Executive Director Michael Ciccocioppo has written an insightful op-ed piece about how Pennsylvania became the center of a national debate over public funding of abortion. This is a must-read for all Pennsylvania pro-lifers. You’ll find the column at http://www.centredaily.com/2010/07/23/2110103/state-finds-itself-at-center-of.html?mi_pluck_action=comment_submitted&qwxq=4502474#Comments_Container .
The Pennsylvania Department of Health has ordered notorious abortionist Steven Brigham to end his ownership of abortion centers in Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie, and State College.
According to a report in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Brigham is under fire for consistently employing unlicensed personnel. He’s also facing nearly a quarter of a million dollars in liens from the Internal Revenue Service for failing to pay payroll taxes.
Unfortunately, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Health now says that the abortion centers can continue operating under a different owner.
Brigham has a long history of health and safety violations. In 1994, the state of New York revoked his license, ruling that he was guilty of “gross negligence” and “inexcusably bad judgment” involving late-term abortions. He lost his license in Florida for failing to disclose the fact that he lost his license in New York. His license was suspended in New Jersey in 1993.
The question remains: how many other abortionists in Pennsylvania are guilty of the same kind of reckless disregard for patient safety?
From a National Right to Life press release:
WASHINGTON (July 13, 2010) – The Obama Administration will give Pennsylvania $160 million to set up a new “high-risk” insurance program under a provision of the federal health care legislation enacted in March — and has quietly approved a plan submitted by an appointee of Governor Edward Rendell (D) under which the new program will cover any abortion that is legal in Pennsylvania.
The high-risk pool program is one of the new programs created by the sweeping health care legislation (the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) that President Obama signed into law on March 23. The law authorizes $5 billion in federal funds for the program, which will cover as many as 400,000 people when it is implemented nationwide.
“The Obama Administration will give Pennsylvania $160 million in federal tax funds, which we’ve discovered will pay for insurance plans that cover any legal abortion,” said Douglas Johnson, legislative director for the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of right-to-life organizations in all 50 states. “This is just the first proof of the phoniness of President Obama’s assurances that federal funds would not subsidize abortion — but it will not be the last.”
An earlier version of the health care legislation, passed by the House of Representatives in November 2009, contained a provision (the Stupak-Pitts Amendment) that would have prevented federal funds from subsidizing abortion or insurance coverage of abortion in any of the programs created by the bill, including the high-risk pool program. But President Obama opposed that pro-life provision, and it was not included in the bill later approved by both houses and signed into law. An executive order signed by the President on March 24, 2010 did not contain effective barriers to federal funding of abortion, and did not even mention the high-risk pool program.
“President Obama successfully opposed including language in the bill to prevent federal subsidies for abortions, and now the Administration is quietly advancing its abortion-expanding agenda through administrative decisions such as this, which they hope will escape broad public attention,” Johnson said.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has emphasized that the high-risk pool program is a federal program and that the states will not incur any cost. On May 11, 2010, in a letter to Democratic and Republican congressional leaders on implementation of the new law, DHHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius wrote that “states may choose whether and how they participate in the program, which is funded entirely by the federal government.”
Details of the high-risk pool plans for most states are not yet available. But on June 28, Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Joel Ario (a member of the appointed cabinet of Governor Edward Rendell, a Democrat) issued a press release (see: http://tinyurl.com/icrelease) announcing that the federal Department of Health and Human Services had approved his agency’s proposal for implementing the new program in Pennsylvania. “The state will receive $160 million to set up the program, which will provide coverage to as many as 5,600 people between now and 2014,” according to the release. “The plan’s benefit package will include preventive care, physician services, diagnostic testing, hospitalization, mental health services, prescription medications and much more, with subsidized premiums of $283 a month.”
Examination of the detailed Pennsylvania plan (posted here: www.nrlc.org/AHC/PennsylvaniaHighRiskPoolPlan.pdf), reveals that the “much more” will include insurance coverage of any legal abortion.
The section on abortion (see page 14) asserts that “elective abortions are not covered.” However, that statement proves to be a red herring, because the operative language does not define “elective.” Rather, the proposal specifies that the coverage “includes only abortions and contraceptives that satisfy the requirements of” several specific statutes, the most pertinent of which is 18 Pa. C.S. § 3204, which says that an abortion is legal in Pennsylvania (consistent with Roe v. Wade) if a single physician believes that it is “necessary” based on “all factors (physical, emotional, psychological, familial and the woman’s age) relevant to the well-being of the woman.” Indeed, the cited statute provides only a single circumstance in which an abortion prior to 24 weeks is NOT permitted under the Pennsylvania statute: “No abortion which is sought solely because of the sex of the unborn child shall be deemed a necessary abortion.”
