Sen. Dick Durbin Complains about being Denied Communion for Abortion Support

In an interview with America Magazine, US Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) complained about the fact that his home Catholic diocese him communion due to his public support for abortion.

Durbin has been denied communion in his home Diocese of Springfield since 2004. Durbin told America Magazine’s Jim McDermott, “I found another Catholic venue, the Archdiocese of Chicago, and a church where they were willing to let me in and allowed my wife to join me. So it’s become my new faith home.”

Durbin went on to argue that the Catholic church is hypocritical for taking softer stances against those who take conservative stances on issues such as immigration and capital punishment.

The Catholic doctrine on human life categorizes abortion as a "moral evil," and says that complicity in abortion "constitutes a grave offense." The Catholic doctrine even "attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life."

Former Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput argues that the Catholic Church has good reasons not to give communion to those who outwardly oppose its teachings. He said that doing so would be “creating the impression that the moral laws of the Church are optional … Reception of Communion is not a right but a gift and privilege; and on the subject of ‘rights,’ the believing community has a priority right to the integrity of its belief and practice.”

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DC Police Drop Charges Against Pro-Lifers for Chalking Sidewalk in 2020

Over one year after arresting two pro-life activists for chalking a public sidewalk, DC police have dropped charges.

Warner DePriest and Erica Caoraletti were arrested for writing the message “Black Preborn Lives Matter” in chalk on the sidewalk outside of a Planned Parenthood. They were at a rally organized by Students for Life of America (SFLA), at which they had originally planned to paint their message on the street.

DC Mayor Bowser had opened the streets of DC to protest by commissioning a mural reading "Black Lives Matter" on 16th Street. The next day, the words "Defund the Police" were painted next to the mural, but no charges were pressed.

SFLA then received a permit to hold a rally, and informed city officials that they would paint a message on the street. “We were told verbally that we would not be prevented from painting and what kind of paint to buy,” SFLA spokesperson Kristi Hamrick wrote to the Washington Times.

Police appeared at the rally, told the group that they did not have a permit to paint on the street, and arrested DePriest and Caoraletti for writing with chalk on the sidewalk.

SFLA president Kristan Hawkins wrote in a statement that she “is celebrating today, as finally two students are cleared of any penalties for the unlikely ‘crime’ of trying to chalk BLACK PREBORN LIVES MATTER in the nation’s capital. At a moment in time when across the country people were talking about issues impacting the Black community, Students for Life and the Frederick Douglass Foundation joined together to speak for the preborn, only to be told that our speech was not welcome and was even criminal.”

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Alaska Judge Temporarily Blocks Law Preventing Non-Doctors from Committing Abortions

An Alaskan Superior Court Judge issued a temporary injunction against a law that prohibits non-doctors from committing abortions.

Superior Court Judge Josie Garton's injunction allows nurses and assistants to write prescriptions for abortion pills. Garton's injunction sides with Planned Parenthood, which originally filed a lawsuit against the Alaska law in 2019.

The US Food and Drug Administration similarly limited the distribution of abortion pills through a set of regulations known as REMS until the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. REMS requirements prevented abortion pills from being made available over the internet or at retail pharmacies. Now, the Biden administration has expressed a desire to end REMS permanently.

Garton's order will prevent the law from being enforced at least until the case is decided at trial next July.

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Indiana Abortion Complications Reporting Law Goes into Effect

photo credit: J. Stephen Conn / Flickr

After a three-year-long legal battle, an Indiana law requiring abortion businesses to report complications went into effect on Oct. 27.

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the "Complications Statute" on August 2, thereby allowing the law to go into effect three years after it passed in 2018. The law requires doctors to report complications arising from abortions. Doctors who fail to report complications could be found guilty of a misdemeanor, spend 180 days in jail, and pay a $1,000 fine.

“This complications reporting requirement is long overdue,” said Mike Fichter, president and CEO of Indiana Right to Life. “It is extremely telling that abortion businesses fought to shield these complications from being reported. Now that these reporting requirements go into effect, any abortion business refusing to comply must be denied a license renewal according to the new licensing law passed in the 2021 Indiana legislature.”

Fichter said that Indiana Right to Life will confirm with the Indiana Department of Health that abortion businesses comply with the law.

“Full compliance with the complications reporting law must be one of the many areas subject to thorough state inspections of every licensed abortion business,” said Fichter. “Complications reporting is the law, not a suggestion.”

