Post-abortion woman: “It feels like a part of me died that day and will never return”

Cary Tennis is an “advice columnist” best known for a “Since You Asked” column that ran for years at Salon. I just re-read a column from a while back and it got me to thinking.

Since no one would come away thinking Salon is a home for card-carrying pro-life activists, it is to his (and Salon’s) credit that Tennis answered a letter from a deeply unhappy woman under the headline, “My Abortion Traumatized me: The father of my child dropped me at the clinic and disappeared. Every day I mourn.”

Highpoints [actually low points]?

-She wanted the baby but aborted “based my relationship with the baby’s father” [a promise of marriage and kids down the line…if only THIS one was aborted].

-She continues to have nightmares. “I wake up every morning and it is the best minute of my life before the knowledge of what happened returns to me and the cycle of sadness and regret begins all over again.”

-And “I am a liberal woman and as pro-choice as you can be! Which is even more upsetting.”

-Her question? How to move forward and free herself “from this unending cycle of regret?”

Tennis’s final recommendation—that she links up with a pro-abortion “after-abortion counseling talk line”—is unfortunate. But much of everything else he says is helpful to women grieving after an abortion.

Click here for more from National Right to Life

David Daleiden to speak at NRLC 2017 Convention in Milwaukee

With the beginning of the 2017 National Right to Life Convention now less than six weeks away, pro-lifers will be delighted to know that David Daleiden will be speaking June 29 at 12:20 – 2 pm.

For information about the convention and how to register, go to nrlconvention.com.

Mr. Daleiden, a citizen journalist and the project lead at The Center for Medical Progress, became nationally known in 2015 when CMP undercover investigators posed as buyers of “fetal tissue” (an umbrella term that includes intact hearts and lungs and pancreas and brains), and asked the kinds of questions someone who is the middleman would ask of the abortion industry.

The product of this 30-month-long “Human Capital” investigation was a lengthy series of videos that documented Planned Parenthood’s unsavory involvement in the procurement and sale of body parts from aborted babies.

Click here for more from National Right to Life

Study claims waiting period laws don’t work even though minds are changed and lives saved

America’s abortion research academy—UCSF (University of California, San Francisco)—has produced another study claiming that yet another category of pro-life legislation is ineffective, or even has harmful consequences. This time, according to authors Sarah Roberts, Elise Belusa, Sarah Combellick, Lauren Ralph, and David K. Turok, the offending law is Utah’s 72 hour waiting period.

The law, researchers acknowledged, “did not prevent most women who presented for information visits from having abortions” but had, they asserted, “burdened women with financial costs, logistical hassles and extended periods of dwelling on decisions they had already made.”

However, when UCSF conducted its three week followup, the data shows something UCSF did not wish to highlight. There were women who did change their minds about abortion after their counseling sessions and three-day wait, who were still pregnant and no longer seeking abortion.

Click here for more from National Right to Life

Iowa defunds Planned Parenthood; IL moves toward taxpayer-funded abortion

While the majority in the Illinois Senate and House leads an effort to force Illinois taxpayers to pay for ending lives of the state's next generation, states to the east and west, are closing Planned Parenthood clinics.

State Rep. Allen Skillicorn (R-West Dundee) says the passage of HB 40 - a measure that would force state taxpayers to fully fund Medicaid and state employee abortions - sets Illinois in direct conflict with the national trend away from abortion. He says with the state being in such dire financial straits, the measure will not only offend morally-conscious taxpayers, but deny others are dependent on state programs for their needs.

"That's right, Illinois is $13 Billion behind in back bills and HB40 will gut services even deeper to fund the abortion industry. This is extremely disappointing. Morally-conscious taxpayers would be in a position of either 1. funding abortion with the fruits of their labor, 2. avoiding paying taxes, or 3. leaving the state," Skillicorn said.

Click here for more from Illinois Review

Emotionally Manipulative Videos Can't Save Planned Parenthood

First, it was Star Wars director J.J. Abrams.  Now, Avengers director Joss Whedon has joined the Planned Parenthood bandwagon. A Whedon-directed video entitled “UNLOCKED” was recently released portraying Planned Parenthood as the savior of women by providing cancer screenings, STD prevention classes, and birth control.

It’s a video that is long on emotional, slow-motion tracking shots accompanied by heart-rending orchestration, but short on factual reality. The first myth of “UNLOCKED” is that without Planned Parenthood, countless women would be robbed of vital cancer screenings. But this is simply not the case. According to Planned Parenthood’s own numbers, they provide a fraction of care nationwide:

Planned Parenthood performed 271,539 Pap tests in fiscal year 2014-15, out of 28.1 million tests nationwide. That’s less than 1% of the nation’s Pap tests.

