Meet Your Prolife Representative: Rep. Bill Huizenga

It's important for prolife citizens to know who their legislators are and what they think about life issues. We asked all prolife representatives from Michigan three questions to get each legislator's views about the importance of being prolife. Each month, we'll highlight the responses from one representative and provide you with ways to keep in touch or contact the representative.


Rep. Bill Huizenga

Michigan Second Congressional District - Holland, Muskegon, Cadillac

1217 Longworth House Office Building

Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-4401


Website: http://huizenga.house.gov/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/rephuizenga

Twitter: http://twitter.com/rephuizenga

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/rephuizenga

Q: What does it mean to be prolife?

A: Being prolife means living your beliefs, and I strongly believe in the sanctity of life and that unborn children at any stage of development are granted the right to life. It means not only advocating for the life of the child, but helping parents work through those decisions, and helping them facilitate either having the child or placing the child into adoption. It also means that at the end of life, not interfering with the natural death process and allow it to take place with dignity and respect.

I served as my church's representative to Michigan Right to Life for 10 years, and my wife currently serves on the board of the Lakeshore Pregnancy Center, which promotes life through crisis centers in Michigan, including Allegan, Holland, Allendale, and Grand Haven. I will continue to be a tireless voice for the unborn children and will work to ensure that these precious lives are protected.

View all of Representative Huizenga's answers.

Partial Birth Abortion Ban Clears Senate Committee

The Michigan Senate Judiciary Committee reported out Senate Bills 160-161 on March 1. The bills would prohibit partial birth abortions (SB 160) and provide sentencing penalties for anyone convicted of violating the law (SB 161). The vote on SB 160 was 3 Yes, 1 No; the vote on SB 161 was 3 Yes, 1 abstain. The bills are now pending on the Senate floor, but no time frame has been set for a vote on the bills.

Senators Rick Jones, Tonya Schuitmaker and Tory Rocca voted for the bills. Sen. Bieda raised a procedural objection and voted against SB 160 and abstained from voting for SB 161.

Right to Life of Michigan President Barbara Listing testified in support of a ban prohibiting partial birth abortion.

Listing said, "Now is the time for Michigan to finally place this measure to protect babies who are inches from being born on our law books once and for all."

Those representing Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union voiced their opposition to a ban on partial birth abortion.

Visit the Right to Life of Michigan web site, www.rtl.org, to hear Barbara Listing explain the harsh reality of partial birth abortion and Right to Life of Michigan Legislative Director Ed Rivet address why Michigan needs a state law banning partial birth abortion.

Help us communicate with lawmakers by standing up for the unborn. Sign the petition to ban partial birth abortions.

Let's make Michigan a safer place for babies being born.

RLM: Baby Joseph's parents' rights denied

Right to Life of Michigan (RLM), Michigan's largest grassroots prolife organization, expressed its support for the rights of a terminally ill baby boy being treated in an Ontario Canada hospital. A team of volunteers that has rallied around Joseph Maraachli and his parents has been consulting with RLM since early last week when there was some discussion of transferring Baby Joseph to a hospital in Michigan.

Though negotiations between the family and the Canadian hospital no longer involve a possible transfer to Michigan, Right to Life of Michigan remains keenly interested and involved in monitoring this tragic case. RLM Legislative Director Ed Rivet has been in daily communication with the team in Canada and has carefully reviewed the primary document being used to deny Joseph's parents the right to direct his medical care.

"The facts and events surrounding this case are convoluted, but the position of the hospital is clear. The medical team believes that Baby Joseph should have a medically-orchestrated death, rather than allow him to be taken home and given hospice care by his family," Rivet said. "That not only violates Joseph's right to compassionate end-of-life care, it completely tramples on his parents' rights to make decisions and care for him. The medical establishment is wrongly substituting their values and ethics for that of the parents."

Right to Life of Michigan's Full Press Release

Watch a FOX News video of Michigan mother Ellen Salter discussing her 8-year-old daughter Meghan, whose condition is similar to Baby Joseph's. Meghan's story was previously featured in the Right to Life of Michigan News.

