The US House of Representatives will take up a measure this week in an attempt to force the failed Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) into the Constitution decades after its ratification deadline passed.
March 15, 2021
US Congress to Vote on Retroactively Changing Ratification Deadline of 1972 Equal Rights Amendment
The US House of Representatives will take up a measure this week in an attempt to force the failed Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) into the Constitution decades after its ratification deadline passed.
March 12, 2021
More Illinois Anti-Life Bills in Committee Next Week
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photo credit: Matt Turner / Flickr |
Judge Rules Texas can Remove Planned Parenthood from Medicaid
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photo credit: Bill Dickinson / Flickr |
Texas lawmakers started their attempt to remove Medicaid funding from Planned Parenthood back in 2015, but they faced legal challenges for years before this week's victory.
The most recent challenge by Planned Parenthood alleged that Texas officials did not properly give Planned Parenthood advanced notice that they would no longer be receiving Medicaid funds. While the state did give Planned Parenthood advanced notice back in 2016, they claimed that Texas was required to start that process over after a court case resolved. Judge Lora Livingston, while empathetic to the abortion corporation, ruled that this was not the case. Livingston agreed with Texas officials when she said that Planned Parenthood is “now not able to revive their administrative remedies as the deadline to seek that relief has long since passed. The merits of their claims must be determined by the federal courts.”
Texas was motivated to stop giving Medicaid funds to Planned Parenthood after undercover Center for Medical Progress videos exposed the corporation's selling of body parts harvested from aborted infants.
March 11, 2021
House Passes $1.9 Trillion Spending Bill Funding Abortion
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photo credit: Giorgio Trovato / Unsplash |
The final vote in the House was 220-211. Every Republican representative voted against the legislation, but only one Democrat (Rep. Jared Golden of Maine) stood with them. Every other Democrat voted in favor of the bill.
National Right to Life pointed out several parts of the bill that allocate federal tax dollars for purposes that would include abortion:
- $219 billion to state, and $130 billion to local, governments “to mitigate the fiscal effects stemming from” COVID-19. Because Hyde Amendment language was not used, governments can use these funds to pay for abortions in the name of “responding to or mitigating the public health emergency.”
- $204 million for State Department expenses to “prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus domestically or internationally, which shall include maintaining Department of State operations.” The Helms Amendment was not applied to this spending, so these funds can be spent on abortion.
- $500 million is appropriated for the foreign humanitarian response, again “to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus.” The Helms Amendment wasn't applied to this spending either.
The Family Research Council went on to break down $450 billion in funds that can be used to pay for or subsidize abortions both in the US and overseas. Click here to read their full breakdown.
“Abortion is not health care and forcing taxpayers to prop up the abortion industry during a pandemic does not help the millions of Americans deeply impacted by COVID,” said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “Pro-abortion Democrats are more interested in funding Planned Parenthood and abortion providers than in providing real solutions for the American people.
Tobias continued, “The vast majority of Americans do not want their tax dollars to pay for abortions, yet the COVID relief reconciliation bill passed by House Democrats betrays their constituents and provides for taxpayer funding of abortion.”
Arkansas Gov. Signs Abortion Ban into Law
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Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson |
Arkansas politicians understand that the bill will not hold up to the judicial precedent of Roe v. Wade, but they hope to use this law as a means to challenge that precedent.
Gov. Hutchinson said the law “is in contradiction of binding precedents of the U.S. Supreme Court, but it is the intent of the legislation to set the stage for the Supreme Court overturning current case law.”
The law is written to take effect 90 days after the current session of the Arkansas legislature ends. By that time, pro-abortion legal teams will have filed their legal challenges. The Arkansas chapter of the ACLU has already promised that it “will be seeing the state of Arkansas in court again.”
March 10, 2021
Illinois Abortionist with History of Harming Patients Argues for Repeal of Parental Notification
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Family Planning Associates abortion clinic in Chicago photo credit: Operation Rescue |
Dr. Cowett is the medical director of Family Planning Associates (FPA). The FPA-owned Albany Medical Surgical Center in Chicago is a prime example of the dangers of abortion. The facility was closed after it repeatedly failed safety inspections and caused the deaths of 13-year-old Deanna Bell, 22-year-old Maria Rodriquez, 26-year-old Maria Leho, and 16-year-old Nakia Jorden. Before then, Illinois failed to inspect the facility for 18 consecutive years. Another Chicago FPA facility hospitalized a patient as recently as New Year's Eve.
