Voices for Life

Friday, January 26, 2018

Last Hope for Life: How One Pro-Life Center is Rescuing Lives from Abortion Near a Planned Parenthood

By Karen Ingle
Pregnancy Help News

On the dead-end road that leads to Planned Parenthood in Kennewick, Wash., stands one last bastion of life: Hope Medical of Washington. After two years in its new building, the pro-life center has caught the eyes of women who thought abortion was their best hope.

As any woman who's turned aside from Planned Parenthood to Hope Medical instead could tell you, it turns out life—not abortion—was her best hope by far.

The vision for Hope Medical began in 2014, when a travel nurse named Cherie Childers—new to town along with her husband—joined a 40 Days for Life prayer vigil outside Planned Parenthood. Just down the street, in plain sight of every woman resorting to abortion, stood a building with a “for sale” sign out front.

Already a volunteer at nearby Tri-Cities Pregnancy Network (now “You Medical”), Childers suggested to leaders they look into buying the building. But, the network had recently made inroads into a local high school, and decided a head-to-head stance against Planned Parenthood would put that opportunity in jeopardy.

While she understood and agreed with the network’s decision, Childers held onto her vision for a permanent life-affirming outpost near Planned Parenthood.

In 2015, Shira Wise—who Childers had met praying with 40 Days for Life—started a crowdfunding campaign. After just three weeks, the campaign raised $280,000, enough to buy the building outright.

By January of 2016, Hope Medical of Washington was offering women a lifeline just down the street from the abortion giant.

On the very first day Hope Medical opened its doors, a woman on her way to Planned Parenthood stopped by the pregnancy center instead. As she left, the young woman wrote a quick note to thank the staff and volunteers for welcoming her and giving her everything she needed to choose life for her baby.

“I was on my way to Planned Parenthood when I saw the Hope Medical sign and saw that they were open,” the woman wrote. “Not only were they very helpful, but they made me feel very comfortable. Thank you.”

That handwritten note—which Childers keeps on hand as a reminder—was just one of many affirmations Childers and her team have received along the way.

Pregnancy Help News story continues here

National Hotline: Call 1-800-712-HELP or Text 'HELPLINE' to 313131.
In Southeast Penna: Call the Community Women's Center at 215-826-8090

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.

Thursday, January 25, 2018

Woman Challenges Missouri Abortion Restrictions in State Supreme Court on Religious Grounds

By Associated Press
St. Louis Post Dispatch

The Missouri Supreme Court is considering whether some of the state’s abortion restrictions violate the religious beliefs of a woman who is part of the Satanic Temple.

An attorney for the woman made the unusual argument Tuesday as he asked Missouri’s highest court to block the state’s mandatory three-day waiting period for abortions and requirements that doctors providing abortions give women a booklet that says “the life of each human being begins at conception,” offer them an ultrasound and give them an opportunity to hear the fetal heartbeat.

The woman traveled from southeast Missouri to St. Louis for an abortion at a Planned Parenthood clinic in 2015. The woman, whose name is not disclosed in court documents, did eventually obtain an abortion. But in a letter to her doctors that was included in court documents, she wrote that some of the state’s restrictions on abortion conflict with her beliefs to follow scientific understanding of the world.

The Satanic Temple, based in Salem, Mass., doesn’t believe in a literal Satan but sees the biblical Satan as a metaphor for rebellion against tyranny. The group has waged religious battles around the U.S. , including pushing unsuccessfully to install a statute of the goat-headed idol Baphomet outside the Arkansas and Oklahoma state capitols as counterpoints to Ten Commandments monuments. Members also proposed “After School Satan Clubs” in elementary schools where evangelical Christian “Good News Clubs” are operating.

James MacNaughton, an attorney for the Satanic Temple member suing over Missouri’s abortion restrictions, told the state Supreme Court that the government “should not be in the business of preaching.”

“It is a bedrock principle of our culture (and) of our country that we choose for ourselves what to believe by way of religious beliefs,” he said. “It’s not the business of government to tell us that.”

The state attorney general’s office, which is defending the abortion restrictions, argues that Missouri laws protecting religious freedom don’t apply. Solicitor General John Sauer told the court those laws protect the woman only if she’s being blocked from practicing her beliefs or is being forced to do something against her religion. She’s now fighting a booklet, for example, that she has said she’s already read, Sauer said.

Judge Laura Denvir Stith also questioned MacNaughton on whether his client was forced to act against her religious beliefs, noting that doctors must provide the booklet, but that doesn’t mean women have to accept it.