Planned Parenthood performed 363,803 clinical breast exams (these are not mammograms) in fiscal year 2014-15, out of 20 million exams nationwide. Planned Parenthood’s U.S. market share for clinical breast exams is 1.8%.

Planned Parenthood’s market share in the nation’s mammograms is 0.0%. Meaning, no, they do not provide any mammograms… at all.

It’s clear from these numbers that the 13,540 health care centers in the U.S. would have no problem picking up an additional 1-2% of cancer screenings, showing that Planned Parenthood is in no way “vital” to women’s health care.

Click here for more from the FRC Blog

Vision 2020 - Week 17 - Rep. Kelly M. Burke (D) and Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia (D)

Vision 2020 and the Illinois Federation for Right to Life would like to invite you to join us in praying for our state legislators.  We will send out information about a couple different state representatives each week for you to pray over.  

Consider sharing this information with your ministry partners, your church family, on your website and/or your Facebook page.  

We know that prayer changes things.  And we know that NOTHING is impossible with God. So let's join our hearts and voices together and petition heaven on behalf of the great state of Illinois!

Some of our legislators need prayer that God will open their eyes and change their hearts (or move them out of their positions) and some need prayers that they will have the strength, courage and boldness to be able to stand firmly against the opposition as they fight for life and family values.  

Rep. Kelly M. Burke (D) 36th District kburke@kellyburkerep36.org Pro-Choice	Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia (D) 83rd District lindachapalavia@il83dist.com Pro-Choice

Problem for abortuaries isn't the law

The Guttmacher Institute was formerly affiliated with Planned Parenthood, but even after they parted company, Guttmacher still works to promote the abortion industry. Dr. Randall K. O'Bannon of the National Right to Life Committee says the latest effort from the Institute to make women feel like abortion regulations have harmed them is flawed and misleading because it puts a number of studies together – some 35 years old – and reaches conclusions not supported by the data.

"There's not really any new information here," O’Bannon notes. "It's just the old, tired studies being brought together and under one heading. The claim is that there's no [need] for these laws, but the study does not get down to the nitty-gritty of exactly what's going on in the abortion clinics and why these laws got passed in the first place."

"But one thing they're ignoring is that there have been clinics that have been closing in the United States for the past 10, 20 years," O’Bannon tells OneNewsNow. "And a large part of it is just because demand is down. We used to have 1.6 million abortions a year. Now, we are finally under a million, and a lot of these clinics just aren’t getting customers, and they closed clinics even before some of these laws got passed."

Click here for more from OneNewsNow

Performing abortion is ‘God’s work’? The real story of Christianity and abortion

To the utter consternation of the abortion rights movement, the issue simply will not go away. Decades after they thought they had put the matter to rest with the Roe v. Wade decision, America’s conscience is more troubled than ever, and near panic appears regularly to break out among abortion activists. Such a panic is now underway, and the defenders of abortion are trotting out some of their most dishonest arguments. One of the worst is the claim that Christians have only quite recently become concerned about the sanctity of human life and the evil of abortion.

In fact, one of America’s most infamous abortion doctors, Dr. Willie Parker of Mississippi, has made such a claim in his new book, Life’s Work: A Moral Argument for Choice. Parker, who refers to himself as a Christian, writes: “If you take anti-abortion rhetoric at face value, without knowing much about the Bible, you might assume that the antis have Scripture on their side. That’s how dominant and pervasive their righteous rhetoric has become. but they do not. The Bible does not contain the word ‘abortion’ anywhere in it.”

Click here for more from LifeSiteNews

America Raises the Banner of LIFE Worldwide

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

The Trump administration sent a powerful message to the world yesterday: The principle established in America’s founding document, that all men are created with an unalienable Right to Life, would be a determining factor as the U.S. helps with health programs around the world.

Following through on his January memorandum regarding the Mexico City Policy, the administration has declared with its new Promoting Life in Global Health Assistance that abortion will not be an export of the United States in any way.

The Mexico City Policy was issued by President Ronald Reagan in 1984. It barred the use of U.S. funds from being given to foreign organizations that perform or promote abortion as a method of family planning overseas. That policy was continued by Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, and rescinded by President Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

When President Trump reinstated the pro-life policy on January 23, he took the policy further. He instructed the Secretary of State “to implement a plan to extend the requirements of the reinstated Memorandum to global health assistance furnished by all (emphasis added) departments or agencies.”

The Mexico City Policy originally covered funds distributed for family planning and “reproductive health” purposes. The new policy now covers all global health assistance, pulling in international health programs such as HIV/AIDS, maternal and child health, malaria, and global health security. Because of the additional programs covered by the policy, the amount of money covered by the policy has gone from $500-$600 million to almost $9 billion annually.

