Operation Rescue Survey: Surgical Abortion Clinics More Likely to Abort Late-Term, Prices are Increasing, Waits are Shorter

Operation Rescue released the second half of its report on abortion trends in the United States on Wednesday. 

The organization found that while the number of clinics that perform surgical abortions may be decreasing overall, the gestational age at which they are willing to abort is increasing. "In 2018, 46% of all surgical abortion facilities set an abortion limit of 13 weeks or under. However, in 2019, only 31% of all surgical abortion facilities restricted themselves to the first trimester of pregnancy," Operation rescue wrote in the report.

The survey also found that the average cost of first-trimester abortions hit a record high of $603 in 2019, while the average wait time for an abortion appointment remained under a week, which is two-weeks under the average wait to have an appointment with a family physician. 

“Much of the data gathered during our survey this year either debunks pro-abortion rhetoric or red-flags dangerous trends,” said Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue. “We see women being exploited by rising prices and a rush to get abortions done. We also see abortion becoming riskier with the new push into dangerous late-term abortions. This information exposes areas where more can be done to save lives.”

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Department of Justice Says ERA has Expired and Must be Reintroduced to be Ratified

Equal Rights Amendment Demonstration
Credit: Cornell University / Flickr

Some Democratic lawmakers in the House of Representatives have been working to revive the Equal Rights Amendment, an expired proposal that was introduced in 1972. These lawmakers want to continue the process of state ratification from where it was left; retaining the votes of states that elected to ratify the amendment nearly half-a-century ago. The Department of Justice's Legal Counsel has now issued an opinion reiterating that to ratify the ERA or anything similar to it, a new amendment must be introduced to Congress and start the process from the beginning.

“We conclude that the ERA Resolution has expired and is no longer pending before the States,” the opinion reads. “Even if one or more state legislatures were to ratify the 1972 proposal, that action would not complete the ratification of the amendment, and the ERA’s adoption could not be certified under 1 U.S.C. § 106b. In addition, we conclude that when Congress uses a proposing clause to impose a deadline on the States’ ratification of a proposed constitutional amendment, that deadline is binding and Congress may not revive the proposal after the deadline’s expiration.”

The constitutional amendment states, “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” It is argued that this amendment could be interpreted as giving women the legal right to abortion, but it could have even greater effects such as forcing women to enlist in the draft.

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Court of Appeals Rules Against University of Alberta's $17,500 Fee Deterring Pro-Life Speech

The Alberta Court of Appeal ruled Monday that the University of Alberta could not levy a fee against the student group UAlberta Pro-Life in order to pay for supposed security concerns.

The University of Alberta told UAlberta Pro-Life in 2016 that they would require a $17,500 security fee if they wanted to hold a two-day campus event including a stationary display. The previous year, the organization attempted to hold a similar event, but other students intervened by obstructing and interrupting the event. Rather than enforcing the University's code of conduct against the students, the institution chose to let their conduct go unpunished. Some students even publicly gloated on social media that they were able to silence the speech of their pro-life peers.

By imposing this fee on the pro-life group, supposedly to pay for security concerns, the university blamed the pro-life students for the content of their event and held them responsible for any actions radical pro-abortion students took to stifle their speech. The court of appeal's decision is a huge win for free speech on college campuses. It hopefully means that the school's policies will apply equally to all students in the future.

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Nick Sandmann Reaches Settlement with CNN in $250 Million Defamation Lawsuit

CNN agreed on Tuesday to a settlement with pro-life teen Nick Sandmann to resolve a $250 million defamation lawsuit levied against the news outlet.

Nick Sandmann was attending March for Life in Washington D.C. with his Catholic school class when a fringe group started to shout racist taunts. In response, his classmates started to perform a school chant to attempt to drown out the taunts. A Native American man associated with neither group approached Nick Sandmann during this chaos and beat his drum while performing a chant of his own. A camera captured this moment, and the media reported claims that Nick Sandmann and his class approached and harassed the Native American.

These claims were false, and further information quickly confirmed that the man approached the students with his drum, not the other way around. Some outlets refused to retract their stories or issue corrections, so the students filed lawsuits against those news outlets; CNN being one of them.

There are still many lawsuits pending over media reporting of this event, including a $275 million suit against NBCUniversal and a $250 million suit against the Washington Post.

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Baby's Life Support Extended until Appeals Court Hears Case Against Texas Advanced Directives Act

Tinslee Lewis

A Texas appeals court ordered that 11-month-old Tinslee Lewis's life support will be extended until it rules in a case her mother brings against the Texas Advanced Directives Act. This law governs when the hospital can legally remove life support.

