Pennsylvania H. B. 1762 - Please Ask Your House Member to Co-sponsor This Bill

From Mike McMonagle, President
Pro-Life Coalition of Pennsylvania

This legislation is in the Pa. House Judiciary Committee, where it is likely to be considered in early June 2014.  This legislation requires abortionists to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the abortion facility where they want to commit abortions.  Its enforcement in other states has resulted in the reduction of abortions and abortion chambers in those states.

Our efforts in recent weeks have increased the number of co-sponsors of H.B.1762 from 20 to 50.  Here is a link to the current co-sponsors.  If your Pa. House member is pro-life and not a co-sponsor, please ask him or her to co-sponsor H.B.1762. (Find your Representative and their contact info using this link.)

Urge Governor Corbett to Defend Pennsylvania's Marriage Law

    

From Mike McMonagle, President

Pro-Life Coalition of Pennsylvania

On May 21, 2014, Pa. Gov. Tom Corbett announced that he would not appeal federal district Judge John Jones' May 20, 2014 decision to declare Pa.'s Marriage Law unconstitutional. Corbett's decision constitutes a colossal betrayal of marriage, the sanctity of human life, his prior pledge to defend Pa.'s Marriage Law, and his duty as Pennsylvania Governor. 

Furthermore, Gov. Corbett's stated reason for not appealing, which is that an appeal is likely to lose, is not valid.

On January 6, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court, by a 5-4 vote, overruled a federal district judge and the 10th U.S. Circuit, and allowed the Utah Marriage Law to remain in effect. (Use this link to view) the January 6, 2014 Wall Street Journal article about this stay.

I and many other leaders in the Pa. pro-life movement believe that Gov. Corbett's reason for failing to appeal is his belief that this failure assists his re-election. In reality, if not reversed, this failure is likely to result in his defeat.

How Should We Respond?

Other leaders in our state's pro-life movement and I held a conference call on May 22, 2014 to discuss and plan this response. I provide the following outline for this response.

1. Underlying spirit and strategy.

2. Legal efforts to appeal this decision.

3. Individual contact with Gov. Corbett.

4. Contact by key individuals.

5. Promotion of "Marriage Sunday" on June 8, 2014, which, very appropriately, is Trinity Sunday.

6. Public Witness at Gov. Corbett's Local Offices on Thursday, June 5, 2014 at 11:00 AM.

7. Follow-up Conference Calls on Thursday, May 29, 2014.

8. What will be and will not be discussed on these calls.


1. Underlying Spirit and Strategy

A. The protection of marriage is a crucial pro-life issue that deserves timely and zealous action by pro-life Pennsylvanians.

B. We desire to reach June 19, 2014, (the deadline for Gov. Corbett to appeal), and be able to say that we, pro-life Pennsylvanians, did our best to persuade Gov. Corbett to appeal.

C. We should act in a spirit of humility and repentance. We believe that Gov. Corbett's betrayal on marriage is an indictment of the pro-life movement and the Church in Pa. We have proven too accepting of his poor performance as Governor ("He's at least better than…") and, thus, have earned his disdain, ("They have no other place to go…"). Our priority in responding should be as Christians, not as Republicans.

2. Legal Efforts to Appeal this Decision

The Register of Wills (ROW) (or the officer in charge of issuing marriage licenses in a county) in each of Pa.'s 67 counties very likely has legal standing to intervene and appeal this decision. We should ask the ROW in our county to agree to this intervention, which would be provided by the Pa. Family Institute.

So far representatives from the following counties have offered to seek this intervention: Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Tioga, Venango and Westmoreland.

3. Individual Contact with Gov. Corbett

Please call and write, Gov. Corbett and urge him to appeal Judge Jones' decision. Gov. Corbett's contact information is 717-772-9003 (phone), 717-772-82284 (fax)  and governor@pa.gov (e-mail).

4. Contact by Key Individuals

A. Clergy

Please ask the clergy in your area (including the Catholic Bishop of your Diocese) to personally contact Gov. Corbett and urge him to appeal.

B. State Legislators

Please contact your State Representative  (use this link to find your State Rep and contact info) and State Senator (use this link to find your State Sen. and contact info) and

1) ask him or her to contact Gov. Corbett and urge him to appeal and

2) sign the attached letter (link for proposed letter from members of Pa. General Assembly) that requests Gov. Corbett to appeal.

5. Promotion of "Marriage Sunday" on June 8, 2014

Human life is sacred because human beings are created in God's image. God is three persons in which the love between God, the Father, and God, the Son, is God, the Holy Spirit.

