Abortion, the Founding Fathers, and the 4th of July

President Thomas Jefferson

By Maria Gallagher
National Right to Life

It was one of those Facebook Live events that I just had to attend.

A cable news outlet was featuring a live transmission of a Thomas Jefferson re-enactor reading The Declaration of Independence, Jefferson’s seminal work.

I love American history, the Fourth of July, and the founding of our nation, so I was enthralled. And I felt especially moved (as I always am) by the line, 

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

It’s a line that packed with power and meaning. Dictionary.com defines “unalienable” as “not transferable to another or not capable of being taken away or denied.” In other words, our country’s founding document states quite clearly that the right to life should not be denied.

Moreover, Jefferson stated that the truth that the right to life should not be compromised was “self-evident.” It is true whether or not we chose to recognize it.

It is also telling that Life is the first right enumerated—an indication of its preeminent importance. Life is even more critical than liberty and the pursuit of happiness since without life you cannot experience liberty or pursue happiness.

The principles articulated by Jefferson and the other founding forefathers and foremothers, demonstrated a timeless wisdom. And they formed the basis for a nation that would become a beacon for freedom throughout the world from that day to this.To be proud of our nation is not to ignore our failures, including most notably slavery and segregation. But the better angels of our nature overcame these faults through the abolition of slavery and the recognition of the evil of racism.

Likewise, in our time, we have the opportunity to right the incredible wrong of abortion and euthanasia. As we celebrate our Independence, we re-dedicate ourselves (to paraphrase President Lincoln) “to the proposition that all men, born and unborn, are created equal.” By working for the renewal of a culture of life, we make the dream of our founders and our 16th President come alive.

Tomorrow, I invite you to say a prayer of thanksgiving for the brilliance of that Declaration that gave birth to our beloved country.

And please say a second prayer that that “self-evident truth”– the unalienable right to life of all of us–may once again be protected across our great land.

Website: National Right to Life 

5 Religious Liberty and Right to Life Issues to Watch in 2018

      Visitors stand in line outside the Supreme Court 

in Washington, U.S., November 27, 2017

By Brandon Showalter
Christian Post

From big cases before the Supreme Court centering on free speech and religious liberty claims of a Christian baker to the ongoing investigations into transactions between abortion providers and biotech firms over fetal body parts harvested during abortion procedures, 2018 is already shaping up to be a significant year for religiously observant Americans and the unborn.

Here are five legal matters carrying significant implications that are expected to develop even more this year.

Decision to Be Handed Down in the Case of Christian Baker Jack Phillips at the Supreme Court

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(PHOTO: REUTERS/AARON P. BERNSTEIN) 

Baker Jack Phillips speaks with the media following oral arguments in the Masterpiece Cakeshop vs. Colorado Civil Rights Commission case at the Supreme Court in Washington, U.S., December 5, 2017.

In what is considered a landmark religious liberty case before the High Court this year, in December the Court's nine justices heard arguments in the case of Colorado baker Jack Phillips whom the Colorado Civil Rights Commission sued for declining to make a custom wedding cake for a same-sex couple in 2012.

Phillips maintains that his rights were violated to conduct his business according to the dictates of his faith and that to be forced to lend his creative abilities to an event with which he disagrees is state-coerced expression, also known as compelled speech. This, his lawyers from Alliance Defending Freedom say, violates his free speech and religious freedom rights guaranteed under the First Amendment.

As it has in years past when it comes to touchy cases — such as Hobby Lobby v. Burwell in 2014 — the Court is likely to hand down this decision on the last day of the session in late June.

The current Supreme Court bench is comprised of four conservatives, four liberals, and Anthony Kennedy, long regarded as the "swing vote" on controversial cases. Reports indicated that Kennedy appeared to favor Phillips' position during oral arguments, suggesting during questioning that the state showed disrespect for Phillips' faith and that true tolerance is a two-way street.

