9,000 Attend Chicago March for Life

Credit: Pro-Life Action League via Facebook

9,000 pro-life advocates attended the March for Life Chicago events on Saturday in spite of the cold temperatures.

Because of growing attendance, this year March for Life Chicago became event with a convention, a youth rally, a Catholic Mass, and more. Pro-life politicians, religious leaders, leaders of pro-life organizations, and others gave addresses at a rally that immediately preceded the march. Each of them spoke with the theme: “Life Empowers: Pro-Life is Pro-Woman.”

Alex Lehan, a student who gave a speech at the event on behalf of the pro-life organization weDignify, told Live Action News this theme was important for women to hear. She told the Live Action News that simply shouting pro-choice mantras (like protestors at March for Life Chicago who chanted "my body, my choice") doesn't offer support to women who are vulnerable and need to be lifted up. “You have options that are loving and life-giving. You are strong enough (to choose life),” she said.

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Massachusetts Superior Court Rules Against Assisted Suicide

A Massachusetts superior court released its decision Friday that assisted suicide, “is not authorized under Massachusetts law.”

Near the end of its 24-page decision, the court listed several reasons why it believed assisted suicide should not be legalized in the state of Massachusetts.

"First, the Legislature could rationally conclude that difficulty in determining and ensuring that a patient is “mentally competent” warrants the continued prohibition of MAID [Medical Assistance in Dying]."

"Second, the Legislature could rationally conclude that predicting when a patient has six months to live is too difficult and risky for purposes of MAID, given that it involves the irreversible use of a lethal prescription."

"Third, the Legislature could rationally conclude that a general medical standard of care is not sufficient for those seeking MAID [citing testimony that assisted suicide is not a medical treatment or procedure]."

"Finally the Commonwealth produced expert testimony that the permissible end-of-life alternatives potentially involve far less risk than MAID because they occur in hospitals or other institutions devoted to medical treatment and involve numerous physicians and staff personnel… MAID, on the other hand, potentially takes place in an uncontrolled environment, without assurance that the patient will administer the medication when close to death and without physician oversight."

These reasons largely build on the fact that legal assisted suicide laws can easily lead to unnecessary death, especially when patients are able to access assisted suicide drugs for use outside of medical facilities.

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Former Planned Parenthood Worker Speaks about Company Policy Harming Patients' Future Children

Credit: Blake Patterson / Flickr

In a webinar created by And Then There Were None, former members of the abortion industry shared their experiences watching Planned Parenthood endanger women in its rush to complete abortions quickly and secretly.

One of these workers shared that the clinic she worked at did not give some women a necessary shot after they had an abortion. In cases where a woman has Rh-negative blood and their preborn child has Rh-positive blood, abortions or miscarriages will cause antibodies to form within the mother. If another child with Rh-positive blood forms in the woman's womb in the future, these antibodies can attack the child and cause complications or a miscarriage. To prevent this, abortionists are supposed to give these women RhoGAM shots. Jayne said the Planned Parenthood at which she worked was in too much of a hurry to protect women from this danger.

"[A]t Planned Parenthood, because of the high volume and high-speed, patients were not – you only have 45 minutes to see a patient, and that’s when they come in, as soon as they come off the table it’s one blood pressure. You only take three blood pressures and they’re out the door, even if they’re groggy. [It] doesn’t matter because they have to keep moving. So, if you’re in charge and you have your 10 patients, there’s no way that you’re going to – things are going to get missed. And in this case, many cases, many times these patients were leaving, and not being given that shot – the RhoGAM."

Jayne further said that she was not allowed to contact patients who were told to leave without receiving the shot. Planned Parenthood policy tells employees not to contact former patients so they can keep their abortion secret if necessary. In this case, it valued that secrecy over the fertility problems their abortion procedures might cause.

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Woman Talks about her Repeated Forced Abortions

Christine Loughead at about age 16

Christine Loughead spoke with Live Action News about her life experiences receiving forced abortions. If you want to read her full story, click here.

Christine Loughead had a difficult upbringing which included the separation of her parents, being raped by a 24-year old man when she was 12, and being sent into the government's care shortly after that. While in the government's care, she faced more abuse and often lived with women who made prostitution and drug use major parts of their lifestyle. Loughead was able to live independently under a program run by a group of nuns when she reached the age of 15, but she also became pregnant during this time. She told her social worker, who told her to meet at the Health Sciences Centre in the Women’s Hospital in Winnipeg.

When they met at the hospital, the social worker told Loughead that she had to get an abortion since the stipend given to her by the nuns would not cover the costs of providing for a child. She eventually had the abortion against her will, and the exact same situation happened a second time within a year.

