New Study shows preemies can survive at earlier ages, but hospital attitude can mean life or death

A study published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine demonstrates widespread discriminatory denial of life-preserving medical treatment to premature infants based on fear that if assisted to live they might have disabilities – in defiance of protective federal law. provided a startling snapshot into the treatment of very premature infants.

The study looked at the survival and outcomes of almost 5,000 babies born before 27 weeks gestation at 24 hospitals from 2006 -2011. It found that 23% of infants are surviving at an astonishing 22 weeks gestation (20 weeks after fertilization) with treatment, but that many hospitals deliberately deny them life-saving medical treatment. In fact, the hospital attitude made the most significant difference in the probability of survival of these very premature babies.

Writing about this first major look into hospital practices regarding premature babies, Marilynn Marchione, AP’s Chief Medical Writer explains, “There was a wide range — some hospitals always gave active treatment to the youngest preemies as opposed to just comfort care, but others never did.”

Click here for the full article.

Born at 22 weeks, premature twins celebrate ninth birthday

Premature twins, Hunter and Darcy Ridley, were born at 22 weeks gestation— 123 days before their actual due date. Known at the time as the world’s most premature twins, the miracle babies are celebrating their ninth birthday.

On April 24, 2006, Darcy Louise was born weighing 500 grams; Hunter Ryan was born slightly heavier, weighing 560 grams.

Hunter and Darcy’s parents shared on Facebook:

“Remarkably, this is considered large for their gestation. They do have a number of medical conditions, including developmental delays …Darcy also has cerebral palsy and epilepsy. However both are very strong and beautiful children.”

The  twins’ powerful story of survival displays not only the humanity of children inside the womb, but the tragic reality of abortion. Although babies the same age and size are legally killed by abortion each day, their humanity is evident.

Click here for the full article.

U.S. House Passes Landmark Bill to Protect Pain-Capable Unborn Children and Live-Born Abortion Survivors

(NLRC.org) With the support of a vast majority of House Republicans, and due to the pro-life dedication of the House Republican leadership, the U.S House of Representatives today passed landmark legislation, 242-184, to extend federal protections to unborn children who have reached 20 weeks fetal age, and those who are born alive during late abortions.

The bill was developed from model legislation developed by National Right to Life in 2010, enacted thus far in 11 states.

“This bill would save thousands of unborn babies annually from terribly painful deaths,” said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “It is now clear that the overwhelming majority of House Democrats believe that painfully dismembering babies, in the sixth month and later, is just fine – now let them try to explain that to their constituents.”

The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act has been the right-to-life movement’s top congressional priority for the 114th Congress. Like the state bills, the proposed federal law would generally extend legal protect to unborn humans beginning at 20 weeks fetal age, based on congressional findings that by that point (and even earlier) the unborn child has the capacity to experience great pain during an abortion.

Douglas Johnson, legislative director for National Right to Life, notes that the bill also contains important new federal protections for babies who are born alive during abortions. Johnson expressed puzzlement that the Associated Press refers to a human who is born alive during abortions at 20 weeks fetal age as “the fetus” (as in this story on May 11), but referred to humans at exactly the same stage of development (20 weeks fetal age, 22 weeks of pregnancy) as “premature babies” and “preemies” in a May 7 story about a major new study showing that one-fourth of these babies survive long term when given active medical treatment.

“Apparently, some journalists think if a baby is born alive during an abortion, he or she remains a ‘fetus’ indefinitely,” Johnson commented.

A one-page summary of the revised federal Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act is available here.

The text of the bill, as passed today, is available here.

In a nationwide poll of 1,623 registered voters in November 2014, The Quinnipiac University Poll found that 60% would support a law such as the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act prohibiting abortion after 20 weeks, while only 33% opposed such legislation. Women voters split 59-35% in support of such a law, while independent voters supported it by 56-36%.

Some of the extensive evidence that unborn children have the capacity to experience pain, at least by 20 weeks fetal age, is available on the NRLC website at nrlc.org/abortion/fetalpain and also here: doctorsonfetalpain.com.

Source: National Right to Life

Staff admits to being disturbed by dismemberment abortion method

When reporting about The Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment Abortion Act, the mainstream media typically refuses to include the law’s definition of what is banned–“the use of clamps, grasping forceps, tongs, scissors or similar instruments [that], slice, crush or grasp a portion of the unborn child’s body in order to cut or rip it off.” But without those details, how can the public challenge the abortion industry claim that the law bans a ‘routine’ procedure that only pro-lifers believe is inhumane?

However, 37 years ago, one of the abortion industry’s own celebrated practitioners– Warren Hern of Boulder, Colorado– told colleagues about people who were disturbed by this particular method of abortion which (in his words) they “view as destructive and violent.” Who were they? His own staff!