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Biden Admin's "National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality" to Promote Abortion

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore / Flickr

The Biden administration has released its new strategy to promote abortion nationwide. According to the administration, the "National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality" is a “government-wide responsibility that that cuts across the work of the Biden-Harris Administration in both domestic and foreign affairs.” The administration says that it will be implemented by "every White House office and executive agency."

The plan will require executive agencies to “promote access to sexual and reproductive health and rights both at home and abroad,” and its language likens abortion to civil rights movements such as the abolition of slavery.

“From the Emancipation Proclamation, to the passage of the 19th Amendment, to the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act, to the fight for reproductive rights and marriage equality — and countless movements and victories before and since — America has been strengthened through the years by our tireless pursuit of greater equity for all,” the plan reads.

Among other things, the strategy says that the administration will push to end the Hyde Amendment, expand Title X funding of abortion, fund UN organizations that promote abortion globally, and codify a federal right to abortion.

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Pritzker Signs Bill Stripping Conscience Rights from Illinoisans

On Monday, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed SB 1169 into law. This bill amends the Healthcare Right of Conscience Act so that Illinoisans can no longer use the law to receive exemptions from their employers' COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

SB 1169 amends the Healthcare Right of Conscience Act in such a way that none of the protections it provides can apply to measure designed to prevent the transmission of COVID-19. As a result, employers could potentially discriminate against those who object to COVID-19 vaccines. Individuals could be fired or excluded from consideration for schools or jobs.

Many pro-life advocates object to vaccine mandates and apply for conscientious exemptions. This is because all currently available COVID-19 vaccines were developed and/or produced with the use of stem cell lines harvested from aborted babies.

The amendment is set to come into effect on June 1, 2022.

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US Gives $5 Million for UN to Distribute Abortion Supplies Worldwide

On Nov. 1, the US State Department announced that it will give an inaugural $5 million to the United States Population Fund. The UNFPA uses contributions from donors to distribute maternal health supplies, which by their definition includes drugs and equipment designed to end the lives of the unborn.

By using UNFPA Supplies as a third party to distribute abortion-inducing items, the Biden administration is avoiding conflict with the 1973 Helms Amendment to the Foreign Assistance Act. That law prohibits the use of government funds to distribute abortion-inducing items.

No prior administration in US history has funded UNFPA Supplies. This is largely due to the organization's support for abortion, its connection with China's population-controlling policies, and the UN's desire to push pro-life countries to legalize abortion.

Among other things, the UNFPA is known to distribute portable abortion devices called manual vacuum aspirator kits, and the abortion drugs misoprostol and mifepristone.

The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and MSI Reproductive Health (formerly Marie Stopes International) are two of the organizations that receive materials from UNFPA.

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Federal Court Blocks Biden Vaccine Mandate for Businesses

A three-judge panel from the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals issued a temporary injunction on Nov. 6 to block the Biden administration's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for businesses with 100 or more employees.

The mandate specifically troubles pro-life workers who take issue with the fact that all currently available COVID-19 vaccines were developed and/or produced with the use of stem cell lines harvested from aborted babies.

The Biden mandate, which was set to take effect on Jan. 4, would require employers to “develop, implement, and enforce a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy” or have their workers “undergo regular COVID-19 testing and wear a face covering at work in lieu of vaccination.”

The temporary injunction was made after a group of businesses and the states of Texas, Utah, Mississippi filed lawsuits against the Biden administration. All of these parties argued that they would be negatively affected by the mandate, and the judges were inclined to agree with them.

The Fifth Circuit wrote in its decision that the petitioners' arguments, “give cause to believe there are grave statutory and constitutional issues with the Mandate.” Arguments in the case have been expedited to begin this week. The petitioners have motioned for the court to issue a permanent injunction against the mandate.

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Build Back Better Reconciliation Bill would Expand Taxpayer Funding of Abortions

The multi-trillion dollar "Build Back Better" (BBB) reconciliation spending bill (HR 5376) being considered by federal legislators would create several avenues through which taxpayer dollars would fund elective abortion.

The BBB bill includes several provisions that are not regulated by the Hyde Amendment, which has been a bipartisan addition to every federal appropriations bill for decades. Because of this, federal tax dollars allocated under the bill will be able to subsidize elective abortion. This spending could come from entities such as the Department of Health and Human Services and programs such as Medicaid.

