Our society’s split personality when it comes to unborn children

What are the unborn?

That is the central question to the debate over abortion. Prolife people recognize the unborn as human beings who deserve to be protected by law while those who favor legal abortion often argue the unborn are something less than human. Those in the mushy middle of the abortion debate often seesaw between being uncomfortable with abortion and being uncomfortable with strong restrictions on abortion. Many members of our society often have a split personality when it comes to how the unborn should be treated and our society’s laws often reflect this way of thinking.

Michigan and many other states around the country recognize the killing of an unborn child as murder, as long as the child is “wanted” and the person killing the child isn’t an abortionist. When someone besides an abortionist, like an angry boyfriend, kills or attempts to kill a child in the womb, they face the full force of the law. There are numerous examples of this phenomenon in the span of less than a week.

In late April 2011, Dominic Holt-Reid pleads guilty to attempted murder in Ohio after he tried to force his girlfriend to get an abortion at gunpoint. He faces up to 10 years in jail for trying to kill his child while still in the womb.

In California, a woman was charged with murder after an altercation led to the death of her aunt’s unborn child. Nieshia Johnson allegedly kneed her pregnant aunt in the stomach several times. Her aunt later miscarried and the cause of the child’s death was “determined to be premature delivery of the fetus, due to blunt force trauma.”

In Minnesota, a truck driver has been charged with three counts of vehicular manslaughter for killing two women and an unborn child when he drove full speed into a traffic jam because he was allegedly reaching down to grab something to drink.

In all of these cases, the unborn child is treated just like any other human being. Yet if these same children were killed by an abortionist, no charges could even be considered because seven Supreme Court justices ruled in favor of legal abortion in Roe v. Wade and overturned abortion laws and regulations in all 50 states.

While the science of embryology confirms unborn children are living human beings, our schizophrenic laws treat some of them as valuable human beings worthy of legal protection and some of them as biological waste, all depending on who does the killing. Sadly, many people are comfortable with this situation.

As prolifers we need to stress the inherent value of each and every unborn child. Value doesn’t vary based on how a child is killed, who does the killing or if the child is wanted by her parents or not.

Be a voice for the vulnerable. For more educational resources on abortion and other prolife issues, visit Right to Life of Michigan at www.rtl.org.

What churches can do to promote life

Below is a partial listing of simple, life-focused suggestions which Right to Life of Michigan has compiled in response to requests from churches. Actively promoting a culture of life throughout the year can be inspiring and enjoyable!

- Pray a prayer of blessing for a family who is expecting a child. This shows that every child is welcomed by your faith community before he/she is born enforcing the humanity of the unborn and recognizing a precious and irreplaceable child.

- Increase your congregation's awareness of the needs of local crisis pregnancy centers by having a diaper drive. A local Right to Life of Michigan Affiliate can help organize an awareness campaign. Baby items help to assist local families faced with an untimely pregnancy.

See the complete list

National Right to Life Responds to Latest Guttmacher Report

National Right to Life Committee has issued a press release response to a new report from the Guttmacher Institute which says there was an 8% drop in abortion rates from 2000 to 2008.

“Guttmacher suggests that higher abortion rates among poorer woman and abortion restrictions are somehow connected, yet it’s a thesis that goes undefended,” O’Bannon further noted. “How common sense regulations like right-to-know laws, which tell women about abortion’s risks and alternatives which are better for both them and their unborn children, and similar protective measures, are supposed to hurt poor women is hard to fathom.”

The overall downward trend seems to indicate that such laws, along with the assistance provided by pregnancy care centers, which provide lifesaving alternatives to abortion, are enabling more women to choose life for their unborn child. However, several states – California, New York and at least a dozen others – publicly fund abortion for poor women. “While the abortion industry saw declines among most demographic groups, it just happened to see growth among women for whom states were covering abortion costs,” observed O’Bannon.

