IL House Human Services Committee to Consider Mandatory Vaccine Registry

IL State Rep Bob Morgan (D-58)

UPDATE: The House Human Services Committee did not call HB 4244 to a vote on Wednesday. As a result, the bill was moved to a subcommittee. It is possible for the bill to be brought up again, or it could linger in subcommittee status, never to be heard again.

---Original article below---

The IL House Human Services Committee is set to hold a hearing on Wed. Jan 26 on a bill that would require doctors, pharmacies, hospitals, and medical centers to put their patients' immunization history in a state database.

HB 4244, which was introduced by State Rep Bob Morgan (D-58), was originally going to have a hearing last Wednesday, but the committee did not have the quorum necessary to hold the hearing. Before it was rescheduled, over 14,000 people filed opposition slips on the Illinois General Assembly website.

Citizens who oppose the bill are concerned with how the state might use vaccine history information. One method would be through a vaccine passport system, such as the one used in New York.

Many pro-life advocates are concerned about this type of legislation. All currently available COVID-19 vaccines were developed and/or manufactured with the use of cells harvested from aborted babies. For that reason, some pro-life advocates choose not to take them as a matter of conscience. Vaccine passports and similar rules would create systems that would discriminate against them for making that choice.

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March for Life Marks 49th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade

Pro-life advocates gathered in the nation's capital on Friday, Jan 21 to participate in the annual March for Life. This year's march marked the 49th anniversary of the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision. This year, marchers had reason to believe that their goal to have the radically pro-abortion decision overturned might soon come true.

The country awaits the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which directly challenges Roe's precedent. If the court chooses to overturn Roe, which prevents states from restricting abortion before 24 weeks gestation, then the ability to regulate abortion will be returned to the states.

The March for Life organization recorded the full event with all of its speakers. Click here to view that video on YouTube.

Speakers at this year's event included:

• pro-life activist with Down syndrome, Katie Shaw
• Kirk Cameron
• Father Mike Schmitz.
• Rep. Julia Letlow (R-LA)
• Toni McFadden, pro-life advocate and founder of Relationship Matters
• Lisa Robertson of Duck Dynasty 
• George Schuberg, a Christendom College student
• Archbishop Elpidophoros from the Orthodox Church
• Rev. Billy Graham’s granddaughter, Cissie Graham Lynch

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South Dakota Sued over Abortion Pill Safety Rule

The ACLU and Planned Parenthood of South Dakota are suing the state over a new rule designed to increase the safety of the abortion pill. The rule requires that the pill only be taken while at a licensed abortion facility.

Abortion always results in the death of an innocent human being, but it can also pose significant health risks to women. Those risks include future infertility, hemorrhage, and potentially death. This rule is designed to mitigate those risks. By requiring that women take the abortion pill at an abortion facility, medical professionals will have the opportunity to correctly date her pregnancy and ensure that she does not have a pregnancy condition such as ectopic pregnancy. If her pregnancy is not correctly dated or she has an undiagnosed pregnancy condition, the health risk to the mother could be significantly increased.

“Chemical abortions are four times as likely to cause a woman getting an abortion to end up in an emergency room – and we have a duty to protect the lives of those women,” said Gov. Kristi Noem, who created the new rule. “I look forward to the day when the life of every unborn child is protected in South Dakota. Until then, South Dakotans will know that if a mother uses abortion pills to end her unborn child’s life, she will not get those pills from a stranger over the internet.”

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Advocates Misleadingly Claim ERA Takes Effect Next Week

Supporters of the long-dead 1972 Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) are claiming that it will take effect on January 27, 2022. This amendment could be interpreted by judges to enshrine a right to abortion into the Constitution of the United States.

Luckily, the chance that courts will consider the amendment to be ratified is incredibly slim. As written, the ERA proposal expired on March 22, 1979. The Archivist of the US and the Justice Department both agree that the ratification deadline written into the amendment is binding.

“ERA backers have mounted an assault on the integrity of the constitutional amendment process itself, but they are unlikely to succeed,” said Douglas Johnson, director of NRLC’s ERA Project. “In 40 years, not a single federal judge has accepted a single element of the legal claims made by ERA-revival litigants, while 26 federal judges have rebuffed them. In 2021, federal district Judge Rudolph Contreras, appointed by President Obama, ruled that the ERA ratification deadline was valid and that it would have been ‘absurd’ for the Archivist of the U.S. to ignore the fact that the ERA expired decades before actions by the Nevada, Illinois, and Virginia legislatures.”

