Social Activist Says Pro-Life and Pro-Abortion Advocates Should Agree on Parental Notification

Renee Pollino
screenshot from Vimeo

Social activist Renee Pollino is calling on pro-life and pro-choice advocates to come together in defense of Illinois's Parental Notification of Abortion Act.

Pollino is a social activist and the owner of the My Half of the Sky coffee shop in Chicago. The shop helps those in need by employing refugees, those living in poverty, and sex-trafficking survivors. The potential repeal of the Illinois Notification of Abortion Act would have a particularly negative impact on young girls who are being trafficked.

"...Human trafficking has to end. This is unacceptable in the 21st century. Modern-day slavery must be fought, and we must be reaching across aisles on these topics," Pollino said. "No matter if you're pro-choice or pro-life, the issue at hand is that minors are vulnerable."

"The average age of a girl who is trafficked in the United States is 13 years old. There hasn't been one woman who has worked for me– or that I've worked with who is a survivor– who hasn't had numerous abortions as a minor. One of my friends– her first abortion was at eight years old. The first of five."

Pro-Abortion Advocate Vanita Gupta Confirmed as Associate Attorney General

Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta

On April 21, the US Senate 51-49 along party lines to confirm Vanita Gupta as associate attorney general for the Biden administration.

Gupta served as the head of the civil rights division of the Justice Department during the Obama administration and has made her pro-abortion views widely known.

In 2020, she argued before the Supreme Court against the Little Sisters of the Poor. She said to the Justices that religious groups should not receive an exemption from paying for contraception, sterilization, or abortion.

In January of 2020, she retweeted the Golden Globes acceptance speech by Michelle Williams in which the actor thanks God for her abortion and says that she wouldn't have been able to be successful without abortion.

She also applauded the Supreme Court decision in June Medical Services v. Russo, which overturned Louisiana's Unsafe Abortion Protection Act. That law would have required abortion clinics to maintain admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. “The Supreme Court reaffirmed today that every individual should have the right to make their own decisions about their health, their families, their lives, and their futures,”  Gupta said. “This is a victory for tireless abortion advocates from Louisiana and around the country….”

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Indiana and West Virginia Approve Abortion Pill Reversal Laws

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb (R)

Last week, the governors of Indiana and West Virginia signed laws requiring abortion businesses to inform women about abortion pill reversal before they receive abortion pills.

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) signed a bill last Thursday that requires abortionists to tell women about how abortion pill reversal could save their children's lives if they change their minds after taking the first pill in the abortion pill regimen.

West Virginia's Second Chances at Life Act was signed by Gov. Jim Justice (R) last Wednesday; also requiring abortion businesses to inform women about abortion pill reversal.

Mifepristone, the first pill in the abortion pill regimen, starves and suffocates an unborn child by blocking the pregnancy hormone progesterone. If taken within 24 hours of the first pill (but before the second pill, misoprostol), doses of progesterone can be given to a woman to counteract the effects of mifepristone. By notifying women about this process, these laws could save lives.

The Indiana law includes several other pro-life measures as well. It bans mail-delivery of abortion pills and drug-induced abortions taking place after eight weeks of pregnancy. Abortion businesses will have more reporting requirements, be required to show pregnant mothers ultrasound images of their babies, and must receive written parental consent for abortion from a minor's parent. This is different from Illinois, which only requires parental notification of abortion. Even that is being challenged by a recent bill, however.

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Abortion Pill Reversal Pioneer Given Legacy Award at Heartbeat International Conference

Heartbeat International President Jor-El Godsey and
Dr. George Delgado

At Heartbeat International's Annual Pregnancy Help Conference this week, Dr. George Delgado was given a Legacy Award for his work pioneering abortion pill reversal.

Delgado and Dr. Matt Harrison together pioneered the abortion pill reversal protocol, and they were instrumental in the creation of the Abortion Pill Rescue Network in 2007. The network runs a 24/7 hotline to help women who have taken the first pill of the abortion pill regimen. Heatbeat international now runs the Abortion Pill Rescue Network, but Delgado and Harrison still serve as medical advisors.

