ACTION ITEM: Call Now - U.S. senators to vote March 1 on prolife Blunt Amendment

Phone calls to U.S. senators are urgently needed in support of a vital prolife amendment, the Blunt Amendment, on which the U.S. Senate will vote on Thursday, March 1.

The amendment has been offered by prolife Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) and is strongly supported by the National Right to Life Committee and Right to Life of Michigan. The text of the Blunt Amendment is taken from the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act (S. 1467, H.R. 1179). It would amend Obama's health care law to prevent the imposition of regulatory mandates which violate the religious or moral convictions of those who purchase or provide health insurance, such as the recent decree that virtually all employers, including religiously affiliated hospitals and schools, must purchase health insurance plans that cover all government-approved methods of birth control.

This debate is not limited to the specific parameters of the birth control mandate. The exact same statutory authority could be used by the Administration to mandate that all health plans pay for elective abortion on demand.

Contact Senator Carl Levin and Senator Debbie Stabenow today. The simple message is: "Please protect my conscience rights by supporting the Blunt Amendment, No. 1520, to the highway bill, S. 1813."

Senator Carl Levin (D)
Phone: (202) 224-6221
Web Site for online comment: https://www.levin.senate.gov/contact/email/

Senator Debbie Stabenow (D)
Phone: (202) 224-4822
Web Site for online comment: http://www.stabenow.senate.gov/?p=contact

Special Note:
While Senator Levin and Senator Stabenow have pro-abortion records, it is still important for us as their constituents to share our desires. Please contact both senators regarding this important issue. Use this opportunity to get others involved. The mere controversy over public policy proposals can change public sentiment. Legislation impacts our lives and our senators need to know where we stand.

America's largest abortion provider says Obama is their guy

The Detroit News has a story on a speech Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards gave to UAW workers and retirees urging them to support the re-election efforts of President Obama. Planned Parenthood is America's leading abortion provider, providing more than 300,000 abortions in a year.

FULL STORY

MORE ON PLANNED PARENTHOOD'S ABORTION AGENDA

Abortion debate on PBS

Charmaine Yoest, president of Americans United for Life, recently debated Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL on on PBS NewsHour with Judy Woodruff. They discuss abortion and ultrasound legislation in the state of Virginia. There is legislation currently pending in the Michigan legislature to strengthen Michigan's ultrasound law.

Newspaper investigation in England finds abortionists willing to provide illegal sex-selection abortions

While abortions are widely available in England, it is illegal to have a sex-selection abortion. Undercover research by the Daily Telegragh newspaper has shown that a variety of abortion providers are willing to provide sex-selection abortion.

When a woman who was 12 weeks pregnant had an appointment with a doctor at the Calthorpe Clinic, she explained that she wanted to terminate her pregnancy because she had discovered she was having a girl but her and her partner “don’t want a girl”.

“Is that the reason?” asked the doctor, who introduced himself as Dr Raj. “That’s not fair. It’s like female infanticide isn’t it?”

When the pregnant woman asked if he could put down a different reason for the termination, the doctor said: “That’s right, yeah, because it’s not a good reason anytime … I’ll put too young for pregnancy, yeah?”

The patient agreed, at which point Dr Mohan again said: “It’s common in the Third World to have a female infanticide.”

He then moved on to discuss the abortion process before asking the pregnant patient to book an appointment for the termination the following Monday or Tuesday.

FULL STORY

Detroit News gets "facts" wrong in attempt to defend Obama's extremist votes

On February 23, 2012, the Detroit News ran a "fact-check" on statements made during a recent Republican presidential debate. During the debate, Newt Gingrich noted President Obama votes against a law which would have protected infants who survived abortion attempts. Below is Gingrich statement on the Detroit News' take on the "facts":

Gingrich : "If we're going to have a debate about who the extremist is on these issues, it is President Obama, who as a state senator voted to protect doctors who killed babies who survived the abortion."

The facts : As an Illinois state senator, Obama voted against legislation promoted by anti-abortion activists that would have conferred protection to fetuses showing any signs of life after an abortion, even if doctors did not believe the fetus was viable. Obama pointed to an existing Illinois law requiring doctors to protect fetuses they believed were likely to survive after an abortion, and said he was concerned the proposed new law was so broad it could interfere with routine abortions. Obama said he would have supported federal legislation President George W. Bush signed in 2002 that would protect a viable fetus but reaffirmed a woman's right to an abortion.

In actuality, when a Illinois state senator, Barack Obama voted against a bill which would have protected children who survived abortions. The legislation was even amended to include to specific language preventing it from effecting the legality of abortion. For years, Barack Obama didn't tell the truth about this legislation and his vote against it. National Right to Life detailed the truth of Obama's vote and cover-up in 2008.