In the early years following Roe, Hern did a limited survey and interview of his own staff about their feelings and reactions to participating in dismemberment abortions. He published his findings after presenting them to a 1978 gathering of Planned Parenthood practitioners.

Click here for his findings.

Click here for the full article.

Lack of Parental Notification for Abortion is Child Abuse

Right to Life is opposed to school counselors and members of the Family Planning Association smuggling young girls under the age of 16 years of age out of school for a secret abortion. In doing so they may be hiding statutory rape or incest. This is an appalling violation of parental rights and a breach of trust. It is a sad irony that a school requires the written consent of the parents for permission to attend a school trip or to be given an aspirin, yet may smuggle her away for an abortion without her parents’ knowledge or consent.

To deny parents the opportunity to be informed of an abortion on a daughter under the age of 16, risks or perpetuates estrangement or alienation from the child when she is in the greatest need of parental guidance and support. It denies all dignity to the family.

An abortion constitutes an assault on the body of a young and vulnerable young girl; it is also a lethal attack on a helpless and defenseless unborn child. Young girls facing the trauma of an unplanned pregnancy have a right to the love and protection of their families. The unborn child is also a member of the family, it has an inalienable right to life and has a fundamental right to the love and protection of the girl’s parents; they are, in fact, the child’s grandparents.

Click here for the full article.

4-year-old receiving adult stem cell transplant to ward off recurrence of neuroblastoma cancer

Leah was diagnosed with stage four neuroblastoma cancer last year and the bravery she has displayed in fighting that deadly disease since then “has captured the hearts of millions,” as one reporter put it.

The good news is that the adult stem cell transplant is an example of “better safe than sorry.” She’s been in remission for over a month but according to her father’s post, he’s been asked then why the transplant?:

Remission basically means that doctors can’t see any cancerous cells when looking at scans and test. But when studying cancer you know that although you can’t see any cancer cells on scans, physicals, or test because of the strength of the technology, more than likely there are cells hiding.

Click here for the full article.

When doctors are wrong: The inspirational story of Kathleen Habig

The doctors recommended that Deborah have an abortion. They were about to give her pitocin to induce labor, but she refused. The doctors responded with discouragement, explaining that the risk of infection was too high, and that she would be compelled to absolute bed rest. Kathleen recounts, “My mom never struggled. She knew I would be okay. It was the doctor that wasn’t so sure.”

And her mother was right, but the pregnancy did not come without struggle. Deborah took on the challenge with three children at home already to take care of. She was compelled to stay in bed most days, but that’s not exactly conducive to three young ones running around. She also had to unknowingly deal with Crohn’s Disease. Every time she had a bowel movement, pressure was put on baby Kathleen at great risk. Eventually, on December 6, Deborah went into labor and drove herself into the hospital.

Three months early, Kathleen Habig was born on December 7, 1983. Deborah remembers hearing her cry for the first time, and sighing with relief, knowing her daughter would be okay. Little Kathleen, only two-and-a-half pounds, had to be put in an incubator for two months before she was ready to go home.

Click here for the full article.

The highest-paid actress in US television is embroiled in a dispute over embryos

The technical term for Hollywood’s latest bioethical brain-teaser is anti-mimesis, Oscar Wilde’s theory that life imitates art. Sophia Vergara, highest-paid TV actress in the United States, who stars in Modern Family, a popular TV show which depicts the kaleidoscopic formations of contemporary families (at least families in southern California), has become embroiled in a dispute over embryos. Her tangled relationship seems to be morphing into a script for her own show.

That happened in 2013. Then the couple split up. In 2014 Mr Loeb applied to void the contract so that he could proceed with a surrogate pregnancy. Ms Vergara refused. Mr Loeb called in the lawyers and placed his tale of growing up in a divorced home, his dreams of becoming a father, and his failed relationships in a New York Times op-ed. This was the lesson he had learned from those painful years:

“When we create embryos for the purpose of life, should we not define them as life, rather than as property? Does one person’s desire to avoid biological parenthood (free of any legal obligations) outweigh another’s religious beliefs in the sanctity of life and desire to be a parent? A woman is entitled to bring a pregnancy to term even if the man objects. Shouldn’t a man who is willing to take on all parental responsibilities be similarly entitled to bring his embryos to term even if the woman objects?”

Click here for the full article.

NARAL sees Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment Abortion Act as “major, nationwide threat”

When NARAL uses a piece of pro-life legislation to fundraise on, you can be sure it will act in exactly the negative manner it falsely attributes to pro-lifers. That is, the language will be inaccurate, intended to polarize, and wholly misleading.

There is a particular irony that NARAL should rhetorically go off the deep end about the Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment Abortion Act today.

