Prolife artwork at Grand Rapids' Art Prize

A woman who survived abortion attempts while in her mother's womb in India is sharing the prolife message through photography with people who will flock to Grand Rapids to see Art Prize 2013.  

Photo of "IMAGE"

“IMAGE” brings my story to life in celebrating pregnancy and birth. It is a series of sequential photographs of mother and child before and after birth to emphasize that children are knit together in their mothers’ wombs (Ps. 139) and made in the IMAGE of God (Gen 1:27). It is displayed as a lenticular, emphasizing the before and after of pregnancy. As you walk by it, you will be able to see and feel the change. As this is the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade and abortion is becoming so normalized, I believe, God through my story gave me a real heart to have a voice for unborn children. Whether one week or full term, a child in the womb is a human being and should be treated as an IMAGE bearer of God.

18 months ago, I took some photographs of my sister-in-law and newborn nephew, which unbeknownst to me, the Lord was using as a starting block for "IMAGE". 17 women participated in making it possible. I knew all but two of the women prior to beginning this piece and each were more than willing to participate as they also value the sanctity of life. 

BETHANY SANDERSON'S ART PRIZE PAGE

Abortionist in Indiana failed to report statutory rape of 13-year-old

Prolife advocates in Indiana have discovered that an abortionist who operates a clinic in Fort Wayne failed to notify authorities after performing an abortion on a 13-year-old girl. 

Allen County Right to Life Executive Director Cathie Humbarger said she and sidewalk counselor Evelyn Witte of Fort Wayne filed complaints with the attorney general and the Indiana Medical Licensing Board alleging Dr. Ulrich Klopfer performed the abortion Feb. 7 at the Fort Wayne Women’s Health Organization but did not report it to the Indiana Department of Health until July 25.

Under state law, abortions on patients under age 14 must be reported within three days to the Health Department and the Indiana Department of Child Services because sex with a girl under 14 is recognized as child molesting in Indiana, no matter how old the male is. The anti-abortion group said it discovered the case because Humbarger regularly reviews public terminated pregnancy reports.

FULL STORY

Abortion advocates vandalize prolife display at Eastern Michigan

This week prolife students at Eastern Michigan displayed 915 pink crosses to represent the 915 unborn children killed at Planned Parenthood abortion clinics on a daily basis.  Abortion advocates stole and vandalized some of the crosses. 

“They don’t want the truth to get out, which is why yesterday protestors at Eastern Michigan called us liars, screamed at us, and tried to pass out free condoms to divert students’ attention away from our display so they couldn’t learn the truth,” she said. “We know Planned Parenthood is on to what we are doing, and we expect from here on out to have many more protesters at our display as we are hitting them where it hurts…their pocketbooks…by simply showing this generation the truth.”

FULL STORY

LEARN MORE ABOUT PLANNED PARENTHOOD'S ABORTION AGENDA

Founder of Global Down Syndrome Foundation discusses the horrible counseling she received

At Townhall.com, Michelle Sie Whitten, the founder of the Global Down Syndrome Foundation, talks about the terrible counseling she received when she discovered her unborn daughter had Down Syndrome and her refusal to take her life because of it.

Whitten's passion for others was challenged by the news and pressure that was to come when she and her husband were 18 weeks pregnant with their first child. Upon seeing her amniocentesis that revealed her daughter had Down syndrome, Whitten described what she deemed as a “horrible experience.”

“I got the amnio at 18 weeks, then the genetics counselor showed a video," she said. "I remember it like yesterday. I could tell it was poorly done. It started by showing a child with Down syndrome and the narrator said, ‘There is an X percent chance your child will die in utero, there is a Y percent chance your child will die before age one, there is a Z percent chance your child will die before three. If your child lives, he or she will be susceptible to a number of medical conditions.’”

The video proceeded to list the possible medical conditions for what Whitten said seemed like an “eternity.” After the amateurish video finished, the genetics counselor returned and told her, “80 to 90 percent of parents abort children with Down syndrome, and you can too.”

 Whitten chose life for her daughter Sophia. Sophia is now 10-years-old.