FactCheck.org agreed with National Right to Life and noted that Obama's reasons for voting against an amended version of SB 1082 were "false."

MORE INFORMATION ON BARACK OBAMA'S BORN-ALIVE LIES

Hillsdale College student given prolife award

Laura Wegmann, a senior art major at Hillsdale College, was recently awarded a Young Leader Award by the Susan B. Anthony List for her prolife work.

This semester, Wegmann is promoting a program for the Indiana Right to Life. Called "Friends For Life," the training course is directed towards teaching college-age students how to articulately defend the pro-life message, and effectively refute pro-abortion rhetoric.

Wegmann wants to turn her involvement into a career in the pro-life movement, primarily helping them with their marketing and advertising.

"I hope to help work on their aesthetics," she said. "If we fail to package the message appropriately, we lose an audience."

While she appreciates how energetic members of the movement are, she believes they have fallen short in presenting the pro-abortion case in a winsome manner.

"I'd like to use my aesthetic sense and my art major to help," she said. "The question is not if the movement ought to be judged by packaging; that is beside the point. They are being judged in that way, so it does a disservice to the truth if we don't present it in the best light."

FULL STORY

Are the unborn parasites?

In the Chicago Tribune, Dennis Byrnes responds to the pro-abortion argument that the unborn are "parasites."

The analogy between fetus and parasite fails on a couple of important counts. A fetus, unlike a tapeworm, is not an organism of one species living in another. Fetus and mother, I dare point out, are of the same species. A fetus, unlike a parasite, does not die once separated by birth from the "host organism." It thrives and continues in a positive and healthful relationship with the mother.

At least, the claim wasn't made that a fetus is a cancerous tumor or evil spirit that must be exorcised.

I'll leave biologists to fight over what appears to be an essentially linguistic argument of whether fetus is a subset of parasite. As for laymen, most still will recoil at the thought that a developing human is akin to a scabies mite, blood fluke or Wuchereria bancrofti, which can lead to elephantiasis.

The mind rebels at the thought because the human mind innately knows that the "thing" in the womb is one of us.

That anyone could consciously reject that knowledge is frightening.

FULL STORY

Working to protect your conscience rights

Right to Life of Michigan is working at both the federal and state levels to protect your rights of conscience in regards to health care. A recent mandate by President Obama's Administration has caused grave concern over conscience protection and religious freedom. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate will force all employers to provide the full range of FDA-approved contraceptives including those that may cause early abortions. In addition, the same provision could be used in the future to mandate abortion coverage.

Learn how Right to Life of Michigan is helping to protect your conscience rights at the federal and state levels. At the federal level, your help is needed to contact Senator Levin and Senator Stabenow.

Federal Level

The U.S. Senate is expected to vote soon on a vital prolife amendment offered by Senator Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) to a highway bill that is pending on the Senate floor. The text of the Blunt Amendment consists of the language taken from a National Right to Life Committee endorsed bill, the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act (S. 1467, H.R. 1179). It would amend the national health care law to prevent the imposition of regulatory mandates that violate the religious or moral convictions of those who purchase or provide health insurance.

This debate is not limited to the specific parameters of the birth-control mandate. The exact same statutory authority could be used by the Administration -- as early as next year -- to mandate that all health plans pay for elective abortion on demand.

The most likely time frame for the vote now appears to be the week of February 27.

Action Item: Contact Senator Carl Levin and Senator Debbie Stabenow today. The simple message is: "Please protect my conscience rights by supporting the Blunt Amendment, No. 1520, to the highway bill, S. 1813."

Senator Carl Levin (D)
269 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-6221

Web Site for online comment: https://www.levin.senate.gov/contact/email/

Senator Debbie Stabenow (D)
133 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-4822

Web Site for online comment: http://www.stabenow.senate.gov/?p=contact

State Level

At the state level, law makers are addressing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate that assaults conscience rights and religious freedom. House Resolution 185 passed the House Government Operations Committee and the Michigan House of Representatives on February 15.

Right to Life of Michigan supported House Resolution 185 because it calls on the Obama Administration to rescind the HHS mandate and it urges Congress to pass the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act.

In addition to the House Resolution, Sen. John Moolenaar introduced legislation to protect conscience rights and religious freedom in Michigan.

Senate Bill 975 would establish the Religious Liberty and Conscience Protection Act in Michigan.

Right to Life of Michigan will continue to keep you up-to-date on federal and state legislative initiatives to protect innocent human life and rights of conscience.