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Texas AG Sues Planned Parenthood over $10 Million in Medicaid Reimbursements

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing Planned Parenthood and its Texas affiliates to recover $10 million in taxpayer funds paid out by Texas's Medicaid program.

Texas initially filed to end Planned Parenthood's designation as a Medicaid provider in 2016. Planned Parenthood attempted to stay on Medicaid by filing multiple lawsuits against the state, but their attempts ultimately failed in February 2021.

Planned Parenthood still took Medicaid payments during the years they spent challenging Texas in court. The state now wants the abortion giant to pay back those funds. Texas argues that “Planned Parenthood knowingly and improperly avoided its obligation to repay money owed to the Texas Medicaid program.” According to Paxton, Planned Parenthood's actions are a violation of The Medicare Fraud Prevention Act (TMFPA).

“It is unthinkable that Planned Parenthood would continue to take advantage of funding knowing they were not entitled to keep it,” Paxton said. “I will not allow them to benefit from this abhorrent conduct after they were caught violating medical standards and lying to law enforcement.”

Click here to read more.

New California Budget Proposal Would Pay Abortionists' Student Loans

California Gov. Gavin Newsom

California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a state budget proposal this month that includes $20 million to pay the student loans of abortionists and medical students who pledge to become abortionists. This money will incentivize young people to enter an industry that ends the lives of innocent human beings for profit.

Jodi Hicks, the President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, issued a statement praising Newsom's proposal. She also noted that they expect even more support from California. The state is considered by many to be the most pro-abortion state in the country.

“The budget put forth today by Governor Newsom is another step toward leading the nation in prioritizing sexual and reproductive health care, including access to abortion,” Hicks's statement reads. “This budget proposal provides flexibility and opportunity for increasing access to abortion; however, these investments are only part of what we must do if California is going to continue to lead in the reproductive health, rights, and justice space.”

Click here to read more.

NRLC Tells Representatives to Oppose Deceptive "Freedom to Vote Act"

In a letter to legislators in the US House of Representatives, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) has asked them to oppose HR 5746, otherwise (deceptively) known as the "Freedom to Vote Act."

The law creates will regulate communication by organizations that "can be interpreted by a reasonable person only as advocating the election or defeat of a candidate for election for Federal office." Such communication will be considered "the functional equivalent of express advocacy."

This is problematic for organizations that provide commentary on the votes made by elected officials. As the NRLC writes in its letter to legislators, "there is little that an organization could say by way of commentary on the votes or positions taken by an incumbent member of Congress that would not fall within this expansive definition, in the eyes of some 'reasonable person.'"

Additionally, the bill would create record-keeping and reporting requirements. It would threaten the ability of private citizens to donate to organizations such as the NRLC without having their identifying information made public. Donors who contribute to organizations taking stances on contentious issues could find themselves subjected to harassment, threats, or physical attacks by those who disagree.

Click here to read the NRLC's letter to Representatives.

ACLU Sues to Block Ohio Law Respecting the Bodies of Aborted Children

An Ohio law requiring the burial or cremation of aborted children is set to go into effect next month, but the ACLU has sued in an attempt to have the law overturned.

The law allows women who have abortions to choose burial or cremation for their aborted children. If they do not choose, abortion businesses must make the decision. Abortion businesses that do not bury or cremate aborted children can face a first-degree misdemeanor charge punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

The ACLU is suing on behalf of five Ohio abortion businesses. In their argument, they attempt to dehumanize unborn children and claim that compliance with this law will be too costly for abortion businesses.

“The law and the implementing rules are extremely burdensome and expensive to comply with – impossible in many regards – and vague and unclear as to how to comply,” ACLU of Ohio Legal Director Freda Levenson told WCPN. “It’s very, very costly to provide cremation or burial for a small collection of cells. This law applies even to a blastocyte or to a small number of cells or to an embryo.”

In an interview for the Columbus Dispatch, Ohio Right to Life President Mike Gonidakis strongly advocated in favor of the law, and he slammed opponents for their lack of respect for the innocent human beings killed in abortions.

“SB 27 simply dignifies the life of a child who died because of an abortion and provides a proper burial for that child. The ACLU will do everything in its power to sterilize abortion and attempt to hide the fact that a successful abortion leads to the death of an innocent child. Planned Parenthood would rather have all aborted babies carted off to landfills in metal containers. The inhumanity of the ACLU and Planned Parenthood knows no boundaries. Ohio Right to Life is confident that this compassionate law will withstand court scrutiny.”

