October 24, 2015

U.S. House passes pro-life reconciliation bill

The U.S. House of Representatives Friday passed the “Restoring Americans’ Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act,” (H.R. 3762), 240-189. Among other things, the bill would block, for one year, most federal payments to affiliates of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA).

H.R. 3762 is a special type of legislation called a “reconciliation bill.” This means that it cannot be blocked in the Senate by the filibuster, which has been the main obstacle to previous attempts to pass legislation to defund Planned Parenthood. Nevertheless, the bill faces formidable obstacles in the Senate.

The bill would close the largest pipeline for federal funding of Planned Parenthood, Medicaid, and apply as well to the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and the Title V and Title XX block grant programs. These sources account for roughly 89% of all federal funds that currently flow to Planned Parenthood. Under the bill, the amounts denied to Planned Parenthood are reallocated to community health centers.

Click here for the originating article from National Right to Life.

October 23, 2015

Is a Notorious Chicago Abortion Clinic Quietly Closing?

The Albany Medical-Surgical Center abortion facility, run by the Family Planning Associates (FPA) chain, has long been notorious for not-safe-but-legal abortions, as witnessed chiefly by four (4) women who died following abortions performed there: Maria Rodriguez, Nakia Jorden, Maria Leho, and, most tragically of all, 13-year old Deanna Bell.

The last day the Albany abortion clinic was open was Saturday, October 17. Since then, it’s been closed. A sign on the door now directs people to another FPA abortion facility in downtown Chicago, and the large sign in the facility’s parking lot that formerly said, “Family Planning Associates Medical Group” is now blank.

Whether this closure is temporary or permanent remains to be seen, but regardless, we know that babies are no longer being killed there, and that is cause for rejoicing—especially considering that this news comes in the midst of a 40 Days for Life vigil held outside Albany for the sixth consecutive year.

Click here for more from the Pro-Life Action League

Assisted Suicide Coercion Happens Behind Closed Doors

Assisted suicide propagandists insist that doctors will never assist suicides if they think a person is being coerced to die.

How in the hell would they know? Family pressure isn’t exerted with a gun to the head that can be seen on an X-ray. It occurs in daily nudges and winks–subtle pushes–that drive the vulnerable person toward the abyss.

One such example appears in the New York Times Magazine today, in a first person account of Carlos Framb, who pushed his mother–growing blind and debilitated with old age–into assisted suicide in Colombia. Click here for more...

Click here for the originating article from National Review.

Top OAS Official Seeks to Legalize Abortion in the Americas

The new Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS) criticized pro-life laws and policies in Latin America and the Caribbean during remarks at UN Women’s Global Leaders Meeting on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment: A Commitment to Action.

Luis Almagro, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay and now OAS Secretary General, spoke in the context of the post 2015 development agenda and called for the overturning of laws restricting and prohibiting abortion in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Secretary General claimed that he supports “more rights for more people” but then called for the removal of rights from an entire group of individuals– unborn children– stating:

“From the perspective of women’s rights, we are still facing two major challenges. First, the limitations of the scope and reach of women’s rights: the Americas continue to have some of the most restrictive laws regarding sexual and reproductive rights and freedoms, and that reality has to change.”

Click here for the originating article from Parliamentary Network for Critical Issues.

October 21, 2015

CALL ALERT -- U.S. House votes Friday on $400 million Planned Parenthood cut

The U.S. House of Representatives Friday passed the “Restoring Americans’ Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act,” (H.R. 3762), 240-189. Among other things, the bill would block, for one year, most federal payments to affiliates of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA).

H.R. 3762 is a special type of legislation called a “reconciliation bill.” This means that it cannot be blocked in the Senate by the filibuster, which has been the main obstacle to previous attempts to pass legislation to defund Planned Parenthood. Nevertheless, the bill faces formidable obstacles in the Senate.

The bill would close the largest pipeline for federal funding of Planned Parenthood, Medicaid, and apply as well to the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and the Title V and Title XX block grant programs. These sources account for roughly 89% of all federal funds that currently flow to Planned Parenthood. Under the bill, the amounts denied to Planned Parenthood are reallocated to community health centers.

Biden announces he will not run for President in 2016

By now you’ve probably heard that pro-abortion Vice President Joe Biden said he will not be a candidate for his party’s presidential nomination.

I’m not entirely sure I understood his opening remarks, which were both intensely personal and a brief nuts and bolts explanation of “the process.” However the conclusion of his remarks, made in the White House Rose Garden came early: “Unfortunately I believe we’re out of time, the time necessary to mount a winning campaign for the nomination.” Or, as he put it, the “window” had closed.

