Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron |
April 11, 2022
Kentucky AG Files Brief in Support of Dismemberment Abortion Ban
April 8, 2022
Michigan Gov Files Lawsuit to Find Abortion Rights in State Constitution
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer |
Senate Confirms Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court
Ketanji Brown Jackson |
April 7, 2022
Oklahoma Legislature Passes Abortion Ban
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) |
Idaho Gov. Signs Law to Support Families After Down Syndrome Diagnosis
April 6, 2022
Colorado Gov Signs Bill Creating State Right to Abortion
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) photo credit: Jesse Paul / Flickr |
April 5, 2022
Chicago Planned Parenthood Tears Woman's Uterus
April 4, 2022
WSJ Poll Shows Support for 15-Week Abortion Ban
WSJ surveyed 1,500 voters from March 2-7. The results found that 48% would either "strongly" or "somewhat" favor a law banning abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy with exemptions to protect the life of the mother. 43% of voters were opposed.
This is welcome news for the pro-life movement, as polling regularly shows voters lean toward pro-life stances.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to rule on Mississippi's 15-week abortion ban in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. That ruling should come before the end of the Court's current term (June 2022).
Aside from Mississippi, Arizona and Louisiana have also enacted 15-week bans. Florida and Kentucky have similar bills pending the approval of their governors. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is expected to sign his state's bill, while the Kentucky legislature is primed to override an expected veto by pro-abortion Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D).
HHS Again Sending Millions to Abortion Orgs Through Title X
April 1, 2022
Illinois Legislation Update 4-1-22
HB1464 would prohibit Illinois officials from disciplining abortionists who break laws in other states related to abortion.
HB1464 passed the House of Representatives on March 31 by a vote of 68-41. It is currently in the Senate Assignments Committee.
HB5048 would require nursing homes to provide certain residents with Practitioner Order for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) forms. These forms are used to determine what kind of care will be provided if a patient is unable to make decisions for themself. Nursing homes would be required to have an employee or a physician discuss the form with them. This is concerning because legislation passed last year removed the requirement for a witness's signature on POLST forms. This means that those in nursing care will no longer have the security provided by a witness to ensure that they understand what they are signing.
HB5048 passed the House of Representatives on Feb 24 by a vote of 65-43. It is now in the Senate Health Committee, where it has been given an extended deadline of April 4 to proceed.
HB4221, titled the "Pregnancy Center Disclosure Act," would create regulations for "limited services pregnancy facilities." These would apply to pro-life pregnancy clinics. Under HB4221, such clinics would be required to "disseminate to clients on-site, and in any print and digital advertising materials, notice stating that the facility is not licensed as a medical facility by Illinois and has no licensed medical provider who provides or directly supervises the provision of services." The Attorney General or a private party could take action against a clinic that does not follow these rules to impose fines. There would be a $500 fine for the first offense, and then $5,000 fines for any subsequent violations.
HB4221 is still in the House Rules Committee.
HB4247 would mandate that "public institutions of higher education" place a vending machine on campus that sells emergency contraception to students. Emergency contraception pills have the ability to abort children after conception but before they implant in the mother's uterus.
HB4247 passed the House of Representatives on March 3 by a vote of 62-38. It is now in the Senate Assignments Committee.
Additionally, the House passed three pro-abortion resolutions on March 31, and it is considering a fourth. Resolutions do not create laws, but they do serve to declare the values or intent of lawmakers.
HR0094 declared support for the funding of Planned Parenthood. It passed by a vote of 66 to 39.
HR790 declared support for Roe v. Wade. It passed by a vote of 68 to 38.
HR789 declared support for reproductive rights. It passed by a vote of 68-38.
HR762 would congratulate Terry Cosgrove, the CEO of pro-abortion lobbying group Personal PAC, on his retirement. It has not yet received a vote.
Kentucky Lawmakers Pass Pro-Life "Omnibus" Bill
Planned Parenthood Sues to Block Idaho's Texas Style Abortion Law
March 31, 2022
American Family Learns Healthy Daughters Died by Assisted Suicide in Switzerland
Lila Ammouri and Susan Frazier |
Abortion Orgs Sue Thomas More Society to Block Enforcement of Texas Heartbeat Act
“It is illegal to pay for an abortion performed in Texas or to contribute to abortion funds to aid or abet these abortions. The Lilith Fund and the Texas Equal Access Fund have admitted to paying for abortions in violation of the Texas Heartbeat Act, and in doing so they have exposed their employees, volunteers, and donors to civil lawsuits and potential criminal prosecution. Those donations were used not for First Amendment advocacy but to end the lives of innocent unborn human beings with beating hearts. Those who are funding or assisting in bringing about these abortions will be revealed in discovery. Anyone who has aided or abetted an illegal abortion in Texas is subject to the full force of the law and imposition of these civil and criminal sanctions.”