People in developing countries want help—they want food for their children, they want shelter over their heads, they want to live in a safe environment, they want learning and training so they can take care of, and provide for, their families. When agencies and organizations enter a community, supported by U.S. funds, the people will know that we are not there to kill their children.

The United States is waving a banner worldwide—our health assistance will honor and protect life.

By Carol Tobias, President NRLC

Facebook quickly restores illegal abortion drug page after deleting it in ‘error’

Some 24 hours after it deleted the Facebook page of Women on Web, which sells illegal abortion pills online, Facebook backpedaled, apologized, and reinstated the page.

The social media giant shut down Women on Web May 12, citing its policy against the “promotion or encouragement of drug use,” the Guardian reported.

Click here for more from LifeSiteNews

Trump administration expands pro-life Mexico City Policy

The Trump administration on Monday announced that it would begin implementing an expanded Mexico City Policy, which pro-life leaders hailed as a key step to curtailing abortion funding.

The expansion means that more forms of foreign funding will be directed to go to organizations that do not perform or support abortions overseas.

Trump instructed the Secretary of State to expand the Mexico City Policy. Now, Secretary Rex Tillerson has released the plan to put this expansion into action. Entitled “Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance,” the plan extends the ban on funding of abortion supporters to other forms of foreign aid like global health assistance.

Click here for more from CNA/EWTN News

‘The strength that he has is so inspiring:’ NHL star befriends disabled boy who was almost aborted

Doctors said Christian Ouimet’s parents should abort him because of an adverse prenatal diagnosis. He had developmental disabilities and wasn’t supposed to survive the first trimester of his mother’s pregnancy.

Christian overcame serious obstacles to survive and even play hockey. And while he has been thrilled to be friends with the sports celebrity, Kyle and Julie Turris are clear about the effect that Christian has had on them.

Click here for more from LifeSiteNews

NFL star takes strong stand against abortion

Chris Maragos, who won a Super Bowl ring with the 2013 Seattle Seahawks and is entering his fourth season on the Eagles, is set to participate, along with his wife, Serah, at a fundraiser for AlphaCare’s “Kick It for Life” fundraiser May 27 in Philadelphia.

A pro-life pregnancy help center that operates a mobile medical unit, AlphaCare began serving women just a wall away from the shuttered abortion clinic of convicted murder Kermit Gosnell this January, with the ultimate goal to purchase and repurpose the clinic itself.

Click here for more from LifeSiteNews

Rauner muddies the waters more on his abortion stance

On a radio show Friday, Governor Bruce Rauner muddied his position on HB 40 all the more.|

Before being elected, Rauner assured abortion advocates in Personal PAC that he supported a woman's right to choose abortion. Then he led a group of social conservative lawmakers to believe he would veto HB 40, which would force state taxpayers to fund abortions for women on Medicaid or working for state government, and would remove language making Illinois a pro-life state if Roe vs Wade were to be overturned.

The bill passed the Illinois Senate Wednesday, but has yet to be sent to the Governor's desk.

Before the bill was voted on in the Illinois House, Rauner's spokeperson Allie Bovis wrote Illinois Review in an email on April 14, "Governor Rauner does not support HB40 and will veto the bill if it reaches his desk."

While talking to WBEZ radio host Tony Sarabia Friday, Rauner confused his stance all the more.

Click here for the interview from the Chicago Tribune.

Click here for the associated Action Alert!

Click here for more from Illinois Review.

Vision 2020 - Week 16 - Rep.Carol Ammons (D) and Rep. Luis Arroyo (D)

CALLING ALL PRAYER WARRIORS Join us in praying for our state legislators Petitioning Heaven Vision 2020 would like to invite you to join us in praying for our state legislators.  We will send out information about a couple different state representatives each week for you to pray over.   Consider sharing this information with your ministry partners, your church family, on your website and/or your Facebook page.   We know that prayer changes things.  And we know that NOTHING is impossible with God. So let's join our hearts and voices together and petition heaven on behalf of the great state of Illinois! Some of our legislators need prayer that God will open their eyes and change their hearts (or move them out of their positions) and some need prayers that they will have the strength, courage and boldness to be able to stand firmly against the opposition as they fight for life and family values.   Representative Carol Ammons (D) 103rd District Assistance@StateRepCarolAmmons.com Pro-Choice Representative Luis Arroyo (D) 3rd District Assistant Majority Leader RepDistrict3@gmail.com Pro-Choice "So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes." Daniel 9:3

Illinois Abortion funding bill (HB40) passes Senate; headed to Governor Rauner

Illinois Democrats are committed to making Illinois taxpayers pay for abortions for any reason for state employees and women and girls on Medicaid.

Wednesday, in a 33 to 22 vote, the Senate passed HB 40 to the governor's desk.