US Ambassador for Religious Freedom Nomination of Sam Brownback Nomination Stalled; Will He Be Renominated?

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PHOTO: REUTERS/MARK KAUZLARICH

Republican Kansas Governor Sam Brownback speaks to supporters after winning re-election in the U.S. midterm elections in Topeka, Kansas, on November 4, 2014.

President Donald Trump nominated Kansas Governor Sam Brownback in July to be the U.S. ambassador for Religious Freedom, a move that delighted religious freedom activists and social conservatives.

His appointment, however, has been delayed and has not yet been installed because Senate Democrats have blocked a confirmation vote due to concerns about Brownback's rescinding of a state executive pertaining to discrimination and LGBT government employees.

Because his nomination never got to the floor for a vote, Trump will have to either resubmit it in the new year or nominate someone else and it is at present unknown what will happen. CBN reported that unless Brownback is reappointed and confirmed before Jan. 9 the Kansas governor will have to give the State address to the Kansas state legislature despite having delivered a farewell address last month in anticipation of being confirmed to his ambassadorship. Congress returns to work on Jan. 3.

The particular ambassadorship for which Brownback was nominated is a critical post within the Department of State that focuses mainly on promoting religious freedom around the world, and calling out oppressive governments and non-state entities that oppress and persecute people on the basis of their faith.

Trump is considered to be one of the more friendly Republican presidents regarding LGBT issues. An early version of a federal executive order last year outlining religious liberty protections was reportedly scuttled because of the influence of Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump, and her husband, Jared Kushner, a White House adviser, due to their concerns over LGBT rights. Trump ultimately signed a revised religious liberty executive order that was met with mixed reception on May 4.

Last month, the Trump administration renominated Chai Feldblum, a lesbian activist who joined the agency in 2010 under President Obama, to her post at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The move shocked and displeased social conservatives who have consistently supported the president.

Department of Justice Investigates Planned Parenthood

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(PHOTO: REUTERS)

In December, the Justice Department opened an investigation into the largest abortion provider in the United States, Planned Parenthood, as a result of findings from a Congressional investigation into its financial dealings with biotech firms over fetal body parts procured during abortion procedures.

Despite undercover videos from a 2015 investigation by the Center for Medical Progress suggesting otherwise, Planned Parenthood insisted that it followed the law and made no money from fetal tissue donated during abortions and that any financial reimbursements it received were for transport expenses and handling costs.

Pro-life advocacy groups have long contended that the abortion giant, which receives hundreds of millions of dollars in federal grants each year, be defunded. The closest Congress ever came to doing so was as part of a provision in the attempted repeal of Obamacare last summer, an effort which ultimately failed due to the Senate's failure to secure sufficient Republican votes.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley said in December 2016 that enough evidence was discovered showing how abortion providers had transferred the fetal body parts from aborted fetuses for research by charging amounts higher than they actually cost, according to Fox News.

"The report documents the failure of the Department of Justice, across multiple administrations, to enforce the law that bans the buying and selling of human fetal tissue," Grassley wrote in a letter, arguing the Justice Department and FBI should investigate.

"It also documents substantial evidence suggesting that the specific entities involved in the recent controversy, and/or individuals employed by those entities, may have violated that law."

David Daleiden Continues With Lawsuit Against Him in California; Biotech Tech Companies Settling Out of Court

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(PHOTO: REUTERS/RUTHY MUNOZ)

Anti-abortion activist David Daleiden speaks at a news conference outside a court in Houston, Texas on Feb. 4, 2016.

Developments continue to emerge regarding the man behind the 2015 exposé of fetal body parts transactions between Planned Parenthood and biotech companies.

Although the federal government is now investigating the abortion giant and the biotech firms in question, David Daleiden is facing charges at the state level. The attorney general of California has filed a lawsuit against him and his colleague, Sandra Merritt, alleging criminal wrongdoing. Yet the judge on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals who is presiding over the case, Judge William Orrick III, has extrajudicial connections to the abortion group and Daleiden's attorneys recently filed a motion to disqualify him, arguing that he cannot be trusted to hear the case impartially.