The love between husband and wife, as expressed in their conjugal relationship, represents God's image because it is capable of becoming a third person. Thus, "same sex marriage" is an attack on God's image, which is an attack on the sanctity of human life.

The observance of Trinity Sunday on June 8, 2014 provides a very appropriate and timely opportunity for clergy to educate on the true nature of marriage and to urge contact with Gov. Corbett.   (Use this link for flyer for this purpose)

This Sunday can also serve to promote attendance at the June 19, 2014 March for Marriage in Washington, DC, which I encourage you to attend. The National Organization for Marriage website has additional information.  (For more info from National Organization for Marriage use this link)

Please ask your Bishop and Pastor to conduct such activities on this Sunday, respectively, in their Diocese or Church.

6. Public Witness at Gov. Corbett's Local Offices on Thursday, June 5, 2014 at 11:00 AM

As a result of the May 22, 2014 Conference Call, these events are scheduled at each office in Erie, Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Scranton from 11:00 AM - 12 noon on this day. The location of these offices is available on Gov. Corbett's website (www.governor.state.pa.us). In Philadelphia, Gov. Corbett's office is at 200 South Broad Street, which is near Walnut Street.

Please participate in these events. I plan to provide contact information for the organizer for each office in an e-mail to be sent by May 28, 2014.

7. May 29, 2014 Conference Calls
To provide necessary encouragement and planning to accomplish these tasks, we have scheduled another conference call for Thursday, May 29, 2014 at 2:00 PM and again, at 8:00 PM. These calls will last approximately 40 minutes.

Damon Owens, from Chester County, the Executive Director of The Theology of the Body Institute, and the Vice-President of the 2008 Proposition 8 Campaign in California, will likely deliver a brief exhortation and teaching as to why the pro-life movement in Pa. should zealously defend our state marriage law.

Please participate in one of these calls. The call-in number is 800-662-6992 and the passcode is 1083000#.

8. What Will and Will Not be Discussed on the May 29, 2014 Conference Call

A. We will discuss the further planning and accomplishment of these activities

B. We will discuss our views as to whether we are prepared to say, in effect, at our June 5, 2014 Public Witnesses, "We will not vote for Tom Corbett, if he does not appeal this case."

We had a preliminary discussion of this question during our May 22, 2014 Conference Call and, I believe, our response was a strong "yes."

C. We will not yet discuss our "election options" if Gov. Corbett does not appeal. These options include collecting signatures to get a third party candidate on the ballot or promoting a write-in candidate.

Catholic Hospital Enables Last Abortion Facility in South Texas to Remain Open

May 24, 2014 | christiannews.net | By: Jason Storms

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Controversy is brewing in Texas over a Catholic-run hospital that is accused of enabling the last remaining abortion facility in South Texas to remain open.

Under a recent Texas law that took affect in November, those who perform abortions are required to obtain admitting privileges at a local hospital within a 30-mile radius. However, Christus Spohn Hospital in Corpus Christi has reportedly already been granting admitting privileges to abortionist Eduardo Aquino for decades, enabling his Coastal Birth Control Center— the last remaining abortion facility in the area—to remain open.

According to reports, 20 abortion facilities in Texas have closed their doors—or have announced their impending closure—as a result of being unable to meet the new requirement. Local pro-life leaders hope that Aquino’s facility joins that number, and are outraged that a Catholic institution is providing cover for an abortion provider.

“The biggest issue is the fact that they do claim to be … Catholic, and yet they’re walking hypocritically according to what they state by enabling abortion,” said Pastor of Sovereign Grace Community Church, Daniel Sem.

Members of his church organized a demonstration against the hospital on Mother’s Day.

“It’s a moral issue; it’s not a legal issue,” Sem continued. “And we urge them and plead with them to obey God rather than man in this regard, and help end the taking of life in our city.”

continue reading at http://angelqueen.org

Editor’s Note: Those wishing to urge Christus Spohn Hospital to rescind admitting privileges for Eduardo Aquino may click here to sign the petition.

GONE, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

By RevKatherine Marple
KeepLifeLegal

 

Memorial Day is upon us, and those of us that have family who have served know this special day intimately. I have family in a National Cemetary; it’s overwhelming to see all those marble markers representing a soldier who chose to serve. Each one has a story to tell.

This Memorial Day, I challenge you to also remember those that fell during the War on Women, who died without a parade or given a solemn service with flowers and family present: The Unborn.