Cowett's personal record is not much better. 10 abortion patients have filed medical malpractice claims against her, and one of her patients was sent to the hospital in critical condition last April.
In her op-ed arguing for the repeal of Illinois' parental notification law, Dr. Cowett wrote,
"Most of the young women in my practice involve a parent or trusted adult in their abortion decision. And the younger the teen, the more likely she is to involve an adult. These facts are true in my office and throughout Illinois. Those who do not involve an adult do so with good reason — often because they are survivors of abuse or neglect. Some fear for their safety or the loss of shelter and food if their parents discover their pregnancy or their abortion decision. Others believe they will be forced to continue a pregnancy they did not plan and do not want."
Dr. Cowett's argument implies that minors living in abusive households should stay there rather than seek help, and it fails to inform readers that Illinois only requires parents to be informed of their daughter's decision. Parental consent is not required.
The Parental Notice of Abortion Act is good not only because it allows parents to be involved in the life-ending decision of abortion, but also because it helps to expose rape and abuse when it causes teenage pregnancies. Even minors who go through the judicial bypass system and speak with a judge so that they can avoid parental notification bring these details to light. Girls who are pressured and afraid might simply have an abortion rather than let anybody know what has happened to them.
March 9, 2021
March 9 Parental Notification Repeal Update
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photo credit: Randy von Liski / Flickr |
HB1797, which would repeal Illinois' Parental Notification of Abortion Act, was assigned to the House Human Services Committee on Tuesday, March 9.
Below is the list of Representatives on that committee, which can also be viewed on the Illinois General Assembly website here. If your representative is on the committee, please call them and tell them to oppose the repeal of the Parental Notification of Abortion Act when it is heard in the committee.
We will update you on this website and using our email list when the bill is scheduled for a hearing. Make sure to sign up for our newsletter using the sidebar on the right if you would like to receive those updates.
Illinois House of Representatives Human Services Committee Members
5 Pro-Life Bills Introduced in IL House Human Services Committee
HB 683
HB 338
HB 783
HB 791
HB 827
Senate Approves $1.9 Trillion Stimulus without Hyde Protections. House to Reconcile Bill Differences.
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photo credit: John Brighenti / Flickr |
The Senate voted 50-49 in favor of the stimulus, titled the American Rescue Plan of 2021. Among many other things, the bill includes funding for vaccine distribution and stimulus checks. The bill does not include any language that would prevent taxpayer funds from being used to fund or subsidize abortions, however. Relief bills in 2020 did include Hyde language.
Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford introduced a motion to add Hyde language, but it failed to meet the 60 votes necessary.
Federal Judge Extends Injunctions Against Tennessee Pro-Life Law
Last July, Tennessee passed a law that banned abortion under several circumstances. If the unborn child's heartbeat is detectable; or the reasoning for the abortion discriminates against the child's sex, race, or prenatal diagnosis, that abortion would be banned under HB2263. It included other restrictions based on the gestational age of unborn children and required abortionists to notify women about abortion pill reversal.
U.S. District Judge William Campbell issued a temporary restraining order against the heartbeat and gestational age restrictions in July. He followed that up by issuing another temporary restraining order against the abortion pill reversal part of the law in September. He attempted to block the measure outlawing discriminatory abortions as well, but the Sixth Circuit ruled that the portion of the law could go into effect.
Judge Campbell's order extends his injunctions against the three provisions that he blocked already.
Stacy Dunn, president of Tennessee Right to Life, criticized the judge's ruling: “The work that pro-life Tennesseans and their duly elected officials have done to protect women and their unborn children is under attack by the abortion industry. Judge Campbell’s decision plays right into the hands of those who want to keep women in the dark about their unborn children and all the options available to them.”
March 8, 2021
Federal Judge Rules ERA Ratification Deadline Still Applies
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Equal Rights Amendment Demonstration Credit: Cornell University / Flickr |
March 5, 2021
Live Baby Rescued after Abandonment in Boston Trash Can
Both the mother and the baby have since been found according to CBS, and both are being treated at a local hospital. Police are investigating the circumstances and may press charges against the mother.
Silvana Sanchez, who found the child in the trash can, told WBZ-TV, “To be honest, I was just really nervous so I didn’t want to look inside of it and be the one to find it and do all the stuff.” She continued, “You probably don’t even believe me, but it was kind of by luck that EMTs were there and he came over. They ran with the baby to the truck and took him straight to the hospital.”