Whether Judge Orrick will be removed from the case remains to be seen but the momentum does appear to be shifting away from Planned Parenthood and the biotechnology companies that did business with them in procuring fetal body parts for research purposes.

In a Dec. 14 editorial in The Hill, Daleiden recounted how an Orange County district attorney recently settled with two Southern California sister companies, DaVinci Biosciences and DV Biologics, in which they were ordered to close down operations, banned from ever doing business in the state, and forced to admit liability for violating state and federal laws.

"For over two years, Planned Parenthood has breathlessly asserted to anyone who would listen that their programs to allegedly sell aborted fetal organs and tissues were completely above reproach, arguing that they only receive legal reimbursements and follow all patient consent rules," he wrote.

"But the guilty plea by the DaVinci companies, which worked with a major Planned Parenthood abortion center in southern California, blows Planned Parenthood's dubious assertions of innocence completely out of the water."

Little Sisters of the Poor Face Court Battles in States Despite Favor in Federal Government

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(PHOTO: REUTERS/CARLOS BARRIA)

U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with a nun of the Little Sisters of The Poor during a National Day of Prayer event at the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington D.C., U.S., May 4, 2017.

The Denver-based Roman Catholic nuns called the Little Sisters of the Poor that the Obama administration sued over their moral objections to offering contraception as part of their insurance plans as was required through Obamacare have had some recent victories at the federal level. But they continue to face challenges in Democratic-leaning states.

In early October, the Trump administration issued a rule broadening the religious exemption for them and other groups but a Pennsylvania judge blocked it, arguing that the rule would do "serious and irreparable harm" to the state were it to be left in place. Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro sued the nuns, attempting to remove the exemption. Such has also been the approach and posture of Attorney General Xavier Becerra in the state of California, who took the Sisters to court on Dec. 12.

Becket, the religious liberty firm that represent the sisters, have said that the attorneys general are trying to score political points.

"These men may think their campaign donors want them to sue nuns, but our guess is most taxpayers disagree," said Mark Rienzi, Becket's senior counsel, the Kaplan Herald reported Sunday.

"No one needs nuns in order to get contraceptives, and no one needs these guys reigniting the last administration's divisive and unnecessary culture war."

Website: Christian Post

Why So-Called Women’s Groups Don’t Speak for Many Women

Women Will Be in the Lead in Toppling the Roe Regime

Child with Model of Unborn Baby

By Maria Gallagher
National Right to Life

The reaction was quite stunning: a woman would stop and gaze at the realistic fetal models before her, then pause to gently touch one, a smile beaming from her face.

The scene was repeated many, many times as I staffed a table at a faith-based women’s conference in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

At times, I would offer a woman a fetal model or two to take with her, and the response was priceless: effusive gratitude and joy.

Three young girls strode up to the table and immediately spied the fetal models. I offered them some to take home with them, and the oldest pointed to the youngest and said simply, “She loves babies.”

Loving babies is a natural female reaction. Wishing to hold and protect newborns is a response written in the female heart.

In the vast majority of cases, it is only when pressured by culture, frightening circumstances, past heartaches, controlling boyfriends, husbands, parents, or other people in their lives that women turn to abortion.

This conclusion was born out by a study which indicated that 80 percent of women who aborted would have chosen life for their children–if only one person had been willing to support the decision for life.So when pro-abortion groups such as NARAL, Planned Parenthood, and NOW claim to speak for women on the issue of abortion, they are not telling the truth. Many women support the right to life of an innocent baby and, more and more, they are giving voice to their beliefs.

The Roe v. Wade juggernaut will someday be overcome. And women will be in the lead of ensuring that the Roe regime topples.