• Number of American battle deaths in all U.S. wars since 1776: 654,000
• Number of abortions in the United States since 1970: 52,333,826
• Ratio of U.S. abortions to battle deaths in all U.S. wars: 80 to 1. 

continue reading at http://keeplifelegal.com

CHILDREN NOT OWNED BY THE STATE, SAYS VATICAN REP TO UN

By Austin Ruse

NEW YORK, May 22 (C-FAM) The Vatican Ambassador to the UN told UN leaders last week that “children do not belong to the state.”

Archbishop Francis Chullikatt told a gathering of UN delegates and NGO representatives celebrating the International Day of Families that children also do not belong “to any special interest group whose agendas are actually inimical to the very existence of children. As children are our future, could we ever be satisfied with leaving that future to people who don’t even want to permit the children to draw their first breath.”

Chullikatt has been in the UN battle for years and has found that the unborn child is perhaps the most controversial figure at UN headquarters.

Chullikatt chaired a panel that included Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, who was in the United States to plan what may be Pope Francis’s first trip to the United States next year for the World Meeting of Families to take place in Philadelphia.

Paglia also had strong words on life and family issues. Several times in a twenty minute talk he referred to the importance of “male and female” and “parent and child” in the definition of the family.

He said, “the family not only ‘matters,’ it is rather at the very heart of human development, indispensable and irreplaceable, and at the same time beautiful and welcoming.”

continue reading at http://c-fam.org/en/issues

Baby Born to Mother in Coma

John Farrell's pregnant daughter went into a coma 10 weeks ago, but today it's not hard for him to be joyful.

Today, he became a grandfather.

"She's wanted to have a child for years," he told ABC News. "Today, I can't begin to tell you how happy we are. It's indescribable."

       

Melissa Carleton, 39, became comatose in March after suffering a seizure caused by a benign brain tumor, Farrell said. Although she has been hospitalized and unable to speak since she was 26 weeks pregnant, she carried her baby boy to full term and delivered him by C-section today in San Francisco.

Carleton's husband, Brian Lande, has barely left her side, according to ABC affiliate KFSN-TV.

"I know that being able to love this little guy is going to be a wonderful experience, but I also know it's going to be very hard for me to know that I am going to be the one to hold this baby first," Lande told KFSN-TV before the birth.

Doctors discovered Carleton's tumor during her second trimester after headaches landed her in the emergency room, Lande wrote on a GoFundMe page created to help cover the family's medical expenses and other bills.

Carleton decided to wait until the baby was born to undergo surgery to remove the tumor, but her health deteriorated too quickly, Lande told KFSN-TV. In March, she struggled to walk from the hospital parking lot to its doors, stopping frequently to rest on the ground.

The following morning, Carleton had a seizure that damaged part of her brain and prompted doctors to perform emergency surgery to remove the tumor, Lande said.

"She was also terrified that she would miss the baby and something would happen to her and she wouldn't get to meet our son and she wouldn't get to participate in being a mother," Lande told KFSN-TV.

The surgery went fine, but the seizure left her "unable to fully wake up," according to the station.

Although Carleton is in a coma, she's able to open her eyes and squeeze her family members' hands, Farrell said. And Thursday morning, just before surgery to give birth to her son, she was the most awake Farrell has seen her in weeks.

"In a few tender moments, she reached out to Brian, took his cheek, pulled his cheek down to her face and held it there," Farrell said. "It was the first time she had hugged Brian since this trauma happened."

He said they'll be sure to let her hold her son, even if they have to help her a little bit.

Once Carleton recovers from surgery, she will be moved to a rehabilitation facility, where doctors hope she'll come out of her comatose state, according to KFSN-TV.

"Though we have a daughter that is in the state that she's in right now, we will also have a grandchild," Farrell said just minutes before the birth. "To be here at this point is a great gift for her. It's a great gift for us. It's a great gift for her husband, Brian. It's going to be easy today to be joyful and happy."

Credit - SYDNEY LUPKIN

Baby Named Samuel Alexander Armas

OMG!...THIS IS SO BEAUTIFUL!.....and this is how young babies are when some of those SO-CALLED MOTHERS!...abort there child...this is clear proof that even though the baby is still very small...it is not just a small blob of blood but rather a real baby!.

-Darius Radmanesh

Christian Colleges Win Injunction Against Obamacare Abortion Pill Mandate

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – An Iowa-based federal judge has granted an injunction to two Christian colleges who are seeking an exemption from the abortion pill mandate in Obamacare.