Click here to read more.

Indiana Abortion Restrictions to Stay in Place While SCOTUS Considers Dobbs

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday said that it would delay ruling on several pro-life Indiana laws until after the Supreme Court issues its ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

The Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case is a challenge to Mississippi's Gestational Age Act, which protects babies from abortion after they reach 15 weeks gestation. A decision is expected in June.

Judge Sarah Evans Barker issued a ruling in August of last year that allowed some of Indiana's pro-life provisions to be enforced, but it placed injunctions against others. One provision that was allowed prohibits non-doctors from performing first-trimester aspiration abortions. Five provisions are currently being blocked, however:

• a ban against non-doctors from prescribing abortion pills
• a requirement that second-trimester abortions only occur at hospitals or ambulatory surgery centers
• a requirement that preabortion counseling occur in-person
• a ban against the use of telemedicine to prescribe and distribute abortion pills
• a requirement that women receive in-person examinations before having abortions

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DC Agency Proposes Database to Track Employees who File Religious Exemptions

A small government agency in DC is proposing a database to track its employees who file religious objections to COVID-19 vaccines. Many are concerned that this policy could serve as a test for a nationwide policy that would create lists of Americans who object to COVID-19 vaccines.

Such lists would likely contain many pro-life advocates. Many pro-life people object to currently available COVID-19 vaccines on the basis that they were developed and/or manufactured with the use of cell lines harvested from aborted babies.

The Pretrial Services Agency (PSA) for the District of Columbia published its proposal in the Federal Register on Tuesday. It would create an “Employee Religious Exception Request Information System.”

According to the proposal, “This system of records maintains personal religious information collected in response to religious accommodation requests for religious exception from the federally mandated vaccination requirement in the context of a public health emergency or similar health and safety incident, such as a pandemic, epidemic, natural disaster or national or regional emergency.”

The proposal further reads, “The system of records will assist the Agency in the collection, storing, dissemination, and disposal of employee religious exemption request information collected and maintained by the Agency.”

Sarah Parshall Perry and GianCarlo Canaparo, legal fellows for The Heritage Foundation, theorized in an article for the Daily Signal that “Likely, the Biden administration is using it to stealth test a policy it intends to roll out across the whole government.”

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Supreme Court Blocks Biden Vaccine Mandate for Businesses

The Supreme Court on Jan 13 blocked the Biden administration's rule that would have required private businesses to enforce vaccine-or-test mandates on their employees. At the same time, the Supreme Court ruled that the Biden administration could enforce a COVID-19 vaccine mandate on health care workers.

Vaccine mandates are particularly troubling for pro-life advocates, many of whom do not want to take the currently available COVID-19 vaccines. All of these vaccines were developed and/or manufactured with the use of cell lines harvested from aborted babies.

The court ruled 6-3 against the rule that would have required vaccine-or-test policies at all private businesses with 100 or more employees. The conservative justices voted in the majority on that decision.

The vaccine requirement for healthcare workers was allowed in a 5-4 decision. In that ruling, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh sided with the liberal justices.

The mandate for businesses would have been enforced under OSHA, which the majority ruled did not have the power to impose such a mandate.

"Administrative agencies are creatures of statute. They accordingly possess only the authority that Congress has provided," the majority wrote. "...The question, then, is whether the Act plainly authorizes the Secretary’s mandate. It does not. The Act empowers the Secretary to set workplace safety standards, not broad public health measures."

The mandate for health care workers, on the other hand, will be enforced through the authority granted by the Social Security Act. That law authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to “make and publish such rules and regulations” that “may be necessary to the efficient administration” of Medicare and Medicaid programs.

"The challenges posed by a global pandemic do not allow a federal agency to exercise power that Congress has not conferred upon it," the majority wrote in its decision for the health care worker case. "At the same time such unprecedented circumstances provide no grounds for limiting the exercise of authorities the agency has long been recognized to have."

Click here to read more.

South Dakota Legislators Approve Abortion Pill Restrictions

Legislators in South Dakota last week approved abortion pill restrictions initiated by Gov. Kristi Noem's executive order in September. These restrictions will protect women by limiting the abortion pill's distribution to licensed abortion facilities.

This order came as a response to the FDA's announcement that it will end regulations that used to limit the distribution of the abortion pill. Those regulations similarly limited the distribution of the abortion pill. Without the FDA restrictions, it will be legal to send abortion pills by sending them through the mail.