Tinslee Lewis has spent her entire life at Cook Children's Medical Center, where she was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect, chronic lung disease, and severe chronic high blood pressure. Tinslee has further developed severe sepsis. She requires a ventilator, cardiac support, painkillers, sedation, and medical paralysis.

Cook Children's said it “has been devoted to this precious baby her entire life, providing compassionate, round-the-clock, intensive care and attention since she arrived at our hospital 11months ago. Her body is tired. She is suffering. It’s time to end this cycle because, tragically, none of these efforts will ever make her better.”

The hospital says it contacted over 20 medical professionals regarding Tinslee's conditions, and none of them knew how to save her.

Under the Texas Advanced Directives Act, if a patient's doctor and an ethics or medical committee agree that ongoing life support is medically inappropriate, but the patient or someone responsible for them still requests treatment, the medical facility is not required to provide treatment after 10 days once they notify all parties of the decision. This "10-day rule" also requires that a physician make a reasonable effort to transfer the patient to a physician who will continue providing treatment.

Pro-life advocates are conflicted about the ethics of the Texas Advanced Directives Act. Texas Alliance for Life and the Texas Catholic bishop's conference argue that the law provides a balanced approach to the situation, while Texas Right to Life, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, and Attorney General Ken Paxton wish to have the law overturned.

In a joint statement, the Governor and Attorney General said,

“The Attorney General’s office is involved in the ongoing litigation, fighting to see that due process and the right to life are fully respected by Texas law. The Attorney General’s office will be supporting an appeal of this case to the Second Court of Appeals. The State of Texas is fully prepared to continue its support of Ms. Lewis in the Supreme Court if necessary. We are working diligently to do all we can to ensure that Tinslee and her family are provided the care and support that they seek.”

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Operation Rescue Survey: Number of Surgical Abortion Facilities at Record Low; Chemical Abortion Facilities Increasing

On Jan 6, 2020, Operation Rescue released its annual survey on the number of abortion facilities in the United States. The survey shows that over 2019, the total number of abortion facilities increased from 701 to 710, but the number of surgical abortion facilities has reached a record low of 464.

“The decline in surgical abortion facilities is terrible news for the Abortion Cartel, but great news for women and their babies,” said Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue. “Surgical abortion facilities are still the most profitable, especially if they conduct abortions past the first trimester when prices – and profits – really soar. When they shut down it saves lives and takes money out of the pockets of the abortionists.”

Operation Rescue's survey reinforces that chemical abortion is rising in popularity as an abortion method. Surgical abortion clinics tend to offer both chemical and surgical abortions, but chemical abortions only provide abortion through the use of medication. Out of the 710 abortion clinics Operation Rescue counted, 246 of them only provide chemical abortions. This number is likely to continue increasing since abortion-inducing drugs are easier and cheaper to provide than surgical abortions. Over the past decade, there has been a 46% increase in the number of clinics that only provide chemical abortions.

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Planned Parenthood Shows Record-Breaking Abortion Statistics in Annual Report

Planned Parenthood released its annual report for 2018-2019 in which the abortion corporation reported performing a total of 345,672 abortions, a record number for the company. Simultaneously, the number of other services provided by Planned Parenthood continues to fall.

That figure represents roughly 40% of abortions reported by the Guttmacher Institute, showing Planned Parenthood has a clear hold on the abortion industry. The corporation's political stance may also be an image problem for Planned Parenthood, however.

While the number of abortions Planned Parenthood provides may have risen, the number of other services Planned Parenthood provided fell. It provided 2,556,413 "birth control services" in 2018, a number that was 36% higher twelve years ago. Planned Parenthood provided 2,011,637 instances of "cancer screening and prevention services" in 2005, but barely provided a quarter of that in 2018 with a total of 566,186. Planned Parenthood does not provide mammograms.

Planned Parenthood is an abortion business first and foremost, and its numbers reflect this. When tax dollars are repeatedly funneled into Planned Parenthood, they will always be primarily subsidizing abortion.

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New Jersey Governor Signs Bill Giving $9.5 Million to Fund Abortion Clinics

Pro-Abortion Gov. Phil Murphy dressed in a pink tie, pink pocket square, and pink socks to address the public about his recent signature of bill A5802. His signature immediately allocated state funds through the current fiscal year (ending June 30).