Website: National Right to Life

Voices for Life is an e-publication dedicated to informing and educating the public on pro-life and pro-family issues. To read our Mission Statement, use this link.  Follow us on Facebook, Google, and Pinterest.  Help us spread the pro-life message by sharing our articles on your favorite social networks.

Pregnant, need help or know someone who does?  

National Hotline: Call 1-800-712-HELP or Text 'HELPLINE' to 313131.
In Southeast Penna:  Call or text 610-626-4006  

If you or someone you know is suffering after abortion, confidential non-judgmental help is available.  Call Project Rachel's national toll-free number 888-456-HOPE (4673) or visit hopeafterabortion.org.  

Discovering the Right to Life Through Faith

By Maria Gallagher, Legislative Director
Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation

It is entirely possible to adopt a pro-life position based solely on reason. After all, science shows us that the baby’s heart starts beating at 24 days after conception; brain waves can be detected 43 days after fertilization.

Since every being in creation has a beginning, conception is the logical marker for determining the initiation of life. And, once a human life is initiated, the boy or girl should be protected. No religious creed is required to subscribe to that position.

Still, some look to faith to answer the question of when life begins, or to validate their position on abortion.

To me, one of the most telling verses in the Bible comes from the Gospel of St. Matthew, Chapter 25: “Amen, I say what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for Me.”

The least among us are preborn children. They have no money, no voice of their own. They are small in stature and, under the tragic U.S. Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade, they are largely unprotected under the law.

But according to Christian Scripture, whatever is done, or left undone, for these little ones is done, or not done, for Jesus, the Son of God.

Therefore, a Biblical imperative exists to defend the lives of preborn children. In honoring them, Christians honor God.

Again, one can come to a pro-life position entirely based on scientific evidence. But for those who look to the Bible for direction, the right to life is as clear as the waters of Baptism.

Website: National Right to Life

What Pro-Lifers Stand For

By Paul Stark
National Right to Life

The media often use the label “anti-abortion” to describe pro-life advocates. It’s true that we oppose abortion—and infanticide, euthanasia and embryo-destructive research. But we are only against those things because we are for something else.

What We Are For

What are we for? We are for the proposition that human life is good, that it is worth living, that it deserves respect and protection. We are for the proposition that every human being has an equal worth and dignity—that every human being has a right to live.

The pro-life position rejects all attempts to divide humanity into those who have rights and those who don’t. Our society now recognizes that past discrimination on the basis of race, gender, ethnicity and social status was deeply unjust. We recognize that the worth of a human being does not depend on such characteristics.

Nor, however, does the worth of a human being depend on age, size, ability, dependency, stage of development or the desires and decisions of others. The big are not more valuable than the small. The strong do not have more rights than the weak. The independent do not matter more than the vulnerable and needy.

No, we have value and a right to life simply because we are human—not because of what we can do, but because of what (the kind of being) we are. That’s why everyone matters. Everyone counts.

What We Are Against

It is because we support equal human dignity that we oppose the intentional killing of innocent human beings. And that means we oppose abortion, infanticide, euthanasia, and embryo-destructive research.

Pro-lifers oppose abortion because it takes the life of a human being before he or she is born. The scientific facts of embryology and developmental biology make clear that the unborn (the human embryo or fetus) is a distinct and living human organism, a full-fledged (though immature) member of the species Homo sapiens. Each of us was once an embryo and a fetus, just as we were once infants, toddlers and adolescents.

And all human beings, at all stages, have a right to life, whether or not they are “wanted” or “convenient.”

National Right to Life continues 

Voices for Life is an e-publication dedicated to informing and educating the public on pro-life and pro-family issues. To read our Mission Statement, use this link.  Follow us on Facebook, Google, and Pinterest.  Help us spread the pro-life message by sharing our articles on your favorite social networks.

Pregnant, need help or know someone who does?  

