Thanks to all the parents and teens who stopped by our booth at the Creation Christian Music Festival. We were overwhelmed by the positive responses we received to our literature and our soft-touch fetal models. To view pictures from Creation, click here. If you’re a teen who would like information about entering our pro-life essay & oratory contests, click here.
A group of pro-life Democrats have sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, asking her not to advance any health care reform plan that includes taxpayer funding of abortion:
“As the debate on health care reform continues and legislation is produced, it is imperative that the issue of abortion not be overlooked,” they write. “Plans to mandate coverage for abortions, either directly or indirectly, are unacceptable.”
“We cannot support any health care reform proposal unless it explicitly excludes abortion from the scope of any government-defined or subsidized health insurance plan,” the lawmakers say. “We believe that a government-defined or subsidized health insurance plan should not be used to fund abortion.”
You can read the text of the letter here.
Congressman Chris Smith of New Jersey is an eloquent defender of defenseless preborn children, and a tireless advocate for women facing difficult pregnancies.
Recently, at the National Right to Life Convention, Congressman Smith spoke of the noble service National Right to Life provides to the nation:
Indeed, you are the conscience of a nation that has lost its way. You admonish our country to embrace life and hope—not the “hope” of a superficial presidential campaign—and you teach us to reject violence against children and abandonment of their moms, not some of the time, but all of the time.
You know that abortion causes serious injury to women—physically, including the link to breast cancer and depression, emotionally and spiritually—and you work tirelessly to end the cover-up regarding the horrific impacts on women.
Thank you for devoting your lives, your talent, your time and your money to defending generations of unborn children, their moms, their dads, the frail elderly and the disabled (like Terri Schiavo), most of whom you will never meet, at least not in this life.
Smith conceded, though, that the pro-life movement has suffered a string of setbacks under President Barack Obama:
At a time when the country—the world—needs compassionate moral leadership that is inclusive of all regardless of age, sex, race, disability or condition of dependency, Mr. Obama has earned the dubious title of the Abortion President.
He talks inclusion, but practices exclusion. His deeds speak louder than his words.
With all his gifts and charisma, it is tragic beyond words that Mr. Obama has chosen to promote the culture of death and in record time has made the White House the wholly owned subsidiary of the abortion lobby. For a man who has been given so much to then deny the right to live—to exist—to those who have so little is, well, unfair and tragic. He has done much harm—and is capable of inflicting much more. Thus through prayer, fasting and smart work we must absolutely resolve to stop his misguided abortion agenda.
You can read the full text of Congressman Smith’s comments here.
National Right to Life has sent a letter to members of Congress, expressing strong opposition to the Tri-Committee health care legislation that was released June 19th. The letter notes:
The legislation would also authorize massive new subsidies for health coverage, without any language to prevent these subsidies from being used to fund abortion. A vote for this legislation, as drafted, is a vote for tax-subsidized abortion on demand.
National Right to Life also points out that the legislation could give rise to health care rationing, which could in turn lead to euthanasia, or the killing of the elderly and people with disabilities:
The Tri-Committee bill also contains structural components that raise the most acute concerns regarding future rationing of life-saving medical care on the basis of disability and ‘quality of life’ criteria.
Tell your Congressman now about your concerns about health care reform legislation. You can e-mail your Congressional representative through the National Right to Life Legislative Action Center here.
Father Frank Pavone of Priests for Life has written an intriguing column about the fact that, when it comes to abortion, men, not women, are often making the lethal choice:
The fact that men do not get pregnant does not stop them from choosing abortion. Indeed, anyone who has worked directly to stop abortions has seen many instances in which the “choice” in question was being made by the man, not by the woman. In the thousands of case testimonies I have in my office, time after time I read these or similar words: “My boyfriend wanted me to have the abortion; I was unsure,” or “The baby’s father said that unless I aborted the child, he would leave.”
On the flip side, there are men who desperately want their girlfriends or wives to choose life for their babies, but they have absolutely no say in the decision, legally speaking. As Father Pavone points out, abortion is not just a women’s issue–it’s a human rights issue:
It was the promoters of abortion who from the beginning framed abortion as simply a “woman’s issue.” No, abortion involves everyone. Once, at a Life Chain, I was asked by a passerby what right I had, as a man, to say anything about abortion. “I’m a human being,” I replied, “and when my fellow human beings are being killed, I have a right to stand up and say no.” “No,” that is, whether it is addressed to a woman or to a man.
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee engaged in an eloquent defense of the pro-life cause on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” recently. Huckabee stated the pro-life viewpoint in a winning, engaging way, and answered all of Stewart’s questions with aplomb. You can find the clip here. Please note that the Huckabee interview occurs about 11 minutes into the program.