Looking ahead to the race that will culmination in November 2016, the most interesting comment was Mr. Biden’s fierce defense of the Obama record. Arguing that the nation (under Obama’s leadership) was on the “cusp of resurgence,” Biden said

This party, our nation would be making a tragic mistake if we walk away or attempt to undo the Obama legacy. …Democrats should not only defend this record and protect this record, they should run on this record.

In plain English, Hillary Clinton should run for Obama’s third term.

Click here for the originating article from National Right to Life.

Research reveals men’s sense of grief and helplessness in response to woman’s abortion

Studies on women’s negative responses to their abortions have appeared frequently over the past couple of decades. But research on men’s reactions to the abortion of their child have been harder to find.

Now, new research by Catherine T. Coyle and Vincent M. Rue appearing in the October 2015 issue of Counseling and Values offers “A Thematic Analysis of Men’s Experience With a Partner’s Elective Abortion.”

Coyle and Rue report on responses to an online survey of 89 men whose partner (wife or more often girlfriend) had undergone an abortion. The size of the sample and the manner of self-selection (it depended on men finding the website) make it difficult to make any broad statistical observations but still offers valuable experiential data.

Accounts of their experiences are compelling and heart-breaking reading. There are painful commonalities, especially among those whose input into the decision was not welcomed.

Click here for the originating article from National Right to Life.

October 19, 2015

U.S. House to Vote Friday October 23 on Fast-Track Bill to De-Fund Planned Parenthood, Repeal Some Obamacare Rationing Provisions


The Republican leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives has announced that the House will vote on Friday, October 23, on the “pro-life reconciliation bill” — a fast-track bill (H.R. 3762) containing multiple pro-life provisions.

H.R. 3762 is a special once-a-year measure called the “reconciliation bill.” Unlike almost every other kind of bill, the “reconciliation bill” cannot be filibustered in the U.S. Senate — so it can pass with only 51 votes, rather than 60 (of 100 senators). Republicans currently hold a narrow majority in the U.S. Senate, 54-46.

But before the bill can be considered by the Senate, it first must pass the House on October 23.

The bill contains two major sections:

-The bill would block, for one year, most federal payments to Planned Parenthood. At least 89% of federal funding of Planned Parenthood would be blocked by this bill.

-The bill would repeal a number of major components of the Obamacare health law, including two of the major provisions that will lead to rationing of lifesaving care — the “Independent Payment Advisory Board” and the “excess benefits tax.”

Please act now — urge your representative in the U.S. House of Representatives to support the “reconciliation bill” (H.R. 3762), to defund Planned Parenthood and repeal two major health-care rationing components of Obamacare!

It takes just minutes to send an email to your representative, employing the easy-to-use tools at the National Right to Life Legislative Action Center. When you enter your address, you will automatically be directed to the correct representative. You’ll even be given a model message about the pro-life reconciliation bill, which you can modify as you see fit. Click here to go to the Legislative Action Center now.

What is the Unborn? A Case for Biological Humanity from Fertilization

Before you can even answer the question of whether or not abortion is moral, you must first decide what the unborn is. For as Greg Koukl of Stand to Reason observes, if the unborn is not human, then no justification for elective abortion is necessary. It would be no different from having a mole removed or a tooth pulled. But if the unborn is human, then no justification for elective abortion is adequate.

If it’s true that no one can tell when human life begins, then the benefit of the doubt should go to life. We should not be aborting the unborn because there’s a chance we could be aborting living human entities. If a hunter hears a rustling in the woods, does he shoot right away or does he make sure the rustling wasn’t caused by another human? Or if you’re driving down a road in the dark and you see the outline of something that may be a child or may simply be the shadow of a tree, do you drive into it or do you slow down? Or if you’re about to blow up a condemned building and you’re not sure if someone’s inside, do you blow it up anyway or send someone in to make sure?

However, it’s not true that no one can tell when human life begins.

The unborn from fertilization are alive because they exhibit the properties of living things. They grow through cellular reproduction and division, they metabolize food for energy, and they respond to stimuli. In fact, the only things the unborn need to survive are adequate nutrition, a proper environment, and an absence of fatal threats. That’s all any of us need. There is no point in human development at which the developing entity goes from non-life to living.

Click here for the originating article from Secular Pro-Life Blog

October 16, 2015

Behind the façade, customers Yelp about their horrible PPFA experiences

Writing at The Federalist, Hemingway alerted her readers to “’All Sorts of Nasty’: These 39 Yelp Reviews of Planned Parenthood Clinics will Horrify You.”