“Planned Parenthood made a conscious decision to continuing providing vital information to their patients, knowing it would cost them much-needed federal funds,” Gov. Murphy said, referring to Planned Parenthood's decision to reject Title X funding because the organization did not want to comply with new pro-life rules.

The rules required family planning grantees to stop co-locating with abortion providers or referring patients to abortion providers. More and more states have chosen to attempt to replace the federal funds abortion corporations lost by allocating state funds to keep them afloat.

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207 Congress Members File Amicus Brief to Supreme Court in Support of Louisiana Abortion Regulation

House Republican Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.)

A total of 207 congress members have voiced their support of a Louisiana abortion regulation together in an amicus brief to the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court will decide the fate of a Louisiana law which requires abortionists to maintain admitting privileges at a hospital in order to practice surgical abortions. This would treat abortion clinics like any other facility that offers surgical procedures in Louisiana.

House Republican Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), Senator John Kennedy (R-La.), Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Congressman Mike Johnson (R-La.) led the group by addressing the press.

“I’m proud to lead the fight in Congress defending Louisiana’s pro-life law that will soon come before the U.S. Supreme Court. Innocent life must be protected at every stage, and I urge the Supreme Court to uphold this law which ensures the health and safety regulations meant to protect Louisianans from the very abortionists who don’t want high standards,” said Whip Scalise.

“When our Supreme Court justices take up this Louisiana case, they will be deciding whether abortion clinics should be required to maintain the same standards as any other outpatient surgical clinic,” said Senator Kennedy. “The health and lives of these women are at stake. We aren’t asking abortion clinics to close down; we’re demanding they protect their patients by securing admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. It’s a common-sense law, and we need to uphold this law which helps protect the lives of women and their unborn children.”

The abortion industry, headed by June Medical Services, has fought this legislation all the way to the Supreme Court. The state of Louisiana retaliated by challenging the ability of abortionists to challenge legislation designed to protect their patients.

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Indiana AG Preliminary Report Says the 2,400+ Bodies Abortionist Ulrich Klopfer Hid could not be Identified

Late abortionist Ulrich Klopfer

Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill has released a preliminary report in the investigation of late abortionist Ulrich Klopfer's conduct.

Ulrich Klopfer became the focus of national news stories after a lawyer for Klopfer's family found the bodies of hundreds of aborted children in the abortionist's home while going over Klopfer's estate. Klopfer's home may have been in Will County, Illinois, but the 2,400+ bodies found by authorities were most likely transported across state lines from Fort Wayne, Gary and South Bend Indiana where he performed abortions.

From the preliminary report:

The fetal remains were in various states of decay. The remains were mostly found inside molding boxes and old Styrofoam coolers containing large red medical waste bags. It appeared as though each remain had been placed in a small clear plastic specimen bag for purposes of being medically preserved in a chemical suspected to be formalin, a formaldehyde derivative. However, many of the bags degraded over time and/or suffered damage, resulting in leakage from the individual bags into the outer bag, box, or cooler.

Various personal health information was written on the front of the individual bags in black marker. The information displayed on the bags in certain instances included a patient chart number, date, and/or initials of the patient. However, the personal health information written on the individual bags varied greatly, and some of the information written on the individual bags was missing, contained errors, or had eroded over time due to the formalin leakage.

This is disturbing on many levels. Not only did Klopfer make a living from ending the lives of preborn children, but he kept the bodies seemingly as trophies along with sensitive medical information about his patients. Furthermore, the families who seek closure on this issue will never find it by having their children identified.

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Judge Denies Injunction to Extend Texas Baby's Life Support

After spending all eleven months of her life at Cook Children's Medical Center (CCMC) in Fort Worth, Texas, prematurely-born Tinslee Lewis's life is being threatened. The hospital has declared intentions to remove life support for Tinslee, and Texas Fourth District Court of Appeals Chief Justice Sandee Marion ruled against the family's injunction to extend life support.

Tinslee Lewis was born with a heart defect, lung disease, severe chronic pulmonary hypertension. She underwent multiple surgeries before October; when doctors declared that she was beyond saving.

Tinslee's mother voiced her frustration with the court's decision:

“I am heartbroken over today’s decision because the judge basically said Tinslee’s life is NOT worth living. I feel frustrated because anyone in that courtroom would want more time just like I do if Tinslee were their baby. I hope that we can keep fighting through an appeal to protect Tinslee. She deserves the right to live. Please keep praying for Tinslee and thank you for supporting us during this difficult time.”

Texas Right to Life says they will file an appeal to Justice Marion's decision and have called on Republican Gov. Greg Abbott to convene a special legislative session to repeal a rule which only requires hospitals to provide 10 days of care if no new doctor steps in to help a patient.