Mifepristone, the first pill in the abortion pill regimen, blocks the pregnancy hormone progesterone. Without progesterone, an unborn child will receive less nutrients and oxygen. The abortion pill regimen effectively kills babies by suffocating and starving them to death. By administering additional progesterone (a common treatment doctors provide to prevent miscarriage) doctors can counteract the effects of mifepristone and save the child's life.

Over 2,000 lives have been saved thanks to the Abortion Pill Rescue Network, and roughly 1,000 medical providers and pregnancy centers help provide this service.

The abortion pill rescue hotline can be reached at 1-877-558-0333.

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Idaho Governor Signs Heartbeat Bill into Law

Idaho Gov. Brad Little (R)

Yet another state has codified a bill banning abortions targeting unborn babies with detectable heartbeats.

On April 27, Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed HB366 into law, banning abortions after a baby's heartbeat is detected, which can happen as early as six weeks gestation. The law includes exceptions for rape and medical emergencies.

In a statement, Gov. Little said, “Idaho is a state that values the most innocent of all lives – the lives of babies. We should never relent in our efforts to protect the lives of the preborn.”

The Associated Press writes that the bill contains a "trigger provision" and will not go into effect unless a federal appeals court upholds a similar law from another state. Several heartbeat bills from other states are currently being litigated.

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Washington Gov. Signs Bill Requiring Student Health Insurance Plans to Cover Abortion

Washington Governor Jay Inslee (D)

Washington Governor Jay Inslee (D) on April 16 signed a bill that requires all student health plans at public universities to cover elective abortions.

HB 1009 reads that insurance plans “that provide coverage for maternity care or services must also provide substantially equivalent coverage to permit the voluntary abortion of a pregnancy.”

The bill exempts religious colleges and universities, but the Washington Catholic Conference still staunchly opposed this legislation.

“HB 1009 is problematic for students of faith who wish to uphold the sanctity of life while attending secular colleges in the state,” the conference explained in a policy brief.

“They will not have the opportunity to purchase health insurance without violating their consciences. Students will have to choose between going without insurance or being forced to purchase policies that subsidize and promote a procedure that violates their conscience. HB 1009 not only promotes the destruction of human life but also violates the fundamental right to conscience guaranteed by our state and national constitutions.”

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Montana Governor Signs Three Pro-Life Bills

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte

At a public ceremony this week in Helena Montana, Montana Governor Greg Giaforte (R) ratified three important pro-life bills.

1. House Bill 140 requires that pregnant women seeking an abortion be given the opportunity to see an ultrasound and listen to their babies' heartbeats.

2. The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act bans abortion after an unborn baby has reached five months of development.

3. House Bill 171 requires that women give informed consent before they receive the abortion pill. This law requires women to receive the prescription in person, and they must also sign a consent form saying that they understand the health risks involved with the abortion pill regimen.

“There were many who served in this building before us who champion the unborn, people who worked hard to advance the cause of life,” Gianfote said at the signing ceremony. “Unfortunately, their efforts were vetoed. But not today.”

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Oklahoma Governor Signs Three Laws to Effectively Ban Abortion in the State

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R)

On Monday, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) signed three bills into law that together ban virtually all abortions in the state.

One law makes it a homicide to abort any baby with a detectable heartbeat. Another makes it “unprofessional conduct” to abort a baby for any reason other than to save the mother's life. The third bans anyone other than certified OB/GYNs from performing abortions.

All three laws are scheduled to take effect on November 1, but the first two are likely to face legal challenges before that date. While they might not be immediately enforceable, they will add to the list of court cases that have the potential to challenge the legal precedent of Roe v. Wade.

The third law is more likely to take effect since its purpose is to ensure a pregnant mother's safety rather than limit abortion directly.

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Pro-Lifers Arrested at New York Red Rose Rescue

Fr. Fidelis Moscinski
photo from Red Rose Rescue Facebook page

On April 24, a Catholic priest and three other pro-lifers were arrested during a Red Rose Rescue event at a New York abortion clinic.

The incident took place at the All Women's Care abortion facility in Manhasset, New York. Fr. Fidelis Moscinski, CFR, John Hinshaw, Laura Gies, and Matthew Connelly were arrested for "Obstructing Government Administration" after they entered the facility and refused to leave.