The fact is, when tax dollars pay for abortion, you get more abortion,” O’Bannon observed.

FULL STORY

New Gallup poll shows most Americans want more abortion restrictions

A new poll from the Gallup polling company shows that Americans continue to be split down the middle on whether they would describe themselves as "pro-life" or "pro-choice." The survey shows 61% of Americans believe "abortion should be legal in only a few or no circumstances" and that 51% of Americans believe that abortion is "morally wrong."

FULL STORY

Save the Date - RLM's Annual Conference on September 24, 2011

Featuring
Phill Kline
Former Kansas Attorney General
As seen on Fox news, in USA Today, the O’Reilly Factor, and other media outlets, Phill Kline is a real life story of David and Goliath—taking on the one billion dollar abortion industry.

Kline, the former Attorney General of the State of Kansas, was the first and only prosecutor ever to succeed in obtaining abortion records from Planned Parenthood and notorious late term abortionist George Tiller.

As Kansas Attorney General, Kline began to notice that the number of late term abortions were increasing. Evidence further suggested strong suspicions of unreported child rape inside the abortion clinics. In an effort to discharge the duties of his office, as in all criminal cases, Kline subpoenaed abortion medical records from the Tiller Clinic and Planned Parenthood. This brought down the wrath of the abortion industry nationwide. Millions of dollars from the abortion industry poured into Kansas to defeat his efforts. Yet the truth and Phill Kline’s determination to enforce the law against the abortion industry somehow found a way.

You will not want to miss hearing the full story of how Phill Kline changed the course of the national battle forever by placing Planned Parenthood on the defensive by exposing the alleged crimes within their clinics.

Michigan Youth Defend Life

High school students from across the state of Michigan came to Lansing on Saturday, May 14, for the 22nd Annual Right to Life of Michigan Educational Fund High School Oratory Contest.

First place went to Mallory Tanis of Sanilac County Right to Life. Mallory is a home-schooled senior. Her speech was on the impact of advances like ultrasound on the issue of abortion. Mallory will be representing Michigan at the national oratory contest in Jacksonville, Florida, on June 25.

Second place went to Christina Laidler of Shiawassee County Right to Life. Christina is a sophomore at Perry High School. Her speech addressed the facts of abortion and her personal story of doctors recommending abortion to her mother because Christina was considered a high-risk pregnancy.

Third place went to Jacob Iverson of Lenawee County Right to Life. Jacob is a home-schooled junior. His speech was on the issue of men and abortion and the lack of fathers' rights in abortion decisions.

RIGHT TO LIFE OF MICHIGAN'S ORATORY CONTEST WEB PAGE

5 signs the prolife side is winning

Trevin Wax compiles 5 signs (public opinion, the media, young people, the third wave and abortion advocates on the defensive) the prolife side is winning the debate over abortion.

1) Public Opinion

A majority of Americans surveyed in a recent Rasmussen poll, including a large percentage of those who identified themselves "pro-choice," said they believe abortion is "morally wrong most of the time." Last year, for the third consecutive time, Gallup found that more Americans accept the pro-life label, a result that led the polling firm to acknowledge "a real change in public opinion."

One reason for this shift is the high-tech ultrasound machine that reaffirms what embryology textbooks have told us all along -- that the unborn child is truly a human being. In a recent Washington Post editorial, Frances Kissling, former President of Catholics for Choice, advised abortion-rights advocates to shift strategies: "We can no longer pretend the fetus is invisible." Yet few pro-choice activists seem to be listening to Kissling's advice. They continue to cast themselves as the defenders of "women's reproductive rights." This worn-out strategy fails to resonate with a large number of Americans because it ignores the point of tension. The debate has moved on from "reproductive rights" to the more perplexing question: "What are the unborn?"

FULL ARTICLE

Deed restriction should prevent abortions at new Planned Parenthood facility

On May 14, the Oakland Press reported that a building in Auburn Hills which Planned Parenthood is planning on using has a deed restriction that should hopefully prevent the facility from becoming an abortion clinic.