St. Louis Post Dispatch article continues here

Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards Resigns After Presiding Over 3.5 Million Abortions

By Micaiah Bilger
Life News

Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards plans to resign from her position after overseeing more than 3 million unborn babies’ abortion deaths, liberal news outlets reported Wednesday.

The abortion chain has not confirmed Richards’ resignation yet; however, two separate, anonymous sources told BuzzFeed about her plans to resign.

“Cecile plans to discuss 2018 and the next steps for Planned Parenthood’s future at the upcoming board meeting,” a spokesperson for the abortion chain said Wednesday.

The CEO since 2006, Richards drew in huge salary by leading the “non-profit.” During her tenure, Planned Parenthood saw huge drops in patient numbers and actual health servicesand scandal after scandal involving aborted baby body parts trafficking and sexual abuse cover-ups.

At the same time, the abortion chain reaped in record profits, including billions in taxpayer funding, and maintained a corner on the American abortion market. It ramped up its political advocacy and attacked numerous efforts to protect unborn and born babies from abortion.

On Twitter, Susan B. Anthony List noted the news by mourning the number of unborn babies who have died under Richards’ leadership.

Richards expanded political advocacy at Planned Parenthood. Her background was in politics, not health care. Previously, she worked for pro-abortion House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and the liberal advocacy group America Votes. She is the daughter of former Texas Gov. Ann Richards.

Life News article continues here

Twin's Conversation in the Womb: Is There Life After Birth?

By Unknown Author

Two twins were talking in the womb:

Tell me, do you believe in life after birth?

Of course. After birth comes life. Perhaps we are here to prepare for what comes after birth.

Forget it! After birth there is nothing! From there, no one has returned! And besides, what would it look like?

I do not know exactly, but I feel that there are lights everywhere … Perhaps we walk on our own feet, and eat with our mouth.

This is utterly stupid! Walking isn’t possible! And how can we eat with that ridiculous mouth? Can’t you see the umbilical cord? And for that matter, think about it for a second: postnatal life isn’t possible because the cord is too short.

Yes, but I think there is definitely something, just in a different way than what we call life.

You’re stupid. Birth is the end of life and that’s it.

Look, I do not know exactly what will happen, but Mother will help us…

The Mother? Do you believe in the Mother? !

Yes.

Do not be ridiculous! Have you seen the Mother anywhere? Has anyone seen her at all?

No, but she is all around us. We live within her. And certainly, it is thanks to her that we exist.

Well, now leave me alone with this stupidity, right? I’ll believe in Mother when I see her.

You can not see her, but if you’re quiet, you can hear her song, you can feel her love. If you’re quiet, you can feel her caress and you will feel her protective hands.

Our Public Witness Outside of Abortion Facilities

One of the many projects in which my parish’s Respect Life Committee participates is a monthly prayer vigil outside the Planned Parenthood in our community.

Our members gather on the second Thursday of each month after the 8:00 am Mass and head down to Planned Parenthood to give witness and pray for those contemplating abortion. We also pray for the conversion of all who work in the field of abortion.

Prayer is the most important weapon we have to combat the evils of our society; and prayer vigils outside of abortion facilities combine this powerful weapon with our witness to the crimes against humanity taking place in our communities every day.

Just by being outside and praying for these mothers, as well as for those who work in the business of abortion, we can have a tremendous effect on those who witness our vigils. We may never know just how many women were turned away seeing people peacefully praying outside these facilities.

Below is a schedule of prayer vigils that take place in the Southeast Pennsylvania area each month. If you live in the area of any of these facilities, please take the time to attend one of these vigils. Your presence can mean the difference between life and death for our preborn brothers and sisters.

3rd Friday of each month

8:00 am Mass at Nativity of Our Lord Church located at 625 W. Street Road in Warminster. Pray vigil takes place after Mass at the Warminster Planned Parenthood on Louis Drive in Warminster, PA.

1st Saturday of each month

8:30 am Mass at St. Laurence Church, 8245 West Chester Pike, in Upper Darby followed by a prayer vigil at the Planned Parenthood located at 7200 Chestnut Street, Upper Darby, PA.

7:00 am Mass at Christ the King Church located at Morell Ave. & Chesterfield St. in Northeast Philadelphia, followed by a prayer vigil at the Planned Parenthood located at Comly Rd. and Roosevelt Blvd.

8:00 Mass at St. Agnes Church, 233 W. Gay Street, West Chester, PA. A prayer vigil will follow at the Planned Parenthood at 8 S. Wayne Street, West Chester, PA.

2nd Saturday of each month

8:30 am Mass at the Newman Chapel located at the University of Pa, 38th & Chestnut Streets in Philadelphia.

