Tuesday, June 30, 2009  --  Masters of deception on abortion

IRLC has run radio messages encouraging citizens to demand that government funding of Planned Parenthood must end.  Most leading Pro-Life organizations have participated in this effort to defund Planned Parenthood in one way or another.  Now there is information to suggest that Planned Parenthood has recognized this potential threat to one third of their billlion dollar annual budget.

Planned Parenthood has been running a television ad in Washington, D.C. promoting how vital they are as a health care provider.  Of course, they are working to get an even bigger slice of future budgets from government funding by getting themselves written into the Obama health care plan.  But they have chosen not to brag about their number one product.

Actually, they manipulate statistics to claim that 90% of what they do focuses on preventative or primary care services.  Their commercial ignores their status as the largest abortionist nationwide with their own report of 305,310 abortions committed in fiscal year 2007-2008, more than 25% of the estimated 1.2 million abortions done annually in the United States.

I wonder why they do not feel good about trumpeting their abortion offering.  Might it be that the increasing reports of their violations of state laws motivates them to stay quiet about offering so many women the "right to choose" even when laws must be broken to do so?

Of course, Planned Parenthood expects the Obama health care plan to pay them for doing abortions, but there is no reason to advertise that to the public when polls now show 51% are willing to call themselves Pro-Life, even if New York Times editorials maintain that those answers failed to understand the question this year, compared to the previous 14 years when the New York Times liked the polling results better, so they had no reason to suggest respondents did not understand that same question.

Monday, June 29, 2009  --  Just say no to Gardasil?

With school physicals right around the corner, parents should be cautious about allowing their daughters to receive the vaccine called Gardasil, a yet unproven vaccine for HPV, a disease only transmitted by sexual activity. The vaccine is pushed as a means to prevent cervical cancer, which has been connected to HPV, but Gardasil does nothing to prevent HPV strains causing 30% of cervical cancers.

Gardasil has developed a track record of unusual and dangerous side effects. The death toll from the drug has reached at least 47. There were also 1061 "serious" reports of complications including 142 classified as life-threatening, 147 spontaneous abortions, and 29 cases of Guillain-Barre Syndrome.  Is use of this vaccine really worth the risks?

More specifics on complications should really raise questions about the risk versus benefit of this vaccine.  Reports indicate that 62 girls developed warts after receiving the vaccine, even though Gardasil is designed to prevent two strains of genital warts and is not supposed to react with other HPV strains.  However, not only did previously healthy women experience genital warts after the vaccination, but 21 girls developed warts on other areas, most commonly the face, hands and feet, and in one case, "all over her body."

Situations like this must be devastating to teenage girls and their parents, who were just following their doctor's recommendation and had no idea there were any risks of note.  FDA's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) reports show that since June 2008, 235 cases have involved permanent disability.  Just say no to Gardasil!

Friday, June 26, 2009  --  So much for dialogue and finding common ground

One week ago I questioned "common ground" by noting that abortion advocates will not give an inch by accepting even modest limits on abortion such as parental notification, informed consent, or basic regulation of abortion clinics.

Now we learn that President Obama's actions suggest his words about dialogue and finding common ground are equally open to question.  With a one-day notice, the President's Council on Bioethics was given the ax.   The members were told in a letter from the President that their services were no longer required.

Dr. David Prentice wrote, "Maybe it's because he's smarting a bit because, when he issued his new executive order opening the door to more human embryo research and cloning, 10 of the 18 current Council members criticized his new policy.  But a more likely reason is that he needs a philosophical, well-stacked bioethics rubber stamp."

Apparently, the Council members' response was too much dialogue and not enough common ground.  Obama could not wait until the Council's tenure expired in September.  Oh, I forgot.  Dialogue was the idea proposed by Notre Dame President John Jenkins, but it looks like that idea does not fit President Obama's agenda. 

Wednesday, June 24, 2009  --  Former abortionist: late-term abortion never needed

While abortion advocates are constantly charging that Pro-Life arguments are unscientific or not medically sound, the facts are almost always opposite of their claims.  The latest example is the claim that late-term abortion is a vital service needed to save women's lives.

Dr. Mary L. Davenport, M.D., FACOG, observed that "contrary to the assertion of abortion rights supporters that late-term abortion is performed for serious reasons, surveys of late abortion patients confirm that the vast majority occur because of delay in diagnosis of pregnancy.  They are done for similar reasons as early abortions: relationship problems, young or old maternal age, education or financial concerns."  Dr. Davenport is confirming the experience reported by Luhra Tivis, a former employee of George Tiller.  