If you’re like me, you may not know that Yelp is “a popular online customer review application.” The service may be popular, but the posts describing what women went through at the nation’s largest abortion provider included “’Experience was awful,’ ‘insanely horrible,’ ‘filthy,’ ‘frankly, I am scared,’ ‘1 word: disgusting.’”

According to Hemingway, the responses were from clinics located in Falls Church, VA; Silver Spring, MD; Washington, D.C.; Montgomery Village, MD,; Miami, FL; Orlando, FL; Tampa, FL; Atlanta, Georgia; Charlotte, NC; Virginia Beach, VA; Richmond, VA; Lancaster, PA; and Philadelphia, PA.

You can read the posts for yourself. But in case you don’t have time, here is a smattering of typical comments, Click here to read some of the comments.

Click here for the originating article from National Right to Life.

October 15, 2015

‘The View’ Slams Kelsey Grammer for Wearing Pro-Life T-Shirt

Despite its many panelists, ABC’s The View has always pushed one view, and it certainly has never been conservative or pro-life.

So imagine how the ladies at the liberal talk show reacted when actor Kelsey Grammer posted a photo of himself wearing a pro-life shirt to his Instagram account last week. The ensuing confusion over a Hollywood elite having a different view than their own left the panel dumbfounded Monday.

The t-shirt Grammer wore was designed by pro-life advocacy group Abort73, and compared abortion violence to gun violence by asking, “Would it bother us more if we used guns?”

The shirt prompted a discussion on The View where the crew slammed the male actor for getting in-between a “choice between [a woman] and her God.

Click here for the originating article from Newsbusters.

October 14, 2015

Jerry Brown Vetoes Right to Try and Live Bill

This makes zero sense. Last week, Gov. Jerry Brown signed assisted suicide into law in California. This week, he vetoed a bill that would have allowed dying patients to access experimental drugs in an attempt to live. From the Sacramento Bee story:

Less than a week after signing legislation allowing California doctors to prescribe their dying patients lethal drugs, Gov. Jerry Brown on Sunday vetoed a bill that would have let terminally ill people petition pharmaceutical companies for access to experimental drugs before they are approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

The so-called “right-to-try” legislation had gained support in more than a dozen states, and it sailed through the Legislature with nearly unanimous support.

Click here for the originating article from National Review.

October 13, 2015

Planned Parenthood Stops Taking Money for Baby Parts

In a move borne out of desperation, Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards has announced that effective immediately, Planned Parenthood affiliates will no longer accept money in exchange for aborted baby body parts.

"Planned Parenthood has been caught with their bloody hands in the cash register. They are now trying to back-track their criminal conduct while making attacking accusations against the investigators. This will not work," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman, who also serves on the board of the Center for Medical Progress, which released videos that revealed Planned Parenthood's participation in the illegal trafficking of aborted baby remains.

"It is interesting to watch Planned Parenthood officials squirm. No amount of denial or pretending it won't happen again should be allowed to let them off the hook. I renew my call for criminal prosecutions of all Planned Parenthood employees involved in criminal conduct," said Newman. "Planned Parenthood should not be held above the law."

Click here for the originating article from Christian Newswire.

October 12, 2015

Abstinence proponent: Teens need 'healthier' message

The survey, conducted in July by the Barna Group, reveals that about 40 percent of 18- and 19-year-olds feel their contraceptive-focused sex ed classes make sex seem like an expectation. In other words, says Valerie Huber of the National Abstinence Education Association, those teens are feeling more pressure from their sex ed classes to have sex than from their dating partners.

"When you make comments [like] We know you're going to have sex, but just try to do it safely – what kind of message is that sending?" Huber asks. "Well, according to these teens, it's sending the message: We expect you to have sex."

The Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program (comprehensive sex ed) is contraceptive-based; in contrast, the Sexual Risk Avoidance (SRA) approach is abstinence-based. Currently 95 percent of funding goes to the latter, leaving only five percent for abstinence.

Click here for the originating article from OneNewsNow.

Pro-lifers push filibuster-proof plan in Senate

More than 35 pro-life organizations signed a letter to Congress calling for pro-lifers on Capitol Hill to try again to defund Planned Parenthood after a Democrat-led filibuster killed an earlier bill.

Marilyn Musgrave of Susan B. Anthony List explains the U.S. Senate can use a process known as "reconciliation," which allows a simple majority of votes, 51, to skirt around a filibuster.

Citing the filibuster and a lack of 60 pro-life senators,  Musgrave explains, "we can avoid that and just have a simple majority to pass something, and get it on the desk of the President, if you're successful."

Click here for the originating article from OneNewsNow.