Girl healed by brother's umbilical cord blood stem cells

A local NBC affiliate recently did a story on Carol Mulumba, a ten-year-old girl whose sickle cell anemia was cured after she received stem cells from her younger brother's umbilical cord blood.

Just days after Lucky Mulumba gave birth to her first child Carol, she learned her baby had sickle cell anemia.

"Doctors said she had the most severe type and they told me she would have a hard life. Some doctors told me she would not live past ten years," Mulumba said.

Two years later she learned she was pregnant with her second child Mark.

Her doctor suggested she bank his umbilical cord blood in the event one day it might be used to help Carol......

When she was 6 she started to have small strokes and doctors warned she could die from one.

That's when Carol underwent a stem cell transplant using cells from her brother Mark's banked cord blood. The procedure worked.

Carol was cured of sickle cell anemia and has been disease free for three years.

FULL STORY

MORE INFORMATION ON LIFE-AFFIRMING FORMS OF STEM CELL RESEARCH

Urge U.S. Senators to Vote for the Blunt Amendment To Protect Conscience Rights and Block an Abortion Mandate!

From National Right to Life:

The U.S. Senate may vote any day on a vital prolife amendment offered by Senator Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) to a highway bill that is pending on the Senate floor.

The text of the Blunt Amendment consists of the language taken from an NRLC-endorsed bill, the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act (S. 1467, H.R. 1179). It would amend the Obama health care law (“ObamaCare”) to prevent the imposition of regulatory mandates that violate the religious or moral convictions of those who purchase or provide health insurance......

When President Obama's health care legislation was under consideration in the Senate in 2009, NRLC warned that a provision dealing with “preventive health services” would empower the Secretary of Health and Human Services to mandate coverage of any medical service, including abortion, merely by adding the service to an expandable list. Predictably, the Administration issued a decree in August, 2011, covering all FDA-approved birth control methods – a mandate that, unless overturned, will produce an irreconcilable conflict between conscience and the coercive force of government for many employers. In recent months, the Administration's "birth-control mandate" has elicited vigorous protests from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Southern Baptist Convention, and many other religious leaders, as an attack on religious liberty

But this is not a debate only about the specific parameters of the birth-control mandate. Exactly the same statutory authority could be used by the Administration -- as early as next year -- to mandate that all health plans pay for elective abortion on demand.

FULL STORY

Legislation to outlaw women being coerced into abortion voted out of committee

Yesterday, the Michigan House Families, Children and Seniors Committee voted out the CAPA package of bills that would give protection to women who are coerced into having an abortion. Stay tuned for more details as the bills go to the floor of the House.

A bill that would protect pregnant women from being coerced into having an abortion cleared a state House Committee on Tuesday, though some Democrats on the panel said women who want to terminate their pregnancies often need help, too.

With votes along party lines, a package of Republican-backed bills moved from the Families, Children and Seniors Committee, making it a crime to force a woman into an abortion, either through assaults or threats to her person or employment.

Edward Rivet II, legislative director for Right to Life of Michigan, said the bills create a process for clinics to better screen women before they undergo the procedure to determine if they are being forced.

“A lot of times there is intimidation before the women even make it to the clinic,” he said after the hearing.

FULL STORY

MORE INFORMATION ON CAPA LEGISLATION

Spring 2012 RLM News now online

The Spring 2012 issue of the Right to Life of Michigan News is now online.

Articles include stories about Michigan's prolife legislative agenda, prolife outreach during Black History Month, affiliate Sanctity of Human Life Sunday events, a change of heart at the March for Life and Susan G. Komen for the Cure's decision to buckle on grants to Planned Parenthood.

Adult stem cells successfully treat damaged hearts

Researchers at the Cedars Sinai Heart Institute have published research in the Lancet which shows patients' own adult stem cells can be used to reduce scarring and create more heart muscle.

“We were gratified to see that the scars shrank in patients who had gotten the cells,” Marban says. “Not only that, but these patients also had a big increase in living heart muscle. The regeneration of living tissue, or regrowth of lost tissue, which is what we were able to achieve, is encouraging.”

All of the patients were enrolled in the trial within 1.5 months of having a heart attack, and had their hearts scanned with an MRI. Seventeen of the patients had a biopsy of their heart tissue so the researchers could extract the heart’s stem cells and expand them in the lab; the researchers then re-infusing 12 million to 25 million new heart cells into each patient’s heart artery 1.5 months to 3 months later. The control patients received standard care of medications and monitoring to recover from their heart attack.

At six months and again at one year into the study, Marban and his colleagues took additional MRIs of the patients’ hearts, to measure any changes in the size of their scar tissue. The patients who had received the heart cells showed markedly smaller scars and more living tissue over time, compared with those who received standard therapy. In fact, new tissue formation increased by 60% on average, compared with scar shrinkage.