Tivis observed, "I was seeing eight- and nine-month pregnant women come in, and out of those two dozen a week, only about 2 percent had medical deformities."  In other words, the vast majority were healthy mothers with healthy babies, and most of the remainder were healthy mothers with deformed babies.

Dr. Davenport states that "intentional abortion for maternal health, particularly after viability, is one of the great deceptions used to justify all abortion.   The very fact that the baby of an ill mother is viable raises the question of why, indeed, it is necessary to perform an abortion to end the pregnancy. With any serious maternal health problem, termination of pregnancy can be accomplished by inducing labor or performing a cesarean section, saving both mother and baby."

Davenport points out that fetal problems "are the other serious rationale for considering abortion."
Even in the most serious circumstances – fatal fetal abnormalities – writes Davenport, there is no good reason to abort the child.  As an alternative to abortion for fatal birth defects, Dr. Davenport proposes a perinatal hospice, which involves continuing the pregnancy until labor begins and giving birth normally, with support until the natural death of the child occurs.

What reasons remain to justify a late-term abortion?  Whose position is supported by science and who has an agenda while trying to hide behind scientific claims that can't be verified?

Tuesday, June 23, 2009  --  With our deepest sympathy

The IRLC staff expresses our deepest sympathy to long-time supporter Richard Antonello on the loss of his wife Marguerite Antonello.  Her wake willl be held on Friday June 26th at Hallowell & James Funeral Home, 1025 W. 55th Street, Countryside, IL 60525 (708-352-6500) from 4:00-9:00pm.  The funeral Mass will take place on Saturday June 27th at St. John of the Cross, 5005 Wolf Rd, Western Springs, IL 60558 at 9:45am. 

Monday, June 22, 2009  --  Another teen abortion incident occurs in Illinois

The wider tragedy is that the incident I will be describing here occurs on a regular basis with both in-state and out-of-state teens getting abortions in Illinois without any involvement from their parents, and usually without the knowledge of their parents.

I received a call from Jim in southern Illinois.  He wanted to know if it was legal for his daughter to get an abortion in Illinois without any identification.  At first, I thought the question itself seemed unusual, but I informed him that with no enforceable parental notice law, teens can get abortions in Illinois completely on their own, no matter what their age.

It turns out that Jim and his wife knew about their daughter's pregnancy and were counseling her not to get an abortion.  She rejected their advice and headed to the notorious Hope Clinic in Granite City, but forgot her wallet..  Her father called Hope Clinic to ask if she could get an abortion without identification and was told that they would refuse to do an abortion in that case.

This answer was a blatant lie to guarantee no possibility of parental interference before the abortion was committed.  Jim's teenage daughter had no problem getting an abortion without presenting identification.  The only identification needed was payment for the abortion.

We are still waiting for the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals to rule on removing the injunction that prevents the Illinois parental notice law from going into effect.  Unless or until that law can be enforced, teens from anywhere can be victimized by abortionists in Illinois without any parental involvement of any kind.  

At least Jim can direct his daughter to post-abortion counseling when she needs it.  Many parents never know why their daughters become depressed, start abusing drugs or alcohol, or try to commit suicide.

Friday, June 19, 2009  --  The deception of "common ground"

There has been talk of finding "common ground" on the abortion issue, most prominently by President Obama during his speech at Notre Dame.  Is there any merit to the concept of common ground?  Even if agreement was possible to ignore the underlying right-to-life issue while finding steps to reduce abortion, is common ground achievable?

While the focus has been placed on why Pro-Lifers should be "reasonable" and search for common ground, abortion advocates will not give an inch by accepting even modest limits on abortion such as parental notification, informed consent, or basic regulation of abortion clinics.

If the art of compromise is a two-way street, abortion advocates want to make it a one-way street by refusing to consider any concerns of the Pro-Life position.   They just held an international conference where they again dismissed any evidence of abortion's harmful effects on women, and they even rejected the right of conscientious medical professionals to object to participating in abortions.

Thursday, June 18, 2009  --  Bubble zone strangles free speech in Canada

The Supreme Court of Canada has refused to hear an appeal of a court ruling that upheld a 50 meter (over 150 feet) "bubble zone" around abortion clinics.  The challenged, but now confirmed, law states that pro-life protesters cannot stand within a 50 meter radius around abortion facilities.