The BBB reconciliation bill would mandate that states cover abortion under Obamacare plans. The 2010 Obamacare law allowed states to pass laws banning abortion coverage in their state exchanges, and 25 states currently passed such laws. If the BBB bill is passed, many of these state laws will be overridden.

Additionally, the BBB bill would increase subsidies for Obamacare through 2025. This means that Obamacare plans will have more taxpayer funding available to them that can be used to subsidize elective abortions.

Finally, the BBB bill would allow billions of dollars to be allocated through "public health grants." These funds could be used to fund abortion training and research or used to enable abortion-expansive policies.

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Judge's Injunction Blocks Biden from Firing Employees with Pending Religious Exemptions

On Oct. 29th, a district judge in Washington D.C. issued a temporary injunction preventing plaintiffs in the case from being fired for not complying with the Biden administration's COVID-19 vaccine mandate while they have pending religious exemptions.

Many pro-life advocates have applied for religious exemptions from the Biden mandate. This is because all currently available COVID-19 vaccines were developed and/or produced using lines of stem cells harvested from aborted babies.

Bill Clinton appointed District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly issued the restraining order after civilian and military plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against the Biden vaccine mandate. “None of the civilian employee plaintiffs will be subject to discipline while his or her request for a religious exception is pending,” Kollar-Kotelly wrote in the order.

Her ruling continued, stating that, “active duty military plaintiffs, whose religious exception requests have been denied, will not be disciplined or separated during the pendency of their appeals.” She further noted that the Biden administration has provided “no guarantee of what will happen … if their exemption requests are denied.”

The plaintiffs' attorney Michael Yoder praised the judge's decision, saying, we are one step closer to putting the Biden administration back in its place by limiting government to its enumerated powers. It’s time citizens and courts said no to tyranny. The Constitution does not need to be rewritten, it needs to be reread.”

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European Abortionist Sends Abortion Pills from India to Texas Women

Netherland abortionist Rebecca Gomperts has vowed to continue sending abortion pills to the United States to circumvent pro-life US laws.

Gomperts founded the organizations Women on Waves and Aid Access to distribute abortion pills in places where abortion is restricted or prohibited. According to Live Action, Gomperts has used drones to drop abortion pills in Poland and attempted to use a Dutch ship to bring abortion to Guatemala. In the latter instance, she was turned away by the Guatemalan army, which pointed out that her only purpose in the country was to violate its constitution.

Gomperts and Aid Access are now focused on distributing abortion pills in Texas by having them mailed from India.

“We have nine U.S. providers who are licensed and serving 18 states, and then, if you’re in any of the other states, then Dr. Gomperts is the provider for the other states,” Christie Pitney of Aid Access told KHOU, a Houston-based television station. “We have a unique opportunity with Dr. Gomperts being in Europe that we’re able to provide telehealth abortion to all 50 states.”

“Being outside in Europe, kind of puts her in this nice gray area where she’s still able to provide that care,” Pitney continued. “It’s essential healthcare that everyone should have access to and so we’re going to continue to provide that care.”

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Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments in Texas Heartbeat Act Case

On Monday morning, the Supreme Court began hearing oral arguments in two cases challenging Texas's Heartbeat Act. The Heartbeat Act allows individuals to file lawsuits against those who participate in the abortion of unborn babies with detectable heartbeats (children of 6 weeks gestation or older). Those cases are Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson and United States v. Texas.

Neither of these cases challenges the constitutionality of a law prohibiting the abortion of children whose heartbeats are detectable. Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson is a challenge to the law's unique enforcement method. In United States v. Texas, the Supreme Court is only considering whether the Biden administration even has the legal standing the sue Texas in federal court.

Whole Women's Health and the Biden administration argued that the Texas law violates the "right" to abortion established under Roe v. Wade, while Texas Solicitor General Judd E. Stone argued that neither party had the legal standing to sue the state. He argued that Texas judges, court clerks, and other officials are not responsible for enforcing the law. He argued that because the Heartbeat Act is enforced by the individuals who file lawsuits, the state of Texas is not the appropriate defendant for these challenges.

The court is more likely to address the "right" to abortion more directly when Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization is heard next month. In that case, abortion businesses are challenging a Mississippi law banning abortion at 15 weeks gestation. Mississippi's Attorney General is framing the case as a direct challenge to the Supreme Court Precedent established in cases such as Roe v. Wade.

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District Court Issues Restraining Order Against Illinois Hospital Firing Employees over Vaccine Mandate

Last Friday, US District Judge John Kness issued a temporary restraining order against NorthShore University HealthSystem. The organization will be (at least temporarily) blocked from firing 14 employees who have been denied religious exemptions from a COVID shot mandate.

