Week in Review – The House passes health-funding bill with no preborn protections
The top story concerning the continuing killing of preborn babies this week was focused on Washington, DC, and the Congressional hearings dealing with the proposed 2021-2022 (FY2022) Biden budget. You will recall that, in proposing the budget, Biden removed almost all wording that sought to protect some preborn babies. The information below was provided to American Life League by pro-life forces in Congress.
The week began with the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies passing, by voice vote, the FY2022 LHHS Appropriations bill, which removed the Hyde Amendment and other pro-life provisions.
The Hyde Amendment has been added to the House appropriations bill every year since it was first passed on September 30, 1976. It bars the use of taxpayer dollars from funding most abortions.
The bill, as passed, also does not include the Weldon Amendment, which has been included in the appropriations bill since 2005. That amendment protects health care organizations that do not want to cover or provide abortions services from being penalized.
In addition, the bill includes a $400 million increase in Title X spending—which no longer contains provisions preventing abortion businesses from combining their abortion and contraception services—and the complete elimination of funding for Sexual Risk Avoidance education, which received $35 million in FY 2021. In the meantime, [Planned Parenthood’s favorite] Teen Pregnancy Prevention Funding increased by $131 million despite past reports that the grant programs for reducing pregnancy have shown increases in reported pregnancy and the likelihood of becoming pregnant.
After passing in the subcommittee, the bill was moved to the full House Appropriations Committee on Thursday. That committee approved the fiscal year 2022 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related funding bill on a 33-25 vote. The approved bill does NOT contain the Hyde or Weldon amendments.
On a date not yet determined, the bill will be taken up in the Senate. Over the course of the last three weeks, all 50 Senate Republicans have supported keeping the Hyde Amendment and three Senate Democrats—Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, and Tim Kaine of Virginia—have indicated they will also insist on including the Hyde Amendment. If all this support continues, it is likely that the Hyde Amendment will be put back in the LHHS funding bill before it goes to Biden for his signature. It is not clear if the Weldon Amendment has the same level of bi-partisan support. It is also not clear if Biden will sign a bill that contains the Hyde Amendment.
Please pray that the 53 senators who have been supporting the Hyde Amendment will stay strong and insist in its inclusion. The three Senate Democrats who support Hyde will be under intense pressure by satanic forces to change.
ALL in the News – Marian Blue Wave Grows as Literal ‘Wave’ Covers the Nation; ALL’s Diversified Media Reaches Multi-Generational Audience
ALL’s program, the Marian Blue Wave, continues to grow, with more than 4,000 prayer partners signed up on the interactive map. The Marian Blue Wave asks Catholics to commit to saying a Rosary once a week for the specific intentions of ending all abortion, shutting down all Planned Parenthood and abortion facilities, and for the protection of our Lord in the Eucharist.
Last week, the Marian Blue Wave sent out its prayer intention for July. The program asked its thousands of prayer partners to pray specifically for the closure of the two mega Planned Parenthood facilities in Virginia.
Every Friday afternoon, the American Life League social media team, Dwain Currier and Katie Brown, host the Friday Live Show on Instagram Live. The show regularly discusses current events and provides young adults a platform where they can have their culture of life questions answered. Replays of the show can be found on Facebook.
Twice a week, Judie Brown’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 Tuesday commentary was featured on the front page of ALL.org. Each commentary is also featured as a part of Judie’s recurring column on Renew America.
Jim Sedlak’s Pro-Life Activism from Creation to Death is a weekly talk-radio program on the Radio Maria USA network. The show can be heard live every Friday at noon (Eastern Time) and is repeated on Saturdays (10 PM). Each show features an update on what is happening in the pro-life world, and frequently quests will appear on the show to provide first-hand updates and experiences.
Video of the Week – From the Center for Medical Progress
“Six years ago, we pushed the barbaric practices of aborted baby body parts trafficking out into the light in a national conversation that continues to this day.”
Action Item of the Week – Cast your vote for Pro-Life Flag design
For the last three years, there has been an evere-growing group of pro-lifers working on the idea of creating a flag for the pro-life movement. Their website explains: “Created and run by everyday pro-lifers, Pro-Life Flag Project is a grassroots initiative designed to facilitate the creation of a universally recognized symbol for the pro-life movement—a symbol that unifies, brands, and raises awareness for the end-goal it represents: ending abortion. Through a public design contest and a movement-wide vote, Pro-Life Flag Project aims to give all pro-lifers a voice in creating and choosing the flag to represent the pro-life movement. Read our full Vision here.”
Their website lists some 72 national, international, state, and local partner groups representing over three million pro-lifers.
At this time, those involved in the Pro-Life Flag Project have determined six designs for the flag, which they are calling the “finalists.”
All pro-lifers are asked to view the finalists and then cast your vote for the one you prefer. To do that, go to:
https://www.prolifeflag.com/finalists
VOTING WILL END THIS MONDAY, JULY 19.
Please take a few moments this weekend to vote for the design of your choice.
Cast your vote at www.prolifeflag.com/vote, and spread the word to your pro-life friends and family. One vote per person, please.
Pro-life Social Media – Red, White and Coo
We all have different traditions when it comes to celebrating our Independence Day. Some travel, others stay home and grill. Most of us wear red, white and blue. Even though most little ones won’t remember their first Fourth of July celebration, it will impress upon them a sense of patriotism, love for liberty, and the privilege of being born free.
We dug through Instagram in search of the cutest little firecrackers celebrating their first Fourth.