Governor Rauner has declared that he will veto the bill, but HB 40 supporters are urging calls to the governor's office to sign the bill into law. Only Democrats supported the bill when it passed the Illinois House two weeks ago.

State Senator Dan McConchie (R-Hawthorn Woods) was quick to respond to the development.

“This legislation forces every Illinoisan to pay for elective abortions for any reason at any stage of pregnancy - even in the 9th month. This is wrong," McConchie said in a statement.

McConchie said that not only is it wrong to make Illinois taxpayers pay for elective abortion procedures, it’s extremely troubling that Illinois would be expanding state services in a time when Illinois is without a balanced budget, has more than $12 billion in unpaid bills, and vendors are waiting months to receive payment.

Click here for more from IllinoisReview.com

Flawed “study” calls for supporting abortionists instead of protecting women

The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) today said that a new “study” issued by the Guttmacher Institute (originally founded as a special research arm of Planned Parenthood) was flawed and misleading and cautioned journalists to avoid accepting Guttmacher’s work at face value.

“There’s really not a lot that is new here,” said Randall K. O’Bannon, Ph.D., National Right to Life director of education & research. “In this report, Guttmacher simply assembles a lot of its tired old, flawed research to trot out against the latest pro-life legislation that they claim to be ‘ineffective’ but yet has clearly frustrated their friends in the abortion industry. This research, some as much as 35 years old, not only has basic design and sampling problems, but also reaches conclusions that are not entirely consistent with their own data.”

Throughout its report, Guttmacher attacks state laws protecting pain-capable unborn children from abortion, prohibiting the use of webcams as a means to prescribe dangerous chemical abortion pills, and requiring abortionists and abortion clinics to meet basic minimum standards to operate.

Click here for more from NRLC.org

Pro-life provision in AHCA – will it survive the Senate?

The abortion business collects over 40 percent of its revenue from the American taxpayer – i.e., over $553 million a year from federal, state and local governments. The American Health Care Act of 2017 (H.R. 1628), if it passes the Senate, will eliminate more than $400 million. The measure passed narrowly in the House on a 217-213 vote.

Those who oppose the funding cut often cite the other health services Planned Parenthood offers to women that would be affected. But Jim Sedlak (ALL) points out far more local health clinics are providing those services – and they don't terminate the lives of preborn babies. He cites, for example, the Texas Panhandle where Planned Parenthood once operated 19 clinics.

The AHCA, however, definitely faces an uphill battle in the Senate. Phil Kerpen of American Commitment says the Senate was always going to be the harder part, noting two GOP senators who would likely jump ship on the abortion funding provision.  Kerpen, Phil (American Commitment)"The fact that the bill defunds Planned Parenthood means you lose Senator Susan Collins [of Maine] right off the top, and you might also lose Lisa Murkowski [of Alaska] as well," Kerpen tells OneNewsNow. "If you lose those two, you have to get all ... of the other 50 [Republican] senators [for it to have a chance]."

Click here for more from OneNewsNow.com

CBS’s ‘Madam Secretary’ Surprises With Pro-Life, Pro-Motherhood Message

In the world of entertainment, abortion is almost always the automatic answer given as a solution if a single woman faces an unplanned pregnancy after sleeping with a man she barely knows, that man ends up dying and thus can’t help her support the baby, and her parents are “church people” who she fears may judge her.

On the May 7 episode of Madam Secretary, “The Seventh Floor,” however, that exact scenario resulted instead in an encouraging pro-life, pro-motherhood speech by Secretary Elizabeth McCord (Tea Leoni) to newly pregnant Daisy Grant (Patina Miller), after Daisy expressed fears about handling motherhood on her own after the CIA operative she briefly dated was killed.

For once, we get to see women discuss the beauty of pregnancy and new human life, and how a mother’s job is to protect her baby. A baby with the potential to be a comfort to the lives it blesses.

Click here for more from NRLC.org

Vision 2020 - Week 15 - Rep. Brandon W. Phelps (D) and Rep. Randy E. Frese (R)

Petitioning Heaven Vision 2020 and the Illinois Federation for Right to Life would like to invite you to join us in praying for our state legislators.  We will send out information about a couple different state representatives each week for you to pray over.   Consider sharing this information with your ministry partners, your church family, on your website and/or your Facebook page.   We know that prayer changes things.  And we know that NOTHING is impossible with God. So let's join our hearts and voices together and petition heaven on behalf of the great state of Illinois! Some of our legislators need prayer that God will open their eyes and change their hearts (or move them out of their positions) and some need prayers that they will have the strength, courage and boldness to be able to stand firmly against the opposition as they fight for life and family values.   Rep. Brandon W. Phelps (D) 118th District Email: bphelps118@gmail.com Pro-Life Rep. Randy E. Frese (R) 94th District Email: repfrese@adams.net Pro-Life "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." Romans 12:12