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South Korean Pastor's Baby Box Ministry Receives $64,000 Donation

Pastor Jong-rak Lee of Jurasang Community Church in South Korea received a $64,000 donation to support his baby box ministry courtesy of media company Asian Boss, who put a spotlight on his ministry with a video last summer.

Mothers or families can choose to leave a baby in their baby box so the ministry can find homes for them. Without this ministry, many of these children might otherwise be aborted. This lifesaving ministry saves 220-250 babies annually according to Pastor Lee.

With his ministry, Pastor Lee finds homes for babies that mothers feel they can't otherwise support. Sometimes they are conceived out of rape or incest. Sometimes their mothers are just very young. Other times they simply don't feel as though they have the financial resources they need. In many of the latter cases, however, the church steps in to help provide resources for families. Parents are encouraged to raise their children themselves with the help of materials provided by the church if possible. Counseling is provided and encouraged for all parents who leave children at the baby box.


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Pennsylvania Bill Would Require Abortion Facilities to Post Results of Health Inspections on their Websites

Pennsylvania State Representative
Timothy O'Neal

An interesting bill introduced Pennsylvania state Representative Timothy O’Neal would require abortion facilities in the state to take additional measures to show the results of health department inspections to potential customers.

House Bill 2138 would have abortion facilities publish results of health inspections on their websites. Furthermore, it would require abortion centers to publish written plans of correction on the internet for situations in which they violate health code. With these regulatory efforts, repeated violations such as the ones committed by West Philadelphia abortionist Kermit Gosnell, such as the murder of three newborn babies, might be reduced in the future.

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National Right to Life Committee Urges Supreme Court to Uphold Louisiana Requirement that Abortionists Maintain Hospital Admitting Privileges

The National Right to Life Committee and Louisiana Right to Life filed documents in the Supreme Court urging justices to uphold a Louisiana "Act 620" which requires abortionists to have hospital admitting privileges.

The law was passed in response to health and safety violations in Louisiana abortion clinics which negatively impacted the safety of patients. Act 620 extended the requirements currently enforced against doctors who provide outpatient surgery at surgical centers to abortion doctors. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals already ruled that the law is constitutional, saying that the worst it could do is cause a one hour delay for abortion procedures at a Louisiana clinic.

The NRLC hopes that the Supreme Court will sustain that this delay is not an "undue burden" on women's access to abortion and prevent courts from assuming the role of a medical board on this issue.

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Massachusetts District Attorney Drops Larceny Charges Against Man Who Stole Pro-Life Sign

Credit: (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Zachary Pelletier was arrested and charged with larceny after he stole a pro-life sign from a display and was caught by police on June 18th. To the dismay of many, Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins has now dropped charges against the thief.

The dismissal of this case happened so quickly that there wasn't even time for a victim impact statement to be made. The perpetrator didn't have to pay any court fees, and Massachusetts residents are left to believe that Pelletier's behavior is acceptable. Constitutionally, it violates the first amendment and could even classify as a hate crime due to the political circumstances.

Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle commented on the District Attorney's actions:

“The question remains whether the sidewalk counselors of Operation Rescue: Boston are the objects of official indifference due to ideological bias, or have simply become the latest victims of the reckless and revolutionary nihilism of Rachael Rollins, or both. Whatever the answer, given the repeated and unpunished attacks on Christians, conservatives and pro-life Catholics in Boston in 2019, it would seem that Massachusetts is becoming, politically, a Third World society.”

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Firefighters who Saved Life of Premature Baby Celebrate with Mother

Credit: DC Fire and EMS

In March, a group of firefighters in Washington DC were flagged down by a man frantically waving on the side of the road. His wife was giving birth prematurely, and they needed help.

Firefighter Terrika Hooks told reporters that they were on the way to another call, but the situation was urgent and the baby was right there. Cierra Duckett had suddenly given birth to ZaNiayh Duckett while her family was traveling back from the doctor. ZaNiayh was born inside an amniotic sac, which the firefighters had to cut open. When they did this, however, ZaNiayh wasn't breathing. As the firefighters continued to work, there was even a point when she had no pulse.

The firefighters met with the Duckett family on Christmas Eve this year to celebrate the successful survival of ZaNiayh. To commemorate the occasion, the firefighters gave ZaNiayh a baby-size firefighter uniform.

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UK Woman Recorded Audio of Boyfriend Strangling her and Telling her to Abort their Child.

