Abortion on verge of becoming limitless right in Illinois

A pro-life legal expert says the right to abortion would become the “summit” right in Illinois if the Senate, as expected, passes the Reproductive Health Act, which the House approved Tuesday.

“Even speech in time, place and manner can be restricted in this country,” former State Rep. Peter Breen (R-Lombard) (pictured), senior counsel and vice president of the Thomas More Society, told Prairie State Wire. “This bill places virtually no restrictions on abortion.”

The bill establishes in law “the fundamental right” to abortion, repealing provisions in the Illinois Abortion Law of 1975 that includes spousal consent, waiting periods and criminal penalties for doctors.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat, has said he is anxious to sign the bill into law.  Click here for more.

Click here for the current action alert.

VIDEO: ‘Dark day’: Illinois House passes abortion bill far worse than New York’s

The Illinois House passed a bill even more extreme than New York’s Reproductive Health Act, passed in January. Remember that? New York? Remember Virginia? That’s what started all of the ‘abortion wars’ among the states. And yet, the Illinois bill’s sponsor, Rep. Kelly Cassidy, claimed, “To our neighbors in Illinois who hear the news around the country and worry that this war on women is coming to Illinois, I say, not on my watch. To the people in Missouri and Alabama and Georgia and Kentucky and Mississippi and Ohio, I say, not on my watch.”

Someone should remind Rep. Cassidy that this war didn’t start with Alabama or Georgia or Missouri. (Indeed, even the Chicago Sun-Times notes that this extreme pro-abortion legislation was introduced in February of this year.) The flurry pro-life legislation came in reaction to New York’s extreme legislation, passed by a Democrat-controlled legislature who wanted to “codify Roe,” in the words of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.  Click here for more.

As you can see from the video below, when Rep. Bourne sought to question bill sponsor Rep. Kelly Cassidy, Cassidy’s answer to nearly every question — when she wasn’t stonewalling — was, “This treats abortion care like any other health care.” In other words, the legislation completely ignores what abortion actually is and does. Abortion kills a human being.

Springfield Bishop condemns ‘gravely immoral action’ of Illinois House passing ‘radical’ pro-abortion Reproductive Health Act

Bishop Thomas John Paprocki of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois issued strong words against the Illinois House passing Senate Bill 25 on May 28, calling it a "gravely immoral action."

"I condemn the gravely immoral action of the Illinois House of Representatives in passing Senate Bill 25, labeled with a highly misleading title as the 'Reproductive Health Act,' purporting to declare abortion a fundamental right," he said.

"Christians have rejected the practice of abortion from the earliest days of the Church. Children are a gift from God, no matter the circumstances of their conception. They not only have a right to life, but we as a society have a moral obligation to protect them from harm. Legislation that deprives children of legal protection before they are born, allowing for the murder of children at any stage in the womb, even up to the moment of birth, is evil," he continued.

"I pray for our state legislators, entrusting them especially to the intercession of Saint Thomas More, a public servant who preferred to die at the hands of civil authorities rather than abandon Christ and the Church. May we also keep unborn babies and newborn infants, as well as all mothers, in our prayers and work to improve the dignity and quality of life of all people, especially the most vulnerable," he added.  Click here for more.

Click here for the current action alert.

URGENT ILLINOIS ACTION ALERT PASSED THE HOUSE 64-50

URGENT ILLINOIS ACTION ALERT

Senate Bill 25 has been amended by the House to contain the pro-abortion language of the Reproductive Health Act and lays the foundation to repeal Parental Notification.  It passed out of committee late on May 26th with a vote of 12-7 and passed the House on May 28th with the vote of 64 to 50 with 4 present. SB 25 now on going to the Senate for a concurrence vote.  

This bill could be voted on at any time.  Time is ticking for the pro-abortion legislators to pass their bills attacking life in Illinois.  The Senate sessions will adjourn for the summer on May 31st. This only gives them about a couple days and they are desperate. 

Right now, to stop this we need to have everyone call their Illinois Senators' Springfield offices and urge them to vote NO on SB 25.

Follow this link to find your senator's contact information:
https://www.elections.il.gov/districtlocator/addressfinder.aspx

Pro-life leaders invite GOP to discuss language surrounding abortion exceptions

Shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump insisted that state pro-life laws should include exceptions for rape, incest, and threats to the mother’s life, a group of pro-life leaders invited the Republican party to discuss the way in which the pro-life message is discussed in America.

“The time has come for the Republican Party and pro-life advocates to reconsider the messaging that the abortion industry used and still uses to justify their deadly enterprise,” the letter read. “For too long the debate over protecting life left out children conceived in difficult circumstances, so it’s not surprising that opening up that discussion now reveals room to educate on protecting these children.”  Click here for more.