FULL STORY

Teleseminar tomorrow featuring petition drive update

Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. we'll host a free Teleseminar update on the NO Taxes for Abortion Insurance petition drive. RLM President Barbara Listing will provide an update on deadline and RLM Legislative Director Ed Rivet will explain what will happen after the petitions are submitted to the Elections Division of the Secretary of State's office. Click the link below to listen in tomorrow online!

TELESEMINAR

Deadline set for statewide petition drive

Because of the hard work of prolife volunteers, a deadline date for submitting NO Taxes for Abortion Insurance petitions is set. The state-wide petition drive will end in September. Petitions should be post-marked by Monday, September 30. Keep collecting signatures through September 30, but send in petitions immediately as they are completed.

We have surpassed the legal requirement of 258,088 signatures to initiate the Abortion Insurance Opt-Out legislation, but we must have a large cushion of extra signatures to ward off any potential challenge. Our work is not done.

More information on the petition drive

Order petitions online

Detroit residents account for 25% of abortions performed on state residents

Did you know? In Michigan, Detroit accounts for only 7 percent of the population, but in 2012, 25 percent of Michigan residents having abortion were from Detroit. We think the best way to reverse the population decline of our largest city and the state of Michigan is to stop the killing of our innocent future generations. 

MICHIGAN ABORTION STATISTICS BY CITY

Flint abortion clinic closes

Local prolifers have informed Right to Life of Michigan that an abortion clinic called the Feminine Health Care Clinic in Flint has closed.

For years, this clinic was owned by infamous abortionist Alberto Hodari and was recently run by abortionist Theodore Roumell.

This closure continues the remarkable trend of abortion clinic closures in Michigan over the last 2 years.  Since November of 2011, there have been 10 Michigan abortion clinics which have closed their doors.  There are now 28 freestanding abortion clinics in Michigan.

Since 1987, the number of abortion businesses in Michigan has dropped from 72 to 28, and the number of abortions performed in Michigan has dropped 52.7 percent. 

The now closed Feminine Health Care Clinic in Flint

Iowa abortion activist prays for abortion

Before a hearing on webcam abortions in Iowa at the state board of medicine, abortion activists met in their State Capitol on Wednesday to rally in support of abortion.  The rally was opened with a prayer by abortion activist Midge Slater, who thanked God for abortionists, prayed for tax-funded abortions and prayed that women who had aborted would "know the blessing of choice.”

FULL STORY

Ann Arbor to settle lawsuit after ticketing prolife advocate

The City of Ann Arbor will pay $7,000 to settle a lawsuit with a prolife sidewalk counselor. They ticketed him twice for advertising free ultrasounds with signs in his car outside of the Ann Arbor Planned Parenthood abortion clinic.

The city ticketed Dobrowolski on May 29 and June 4 last year for displaying the signs, and on two occasions he paid $25 fines to the city.

Language on Dobrowolski’s signs included "Ask to see the Ultrasound," "Abortion Hurts Women" and "Free Ultrasound, Family Life Services, 2950 Packard, YPSI, 734-434-3088."

FULL STORY

All 83 counties in Michigan represented in petition drive

The NO Taxes for Abortion Insurance petition drive has signatures from all Michigan counties!

This is democracy in action and shows the solid support of people from each of the 83 counties in our state. Together we will initiate the Abortion Insurance Opt-Out legislation. Signatures will be collected well into September; we promise to let you know when a deadline is set. It is not too late to organize a drive in your church, neighborhood or at a Labor Day event.

Order petitions today to circulate.

MORE

PETITION DRIVE PRESENTATION

Abortion enthusiasts who don't get it

At the web site of First Things, George Weigel discusses how some abortion advocates have trouble "getting it."

Thus a June 28 editorial in The Washington Post deplored the fact that these proposed state statutes would “require abortion clinics to meet the same standards as surgery centers, like those in hospital wings.” Moreover, “doctors who perform abortions would have to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. . . . The case that such standards are needed to protect the health of abortion patients . . . is weak.”