3rd Saturday of each month

7:00 am Mass at St. John Church, 13th and Market Streets in center city Philadelphia, followed by a prayer vigil outside the Planned Parenthood at 12th & Locust Streets.

4th Saturday of each month

Prayer vigil from 6:30 – 9:00 am at the Philadelphia Women’s Center located at 8th & Cherry Streets in center city Philadelphia.

Note: The information for these prayer vigils was obtained from the monthly newsletter of the Pro-Life Union of Greater Philadelphia.

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 the Community Women's Center at  215-826-8090

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.

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

What I Experienced Outside of D.C. Planned Parenthood

As half a million pro-lifers made a weekend out of the 44th Annual March for Life in D.C, I had the opportunity to attend a local vigil outside of the Planned Parenthood Carol Whitehall Moses Center.

I first saw three people from Forth Worth, TX encircled praying the rosary together. I joined them until a sidewalk counselor invited us to join them in their vigil that began at 11AM. I reluctantly joined the group. The vigil was led by Monsignor Charles Pope.

In the midst of the praying, there were small groups that gathered, little by little, as the vigil went on. Many came as far as Wisconsin to pray. A large group of 300 stopped with Fr. Stephen Imbarrato of Priests for Life to pray the morning after the March.

During the General Intercessions, a prayer warrior offered an intention of thanksgiving for those spared from abortion, which included him 65 years ago.

Msgr. Pope later led a Jericho walk around the perimeter of the facility. Those that joined him sung songs of praise and even sprinkled holy water on the building and escorts.

It's a parallel to our vigils in Philadelphia. We gather outside during the vigils with peace, love, and mercy which must be offered to those who work and volunteer at Planned Parenthood and other abortion affiliates. Most importantly, we offer the same tools to the moms who enter the gates of hell with abortion as their only option. With peace, love, and mercy we can change many hearts and minds.

Mgr. Pope leading a Jericho Walk around the perimeter of the facility

Sidewalk advocate offers help to those who enter the facility

One Year of Trump: A Look at the President’s Pro-Life Victories

By Nancy Flanders
Live Action News

It’s been a year since Donald Trump became the 45th president of the United States. While still on the campaign trail, Trump pledged to be a pro-life president, and while he hasn’t come through on all of his promises, he and his administration have made great strides in changing the way our government views preborn children and abortion. Here are four ways they’ve done that so far:

1. Halted Government Funding for Abortions Internationally

Within days of taking office, Trump reinstated the Mexico City Policy, stopping federal dollars from funding non-government organizations that promote or commit abortions overseas. That includes the International Planned Parenthood Federation and Marie Stopes International. If these organizations were to cut ties with abortion, they would once again receive federal funds. However, if they continue to commit and support abortion, they are no longer eligible to receive money from the United States government.

Then in May of 2017, Trump expanded on the Mexico City Policy with the Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance policy. This pro-life policy allocated $8.8 million for international health programs that do not commit or promote abortion, including those for HIV/AIDS, maternal and child health, malaria, global health security, and family planning and reproductive health.

In April 2017, the Trump Administration defunded the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA), an agency that has promoted forced and coerced sterilizations and abortions in China. The forced abortions are known to occur through all nine months of pregnancy.

2. Nominated Pro-Life Judges

Trump also came through on his promise to nominate pro-life federal judges including Neil Gorsuch whom he nominated to the United States Supreme Court. Gorsuch came with a pro-life track record,including siding with Hobby Lobby when the company took on the Affordable Care Act’s contraception mandate. He also supported the Little Sisters of the Poor in their own battle over the mandate. He sided with the state of Utah when it defunded Planned Parenthood. Long after Trump’s presidency comes to a end, his pro-life pick in Gorsuch will affect the United States and hopefully, abortion.

3. Placed Pro-Lifers in HHS Leadership Positions

Trump also placed pro-lifers in positions within the Health and Human Services Department including Teresa Manning as deputy assistant secretary for population affairs overseeing the federal funding for family planning programs, and Charmaine Yoest, former president of Americans United for Life, as assistant secretary of public affairs. HHS announced it October 2017 that it would allow non-profit and for-profit organizations to qualify for moral and religious exemptions to the contraception mandate under the Affordable Care Act. In addition the HHS made noticeable changes to their strategic plan for 2018-2022 when it included the preborn as American people worthy of protection.

4. Instituted Pro-Life Measures, Promised to Sign Pro-Life Legislation, and More

Another pro-life win brought about by President Trump was allowing states to remove Title X fundingfrom Planned Parenthood due to its commitment to abortion. This allows each state to defund the abortion corporation.