The pro-life position isn’t one of ‘force’. It’s one of of non-violence.

The pro-life position is not one of force or coercion; the principle undergirding opposition to abortion is the recognition that violence against innocent human life is inherently unjust. Abortion is — quite literally — violent force used against a human being in the womb. Laws that protect preborn babies from abortion do not “force women to give birth”; they protect a defenseless human being from being forcibly starved to death, dismembered by suction or forceps, and thrown away as medical waste.

The weakness of the pro-abortion argument that pro-lifers are “forcing women to carry to term” can be seen in their callous capitalizing on pregnant survivors of rape. One pro-abortion writer objects to “the inherent cruelty of forcing survivors of rape or incest to carry their fetuses to term, some of whom are likely very young women.” His concern for the young victims of these crimes does not, apparently, extend to those who are ignored and further victimized by the abortion industry.  Click here for more.

Trump’s health care conscience protections under legal attack from states and cities including Chicago and Cook County

In addition to Washington, D.C., New York City, Chicago and Cook County, Illinois, 19 states filed suit in federal district court in New York to flout conscience protections for health care providers put in place by Department of Health and Human Services.

In the State of New York v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the plaintiffs charge that the Trump administration in its Final Rule engaged in an “unprecedented and unlawful expansion of nearly 30 federal statutory provisions,” which they claim would “compel the plaintiff states and local jurisdictions to grant to individual health providers the categorical right to deny lawful and medically necessary treatment, services, and information to patients based on the provider’s own personal views.”

California filed a similar lawsuit separately in State of California v. Azar.  Click here for more.

The Pro-Life Message at the Heart of Marvel's Avengers

Fans of the Marvel Comics super-empire anxiously await the release of Avengers: Endgame this week and I’ll confess; I never expected to be one of them. But, somehow, the movies have me hooked.

Recently, I re-watched Avengers: Infinity War, the “part one” to the highly anticipated Endgame, and I couldn’t help but notice the film’s pro-life values.

Throughout the movie, the Avengers are faced with difficult decisions. Do they sacrifice one life for the greater good? Is it okay to let one of their own die so that they can save the planet?

The decision? “We don’t trade lives.” In other words, the good guys never choose to sacrifice the life of one person to “save” the lives of many  It is encouraging, though, to see how the Avengers series—popular with high school students—faces this issue of life, head on.  The Avengers are the defenders of life. .

But that’s not the only pro-life theme noticed...  Click here for more.

Dem who filmed himself harassing pro-lifers apologizes…for disrespecting Planned Parenthood policies

After a period of social media silence, the Pennsylvania Democrat who filmed himself berating peaceful pro-life protesters has issued a new apology – not to the peaceful minors he attempted to intimidate, but to Planned Parenthood and fellow pro-abortion activists negatively impacted by the coverage of his actions.

Earlier this month, State Rep. Brian Sims drew national attention by posting a video in which he followed a woman who was quietly walking and praying a rosary outside of a Philadelphia Planned Parenthood. He attempted to shove his phone in her face and repeatedly called her “shameful,” “disgusting,” “racist,” and an “old white lady.”  Another video showed him approaching three girls, who he calls “pseudo-Christian protesters,” and offering “$100 to anybody who will identify these three.” Afterward, he approached a male protester and asked, “What makes you think it’s your job to tell women what to do with their bodies?” But before the man could answer, Sims declared, “The truth is, I’m not really asking, because I don’t care. Shame on you,” and walked away.  Click here for more.

Why Dan, Why? - Last ‘pro-life’ House Democrat votes for extreme pro-abortion Equality Act

Two weeks after delivering the commencement speech at Ave Maria University, Rep. Dan Lipinski, the last of a dying breed of pro-life Democrats on Capitol Hill, voted for the Equality Act, which guts every pro-life protection ever passed into law.

In light of his past voting record on pro-life issues, Representative Lipinski’s vote is confounding. Lipinski, who currently serves as co-chair of the congressional pro-life caucus, delivered a powerful speech during the rally on the National Mall ahead of the 2019 March for Life in January.  He also faced stiff opposition to his re-election by fellow Democrats, hanging on to his seat in Congress by a narrow margin in his party’s primary last year.  Click here for more.

Click here to contact Representative Lipinski, ask him why being pro-life he voted for the Equality Act.

URGENT ILLINOIS ACTION ALERT - Possible Vote Very Soon on Pro-Abortion Bills in Illinois

Time is ticking for the pro-abortion legislators to pass their bills attacking life in Illinois.  The House and Senate sessions will adjourn for the summer on May 31st. This only gives them about a week and a half and they may be getting desperate.  To do this they may be attaching their pro-abortion bills to other bills in the Senate that have already passed out of committees.  This can be passed very quickly.