October 8, 2015

House Judiciary Committee Continues Hearings Investigating Planned Parenthood’s Abortion Business

The U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary today held a second hearing examining Planned Parenthood’s abortion business. The hearing, titled “”Planned Parenthood Exposed: Examining Abortion Procedures and Medical Ethics at the Nation’s Largest Abortion Provider,” comes on the heels of a series of videos by The Center for Medical Progress (CMP) exposing the gruesome business of baby-body-part harvesting and trafficking, often involving affiliates of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), the nation’s largest abortion provider

“Planned Parenthood now commands about one-third of the total abortion ‘market’,” said Carol Tobias, National Right to Life president. “We fully support investigations into many aspects of this grisly business. Planned Parenthood equals abortion.”

Among today’s witnesses testifying before the Committee on the Judiciary were former abortionist Anthony Levatino, M.D., J.D. and Susan Thayer, former center manager of Planned Parenthood of the Heartland’s Storm Lake, Iowa clinic.

Click here for the original article from National Right to Life.

October 7, 2015

Religious groups demand Governor Rauner cut Planned Parenthood state funding

The Christian Emergency League, along with the Illinois Family Institute and other pro-life organizations in Illinois, are demanding that Gov. Rauner take action immediately to cut off all state funds going to Planned Parenthood.

They're planning a "Jericho Prayer March" around the governor's mansion.

"Recent videos produced by the Center for Medical Progress have exposed very clearly the gruesome practices in particular of Planned Parenthood," says Christian Liberty Pastor Calvin Lindstrom. "Attention has been given to Mark Kirk for his refusal to vote for cutting off funding for Planned Parenthood, but what pressure is being placed on Gov. Rauner?"

Illinois' comptroller records show that in Fiscal Year 2015, Illinois' cash-strapped taxpayers sent nearly $8 million to Planned Parenthood of Illinois and other affiliates.

Click here for the originating article from Illinois Review.

October 6, 2015

Congress Can Receive Full Unedited Footage of Undercover Investigation

Court Rules that Congress Can Receive Full Unedited Footage of Undercover Investigation into National Abortion Federation and Planned Parenthood

This afternoon, in response to arguments by the Thomas More Society, counsel for David Daleiden, U.S. District Judge William H. Orrick III has ruled that David Daleiden and The Center for Medical Progress may respond to Congress's subpoena seeking all unedited video footage of Daleiden's undercover investigation into trafficking in fetal body parts by Planned Parenthood and other National Abortion Federation affiliates.

"The National Abortion Federation has gone to extraordinary lengths to keep David Daleiden's footage of its annual meetings out of the hands of law enforcement and the Congress," said Peter Breen, Thomas More Society Special Counsel. "We're pleased that the District Court has today decided to allow Congress to seek the unedited footage of the wrongdoing uncovered by David's investigation. We will continue to urge the District Court to allow David to release more undercover videos featuring the footage from these annual meetings to the public, so that the American people can make their own assessment of the practices of Planned Parenthood and the National Abortion Federation."

Judge Orrick's order further stated that, "Importantly in our Constitutional system, there are three equal branches of government, and courts should refrain from creating needless friction with a coordinate branch of government."

Read Judge Orrick's Order Here.

Click here for the originating article from Christian Newswire.

Bill to protect babies from being torn apart

Congress is being asked to approve a pro-life bill that likely wouldn't survive a vote in the Senate, but if it were approved would end by being vetoed by the president. However, the battle will continue to be fought until the bill is passed and signed into law.

Veteran pro-life Congressman Chris Smith (R-New Jersey) recently introduced the Dismemberment Abortion Ban Act (H.R. 3515). Douglas Johnson of the National Right to Life Committee explains what the dismemberment abortion procedure entails.

“It involves literally dismembering the unborn child with steel tools, clamps, grasping forceps, tongs, scissors and other steel tools that depend on the convergence of two rigid levers to slice, crush or grasp a portion of the child's body and to cut it and rip it off,” he explains.

Click here for the originating article from OneNewsNow.

Illinois conservatives could find Kirk alternative in IL GOP primary

A businessman from Oswego, Illinois has stepped forward to challenge Illinois U.S. Senator Mark Kirk in the 2016 Illinois Republican Party - and he's building support among Illinois conservative Republicans and Tea Party activists.

James Marter, a 42 year old computer analyst, hasn't held elected office before, but in a year when voters are flocking to Donald Trump, Carly Fiorina and Ben Carson, what would normally be considered a detriment in a statewide election, coming from a business background could be a plus.

Marter says he is "deeply concerned" with repealing Obamacare, wants to defund Planned Parenthood and would support prolife legislation.

That's in direct contrast to the incumbent Mark Kirk, acconding to Marter.

Click here for the originating article from Illinois Review.