Former cloning proponent admits there's "no practical relevance" for human cloning for research

Rudolph Jaenisch, a prominent stem cell researcher, was recently profiled in The Scientist. Here's what Jaenisch had to say about human cloning for research (mislabeled therapeutic cloning by proponents of cloning and killing human embryos):

“Ten years ago, we talked about the potential of nuclear transfer for therapy. But it turns out the technique was of no practical relevance. You would never do it in humans for a number of reasons. First, it’s very inefficient. With mice, that doesn’t matter because we can do hundreds of transfers to get a few mice. But human cloning is another order of magnitude more difficult than in mice. And people can’t even get the eggs to practice [on]. My former student Kevin Eggan, along with his colleagues at Harvard, spent years putting in place a protocol to get volunteer egg donors. They spent a couple hundred thousand dollars just in advertising. And I think they got one or two donors. Kevin’s postdoc, Dieter Egli, who went to Columbia, told me that he got a couple [of] human nuclear transfers going, but they all arrested at the 6- or 8-cell stage.

The Family Research Council's David Prentice provides some background information and his thoughts about Jaenisch's statement.

FULL STORY

Planned Parenthood spends $200,000 on ads asking for tax dollars

America's largest abortion provider is spending $200,000 to air ads on cable stations asking viewers to call their Senators and ask them to keep funding the abortion industry giant.

The Planned Parenthood abortion business is rolling out a new television commercial designed to persuade members of the Senate to support the continuation of its taxpayer funding.

The $200,000 ad buy includes commercial spots that will run on cable television, plus network TV and radio in the District of Columbia. The ads are a response to the House vote for the Pence amendment to ensure the Planned Parenthood abortion business and its affiliates are not eligible for any federal taxpayer dollars across any federal programs or departments.

The Senate is also considering a continuing resolution and could vote on an amendment that would also cut off funding, though pro-life advocates are expected to have a much harder time in the Senate than they did in the House in getting the amendment approved, thanks to pro-abortion Senate Democrats having a majority control over the chamber.

FULL STORY

Let's make Michigan a safer place for babies being born

Michigan citizens and Right to Life of Michigan have labored for 15 years to enact a ban on partial birth abortions in our state. Four different bans have been passed by Michigan lawmakers. Three have been enacted and struck down by federal courts. The fourth was vetoed by former Governor Jennifer Granholm.

Now is the time for Michigan to finally place this measure to protect babies who are inches from being born on our law books once and for all.

On January 20, 2011, two bills following the federal ban on partial birth abortion as closely as possible were introduced by Rep. Kevin Daly and Rep. Ben Glardon in the Michigan House of Representatives.

Learn more about Right to Life of Michigan's efforts to ban partial-birth abortion in Michigan by clicking here.

Grand jury report reveals grisly details of Philly abortion business

The grand jury report in the Kermit Gosnell case is a detailed look into the grotesque conditions to which the Philadelphia abortionist subjected women. The doctor is facing murder charges in the death of one patient due to a botched abortion, and seven babies. One employee testified that hundreds of born-alive children were killed in the clinic.

SUMMARY OF GRAND JURY REPORT

New data shows Planned Parenthood abortions increased in 2009

Planned Parenthood's Services Fact Sheet released in February of 2011 again shows how Planned Parenthood is focused on abortion. The report shows that the number of abortions performed at Planned Parenthood clinics rose to 332,278 in 2009 from 324,008 in 2008. Nearly 1/3 of a million abortions are performed at Planned Parenthood on an annual basis. The report also shows that the number of adoption referrals decreased in 2009 to 977 from 2,405 in 2008. The number of prenatal clients also decreased to 7,021 from 9,433 in 2008. Planned Parenthood now performs 340 abortions for every adoption referral and 47 abortions for every prenatal client it sees.

FULL STORY

FACT SHEET ON SERVICES FROM PLANNED PARENTHOOD

To learn more about Planned Parenthood's abortion agenda, click here.