As a result, “Under the Rendell-Sebelius plan, federal funds will subsidize coverage of abortion performed for any reason, except sex selection,” said NRLC’s Johnson. “The Pennsylvania proposal conspicuously lacks language that would prevent funding of abortions performed as a method of birth control or for any other reason, except sex selection — and the Obama Administration has now approved this.”
A group of Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives who initially withheld support from the federal health care bill, because of concerns about pro-abortion effects, cited President Obama’s March 24 executive order in justifying their votes to pass the bill over objections from NRLC and other pro-life groups, which argued that the executive order did not contain effective barriers to federal subsidies for abortion. As USA Today reported on March 25, “Both sides in the abortion debate came to a rare agreement on Wednesday: The executive order on abortion signed by President Obama, they said, was basically meaningless. ‘A transparent political fig leaf,’ according to the National Right to Life Committee’s Douglas Johnson. ‘A symbolic gesture,’ said Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards.”
NRLC Legislative Director Douglas Johnson and Senior Legislative Counsel Susan T. Muskett, J.D., are available for interviews to discuss federal abortion subsidies through the new high-risk pool program and other abortion-related problems with the new federal health care law. To arrange an interview, call the NRLC Communications Department at (202) 626-8825 or send e-mail to mediarelations@nrlc.org
The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) is a federation of the right-to-life organizations in all 50 states (including the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation), with more than 3,000 local chapters.
Senator Orrin Hatch argues against confirmation of Elena Kagan as a U.S. Supreme Court Justice in a piece appearing in National Review Online:
The first important standard is experience. Ms. Kagan has never before served as a judge — and, in addition, has little legal experience of any kind. Over the Supreme Court’s long history, justices who were nominated without past judicial experience have had an average of 21 years of legal practice. Ms. Kagan has two. Her experience is instead academic and political.
Senator Hatch also believes that Kagan has an inappropriate judicial philosophy:
Will the Constitution control Elena Kagan, or will she try to control the Constitution? Does she believe that judges may change the meaning of the Constitution, and of the law generally? Is there any evidence that her personal or political views drive her legal views?
…Liberty requires limits on government; it always has, and it always will. That includes limits on judges. Measured against that standard, Elena Kagan’s record shows that her primarily academic and political experience and her activist judicial philosophy make her inappropriate for serving on the Supreme Court. Her hearing offered nothing to neutralize the clear evidence of what kind of justice she will be.
Please go to http://www.capwiz.com/nrlc/issues/alert/?alertid=15225531&type=CO to urge your Senators to oppose Elena Kagan for the Supreme Court.
Please take a moment to urge U.S. Senators Bob Casey and Arlen Specter to vote against the confirmation of Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court. There is every indication that Kagan will not strictly interpret the constitution, but will rule based on her own pro-abortion feelings. Kagan played a key role in blocking the much-needed federal ban on partial-birth abortion during the Clinton Administration. To take action now, please go to http://www.capwiz.com/nrlc/issues/alert/?alertid=15225531&type=CO .
Thank you to all the students who stopped by our table at the Creation Christian music festival. We hope you enjoyed getting a chance to hold our soft-touch fetal models. Be sure to join our Facebook group, our MySpace Group, and follow us on Twitter. You can do them all through the homepage of our website at http://www.paprolife.org/. And thanks especially to our student volunteers. Creation would not have been the same without you!
Check out the newest edition of the PA Pro-Life Online News at http://www.paprolife.org/resources/e_news.html . You’ll find out why you need to be at our 2010 Celebrate Life Banquet….why the newest Catholic bishop of Harrisburg has such a strong pro-life record…and what Republican leader Congressman John Boehner plans to do next in the wake of pro-abortion health care reform. Happy reading!
The Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation is joining with National Right to Life in opposing the confirmation of Elena Kagan to the office of Associate Justice of the
“It is clear that Ms. Kagan would be a judicial activist who would read things into the Constitution that simply aren’t there,” said Michael Ciccocioppo, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation, the
Kagan’s writings clearly indicate that, rather than simply interpreting the law, she would work as a Justice to impose public policy from the bench. In fact, in a thesis, Kagan wrote that it “is not necessarily wrong or invalid” for judges “to mold and steer the law in order to promote certain ethical values and achieve certain social ends.”
White House documents indicate that Kagan was a leading strategist in blocking the enactment of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban during the Clinton Administration. As a result, Kagan was instrumental in keeping the heinous partial-birth abortion procedure legal for an additional decade.
Furthermore, Kagan viewed it a “terrible idea” to prevent doctors in
In 1995, Kagan opined that “it should be no surprise by now that many of the votes a Supreme Court Justice casts have little to do with technical legal ability and much to do with conceptions of value.”
In Roe v. Wade, the High Court made the tragic mistake of imposing its own questionable values upon the nation, resulting in the deaths of more than 50 million preborn children and the devastation of countless numbers of women, who grieve those children to this day. Given the fact that Kagan’s brand of judicial activism would impose even more damage on the nation, the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation must strongly oppose her confirmation.