Planned Parenthood, a family reproductive health care provider, is renovating a building on 1625 Opdyke Road in Auburn Hills for its services, but the deed restriction for the property states it “can only be used for restaurant, retail or office usage.”

If Planned Parenthood performs abortions, this is a medical use and is prohibited by the deed restriction.

Planned Parenthood is meeting with opposition from the neighboring hotel, which owns the property. The owners of the hotel agreed not to take the case to court if Planned Parenthood agrees not to perform abortions......

The owners were told a medical office would be built on the property.

“Without knowing exactly what was going on, the couple said, a medical office didn’t sound like a problem. They gave them permission to open the medical office. Of course, it turns out it was Planned Parenthood. Now it’s an issue,” Miller said.

FULL STORY

Scientists discover adult stem cells in lungs

Research published in the New England Journal of Medicine reports that researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston discovered adult stem cells in human lungs which were able to create a variety of different types of cells used in the lungs.

When these human cells were injected into mice, they showed their versatility by rebuilding airways, air sacs and blood vessels within two weeks. One expert called that “amazing.”

........

Loscalzo said it’s too early to tell what lung diseases might be treated someday by using the cells. He said researchers are initially looking at emphysema and high blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs, called pulmonary hypertension. Emphysema is a progressive disease that destroys key parts of the lung, leaving large cavities that interfere with the lung’s function.

Anversa said the cells may also prove useful to build up lungs after lung cancer surgery. It’s not clear whether they could be used in treating asthma, he said.

FULL STORY

Judge denies Planned Parenthood attempt to keep funding

From National Right to Life yesterday:

Today, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of 50 state right-to-life affiliates, applauded the decision of U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt to deny a request by Planned Parenthood of Indiana for a temporary restraining order against a new Indiana law that denies state-directed funding for businesses and organizations performing abortions in the state. Judge Pratt’s order allows the funding cuts passed by the Indiana legislature and signed by Governor Mitch Daniels earlier this month to immediately take effect.

FULL STORY

"Planned Parenthood is Big Abortion"

National Right to Life News has an interview with Randall O'Bannon in which he discusses how Planned Parenthood attempts to mislead people into thinking that abortion is only a small portion of what they do.

NRL News: So, to be clear, that means that nearly one in eight women walking through the door of a Planned Parenthood clinic receiving services has an abortion?

O'Bannon: Well, even that probably understates the abortion-related traffic to Planned Parenthood. In 2009 over 1.1 million women coming to Planned Parenthood had a pregnancy test. We don't know what percentage of those were positive. What we do know is that of the services Planned Parenthood reported that would have involved pregnant women (abortion, prenatal care, adoption referrals), 97.6% were abortion.

On the PPFA Services fact sheet, Planned Parenthood says it provided services for three million people in 2009. That would mean roughly a third were tested for pregnancy. Considering how a woman can buy a relatively inexpensive pregnancy test from her local drug or grocery store, she must have had a reason to seek out Planned Parenthood. If the availability of abortion was the reason, that would mean that abortion was pulling in even more than the 12%.

FULL INTERVIEW

Double your donation for LIFE

An anonymous donor has provided a $20,000 matching gift to Right to Life of Michigan to help us save lives. For a limited time, when you give a non-tax deductible gift to Right to Life of Michigan, your gift will be matched up to $20,000. Please support our life-saving work and give today.

The primary goal of Right to Life of Michigan is to restore legal protection to the unborn child and maintain protection for those threatened by a quality of life ethic. Our movement has several components needed to reach our goal including education, legislation and political action.

RLM is described as a social action group by the Internal Revenue Service. It is eligible for recognition as a nonprofit, tax-exempt corporation, but donations to RLM are not tax deductible.

Thank you for supporting life-saving work.

