Kansas Judge Strikes Down Dismemberment Abortion Ban

Last Wednesday, a Kansas judge issued an opinion invalidating the state's ban on the dismemberment of unborn children.

The ban, which was passed into law in 2015, has never been enforced due to an injunction issued by a Kansas judge six years ago. Now- largely referencing the 2019 decision Hodes & Nauser v. Schmidt that claimed to find a "fundamental right" to abortion in the Kansas state constitution- Shawnee County District Judge Teresa Watson has struck down the state's ban on the dismemberment ban.

Dismemberment abortions occur during the 2nd trimester of development or later; since the unborn child will have grown too large for abortion via the abortion pill regimen to be effective. During a dismemberment abortion, an abortionist will reach through a mother's cervix with metal instruments to tear an unborn child's arms, legs, and head from its body piece by piece. See this YouTube video for a full description of the procedure.

In response to Hodes & Nauser v. Schmidt, the Kansas Legislature approved a measure that will place the Value Them Both Amendment on the Ballot for Kansans in 2022. This amendment would prevent judges from interpreting the state constitution to have a right to abortion.

The Value Them Both Amendment reads:

Because Kansans value both women and children, the constitution of the state of Kansas does not require government funding of abortion and does not create or secure a right to abortion. To the extent permitted by the constitution of the United States, the people, through their elected state representatives and state senators, may pass laws regarding abortion, including, but not limited to, laws that account for circumstances of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest, or circumstances of necessity to save the life of the mother.

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Texas House to Consider Bill Giving Preborn Children Legal Representation in Court

photo credit: Jonathan Cutrer / Flickr

While Illinois politicians are considering the repeal of our state's parental notification law, the Texas House of Representatives will consider a bill that would give preborn children legal representation when a minor seeking an abortion attempts to get a judicial bypass.

Texas law requires that parents not only be notified of a minor's intent to have an abortion; but also that they give consent. Similar to Illinois's parental notification law, however, there is still a process for a judicial bypass. If the minor convinces a judge that it is in her best interest to have an abortion without her parents' knowledge, then she can bypass both the notification and consent requirements.

The existence of judicial bypasses increases the likelihood that a girl will return to an abusive living situation rather than seek help if she lives in an abusive household. Furthermore, it leaves the potential issues such as rape and sex trafficking that may have caused the pregnancy unsolved. All of that comes on top of the fact that an innocent unborn child is killed in the process.

Texas House Bill 1171 is unique in that it would give unborn children a voice during judicial bypass hearings. Texas Right to Life legislative associate Rebecca Parma told Spectrum News, “They don’t have a voice yet, and so their interest needs to be represented by someone who has a voice. If the pregnant minor is going to have an attorney ad litem, which should help represent her best interests, the unborn child needs to have that voice, as well, representing his or her best interests.”

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New Mexico Gov. Signs Assisted Suicide Bill

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham

On April 8, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed into law a bill that legalizes assisted suicide in her state.

The new law is set to take effect on June 18.

“New Mexico’s assisted suicide law puts vulnerable citizens at risk,” said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “Depression related to a serious illness often drives requests for assisted suicide, and in other states that have legalized assisted suicide, referrals for psychological evaluation are almost nonexistent.”

“In New Mexico, vulnerable patients who need support can be offered lethal drugs to end their lives instead of the help they genuinely need,” Tobias continued.

People who seek assisted suicide often do so because they are experiencing depression or lack the financial resources needed to pay for treatment. Because of this, doctors and family members can push patients toward assisted suicide when financial, medical, or emotional assistance could still have a positive impact on a patient.

“This legislation endangers vulnerable populations and opens the door to abuse,” said Jennifer Popik, J.D., director of Medical Ethics for National Right to Life. “This puts a human being in danger of becoming a notation in a cost/benefit analysis.”

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National Right to Life Convention Scheduled for June

The National Right to Life Convention has been scheduled for June 25-26 and will be held in-person Herndon, Virginia.

The National Right to Life Convention is a two-day educational and training event during which experts will help to equip pro-life grassroots advocates with the knowledge and skills needed to advance the pro-life cause.

The event will include 40 workshop events, an opening prayer breakfast, a showing of the pro-life play Viable: The Truth in One Act, a Teens for Life Convention, and a closing banquet.

To register for the convention and receive special hotel rates, visit nrlconvention.com.