FULL STORY

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT LIFE-AFFIRMING FORMS OF STEM CELL RESEARCH

Michigan abortions rose slightly in 2010, still historically low

On January 25, 2012, the Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) released Michigan’s 2010 abortion statistics. The report relays that a total of 23,307 induced abortions were reported in Michigan in 2010, which was a 4.25 percent increase from the total of 22,357 reported abortions in 2009, but a 52.5 percent decrease since 1987 (the year with the largest number of induced abortions). While reported abortions increased in 2010, 23,307 abortions is still the second-lowest annual total since the state of Michigan began requiring abortion reports in 1979. Michigan’s abortion rate and abortion ratio are still far below national averages despite our state’s difficult economic times.

Here are a few noteworthy statistics from the report:

Repeat abortions: More than half of the women (50.3 percent) having an abortion in 2010 were having a repeat abortion. Nearly a quarter (24.2 percent) of women who aborted had at least two previous abortions. For residents of Wayne County, 61 percent of women were having a repeat abortion and 33 percent had at least two previous abortions.

Race: Black women continue to have a disproportionate number of abortions. According to estimates from the U.S. Census web site, black women compose about 15 percent of Michigan’s female population, but the MDCH report notes black women had 44 percent of the state’s abortions in 2010. White women compose about 80 percent of the state’s female population and had 49.6 percent of Michigan’s abortions.

Teen abortions continue to decrease: The number of abortions performed on women younger than 20 decreased 3.4 percent to 3,964. This is the lowest number ever for this category and an incredible 71 percent decrease since 1987 when 13,624 women under 20 had abortions. The number of abortions performed on minors also decreased 4 percent to 1,410.

Post first trimester abortions: A total of 2,813 abortions were performed after 12 weeks of pregnancy and 20 abortions were performed after the 24th week of pregnancy.

Location: The vast majority of abortions are provided by abortion clinics. Only 37 abortions took place at hospitals in 2010.

Right to Life of Michigan will continue to reach out to women in need so they know abortion is not their only option. There are far too many women who enter an abortion clinic thinking abortion is the only choice for them. Thinking abortion is your only choice is equivalent to having no choice at all. To learn more about these statistics, visit Right to Life of Michigan at www.rtl.org.

Prolife legislation on the move in Michigan

The Detroit Free Press has an article on prolife legislation which has been introduced in Michigan including a bill to create choose life license plates, a bill to ban abortions after 20 weeks and legislation to prevent coercive abortions.

"We have a strong contingent of pro-life legislators seated right now in both chambers," said Ed Rivet, legislative director for the state's Right to Life organization. "There are more bills introduced that we have an interest in than we've ever had before."

Pro-abortion rights groups say the measures are part of a national attempt to chip away at Roe v. Wade, the federal court decision that makes abortion legal.

"We see a lot of these bills session after session after session," said Sarah Scranton of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan. "This time around we are seeing them move more than we have in the past, which certainly worries us."

FULL STORY

HHS Rule lays groundwork for future national abortion mandate

Controversy over the Health and Human Services Rule has continued after President Barack Obama announced an "accommodation" regarding FDA-approved birth control drugs and devices. Below is the response from National Right to Life on how this precedent lays the groundwork for a future national abortion mandate. Right to Life of Michigan and National Right to Life support the enactment of the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act.

NATIONAL RIGHT TO LIFE'S RESPONSE

Senator Stabenow joined other pro-abortion senators to attack Komen, praise America's biggest abortion provider

Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) was one of 26 U.S. Senators who signed a letter which attacked the Susan G. Komen for a Cure's decision to stop providing grants to Planned Parenthood, America's leading abortion provider. The letter praised Planned Parenthood as a "trusted provider of health care for women" and urged Komen to reconsider its decision to defund the abortion giant.

Komen decided to stop providing grants to Planned Parenthood as part of new policy to not provide grants to organizations under governmental investigation and a new drive to providing direct funding to organization which provide mammograms. Planned Parenthood doesn't provide mammograms and is currently being investigated by Congress and numerous states for the misuse of tax dollars. The defunding decision was quietly announced to Planned Parenthood who went on to create a media firestorm by attacking Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

After being attacked by various pro-abortion organizations and individuals, Komen reversed their decision and will allow Planned Parenthood to apply for grants.

FULL STORY

SENATOR STABENOW'S RECORD ON ABORTION POLICIES

LEARN MORE ABOUT PLANNED PARENTHOOD'S ABORTION AGENDA

Umbilical cord stem cells to be used in clinical trial for hearing loss

A phase I clinical trial in Texas will investigate whether a child's umbilical cord blood stem cells can help restore hearing loss.

