Breakthrough pro-life laws approaching critical stage

Breakthrough pro-life laws approaching critical stage In the past week we've seen overwhelming votes in state legislatures to: 1) ban abortions when an unborn baby is developed enough to feel pain; and 2) ban dismemberment abortions.  It's tragic the Supreme Court won't let us pass laws that protect the lives of every unborn baby.  But that's the reality in 2015.  So we're passing laws that will save lives now as we keep working hard to change the outlook of the Supreme Court.  Last week, the West Virginia Senate passed by a vote of 29-5 the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, a bill that bans elective abortions when an unborn baby reaches the stage that a preponderance of evidence demonstrates she can feel pain.  West Virginia's House previously voted 87-12 for the bill! This bill, created by National Right to Life to save babies we believe the Supreme Court will allow us to protect, has now passed in the legislature in 12 states; tragically, Democratic governors in two states – West Virginia last year and Minnesota in 2011 – vetoed the bill, allowing pain-capable little babies to still suffer horribly and be killed by abortion in those states.  Last year, the West Virginia legislature ran out of time to override the governor's veto before the legislative session ended.  But this year, with new leadership in the state Senate, they've passed the bill early enough in the session to bring up an override vote and West Virginia is soon expected to be the 11th state to enact this life-saving bill!  Several other states are considering similar protection for the unborn.  South Carolina's House has already passed the bill by an overwhelming vote of 80-27, and Right to Lifers there are working to win in the Senate.  Other states are taking up the bill, as well.  While those important fights for unborn lives are occurring, at least three states are advancing another breakthrough law:  the Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment Abortion Ban.  Dismemberment abortions are a brutal method in which an abortionist uses a forceps or similar instrument to clasp an unborn baby in the womb and then kill him by twisting and tearing off limbs and other body parts until the baby bleeds to death.  Bills now advancing in Oklahoma, where it overwhelmingly passed the House 84-2, and in Kansas, where it passed the Senate, 31-9, would ban this barbarity.  The bill has also been introduced in Missouri, where it is expected to get strong support.     We want more states to take up these breakthrough pro-life laws!  Please share this email about these laws with your friends, family, and associates of all kinds.  Even people who think of themselves as "pro-choice" find these horrible abortions that dismember or inflict pain to be repulsive.  Every citizen needs to know this is happening in America in 2015.  It's also very important to talk with your elected officials and ask them to support legislation that will actually protect unborn babies right now – that is, bills we believe the courts will uphold – and ban abortions when the baby is developed enough to feel pain, and ban dismemberment abortions.  Finally, please know that National Right to Life is the driving force behind the education and lobbying to pass these laws.  That education and grassroots citizen lobbying work takes money – in other words, your generous support can help us pass these humane and needed laws in more states. In addition to passing laws, your financial support can help us with the badly needed process of educating millions of Americans that such abortions are occurring, that unborn babies are not a "blob of cells" as abortion advocates try to deceive us into believing.   The public needs us to share the truth with them: that these are well-developed babies with arms and legs, heads and torsos, that an abortionist callously tears off until the baby dies, his or her remains discarded like so much garbage.   Please help with a generous gift today to stop this carnage. Because stop it we must.   Sincerely, Carol Tobias, National Right to Life President

P.S.  The pro-abortion group NARAL held several poorly attended "Stop The Bans" events across the country last week to protest our Pain-Capable and Dismemberment Abortion bans.  We've got them on the run!  Help us pass more of these humane laws with a generous gift today!

Because we work to pass laws to save unborn lives, donations to the National Right to Life Committee are not deductible for federal income tax purposes.

National Right to Life, 512 10th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20004, USA

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf Links to Pro-Abortion Group on State’s Official Website

By  Maria Vitale Gallagher
The Pennsylvania Abortion Control Act states that the public policy of the Commonwealth is to encourage childbirth over abortion.
Then why does the state of Pennsylvania link to a website that promotes abortion?
If you visit the information page on the PA government website, you’ll find a tab labeled “Health and Wellness.” Clicking there will bring up a number of options, including “Women’s Health.”