Wyoming Gov. Signs Bill Protecting Abortion Survivors

Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon
photo credit: Mike Groover

After a Wyoming bill was successfully passed by both houses, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon signed the Born Alive Infant Means of Care Act on Tuesday. This legislation protects the babies who survive attempted abortions by requiring physicians to give them the same degree of care they would give any other newborn.

The law reads:

“The commonly accepted means of care that would be rendered to any other infant born alive shall be employed in the treatment of any viable infant aborted alive. Any physician performing an abortion shall take medically appropriate and reasonable steps to preserve the life and health of an infant born alive.” 

The bill passed with overwhelming margins in the House [48-11] and Senate [26-4]. Gov. Gordon vetoed a slightly different version of the bill last year, but he chose to sign this year's iteration of the bill into law.

The law is scheduled to take effect on July 1.

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Ohio Judge Grants Temporary Restraining Order Against Telemedicine Abortion Ban

photo credit: Joe Gratz / Flickr

Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Alison Hatheway, the same judge who has temporarily blocked the requirement that abortion businesses bury or cremate the remains of aborted babies, has now issued a temporary restraining order against another pro-life law. 

Ohio Senate Bill 260 bans the use of telemedicine to provide abortion-inducing drugs. Instead, the law would require physicians to prescribe such drugs in-person. Unfortunately, it cannot be enforced for the time being.

The telemedicine abortion ban was originally signed by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine in January and set to go into effect on April 12. Judge Hatheway's temporary restraining order blocks Ohio from enforcing the law for two weeks, however.

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New Utah Law Requires Fathers to Pay Half of Pregnancy Costs

photo credit: Suhyeon Choi on Unsplash

A Utah law that just took effect can require biological fathers to pay half of the mother's pregnancy costs.

According to CNA, fathers in Utah can be required to pay half of the mother's insurance premiums and pregnancy-related medical costs (including hospital birth).

If a mother in Utah has the biological father's paternity confirmed, she can legally require him to financially support her pregnancy. This allows women to choose life after being raped or their partner leaves them without worrying as much about financial burdens.

The new law also states that a mother who obtains an abortion without the father's consent cannot require him to pay for the abortion. This does include exceptions to save the life of the mother or if the pregnancy was caused by rape or incest.

In addition to fighting against pro-abortion laws and court decisions, pro-life advocates can help save the lives of the unborn by advocating for laws and policies that help disadvantaged women. This law is a good example of one that empowers women to overcome an obstacle that might otherwise cause them to have an abortion.

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Nebraska Village Becomes First Outside Texas to be a "Sanctuary City" for the Unborn

photo credit: Jill Sauve / Unsplash

The small village of Hayes Center, Nebraska has become the first city outside of Texas to become a "sanctuary city for the unborn."

The majority-female Board of Trustees unanimously voted 5-0 to outlaw abortion within the city limits. Hayes Center, Nebraska can list itself among the 23 other cities which passed enforceable ordinances banning abortion.

The Hayes Center Ordinance declares, “It shall be unlawful for any person to procure or perform an abortion of any type and at any stage of pregnancy in the village of Hayes Center, Nebraska” and “It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly aid or abet an abortion that occurs in the village of Hayes Center, Nebraska.”

Abortion in this ordinance is defined as “the act of using or prescribing an instrument, a drug, a medicine, or any other substance, device, or means with the intent to cause the death of an unborn child of a woman known to be pregnant.”

It further declares that abortion-inducing drugs (not including oral contraceptives) will be considered contraband.

According to the ordinance, “any person, corporation, or entity who commits an unlawful act . . . shall be subject to a fine of $500.” There is one important exception, however: “Under no circumstance may the penalty described . . . be imposed on the mother of the unborn child that has been aborted.”

The Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn Initiative has said that cities throughout the United States are showing interest in the movement.

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Ohio Humane Disposal Law Halted by Planned Parenthood Lawsuit

An Ohio law requiring abortion businesses to bury or cremate the remains of aborted children would have gone into effect on Tuesday. Unfortunately, an Ohio judge responded to a lawsuit by Planned Parenthood and the ACLU on Monday by temporarily halting the requirement.

