year, Gov. Wolf also vetoed a bill that would have expanded telemedicine in the state because it would have banned tele-abortion.
December 16, 2020
Stanton Healthcare CEO Calls on Pro-Life Pregnancy Clinics to Resist HHS if Xavier Becerra Mandates Abortion Referrals
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| California Attorney General Xavier Becerra photo credit: Gage Skidmore / Flickr |
Stanton Healthcare, which has a branch in southern California, has dealt with Xavier Becerra during his time as Attorney General for the state. Becerra attempted to compel pro-life pregnancy centers to refer patients to abortion clinics using the force of law. In NIFLA v. Becerra, the Supreme Court ruled that this kind of compelled speech violated the rights of pro-life pregnancy centers, but a "packed" court could potentially change this stance. The original vote only protected the rights of pro-life clinics by a 5-4 vote.
In a statement from Stanton Healthcare, Swindell said:
"AG Becerra has a track record of working against life-affirming women's medical clinics like Stanton. How do we judge future behavior? By past behavior.
"If he is confirmed, it will be a nightmare for women's health. We strongly urge the Senate to oppose the confirmation of AG Becerra and to do everything within their power to protect pregnancy centers and clinics.
"I want to make it clear as the Founder and CEO of Stanton Healthcare: if Becerra becomes the HHS Secretary, our Stanton Healthcare clinics will never refer for abortions regardless of any mandates set forth by HHS. We will not comply. We would risk arrest, jail time, and fines to defend our right to provide quality compassionate, medically-accurate care to the clientele we serve. And we encourage pregnancy centers and clinics across the nation to refuse to be intimidated into compliance with abortion referrals. Now is the time for us to fight and stand like never before."
New Data Shows Abortion Businesses Took Millions in PPP Funding Despite Booming Business
It was discovered in May that Planned Parenthood affiliates had received more than $80 million in loans, but those loans were canceled by the Small Business Administration (SBA). Planned Parenthood was supposed to be excluded from those loans since it classified itself as a non-profit with over 500 employees, and it upset many that the largest abortion business in the country had successfully taken millions of dollars from the limited PPP loans available to small businesses.
Alison Dreith, the deputy director of the abortion business Hope Clinic for Women in Granite City, IL, told CBS News in April that “women are now less likely to change their minds once they schedule an abortion. Normally, 50% go through with it; amid the pandemic, the rate is 85%.” Abortion clinics have been allowed to remain open in Illinois, even as other businesses have been forced to shut down, many of which have closed permanently. At the same time, Hope Clinic received over $150,000 in PPP funding.
The SBA disclosed in July only the names of businesses that received $150,000 or more in PPP loans, but it did give the exact amounts of the grants or the names of businesses that received less than $150,000. After major media outlets filed a lawsuit, the SBA recently released more complete data.
Secular Pro-Life analyzed this newly released data compiled a list of abortion businesses and lobbying groups that took loans, as well as how much funding they received. Below is a selection of Illinois abortion businesses from that list.
Access Health Center in Downers Grove, IL received $64,155.
Hope Clinic for Women in Granite City, IL received $151,935. Hope Clinic hospitalized two women in October.
Michigan Avenue Center for Health in Chicago, IL received $28,012. The grant was approved on May 1, 2020. Less than three months later, Michigan Avenue for Health hospitalized a teenage girl.
Women's Aid Center in Chicago, IL received $90,000.
December 15, 2020
Visa and Mastercard Blocked Payments to Pornhub for Enabling Sexual Crimes. Now it's Blocking Millions of Videos in a Desperate Attempt to Survive.
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| photo credit: Ivan Radic / Flickr |
Pornhub is guilty of enabling sex trafficking and rape through its website. It
doesn't require people who upload videos on the site to confirm the age of the
people portrayed in their videos, nor whether they gave consent to the sexual
acts shown. The organization Exodus Cry, which fights against child and sex trafficking, created a short video explaining how Pornhub
enables and profits from these crimes.
In response to allegations that the company profits from the sexual exploitation of others, both Mastercard and Visa announced last week that they would be blocking payments from their cards to the website. Mastercard has suggested
that it has permanently blocked the use of its cards on the website, while
Visa says that its cards are suspended while the company completes a more thorough investigation. American Express told the Associated Press last week
that its cards were already blocked from usage on "digital adult content
websites."
Mastercard told the Daily Caller
that it had already completed an investigation which “confirmed violations of
our standards prohibiting unlawful content” on Pornhub.
On Dec. 14,
VICE reported
that Pornhub has taken a dramatic move to remove all non-verified content on
the website from public access. The website, which previously hosted roughly
13.5 million videos, seems to have blocked over 10 million videos in this
process.
After victims of sexual violence are forced or manipulated to commit sexual
acts against their wills, they are often similarly pushed toward abortions.
The actions that financial institutions are taking against Pornhub and its
Canadian parent company MindGeek are doing far more than the Canadian or American governments have ever done to hold the pornography giant accountable for the role it has played
in enabling sex-trafficking.
Manhattan Planned Parenthood Hospitalizes Fifth Woman this Year
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| photo credit: Operation Rescue |
Near 11:000 a.m. on Dec. 8, pro-life activists witnessed emergency medical workers enter the facility before exiting with a woman on a gurney. She was completely covered with a sheet. After the workers loaded her into an ambulance, they drove about a block away before turning on their sirens. This practice is often requested by abortion businesses that are trying to avoid negative press or that don't want to scare women from having abortions.
