Week in Review
What Did This Eye-Opening Planned Parenthood Report Reveal?
From the most recent issue of the Wednesday STOPP Report.
In an attempt to draw both sympathy and tax dollars, Planned Parenthood released a special report highlighting all the ways the federal defunding hurt its facilities over the last year. Yet the report, Less Care and More Barriers: One Year of “Defunding” Planned Parenthood, actually makes a decent case for why it’s a good thing to defund the organization, as it shows that Planned Parenthood only cares about increasing and expanding abortion.
Here are some of the highlights:
- The report states that 30 abortion facilities closed, affecting patients who previously received care there. These closures affected 41,000 birth control patients and approximately 10,400 abortion patients annually (based on 2024 data).
- Planned Parenthood’s heavy reliance on taxpayer funding was exposed. The one-year restriction resulted in 14 states committing to cover $400 million in emergency state funding to make up for the federal Medicaid reimbursements PP was no longer receiving. Planned Parenthood itself absorbed tens of millions in uncompensated costs and sued aggressively to restore access.
- Planned Parenthood’s focus on abortion was made extremely clear. The abortion giant claims non-abortion services suffered under the defunding, but at the same time, it shifted focus to amplify abortion. We know this because abortion numbers have risen while numbers for non-abortion services have dropped. Planned Parenthood has streamlined—and kept—abortion as its bread and butter.
- Telehealth abortions became the new focus. In an effort to expand and increase abortions, Planned Parenthood turned to telehealth. This allowed the organization to send abortion pills to anyone in any location, regardless of what that state’s abortion law might be. PP relies on shield laws that protect it from the consequences of sending these pills into states where it is illegal to do so.
Planned Parenthood is an adaptive creature. It figured out how to survive without the federal tax money for the last year and how to increase its virtual footprint. Now that PP seemingly has full funding again, we know that some of the closures and reductions of service we saw last year might be undone.
While we place our trust in God’s hands, we must never stop fighting. Pray not only for our lawmakers to fully defund Planned Parenthood and to do so for good, but pray also for an end to abortion in our nation.
ALL’s ‘Save Virginia Campaign’ Webpage Officially Launched
This week, American Life League officially released its Save Virginia Campaign webpage in response to the proposed abortion and marriage amendments that will appear on Virginia ballots this fall. This webpage is designed to educate and equip Christians in the commonwealth on why we must defeat these measures and vote NO to both.
Our new webpage provides the official ballot language voters will see for the amendments, what changes both amendments seek to make, and how the ballot language misleads Virginians into voting yes. To educate Catholics and Christians alike, ALL provides clear reasons from scripture and the Catechism of the Catholic Church as to why we cannot vote in favor of either amendment.
ALL also offers concreate action items for you to take to help defeat these evil amendments, such as utilizing our free downloadable informational resources to distribute within your communities and churches. ALL is also happy to speak about these amendments at your church or meetings and can be contacted here to schedule those speaking engagements. Lastly, we encourage everyone to educate themselves further by reading the latest articles from ALL staff and other advocates for life and family in Virginia on our page.
Please visit our Save Virginia Campaign page now for more information and share it with your family and friends who live in Virginia. We also created ballot flyers for Nevada’s upcoming abortion amendment vote in November; they can be downloaded for free here.
Starbuck’s Stance on Life and Family
Starbucks aspires to “inspire and nurture the human spirit,” but several of its policies promote the destruction and harm of human beings. After the Dobbs decision was leaked in 2022, the coffee company announced that its health benefits would cover abortion-related travel costs for employees and their dependents. These benefits also cover “gender-affirming care” and immoral fertility services such as IVF and surrogacy. Through its Giving Match program, Starbucks matches gifts to Planned Parenthood. It also boasts a “legacy of LGBTQIA2+ support” and has provided grants to organizations that promote the LGBTQ+ agenda, including the AAKOMA Project, Born This Way Foundation, and The Trevor Project.
ALL in the News
Susan Ciancio—editor of Celebrate Life Magazine and director of the Culture of Life Studies Program—published several articles recently. Two were published in Catholic365. One of those addressed the importance of pro-life education, and the other discussed the fact that respect for life starts in the home.
Ciancio also published an article with LifeSiteNews about how nations that fail to protect the preborn also fail to protect the born.
She wrote an article about the love and faith of St. Marguerite Bays. It was published in Catholic World Report.
She also wrote an article about teaching kids to emulate saints. It was published by Today’s Catholic Homeschooling.
Katie Brown Xavios, ALL’s national director, regularly posts updates about American Life League and its important work on social media channels X and LinkedIn. Follow her accounts to stay up to date.
Twice a week, Judie’s commentaries are distributed to an expansive media list. The list contains over 100 media outlets such as Fox News, The Federalist, Breitbart, and The Daily Caller, among others. Judie’s commentaries are each featured on the front page of ALL.org.
Pro-Life Education
Culture of Life Studies Program
St. Thérèse of Lisieux: Small Deeds, Big Love teaches young children about the short and devout life of St. Thérèse and how they can implement her Little Way into their own lives. St. Thérèse understood that not everyone could travel the world to teach about God or do things that many would consider “great.” But she also understood that we all have a role to play in building a culture of life here on earth and that we must all help others feel cherished and valued because we are God’s children. Her love and respect for those around her, even those she did not like, serve as a beautiful example for kids as they navigate a world that is often unkind. Through a discussion of her childhood and young adult years up until her death at age 24, children will learn that we can all make a difference in our own little ways. St. Thérèse’s example guides us as we teach our children that every single person has value, matters, and is a beloved child of God. ORDER HERE
ALL’s Education Materials
Pro-Abortion Catholics Prayer Card: This card contains a powerful prayer for the conversion of all self-proclaimed “pro-abortion Catholics” in public office. We pray that they will immediately stop support for all forms of abortion and infanticide and that they will respect the sanctity of the Holy Eucharist by not receiving Holy Communion until they have reconciled themselves with God and amended their lives to never again act or speak in defense of these grave sins. SHOP NOW
Pro-Life Social Media
America 250: These Little Firecrackers Celebrated America’s Birthday
America’s future begins with the youngest among us. Every child is a sacred testimony to the country’s founding on the promises of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. If we treat our children as disposable objects that can be aborted, abused, or trafficked, then America has no future.
We’ve collected a beautiful batch of smiles whose innocence reminds us that hope remains, as long as we hold fast to the principle that every child—born and preborn—possesses a worth far beyond our comprehension.