The Unborn Child Dignity Act was signed into law three months ago after originally being introduced in 2016. Mike DeWine (who was Ohio's Attorney General at the time, but is now the state's governor) conducted an investigation into Planned Parenthood's abortion practices in response to undercover footage showing that other affiliates harvested and sold body parts from aborted babies. DeWine did not find evidence that this was occurring in Ohio, but he did find that the remains of aborted children were simply being sent to landfills.

The Unborn Child Dignity Act would require abortion businesses in Ohio to treat aborted children as more than trash. Unfortunately, Planned Parenthood is unwilling to take even that small step.

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Charges Against New Mexico Patient Arrested after Botched Abortion Dismissed

Last September, Women's Reproductive Clinic in New Mexico had one of its patients and her husband arrested for disturbing the peace after she complained that the clinic had wrongfully taken the remains of her aborted child from her. Now, seven months later, that woman has won in court against the abortion business.

The client, who is known publicly as "Jane Doe," had suffered two botched abortions on the same pregnancy by Women's Reproductive Clinic. She had attempted abortion via the abortion pill regimen, but she later had a surgical abortion after that failed. After she returned home from the surgical abortion, she unexpectedly delivered remains of her deceased baby there. Doe and her husband called the abortion business, which told them to return.

When they arrived, however, clinic workers wrongfully took custody of the child's remains. This upset Doe, who wanted to have her child cremated. When she complained, the clinic called the police and had them arrest the couple.

Lawyers from the pro-life organization Abortion on Trial came to the defense of the couple. Last Friday, the organization announced in a press release that the charges against Doe and her husband had finally been dropped. Furthermore, Women's Reproductive Clinic was unsuccessful in its attempt to make Doe liable for the abortion business's legal fees.

“We hope Jane’s story will continue to spread as a beacon of awareness and precaution to those considering abortion.” Says AOT Executive Director, Jamie Jeffries. “We hope those who oppose abortion see this case and realize just how much women need compassionate care after abortion.”

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Don't Forget: Legislative Training Sessions this Week

Last month, Parents for the Protection of Girls announced that it would be holding four legislative training sessions online to help inform pro-lifers on how they can most effectively speak with Illinois legislators over Zoom to fight against the repeal of the Parental Notification of Abortion Act. Last week, it hosted two of those sessions. This Wednesday and Thursday, the final two sessions will be held.

To register for either of those training sessions (which will be held at 6:00 PM on Wednesday, April 7th, and 6:00 PM on Thursday, April 8th), visit the website below:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/parents-for-the-protection-of-girls-legislative-training-sessions-registration-147188385423

It is important that we protect Illinois's Parental Notification of Abortion Act. Not only would girls be more likely to make impulsive decisions without it, but human traffickers and rapists will be more likely to get away with their abusive behaviors.

Pro-Abortion Vivek Murthy Confirmed as Surgeon General

Surgeon General Vivek Murthy

Vivek Murthy, who served as the surgeon general for the Obama administration from 2014 to 2017, was sworn in by HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra as the Biden administration's surgeon general on March 25. Much like Becerra, Murthy has a history of supporting Planned Parenthood and pro-abortion policies.

At the Washington Ideas Forum in 2015, Murthy voiced his support of giving taxpayer funding to Planned Parenthood:

“There are many people around the country, many women, that I have cared for when I was practicing medicine up in Boston, who rely on Planned Parenthood for important services. I think what’s important, whenever we’re making any policy decisions, is to try to take it out of the realm of ideology, and put it back in the realm of science and public health. And the truth is, a lot of women around the country looked at Planned Parenthood as an important source of primary care services. The debate is focused a lot on a narrow spectrum of services, but the truth is, many women get their — they get basic health care and preventative care from Planned Parenthood.”

Planned Parenthood sometimes tries to lean on the argument that because it provides some services other than abortion, it is not simply an abortion business. While this might be true in a sense, it is disingenuous at most. Planned Parenthood often markets itself as an abortion business, and the number of non-abortion services it provides has declined year after year.

Statistics from Planned Parenthood's own annual reports show that the business has provided 294,493 prenatal services between 2000 and 2021. In that same time period, it also aborted six million unborn children.

The Hill further reported that Planned Parenthood gave Vivek thousands of dollars in recent years for speaking engagements. There is no indication that his pro-abortion views will have changed since the Obama administration.

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Planned Parenthood Sues to Block Ohio Telemedicine Abortion Ban

Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit last week against a new Ohio law banning the use of telemedicine to provide abortion drugs. That law is scheduled to go into effect on April 12, but the lawsuit asks the court to issue a temporary restraining order to prevent it from being enforced.