Recently, Trump vowed to sign the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act which passed in the House. The Senate is scheduled to vote on the act by the end of January 2018.

On January 19, 2018, Trump became the first sitting president to address the annual March for Life live, on camera, from the White House, vowing to “always defend the first right in the Declaration of Independence, and that is the right to life.”

Then on January 22, 2018, the 45th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Trump announced that from now on, January 22 would be known as National Sanctity of Human Life Day, cementing his commitment to reborn humans. He stated:

"Today, we focus our attention on the love and protection each person, born and unborn, deserves regardless of disability, gender, appearance, or ethnicity. Much of the greatest suffering in our Nation’s history — and, indeed, our planet’s history — has been the result of disgracefully misguided attempts to dehumanize whole classes of people based on these immutable characteristics."

Live Action News continues

New Roe v. Wade Thriller Drama Set to Tell Story of Abortion in U.S.

By Amanda Read
Live Action News

It has been 45 years since the Supreme Court ruled abortion legal under the Fourteenth Amendment, and the Roe v. Wade story is getting cinematic treatment as a historical drama for the first time.

Rather than contribute another documentary to the subject, producer and spokesman Nick Loeb describes the feature-length vision of the latest production as comparable to “JFK,” starring Kevin Costner. The film has already secured Academy Award-winning actor Jon Voight for a Supreme Court justice role, and has garnered the interest of Janine Turner and Jennifer O’Neill.

The idea was conceived roughly a year and a half ago when Loeb was an actor on the set of “15 Rounds,” directed by Ken Kushner, now a producer of “Roe v. Wade.” “[Kushner] heard my story and pitched me the idea” explains Loeb, who has been in a publicized custody fight over two frozen embryos he fathered with ex-fiancée Sofía Vergara.

Loeb tells Live Action News that he spent the next year studying the Roe v. Wade case, reading over forty books about the case along with relevant court transcripts. The research brought Loeb to a story that runs deeper than the lawsuit that put Norma McCorvey (“Jane Roe”) on the national stage.

In the resulting script for “Roe v. Wade,” created with a team of professional screenwriters, Notre Dame law professor Charles Rice is the protagonist who discovers Lawrence Lader’s conspiracy to legalize abortion, from craftily co-opting Betty Friedan’s feminist movement to pawning naïve young McCorvey. Working alongside Rice is Dr. Mildred Jefferson, a pro-life activist and the first Black woman to graduate from Harvard Medical School. Jefferson sees abortion as especially threatening to the Black community. Dr. Alveda King, an executive producer of the film, is slated to make a cameo appearance as Jefferson’s mother.

“Margaret Sanger is an essential character,” says Loeb, “not only because she was the founder of Planned Parenthood; she was also the mentor of… Larry Lader,” who founded NARAL and was “the father of the abortion movement in America.”

Lader was a writer and Sanger biographer who was smitten with Sanger’s intellect and took her ideas to another level. His book, “Abortion,” was cited multiple times by the Supreme Court in the Roe v. Wade majority opinion.

“Even though Margaret was against abortion, that’s how Larry made a living,” says Loeb, “referring girls to a league of doctors” such as Dr. Bernard Nathanson, who performed more than 60,000 abortions. A second trimester abortion is explained below by former abortionist, Dr. Anthony Levatino:

The story is told from Nathanson’s perspective in a character arc that grows from zealous abortionist to repentant pro-life advocate by the end.

Most of the film will be shot in Georgia, with some second unit photography in New York and Washington, D.C. Inspired by the crowd funding success of independent courtroom drama “Gosnell: America’s Biggest Serial Killer,” the “Roe v. Wade” producers have turned to Indiegogo to raise $2 million of the projected $5 million budget in two months. They have a guaranteed minimum theatrical distribution of 1,000 screens, and plan to give ten percent of all net proceeds to pro-life organizations.

The crowd funding campaign has not been met without conflict in a hostile social media, however. Various Facebook users have been blocked from inviting friends to like the page.

“They even blocked Dr. Alveda King,” says Loeb. “On her uncle’s birthday weekend, she was trying to exercise her freedom of speech and share our website with her community, and they blocked her from doing so.” Thus far no solutions have been offered to the peculiar silencing, but not all page like invitations have been thwarted, bringing the count to over 600 people and more than $35,000 raised thus far.