The pro-lifers passed out roses and cards to women considering abortions counseling them to reconsider their decisions. The cards read, “You were made to love and to be loved... your goodness is greater than the difficulties of your situation. Circumstances in life change. A new life, however tiny, brings the promise of unrepeatable joy.” The other side of the cards listed phone numbers for local pregnancy help centers.

The arrested pro-lifers have an arraignment set for July 12 in Nassau County Court, Hemstead, New York.

Look below to see Red Rose Rescue's statement from their Facebook page.

Pro-Life Bills to Defund Pro-Abortion Groups Introduced in US Congress

photo credit: John Brighenti / Flickr

Earlier this month, US legislators introduced bills to defund Planned Parenthood and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) introduced the No Taxpayer Funding for the United Nations Population Fund Act on April 13. This bill would withdraw all funding from the UNFPA, which is partnered with China. As a result, the UNFPA is complicit with Chinese population control tactics.

China's infamous one-child policy (much of which continues today as a two-child policy) includes forced abortions and sterilizations. The Chinese government is employing similar tactics in its ongoing genocide of the Uighur Muslims as well.

The Trump administration had withdrawn funds from the UNFPA in 2017 due to the organization's ties to the Chinese government. President Biden included UNFPA funding in his discretionary budget request for the 2022 fiscal year, however. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said $32.5 million would be made available for the UNFPA this year.

Senators John Kennedy (R-LA) and Joni Ernst (R-IA) introduced the Protect Funding for Women's Health Care Act on April 15 to protect taxpayer funding from being given to Planned Parenthood. These funds would be redirected from Planned Parenthood to other eligible women's health care providers.

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Appeals Court Allows Tennessee to Enforce 48 Hour Waiting Period Law While Lawsuit is Deliberated

Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III

The 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals decided last Friday that the state of Tennessee could enforce its 48-hour waiting period law while the lower court's decision is being appealed.

District Judge Bernard A. Friedman decided in 2020 to strike down Tennessee's 1978 law mandating a 48-hour waiting period for abortions. It was in effect until 2000, when the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled that the state Constitution included an implied right to abortion. In 2015, the law went back into effect when the state constitution was amended to expressly state that it did not include a right to abortion. It is currently being threatened by a lawsuit from abortion businesses and the ACLU, however.

“We are pleased that the full Sixth Circuit has recognized that Tennessee’s law, requiring a 48-hour waiting period for abortions, is likely constitutional and can be enforced while the appeal proceeds,” said Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III. “The Supreme Court has recognized the authority of State governments to provide women considering abortion the opportunity to receive important information before a life-changing decision is made. Tennesseans, through their elected representatives, voted for this law and this Office will defend it.”

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Docs Reveal Biden Medicare Nominee Received Thousands of Dollars from Planned Parenthood

Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, President Biden's nominee for Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), accepted thousands of dollars from Planned Parenthood. This was revealed by the Public Financial Disclosure Report she was required to submit during the confirmation process.

The report reveals that she received an undisclosed amount greater than $5,000 from Planned Parenthood Federation of America. She described the work she did for Planned Parenthood as follows: “Summarized Democrat candidates’ position on women’s health and facilitated discussion on their priorities as a primary care provider (client of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP).”

The American Accountability Foundation summarized this description as “Washington-speak for using her position at her law firm to coordinate strategy with Democratic politicians on Planned Parenthood between the Biden campaign and elected officials in Washington. It is basically a lobbying position without having to be disclosed as a lobbyist.”

Brooks-LaSure's nomination is currently on hold for unrelated reasons. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) said that he is holding off on the confirmation process in protest of the Biden administration’s refusal to extend a Medicaid waiver Texas relied on to reimburse hospitals for treating uninsured patients.

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Watch the Parents for the Protection of Girls Legislative Training Sessions and Learn How to Protect Parental Notification

If you missed the legislative training sessions that Parents for the Protection of Girls held earlier this month, you can now access recordings of those sessions on the Illinois Right to Life YouTube channel.

