Rejecting Abortion: A16-Year-Old’s Selfless Act of Love

LOVE :: {luhv} noun, verb, loved, lov-ing, a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend.

I’m one of those people that can throw around that word a lot. LOVE. My husband. My kids. My girl friends. My Embrace Grace mommas. My grandmother. My housekeeper (she’s amazing). “I LOVE YOU!”

January of 2011 began a season that awakened my heart and opened my eyes to a profound level of LOVE that I had never encountered before. This stirring happened from the most unlikely of sources that eventually turned into a friendship that I will treasure forever. Her name was Jayd.

When I met Jayd, she was pregnant with a baby girl. Every time I saw her she would be talking about her baby nonstop with so much enthusiasm. She loved to proudly show off her sonogram photos to anyone that she could. She loved hearing her baby’s heartbeat and talking about her doctor appointments. She updated me on her baby’s growth in utero and how her baby was developing. She always would grab my hands to feel her belly when her baby would kick. She loved throwing out ideas for her baby’s first and middle name and see what her friend’s thoughts were. Her heart was filled with anticipation and excitement just like every momma does during her pregnancy … but her situation was a little different than what you would expect.

Jayd was only 16 years old.

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Sanger’s Racist Legacy Lives on in New York City Schools

In 1930, Margaret Sanger’s Birth Control Clinical Research Bureau allied with the Urban League to bring birth control services to the women of Harlem. By 1939, Sanger had raised thousands of dollars to support an expansion of the initiative she named “The Negro Project.” Targeted toward reducing an African-American population described in Sanger’s June, 1932 edition of Birth Control Review as “breeding carelessly and disastrously,” these early birth control clinics seem to have provided a model for New York City’s School Based Health Centers.

Today, New York City’s public school students—underage and without parental knowledge—are given access to birth control pills, Depo-Provera injections, and the insertion of plastic IUDs to prevent pregnancy. In an analysis of the records of 40 school based health centers in New York City—most of them in schools with large minority populations, the New York Post revealed that about 22,400 students sought reproductive care from January, 2009 through 2012.

In addition to these routine contraceptives, the City’s schools are providing students with Plan-B, the “morning-after pill” to prevent pregnancy. The Post reports that “handouts of the morning-after pill to sexually active students have skyrocketed” from 5,039 doses given to teenage students during the 2009-10 school year, to 12,721 doses given in 2011-12. Under New York State law, minors can obtain reproductive services without their parent’s permission.

 

more info on Margaret Sanger and her thoughts on the "black race" 

 

 

Abortion Facilities Now Open on Sunday

From Shawn Carney, Campaign Director

As hard as it may seem to believe, the number of  abortion centers open on Sunday is increasing. So ...the need for prayer is increasing as well.
Even at locations that are closed on Sundays, God is providing blessings for those who answer the call to pray and fast for an end to abortion -- and cover these places with prayer on the Lord’s Day.
Here's an example from one of those campaigns.

HANOVER, PENNSYLVANIA

"Sundays have typically been a hard day to fill on the vigil calendar," said Chris in Hanover.
As last weekend approached, there were prayer times with no volunteers. So she sent out invitations by email and posted information on Facebook. That helped draw in a few volunteers, but there were still hours where no one had signed up.
On Saturday, a local newspaper, the Evening Sun, featured a story about the campaign. Chris hoped that would draw more volunteers. But when she left for church on Sunday morning, the midday and afternoon hours were still not covered.
"At that point there wasn't much more I could do, so I just asked God to please touch someone's heart to come and be at the vigil during the missing hours," she said. "And God provides!"
When she got home, she learned that people had made commitments to go out and pray. "So now on our first Sunday of the campaign, with temperatures barely reaching 29 degrees and wind factors making it feel like 15 degrees, we finally had all our hours covered."
At one point that afternoon, there were TEN people praying in front of Planned Parenthood. And God didn't just provide volunteers; He provided testimonies about choosing life.
A family participating in the vigil told of their daughter's pregnancy. Because of a physical condition, there was concern that she could not survive the delivery. Doctors encouraged abortion -- advice that the young woman soundly rejected.
"Today, 14 years later," Chris said, "both mother and daughter are well. Praise God!"
Later, a couple arrived at the vigil site. The woman got out of the car, bringing hot chocolate and coffee to the prayer volunteers. She also told her story.
Eight years ago, she had an abortion. "She said thatif people like us were standing out and showing their care and concern then as we are now, she is sure she would not have had the abortion," Chris said. "But she knows God has forgiven her, and she is now blessed with three small children who were along in the car with her husband."
As the volunteers thanked them for stopping, the woman’s husband assured them that "God is watching over you."
Chris was reminded of something her grandchildren had learned at vacation bible school:
God is great ... all the time!All the time ... God is great!
"And boy, does it express the feelings for this past weekend!" she said. "God loves us, He provides for us,He hears and answers us -- all the time!"