Say what? In many states, abortuaries are not required to meet health and safety standards required of the local McDonald’s or Wendy’s. After testimony in the Gosnell case depicted a foul, cluttered, ghoulish “clinic” in which basic sanitary standards were massively violated, how can anyone reasonably suggest that the case for protecting women by enforcing proper sanitation and safety standards for surgical procedures is “weak”? How can anyone reasonably suggest that there is a “weak case” for requiring that those who perform those procedures have the minimal professional credentials of other surgeons and doctors? How can anyone plausibly and conscientiously claim to promote “women’s health” by resisting such regulations?

FULL STORY

Winning hearts and minds with the message of life

Do you ever wonder about becoming more involved in an outreach which saves lives? There are not many causes which allow you to use your time and talent in ways which help mothers and families and literally save the lives of babies preparing to be born. Right to Life of Michigan is one of those causes. 

Right to Life of Michigan is an organization of people who acknowledge that human life is precious and irreplaceable. The values we embrace lead us to reject the taking of human life to solve the challenges of life itself.  We reject the pessimism that concludes human life must be taken to better the lives of others.

Whether you are new to the prolife movement or have been involved in the past, please consider joining  Right to Life of Michigan and others for an informative, fun one-day conference.

The Right to Life of Michigan 40th Annual Conference is Friday, September 27, at the Radisson Hotel Lansing. The Conference will feature two outstanding general sessions.

The first general session, “Beyond the Bumper Sticker: Human Dignity and our Common Humanity,” will be presented by Paige Comstock Cunningham. Paige Comstock Cunningham, JD, is the executive director of The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity. Cunningham lectures regularly on bioethical issues and has published numerous articles, editorials and book chapters on issues of law, public policy and bioethics. She has testified before Congress and has a regular commentary on Moody Radio called “Everyday Bioethics.”

The second general session, “A Rape Survivor’s Story of Birth & Life,” will feature Shauna Prewitt. Shauna Prewitt, JD, is an author, attorney, advocate and public speaker. While attending the University of Chicago, Shauna was a victim of sexual assault. Soon thereafter, she learned she was pregnant from her attack. After deciding to continue the pregnancy and raise her child, Shauna was shocked when her attacker sought custody of her baby girl. She was even more astonished when she learned that few legal protections exist to protect the women who become mothers after rape. Spurred by these events, Shauna made a commitment to do what she could to change custody laws around the nation.

A delicious breakfast and lunch along with a variety of workshops makes the day complete. To register for the Friday, September 27, Right to Life of Michigan Conference, visit www.RTL.org. The cost to attend is $50 on or before September 19 or $60 after September 19. The Student Rate is $25. If you do not have access to the Internet or prefer talking on the phone, call Right to Life of Michigan at 616-532-2300 and we will help you register for the 40th Annual Conference.

Judge closes down Alabama abortion which was operating without a license

A judge ruled today that Diane Derzis' abortion clinic in Birmingham, Alabama, is operating in violation of state law and must close. She lost her clinic license after numerous health code violations, but continued to provide abortions anyway. Derzis is the owner of the last remaining abortion clinic in Mississippi, which sent a patient to the hospital yesterday.

The ruling came down to two things: a telephone number and the abortion doctor's math.

 Norman testified that he performed 14 or less abortions on one day at the clinic "every other week."

State law says a license is required if you perform 30 or more abortions in any two months of a calendar year.

"For two months of every year, according to Dr. Norman's testimony, the said facility is open three days during the month," Boohaker wrote.

"The court can only conclude that Dr. Norman's reckoning that he performs less than 30 abortion procedures per month is based upon a mistaken belief that bi-weekly is the same as semi-monthly, and for 10 months of the year that reckoning is clearly correct. However, for two months every year this clearly is not the case."

The judge also ruled that a phone number connecting callers to an abortion referral service is a way that the clinic "holds itself out" to the public as an abortion provider, which is another part of the regulation requiring a license.

FULL STORY

Loss of light and a loss of life

 At the blog of our neighbors to the south, Katie McCann discusses Detroit’s high abortion rate. 