Both Massachusetts and Illinois have safe haven laws that allow mothers to give their newborn children anonymously. These children can continue to live full lives, even if the mother doesn't believe they can provide for them.
In Illinois, newborns up to 30 days old can be left at a staffed police station, fire station, hospital, or emergency care facility. From there, the baby will be given medical care and can be adopted by a loving family.
New Mexico Gov. Legalizes Abortion-on-Demand
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NM Gov. Lujan Grisham (D) |
The bill repealed a 1969 law that outright banned the practice of abortion in New Mexico. After Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973, however, the law became unenforceable.
Pro-life legislators in New Mexico voiced concerns, not only that this bill endorses the practice of killing unborn children, but also that physicians' consciences won't be adequately protected by the remaining legal code.
The Republican Party of New Mexico gave the following statement:
“This is a sad day for New Mexico. When Gov. Lujan Grisham penned her name to Senate Bill 10, she signed a death warrant. She, along with dozens of New Mexico Democratic lawmakers, approved the order to end the lives of thousands of unborn children. The new law is an immoral, dangerous one–a law that allows late-term abortion and offers no protections for girls, women or health professionals. It permits the murder of the unborn, endangers the health and lives of women and eliminates any conscience provision to allow a doctor to opt out if he or she opposes the procedure on moral, ethical or religious grounds.”
Pro-abortion Legislators Call on Biden to End Amendments Blocking Abortion Spending
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photo credit: Gage Skidmore / Flickr |
The letter (which was co-signed by IL Sen. Tammy Duckworth and IL Rep. Janice Schakowsky) requests that Biden "eliminate the Hyde Amendment, the Weldon Amendment, the Helms Amendment, and other similar abortion coverage restrictions from your Fiscal Year 2022 budget."
The Hyde Amendment restricts the use of taxpayer funds for elective abortions in the U.S., while the Helms Amendment does the same for funds that are spent abroad. The Weldon Amendment restricts federal funding to states that discriminate against pro-life health care entities.
The Hyde and Helms amendments have been applied to Congressional spending bills since the 1970s, but recently pro-abortion lawmakers have taken a hard stance against them.
Pro-life lawmakers urging Congressional leadership not to end the amendments. Republican Study Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN.) led a group of pro-life congressmen in sending another letter to House and Senate leadership.
That letter read:
“Each year since 1976, Congress has included Hyde protections in annually enacted appropriations. No president in American history has ever vetoed an appropriations bill due to its inclusion of the Hyde Amendment. Moreover, President Obama maintained the Hyde Amendment in each of his budget proposals. As recent as June 2019, former Vice President Joe Biden supported the Hyde Amendment and acknowledged that it works harmoniously with federal funding for women’s healthcare.”
It goes on to point out that the majority of Americans oppose using taxpayer dollars to fund elective abortions. “Years of public polling indicate that repealing the Hyde Amendment is opposed by most of the American public. Congressional Democrats now seek to further erode public trust in government by ignoring mainstream public opinion in favor of placating the radical Left.”
The letter supporting the pro-life amendments was co-signed by IL Representatives Mike Bost, Darin LaHood, Rodney Davis, and Mary Miller.
March 4, 2021
Senate Finance Committee Votes to Advance HHS Secretary Nomination of Xavier Becerra
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California Attorney General and HHS Secretary Nominee Xavier Becerra photo credit: Gage Skidmore / Flickr |
The committee's vote was evenly split 14-14 along party lines. As a result, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer broke the tie to bring Becerra's nomination before the full Senate for a vote.
“Xavier Becerra has no health care experience but, if confirmed, would lead the Department of Health and Human Services during a pandemic,” Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “While Mr. Becerra lacks health care experience, he makes up for it with his proven track record of extreme abortion advocacy and hostility to pro-lifers.”
Becerra is known for going after pro-life Californians using his power as Attorney General.
- He targeted pro-life pregnancy resource centers and forced them to advertise abortion under the Reproductive FACT Act (which has since been struck down).
- He sued the federal government when an HHS rule granted the Little Sisters of the Poor a religious exemption from a contraception coverage mandate
- After the Center for Medical Progress exposed Planned Parenthood for harvesting and selling the body parts of aborted babies, Becerra prosecuted the pro-life undercover journalists for their work.