To stop this we need to put immediate pressure on our representatives to vote NO on the Parental Notice of Abortion Repeal Bill and the Late-Term Abortion No Restrictions Bill  even if attached to other bills.

Call your representative as soon as you can and urge them to vote NO on the Parental Notice of Abortion Repeal Bill and the Late-Term Abortion No Restrictions Bill.

This is an urgent matter.

To find your representative's contact information, visit:
https://www.elections.il.gov/districtlocator/addressfinder.aspx

For more information on these bills, please visit:
https://ifrl-blog.blogspot.com/p/legislation.html

Texas woman narrowly escapes death panel, family transports her by late-night ambulance to willing facility

Donald Jones rescued his wife, Carolyn, from Memorial Hermann Southwest, racing to a different facility that is providing the conscious woman her desperately needed dialysis.

Donald Jones escaped the clutches of the hospital committee with his beloved wife in a private ambulance funded by Texas Right to Life in the middle of the night.

Carolyn was discharged from Memorial Hermann Southwest despite administrators’ protests–the same administrators who sabotaged transfer efforts.

When the 10-Day Rule of the Texas Advance Directives Act authorized hospital administrators to pull the plug on Carolyn against her family’s will, no one expected her to leave the hospital alive.

Miraculously, the Beaumont woman survived 60 hours without breathing assistance since hospital staff forcibly removed her ventilator on Monday, May 13, at 2 p.m.

Against all odds, Donald rescued Carolyn from a death sentence under the 10-Day Rule. Carolyn is now safe and stable in a new Houston facility, where she is receiving the treatment she needs while she awaits an impending long-term transfer.  Click here for more.

California Supreme Court sides with Planned Parenthood in baby body parts case

The California Supreme Court has denied David Daleiden's petition to halt criminal prosecution against him. Daleiden is the undercover journalist whose videos allegedly reveal the involvement of abortion industry workers in illegal baby body parts trafficking. The Petition for Review, filed April 25, 2019, asked the state's high court t to overrule the Superior Court of San Francisco County's order permitting the unconstitutional intervention of special interest groups in the criminal prosecution.

Peter Breen, Vice President and Senior Counsel at the Thomas More Society, is part of Daleiden's defense team, which includes former Los Angeles District Attorneys Steve Cooley and Brent Ferreira. Breen responded to the denial: This decision to deny David Daleiden's Petition for Review means that Xavier Becerra , as Planned Parenthood's prosecutor-in-chief, will be able to continue his unconstitutional harassment of David, bringing charges against him that don't pass the "red face test."  Click here for more.

Conceived in rape, I am the 1 percent used to justify 100 percent of abortions

My biological mother was raped, yet she rejected the violence of abortion. I was adopted and loved instead. I'm not the "residue of the rapist", as Senator Vivian Davis Figures described those like me who were conceived in rape. I couldn't control the circumstances of my conception. Could you, Senator?

My birthmom needed an active Healer in her life, not an activist huckster.

As an adoptee who grew up wanted and loved in a multiracial family of fifteen and as a happily married adoptive father with four children, I'm here to say there's another side of this painful issue. There are others like me who were conceived in the violence of rape, like my friend Rebecca Kiessling, an attorney and passionate defender of life. There's the former Miss Pennsylvania, Valerie Gatto, Trayvon Clifton, Monica Kelsey, Jim Sable, Pam Stenzel, and many more whose stories offer a different perspective than mainstream media's myopic pro-abortion view. There are women who became mothers from rape who courageously chose life, like Jennifer Christie, Liz Carl, and Rebekah Berg.   I mean, who really are the extremists here? Those who think that every human being has the right to life? Or people who celebrate the needless slaughter of one million innocent humans each year in America?  Click here for much more from Ryan Bomberger.

Missouri Legislature Passes the “Missouri Stands For the Unborn Act,” SS SCS HB 126

After 18 hours of negotiation and passage in the Senate Wednesday and Thursday by a vote of 24 to 10, today the Missouri House has truly agreed and finally passed SS SCS HB 126 by a vote of 110 to 44. This is groundbreaking legislation that will save lives and set the standard for pro-life legislation nation wide.

This legislation will:

- ban abortion at detection of a heartbeat at 8 weeks, if overturned
- ban abortion at 14 weeks, if overturned
- ban abortion at 18 weeks
- ban abortion when the baby can feel pain
- require 2nd custodial parent notification
- require Missouri informed consent requirements for out-of-state abortion referrals
- increase required malpractice insurance to 3 million dollars
- increase to 70% of the donation, tax credits for donations to Pregnancy Resource - Centers and lift the limit on the amount of the donation
- ban abortion in Missouri when Roe v. Wade is overturned
- ban abortion for race, gender and Down Syndrome diagnosis

Click here for more.