Meet Your Prolife Representative - Candice Miller

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. Candice Miller
Michigan Tenth Congressional District: Macomb, Port Huron, Bad Axe
1034 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-2106
Website
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube


How can a single prolifer impact the world?

The best way to protect the sanctity of life is for each individual to share this belief with every friend, every family member and every neighbor. By educating those closest to us of the importance of protecting life, we can build a culture that shares our commitment and only by changing that culture and growing our ranks can we achieve real change. Just as every life is precious so is every advocate and activist who defends innocent life.

View all of Representative Miller's answers.

U.S. House passes No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act

On May 4, 2011, the U.S. House voted 251-175 to pass H.R. 3, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act.

For many years, federal funding of abortion has been limited by a patchwork of laws – many of which expire annually, because they are incorporated into annual appropriations bills. The best known is the Hyde Amendment, but this law applies only to funds that flow through the annual Health and Human Services appropriations bill, and it expires annually. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) (“Obamacare”), enacted in 2010, opened new pipelines for federal funding of abortion, which are not governed by the Hyde Amendment or any other statutory restriction.

H.R. 3 would codify the principles of the Hyde Amendment on a permanent, government-wide basis, applicable to both long standing federal health programs and to the new programs created by the PPACA.

To became law, H.R. 3 would need to be passed by the U.S. Senate and signed by President Obama.

ROLL CALL VOTE ON H.R. 3

Celebrate Mom!

This Sunday, May 8, we have the opportunity to celebrate moms and motherly figures in our lives. There are some mothers, however, who may be inadvertently overlooked. Birth-mothers are heroic women who chose life knowing that others would be raising their children.

At Right to Life of Michigan we have always promoted adoption as a loving option for a mother facing an untimely pregnancy. Thankfully, families are waiting to adopt and love the children placed into their care. Watch the Right to Life of Michigan 30 second video promoting adoption below.

When pregnant, a woman is indelibly marked by the significance of nurturing life. This Mother's Day let's appreciate all mothers and celebrate the women in our lives!

Action Needed - U.S. House to vote on No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act

The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to take up a major prolife bill -- the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act (H.R. 3) -- on or about Wednesday, May 4, 2011. Right to Life of Michigan and National Right to Life urge you to promptly contact the office of your representative in the U.S. House, to urge him or her to support H.R. 3, and to oppose all amendments that may be offered by opponents of the bill.

Currently, there is a patchwork of different federal laws that restrict federal funding of abortion. Many of these restrictions (such as the well-known Hyde Amendment, which applies to the federal Medicaid program) expire every year. H.R. 3 would replace this patchwork with a permanent, government-wide prohibition on federal funding of abortion and federal subsidies for health plans that cover abortion.

The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act is sponsored by Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Congressman Dan Lipinski (D-Il.), the co-chairs of the House Pro-Life Caucus. To see a list of co-sponsors of the bill, click here.

The message is simple. Ask your U.S. House Representative to vote "Yes" on H.R. 3, No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act and to oppose all amendments offered by opponents of the bill.

Contact Information for Michigan U.S. House Representatives

Appeals court rules in favor of federal funding for embryonic stem cell research

A U.S. Appeals court ruled 2-1 on Friday that taxpayer funding of human embryonic stem cell research can continue. The ruling overturns a federal judge's injunction that temporarily stopped funding, though funding was allowed to continue while the injunction was appealed.

Judge Douglas Ginsburg, appointed by President Ronald Reagan, wrote that it was "entirely reasonable" for the NIH to interpret the law as "permitting funding for research using cell lines derived without federal funding, even as it bars funding for the derivation of additional lines."

In a dissenting opinion, Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson, appointed by President George H.W. Bush, said the federal law was clear about banning funding for human embryonic stem cell research and that the court majority was engaging in "linguistic jujitsu" to back it.

The case emerged from two researchers who opposed work with embryonic stem cells and sued to block such funding. They argued that they were at risk of being squeezed out of federal grants for their own work with adult stem cells, which do not involve the destruction of embryos.