Planned Parenthood argues that the law violates the Ohio Constitution and doesn't improve patient safety. In a press release, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America wrote, “Medication abortion [chemical abortion] is safe, effective, and a vital part of reproductive health care. Requiring that a patient see a physician in person to obtain the medication for a medication abortion does not improve patient safety, no matter what might be said by legislators who ignore science.”

Physically visiting a doctor is not simply a formality, however. It is important for a pregnant mother's safety that she sees a doctor in-person before she receives a prescription for abortion pills. When visiting a doctor, the doctor can administer an ultrasound to determine the gestational age of the unborn child and ensure that there are no pregnancy conditions that would make the abortion pill regimen unsafe. This is important because the abortion pill regimen poses serious health risks to a woman if it is used too late in the child's development. The same is true if she has a pregnancy condition, such as an ectopic pregnancy.

After the law was passed, Ohio Right to Life president Mike Gonidakis said in a press release,

“The signing of the Telemedicine Abortion Ban into law is a victory for life and for women’s safety. No woman should be subjected to a dangerous telemedicine abortion in order to pad Planned Parenthood’s pockets. Pro-Life Ohio will not let the abortion industry continue to treat vulnerable women and children as money-making opportunities. Women and children deserve to be put first. This law is a crucial step towards that end.”

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Arkansas Gov. Signs Bill to Protect Conscience Rights

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R)

In addition to the ultrasound law that he signed this week, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson also signed a bill last week that protects the conscience rights of pro-life healthcare workers.

On March 26, Hutchinson signed a bill that allows health care workers to refuse to participate in non-emergency treatments if those treatments violate their consciences. These protections apply to medical workers, hospitals, and insurance providers.

“I support this right of conscience so long as emergency care is exempted and conscience objection cannot be used to deny general health service to any class of people,” said Hutchinson in a statement. “Most importantly, the federal laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, sex, gender, and national origin continue to apply to the delivery of health care services.”

Arkansas Surgeon General Greg Bledsoe underscored the importance of these protections:

“In short, there is a concerted effort underway to compel the entire medical sector to adopt a utilitarian secular ethical outlook that would either force pro-lifers, orthodox Catholics, etc. to violate their deepest held moral beliefs as the cost of medical licensure, or compel them — as a matter of personal conscience — to get out of medicine.”

This new Arkansas law is set to take effect later this summer.

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Secretary of State: "Sexual and Reproductive Rights are Human Rights"

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday that his department will once again judge countries on their support for abortion in its annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices reports.

The Trump administration had removed the "reproductive rights" section from its human rights reports starting in 2017. Instead, it included a section with statistics on “coercion in population control.”

Terms such as "sexual and reproductive health" or "reproductive rights" almost always include abortion, especially when used in foreign policy discussions.

Blinken said as much when elaborated on the Biden administration's goals regarding the human rights reports and several other recent pro-abortion foreign policy decisions:

“It is one of many steps – along with revoking the Mexico City Policy, withdrawing from the Geneva Consensus Declaration, resuming support for the United Nations Population Fund – that we are taking to promote women’s health and equity at home and abroad.  Because women’s rights – including sexual and reproductive rights – are human rights.”

The Geneva Consensus Declaration was a statement signed by the U.S. and 31 other countries declaring that there is no international right to abortion.

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Arkansas Gov. Signs Law Strengthening Ultrasound Requirement

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R)

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson this week signed a bill that requires abortion facilities to show women the images of their unborn children.

This is notable because ultrasound right to view laws usually just require abortion facilities to offer pregnant mothers the opportunity to view an ultrasound of their children. This was the case in Arkansas before, but now clinics will be required to place the ultrasound screen within the mother's line of sight during the ultrasound. Arkansas is the sixth state to have such a requirement.

Additionally, abortion facilities will be required to describe the unborn baby's development and tell the mother how many children are shown in the ultrasound.

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Pro-Life Amendment to Kentucky Constitution Approved for 2022 Ballot

photo credit: Matt Turner / Flickr

In the evening of Tuesday, March 30, the Kentucky Senate voted to pass HB 91. This bill approved an amendment to the Kentucky Constitution which reads: “To protect human life, nothing in this Constitution shall be construed to secure or protect a right to abortion or require the funding of abortion.”