Today's devotional is from Carmen Pate, a member of the 40 Days for Life board of directors.

DAY 12 INTENTION
Pray to God who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, to end abortion in America.

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, 40 Days for Life
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 utmostdignity 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.


If you have stories to share about your own involvement in this 40 Days for Life Campaign, please respond here

AZ Court Thwarts Will of Taxpayers to Expand Whole-Woman Care

Washington, D.C. – Today U.S. District Judge Neil Wake  overturned Arizona’s Whole Woman’s Health Funding Priority Act (HB 2800), which prioritizes taxpayer funding away from abortion providers and toward entities that provide comprehensive whole-woman care.  Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List) President Marjorie Dannenfelser offered the following comment:

“Judge Wake’s ruling thwarts the will of Arizona taxpayers to stop funding big abortion businesses such as Planned Parenthood.  As a result, funds will be reduced for agencies that provide whole women’s health care. According to Planned Parenthood’s own annual report, its government subsidies have reached an all-time high, even as the number of cancer screenings and other prevention and contraceptive services they offer has dropped dramatically. Planned Parenthood’s growing abortion toll, meanwhile, is evidence of their continued failure to show true concern for vulnerable women and girls.

“The overturned law would simply prioritize taxpayer funding for health care entities that provide comprehensive, whole-woman care.  Arizona women seeking family planning should be able to access this service at clinics that can meet other health needs for them and their families. The SBA List will not rest until the freedom of states to put whole women’s health first is once again recognized and protected.”

Governor Jan Brewer signed HB 2800 into law last May and Planned Parenthood immediately filed suit. In October, the Obama Department of Justice filed a brief in the case, at which point Judge Wake issued a preliminary injunction blocking the law.  Attorneys with Alliance Defending Freedom, which co-authored the legislation with the SBA List, have helped state Solicitor General David Cole defend the law to date. The state is expected to appeal today’s ruling. 

Last year the SBA List joined the Center for Arizona Policy, Arizona Right to Life, and other local groups to host “Women Speak Out: Defund Planned Parenthood” grassroots rallies in front of local Planned Parenthood abortion clinics to draw attention to the organization’s abortion-centered business and calling for the passage of HB 2800. Chuck Donovan, President of the Charlotte Lozier Institute, the education and research arm of the SBA List, also testified before the Arizona House Health Committee in favor of the bill in coordination with the Center for Arizona Policy.

The Susan B. Anthony List, and its affiliated Political Action Committees, the SBA List Candidate Fund and Women Speak Out PAC, are dedicated to pursuing policies and electing candidates who will reduce and ultimately end abortion. To that end, the SBA List emphasizes the education, promotion, mobilization, and election of pro-life women.  The SBA List is a network of more than 365,000 pro-life Americans nationwide.

Planned Parenthood's War on Women

From Martin Fox, President ,National Pro-Life Alliance

Perhaps I shouldn't be surprised that an organization whose primary business is the slaughter of human life before birth would also be calloused to human life after birth.

But recent facts that have been released regarding the tragic death of Tonya Reaves in Chicago, Illinois have left me horrified about the utter heartlessness with which Planned Parenthood can treat even their paying clients.

The twenty-four year old woman went to Planned Parenthood in Chicago for an abortion at 11:00 a.m. on July 20, 2012.

By 11:00 p.m., she was pronounced dead.

According to their website, this Planned Parenthood location doesn't perform surgical abortions. Yet somehow, Tonya Reaves was given an incomplete surgical abortion that perforated her uterus.

And when it was discovered that this young woman was hemorrhaging, what did this abortion mill's "caring" staff do? Nothing!

Tonya Reaves was left to hemorrhage on her own in a recovery room . . . for over five hours.

As if that wasn't bad enough, recently-released information reveals that when someone at Planned Parenthood finally did decide to take the bleeding woman to the emergency room, they simply dropped her off with no one to care for her.

She was abandoned at the emergency room with no one from the clinic around to give instructions to the ER staff, as they scrambled to discover what was wrong with Reaves.

It wasn't until later that they discovered the severe internal bleeding. By then, it was too late.