A recurring image in stories about Detroit’s bankruptcy is darkness, loss of light: 40 percent of the city’s streetlights do not work.  It’s a terribly magnificent metaphor for the loss of life the city has seen. 

Over the past 60 years, the population of Detroit has fallen by 63 percent. Is it any wonder that as the individual minds that once illuminated the city left, Detroit’s light eventually dimmed?

But I want to expound upon these images with a far more brutal example of the loss of life (and light) that Detroit has suffered:

In 2012, Detroit claimed an abortion rate of 37.9 (number of abortions per 1,000 females, ages 15-44)—a rate far higher than Michigan’s statewide rate of 11 and the country’s rate of approximately 20.

FULL POST AT OHIO RIGHT TO LIFE’S BLOG

Alabama judge hears case of abortion clinic operating without a license

Photo by Mike Oliver

After authorities in Alabama removed the license of New Woman All Woman abortion clinic it was supposed to have closed.  The clinic lost their license after two women were given overdoses of medication and were rushed to the hospital. 

Instead of closing up shop, the abortion clinic had another idea.  They decided to claim the abortion clinic was no longer being run by its long-time owner and instead say she was renting the space to her staff abortionist and claim he is using the building as a private physician's office.   A judge will now decide whether a clinic which just performs abortions is an abortion clinic or a physician's office. 

A key issue before the judge is how the state regulates and defines an abortion clinic.

Norman testified that the only medical procedure he performs at the clinic is abortion.

"Do you provide any other services?" asked Sancha Howard, assistant general counsel for the Alabama Department of Public Health.

"The answer is yes, but as part of the termination process," Norman said.

He said he provides counseling, contraceptive services and prescriptions but "no other medical procedures at the present time."

 
FULL STORY

Another former Planned Parenthood employee testifies against former employer

The video in the story below features former employees of Planned Parenthood of Delaware testifying about the dangerous conditions at the clinic. 

Correspondent Molly Henneberg tells us about some former workers in Delaware -- -- patients are in grave danger.

These three former employees at the Planned Parenthood abortion clinic in Wilmington Delaware are not convinced that conditions there have gotten any better.

Since the state inspected it in April.

One of them compared to the Philadelphia abortion clinic run by doctor -- -- out now in prison for killing babies who survived abortion.

The similarity between the case of doctor Gosnell now and Planned Parenthood of Delaware is they - operated extremely hazardous abortion clinics and that their respective states refused to close despite the repeated warnings.

FULL STORY

Prolife congresswoman's miracle baby

Abigail Rose Beutler with her parents (via Congresswoman Beutler Facebook page)

A few weeks ago we posted the sad news that prolife Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler's (R-WA) unborn daughter was diagnosed with Potter's Syndrome, with essentially a zero percent chance to survive long after birth. We're pleased to report Abigail is alive and well, breathing on her own, but in need of a kidney transplant. She was born on July 15 and was two pounds and 12 ounces!

Congresswoman Herrera Beutler shared the news on her Facebook page. 

Through the outreach of a parent who had faced a similar situation, we found a group of courageous and hopeful doctors at Johns Hopkins who were willing to try a simple, but unproven treatment by amnioinfusion. Every week for five weeks, doctors injected saline into the womb to give Abigail's lungs a chance to develop. With each infusion we watched via ultrasound as Abigail responded to the fluid by moving, swallowing and “practice breathing.” The initial lack of fluid in the womb caused pressure on her head and chest, but over the course of the treatment we were able to watch them reform to their proper size and shape. Her feet, which were clubbed in early ultrasounds, straightened. There was no way to know if this treatment would be effective or to track lung development, but with hearts full of hope, we put our trust in the Lord and continued to pray for a miracle.

A day after the fifth infusion, Jaime went in to pre-term labor. After four days of trying to prevent pre-term delivery, Abigail prevailed and arrived. The doctors and nurses were prepared for the worst - but immediately after she was born, she drew a breath and cried!  After a few minutes, it was clear that her lungs were very well developed for a baby born so early.  The infusions had stopped the Potter’s Sequence.