“...they said, ‘No, no, no.’ So I thought, I’m obviously not meant to have kids. They are clearly telling me I’m too broken to be a mother,” Loughead said.

She had a total of five abortions over the course of her life because she believed these lies. Later in life, she believes that coerced abortions happen far more often than people think. Furthermore, she believes that her life would have changed positively had she been allowed to give birth to her first child.

Now Loughead is married and seeking legal assistance for a legal case against the hospital and the state government.

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Baby with Spina Bifida Expected to Walk after Surgery in the Womb

After receiving surgery in her mother's womb, Kaelyn Murphy is expected to be able to walk in spite of a spina bifida diagnosis.

While Amanda Murphy was 20 weeks into her pregnancy, her daughter Kaelyn Murphy was diagnosed with spina bifida, a condition that causes the spinal cord to form improperly. Most children born with this condition are never able to walk. When the family was told Kaelyn was eligible for a new treatment that would allow her to walk, they sprung at the chance. Eoin Murphy, Kaelyn's father, appeared on the radio to discuss the amazing procedure that helped his daughter.

“We found out at 20 weeks and the operation had to be [done] by 26 weeks or it couldn’t be done. So we didn’t have much time to soak it all in. It was a massive shock,” Eoin said.

“So what they would do is Caesarean my partner Amanda, open her up, cut a little slit in the sac the baby is in turn the baby around so the opening in the back would be visible. They would sew it up and they would put her back in. And let baby try [to] heal itself whilst in mummy’s womb. That is what was done. We feel so fortunate.”

Preborn children diagnosed with spina bifida are often aborted by parents who believe they would suffer too much to make their life worth living. While that logic will never hold true, now they have another reason to give their child a chance.

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Paralympic Athlete Talks about the Discrimination she Faced while Pregnant

Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson with her family

Eleven-time Paralympic gold-medalist Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson expressed her frustrations with how people responded to her pregnancy on a BBC program entitled “Stumps, Wheels and Wobblies.”

“The first thing I was offered at my first scan was a termination because people were like: ‘You should not have children,” she said. “We had a discussion about ‘was I trying for a baby?’… and the individual had some quite complicated views on disability.”

Grey-Thompson's doctor told her they were concerned that people with disabilities would “breed” and “spread.” The doctor's opinion was the very definition of eugenics. He would rather have Grey-Thompson abort her daughter because her daughter might have a similar disability.

She also recalled being approached by a woman in the street who couldn't comprehend someone like her possibly wanting to give birth to a child. She gave a synopsis of this conversation in the interview:

“[The stranger] poked me and said: ‘How did you get pregnant?'” 

‘I remember screaming at her in the street: “I had sex with my husband. How do you think I got pregnant?”‘ 

‘She was like: “Oh well, that’s disgusting.” 

And I said: “I think he’s quite good looking, actually.”

Discriminatory attitudes against disabled women have become more common as abortion has become acceptable. Doctors and strangers have no right to impose that kind of decision on a mother, but because Grey-Thompson was disabled, they felt empowered to do so.

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Canadians Concerned as Euthanasia Increases Organ Donations

As the rise of euthanasia increases the number of organ donations in Canada, ethics questions are being raised.

Between the months of January and November 2019, patients who died by euthanasia gave 18 organ and 95 tissue donations. This is an increase of 14% over donations in 2018, and 109% compared to donations in 2017. Some politicians expressed concerns that patients considering euthanasia might be influenced by doctors telling them that they will be able to make organ and tissue donations if they choose to die.

“The concern that I have is that it muddies the waters in terms of the patient making a decision freely, without any degree of coercion or influence from anyone,” Conservative Member of Parliament Michael Cooper told the Catholic News Agency. He further stated that the decision to donate one's organs “should not be part of the conversation” and stay “completely separate” from the decision to die via euthanasia.

If patients are convinced by others that being euthanized to save others is a noble act, then they are more likely to choose that option. Persuading desperate patients in this way is a manipulative and emotionally abusive act aimed at a vulnerable individual.

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91-Year-Old Mother's Life Support Threatened in Legal Battle Against her Wishes.

Arline Lester

Arline Lester, a 91-year-old mother in New York, is caught in the middle of a legal battle over her right to life support.

Arline stated in an old will that she did not want her life to be prolonged in case of severe infirmity, and now her two sons have taken sides over whether that still applies. She was recently deemed mentally capable of making her own decisions and updated her living will. The updated will says that she wants the opportunity to remain on life support and recover. One son has moved to have Arline's life support removed per her old will, while the other has gone to lengths to help protect her.

Ed Lester says that he will take care of his mother after she leaves the hospital, and recorded a video to publicize her desire to live. He asks her if she wants to stay alive, to which she responds by nodding her head and mouthing the words "I want to stay alive."


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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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