These training sessions were designed to teach pro-lifers how to effectively use Zoom to speak with Illinois legislators and fight against the repeal of the Parental Notification of Abortion Act.

Click here to watch the 45-minute training session hosted by Illinois Right to Life Action Legislative Chairman Ralph Rivera on April 7th.

Click here to watch the 20-minute training session hosted by Illinois Right to Life Action Legislative Associate Molly Rumley on April 8th.

New Group Announces Service to Mail Abortion Pills Directly to Women

On April 12, FDA Director Janet Woodcock announced that the FDA would stop enforcing regulations requiring that doctors distribute abortion pills in person rather than through the mail. Supposedly, this rule change would only continue for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, but there are doubts on both sides of the abortion debate on whether the rule will ever come back. As proof of this, a new group called Abortion on Demand (AOD) announced the very next day that it was launching a telemedicine service to ship abortion pills directly to women through the mail.

AOD was founded by Seattle area physician Dr. Jamie Phifer. According to an article in Marie Claire, Phifer “has been building the service for the last year and a half—keeping it under wraps until such a policy change enabled her to legally get it off the ground.”

Phifer's service has women watch a video explaining the abortion process before having an online conversation with an abortionist. If the abortionist is satisfied with the woman's answer to their questions, the woman will receive the pills within five days.

AOD is immediately launching in twenty states and the District of Columbia. Phifer hopes to add more states soon, but she has gone on record saying that she believes abortion pills should be distributed over the counter.

Click here to read more.

HHS Proposal Would Remove Trump's "Protect Life" Title X Rule

HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra
photo credit: Gage Skidmore / Flickr

A proposal published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on April 15 would remove pro-life Title X regulations set by the Trump administration in 2019. The proposal would restore the language set in 2000 by the Clinton administration.

Trump's "Protect Life Rule" barred organizations from receiving Title X funding if they performed abortions, co-located with organizations that performed abortions, or referred patients to organizations the perform abortions.

The new proposal "revise[s] the 2019 rules by readopting the 2000 regulations, with several modifications." While these Clinton-era rules don't directly fund abortions, they effectively subsidize abortion businesses by giving them grant funding that they can spend elsewhere.

After Trump enacted the "Protect Life Rule," Planned Parenthood voluntarily walked away from $60 million per year in taxpayer funding. With the rule gone, the abortion giant would almost certainly receive millions through the Title X program once again.

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Sex Trafficking Victim Pleads Illinois Lawmakers to Keep Parental Notification Law

Dr. Brook Bello
Screenshot from Illinois Family Institute video

Dr. Brook Bello, a survivor of sex trafficking and the founder of More Too Life, recently spoke out against the effort by pro-abortion legislators in Illinois to repeal the Parental Notice of Abortion Act.

More Too Life helps survivors of sexual abuse by providing them with mentoring and education. She received the Lifetime Achievement Award from former President Barack Obama for her work.

At the invitation of Parents for the Protection of Girls, Dr. Bello spoke about her experiences and gave an impassioned speech about why parental notification is so important.

“I was raped at 11 years old. I started being trafficked as a young teen,” Bello said. “Our traffickers made us get abortions. Had my parents been notified, my mother would have known what city I was in. She would have known what street I possibly would have been near. She could have contacted law enforcement.”

She also spoke about how the abortions she was forced to had a permanent effect on her gynecological health. She suffered “miscarriage after miscarriage after miscarriage.” By the time her doctor learned that she had issues related to previous abortions, it was too late to reverse the damage. Untreated scar tissue left her unable to carry a child to term.

“I ask the public, and I ask the Illinois legislature, ‘why would you want a child to keep something secret that’s going to affect the rest of her life?' I beg of you, I plead, Illinois, to not reverse and to please notify parents. I think that every state should notify parents. Why keep something a secret that affects someone for the rest of their life, and is absolutely connected to various issues of human trafficking and rape and violence that that youth is probably afraid to share? Give them a safe place to fall, and notify parents.”

Click here to read more.

May 12 Deadline: Register for the 2021 SpeakOut Illinois Conference

This year's event will also be live-streamed at an in-person event in Springfield!