Right to Life groups mourn death of Dr. Bernard Nathanson

From National Right to Life:

The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) joins its state affiliates all across America in mourning the loss today of Dr. Bernard Nathanson, the former abortionist whose conversion to the pro-life cause was major news at the time and whose impact reverberates to this day. Dr. Nathanson, 84, died earlier this morning after a long battle with cancer.In the early 1970s Dr. Nathanson was director of the largest abortion facility in the world, New York City's Center for Reproductive and Sexual Health. He wrote that he was “personally responsible” for 75,000 abortions, and performed about 5,000 abortions.

In his 1979 book, “Aborting America,” Dr. Nathanson gave an insider’s account of the creation of what was then called the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws (NARAL), since rebranded as Naral Pro-Choice America. In that classic Dr. Nathanson explained how he and others cynically fabricated and exaggerated statistics about the number of abortions and the number of deaths from illegal abortions at the same time they consciously adopted a strategy of systematically vilifying the Catholic Church hierarchy.

As a fellow New Yorker, Jeanne Head, NRLC Vice President for International Affairs and United Nations Representative, knew Dr. Nathanson first as a foe and then as a friend. “Dr. Nathanson was probably one of the individuals most responsible for Roe v. Wade and, once he realized his error, he dedicated the rest of his life to reversing it,” Head said. She explained that she heard about “Aborting America" when it was in galley form and may have been the first pro-lifer to speak to him after he had finished co-writing the book with Richard Ostling.

In 1984 Dr. Nathanson unveiled “The Silent Scream,” a mesmerizingly powerful video which shows sonogram images of an unborn child frantically trying to avoid the abortionist’s instruments. Former New Hampshire Sen. Gordon Humphrey, told Time Magazine at the time that the film represented “A high technology Uncle Tom's Cabin, arousing public opinion just as Harriet Beecher Stowe's 1852 antislavery novel ignited the abolitionist movement.”

Head added, “It would be difficult to exaggerate the importance of his book, “The Silent Scream,” and his later video, “Eclipse of Reason” in driving home the sheer horror and brutality of abortion.”

U.S. House Votes to Cut Federal Funds from Planned Parenthood

On February 18, 2011, the U.S. House of Representatives adopted, 240-185, an amendment offered by Congressman Mike Pence (R-In.) to cut off federal funds to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) and 102 named PPFA affiliates. National Right to Life Committee and Right to Life of Michigan supported the amendment.

Planned Parenthood is the nation's largest abortion provider, reporting 324,008 abortions in 2008, with plans to expand their abortion business. According to press reports, PPFA has recently mandated that all of its regional affiliates must provide abortions by the end of 2013.

Please review how your U.S. Representative voted (details below). If your representative voted "Yea" which is a prolife vote, please call and thank him/her for being a voice for life. For those who voted "Nay" or "Present", please call and share your disappointment.

Congressional Contact Information


Michigan Roll Call

Pence Amendment - "Yea"
1 - Dan Benishek-(R)

2 - Bill Huizenga (R)

4 - Dave Camp (R)

6 - Fred Upton (R)

7 - Tim Walberg (R)

8 - Mike Rogers (R)

10 - C. Miller (R)

11 - T. McCotter (R)

Pence Amendment "Nay"
5 - Dale Kildee (D)

9 - Gary Peters (D)

12 - Sander Levin (D)

13 - H. Clarke (D)

14 - John Conyers (D)

15 - John Dingell (D)

Pence Amendment "Present"*
3 - Justin Amash (R)

* A "Present" vote equates a non-support vote and was scored as a "Nay" vote by National Right to Life Committee

National Right to Life commends U.S. House vote to defund Planned Parenthood

In response to the U.S. House vote to defund Planned Parenthood, National Right to Life issued a press release with the following statements.

"This landmark vote demonstrates that most House members now recognize Planned Parenthood is a hyper-political, under-regulated, out-of-control mega-marketer of abortion as a method of birth control," said NRLC Legislative Director Douglas Johnson.....

The Pence Amendment does not affect the funding level for any federal program. Instead, it disqualifies PPFA and its named affiliates from receiving any type of federal funds.....