Obviously, such an onerous restriction virtually eliminates any possibility of sidewalk counseling, or even prayer vigils, at Canadian abortion clinics.   If the subject is abortion, free speech has now been denied in Canada.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009  --  Death threats against Pro-Lifers ignored

If a late-term abortionist received a death threat, that would be considered important news, especially after the murder of George Tiller.  However, death threats faced by prominent Pro-Life leaders after Tiller's death have not received any mainstream media coverage or any condemnations from abortion advocates.  In fact, the effort to smear Pro-Lifers based on Tiller's murder seems to continue among abortion advocates.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009  --  Destructive impact of Roe v. Wade

Over 200 people, including myself, heard a panel of four very qualified speakers discuss the destructive impact of the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion for all nine months of pregnancy.  These presenters were: Patrick Hughes, Mary Hallen FioRito, Colleen Malloy-Stover, MD and Dr. David Solomon.  This Pro-Life seminar was held this evening at St. Isaac Jogues in Hinsdale, IL.

The negative impact of Roe v. Wade has had serious implications for the legal system, feminism, medicine, and politics.  The ruling affects the law by violating sound legal principles and the human rights of unborn children.

The adverse effect on feminism has been placing too much focus on abortion "rights" while ignoring other issues that polling data show are much more important to women.  Medicine now blatantly violates the principle of "first do no harm" while denying sound science and basic medical facts, such as life begins at conception.

This tragic court ruling legislated from the bench and removed the abortion issue from full debate for legislative action.  This distortion of politics has led to greater division in society because the representatives of the people are hindered from reflecting their views by passing laws.  A solid majority of citizens oppose 95% of the abortions that are actually taking place in our nation, but are unable to address this disconnect through appropriate legislation.

Monday, June 15, 2009  --  Large presence but no media coverage

Pro-Life Action League quickly organized a protest after learning of President Obama's planned speech to the physician delegates of the American Medical Association on June 15th.  I was one of 70 people who joined this protest at the Hyatt Regency on east Wacker Drive. 

The message that abortion is not health care was made very clear by showing the pictures of babies killed by abortion.  Unfortunately, President Obama did not get a chance to see this message because his motorcade was taken to a lower Wacker hotel entrance.  

As usual, no media coverage was given to this expression of concern about Obama's plans for the nation's health care system.  Even the presence of a small number of "gay rights" activists was ignored by the media, possibly because we had them surrounded, covering at least two blocks with the pictures and "Stop Abortion Now" signs.

Friday, June 12, 2009  --  Media image versus reality

Biased and distorted media coverage of late-term abortion, stimulated by the murder of late-term abortionist George Tiller, continues to be broadcast.  This portrayal of late-term abortionists as heroic providers of vital health services is an image that flies far from reality.

Reality is much harsher.  George Tiller may have been accepted at his current Evangelical Lutheran Church, but he was previously excommunicated by the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod "on account of his lack of repentance about and refusal to stop his occupation." 

Luhra Tivis, a former employee of George Tiller has shared how her gruesome experiences at Tiller's abortion facility drove her away from her pro-choice views and into a life of activism for the rights of the unborn.  She observed, "I was seeing eight- and nine-month pregnant women come in, and out of those two dozen a week, only about 2 percent had medical deformities.  I thought I was pro-choice back then, but week after week I kept seeing these women coming in with healthy babies and I saw all the records.  I didn’t think that was right."

When Tivis was fired by Tiller after he learned she was searching for another job, she became active with Operation Rescue.  Tivis is not the only former employee of Tiller to find it impossible to continue working for him after learning the reality of his killing business.

Thursday, June 11, 2009  --  Carhart won't take no for an answer

Shortly after the family of murdered abortionist George Tiller made public their decision to close his abortion facility permanently,  LeRoy Carhart indicated he still planned to perform third-term abortions in Kansas, but he declined to say whether his plans include opening a new facility or offering the procedure at an existing practice. 

Currently, there are no functioning abortion facilities in Wichita so if Carhart wants to maintain that location, he will need to open a new facility.   Hopefully, the people of Wichita will not end up finding out they have become the continuing location of late term abortions in Kansas.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009  --  Weather cooperates for Pro-Life events

You would never have expected it from the weather forecasts, but two Chicago area Pro-Life events today experienced excellent weather.  Pro-Life Action League sponsored a Truth Day in downtown Chicago, first at the Art Institute and then near Union Station. 

People were given the opportunity to see what the results of abortion really look like.  I was able to participate at the second location.  Five people thanked me for being there, but five others expressed various concerns, none very well thought out.

I then took a train from Union station to reach the dinner that followed the IRLC annual golf outing.  The golfers were very happy with the weather, and even a non-golfer like myself was very happy to hear that good news.  A good time was had by all.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009  --  Wichita loses title as late term abortion capitol

Pro-Life citizens of Wichita, Kansas must be relieved to learn that George Tiller's late-term abortion facility in their city will not reopen.  After Tiller's murder on May 31st, his family today announced their decision to close his abortion facility permanently.