Successful Harrisburg businessman Alex Szeles has a piece in the Patriot-News about how adult stem cell transplants miraculously extended his life during his battle with multiple myeloma. Szeles’ story highlights how adult stem cells are saving lives everyday, as opposed to embryonic stem cell research, which kills human embryos and helps no one. You can read Alex’s inspiring story at http://www.pennlive.com/editorials/index.ssf/2010/06/stem_cells_from_adults_gave_me.html .
Thank you to all the members, staff, Board of Directors, and volunteers of the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation, who helped to make the 2010 National Right to Life Convention in Pittsburgh such a success! We also extend our deep appreciation to our oratory contestant, Reginald Johnson, who made a fine showing during the National Right to Life oratory contest. It’s through donations of generous individuals like you that Reginald and other students are able to compete in this important national competition. To become a member of the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation, please go to www.paprolife.org/donate .
Pennsylvania is proud to host the National Right to Life Convention, which runs June 24-26 in Pittsburgh. We’ll be presenting a special workshop on keeping Pennsylvania pro-life. We’ll also have a display table at the convention, filled with pro-life goodies. Please stop by and say hello. We’re eager to meet you! See you in Pittsburgh! For more on the convention, please visit http://www.nrlconvention.com/ .
Please call your Congressional Representative now and urge him or her to oppose the DISCLOSE Act. This legislation would place sweeping new restrictions on National Right to Life, the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation, and other National Right to Life affiliates. It would restrict our ability to communicate with the public about the actions of federal lawmakers. It’s a blatant attack on the first amendment rights of pro-lifers! For background information and to contact your Congressional Representative, please go to http://www.capwiz.com/nrlc/home/ .
The latest edition of the PA Pro-Life Online News can be found at http://www.paprolife.org/resources/e_news.html . There, you’ll find out about the important pro-life event coming to Pennsylvania…how pregnancy centers are fighting back against outrageous attacks…and how a famous voice was nearly silenced by abortion.
The computer giant known as Apple and the diapers experts at Pampers have teamed up to produce a stellar commercial showing the amazing development of the preborn child. The commercial is designed to showcase an IPad application tailor-made for new parents eager to see how their preborn baby is progressing. You can view the commercial at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulV5LDwdn8Y&feature=player_embedded .
Pittsburgh will be the site of the National Right to Life Convention, which takes place June 24-26. Some of the best pro-life speakers in the country will be on hand for this incredible event, which will bring together hundreds of pro-lifers from around the nation. If you’re pro-life, you won’t want to miss it! Register by June 11 to take advantage of the early bird discount. To see an inspiring video about the convention and to register online, please visit http://www.nrlconvention.com/ .
The latest installments of our one-minute radio commentaries, Pro-Life Notes, are available here. You’ll find reports on Washington’s pro-abortion agenda…how you can see one of our fabulous pro-life displays…and why you need to attend the National Right to Life Convention in Pittsburgh in June. Happy listening!
A report by the Elliot Institute shows that women who refuse to have abortions often face violent attacks and even death. A spokeswoman for the organization told LifeNews.com the instances of violence are common:
“Our files contain hundreds of stories from women and girls who were attacked or killed with the intent of getting rid of the pregnancy,” said Elliot Institute spokesperson Amy Sobie.
You can read the chilling LifeNews.com report here. Meanwhile, for a fact sheet on forced abortion, visit http://www.paprolife.org/ForcedAbortion.htm .
To help support the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation’s efforts to stop forced abortions, go to http://www.paprolife.org/donate/index.html .
Congressman John Boehner will receive a leadership award at the 2010 National Right to Life Convention, which takes place June 24-26 in Pittsburgh. Pennsylvania is fortunate to be holding this outstanding educational event, which will bring together some of the nation’s foremost experts on the right to life. Don’t delay–register today! You can register conveniently online at http://www.nrlconvention.com/ . We’ll see you in Pittsburgh!
Attorney General Tom Corbett and Jim Cawley have won their party’s nomination for Governor and Lt. Governor and will now be running in November as a pro-life team.
Pro-life State Representative Scott Conklin is currently leading Jonathan Saidel for their party’s nomination for Lt. Governor. His lead is by less than .5%, so a recount will likely be necessary to determine the winner.
In the U.S. Senate, pro-life candidate Pat Toomey will now run against pro-abortion candidate Joe Sestak in November.
The latest edition of the PA Pro-Life Online News is available at http://www.paprolife.org/resources/e_news.html . There, you’ll learn about the PA Pro-Life Federation PAC’s list of pro-life candidates…why you should attend the National Right to Life Convention…and how the movie “Babies” could make people re-think their position on abortion. Happy reading!