Despite the best efforts of the hospital staff, Tonya Reaves died.

So the next time you see the media talk about the "war on women" and falsely claim that Planned Parenthood fights for women, remember Tonya Reaves and the millions of innocent unborn babies they have put to death.

Abortion is crippling honesty

If we lie to ourselves long enough, we will begin to believe those lies. And after 40 years, enough people believe the lies of abortion that they are hardly concerned about the loss of a baby. When babies die, these people chalk it up to choice. No one wants to hear the realities of abortion – that the result is a dead child, and sometimes a dead mother as well. Today's commentary shows just how callous our society has become.
Cripple: Something flawed or imperfect




 The most recent case of America's denial that the preborn child is a person once again reminds us that, culturally, our ability to deal honestly with our fellow human beings is so twisted that it becomes hideous to those with eyes to see. When a New Jersey court ruled that a woman who had cocaine in her system was not guilty of abusing her preborn child, the major media – with the exception of Bill O'Reilly – yawned and moved on.

To his credit, O'Reilly, who has his own problems including at times calling the preborn child a "potential" human being, focused on the case in his "Are We Crazy" segment telling viewers, "If this isn't neglect, nothing is! We are not a humane society in America, we treat babies like garbage!"

Yes, and we see this as the expected result of 40 years of dehumanizing others. But frankly garbage is handled with more respect than human beings. We respect "mother earth." We recycle to protect the environment and we process wet garbage to create compost that is then used for the farming of fruits and vegetables. But when we deal with inconvenient humans like preborn children, the disabled, or the dying, we disregard all manner of reverence for human life in favor of crass disdain.

Below are snippets from around the nation that exemplify what America is thinking when it comes to the value of a single human being's life.

A few days ago, Canadian researchers "found a clear link between induced abortion and a much higher risk of subsequent pregnancies ending in preterm birth." Not a single mention was reported anywhere in the United States other than pro-life news reporting services.

Recently, South Dakota lawmakers proposed a 72-hour waiting period between abortion counseling and the abortion being committed. Pro-abortion forces are screaming bloody murder. According to Alisha Sedor, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice South Dakota, "H.B. 1237, if passed, will severely limit access to abortion in South Dakota. . . . The measure could make it impossible for the state's only comprehensive women's health clinic to continue providing abortion services, effectively banning abortion in South Dakota."

What? The proposed regulation is not affecting abortion; it is merely putting a time frame between the initial appointment and the surgery date. This is not a pro-life proposal; it is simply common practice when anyone is considering major surgery.

But wait! Abortion is a woman's right, so all bets are off! To heck with the expectant mother's health and mental well-being.

In another example of blatant disregard for human life, two weeks ago Jennifer Morbelli, a 29-year-old kindergarten teacher, died in a Shady Grove, Maryland, hospital as a result of a botched abortion. Morbelli was in her 33rd week of pregnancy and the infamous Leroy Carhart performed the act of killing her baby. Though not nationally reported, the truth is that "efforts by family and hospital staff to reach Carhart while Morbelli's condition worsened were reportedly unsuccessful" and, according to Operation Rescue, may have contributed to her death.

Finally there's Julie Burkhart, the woman hoping to open South Wind Women's Center on the site where abortionist George Tiller's late-term abortion mill existed. Burkhart recently told Mother Jones magazine, "Abortion is about motherhood." She continued, "Women are thinking in a very responsible manner when choosing that [abortion]. . . . In truth these are very well thought out decisions women are making. They're taking responsibility for their lives and the lives of their future families."

Imagine it. Abortion kills babies, but we do not admit he is a baby. Abortion maims and kills expectant mothers, but we do not admit that abortion is bad for women. Those who profit from abortion claim without apology that abortion is somehow about better families. And through it all we snooze.

In America today, pregnancy is viewed through a skewed prism that has been fashioned according to personal desire, self-gratification, and discombobulated ideas about what family really means. We've gone down the path paved with birth control and arrived at a sorry destination where pregnancy is a disease, a preborn baby is a tumor, and the woman getting the abortion is the heroine.

It has been said that there is no honor among thieves, and I would add there is no honesty among the vast majority of Americans when the subject is pregnancy.
Abortion has crippled honesty.

By Judie Brown

Mass for Hope and Healing Friday, April 12, 2013

 

 From Steve Bozza, Director Office for Life, Family and Laity

 

A Mass for Hope and Healing for those who have lost a child through abortion, miscarriage, stillbirth, illness or violence will be held on Friday, April 12, 2013 at 6:30 P.M. at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in center city Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

 

Confessions and individual prayers for healing will be available following the Mass. 