The FDA regulations sought to protect women from some of the risks associated with the abortion pill. Without them, women can receive prescriptions without first being examined by a medical professional. This is important because medical professionals can accurately date a pregnancy and diagnose any conditions, such as ectopic pregnancy. If the child's gestational age is past the range at which it is safe to use the abortion pill, or if an ectopic pregnancy is diagnosed, then they would know not to use the abortion pill regimen. If a woman takes the abortion pill regimen with an ectopic pregnancy or late-term child could experience life-threatening injuries such as hemorrhaging.

“Chemical abortions are four times as likely to cause a woman getting an abortion to end up in an emergency room – and we have a duty to protect the lives of those women,” Noem said in a statement after legislators approved the restrictions. “I look forward to the day when the life of every unborn child is protected in South Dakota. Until then, South Dakotans will know that if a mother uses abortion pills to end her unborn child’s life, she will not get those pills from a stranger over the internet.”

Click here to read more.

New Jersey to Legalize Abortion until Birth

NJ Gov. Phil Murphy (D)

On Jan 10, legislators in New Jersey passed a bill that codifies a right to abortion into state law. The bill not only creates a right to abortion, it expands abortion to the point that it will be legal for any reason up until birth. This means that it will be completely legal to abort a child that can viably survive outside of the mother's womb.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced that he plans to sign the bill. In a tweet he wrote, “A bill to codify a woman’s right to choose into state law and expand access to reproductive health care for all just passed both houses of the Legislature. I will sign this bill into law this week. With Roe v. Wade under attack, the need for this bill is more urgent than ever.”

New Jersey Right to Life brought up additional criticisms of the bill. It will prevent the passage of pro-life legislation, and it is written broadly enough that it could allow many things that are not explicitly described by the text. As an example, some pro-life advocates are worried that language in the bill could be used to force health insurance companies to provide coverage for abortions.

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63,459,781 Babies Killed by Abortion Since Roe v. Wade

An estimated 63,459,781 babies have been killed by abortion since 1973, the year that Roe v. Wade was decided.

National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) Director of Education and Research Dr. Randall K O'Bannon created a fact sheet showing estimated abortion totals. He used statistics from the CDC and the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute.

O'Bannon pointed out in a press release that the CDC found an abortion rate of 11.4 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44 years. Additionally, the CDC found a ratio of 195 abortions per 1,000 live births. The CDC does not include statistics from California, New Hampshire, and Maryland. They do not report their abortion data to the federal government.

Between 2010 and 2019, aborition rate decreased by nearly 18%. Despite this, NRLC estimates that over 880,000 abortions currently occur in the United States each year.

Click here to read more.

Registration is Open for NRL Convention 2022!

Registration for the 2022 National Right to Life Convention in Atlanta, Georgia is now open!

When: June 24-25, 2022

Where:

Atlanta Airport Mariott Hotel

4711 Best Road

Atlanta, Georgia 30337

What: At this convention, pro-life speakers and workshops will help inform and energize pro-life advocates to better advance the cause of saving lives. There will be 4 general sessions with the convention's main speakers and 40+ 50 minute workshops on various life-related topics. There will be an opening prayer breakfast, an exhibit hall with pro-life organizations, and a closing banquet.

If you are interested in participating, visit nrlconvention.com to get more information.

Thousands Marched for Life in Chicago

Thousands of pro-life advocates rallied at March for Life Chicago on Jan 8 to protest abortion and march for their cause.

Hosted by weDignifiy, the event brought pro-lifers together to protest abortion and fight for a culture of life. 

“We’re really excited this year to have such a far-reaching march of people from so many states, as far as Nebraska and Kansas and, of course, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa,” Director of Marketing Caitlyn Bootsma told Live Action News. “Because we can see as the abortion industry becomes increasingly aggressive here in Illinois, with parental notification just being repealed, it’s more important than ever to come together as a pro-life movement to really fight for change and build a culture of life.”

weDignify held a rally shortly before the march that included encouraging speeches from multiple pro-life leaders. That rally can be viewed here.

Click here to read more.

SFLA Report Exposes Christian Colleges with Links to Planned Parenthood

A new report released by Students for Life of America (SFLA) did an analysis of 784 Christian colleges throughout the United States. Of those schools, 69 were found to promote Planned Parenthood.