U.S. News & World Report has noted that Planned Parenthood has launched a new ad campaign. Even though the organization is the largest provider of abortions in the nation, abortion is not mentioned in the advertising. U.S. News blogger Deborah Kotz relates her conversation with the head of Planned Parenthood on this point:
I ask Cecile Richards, the organization’s president, to explain why. She says the ad is aimed at policy folks involved in healthcare reform, those old guys in Congress (my words, not hers) who think the clinics only provide abortions. “Polls show that women generally know that Planned Parenthood provides STD testing and cancer screenings, but a lot of folks in Washington don’t. We’re trying to fill in information that they don’t have.”
Planned Parenthood wants abortion to be part of Washington’s health care reform package. In other words, the organization believes taxpayers should pay for abortions, even though public opinion polls show that most Americans don’t support that idea. Tell your Congressional representative today that you don’t want abortion to be part of health care reform. To e-mail your representative, go here.
The National Right to Life Convention is now underway in Charlotte, North Carolina. A number of experts will be sharing insights about pro-life issues, including abortion, euthanasia, and embryonic stem cell research. To view a blog from the convention, click here. The convention will also feature a nationwide pro-life oratory contest, which will include Pennsylvania’s representative, high school student Sarah Victor. Good luck to Sarah and the rest of the contestants, who are raising their voices courageously in defense of innocent human life! If you will be a high school junior or senior in Pennsylvania next year and you would like to take part in the statewide oratory contest in 2010, e-mail lifelines@paprolife.org .
The Obama Administration is expected to release a plan sometime this summer seeking ”common ground” solutions on the issue of abortion. As reported by U.S. News and World Report, however, a number of pro-lifers are skeptical:
The most conservative antiabortion groups, meanwhile, see the White House’s abortion reduction effort as a politically inspired attempt to co-opt antiabortion voters with “common ground” rhetoric.” There is not a single pro-life policy that Obama has ever supported,” says Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women for America. “So there’s reason for skepticism.”
Ironically, there are some common ground initiatives put forward by the pro-life movement that already have wide support among Americans. These include bans on taxpayer funding of abortion, bans on partial-birth abortion, and legislation for 24-hour waiting periods for abortion. Unfortunately, such initiatives have been opposed consistently by President Barack Obama, who has never supported any legal limits on abortion.
The words of the Obama Administration may indicate a willingness to compromise on the pro-abortion position, but the actions thus far have said something entirely different.
Tonight, members of the staff of the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation will be at the Forum in downtown Harrisburg for ANSR: A New Sexual Revolution. The Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation is a co-sponsor of this pro-life event, which is expected to attract teens from throughout the area. If you’re going to ANSR, be sure to stop by our exhibit table. We have lots of great freebies for you! To find out more about ANSR, click here.
The White House is now in a major push to enact health care reform. What you may not realize is that the plan could eliminate restrictions on abortion and force taxpayers to pay for abortions. Planned Parenthood and other pro-abortion groups are lobbying for abortion to be included in the health care package that will go before Congress. We must act now to ensure that abortion is specifically excluded from health care reform. You can go to the National Right to Life Legislative Action Center here and send messages to Senators Casey and Specter and to your Congressional representative urging them to stop any moves to include abortion in the health care reform package. The plan could be voted on as early as July, so your help is needed now!
The latest edition of the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Online News is posted and ready for viewing here. In this issue, you’ll find critically important information on stopping Obama’s pro-abortion agenda, why you need to attend the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Conference in Scranton in October, and info on the Choose Life Banquet for southwestern PA. To subscribe to the Online News, send an e-mail to lifelines@paprolife.org with the word “subscribe” in the subject line.
We’ll be holding our first speaker training session for students in grades 7-12 on Saturday, June 13th, in Harrisburg. This session was actually prompted by a student, who believes strongly that teens need to learn how to speak eloquently about the pro-life cause. There is still time to register for this free event. Just e-mail lifelines@paprolife.org or call 717-541-0034. We look forward to seeing you!
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the State Department authorization bill (H.R. 2410), which would create an Office for Global Women’s Issues which would promote abortion overseas. Congress approved the bill by a vote of 235 to 187, despite the objections raised by National Right to Life and the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation. According to National Right to Life Legislative Director Douglas Johnson, the bill “will further empower the Obama Administration to pursue its agenda of undermining the pro-life laws of sovereign nations.” Thanks to all of you who contacted your Congressional representative in opposition to the bill. You can see how your Congressman voted by visiting http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll328.xml . Be sure to thank your Congressional representative if he or she voted against H.R. 2410.