The employees have filed religious exemptions due to the connection that all currently available COVID-19 vaccines have with abortion. The vaccines were all developed and/or produced using a line of stem cells harvested from aborted babies.

NorthShore operates hospitals in Evanston, Highland Park, Glenview, Arlington Heights, Skokie, and Chicago.

The court set November 16 as the date for a preliminary injunction hearing. Liberty Counsel, who is serving as legal counsel for the 14 employees, says that it will file a brief with the court to provide legal relief for the entire class of healthcare workers.

During the fall veto session, the Illinois General Assembly passed an amendment to the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act that would take away the conscience rights currently being exercised by the employees in this case. If that legislation becomes effective, it may become much more difficult for Illinoisans to defend their conscience rights as they relate to COVID-19 shot mandates.

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Catholic Nurse Wins Lawsuit Against Illinois County that Fired her for Refusing to Support Abortion

Sandra Rojas
photo credit: Alliance Defending Freedom

Catholic pediatric nurse Sandra Rojas, who was fired from the Winnebago County Health Department for refusing to refer women for abortions, won her wrongful termination suit against the county last Thursday.

The 17th Judicial Circuit Court ruled that it was unlawful for the Winnebago County Health Department to fire her in 2015. Judge Eugene Doherty wrote in his opinion that “The Court has concluded that the Health Department could have reasonably accommodated [Rojas’] objections without removing her from her job,” and therefore, “The Health Department improperly discriminated against Plaintiff by refusing to accommodate her objections of conscience…”

Rojas had worked as a pediatric nurse for the county for 18 years before 2015. During that year, a new policy was instituted which compelled nurses to refer women for abortions and help them obtain abortion pills. According to Rojas's Catholic beliefs, abortion is considered a sin, and she cannot cooperate with it.

“No American should be forced to refer for abortions or assist patients in accessing abortifacients – least of all medical workers who entered the profession to follow their faith and save lives, not take them,” stated Alliance Defending Freedom lead Noel counsel Sterett. “The court’s decision is a win for all health care professionals throughout Illinois. Healthcare professionals should not be required to violate their conscience to keep their jobs.”

The 17th Circuit used the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act as the basis for its decision. Democratic lawmakers recently voted to amend this law to prevent pro-lifers from using it to receive exemptions from COVID-19 vaccine mandates. All currently available COVID vaccines were developed and/or produced with the use of STEM cell lines harvested from aborted babies. While the amendment would not affect a ruling like this, it shows a willingness by pro-abortion politicians to infringe upon the conscience rights of pro-life advocates. Pro-lifers need to watch out and work to prevent religious freedoms like the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act from eroding.

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March for Life Announces 2022 Theme: "Equality Begins in the Womb"

The March for Life organization announced last week that the 2022 March for Life theme will be "Equality Begins in the Womb."

March for Life issued a press release on October 27 to announce the new theme. The theme emphasizes the fact that human beings can face harsh discrimination before even being born. While in the womb, they aren't guaranteed the basic right to life. March for Life hopes to rally people to fight for that basic human right.

“From our nation’s birth, our founders recognized the dignity inherent to all people, making each one of us equal in our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” wrote Jeanne Mancini, President of the March for Life Education and Defense Fund. “Because of this, Americans have fought for centuries to advance equality for every person, regardless of race, sex, or disability status. It has taken centuries, but discrimination is now acknowledged as unacceptable just about everywhere in America. Everywhere, that is, except in the womb.”

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7th Circuit Denies Planned Parenthood Request to Rehear Complications Reporting Law

Last Thursday, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals denied a request by Planned Parenthood for the full court to rehear its challenge to an Indiana law requiring abortion businesses to report complications.

Planned Parenthood argued that the reporting law is "unconstitutionally vague," but the court disagreed. By refusing to rehear the case before the full court, the court upheld a decision it made in August, which overturned a permanent injunction blocking the reporting law's enforcement.

The Indiana law, which was passed in 2018, lists 25 types of complications that should be reported to the state if they occur. When the 7th Circuit originally upheld the statute in August, the opinion of the three-judge panel stated, “It is understandable by persons of ordinary intelligence and not subject to arbitrary enforcement.”