Ilyse G. Hogue, President, NARAL Pro-Choice America, tells her followers that in addition to using “gory” language, the Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment Abortion Act “demonizes abortion providers” intending to “polarize public opinion.”

Click here for the full article.

Baby born at 19 weeks lives for two hours, kicks his feet in video

Youanna Torres was 19 weeks and six days pregnant when she started to experience cramping and bleeding. Fearing the worst, Torres and her boyfriend, Fernando Viera, rushed to the ER. After an examination, doctors informed Torres that there was nothing they could do to stop her from going into premature labor.

Diagnosed with cervical incompetence (when the cervix begins to open too early during pregnancy) Torres’ baby was born nearly 20 weeks premature on April 4, 2015.

Baby Savier lived for two hours outside of the womb and died in the loving arms of his mother. Because he was born extremely premature, doctors were unable to do anything to save him.

My baby boy my cervix open too early i was 20weeks i miss him i love him i want him back
Posted by Youanna Torres on Sunday, April 5, 2015

Click here for the full article.

TIME Lets Planned Parenthood Boss Hail Abortion as ‘The Key to Women’s Opportunity’

Young women, do you want to attain your dreams and seize your opportunities? Then snuffing out an innocent life may be just the thing for you!

In an April 28 piece for TIME, Cecile Richards, president of taxpayer-funded Planned Parenthood, argued, “We Need to Talk – Really Talk – About Abortion.” In it, her “talk” focused on how abortion is “key to women’s opportunity” and an outlet to “pursue their dreams.” Richards praised the media – her megaphone – for their efforts to blast abortion-positive messaging.

Richards also applauded “a new generation of television and film producers” for “writing and casting roles where abortion is a fact of life,” including the media-hyped Obvious Child, Girls and The Fosters.

Click here for the full article.

Abortion was, is, and will continue to be an important issue in elections

As political pundits talk increasingly about the 2016 election cycle, we know that biased pro-abortion media will claim that abortion will not be an issue in the election.

Yet a CBS Poll released March 29, 2015, asked Republicans if they would consider voting for a presidential candidate who holds a different view on abortion than they did. Interestingly it was a deal-breaker for 51% questioned, who said they would NOT vote for someone with a different view on abortion. Abortion was the second highest “deal-breaker” for Republicans.

In 2014, 23% of voters across the nation said that the abortion issue affected their vote and voted for candidates who oppose abortion. Just 16% said abortion affected their vote and voted for candidates who favor abortion. This 7% net gain for pro-life candidates made the difference in many races.

Another way to look at it: in 2014, 39% of all voters said abortion affected their vote. Of those who considered abortion important, 59% voted for the pro-life candidate.

Click here for the full article.

New UN Report Warns of Dangers of Prenatal Sex Selection, massive loss of female babies

A new report by UNFPA’s office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia reveals that an estimated 171,000 girls are ‘missing’ in South Caucasus and parts of South-East Europe while there is a growing surplus of men.

Preventing gender-biased sex selection in Eastern Europe and Central Asia contains a dire message of concern on the anticipated impact of the destruction of unborn baby girls and distorted sex ratios:

“Sex imbalances at birth will also translate two decades on into a surplus of men, a demographic imbalance likely to affect their marriage prospects and one with the potential to increase human trafficking, crime, gender-based violence, and political unrest in severely affected regions.”

Click here for the full article.

The unborn have feet, legs ... but no rights?

Barack Obama, arguably the most pro-abortion president in U.S. history, knows unborn babies have enough life in them to kick their mothers – but he doesn't believe they have enough life in them to have the right to live.

Last week, President Obama delivered a speech in which he discussed women experiencing too many difficulties on the job because they are women, including being paid differently than men and for the same job...

Eric Scheidler of the Pro-Life Action League is encouraged to see the president making this kind of admission, but at the same time he still rather outraged that Obama remains such an advocate for abortion, "Here we have him recognizing that babies kick their mothers inside, and yet we're allowed to have that same baby the next day taken to an abortionist and literally torn limb from limb – and that's acceptable under our laws."

Click here for the full article.

Two new bills bolster abstinence education

Two bills passed by Congress this month give teens greater access to Sexual Risk Avoidance abstinence education.

The first bill not only restored funding for the Title V grant program but also increased funding for abstinence education. The second bill passed is the Healthy Relationships Act of 2015, calling for medically accurate, evidence-based abstinence education.

Valerie Huber of the National Abstinence Education Association tells OneNewsNow the passage of these bills is great news.  “This is a huge victory,” she says. “And, in fact, it’s the first time that we have seen an increase in this program since it was started in 1996.”

Click here for the full article.

5 amazing things preborn children can do inside the womb

Preborn children may not be at the same developmental stage as us, but there are many things that they can still do! They have beating hearts at only 21 days gestation, detectable brain waves at roughly 42 days, and can suck their thumbs and yawn. They even have taste buds and their own fingerprints!