But if you click Women’s Health, you end up at the Women’s Law Project – an organization that opposes laws restricting abortion. In fact, the top item on the page’s resource list is “abortion and family planning.” Click on that, and you’ll be directed to a page that connects you with abortion facilities.
In this way, PA government has become an electronic portal to abortion.

Why doesn’t the Pennsylvania website link to a neutral site, one which disseminates information about women’s health topics such as heart disease and cervical cancer? Why, instead, does it link to a pro-abortion advocacy group?
The Governor should not use his office to promote a pro-abortion agenda. If he is truly concerned about women’s health, he will direct state workers to retool his website.

Remembering Terri at the Third Annual Life & Hope Award Gala

March 2, 2015 Dear Friends, This coming year marks ten years since the death of my sister Terri. It has been quite a journey, and the pain of Terri’s passing still lingers deep in our hearts. At the same time, we celebrate the abundance of healing and hope that has been achieved only through the grace of God. We are thankful, not only that the outpouring of support has enabled us to commemorate Terri’s legacy, but that we have been able to help and protect many other vulnerable individuals through the organization that bears her name. In acknowledgement of this special anniversary, the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network is having its Third Annual Life & Hope Award Gala on Tuesday, March 31st, beginning 6:30 p.m. at Philadelphia’s historical Union League. The gala will be headlined by keynote speaker Glenn Beck. Just prior to the event, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia will celebrate a Memorial Mass in remembrance of my sister at the nearby Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter & Paul beginning at 5:00 p.m. The Life & Hope Award Gala will be a time to remember Terri, but it will also honor this year’s winner of the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Award. This award is presented to an individual or family who defended the life of a loved one against overwhelming odds. If you are able to attend this event, you can go directly to www.lifeandhopeaward.com and purchase your tickets. If you’re unable to make it to the Award Gala, but would still like to support our work of assisting our medically vulnerable and their families, please consider a generous gift of $100 as a Contributing Sponsor. With your individual sponsorship, you’ll receive your own copy of the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Award Gala Full Color program where your name will be listed as a contributing sponsor. Just click here for a safe and secure link to make your $100 Contributing Sponsor donation. Your participation in this Award Gala helps the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network continue its work to protect medically vulnerable people, educate individuals about life and health issues, and foster a culture of equality for people whose lives have been touched by disability. May God Bless you, Bobby Schindler P.S. Perhaps you are unable to sponsor Terri’s Life & Hope Award Gala at this time, but would still like to donate to Terri’s Life & Hope Network. Any amount is helpful! Your gift would be sincerely appreciated and will be used to help other brain injured persons. Click here to donate! The Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network is a nonprofit group dedicated to ensuring the rights of disabled, elderly and vulnerable citizens against care rationing, euthanasia and medical killing. Incorporated in 2001 to fight for the life of Terri Schindler Schiavo, the clear focus now and in the future is to help others avoid future tragedies that reflect what Terri endured.

Ohio Abortionist that Wears Butcher's Aprons Now Faces Discipline in Michigan

By Cheryl Sullenger

Detroit, MI - After shutting down his problem-plagued Cleveland, Ohio, abortion facility in 2013, due to his inability to comply with clinic licensing standards, abortionist Martin Ruddock now finds himself in trouble in Michigan.

The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs has filed two disciplinary petitions against Ruddock for administering low-dose sedation consisting of controlled substances without a valid dispensing license from the Drug Enforcement Agency.

"Ruddock seems incapable of complying with the laws of any state. We urge the Michigan medical licensing authorities to strip him of his license before he seriously injures or kills anyone else," said Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue, referring to past abortion injuries inflicted by Ruddock that Operation Rescue has documented.  

Continue reading to learn more about this notorious abortionist!

