Week in Review – With Roe Gone, Several Planned Parenthoods Cease Abortions, Reports STOPP; HHS Reveals Abortion Navigator Website
What a week to be a pro-life American!
Last Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that both Roe and Casey are no longer law, effectively overturning the federal right to an abortion. The decision on abortion now returns to the states. While this is a massive legal victory at the federal level, abortion is not illegal. In every state, abortions will continue to take place, especially as states will now move to enshrine abortion into their state constitutions.
Make no mistake, the work is not over. American Life League isn’t packing up its bags quite yet.
Almost immediately after the decision on Dobbs was handed down last Friday, several Planned Parenthood affiliates ceased abortions altogether. The latest Wednesday STOPP Report detailed these closings as many states have “trigger laws” that went into effect as soon as Roe and Casey were overturned.
As the WSR states, the PP affiliates located in states where abortion is now or will soon be highly restricted immediately began announcing on their websites that they will cease abortions. In the same breath, many provided links to where women can get abortions in other states, and some offered links to funding.
We can rest assured that many babies will be saved because of the cessation of abortion at these facilities. Sadly, however, we know that many will die as abortions will continue. We also know that Planned Parenthood will not stop killing as many preborn babies as it possibly can nationwide. Already, it has begun ramping up clinic hours and, in some cases, building new and larger facilities to accommodate the influx of people from highly restricted abortion states into states that will not restrict abortion.
So, while we rejoice greatly in every life saved, we know that our work has just begun to ensure protection for the right to life of every preborn baby.
Below are a few examples of PP websites as they appeared June 27:
Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas, Inc.: “The recent U.S. Supreme Court opinion impacts access to abortion in the United States. Abortion services are currently not available at Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas health centers while we review this U.S. Supreme Court ruling.”
Planned Parenthood of South Texas: From The Texas Tribune: “‘We must pause abortion services at our separate organizations while our legal teams continue to review today’s devastating ruling and how it impacts and triggers existing Texas laws, including total abortion bans,’ said Jeffrey Hons, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood South Texas.”
Hons said abortion services at Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas, and Planned Parenthood South Texas have all ceased.
Planned Parenthood Arizona: “Because Arizona’s legal landscape is complex, PPAZ will pause abortion services at this time to protect our staff and patients.”
Planned Parenthood Wisconsin: “Due to a recent Supreme Court decision, Planned Parenthood Wisconsin has temporarily suspended abortion services.”
In the wake of Dobbs, President Biden’s HHS has unveiled a disturbing new feature – an abortion navigation website.
As Townhall puts it, AbortionFinder.org helps women, including those 15 and younger, locate an abortion provider close to where they live. In addition, it helps women determine if they should obtain abortion pills via “telehealth,” meaning the patient does not meet with a doctor in person to obtain or have the pills administered.
If a woman is over 18, the website directs her to either an in-person clinic or gives her several options for the mail-order abortion pills. It even goes so far as to tell her how much time she has left to utilize the abortion pills, depending on the age of her preborn child.
However, for children under 18, the website directs them to legal help at the website Repro Legal Helpline. As the website states, “Our attorneys and advocates provide legal information and support to people navigating complex laws in order to self-determine their reproductive lives.” In other words, Repro Legal Helpline seeks to aid underage girls in killing their children, without their parents’ knowledge or consent.
As we move into a dangerous and unpredictable landscape regarding abortion violence, we are seeing abortion supporters becoming more desperate to facilitate killing.
Let us trust in the Lord and ask for His guidance as we navigate a post-Roe world.
Our Lady of Life, pray for us!
ALL in the News – AP News, ABC News, The Epoch Times, among Media Groups Reaching Out to ALL in the Wake of Dobbs Ruling
Following the SCOTUS ruling on Dobbs, American Life League representatives were interviewed on the future of the pro-life movement by several organizations. Most notably, The Associated Press, ABC News 7, The Epoch Times, NTD, and The Virginia Pilot reached out to ALL for comments.
Those ALL representatives maintained that while Dobbs is the undoing of a grave injustice, there is still much work to be done.
Hugh Brown, ALL executive vice president, interviewed with American Family News on Nancy Pelosi receiving Communion at the Vatican. This comes after the pro-abortion politician was barred from receiving Communion by her bishop.
Once a week, ALL’s Celebrate Life Magazine posts an editor’s blog on its website. The content can range from helpful advice to deep dives into current events. This week’s blog discussed the liberal outrage following Dobbs, including a meltdown from celebrity “P!nk.” The article was featured as an exclusive by LifeSiteNews.