Shortly after the murder, late-term abortionist LeRoy Carhart of Omaha, Nebraska, who had worked with Tiller part-time, indicated he planned to come to Wichita to keep the abortion facility in operation.  Apparently, the Tiller family decided to reject Carhart's offer.

Troy Newman, Operation Rescue President, observed, "This is a bittersweet moment for us at Operation Rescue.  We have worked very hard for this day, but we wish it would have come through the peaceful, legal channels that we were pursuing.  We believe we were very close to seeing disciplinary action taken against Tiller's license that would have closed this clinic through due process."

Monday, June 8, 2009  --  More concerns about the actions of public guardians

Circumstances within families or relating to lawsuit settlements can lead to appointment of public guardians for the welfare of specific individuals who are deemed not to be able to care for their health and/or financial needs.  I have previously learned of cases where decisions of public guardians seemed to violate the best interests of the individuals receiving this oversight, such as the woman who was saved from starvation.

Today, I learned about an organization called the National Association to Stop Guardian Abuse that is working to oppose guardian abuse.  The good news is its existence to help in such cases, but the bad news is that such an organization is needed, which confirms that my own past experience is not simply an anomoly.

Annie McKenna informed me about the situation of Gary and Sarah Harvey.   Gary is laying in a hospital bed in Chemung County New York while a group of people are meeting to discuss removing his feeding tube which will cause him to experience a slow, agonizing death.  Sarah’s one wish is for her husband to come home to die with dignity surrounded by people who love him.  But, the "guardian" who makes the decisions refuses her requests.

Learn more about the dangers presented by public guardians by checking out the National Association to Stop Guardian Abuse web site, especially if you currently have any dealings with a public guardian for someone in your family.

Friday, June 5, 2009  --  Theories about who the culprit might actually be

Abortion advocates and the mainstream media are still trying to implicate every Pro-Life citizen in the nation as responsible for the murder of George Tiller.  Frank Joseph M.D. has a different perspective on the situation:

If the case of Tiller wasn't fixed, right now he would be in prison instead of being dead. So, shall we blame Governor Sebellius, now the head of the Health Department for Tiller's death because she had a hand in acquitting him. Also, all those who say that a woman should have the right to have her unborn child killed and worked hard to have Tiller acquitted -- should we blame them for Tiller's death?

Well, I guess so, since the pro-aborts blame people who have respect for the sanctity of human life for Tiller's death. It's more conceivable that if any group is responsible for Tiller's death, it would be the the pro-aborts.

They say the actual killer had a mental problem. We also know that the tide has turned -- that according to the latest polls, the majority of people are now pro-life. I'm sure that the pro-aborts are having conniptions over this -- what to do?

I can just hear them now -- "year by year we are losing as more people are becoming pro-life. Does anyone have any suggestions on how we can turn this around?" From the rear a person stands up and says, "what we need is for a pro-lifer to kill an abortionist, we know that the mainstream media is on our side and we'll get good press and they will trash the pro-lifers."

"Ah, that's easy to say, but pro-lifers honor the sanctity of ALL human and they would have to be out of their minds to kill an abortionist these days because they know they'll get a bad press. They even give up their time to pray at abortion clinics and recently had 40 days of prayer. Most go to church regularly. When was the last time you went to church? Just as I thought."

From the rear, came a voice, "how about we get a mentally disturbed person to do the killing. That person can even be pro-choice, or pro-life. We have to convince him that the abortionist is an evil person and that he would be doing society a great good."

"Yeah and where do we get such a person?"

Another voice arose, "I know of such a person, he's my cousin and he doesn't belong to any pro-life organization, or for that matter, not to any organization, but he did tell me that he thinks that killing little babies is wrong."

"Do you think you can convince him to shoot a person who has killed many little babies in late term who would have lived?"

"I don't know, but, I will try."  And the rest is history.

Sound ridiculous -- don't bet the farm that it could not happen. When a group pf people can support the killing of 1.3 million little children in the womb every year in the United States and in Tiller's case where he kills children in late term and they feel excruciating pain, they are capable of anything. What's another life to them, especially an abortionist who is getting old and his killing days are about over and one who has been in the news lately.

If they can surmise that a TRUE pro-lifer killed Tiller, then I can surmise that the pro-choice (to kill unborn children) people were the culprits, especially since they have absolutely no respect for human life.

Thursday, June 4, 2009  --  Evidence of selective enforcement at Notre Dame

You are probably aware that "anti-abortion" protesters were arrested at Notre Dame University for trespassing.  The mainstream media really liked covering that aspect of events occurring at Notre Dame near the time that President Obama delivered the commencement speech and received an honorary degree on May 17th.

