Week in Review – CMP update; local taxpayer funding of PP; and HALO
The judge in the criminal case against David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt has set a court date of October 18 for him to announce the results of the preliminary hearings held over the last few weeks. Please continue to pray that the judge will dismiss all charges.
States across the nation continue to bolster Planned Parenthood, and other groups, by sending state taxpayer monies to replace funds lost because of the new federal regulations covering Title X funding. This week, NH Labor News reported that New Hampshire “passed a budget that includes $3.2 million (over two years) of family planning funding to ensure that patients can continue to access affordable family planning services.”
In California, The Mountain View Voice reported this week that “The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors agreed Tuesday to backfill funding Planned Parenthood lost due the Trump administration’s gag rule preventing clinics receiving federal funds from making referrals for abortion services . . . Planned Parenthood and other organizations opted out of the $286 million program, amounting to a $23 million loss across 350 clinic sites in California. Santa Clara County, which has six Planned Parenthood clinics . . . faces a $482,000 annual shortfall. Supervisors voted unanimously to approve the $482,000 in funding at the Sept. 24 board meeting. Though the county is specifically providing funding to Planned Parenthood to keep its programs afloat from September this year through June 2020, supervisors acknowledged that the agreement may need to become an ongoing, annual expenditure. ‘This is a one-year resource and we are going to need to be thinking about how to address this over multiple years, potentially,” board member Cindy Chavez said.’”
To try and put this California situation in perspective for you, the Planned Parenthood clinics in Santa Clara County are run by Planned Parenthood Mar Monte (PPMM). PPMM is the richest affiliate of Planned Parenthood and had an income of $109.7 million in 2017 and reported income in excess of expenditures (profits) of $15.5 million. Of its $109.7 million income, $70.4 million (64 percent) came from taxpayer-paid programs. Yet, the board of supervisors is agonizing over how to cover the $482,000 PP lost in Title X funds! This is what PP does all across the country. It begs for sympathy while filling its coffers with money to elect friendly candidates so it can get more taxpayer money.
The pro-life Healthcare Advocacy and Leadership Organization (HALO) brought together a team of dedicated volunteers and professionals, who have vast experience in dealing with end-of- life issues, to produce a 16-page resource—a guide for medical decision-making as well as crucial information about the areas in which the culture of death has infiltrated our health care system. HALO is currently seeking the funding to bring this new resource to the public. You can learn more about the work of HALO on its very informative website.
Last week, we brought you the breaking news that the Guttmacher Institute released abortion numbers saying the number of medical and surgical abortions in the United States fell to 862,320 in 2017. Since then, we have had an opportunity to review the entire Guttmacher report in detail and found the lower number is nothing more than a guess. You can read our complete analysis of what the report does and does not say at Guttmacher Releases New Abortion Numbers—Does This Mean Anything?
ALL in the News – Judicial Nominee Cites ALL Letter Signed by 106 Doctors; Jim Sedlak Reports on Guttmacher Abortion Numbers
This week, the Catholic News Agency referred to an American Life League letter cited by a judicial nominee in an op-ed. Steven Menashi cited an ALL letter signed by 106 medical doctors that argues contraceptives can act as abortifacients. Menashi was attacked for his pro-life beliefs, including the ALL letter, during his confirmation hearing.
In Wednesday’s STOPP Report, Jim Sedlak released his findings on the recent Guttmacher report. The Guttmacher Institute reports that abortion numbers have dropped to a new low. Sedlak’s report was released to several media outlets.
Judie’s weekly commentaries continue to be featured as a column on Renew America. This week, her Tuesday commentary, The Equal Rights Amendment redux bad for babies, appeared on the site’s front page.
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).
Video of the Week – Reclaim Parenthood: Restoring Family Values in the Hearts of our Children
Planned Parenthood trained Monica Cline to educate students about sex. After 10 years of sex education, she realized the damage she was doing to children. Now she teaches adults about the dangers of sex education programs.
Action Item of the Week – Pro-Life Month of Action
Next Tuesday is October 1, 2019. It is the beginning of National Pro-Life Month. This is a month of prayer and activism. Here are some of the things you can participate in:
NOW– the 40 Days for Life campaign began around the country this past Wednesday. It will continue throughout the month of October. You are encouraged to participate in any 40 Days efforts that are near you.
October 1– the October 2019 term of the Supreme Court of the United States begins on the first Tuesday in October. It was SCOTUS that, in 1973, decriminalized abortion in the United States and unleashed a holocaust that has been conservatively estimated as taking the lives of over 60 million preborn babies through surgical and medical abortions. There have been a large number of laws trying to restrict abortion in various states over the last few years and it is possible that one or more of them may make their way to SCOTUS during this term. It is possible, if not probable, that SCOTUS could use any one of those laws as a catalyst to proclaim that preborn children are entitled to all the protections of the fifth and fourteenth amendments to the United States Constitution. Such an action would grant immediate protection of the law to every preborn child. We ask you to fast and pray that this is finally the term of the Supreme Court where the justices are inspired by God to protect His preborn children.
October 6, 2019– is the National Life Chain Sunday. LIFE CHAIN was begun decades ago by Royce Dunn and continues to bring education and reflection to communities all across the nation. Life Chain is a peaceful and prayerful public witness of pro-life individuals standing for 90 minutes praying for our nation and for an end to abortion. It is a visual statement of solidarity by the Christian community that abortion kills children and that the Church supports the sanctity of human life from the moment of conception until natural death. It is an ideal “first pro-life activity” for those who have never shown their pro-life beliefs in public. You can find information about your local Life Chain events by going to LifeChain.Net
All month– Many churches and pro-life groups use the month of October to schedule fundraising events, speakers, memorials, and other pro-life events. Please take the time to become familiar with what is going on in your community and support all the ones you possibly can.
Pro-life Social Media – Pro-Life Advocates on Instagram Prove It’s Worth Making the Sacrifice
Demons don’t observe laws. That’s why ending the evil of abortion won’t happen with legislation, regulations, and elections. Supernatural forces of darkness must be fought using supernatural weapons. Jesus, answering why His disciples could not cast out a demon, says in Mark 9:29:
“This kind cannot be driven out by anything buy prayer and fasting.”
The 40 Days for Life Campaign is but one of several projects devoted to casting out the evil of abortion in our midst. It began its Fall 2019 campaign this week. We looked at Instagram to find inspiration from the people already making the sacrifice in their communities.