From 40 Days For Life: DAY 13: 87 saved (that we know of)

 

 

Dear Deacon John,

 

There’s nothing like starting the week with good news, so here we go! So far during this 40 Days for Life campaign, our local leaders report …

 

… 87 babies have been spared from abortion – that we know of!

 

Now that is a wonderful answer to prayer!

 

Many 40 Days for Life prayer volunteers work closely with nearby pregnancy help centers, where young women can find free medical care and material assistance – a true blessing for so many moms who choose life. 

 

Here’s how God has saved lives through this wonderful partnership!

 

St. Louis, Missouri

 

 

Brian in St. Louis reports three turnarounds on one day … “including one in which a Planned Parenthood security guard was attempting to interfere with sidewalk counseling and another which saw a young, abortion-minded college student cancel her appointment at Planned Parenthood to receive pregnancy help across the street at the Thrive Mobile Medical Unit.”

 

The operations coordinator there shared her gratitude to all of the 40 Days for Life prayer volunteers who “make turnarounds possible through their powerful presence and encouragement.”

 

“God continues to shower us daily with new mercies and new victories,” Brian said.

 

Santa Rosa, California

 

In Santa Rosa, a woman had just learned she was pregnant ... and had serious doubts about having another baby. So she scheduled an abortion at the local Planned Parenthood facility. 

 

But when she arrived at Planned Parenthood, people were praying outside at the 40 Days for Life vigil. She was immediately reminded of the abortion she’d once had … and knew at that moment that she couldn’t go through it again.

 

One of the volunteers held a sign with the name and phone number of the pregnancy center. So she went there instead of Planned Parenthood … and learned about the spiritual and practical support they are able to offer.

 

She chose life!

  

Orlando, Florida

 

 

While the 40 Days for Life team was praying and singing, a young couple outside the abortion center in Orlando agonized over whether or not to go through with a scheduled abortion. 

 

As they did, a counselor reached out to them with offers of help. The young couple went into Planned Parenthood briefly, but when they came out, they were all smiles.

 

As they drove away from Planned Parenthood, they said they were keeping the baby. The counselor could see the relief and joy all over their faces.

 

Volunteers were pleased that students from the University of Central Florida joined them in prayer at the vigil. “They left before finding out about the saved baby,” said Irene, the local leader, “but no doubt their prayerful presence helped inspire the young couple to make the right choice! Please be a part of this peaceful vigil in defense of our most defenseless brothers and sisters.”

Today’s devotional is from Dennis DiMauro of Lutherans  for Life.

Day 13 intention

We pray for the strength to love those who do not love us.

Scripture

But the Lord said “You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in the night and perished in the night. And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left, and much livestock? Should I not be concerned about that great city?”

— Jonah 4:10-11

Reflection by Dennis DiMauro

God doesn’t value people and things like we do.

Jonah loved a shade tree more than an entire city of sinful people. We love our dogs more than a terrorist. We love our cars more than a beggar on the side of the road. And sometimes, we love our money more than a child growing in a desperate teenager's womb.

But God isn’t like us. Genesis 1 tells us that humans were the capstone of God's creation.

We were created on the sixth day after God had completed the land, the stars, the plants and the animals. Therefore, His love for us is greater than His love for a plant, an animal, or any other created thing.

And the book of Jonah tells us that He loves even the most sinful people and seeks to bring them into His merciful arms. And it’s a love that seeks to touch all of his created children: that desperate teenager, the baby growing in her womb, even tyrants and terrorists.

So it’s up to us to imitate God's merciful love by helping and praying for those who persecute us, and those who don't love us back.

Prayer

Gracious God, loving our enemies seems like one of most difficult things you could ask of us. Please remind us that this is how you love and that if you ask it of us then you will give us the grace to do it. This we ask through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Printable devotional

To download today’s devotional as a formatted, printable PDF to share:

 

http://40daysforlife.com/media/day13.pdf
 

How many more lives will be saved over the next 27 days of this campaign thanks to your prayers and faithfulness, Deacon John?

I can't wait to find out!