The bi-monthly STOPP report was released this past Wednesday. The report featured a breakdown on the aftermath of the Dobbs decision and the effects it is already having on Planned Parenthood.
Every Friday, ALL executive vice president Hugh Brown hosts a talk-radio show on the Radio Maria USA network. The show is a continuance of Jim Sedlak’s Pro-Life Activism from Creation to Death and can be heard live every Friday at noon (ET). Each show features an update on what is happening in the pro-life world and frequently guests will appear on the show to provide first-hand updates and experiences.
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. Each commentary is also featured as a part of Judie’s recurring column on Renew America.
Video of the Week – When Pregnancy Threatens the LIFE OF THE MOTHER; What Families Should Know
The Supreme Court’s defeat of Roe has reignited the discussion of life-of-the-mother exceptions to abortion violence bans. Many who believe killing a preborn child is wrong make exceptions for such cases. But there are no medical conditions in existence that necessitate the stabbing of a baby in the heart with a poison needle. Babies ought to be delivered safely, no matter their stage of development, if pregnancy puts the mother’s life at risk.
Perinatal palliative care exists to assist mothers and families with end-of-life care for babies who have little chance of surviving outside the safety of the womb. Families are given time to embrace, baptize, and say goodbye to their little, loved ones. If more families knew these services exist, then perhaps fewer mothers would buy the lie that killing their baby is the only treatment.
Action Item of the Week – Pro-Life Education? Yes, please!
In the wake of Dobbs, we cannot deny the fact that society needs life affirming education now more than ever. That’s where the Culture of Life Studies Program, or CLSP as we like to call it, comes in.
The Culture of Life Studies Program provides Catholic pro-life home and classroom materials, resources, and trainings to educators, schools, and dioceses equipping them to help younger generations bring an end to abortion and other threats against human beings, preserve the sanctity of marriage, and restore the kingdom of heaven on earth.
Our vision is to create a world in which God’s word is resolutely proclaimed and willingly embraced; the institutions of sacramental marriage and family are protected and fostered; and all human life is treated with respect, dignity, and love from the moment of creation until death.
For more information and to view available teaching materials, visit the CLSP website here.
Pro-life Social Media – Jesuit Priest’s Absurd Claim That Human Zygotes Are Different from Term Babies
There was a time when celebrity priests were known for their impassioned preaching of the Catholic faith. Think Ronald Knox, Fulton Sheen, Paul Marx. Today it feels like more celebrity priests are renowned for their heterodoxy rather than orthodoxy. Fr. James Martin is one of the most notorious of them.
Best known for celebrating Catholics who suffer same-sex attraction, Fr. Martin posted his reaction to the overturning of unjust Roe/Doe/Casey abortion decisions. Within a series of tweets he posted:
Had I written my own statement it would probably have said three things that I believe to be true: First, all life is sacred and is to be reverenced as a gift from God. Second, a one-minute-old zygote is not the same as a nine-month-old baby about to be born…
— James Martin, SJ (@JamesMartinSJ) June 26, 2022
Jesus at the Incarnation is no different from Jesus at the Nativity. Grace filled Mary at the moment of her Immaculate Conception. While physiology changes over time, humanity does not.
Not the same in what way? They’re smaller? Less developed? Younger?
— Kay ❤️🔥 (@jacelala) June 26, 2022
Why do you even feel the need to point this out? “All life is sacred but my toddler is not the same as me”
What point are you trying to make because it seems like dehumanization to me.
What does the Catechism say?
“Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person – among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life.”
— Chris Tomlinson (@TomlinsonCJ) June 26, 2022
Oh. That seems important.
Indeed, merely repeating the baseless statement ‘those two things are indeed different’ doesn’t make it so; simple assertion without rationale / reasoning isn’t a cogent argument.
— Louise Mensch 🇺🇸🇺🇦 (@LouiseMensch) June 27, 2022
Indeed, merely repeating the baseless statement ‘those two things are indeed different’ doesn’t make it so; simple assertion without rationale / reasoning isn’t a cogent argument.
— Louise Mensch 🇺🇸🇺🇦 (@LouiseMensch) June 27, 2022
Repent pic.twitter.com/dTBrOUrqCL
— Jamie (@OutlandishPS) June 26, 2022
Are you listening, Fr. Martin?
Since people are (surprise) not listening in a post about listening: Yes, the zygote is life and all life is sacred (see #1) and to be reverenced. But those two things are indeed different, which means that people of good will will see them differently.
— James Martin, SJ (@JamesMartinSJ) June 26, 2022
Sigh. He will not listen while he demands to be heard.