The researchers, Dr. James Sherley, a biological engineer at Boston Biomedical Research Institute, and Theresa Deisher, of Washington-based AVM Biotechnology, could appeal the ruling to the full appeals court, a lawyer involved in the case said.

FULL STORY

Baby Joseph doing well at home, father feels victorious

The Windsor Star has an updated report on Baby Joseph, the terminally ill Canadian child who was transported to St. Louis for a tracheotomy after Canadian doctors almost took him off life support.

Only months ago, the fate of 15-month-old Joseph Maraachli was a question mark. Doctors at London Health Sciences Centre in London, Ont., sought to take the infant off life support as he battled a progressive neurological disease.

But on Sunday, the round-cheeked baby was home in Windsor, resting in a cradle packed with plush toys. Now and then he opened his eyes or wriggled a little, or moved his arms beneath father Moe Maraachli's occasional touches and kisses.

When Maraachli held out a finger at one point, Joseph's own stubby fingers curled around it.

He's breathing without a ventilator, Maraachli said, after surgery in St. Louis ? the airway-opening tracheotomy his family sought but couldn't get in Canada as they battled to bring Joseph home to die.

"I feel victorious," Maraachli said, smiling broadly as he stood by Joseph's crib. "I feel I won and my baby's alive."

But he's also been left with questions about why he and wife Sana Nader had to go to the U.S. for help.

"That's what makes me mad," he said. "Why I have to travel to St. Louis?

FULL STORY

RLM's Legislative Day a huge success

On April 27, more than 350 prolife people from across Michigan came to Lansing to let their voices be heard as they learned about important prolife legislation, got tips on lobbying from the Right to Life of Michigan Legislative team, Ed Rivet and Mollie Schweppe, and discussed legislation and prolife issues with their state legislators during lunch. The keynote speaker for the event was Yvonne Florczak-Seeman from Illinois.

Yvonne shared her moving testimony of past abortions and her journey to healing. Her desire is to bring a message of hope and healing to post-abortive women and help women who are facing unplanned pregnancies. The message is found in her organization, Love from Above.

National Right to Life's president discusses the work of prolife organizations

The National Review is featuring an interview with Carol Tobias, the newly elected president of the National Right to Life Committee. Carol discusses NRLC's work, prolife legislation and the importance of defeating Planned Parenthood.

LOPEZ: Why do you do what you do? What motivates you to work on this issue?

TOBIAS: Our Declaration of Independence states, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." I believe that: that life is an unalienable right. For me, personally, I oppose abortion because all human life is created by God; innocent human life should be respected and protected. Unborn babies are being killed by having their arms and legs torn from their torsos, or are being sucked into a vacuum machine. Elderly men and women, and disabled persons, are being starved to death because someone believes they cannot contribute to society. How can anyone know this is happening and not get involved?

LOPEZ: What do you make of all this "war on women" talk?

TOBIAS: Pro-abortion groups like to create rhetorical smokescreens that distract the public from the real issues at hand. When they say pro-lifers have launched a "war on women," what they're referring to (but don't want to say straight out) is pro-life efforts to stop the flow of federal dollars to Planned Parenthood — the nation's largest provider and promoter of abortion. Pro-abortion groups know that if they talk about what really happens in an abortion, they'll lose the argument, so they have to resort to inflammatory rhetoric that portrays pro-lifers as militants attacking women.

FULL INTERVIEW

Baby Joseph safely returned home

On April 21, Baby Joseph flew from St. Louis to Windsor, Canada with his family. Baby Joseph is a terminally-ill 1-year-old whose case made international headlines after a hospital in Canada refused to perform a tracheotomy and nearly removed his life support against the wishes of his parents. For the last month, Baby Joseph has been cared for at Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital in St. Louis. A tracheotomy was successfully performed and he has been off a ventilator for more than a week.