 

For life,

 

SHAWN CARNEY Campaign Director 40 Days for Life www.40daysforlife.com

 

National Right to Life News This Week

Best of NRL News Today for the week of February 22, 2015

Babies "serenaded" in the womb have more developed language centers By Dave Andrusko What's more fun than the latest example of how much the unborn child can learn? The latest news is courtesy of Ben Spencer, science reporter for The Daily Mail newspaper, based on an ingenious study by researchers

The Gender Equality Argument for Legalized Abortion By Paul Stark Many defenders of legalized abortion argue that it is required by gender equality. The burdens of pregnancy and childbirth fall upon women but never upon men. So only with access to abortion can women be truly equal

Jack Willke: Answering the Call By Dave Andrusko I strongly suspect you have to be married a long, long time to begin to grasp how much Jack Willke missed Barbara, his wife of almost 65 years. Barbara, the mother of six, the grandmother of 22,

Dismemberment abortions and the case of the amazing vanishing baby By Dave Andrusko I'm not sure what it means, at least not on first pass. Two veteran pro-lifers, with 60+ years of collective involvement in the Movement between us, missed what should have been obvious to anyone, let alone us.

Student pro-life club in Virginia wins another battle over recognition By Dave Andrusko When last we heard about the pro-life club at Courtland High School in Spotsylvania, Virginia, the principal had begun doing the right thing by reversing an earlier decision, however grudgingly. Last October Principal Larry Marks first declined

NRLC testifies in Idaho legislative committee over dangers of "web-cam abortions"   By Randall K. O'Bannon, Ph.D. Editor's note. On Tuesday, we posted a story headlined, "Idaho House committee votes 13-4 in favor of law to curb web-cam abortions" As we noted in the opening sentence, NRLC's Dr. Randall K. O'Bannon,

Plan now to attend the National Right to Life Convention 2015!

West Virginia Gov. has five days to decide whether to veto The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act By Dave Andrusko It is not entirely clear if he has, but should West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin receive The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act today, he will have until next Wednesday to decide whether to veto the bill.

Clinic worker: The first time I saw an aborted baby's arm, I couldn't believe my eyes By Sarah Terzo One could say that the best way to learn about abortion is to listen to the stories of those who have actually been there, in the rooms where abortions were performed– the former abortionists and clinic workers.

Missouri man charged with four murders, including murder of unborn baby By Dave Andrusko Unfortunately, we have two posts today about murders whose brutality almost defies belief. Authorities charged Brian D. Williams of Missouri Tuesday with four counts of murder in the deaths of three adults and an unborn baby.

Abortion one of her "best decisions"? Read more carefully By Dave Andrusko Writing at the Huffington Post, Alanna Vagianos could not be prouder that Renee Bracey Sherman is "happy" that Sherman had an abortion when she was 19. The operative paragraph in Vagianos' glowing tribute is The best part

MDs Can't Control Pain, Can Kill By Wesley J. Smith Brilliant! The same Canadian doctors who are apparently very poorly trained in palliative care, have been given a license to kill by the recent radical ruing of the country's Supreme Court. This medical and potentially humanitarian

Read all the stories at: www.nationalrighttolifenews.org

National Right to Life, 512 10th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20004, USA

From 40 Days For Life: DAY 12: Fasting 101

 

 

Dear Deacon John,

 

The call to participate in 40 Days for Life is a call to pray and fast for an end to abortion. We say a lot about prayer ... but we don’t always say as much about fasting. So let’s take a deeper look.

  

Fasting is in Scripture. Christ instructed us how to fast … and gave us His own example by His time of fasting in the desert.

  

Fasting can often be something we love to talk about but don’t really like doing. We have access to a lot of food and comfort today ... and giving up even the slightest thing can sometimes be harder than we’d like to admit. 

 

We live in a world that can often distract us. We stray from the simplicity of depending on God for true joy and satisfaction. But fasting refocuses us on what we truly need and don’t need. 