The latest batch of our radio commentaries, Pro-Life Notes, are now posted here. The commentaries address the most exciting pro-life event of the year…pro-life at your local fair…and the new pro-life majority. If you’d like us to send Pro-Life Notes to your local Catholic or Christian radio station, e-mail us at lifelines@paprolife.org with the station’s e-mail address, and we’d be happy to send out the MP3 files.
Please Call Your U.S. Congressman’s Office Right Away
To Urge a “NO” Vote on H.R. 2410, “Global Women’s Issues” Bill
On Wednesday, June 10, or Thursday, June 11, the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to take up H.R. 2410, a bill that would create a new “Office for Global Women’s Issues” in the State Department. In Congressional testimony on April 22, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a strong pro-abortion advocate, left no doubt that this new sub-agency would be involved in seeking to legalize abortion on demand in foreign countries.
Please take a few minutes to urge your representative to oppose this bill. It’s easy — just go to the NRLC website’s
There is also an easy-to-use form that allows you to send NRLC a quick e-mail report on how your conversation went.
For more information on H.R. 2410, read the letter sent by NRLC to members of the U.S. House of Representatives at http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102606006590&s=179&e=001zqNXVuo3_u89SBQ4og4R8cJgBtVOmw5JBxpFGUJG-SaloXgGKLauoHVBl–uu-ezClr8dbROqPQ1KSovNCHON8RlKgu1mWKE1fHg99zLiaXGC012MwLhvyud8kARovxwvPOcbY8LRB8JsL6KKmehgNcGt9Hb9b22Ud3I3-Gaj_Fxrf4JdRLOCQ== .
If you have any questions, please contact our Legislative Director, Charlene Bashore, Esq., by email at bashore@paprolife.org, or call her at 717-525-4903.
Some good news today from Sweden, where researchers have discovered that the survival rate for premature infants is improving.
As LifeNews.com reports:
Dr. Karel Marsal of Lund University Hospital and colleagues published their findings in the latest issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
They found that approximately 70 percent of the babies born alive between 22 and 26 weeks gestation in Sweden now survive past the age of one thanks to advances in modern medicine.
We thank doctors and nurses for the heroic efforts they make to save premature babies, and we mourn the loss of those babies of similar age who die as a result of late-term abortions.
LifeNews.com is reporting that Senator Diane Feinstein of California, who supports legal abortion, is saying that Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor has a “real respect for precedent” on abortion, meaning that she will vote to uphold Roe v. Wade, the tragic Supreme Court decision which brought us abortion on demand:
“I think she is a woman who is well-steeped in the law and well-steeped in precedent,” Feinstein explained. “And I believe that she has a real respect for precedent, and that she was not just saying that. And if that is really true, then I would agree with her. And I believe it is.”
The White House has also stated that President Barack Obama and Judge Sotomayor share the same opinion on Roe.
Let’s hope that members of the Senate ask pointed questions of Sotomayor on the subject, so that Americans will know without a doubt where she stands on the most egregious Supreme Court ruling of our time.
WPXI is reporting on the smallest baby ever to survive at Magee Women’s Hospital in Pittsburgh. Taylor Rideout weighed just 12.5 ounces at birth:
She’s a fighter,” said Taylor’s mother Brittany Rideout.
At 80 days and now weighing 3 pounds, Taylor has come a long way. The tiny baby’s survival wasn’t a sure thing.
“When I was pregnant with her, I had two strokes and two seizures. She still survived,” said Rideout.
Rideout has Lupus, and the pregnancy was threatening her life, so doctors delivered the baby 14 weeks early in March.
“I thought, ‘there’s no chance of this tiny baby surviving,’” said Dr. Toby Yanowitz. “She’s amazing. Most babies under a pound don’t survive.”
Taylor is nicknamed pop can because that’s how much she weighed when she was born.
Taylor’s mother is offering this advice to families facing similar circumstances:
“I would tell them don’t give up on their child if they’re born small or have a disease or anything. There’s a God in this world, and if it’s meant to be, it will be,” said Rideout.
Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation staff are heading to Scranton today for a meeting for our 2009 PA Pro-Life Conference, which takes place October 24th. We’ve got a fine line-up of speakers, including former Attorney General of Kansas Phill Kline, Terri Schiavo’s brother, Bobby Schindler, Dr. David Prentice, a stem cell expert from the Family Research Council, and talk show host Teresa Tomeo. Special student breakout sessions are also planned. Why not register for the conference today? Just follow the prompts at http://www.paprolife.org/. Also, Executive Director Michael Ciccocioppo is taping an interview today to air on Catholic Scranton Television. If you live in the Scranton area, be sure to watch for it.