Credit: Wales Online

Leah Collard released an audio recording of her ex-boyfriend assaulting and harassing her in hopes that she could bring awareness to abusive relationships and the trauma they cause.

In the recording, her boyfriend David Williams laughs while she cries in pain and repeatedly tells him to stop or get off her. "What are you gonna do about it?" he says. When he starts to strangle her, Collard exclaims, "You want to kill your child do you?" to which he responds, "Who the f*** would want to have a baby with you?" He simply tells her, "Get an abortion," and then holds her in place while repeatedly telling her to tear her ultrasound pictures.

Collard says in an interview with Wales Online that she stayed in the relationship for so long because she didn't believe she would be financially stable enough to care for kids and Williams threatened to kill himself if she left. “It is hard because when someone is controlling you it is like you can’t live your own life. You’ve lived your life through them for so long that you just don’t know what to do... They can make you scared of them but also completely dependent on them.”

Abortion in many scenarios is simply another way that abusive men can control women and avoid consequences such as having to pay child support. In these situations women don't need more access to abortion, they need resources to help them get out of their abusive relationships without fearing for their physical or financial safety.

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Mother Writes that Doctors Refused to Help her Child Born Three Days Before "Viability" Cut-off

Kailor Dean
Credit: A Moment with Kailor Facebook Page

A Georgia woman went to Facebook early this month to describe her experience giving birth to a boy whom doctors refused to help because he was born three days before their viability cut-off.

She rejected doctor recommendations to abort her baby, whom she named Kailor, and struggled throughout her pregnancy with bleeding. The woman required ten transfusions in order to reach 22 weeks and 4 days. Despite how far she made it, terrible medical practice prevented Kailor from having any chance at survival. The mother gave birth while waiting for nine hours for an ambulance to arrive. Kailor was born inside an amniotic sac, which wasn't cut for seven minutes after he was born. He lived for 51 minutes total, and doctors issued a do not resuscitate order against the family's wishes.

Stories like this are becoming increasingly common as hospitals enforce strict viability cut-offs that deny prematurely born children decent medical care. It is sad that such a horrible human rights violation could become normal practice within the United States.

Click here to read more on the Facebook page Kailor's mother created to spread awareness of the indecent treatment some hospitals provide to prematurely born children.

Chief Medical Officer of Unlicensed St. Louis Abortion Clinic Lies During House Committee Hearing

Credit: Robin Marty / Wikimedia Commons
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Dr. Colleen McNicholas, the chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood of St. Louis, testified in front of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform during a hearing on "women's reproductive health." At several points, McNicholas made statements that simply untrue and were purely designed to deceive legislators.

McNicholas responded to questions about the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act by claiming that abortion survivors don't exist. She claims that abortion works with 100% success and children are never born once abortion is attempted. This is easily demonstrated to be false since the CDC reports abortion survivors from states which collect that information. She further argued that the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act was harmful.

“There are several harms. The first is which using that language and perpetuating the notion that that is actually a real thing is harmful in and of itself. And it only serves two purposes. The first is to shame people […] who need life-saving care in the second and third trimester of pregnancy. It also creates an environment in which abortion providers like myself and my colleagues are targeted and harassed.”

McNicholas also claimed during the hearing that, “Planned Parenthood has never sold fetal tissue and currently doesn’t and never has.” This comes just after David Dalieden was sued by Planned Parenthood for having exposed them of selling human body parts so medical institutions could use them to perform research.

This radical abortion advocate was even bold enough to refuse to say whether she would abort a baby who was considered viable under the law, saying that every reason a mother might have to abort their child is a valid one.

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Ambulance Called to Fairview Heights Planned Parenthood "Mega Facility" Less than a Week after Opening

Less than a week after opening, the "mega clinic" Planned Parenthood built secretly using a shell company called an ambulance to assist one of its patients.

According to Coalition for Life St. Louis, the woman in need of assistance was "conscious, but in major distress and very pale." The organization further criticized Planned Parenthood's lies regarding the safety of the clinic: “While the public was told that this new facility would be better and safer for women, those performing abortions in Fairview Heights don’t have to be regulated, or even doctors. This facility was built to avoid the health and safety measures in place in Missouri.”

The clinic was most likely built to offer abortions to vulnerable women across state lines in Missouri. The future of Missouri's only remaining Planned Parenthood clinic is unclear as the state's clinic regulations are disputed in court, but even if the St. Louis clinic closes in 2020, Missouri residents will be drawn to the Fairview Heights clinic in Illinois, where abortion is essentially unregulated.

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