PPFA affiliates receive about one-third of their aggregate clinic-level income from selling abortions. PPFA has a total annual budget of about $1.1 billion, of which about one-third comes from various levels of government, including at least $88.7 million in a year (2008) from the federal government.

FULL STORY

U.S. House votes to halt federal funding of Planned Parenthood

In a 240-185 vote, the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of an amendment to prevent federal funds from going to Planned Parenthood and its affiliates.

The amendment, which was put forth by Indiana Republican Mike Pence, passed with a vote of 240 to 185, with eleven Democrats voting for the amendment and seven Republicans voting against it. One Congress member voted "present." The amendment will now proceed to Senate as a part of the Continuing Resolution to fund the federal government through September.

FULL STORY

Dignified Disposition of Human Fetal Remains Bills Pass Committee

On February 15, the Michigan Senate Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to pass S. 25, S. 54 and S. 55 to the Senate floor. This bill package is designed to enhance existing Michigan law to properly dispose of the bodies of miscarried and aborted babies. The 2010 discovery of 17 aborted babies in a business dumpster outside a Lansing abortion facility sparked public outcry and a resolve among legislators to make these changes to Michigan law.

S.B. 25, S.B. 54 would change our current state health code so that fetal remains will no longer be classified as "products of conception" and "pathological waste," along with the placenta, umbilical cord, and other uterine contents resulting from a pregnancy. The bills would require hospitals and abortion facilities to bury or cremate any fetus or part of a fetus that has recognizable anatomical parts or has completed at least 8 weeks gestation.

S.B. 55 establishes penalties of up to three years imprisonment and/or a maximum fine of $5,000.

To learn more about this legislation, click here.

State employees fired after abortion clinic practices revealed

At least 11 Pennsylvania state employees have been fired or resigned in light of their actions or in-actions which allowed abortionist Kermit Gosnell's clinic to stay open for decades. Gosnell has been charged with 8 counts of murder for killing one woman and seven infants who survived abortion attempts.

A grand jury investigation determined that health and licensing officials had received repeated reports about Gosnell's practices for two decades, but taken no action -- even after learning that women died during routine abortions -- Williams has said.

Corbett announced changes in the Department of Health and Department of State, including new controls and conditions "designed to protect the health and safety of women who use these facilities in the future." Changes include cross-checking files, establishing searchable databases of inspections, improving training, making correction plans and inspecting abortion clinics annually.

FULL STORY

Television interview with Right to Life of Michigan leaders

On Friday, February 18, at 6 p.m. a television interview with Right to Life of Michigan President Barbara Listing and RLM Legislative Director Ed Rivet will air on TCT Ministries. The 60 minute program, Michigan Alive, provides Barb and Ed the opportunity to highlight the exciting prolife accomplishments in Michigan and the need for all to be part of the prolife movement in our state. Together we will continue to build a prolife culture!

In the Mount Pleasant area, TCT Ministries airs on Channel 13.

In the Saginaw area, TCT Ministries airs on Channel 13 or 49.1.

In the Lansing area, TCT Ministries airs on Channel 27.1.

Study shows that prenatal surgery helps children with spina bifida

In research published in the New England Journal of Medicine, doctors from three hospitals reveal that performing surgery on unborn children while they are in the womb helps more than surgery after birth.

Thirty years after UCSF doctors performed the world's first fetal surgery, researchers have the first hard evidence that the surgery really works and that the benefits to newborns can outweigh the risks to moms.

In a study published online Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers reported that fetuses with spina bifida, a defect that affects the spinal cord, were less likely to suffer some of the most serious complications of the disease when they were operated on in the womb compared with babies who underwent the same surgery after birth. They were twice as likely to be able to walk unaided by the time they were toddlers......

"This is a huge game-changer for fetal surgery," said Dr. Diana Farmer, lead author of the study and surgeon-in-chief at UCSF's Benioff Children's Hospital. "This study shows it can be done pretty safely, and it will open the door for other patients and other diseases. It really does validate the original hypothesis, 30 years ago, that you could improve the outcomes for these children if you operated on them before birth."

