Week in Review – Trial update; Dayton abortions; Title X; and PP apps
The civil jury trial, in San Francisco, of the founders of the Center for Medical Progress and its undercover journalists who documented Planned Parenthood’s baby body parts business went to the jury yesterday. This is a complicated case as there are five defendants and not all defendants are charged with the same crimes. Each defendant has his or her own legal teams focusing on the charges against that defendant. So, there is no one answer to the question, “How are things going?” There is general agreement that the judge is very biased and should have recused himself. Efforts to have him removed from the case failed. At this point, there is no way to accurately predict what the jury decisions will be. Several of the defense attorneys have stated they are not optimistic. Please continue to pray for all involved.
It was reported this week that the Women’s Med Center in Dayton, Ohio, resumed doing surgical abortions this week. The facility had been forced to stop its abortion business for two weeks because its waiver allowing it to ignore a 2013 Ohio law was not renewed. The 2013 law requires all “ambulatory surgical facilities” to have a written transfer agreement or a waiver from the state health director. When the state refused to renew the waiver, the Med Center submitted a new application naming four back-up physicians that ultimately was approved. It is now back killing God’s children through surgical abortions. Pro-abortion advocates celebrated while pro-lifers continued their prayers for all preborn babies in Dayton.
We have commented a number of times in this newsletter about how Planned Parenthood is actually making money from voluntarily withdrawing from the federal government’s Title X program. Although, on paper, it seemed to have turned down close to $60 million in taxpayer funding, we’ve reported on numerous states and cities that are using local taxpayer money to replenish Planned Parenthood’s coffers. One of the states to do this is New Hampshire. This week, a column written by Shannon McGinley, executive director of Cornerstone Action-New Hampshire, appeared in the New Hampshire Union Leader. We encourage you to read that column as a way to get a clear understanding of the benefits Planned Parenthood is seeing from its withdrawal from Title X.
This week, Planned Parenthood launched its third new app of the year. Back in January, Planned Parenthood unveiled Roo—an app designed to hook teens into lives of sexual sin by giving them a private online app to get their questions about sex answered. Then, at the beginning of the summer, Planned Parenthood Direct, a mobile app allowing women to obtain prescriptions and order 10 birth control products (all made by a Planned Parenthood spin-off manufacturer) without having to visit a medical facility, began its rollout across the country (it is currently in 27 states). This week, Planned Parenthood announced its Abortion Care Finder. Although it is being described as a way for women to find the nearest abortion facility, it will actually tell them only the nearest Planned Parenthood killing center. It will also give them the information they need to schedule an appointment. As Planned Parenthood is closing physical facilities and losing customers, it clearly hopes that these digital products will help it ensnare unsuspecting youth in its web of deceit.
ALL in the News – Judie’s Commentaries Find New Audience
This week, American Life League was cited in a Church Militant article entitled Internal War Among Missouri Pro-Lifers. The article names ALL one of the pro-life organizations that “will not support any legislation that does not acknowledge that life begins at conception or that contains any exceptions to a total ban on abortion.” The author also mentions ALL’s latest campaign, the Marian Blue Wave, which has been officially endorsed by Cardinal Raymond Burke.
Judie’s weekly commentaries continue to be featured as a column on Renew America. This week, her Tuesday commentary, Abortion devotion, 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 – Webcast Excerpt: This Moment in History is Crucial for a Marian Blue Wave
Joining the Marian Blue Wave at this moment in the pro-life movement is incredibly important. How are we going to end abortion when secular efforts have failed? Small victories have saved lives, but the killing of preborn children remains legal after four decades.
Hugh Brown, board member of American Life League, explains why America is in desperate need to adopt a campaign of spiritual warfare against abortion.
Action Item of the Week – The Pro-Life Essay Contest ends in 3 weeks
The Culture of Life Studies Program is currently running its CLSP 2019 Pro-Life Essay Contest co-sponsored by the Institute for Excellence in Writing.
This year’s essay contest is for students in grades 3-12.
The essay contest offers students the chance to express their pro-life beliefs and win over $1700 in prizes (including cash and pro-life gear)!
Category 1 (3rd-4th grade) (5th-6th grade)
Essay Prompt:
In the Gospel of Luke, we read about Elizabeth’s greeting to Mary at the Visitation: “At the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy.” Still a preborn baby, John the Baptist already understood that he was in the presence of Jesus. How is a preborn baby just like you and me? And how can you participate in building a culture of life by helping others see that preborn babies are human beings just like you and me?
Write 500-800 words (3-5 paragraphs) responding to the essay prompt.
Category 2 (7th-8th grade) (9th-10th grade) (11th-12th grade)
Essay Prompt:
When Mary, pregnant with Baby Jesus, visited her cousin Elizabeth, Elizabeth knew immediately that Mary was carrying the Son of God. Elizabeth greeted her with these words: “For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy.” How would you explain to a peer who claims to be “pro-choice” that from the very moment God creates a preborn baby he/she is a human being with value and dignity and who deserves both the chance to live and our protection without exception?
Write 800-1200 words (5-7 paragraphs) responding to the essay prompt.
For full information, go to the CLSP website.
If you have any questions about the contest, contact Mary Flores at mflores@cultureoflifestudies.com
Pro-life Social Media – In Pictures: Remember the Souls in November
The month of November is dedicated to the holy souls awaiting the joy of heaven but still requiring purgation of earthly attachments. From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
From the beginning the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God. The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead. [CCC 1032]
The dead cannot pray for themselves. They need us, the Church Militant, to offer sacrifice and penance on their behalf. If we remain faithful to Christ and His teachings, then we, too, will join them. This is why it’s so important to pass this instruction onto children, so that one day they can pray for us.