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Two Nations Join Pro-Life Declaration Abandoned by Biden

Last Thursday, political figures from across the globe met in Washington to commemorate the Geneva Consensus Declaration. During the past month, Russia and Guatemala joined the declaration, which asserts that there is no international right to abortion.

In 2020, the United States under President Trump was one of many nations that joined the Geneva Consensus Declaration, which declared that unborn humans have the right to life. After becoming President, Joe Biden withdrew the US from that Geneva declaration almost immediately.

The Geneva Declaration pushed back against efforts by the United Nations to promote abortion as essential health care and a fundamental human right. In recent years, the UN has doubled down on efforts to impose a new sort of Western imperialism through its pro-abortion agenda. By requiring developing nations to accept abortion equipment or pills before they can receive other kinds of aid, the organization encroaches on the nations' abilities to determine their own policies on the issue of abortion.

“In no case should abortion be promoted as a method of family planning,” the declaration says, adding that “any measures or changes related to abortion within the health system can only be determined at the national or local level according to the national legislative process.”

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ERA-Supporters Push Biden Admin to Pretend the ERA is Law

New efforts by supporters of the 1972 Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) are pushing the Biden administration to treat the ERA as though it has been ratified into the Constitution, which it has not.

According to many pundits, the ERA could be interpreted to create a constitutional right to abortion. This would stand even if the reasoning behind Roe v. Wade was overturned.

The ERA expired in 1979 when three-fourths of the states did not ratify the amendment before the expiration date outlined in its language. Despite this, the states of Nevada, Illinois, and Virginia all voted to ratify the amendment after the deadline. Now, even though federal judges have ruled that the ERA's ratification deadline still applies, pro-ERA politicians are pressuring the Biden administration to enforce the ERA as though it is a part of the Constitution.

Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), the chairwoman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, sent letters to President Biden and the Archivist of the United States urging them to “to certify and publish ERA [as part of the Constitution] without further delay.”

“Congresswoman Maloney’s demands simply ignore the holdings of federal Judge Rudolph Contreras, appointed by President Obama, who in March 2021 ruled that the ERA ratification deadline was effective, that it would have been ‘absurd’ for the Archivist to ignore the deadline, and that the ERA-related legislative actions by Nevada, Illinois, and Virginia came too late to count,” said Douglas Johnson, director of the National Right to Life Committee's ERA Project.

Judge Contreras’ ruling is now before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

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Bill Infringing on Conscience Rights Passes, TEXAS Act Does Not

In addition to passing legislation repealing the Parental Notice of Abortion Act last week, the Illinois General Assembly also passed SB 1169, which prevents Illinoisans from using the Health Care Right of Conscience Act to defend their religious exemption requests regarding COVID-19 vaccine mandates. On the positive side, the TEXAS Act was not passed during the fall veto session.

SB 1169 would amend the Health Care Right of Conscience Act to specifically prevent Illinoisans from using it to receive exemptions related to COVID-19. This is problematic for pro-life Illinoisans who take issue with the fact that all currently available COVID-19 vaccines used a line of stem cells harvested from aborted babies in their development and/or production.

The TEXAS Act would have given individuals the ability to sue those who cause "unintended pregnancy" for $10,000. If they win the lawsuit, $5,000 would have been awarded to the person who filed the lawsuit, and $5,000 would have been added to a fund to transport women to Illinois from other states for abortions. At least for now, Illinoisans don't have to worry about the TEXAS Act being used to fund abortions.

JB Pritzker's signature is the only remaining requirement to repeal parental notice and pass SB1169.

Illinois General Assembly Repeals Parental Notice

On Wednesday, Oct. 27, the Illinois House of Representatives voted to approve the Senate's amendments to HB 370. As amended, the bill repeals the Parental Notice of Abortion Act.

The Parental Notice of Abortion Act requires that a parent or guardian be notified 48 hours before a minor girl has an abortion. This provides parents with the ability to speak with their daughters about the permanent decision of abortion. Simultaneously, it protects young girls from sex trafficking by preventing pimps from using abortion to hide their crimes from parents.

By voting to repeal Parental Notice, the Illinois General Assembly is making it more difficult for parents to be involved in the lives of their children. The repeal enables young girls to make the impulsive and destructive decision of abortion during a stressful situation. Parents will be uninformed of what is happening and will be unable to provide counsel to their daughters. Traffickers and rapists will be more empowered to commit their crimes without fear of parents filing police reports.

HB 370, if signed into law by Gov. Pritzker, will only create discord, crime, and death in the state of Illinois.