“Mr. Becerra’s nomination by this administration is a favor to the abortion industry,” Tobias said. It is difficult to conclude otherwise when Mr. Becerra brings no public health experience to the position. Putting him at the head of the nation’s health care agency is a prescription for disaster.”
March 3, 2021
March 3 Parental Notification Repeal Update
HB1797, which would the Repeal of the Parental Notification Act of 1995, was introduced on February 16, 2021, by Rep. Anna Moeller (D). It is currently in the Rules Committee awaiting assignment to a standing House Committee.
Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch (D), the new Speaker of the House, has joined as a Co-Sponsor of the bill.
Please watch for our updates and alerts as we track this legislation.
Pro-Abortion Activists Have Occupied a Mexican State Capitol for Months
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photo credit: Carl Hancock / Flickr |
The activists held a sit-in outside the congress building in Chetumal starting on Nov. 25, 2020, but then on Nov. 27 they stormed the building and have continued to occupy it since. Now, the building is damaged and tagged with graffiti.
Recently, the feminists replaced the Mexican flag outside the building with a green cloth displaying the slogan "abortion on demand." The Mexican army stepped in to remove the banner on Feb. 26.
The women demanded that the legislature vote to legalize abortion. Several legislators supporting such legislation have met with them and promised them that they would not be prosecuted for their actions.
The group had told officials that they would leave in early February, but they instead chose to stay after pro-life legislators temporarily stopped an attempt to pass a bill legalizing abortion.
Brenda del Río, the founder and director of the National Campaign for Life--Long Live Mexico, said to ACI Prensa that these actions are "green terrorism," after the color used by pro-abortion activists in Latin America.
del Rio told ACI Prensa that pro-abortion legislators- by dealing with the radical group- have promoted the idea that “if you want to advance a social cause, legal or illegal, you have to vandalize, threaten, take over public buildings and force lawmakers to fulfill an international agenda that is alien to the principles of Mexico. This amounts to the promotion of violence.”
She went on to argue that the legalization of abortion is being pushed heavily by foreigners and that the real problems plaguing Quintana Roo were going unanswered.
“Is it really a healthcare problem that seven women from this state went last year to Mexico City to get an abortion? Of course not. What really is a shame in Quintana Roo … is the trafficking of children in Playa del Carmen, where pimps rent Mexican children for hours or even days to Europeans, Americans, and Canadians.”
"What do we urgently need to legalize in Mexico? Maternity. Workers who are pregnant are fired from their jobs. Pregnant women are abandoned by the man. Poor women are pressured in clinics to be temporarily or permanently sterilized. Pregnant students do not have childcare in high schools or at the university,” del Rio said.
South Dakota Gov. Signs Legislation Protecting Abortion Survivors
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South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) |
Gov. Kristi Noem signed South Dakota House Bill 1051 on Feb. 24, requiring medical professionals to give the same degree of care to babies who survive attempted abortions as they would to any other children born at the same gestational age. Additionally, the law allows mothers to sue doctors or abortion facilities that don't provide the required health care to their babies.
Doctors or abortion facilities which violate the law could be subject to fines, and they will be required to report all live births occurring during attempted abortions to the South Dakota Department of Health.
“The pro-life cause continues even after a child is born, and this bill will guarantee the right to life for every baby that is born alive,” said Gov. Noem. “We expect doctors to treat all children equally, even those born in horrific circumstances. That’s basic human decency.”
March 2, 2021
Defense Files Opening Brief with Ninth Circuit in David Daleiden Case
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David Daleiden photo credit: American Life League / Flickr |
Supreme Court to Hear Case Challenging Constitutionality of Protect Life Rule
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photo credit: Davis Staedtler / Flickr |
The HHS rule prohibited organizations that received funding from the Title X family planning program from providing abortions, co-locating with abortion facilities, or referring patients to abortion facilities.
In response to this rule, Planned Parenthood chose to withdraw from the Title X program. It is estimated that the abortion giant stepped away from $60 million in annual taxpayer funding with this decision.
While the Biden administration has already directed the HHS to review the Protect Life Rule (and it is unlikely that the rule is currently being enforced), the court will still hear arguments on the constitutionality of the Trump administration's rule. This is important because it will determine whether a future president will be allowed to enforce similar rules.
So far, courts have ruled on both sides of the issue. The Ninth Circuit upheld it last February, while the Fourth Circuit ruled against it last September.