In November 2022, Kentucky voters will have the chance to decide whether to ratify this amendment. If voters pass it, judges will be unable to find an implied right to abortion in the state's constitution.

When Kentucky Right to Life explained HB 91, it wrote,

In numerous states, abortion advocates have sued to overturn pro-life laws, and their respective Supreme Courts have “found” a right to abortion in their state constitution. This technique is how Roe v. Wade became our nation’s case law.

A number of states have passed constitutional amendments to protect their pro-life laws from such court decisions. Rep. Joe Fischer testified during a Senate committee hearing that HB 91 assures, “No Kentucky court will be able to fashion an implicit right to abortion from the language in our state constitution: there will be no Roe v. Wade decision in Kentucky. The regulation or elimination of abortion will be vested in the Kentucky General Assembly, not in the courts.” HB 91 ensures that it is the lawmakers of Kentucky who make the laws, not rogue judges.

Even though pro-abortion Andrew Beshear is currently Kentucky's governor, the governor does not have the authority to veto proposed constitutional amendments.

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New Report Shows Continued Decline in Teen Pregnancies and Abortions

photo credit: Marcel Fagin / Unsplash

Earlier this month, the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute released a new report showing a continued long-term decrease in both teen pregnancies and abortions overall.

The new data shows that between 1980 and 2017, females between the ages of 15 and 19 chose to have abortions 82 percent less. Comparatively, the abortion rate for 35-to-39-year-olds only decreased by 8.5 percent over the same period.

Teenage women are also much less likely to become pregnant. The Guttmacher report shows that the teen pregnancy rate has declined by 73 percent since its peak in 1990. In that year, the organization found a pregnancy rate of 11.76 percent for women between the ages of 15 and 19. In 2017, the organization only found a pregnancy rate of 31 percent for the same demographic.

More can be done, but these continued decreases show that the pro-life movement is having an impact.

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Pennsylvania Court Ruling Protects State Abortion Funding Ban

Abortion businesses suing the state of Pennsylvania were disappointed by a court ruling on March 26 supporting the state's abortion funding ban.

The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court decided 6-1 in favor of the state's 1982 Abortion Control Act, which bans the state from using taxpayer funding to cover abortion except in cases of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother.

In the majority opinion for the case, Judge Mary Hannah Leavitt wrote that the court decided to adhere to the 1985 Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision supporting the law. Additionally, she wrote that abortion businesses did not have the legal standing to challenge the law on behalf of Pennsylvania women.

Notably, the plaintiffs charged that Pennsylvania's abortion coverage ban violated Pennsylvania's Equal Rights Amendment. They argued that because abortion is only sought by women, a funding ban discriminates against women. This serves as further proof that pro-abortion advocates would attempt to use a federal Equal Rights Amendment to require abortion funding nationwide from a constitutional level.

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Senators Continue to Pressure SBA to Investigate How Planned Parenthood Received Millions in COVID Relief Funds

photo credit: Andy Feliciotti / Unsplash

On March 25, a group of 25 pro-life Senators sent a letter to the Small Business Administration (SBA) to once again request an investigation into how the giant abortion corporation was able to receive millions of dollars in COVID relief funding meant for small businesses.

The senators write that Planned Parenthood was ineligible for the funding because it is “a national organization with central control over its affiliates which has nearly $2 billion in assets, and over 16,000 employees nationwide…” The SBA rules for COVID relief required that recipients be small businesses with fewer than 500 employees.

After it was revealed that Planned Parenthood affiliates had received millions of dollars, the SBA told those affiliates that they must return the funds. The Senators mention 38 affiliates that received funding in their letter, but they note that only seven of them returned the funding. Furthermore, two affiliates received a second round of funding.

“It is unconscionable that SBA continues to approve PPP loans made to organizations which are clearly ineligible for funding,” states the letter. “This is unacceptable, not only because SBA, like other agencies, must be a faithful and responsible steward of taxpayer dollars but also because continuing to make funds available for Planned Parenthood affiliates is in direct violation of the law.

“We urge that the SBA promptly open an investigation into how these loans were made in clear violation of the applicable affiliation rules and if Planned Parenthood, relevant lenders, or staff at the SBA knowingly violated the law, and that appropriate legal action be taken if so.”

This is the fourth letter Members of Congress have sent to the SBA addressing this issue.

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