“Half a million people go to the March for Life every year. If each of them gave ten bucks, we could fund our movie,” says Loeb. “Every little bit counts.”

www.roevwademovie.com
https://www.facebook.com/roevwademovie/

Website: LIve Action News

Please Join Us in Montgomery County Pa. for a Stand Up for Life Rally on January 28, 2018

A CALL TO COURAGE AND COMMITMENT

You are invited to a 'Stand Up for Life Rally' on Sunday, January 28, 2018 to observe the 45th anniversary of the infamous January 22, 1973 Roe v Wade decision. Since then, the abortion industry in the U.S., including Northeast Philadelphia, has killed approximately 60 million children, and injured their mothers. Please attend, be inspired and learn how to save mothers and children from abortion and restore our community and nation.

Sunday, January 28, 2018

2:00 - 3:00 pm

Epiphany of Our Lord Church

3050 Walton Road Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462 (map)

Reception to follow in the School

Featured Speakers

Delia Larrauri, M.D.

Doctor Larrauri, is an obstetrician/gynecologist with a practice in the Norristown area. Dr. Larrauri is leading an effort to open another Montgomery County Gianna Center in Norristown to bring authentically Catholic healthcare to women on a wide range of issues, including infertility. She will describe the vision for this Center and seek our help to make it a reality.

Pastor Bill Devlin

Rev. Bill Devlin is a U.S. Navy Vietnam veteran, a Presbyterian Minister and Registered Nurse. Bill is also a veteran Philadelphia pro-life activist and the founder of the Urban Family Council, which has brought the pro-life and chastity messages to churches and schools in Philadelphia. Pastor Bill has also served as an international human rights activist for persecuted Christians, particularly in the Middle East. He will share the story of the recent rescue, by American and Iraqi Christians, of a 15-year old Yazidi girl from ISIS terrorists and her son, Daniel, from abortionists. Pastor Bill's life work provides a beautiful example of allowing zeal for Jesus Christ's Gospel of Life to overcome human fear to love and serve the least of His brothers and sisters.

This Rally is sponsored by the Montgomery County Pro-Life Coalition (paprolifecoalition@gmail.com) and Epiphany Church Respect Life Committee, along with other County Respect Life Committees, including St. Eleanor, St. Genevieve, St. Helena, St. Maria Goretti, St. Mary, St. Patrick, St. Philip Neri, St. Rose, St. Stanislaus, St. Titus, Mary, Mother of the Redeemer, Mother of Divine Providence, Sacred Heart and Visitation B.V.M.

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Support for Abortion Required to Apply for Gov't Grants in Canada; Pro-Lifers Push Back

By Brandon Showalter
Christian Post

If churches and other Christian groups in Canada want to receive government grants for student summer jobs, support for abortion must be part of their "core mandate," according to a Canadian government official.

The Canadian government recently issued a rule stipulating applicants for the Canada Summer Jobs grant had to attest to specific views, in order to qualify. This attestation was purportedly exclusively aimed at groups opposed to abortion. Roman Catholic, evangelical and other religious organizations contend the rule is unfair and potentially illegal to be forced to make known their stances on abortion during the application process, the Ottawa Citizen reported.

Employment Minister Patty Hajdu stated last week that she was comfortable with requiring the grant applicants to check a box stating they have a "core mandate" which respects "reproductive rights." Unless that box is checked, the online application cannot be submitted for consideration.

"In terms of church groups that are concerned that this may invalidate them from funding, in fact, my perspective is that it won't, as long as their core mandate agrees with those hard won rights and freedoms that Canadians expect us to stand up for," she said.

What exactly "core mandate" means is disputed.

Hadju's office is attempting to distinguish between groups whose sole focus is to oppose abortion and a religious organization and faith-based groups that hold pro-life views.

The summer jobs grant currently funds approximately 70,000 placements for students, and religious groups that have run summer camps, daycares, drop-in centers and other programs have counted on the funding.

"We think this is a fair process," Hadju said, noting that many faith groups have no problem with checking the box since "their core mandate is actually, for example, administering the word of God, or administering spiritual guidance for people ... These are the kinds of things that, if you look at the core mandates of faith groups, that they talk about."

Hamilton, Ontario native Dusty May Taylor, 31, is pushing back. She told The Christian Post on Tuesday, "To demand agreement with abortion in exchange for a public grant is a sly brand of ethical extortion."

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has, meanwhile, defended his government's rule.

"This is a really important right that we have established and there are organizations out there that couch themselves as freedom of speech, freedom of conscience," Trudeau said at a town hall meeting at McMaster University in Hamilton, as LifeSiteNews reported Jan. 12.

"Of course, you're more than allowed to have whatever beliefs you like, but when those beliefs lead to actions determined to restrict a woman's right to control her own bodies, that's where I, and I think we, draw the line as a country."

Some faith-based charities and institutions say they cannot sign the attestation in good conscience.

Christian Post article continues here