The lawsuits by TEA and Lilith Fund will not contest the Heartbeat Act's constitutionality, but they argue that the law violates their rights to due process, free speech, and equal protection.
March 30, 2022
New Biden Budget Removes Hyde and other Pro-Life Protections
- The budget eliminates the Hyde Amendment, thereby allowing taxpayer funding for abortion through programs such as Medicaid, Medicare, and other programs.
- The budget eliminates the Dornan Amendment. This would allow the District of Columbia to fund abortions through Medicaid.
- By ending the Aderholt Amendment, the federal government will end its ban on gestating gene-edited embryos.
- Title X funding (which includes grants to abortion businesses) would increase from $286.479 million to $400 million.
- Funding for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) would increase from $32.5 million to $56 million. The UNFPA promotes abortion globally.
- This budget creates multiple other avenues through which taxpayer dollars can be used to promote abortion internationally, bypassing longstanding amendments such as the Helms Amendment.
March 29, 2022
EU Sanctions Ukrainian Neighbors for Being Pro-Life
March 28, 2022
Arizona Passes 15 Week Abortion Ban
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) |
South Dakota Gov Signs Pro-Life Bills
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) photo credit: Gage Skidmore / Flickr |
South Dakota's HB1318 prohibits abortion businesses from distributing abortion pills via telemedicine. Women who seek abortions via the abortion pill regimen will instead need to make several in-person visits to an abortion business. This prevents abortion businesses from sending pills through the mail while simultaneously decreasing medical risks for the woman.
Women taking the abortion pill regimen will visit once to take the first abortion pill, once to take the second pill, and a third time to confirm that the abortion is complete. The new law codifies an executive order that Noem made last year. It cannot go into effect until a federal judge lifts an injunction blocking those rules.
South Dakota's HB1113 makes it a crime to coerce anyone to get an abortion. Those found guilty can be charged with a Class B felony.
March 25, 2022
Senators Question Ketanji Brown Jackson on Abortion
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson photo credit: Lloyd DeGrane |
In her confirmation hearings, Jackson spoke about the importance of Supreme Court precedents. In this context, she stated that Roe v. Wade is "settled law." This statement clearly shows her stance on the issue of abortion, and it indicates that she believes a right to abortion exists in the US Constitution.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) questioned Jackson on life issues. He pressed Jackson on when she thought life begins.
“I have, um, personal religious and otherwise beliefs that have nothing to do with the law in terms of when life begins,” Jackson said.
Kennedy also asked, “When does equal protection of the laws attach to a human being?” Jackson responded that she did not know.
Sen Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) brought up an amicus brief co-authored by Jackson on behalf of the Massachusetts National Abortion Rights Action League. That brief supported a Massachusetts law creating buffer zones around abortion clinics in the state. In that brief, she described pro-life groups outside abortion facilities as, a "hostile, noisy crowd of ‘in-your-face protestors." Blackburn asked Jackson, “How do you justify that incendiary rhetoric against pro-life women?”
Jackson responded, “That was a statement in a brief, made an argument for my client, it’s not the way that I think of or characterize people.”
The heads of 40 pro-life groups, including National Right to Life President Carol Tobias, sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee this week to express concerns with Judge Jackson's record. It read in part:
"Even before Justice Breyer’s retirement announcement, radical pro-abortion groups had spent six-figure sums promoting Jackson. Now that she is the nominee, they have already pledged a million more.
Planned Parenthood NARAL and the National Women’s Law Center have issued support for Jackson’s confirmation. The American Constitution Society, which has frequently hosted Jackson as a speaker and applauded her nomination, has publicly supported efforts to “reform” the Supreme Court to protect abortion"
911 Operator Refuses to Dispatch Ambulance to Post-Abortive Chicago Woman
Family Planning Associates abortion clinic in Chicago photo credit: Operation Rescue |