750 Babies Have Been Saved by Abortion Pill Reversal. Ohio Is Making Sure Women Know That.

Otherwise known as the “abortion pill” or RU-486, chemical abortions involve two drugs: mifepristone and misoprostol. Mifepristone, the first pill, destabilizes a pregnancy by blocking progesterone, the natural hormone needed to sustain a healthy pregnancy. To finish the abortion, misoprostol induces labor, forcing a woman’s body to deliver the baby.

According to the Ohio Department of Health, 5,345 chemical abortions took place in the state of Ohio in 2017.

For women who regret beginning that process, abortion pill reversal offers a last chance to save a life. Developed by physicians George Delgado and Matthew Harrison in 2007, the treatment works by giving women extra progesterone up to 72 hours after a woman takes the first chemical abortion pill. Last year, Delgado released a study showing that 64-68 percent of women who used the protocol were able to give birth to a baby with no greater risk of birth defects than the general population.

Managed by Heartbeat International, the abortion pill reversal protocol is backed by a 24/7 helpline (877-558-0333) and a robust provider network of more than 800 clinicians (33 in Ohio), known collectively as the Abortion Pill Rescue Network.

Since its inception, abortion pill reversal has saved more than 750 babies.  Click here for more.

Chicago Pregnant teenager strangled, baby cut from her womb

Four yet-to-be-identified suspects are expected to be charged today in the brutal murder of a pregnant 19 year whose baby was cut from her body.

Compounding the tragedy, Marlen Ochoa-Lopez’s baby is in “grave condition” with “severe brain damage.”

Ochoa-Lopez went missing April 23 after telling friends she had one quick errand to run before going to daycare to pick up her 3-year-old son.

“Nine months pregnant, Ochoa-Lopez drove to a home on the Southwest Side [of Chicago] where a woman she met through Facebook was offering a double stroller and maybe some baby clothes,” the Washington Post’s Katherine Rosenberg-Douglas, Rosemary Sobol, Jessica Villagomez, Jeremy Gorner reported. “Once inside, police say Ochoa-Lopez was strangled and her baby boy cut from her womb.”

According to police, one of the suspects is a 46-year-old woman.  Click here for more.

ACTION ALERT - Equality Act (HR 5)

Congress will soon vote on the harmful Equality Act (HR 5).  Perhaps as soon as today.  H.R. 5 contains language that could be construed to create a right to demand abortion from health care providers, and likely would place at risk the authority of state and federal government to prohibit taxpayer-funded abortions.

Section 9 of the Equality Act would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by defining “sex” to include “pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition.” It is well established that abortion will be regarded as a “related medical condition.” See 29 C.F.R. pt. 1604 App. (1986) and Doe v. CARS Protection Plus, Inc., 527 F.3d 358 (3d Cir. 2008).

H.R. 5 goes on to expand this anti-discrimination provision by stating that “pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition shall not receive less favorable treatment than other physical conditions,” and would add “establishments that provide health care” to the list of covered “public accommodations.”

What these provisions will mean, taken together, is that health care establishments and individuals providing healthcare will be required to provide abortion as a “treatment” for pregnancy.

Please contact your U.S. Congressman and ask that they vote no on the unbalanced and unfair Equality Act.  They need to hear from you.  And please pass this on to others so that they can help too.  This is a national issue, so we need concerned citizens in every state to contact their U.S. Representative.  The bill as written may be construed to create a right to demand abortion from health care providers and to destroy conscience protections for health care providers.

To find your U.S. Representative:
https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative 

For more on the Equality Act (HR 5):
https://ifrl-blog.blogspot.com/2019/05/nrlc-expresses-opposition-to-equality.html

Abortion a deductible medical expense? Who knew?

Yesterday, Representative Andy Biggs (R-Arizona) introduced the Abortion Is Not Health Care Act, which would end the Internal Revenue Service's treatment of out-of-pocket abortion costs as a medical expense. The GOP lawmaker spoke on Wednesday with host Tony Perkins on Washington Watch.

"Most people don't realize that you can claim an abortion as an out-of-pocket medical expense under the IRS code and get a deduction for that," Biggs said on the radio. "People who are pro-abortion … want the world to think that that is an integral component to normal health care – and it simply isn't."  Click here for more.

Michigan passes law banning ‘dismemberment’ abortions

On Tuesday, the Michigan House and Senate voted to pass identical bills that would make the most common second-trimester abortion procedure a felony in the state.

Bills 4320 and 4321 each aim to ban dilation and evacuation or D&E abortions commonly referred to as a “dismemberment” abortions. A doctor who performs the procedure would be committing a felony. A D&E is the most common second-trimester abortion method and involves dilating the woman’s cervix and using instruments to pull the baby’s limbs from his body.  Click here for more.