The hearing trial in Texas aims to take a first step in testing the safety, and later the efficacy, of transfusing cord blood in children age six weeks to 18 months who have sustained post-birth sensorineural hearing loss.

Some reasons that children lose their hearing at or after birth may include oxygen deprivation, head injury, infection, strong doses of antibiotics or loud noises.

Sensorineural hearing loss affects approximately six per 1,000 children, and there is no available medical treatment. Hearing aids or cochlear implants are typically offered to boost the ability of the damaged tissues.

"Stem cell therapy may potentially repair the damaged structures of the inner ear and restore normal hearing," lead investigator Samer Fakhri told AFP.

"We are at the initial stages of this process and the results are looking promising," Fakhri added.

FULL STORY

LEARN MORE ABOUT LIFE-AFFIRMING FORMS OF STEM CELL RESEARCH

Senator Marco Rubio discusses abortion at SBA List gala

On February 1, 2012, Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) spoke at the Susan B. Anthony List's Campaign for Life Gala. His speech includes a discussion of arguments in favor of abortion. Below is a video of part of his speech.



View the other parts of speech at the SBA List's web site.

National Right to Life statement on Komen's decision reversal

National Right to Life President Carol Tobias issued the following statement in response to Susan G. Komen for the Cure's decision to allow Planned Parenthood to remain eligible for grants.

Shortly after news broke earlier this week that Komen was withdrawing future grant funding to Planned Parenthood and its affiliates, the abortion giant and its allies began a shrill online campaign to bring Komen to its knees by bullying the organization into submission.

Any decision to provide future grants approved for Planned Parenthood, which boasts a $1.1 billion budget, would be extremely and sadly misguided. Any grants to Planned Parenthood would be detrimental to women and their unborn children. Even in their own press statements, Planned Parenthood states that they refer for mammograms, an indication they don’t perform them.

Planned Parenthood is not in the business of fighting breast cancer, they’re in the business of performing abortions to the tune of more than 300,000 a year, which accounts for at least one-third of Planned Parenthood’s nongovernmental clinic income. In fact, Planned Parenthood has announced that all of their affiliates will be required to perform abortions.

National Right to Life strongly urges Susan G. Komen for the Cure and all cancer research organizations to approve no future funding to Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest chain of abortion clinics. Right-to-life supporters do not want their donations for fighting cancer to go to organizations that perform abortions.

FULL STORY

WZZM interviews RLM on Komen/Planned Parenthood connection

Pamela Sherstad, Right to Life of Michigan's Director of Public Information, was recently interviewed by WZZM regarding the connection between Susan G. Komen Foundation and Planned Parenthood, America's leading abortion provider.

Komen for the Cure reverses decision, will allow Planned Parenthood to continue to receive grants

According to numerous news outlets, after intense bullying from Planned Parenthood, Susan G. Komen for the Cure has reversed its choice to not send grant money to organizations under congressional investigation and will resume giving money to Planned Parenthood, the #1 provider and promoter of abortions in the United States.

FULL STORY

Poll on Komen/Planned Parenthood debate

Mlive.com has a story and poll on the debate over Susan G. Komen for the Cure's decision to stop sending money to Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion business.

Komen officials said they stopped the funding because a new policy bars support for organizations under investigation. A House committee is investigating whether Planned Parenthood improperly spent federal funds on abortions.

Anger over Komen's decision erupted on Twitter and Facebook. Planned Parenthood supporters accused Komen leaders of bowing to pressure from anti-abortion groups.

Take the time to vote and express your thanks to the Komen Foundation's decision to stop giving grants to Planned Parenthood.


FULL STORY

Komen for the Cure stops giving grants to Planned Parenthood

Susan G. Komen for the Cure has announced they will stop sending grants to Planned Parenthood due to their new rule that grants will not be given to organizations under local, state or federal investigation. Planned Parenthood is currently under congressional investigation for several violations. Planned Parenthood is America's #1 abortion provider.

Planned Parenthood said the Komen grants totaled roughly $680,000 last year and $580,000 the year before, going to at least 19 of its affiliates for breast-cancer screening and other breast-health services.

Komen spokeswoman Leslie Aun said the cutoff results from the charity’s newly adopted criteria barring grants to organizations that are under investigation by local, state or federal authorities. According to Komen, this applies to Planned Parenthood because it’s the focus of an inquiry launched by Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., seeking to determine whether public money was improperly spent on abortions.

FULL STORY

MORE INFORMATION ON PLANNED PARENTHOOD'S ABORTION AGENDA