......

In the study, 68 percent of the babies who had fetal surgery needed a shunt by the time they were 1 year old, compared with 98 percent of babies who had postnatal surgery. By age 2 1/2, 42 percent of children who had the prenatal surgery were able to walk without orthotics or other devices, compared with 21 percent of the postnatal surgery children.....

During the surgery, which is performed when the fetus is 19 weeks to 26 weeks, doctors make a small incision in the mother's belly, and then cut into the uterus, careful to avoid the placenta.....

A neurosurgeon repairs the spinal cord defect, which involves gently maneuvering the cord into its proper place and closing the hole in the back. The entire procedure takes about two hours.

FULL STORY

Chicago hospital helps women who want to halt abortions

Tuesday's issue of the Chicago Tribune featured a story on their front page about a hospital in Chicago which has created a policy on how to help women who want to stop their second trimester abortions.

Working with two anti-abortion groups, Resurrection Medical Center, the largest hospital of one of Chicago's largest Catholic health care systems, has put in place a practice that when a woman arrives in the emergency room with an activist seeking to stop a second-trimester abortion, she should be treated immediately. Since October, four women have arrived at the hospital seeking to halt their abortions, and three of them had their abortions stopped.....

The chance to stop a second-trimester abortion exists because it is a two- or three-day procedure. On the first day, doctors insert a dilator, often bundles of dried seaweed called laminaria, to soften a woman's cervix. The woman returns a second day so doctors either can insert more laminaria or another dilator, or remove the fetus and complete the abortion.

If a woman changes her mind after the dilator has been inserted and seeks to reverse the process, doctors can remove the laminaria. Ideally, the cervix will close naturally so the pregnancy can continue. But that's not always the case.....

But advocates for the Pro-Life Action League and The Women's Center insist that abortion providers aggressively dissuade women from interrupting the procedure. Advocates believe it's important for anti-abortion "sidewalk counselors" to offer a woman a medical alternative before she gets too far along, regardless of the risks.

FULL STORY

What if....

Below is the winning prolife video in the Manhattan Declaration's video contest. The video was created by Ryan Brooks, a youth pastor from Missouri.

Black History Month Radio Interviews on WLQV

During the first week of February, Pastor Christopher Brooks of Evangel Ministries in Detroit devoted his "Equipped for Life" radio program to abortion issues. Below are descriptions of his programs and links to downloadable podcasts of his programs.

2/1/11 - Pastor Brooks interviewed Dr. Alveda King and provided one of his past sermons on life. DOWNLOAD PROGRAM

2/2/11 - Pastor Brooks interviewed two men on the issue of abortion. DOWNLOAD PROGRAM

2/3/11 - Pastor Brooks and Minister Yodit Brooks, interviewed State Senator Tupac Hunter part of the hour and Right to Life of Mchigan's Kathy Crombie the other part. DOWNLOAD PROGRAM

2/4/11 - Pastor Brooks interviewed John and Mary Lockwood as representatives of Silent No More. DOWNLOAD PROGRAM

"Skin gun" uses adult stem cells to treat burn patients

Below is a National Geographic video showing how one researchers has developed a "skin gun" which treats burn patients by spraying the patient's own adult stem cells on their burned skin.

U.S. Senate fails to repeal health care bill

On a party line vote, the U.S. Senate voted 51-47 against a bill to repeal the health care law.

The vote came two weeks to the day the Republican House voted 245-189 to repeal the law, and just days after a federal judge ruled Obama's signature legislative achievement is unconstitutional.

Republicans have vowed to carry the fight forward, saying they will seek to de-fund the law as it is implemented. The GOP also has promised Wednesday's repeal vote will not be the last in this Congress.

FULL STORY

Another Live Action video shows Planned Parenthood employee in Virginia willing to help sex traffickers

This morning, the prolife organization Live Action released a second undercover video showing a Planned Parenthood employee willing to help a prolifer posing as a sex trafficker obtain abortions for 14 and 15 year-old prostitutes who don't speak English.