The incredible things preborn children can do inside the womb may surprise us, however, they certainly showcase the humanity of preborn life.

BabyCentre shares that the “womb is a sensory playground for your baby,” noting that when babies respond while in the womb, it is a sign that the child is preparing for life after birth.

Click here for the full article.

Senate reaches compromise on abortion funding in trafficking bill

After six weeks of gridlock, members of both parties in the Senate bridged a disagreement over abortion funding in a new human trafficking bill by dividing up funding streams for the new project.

“The fund really is supposed to be about shelters and housing and victims' services and also, of course, law enforcement,” said Amy Klobuchar (D- Minn.), to NPR. Klobuchar has, along with party leaders, contributed to the legislative solution after facing pressure for not bringing the funding controversy to light earlier.

“When I looked back on speeches, that's all we talked about. We didn't talk about health care.”

Click here for the full article.

Make the Hyde Amendment permanent law, says pro-life attorney

For weeks the Senate has been wrangling over language of the human trafficking bill and whether that language would provide federal funds for abortions for trafficking victims.

A compromise has been reached, dumping expanded pro-life language that allows the measure to advance

"It requires a transfer of the health care funds authorized under the new bill from the fund that is already restricted by the Hyde Amendment," says Harned, who is staff counsel for Americans United. " So the result is still no new taxpayer funding for abortion through the human trafficking funding bill."  But each time a law involving abortion comes up, there is the same political battle over taxpayers' money for abortion.

Click here for the full article.

Arrest of pro-lifer could land Chicago police in hot water

Eric Scheidler, executive director of Pro-Life Action League, tells OneNewsNow his group conducted a pro-life demonstration at Chicago's Navy Pier during Planned Parenthood's annual fundraising banquet at the site on the evening of April 15. With the permission of security personnel, Scheidler walked up Navy Pier, merely observing the event, walked back toward the pro-life demonstration – but then was arrested by Chicago police, jailed for four hours, and charged with misdemeanor trespassing.

Scheidler, Eric (Pro-Life Action League)"One of the things that really upset me about the whole experience, besides the injustice of the arrest, was that the police confiscated the memory card from my GoPro® camera," he explains. "This [recorded] footage showed my getting permission to go onto Navy Pier and then my getting arrested."

And that recording, he argues, completely exonerates him of any charge of trespassing.

Click here for the full article.

Pro-Abort Health Care Right of Conscience Act passed IL Senate

Health Care Right of Conscience Act - PASSED

This bill has passed out of the Illinois Senate  with a vote of 34 to 19 and is now headed for the the Illinois House of Representatives.

SB1564

Sponsor: Senator Biss

This bill amends the Health Care Right of Conscience Act:  provides that notwithstanding any other law, a health care facility, or any physician or health care personnel working in the facility, may refuse to permit, perform, assist in, counsel about, suggest, recommend, refer for, or participate in health care services because of a conscience-based objection.  

This bill now undermines Healthcare Right of Conscience by requiring pro-life facilities to refer pro-abort services to other facilities thus violating their morals or beliefs.

From the bill text:

Amends the Health Care Right of Conscience Act. Makes changes in the Section concerning findings and policy. Defines "access to care and information protocols" and "material information". Provides that notwithstanding any other law, a health care facility, or any physician or health care personnel working in the facility, may refuse to permit, perform, assist in, counsel about, suggest, recommend, refer for, or participate in health care services because of a conscience-based objection only if the refusal occurs in accordance with written access to care and information protocols designed to ensure that (1) the patient receives material information in a timely fashion; and (2) the refusal will not impair the patient's health by causing delay of or inability to access the refused health care service. Provides that nothing in the Act shall be construed to prevent a health care facility from requiring that physicians or health care personnel working in the facility comply with access to care and information protocols.

This amendment requires a written referral to a facility that will complete the refused services including abortion, contraceptives and family planning.

From the bill text:

...a written document that contains the names of and contact information for health care facilities, physicians, or health care personnel that can provide the patient the particular form of health care service refused...

"Health care" is defined as any phase of patient care, including but not limited to, testing; diagnosis; prognosis; ancillary research; instructions; family planning, counselling, referrals, or any other advice in connection with the use or procurement of contraceptives and sterilization or abortion procedures; medication; or surgery or other care or treatment rendered by a physician or physicians, nurses, paraprofessionals or health care facility, intended for the physical, emotional, and mental well-being of persons...

Although an amendment has been added to bill, the Federation for Right to Life still opposes this bill.

This bill now goes to the House of Representatives.

Click here to find your State Representative's contact information.

Click here for more information on this bill.

Click here for the full bill text.