The SpeakOut Illinois Coalition, a group of pro-life and pro-family groups from across the state, is holding the 2021 SpeakOut Illinois Conference soon! This conference will help equip pro-life advocates to fight for our values this year.

Damon and Melanie Owens will be the keynote speakers. As the founders of Joyful Ever After, they have helped couples build strong marriages.

Additionally, former Illinois State Representative Jeanne Ives will receive the Henry Hyde Life Leadership Award.

The conference will be held at 100 Drury Lane in Oakbrook Terrace, IL, but it will also be live-streamed at another in-person event at The Atrium Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception at 524 E. Lawrence Avenue in Springfield, IL.

The conference will go from 8:00 AM to noon on Saturday, May 15, 2021. Breakfast will be served at both venues.

You can register online by visiting speakoutillinois.org, or you can register by mail if you click the link below to download and print the registration form.

Click here to download the SpeakOut Illinois Conference registration form.

Ohio Judge Issues Preliminary Injunction Against Ohio Telemedicine Abortion Ban

Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas Judge
Allison Hatheway

On April 19, an Ohio judge from the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas issued a preliminary injunction that prevents the state of Ohio from enforcing its ban against telemedicine distribution of the abortion pill regimen.

Judge Allison Hatheway issued the injunction after initially granting a temporary restraining order on April 13. Hatheway is the same judge who issued a temporary restraining order blocking an Ohio law that requires abortion businesses to treat the bodies of aborted babies with respectful burial or cremation, rather than treating them as medical waste.

Ohio Governor signed the telemedicine abortion ban into law on Jan. 9, and it was set to go into effect on April 12, but now it will have to survive a battle in court.

“We believe that this decision is rooted in politics—not women’s health or safety,” said Mike Gonidakis, President of Ohio Right to Life. “The state of Ohio has a vested interest in ensuring that Planned Parenthood and their abortion allies cannot skirt common sense safeguards to increase their bottom line. The abortion industry is not above the law and the women of Ohio deserve to be safe.”

Click here to read more.

Kentucky AG Cameron Files Brief with 21 States Asking US Supreme Court to Allow Tennessee to Enforce Abortion Waiting-Period Law

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron

Last week, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court on behalf of a 21-state coalition. The brief asks the Supreme Court to allow Tennessee to enforce its abortion waiting-period law while it is being reviewed by a lower court.

After a District Court ruling blocked the Tennessee law, the Sixth Circuit US Court of Appeals chose not to stay that verdict while hearing the case. As a result, Tennessee's waiting period law remains unenforceable.

“States have the sovereign authority to enact laws that promote life and protect the health and well-being of pregnant women,” said Attorney General Cameron. “We filed this brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to allow Tennessee’s law to stand and to protect the right of each state to regulate abortion.”

The brief argues that the Sixth Circuit's decision to temporarily block enforcement of the law runs contrary to Supreme Court Precedent set by Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey 30 years ago. In that decision, the Supreme Court upheld a Pennsylvania abortion waiting period law. The attorneys general argue that continuing the block Tennessee's law calls that precedent into question and threatens waiting-period laws in other states.

Attorneys general from Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia joined Cameron in the brief.

Click here to read the amicus brief.

Hawaii Gov. Signs Law to Allow Non-Doctors to Commit Abortions

Hawaii Gov. David Ige

On April 12, Hawaii Gov. David Ige signed into law a bill allowing some nurses- not just doctors- to end the lives of unborn children. The law went into effect immediately, and it adds Hawaii to the growing minority of states that allow non-doctors to abort children.

The new law allows Advanced Practice Registered Nurses to commit first-trimester abortions. This includes the ability to administer the abortion pill regimen or carry out aspiration abortions.

There are safety reasons why abortion is a practice limited to physicians in most states. Risks during aspiration abortions (otherwise known as D&C abortions) include organ damage, uterine puncture, hemorrhage, infection, and death. Similarly, the abortion pill can cause hemorrhaging, infection, and death. By only allowing doctors to commit abortions, some of the risks to the pregnant mother can be mitigated. Nurses with less training may be more likely to harm the vulnerable women seeking abortions.

Click here to read more.