U.S. District Court Judge Mark Bennett, nominated to the bench by then-President Bill Clinton, issued the restraining order on Wednesday, allowing Dordt College in Iowa and Cornerstone University in Michigan a reprieve while their case moves forward in court.

“I find that granting Plaintiffs preliminary injunctive relief is appropriate,” he wrote. “First, Plaintiffs may suffer irreparable harm without an injunction in that they would be forced to comply with the Mandate to the detriment of their religious exercise. Even if I were to later grant Plaintiffs relief on their underlying claims, that would not remedy the harm caused by forcing the Plaintiffs to do something they deem religiously objectionable.”

continue reading at http://christiannews.net

Children Are A Gift: Jim and Kerri Caviezel

 Jim Caviezel Displayed His Pro-Life Convictions by Adopting Two Disabled Children

by Steven Ertelt

LifeNews.com

He acted in the starring role in major movies like The Thin Red Line and Count of Monte Cristo. He played Jesus in The Passion of the Christ and can be seen on television in a variety of roles.

But it’s Jim Caviezel‘s steadfast faith and pro-life views that have endeared him to millions of people worldwide. And not only is Jim strongly pro-life on abortion. He puts those views into action — making good on his pro-life convictions by adopting two disabled children.

Here is Jim giving an interview about his children:

       

Use this link for more information on Jim and his wife Kerri from LifeNews.com.

The UNFPA Exaggerates the Demand for its Products

African Women Don’t Want the Pill, They Want Health Care, a Job, and a Secure Future

by Steven W. Mosher and Anne Roback Morse

Population Research Institute

How many children do the urban poor women in the West African country of Burkina Faso really want? A recentstudy presented at the annual meeting of the Population Association of America addressed the fertility preferences of poor women living in the city of Ouagadougou. It found that they wanted large families, but that they face obstacles to raising the four or five children they hoped to have.

The study, conducted using face-to-face interviews as well as census data, discovered that when women say they “don’t want to get pregnant,” it is not because they do not want children, but because they feel insecure in some way. The women gave reasons ranging from political instability, lack of partner commitment, job instability, and food insecurity for wanting to postpone childbearing. These concerns shouldn’t be too much of a surprise, considering Burkina Faso is one of the world’s poorest nations.

When asked how many children she wanted, one forty-year old woman with two children said “there are questions of health, and if you have five or six children without a good job, how are you going to feed them? . . . if parents are able to support their children until they get a good job, everything becomes easy.”

“I want children, but I won’t have them until I can care for them,” is the general attitude.

Women in Burkina Faso state their desired fertility as five children. On average, the women in Burkina Faso give birth to six children, but about one out of six children in Burkina Faso dies before his/her fifthth birthday.

In the words of the study: “Individuals experience conflicted fertility preferences, both realizing the high costs of children in the city and the constraints imposed by their poverty, but still believing that a large family brings substantial benefits [Italics added]. . . We show how these conflicted preferences are expressed by poor women in a survey by a higher current desire to avoid pregnancy, which contrasts with a relatively lower all-time demand for pregnancy prevention”[Italics in original].

When the poor women of urban Ouagadougou say “I really want a large family but, if I have to, I’ll postpone having children,” the population controllers only hear the word “postpone,” and ship in contraceptives.

Not only does the international population control movement impose its own fertility preferences on the rest of the world, but it also simply ignores anyone who doesn’t agree with their views. Women and families in developing African nations have consistently said, “We want improved nutrition, clean water, and adequate health services,” yet the population control bureaucrats keep handing them are condoms and injections of Depo-Provera.

The study stated that women in Burkina Faso can get to health clinics when they need to: “Poor women and couples do a great job, at least in Ouagadougou, at delivering in hospitals and at vaccinating their children.” Since contraceptives are prevalent in Burkina Faso health clinics, contraceptives are certainly acceptable. The study then deduces its core observation into a single sentence: “To go one step further, some of what has been categorized as obstacles to family planning services may be in fact better grasped as the expression of weakly held motivations to avoid pregnancies.”

In other words, population controllers, the women of Burkina Faso do not want what you are selling! Yet population control groups refuse to believe that women anywhere can be happy until they have small families. That is why the United Nations Population Fund spent 9.3 million on programmes such as “population dynamics” and contraception in Burkina Faso during 2012.

The women and children in Burkina Faso have a high unmet need for food, water, and stability. For artificial contraception, not so much.

The pro-life Population Research Institute is dedicated to ending human rights abuses committed in the name of "family planning," and to ending counter-productive social and economic paradigms premised on the myth of "overpopulation." Find us at pop.org.