Now information is coming out that these arrests were very selective enforcement.  People who carried pro-Obama signs were not hindered or arrested.  LifeSiteNews reported, "Witnesses say that only individuals who bore a pro-life display of protest - including a large cross, photographs of aborted children, and images of Mary - were arrested, while other passersby and pro-Obama demonstrators were allowed to roam free."

Attorney Thomas Dixon, who will represent defendents in the trespassing cases, told LifeSiteNews the cases raise a constitutional law question.  "In the 1886 case Yick Wo v. Hopkins, Dixon noted, the Supreme Court ruled that selectively arresting individuals violated the Equal Protection clause.  He also pointed to the 1946 Marsh v. Alabama case, in which it was decided that to the degree that a private institution opens its grounds to the general public, its right to curb their free speech activities is limited."

Thomas More Society has joined Tom Dixon to defend those arrested for trespassing.  "The Thomas More Society is urging the University to request that these trespass charges be dropped," said Tom Brejcha, President and Chief Counsel.

I personally find it also ironic, and certainly another aspect of selective enforcement, that myself and others from the Pro-Life Action League buses were given "Stop Abortion Now" signs on campus when we got off the buses to attend the alternate graduation / prayer service ceremony.  No one prevented us from displaying those signs on that section of the Notre Dame campus.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009  --  Planning for another Chicago 40 Days for Life

Late-term abortion is in the news right now, often inaccurately portrayed as very hard to find.  The web site of Family Planning Associates of Chicago indicates they commit abortions to "23.5 weeks of pregnancy."  Their location at 5086 N Elston Ave, Chicago 60630 will again be the location for the Chicago 40 Days for Life from Sept 23rd to Nov 1st, 2009.  Today I attended a meeting to help get preparation for this effort moving forward.

You are encouraged to get involved in making this 40 Days for Life a reality.  Come to an informational meeting on Monday June 15th at 6:30pm to learn more.  The location is: St. Mary of the Angels Church (Museum Room), 1850 N Hermitage Ave, Chicago, IL 60622.   See the map to find out how easy you can get there off the Kennedy Expressway.

Dinner will be provided at 6:30pm with the meeting from 7:00pm until approximately 8:30pm.  Learn about the purpose and format of 40 Days for Life, why it is so important now, how to recruit people effectively, and more. 

If you feel called to do more to defend human life in today's negative cultural environment, you do not want to miss this important meeting.  If you are still uncertain about getting more involved, come to find out why you should.  Please RSVP to Margie Manczko Breen by email mmanczko@archchicago.org or phone 312-534-5355.

Please note that there will also be other Illiniois locations for 40 Days for Life, including Aurora and possibly Downers Grove in the Chicago area.  Check with 40 Days for Life to find out more about other locations, or about forming a new location.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009  --  Accusations of guilt by (very loose) association

Abortion advocates are having a field day attempting to implicate every Pro-Life citizen in the death of George Tiller.  The name calling includes terms and phrases such as: terrorist, domestic terrorism, extremists, hate-filled, and America's "Taliban."  I am sure there are many more labels, many of them not repeatable in public.

Bonnie Erbe, a U.S. News and World Report columnist, titled her blog response, "Tiller Murder Is Terrorism, and All Pro-Life Extremists Are to Blame."  She said, "people who refer to abortion as 'baby-killing' and other inflammatory rhetoric" (such as 'abortion is murder') "ought to be prosecuted as an accessory to murder, as well as for partaking in domestic terrorism."

Erbe is applying the misguided concept of "hate speech" that threatens our free speech and religious rights, especially if bills such as "Hate Crimes" legislation S. 909 or H.R. 1913 would become law.  Are you ready to be prosecuted as an accessory to murder because you held a Life Chain sign that reads "Abortion Kills Children"?

The concept of "hate speech" denies the right to speak the truth about any subject if someone might be offended by that speech, such as those who support "abortion rights" hearing the truth that abortion kills babies.  The "hate speech" is deemed to violate the law if some crime can be attributed as being motivated by hearing (or reading) the "hateful" message.

Erbe is claiming that hearing people stating that abortion kills babies motivated George Tiller's murderer to commit this outrageous act, so they are accessories to the crime.  Would Erbe be an accessory to murder if some misguided abortion advocate killed a Pro-Life picketer after reading her article?  To apply this misguided concept consistently, she certainly should be found guilty as an accessory.  Put Erbe in jail and throw away the key until she stops writing such hate speech!  Or better yet, U.S. News and World Report should just fire her.

Monday, June 1, 2009  --  Violence is never the answer