 

Ariel Castro gets life without parole plus 1,000 years

Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro made a plea bargain to receive life in prison without parole. He was facing the death penalty for two aggravated murder charges in the deaths of unborn children of one of the victims he held captive.

The women's escape from Castro's home two months ago at first brought joy to the city where they had become household names after years of searches, publicity and vigils, then despair at revelations of their treatment.

Their rescue brought shocking allegations that Castro fathered a child with one of the women, induced five miscarriages in another by starving and punching her, and assaulted one with a vacuum cord around her neck when she tried to escape.

FULL STORY

Newborn killed at Sleeping Bear Dunes campground

Police in Benzie County have arrested and charged an 18-year-old Illinois woman with homicide after she allegedly gave birth in a tent at Sleeping Bear Dunes campground and then fatally injured her child.

Bates said the 18-year-old was vacationing with her parents at a campsite when she gave birth sometime after 11 p.m. on July 22. She had told her parents she wasn't feeling well and apparently went to the family's tent, where she gave birth.

Some time later, her father walked into the tent and found the baby. He called 911, police said.

The child, a girl, already had been injured when the father made the discovery. The infant, named Marie Morales, was taken to Munson Medical Center but died the following morning.

FULL STORY

BREAKING: Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast pays $1.4 million settlement in Medicaid fraud case

After announcing last week that they were closing three of their clinics, Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast has agreed to pay $1.4 million dollars for fraudulently over-billing Medicaid.

In a statement issued Wednesday, the attorney general's office said the group would pay $1.4 million for fraudulently overbilling the health care program for the poor.

An investigation by the attorney general and the Texas Health and Human Service Commission showed that the family planning organization overbilled the state for products and services not actually provided to patients. The statement said a whistleblower triggered the investigation.

FULL STORY

Another Michigan lawsuit filed against the HHS Mandate

Lawsuits continue to pile up against the HHS Mandate. Today two brothers in Michigan with a family-owned law firm filed suit in federal court. One is Catholic, the other is Protestant, but both oppose being forced to provide services they find morally objectionable.

Should the Willis lawfirmrefuse to abide by the requirements of the HHS Mandate, they would face tax penalties equivalent to $100 per day per employee for 15 full-time employees or approximately $547,500 each tax year.  The Mandate also exposes them to substantial competitive disadvantages, in that they will no longer be permitted to offer health insurance.

The lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of the HHS Mandate under the First Amendment rights to the Free Exercise of Religion, Free Speech and the Establishment Clause.   It also claims that the HHS Mandate violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Administrative Procedure Act.

FULL STORY

Networks provide 3 times more coverage to pro-abortion filibuster compared to entire Gosnell trial

Severed feet of aborted children at Gosnell's clinic

When pro-abortion Texas State Senator Wendy Davis filibustered a prolife bill to ban abortions after 20 weeks and regulate abortion clinics, she became an instant celebrity.  Her pink sneakers were the featured topic on the network news.  The same network news stations turned a blind eye to the murder trial of abortionist Kermit Gosnell, who was found guilty for killing babies who survived abortion.

A new report by the Culture and Media Institute finds the new stations provided 3 time more coverage to Davis than the entire Gosnell trial.   

Davis, a previously unheard of Texas state senator, staged a filibuster last month in a successful bid to derail a late-term abortion bill. Cheered by rowdy pro-abortion activists, Davis spoke for 11 hours against a bill outlawing abortions after 20 months of pregnancy and mandating that abortion clinics meet the same sanitary and safety standards as any other Texas medical facility.

Via the Dallas News

Davis became an instant celebrity – a comely blonde single mom who stood up for “women’s health” in pink tennis shoes, fighting against “severe” abortion restrictions. Nowhere has her “rock star” status been more apparent than on the broadcast networks.

In the 19 days since her June 25 filibuster, ABC, CBS and NBC have devoted 40 minutes, 48 seconds of their morning and evening news programs to stories including Davis. That’s more than three times the 13 minutes 30 seconds they gave Gosnell during the entire 58 days of the murder trial.

FULL STORY