 

Please see the attached flyer and pass this information on to those who have suffered this kind of loss.

Link to flyer with additional information

Pro-Life Organizations Take on UN Human Rights Council

by Stefano Gennarini, J.D.

 Several pro-life and pro-family organizations have submitted statements to the Advisory Committee to the Human Rights Council to ask that universal values shared by all civilizations and cultures, including the right to life of unborn children and the natural family as the fundamental unit of society, are not forgotten in the quest to promote and protect human rights worldwide.

 The statements come as the Advisory Committe of the Human Rights Council (HRC) is finalizing a study on the “promoting human rights and fundamental freedoms through a better understanding of traditional values of humankind” requested by the HRC, the Geneva based subsidiary body of the UN General Assembly that discusses human rights questions. The Advisory Committee (AC) serves as a think tank for the HRC.

A first draft study had highlighted the right to life and the natural family, but those references were abandoned in a preliminary version of the final study produced last fall, that highlighted instead some specific practices in conflict with human rights, with special attention paid to discrimination against women and homosexuals. Even then, debate was still ongoing in the committee, and the advisory committee had to ask the HRC for more time to deliver a final version of the study.

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Nine U.S. Senators Tell Court: Protect Hobby Lobby From Obama Mandate

 by Becket Fund

Nine U.S. Senators and two U.S. Representatives, along with the Oklahoma Attorney General and 11 other key groups, filed friend-of-the-court briefs supporting the Becket Fund’s challenge to the HHS mandate on behalf of Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. The HHS mandate forces the Christian-owned-and-operated business to provide the “morning after pill” and “week after pill” in their health insurance plan or face crippling fines.

“While any brief by sitting members of Congress is significant, this one comes from members who originally supported the federal civil rights law—the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993—which is at the heart of the mandate challenges,” said Kyle Duncan, General Counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. “The brief leaves no doubt that Congress intended to protect the religious freedom of those like Hobby Lobby and its founder, David Green, against federal attempts to force them to insure abortion-inducing drugs.”
The case is currently before the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.  A hearing could take place as early as this spring.

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A Tale of Two States

Some unborn babies and their mothers protected from dangerous abortions, some not

From Carol Tobias, National Right to Life President

This week, legislative chambers in two more states passed landmark legislation created by National Right to Life to ban elective abortions when an unborn baby is capable of feeling pain.  Arkansas and North Dakota appear to be on their way to becoming the eighth and ninth states to enact this life-saving legislation.

Laws to ban abortions when a baby can feel pain not only save lives and prevent horrific suffering, but they push back the boundaries of Roe v. Wade, the infamous decision that forced abortion on demand on the laws of all 50 states. 

When the Supreme Court first passed Roe and its related abortion cases, it effectively made all abortions legal, right up to birth.  Eventually the Court allowed some regulation of abortion, and finally, in 2007, it upheld the banning of partial-birth abortion.

Over the years, these new regulations and protections we’ve passed have helped push the number of abortions down by some 400,000 per year.  And now, in many states, we’re successfully banning abortions when an unborn baby is capable of feeling pain. 

These laws are great teachers, for they show the American public what Planned Parenthood and other abortion advocates have tried so hard for 40 years to hide:  That an abortion doesn’t end the development of a “group of cells” or “glob of tissue,” but it destroys the life of a living, growing human being, one who often is capable of feeling pain.

Tragically, the need for these laws was made more stark last week by the news out of Germantown, Maryland, where twenty-nine year old Jennifer Morbelli and her 33-week-old unborn child both died after an abortion by abortionist LeRoy Carhart. 

Carhart is a notorious abortionist whose clinic in Bellevue, Nebraska conducted abortions late into pregnancy.  His name is even prominent in court cases defending the right to perform partial-birth abortions.  Carhart performed late abortions in Nebraska with impunity until the Nebraska legislature passed National Right to Life’s Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.

With late abortions thus illegal in Nebraska, Carhart started performing them on women in Maryland, where abortion laws are very loose.  And now a woman – and her 33-week-old unborn baby – are dead.

National Right to Life will continue to work to pass any and all protections for unborn children that the Supreme Court will allow.  And we will educate the American public about the humanity and development of these precious unborn babies so everyone understands their value, their worth, and their ability to feel pain in many abortions.

You can be a part of this humanitarian work, by speaking up for the unborn, by joining a chapter of National Right to Life, by offering your financial support to our life-saving work.

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