Until recently, the Manhattan Planned Parenthood clinic was called the Margaret Sanger Center, after the abortion giant's founder. Margaret Sanger's name was removed from the clinic earlier this year after the company come under fire for the systemic racism of its past. Sanger was well-known for her racist policy of encouraging abortion among the black population specifically so she could reduce the reproduction of genes that she felt were bad for society.
December 14, 2020
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard Introduces House Bill to Protect Abortion Survivors
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| Rep. Tulsi Gabbard photo credit: Gage Skidmore / Flickr |
The latter of these is titled H.R. 8939. The legislation would “amend title 18, United States Code, to protect pain-capable unborn children.”
Gabbard's record shows that she consistently voted in favor of abortion, but she has also drawn ire from many pro-abortion activists for wanting to restrict abortion during the third trimester.
Democrats for Life of America praised the legislation and started a petition in support of Gabbard's bill.
“It is critical to give federal protection to fully developed, born babies who survive an abortion attempt,” the petition reads. “There are at least 300 documented instances of babies surviving abortion: a lot estimate, given reporting is not mandatory. Often, these babies are left by an abortionist to die, rather than being provided the necessary oxygen, fluids, and surgery they may need to survive.”
December 11, 2020
Planned Parenthood Calls on Biden to "hit the ground running" with Pro-Abortion Actions
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| Joe Biden photo credit: Gage Skidmore / Flickr |
Planned Parenthood President Alexis McGill Johnson told Newsweek that Planned Parenthood is pushing Biden to “hit the ground running day one” with pro-abortion actions. “The first thing we would like to see would be an executive order on day one, within the first 100 days, that demonstrates the administration’s commitment to sexual and reproductive health care,” she said.
She went on to say that Planned Parenthood wants to not only have Title X guidelines instated under President Trump to be lifted, but it also wants Title X funding increased from $280 million to nearly a billion dollars per year.
President Trump enacted rules for Title X which prevented funding recipients from providing abortion, referring patients to abortion, or cohabitating with businesses that provide abortion. Rather than comply with these rules, Planned Parenthood instead chose to leave the program and walk away from $60 million in federal taxpayer funding.
Johnson told Newsweek that Planned Parenthood is also keeping a close watch on who Biden is choosing to appoint for various federal positions. The abortion giant has reached out to the Biden team to recommend nearly 200 people for these positions. “We know that personnel is policy,” she said. “So we’re making sure that those positions are filled with sexual and reproductive health champions.”
Ohio Legislature Passes Bill Requiring Burial or Cremation of Aborted Children
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| Ohio State Capitol photo credit: Jim Bowen / Flickr |
Women who have their children aborted will have the ability to decide whether they would like the remains of their child to be buried or cremated, but the abortion facility must choose an option of the mother does not.
Abortion businesses will be required to pay for these expenses and must maintain documentation of the cremation and burial of the aborted children.
If an abortion business knowingly fails to comply with this bill, it would be guilty of a first-degree misdemeanor. The woman whose child is aborted would never be liable for this charge.
Ohio Right to Life President Mike Gonidakis gave a statement applauding the bill's passage:
“Whether pro-life or pro-choice, everyone should be able to agree that the bodies of babies should never be thrown into the trash. The unborn victims of abortion deserve the same basic decency that we afford to all humans: a dignified burial. The passing of Senate Bill 27 will make that simple request a reality. Although we look forward to the day when we no longer have to lay to rest the broken bodies of Ohio’s abortion victims, we are proud to say that our state has taken another step towards recognizing not only the humanity of the unborn, but of ourselves as well.”
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is expected to sign the bill into law.
December 10, 2020
CDC Abortion Surveillance Report and Late-Term Abortions
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| photo credit: Jim Rush / Flickr |
The report, which includes statistics for the year 2018, reveals that abortions killed 50,000 unborn children who had developed for 14 weeks or more. Almost 6,200 of those deaths were children who had reached 21 weeks gestation. Children who developed to that gestational age have survived birth and developed healthily with proper medical aid.
The CDC also noted a four percent increase in the number of late-term abortions between 2016 and 2018. Both the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute and the CDC agree that abortions completed on unborn children at 21 weeks gestation or later comprise 1-1.3% of all reported abortions.
Using this information, Live Action estimated that 6,196 late-term abortions occurred in states that choose to report abortion data to the CDC. This number would be lower than the actual total, since California, Washington D.C., Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, and Wyoming did not meet reporting standards for the 2018 report.
Wisconsin Law Banning Non-Doctors from Performing Abortions Challenged in Court
Planned Parenthood wants to allow nurses and other employees to administer abortion pills to women, but the current law prevents them from legally doing so. According to Right to Life Wisconsin, Planned Parenthood only performs abortions at four of its 24 clinics in the state. If the law is struck down, abortion would be available at all 24 clinics and the abortion business says it will open at least two more clinics in the state.
“We cannot overstate how significant this case is,” shares Kristen Nupson, legislative director of Wisconsin Right to Life. “It has been heartbreaking and disappointing to watch today’s trial unfold. Thousands of human lives are at stake, and yet these Planned Parenthood executives shroud their intentions by making abortion seem like any other medical procedure. Abortion isn’t health care; it cannot be compared to a biopsy or a birth control procedure. Abortion, whether chemical or surgical, takes the life of a human being. The physician-only law exists to protect women. Why is Planned Parenthood fighting against the protection of women?”
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