In its Christian Schools Project, SFLA identified schools that promoted Planned Parenthood in any of the following ways:

• Planned Parenthood was promoted as an active internship opportunity for which students may receive credit.
• Planned Parenthood was promoted as a student resource.
• Planned Parenthood events from 2019 onward were advertised on campus or on the website.
• Planned Parenthood was promoted as a volunteer opportunity.
• Planned Parenthood partnered with the university on at least 1 event from 2019 onward.
• Planned Parenthood was promoted as a future career opportunity.

Originally, SFLA found that 103 religious schools had connections or partnerships with Planned Parenthood under this criteria. After SFLA contacted these schools, 34 of them removed references to Planned Parenthood from their websites.

Christian Illinois schools SFLA considered to be in a relationship with Planned Parenthood include:

Illinois College (Presbyterian)

Milikin University (Presbyterian)

Monmouth College (Presbyterian)

Augustana College (Lutheran)

Illinois Christian schools that broke their ties to Planned Parenthood after SFLA contacted them include:

Loyola University (Catholic)

McKendree University (United Methodist)

Saint Xavier University (Catholic)

The full report can be found here.

Abuser Arrested over a Decade After Taking a Minor to Get an Abortion in Chicago

Chicago Planned Parenthood to which Downey brought
his 16-year-old victim
photo credit: Operation Rescue

On December 29, a former middle school principal was arrested in Indiana on two counts of child seduction. The charges allege an illegal sexual relationship with a minor, whom he brought to a Chicago Planned Parenthood in 2008 to get an abortion and hide his crimes.

The accused, Peter Allen Downey, was 45 at the time. His victim had just turned 16 when he began a physical sexual relationship with her in 2008. On Sept. 2 of that year, Downy drove her from their hometown of Fort Wayne, Indiana to the Planned Parenthood abortion business at 1200 N. LaSalle Dr. in Chicago. There, roughly six weeks into her pregnancy, she had an abortion.

Downey's victim kept the paperwork and ultrasound photo from Planned Parenthood. It was used to identify her abuser.

There were several red flags that should have prompted Planned Parenthood to report this incident. The girl who had the abortion was a minor and therefore could not provide consent. She was getting an abortion from out of state. The man accompanying her was completely unrelated. Despite these factors, Planned Parenthood did not report suspected sexual abuse.

Since his arrest, Downey was released for posting a bond.

Click here to read more.

NYT Report Says Many Prenatal Tests for Genetic Conditions are Inaccurate

A recent New York Times investigation found that commonly used prenatal blood tests have high rates of false-positive results for genetic disorders. This report was especially troubling for pro-lifers, as these kinds of results often drive parents to seek abortions.

The Times went as far as to say that the positive results from these tests "are usually wrong." Their investigation found that positive results from the tests analyzed were wrong about 85% of the time.

The NYT interviewed researchers and used results from multiple studies “to produce the best estimates available of how well the five most common microdeletion tests perform.” These tests checked for DiGeorge syndrome, 1p36 deletion, Cri-du-chat syndrome, Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome, and Prader-Willi and Angelman syndromes.

The NYT wrote that the FDA does not regulate these tests. The companies that provide them profit from testing for exceedingly rare conditions that should not require testing. Additionally, these tests proliferate a culture that devalues the lives of those with genetic abnormalities. All lives, born and unborn, have value. A diagnosis with a genetic condition does not change this.

Click here to read more.

Abortion Pill Reversal Network Celebrates 3K Lives Saved

Heartbeat International, the organization that manages the Abortion Pill Rescue Network (APRN), announced on Thursday that the network had reached the milestone of 3,000 lives saved!

“Each of these children are miracles walking among us!” said Christa Brown, director of Medical Impact for Heartbeat International. “It's extraordinary that each of these 3,000 thriving children were once counted as an abortion statistic. Fast forward to today and each of these children is now irreplaceable in their communities and families.”

Abortion pill reversal (APR) is a process by which the effects of the first pill used in the abortion pill regimen are negated. This first pill, mifepristone, causes the death of an unborn child by blocking the pregnancy hormone progesterone. Progesterone facilitates the flow of oxygen and nutrients to the child. By blocking this hormone, mifepristone essentially starves and suffocates the child to death. During APR, the mother is prescribed additional progesterone to counter this effect. Progesterone has been used as a treatment to prevent miscarriages since the 1950s.

If a mother who has taken mifepristone regrets her decision, she can call the abortion pill reversal hotline, which is operated 24/7, and she will be connected to a medical professional who can help her try to save her child. That hotline is 1-877-558-0333.

This milestone comes despite the suppression of APR ads by big tech companies such as Google and Facebook.

Click here to read more.