Joseph Maraachli left Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center in St. Louis before dawn and flew with his parents and 7-year-old brother to their home in Ontario, exactly one month after receiving a tracheotomy aimed at extending his life, the hospital said in a statement.

Baby Joseph suffers from the progressive neurological disease Leigh Syndrome. Doctors in Canada had refused to perform the tracheotomy, saying it was futile, and an Ontario court decided doctors could remove the child's breathing tube.

His family sought help from American hospitals, and Cardinal Glennon agreed to treat Joseph.

The hospital said the tracheotomy was a success and that Joseph has been breathing without a ventilator for more than a week.

FULL STORY

Judge rules Lathrup Village abortion clinic can stay open for 2 more weeks

Yesterday, Judge Denise Langford Morris ruled that Alberto Hodari's WomenCare abortion clinic in Lathrup Village can stay open for at least two weeks to give time to both sides to develop their cases.

At issue is the Freestanding Surgical Outpatient Facilities license, required of certain medical facilities not associated with hospitals that perform surgeries and procedures such as endoscopy, cosmetic surgery and abortions, provided that abortions make up more than 50% of the patient load per year.

WomanCare of Southfield had been licensed since 2008, but in 2010, Hodari opted against renewing the facilities license.

A 2009 MDCH inspection found numerous health and safety violations, all of which Hodari fixed except one -- building an additional fire exit to service the split-level building on Southfield Road.

FULL STORY

Abortionist Alberto Hodari will fight to keep Lathrup Village clinic open

A lawyer for Michigan abortionist Alberto Hodari has told the Detroit Free Press he will appear in court to fight efforts by Attorney General Bill Schuette and the Michigan Department of Community Health to close down one of his abortion clinics.

Last summer, based on the cost of fire code compliance tied to the license, Hodari decided against renewing. The doctor, whose medical license is separate and valid, applied to have the building grandfathered, as it is older than the codes, but was denied, according to legal filings.

The state, after monitoring Hodari’s practice for several months, found he was in violation of the license law, and the Attorney General’s office filed suit earlier this month. During that time, Hodari tried to submit plans to fix the fire code violation......

Hodari’s attorney said the doctor has gone to great lengths to recruit gynecological patients to keep his abortion services under 51%, and that the state is unfairly imposing itself on the clinic, which has been in the spotlight before for improperly disposing of medical records.

FULL STORY

Abortion clinic in Southgate, Michigan closes

The prayers of prolife sidewalk counselors were answered on April 16, 2011, when two moving trucks pulled up to WomanCare Downriver Medical Surgical Center and the equipment in the abortion clinic was loaded into the trucks. After everything was loaded into the trucks, a closed sign was taped to the door and the door was locked.

This abortion clinic was owned by infamous abortionist Alberto Hodari and formerly had been up for sale. One of Hodari's other abortion clinics is currently being sued by Michigan's attorney general and the Michigan Department of Community Health for operating without a license.

Prolife legislators working on passing stem cell reporting legislation

Prolife legislators in Michigan are hoping to pass legislation which would require universities who take part in embryonic stem cell to report a variety of items, including the number of human embryos they have, how many human embryos they've killed, etc.

Some Republican lawmakers want to know exactly how Michigan's research universities are using stem cells. They want the universities to report how many human embryos they have and how many stem-cell lines they have created using them.

The measure was tucked into the higher education funding bill passed last week along a party-line vote in a higher education subcommittee. The same method was tried last year to get the measure passed, but it failed.

"We want to know exactly what's going on with stem cells," said state Rep. Bob Genetski, R-Saugatuck, chairman of the subcommittee. "It's still a pretty big issue. We can at least keep a grip on what's going on."

He said those who led the drive in 2008 to get voters to approve the use of stem cells from human embryos promised the move would create jobs.

He's skeptical that's happening.

"Some of us feel duped," he said.

FULL STORY