National Hotline: Call 1-800-712-HELP or Text 'HELPLINE' to 313131.
In Southeast Penna:  Call or text 610-626-4006  

If you or someone you know is suffering after abortion, confidential non-judgmental help is available.  Call Project Rachel's national toll-free number 888-456-HOPE (4673) or visit hopeafterabortion.org.  

Every Human Being Has the Right to Life - Regardless of Age, Size, Level of Development or Location

By Society for the Protection of Unborn Children   

The right to life is a universal moral principle that stands at the foundation of the concept of human rights.

Historically, the right to life has been expressed in a variety of ways - such as the primacy of the human person, or the intrinsic dignity of the human being.

Some trace the origin of 'the right to life' to the early middle-ages. Other more ancient expressions express the protection of life in the negative - forbidding harming or killing people - such as the Ten Commandments and the Hippocratic tradition in medicine.

The modern statements of the right to life stress that it is an integral right - it does not allow distinctions between races, sexes, or people of different capabilities. This notion was felt keenly at the time when the United Nations drew up its Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the wake of the Second World War and the memory of the holocaust in which millions were exterminated on the pretext that they were a threat to others, and that they were less than human.

Who is entitled to protection?

We believe that all members of the human family without distinction share exactly the same right to live. But when does life begin? This is not a question of belief, but a matter for evidence. The evidence points to conception (fertilization) as the starting point of a new life. From that point the new person is genetically complete, unquestionably human, distinct from mother and father, and alive - with the capacity to grow and develop to maturity.

The right to life is universal and belongs fully to every member of the human family regardless of age and stage.

Every person's right to life is equal: sick or fit, rich or poor, born or unborn. The right to life must not become an arbitrary value offering least protection to those who need it most. Attempts to introduce gradations in the right to life negate it.

SPUC continues

A Spirit of ’76 to Protect the Unborn

By National Right to Life

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

These words form the core philosophy of the Declaration of Independence and of our nation’s founding. Our Founders understood that certain rights are so fundamental that they are “unalienable;” they can’t be taken away. Among those is the Right to Life.

The rights that are under threat today are different than 240 years ago, but fundamental rights such as Life are being denied today, just as Jefferson documented rights that were being abused by King George III in 1776.

The Founders often referred in their writings and speeches to “posterity,” to “generations unborn,” and to the duty we had to both.

But the America of 2016 is not honoring those rights and duties.

So we need a renewal of the spirit of 1776 to champion those rights!

National Right to Life-inspired laws have banned partial-birth abortions, and banned late abortions when the unborn baby is developed enough to feel pain in many states, but more than 2/3rds of our states still allow an unborn baby to be killed any time up to birth.

Unborn babies count on us today, just as we counted on the bold Founders and brave soldiers of 1776.So how can we renew that Spirit of Independence Day?
Speak up for the unborn, as Jefferson and the Founders spoke up for our rights.
Contribute your time and resources, as the Founders offered their “lives, fortunes, and sacred honor” to that cause.

Go to nrlc.org or click here to see how you can volunteer or donate to this paramount cause of our time.Unborn babies count on us today, just as we counted on the bold Founders and brave soldiers of 1776.  So how can we renew that Spirit of Independence Day?

• Speak up for the unborn, as Jefferson and the Founders spoke up for our rights.

• Contribute your time and resources, as the Founders offered their “lives, fortunes, and sacred honor” to that cause.

• Go to nrlc.org or click here to see how you can volunteer or donate to this paramount cause of our time.

Your donation, your time, your speaking out can save lives.

As our Founders were needed in 1776, you are needed today. Please help!

For their lives,
Carol Tobias
National Right to Life President

website: nationalrighttolifenews.org


Voices for the Unborn is an e-publication dedicated to informing and educating the public on pro-life and pro-family issues. To read our Mission Statement, use this link. You can also follow us on Facebook, Google, and Pinterest. Help spread the word by sharing our articles on your favorite social networks.