“Planned Parenthood’s problems go far beyond New Jersey. Our new video shows their Richmond clinic willing to aid and abet the sexual exploitation of minors and coaching a pimp about how girls as young as 14 – 15 could circumvent parental consent laws for secret abortions,” said Live Action President Lila Rose. “Watch the video – the clinic worker admits they do this ‘once or twice a month.’ Our investigations of 12 clinics in the past four years show a pattern of Planned Parenthood’s willingness to cover-up the sexual abuse of minors and young women.”

“We are sharing the full Richmond footage and transcripts with Virginia law enforcement officials and we are formally asking Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli to conduct a statewide investigation of these heinous practices, just as the New Jersey Attorney General is opening her own investigation into Planned Parenthood’s compliance with the law in her state. Planned Parenthood needs to be held accountable,” Rose continued.

FULL STORY

Teleseminar Recording Available

An audio recording of the Right to Life of Michigan Prolife Update Teleseminar is available.

You can listen to a recording of the update here.

We discussed life-centered federal legislation, the Black History Month prolife programs, and Planned Parenthood's abortion agenda.

Right to Life of Michigan President Barbara Listing provided an update from the National Right to Life Committee Board Meeting; RLM Director of Minority Outreach Kathy Crombie gave highlights on the Black History Month Speakers Series; and RLM Field Representative Chris Zielinski supplied information on Planned Parenthood's design to expand their abortion business in Auburn Hills.

Teleseminar today

The Right to Life of Michigan Prolife Update Teleseminar is scheduled for today, Wednesday, February 2, at 1 p.m.

Topics to be discussed include: life-centered federal legislation, exciting Black History Month prolife programs, and Planned Parenthood's abortion agenda.

Right to Life of Michigan President Barbara Listing will provide an update from the National Right to Life Committee Board Meeting; RLM Director of Minority Outreach Kathy Crombie will give highlights on the Black History Month Speakers Series; and RLM Field Representative Chris Zielinski will supply information on Planned Parenthood's design to expand their abortion business in Auburn Hills.

Don't miss this opportunity to catch up on prolife happenings! This teleseminar is open to all prolife people. Forward this information on to friends and family members. Details below.

Title: Right to Life of Michigan Prolife Update

Time: Wednesday, February 2nd at 1:00pm Eastern

To attend, visit:
http://InstantTeleseminar.com/?eventID=17358294

Or, on February 2, at 1 p.m. call:
Phone Number: (616) 712-3139
Pin Code: 662744#

Undercover video shows Planned Parenthood employee coaching "pimp" on sex trafficking and underage abortions

The prolife organization Live Action has released a new video showing an employee of America's largest abortion provider willingly helping prolifers posing as members of a sex trafficking ring figure out how to get abortions and STD testing at Planned Parenthood.

Lila Rose, President of Live Action, writes,

We have also chronicled Planned Parenthood workers giving outright medical misinformation and manipulating vulnerable young women to purchase abortions. We’ve shown Planned Parenthood willing to accept funds for race-based abortions of unborn Black children. And for those who are willing to face the ultimate abuse of a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic, we’ve released a video revealing what abortion does to the defenseless unborn child.

What will it take for Congress to stop funding this abusive and corrupt billion-dollar organization? What will it take for the Department of Justice to launch a thorough investigation of Planned Parenthood’s sexual abuse cover-up and medical misinformation? What will it take for us, the American public, to say, “Enough is enough!”

Hopefully this:

.......

This video reveals a top-level Planned Parenthood worker, the manager of Planned Parenthood of Central New Jersey’s second largest clinic, making a secret deal with a pimp. Watch and listen as the Planned Parenthood manager, Amy Woodruff, advises the pimp how to make the trafficking of underage girls look “as legit as possible” (her words). Watch and listen as the manager advises the pimp how to ensure that his 14-year old victims of trafficking can still make money for him after secret abortions by performing sex acts “waist up” (her idea). Watch as she advises the pimp to instruct his girls to lie on the paper work about their ages, and identify themselves as “students” to get cheaper contraception and avoid mandatory reporting laws.

FULL STORY AND VIDEO