 

If you have not been fasting, you may think you’ve missed the boat – that since it’s Day 12, and you didn’t begin your fast on Day 1, it’s too late to begin. Well … maybe you can’t fast for all 40 days, but you can for the next 28!

 

Our North American outreach director, Steve Karlen, just posted a great column about fasting. Here’s an excerpt from that article … along with a link at the end so you can read more.

 

Fasting: What, why and how

By Steve Karlen

 

  

Fasting, it seems, is something of a lost art these days. As people of faith we are quite familiar with our Christian obligation to pray, to serve others and to be generous toward those in need. But sometimes fasting gets lost in the shuffle.

 

And so, as we continue this 40 Days for Life campaign, let’s reexamine fasting.

 

While fasting has traditionally meant voluntarily going without food for an extended period, it can also mean any form of self-denial that we undertake.

 

Why do we do it? The short answer is because we’re following the example of Jesus:

 

          Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be

          tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty

          nights, and afterward he was hungry. 

 

          – Matthew 4:1-2

 

The longer answer is that fasting provides a powerful opportunity for us to reject sin and to intensify our prayer. It helps us tune out distractions. For example, the uncomfortable sensation of hunger reminds us that it’s time to eat. But when we fast, that hunger can serve as a reminder to pray!

 

And when we recognize that our hunger is but a mild annoyance compared with Christ’s suffering on the Cross, we’ve got the perfect opportunity to reflect on God’s tremendous love for us (as well as abortion-vulnerable mothers and babies, post-abortive mothers and those who work in the abortion industry).

 

Self-denial is also a powerful reminder that our hope is in God alone. We’ve all gotten up on a Monday morning and said something like “If I didn’t have my coffee, I’d never survive this day!”

 

Well, if we give up our coffee during 40 Days for Life, we’re forced to turn somewhere else to survive Monday mornings. Why not turn to Christ, who reminds us, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9)? The grace of God will inject more life into our day than a shot of espresso!

 

To read the rest of Steve Karlen’s column on fasting, go to:

 

https://40daysforlife.com/2015/03/01/fasting

Today’s devotional is from Carmen Pate of Alliance Ministries.

Day 12 intention

Pray to God, who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, to end abortion.

Scripture

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

— Ephesians 3:20-21

Reflection by Carmen Pate

God’s power working in and through His people is unlimited and far beyond our comprehension when we submit to God’s Word and Spirit. He receives glory when we are obedient to His calling and faithfully serve Him in His strength.

Consider God’s hand of providence on this nation because of the faithfulness of a few who were totally committed to God and His truths.

It is interesting to note the words of Mother Teresa of Calcutta: “Yours is the one great nation in all history which was founded on the precept of equal rights and respect for all humankind, for the poorest and weakest of us as well as the richest and strongest.”

Mother Teresa, in addressing the Supreme Court of the United States said, “Human rights are not a privilege conferred by government. They are every human being's entitlement by virtue of his humanity. I have no new teaching for America. I seek only to recall you to faithfulness to what you once taught the world.” 

She continued, “Your nation was founded on the proposition very old as a moral precept, but startling and innovative as a political insight that human life is a gift of immeasurable worth, and that it deserves, always and everywhere, to be treated with the utmost dignity and respect.”

It is time to restore that dignity and respect. Our God is able. Are we willing to remain faithful until His work through us is done?

Prayer

God Almighty, Who is powerful and willing to supply, our hearts cry in unison for You to restore dignity and respect to human life, not only in America, but around the world.

Lord, may our hearts remain faithful to your calling, and may You begin Your transforming work with me.

Keep me ever mindful that with You Lord, nothing is impossible; without You, I can do nothing. To You be glory forever and ever, Amen.

Printable devotional

To download today’s devotional as a formatted, printable PDF to share:

 

http://40daysforlife.com/media/day12.pdf

 

For life,

 

SHAWN CARNEY Campaign Director 40 Days for Life www.40daysforlife.com