Monthly Archives: March 2015

Come Listen, Learn and Connect at Pro-Life Town Hall Meetings

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2015ProLifeTownHall

This April will be my third time traveling across the state for our annual Pro-Life Town Hall Tour.

Micaiah1

Micaiah Bilger

The tour is one of the ways we bring the latest pro-life information to people all across the state. We’re planning to share up-to-date news on a variety of topics, including abortion trends in Pennsylvania, dealing with a poor prenatal diagnosis, the push for assisted suicide, the Affordable Care Act, Q&A and more.

I love the tour because we offer a pro-life perspective that people can’t get anywhere else. But most of all, I love having the opportunity to connect with people all across the state.

I love when a grandmother comes to me after a meeting and shares a picture of her grandson who was almost aborted. I love when a teenager eagerly asks me what she can do to help moms and babies. I love listening to the decades-long pro-lifers, because their stories encourage me to keep going strong. And I love talking with the people who aren’t sure where they stand on the life issues and are looking for answers.

Our Pro-Life Town Hall meetings are an opportunity to learn, ask questions, and connect with the people around us.

I hope you’ll join us in Ebensburg, Uniontown, Pittsburgh, Titusville, Erie, State College, Scranton, Nesquehoning, Easton, Philadelphia, Lancaster or Grove City. Click here for details.

And please take a moment to say, “Hello.” I’d love to connect with you.

Photoshopping Abortion

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By Maria Gallagher, Legislative Director

As I was perusing Twitter the other day, I saw a picture of a woman displaying a fire engine-red purse that was supposed to signify “pro-choice” fashion.

Somehow I don’t associate abortion with handbags. But I find that, increasingly in our image-driven world, abortion advocates are promoting paraphernalia to symbolize abortion. Pink tennis shoes immediately come to mind, since that was the footwear of choice for Texas politician Wendy Davis during her filibuster to prevent the enactment of common sense protections for mother and child.

Image of a baby at seven weeks

Image of a baby at seven weeks

And when the abortion industry is not accessorizing abortion, it is Photoshopping it. The aim is to crop the baby right out of the debate. The problem is, no amount of Photoshopping can conceal the stark, deadly reality of abortion: the taking of an innocent human life. Colorful imagery should not confuse us, obscuring the fact that abortion stops a beating heart.

Cleverly-designed portraits of “reproductive justice” also cannot erase the painful scars abortion can leave behind. Again and again, I hear from women who have silently struggled with the not-so-pretty-as-a-picture aftermath of abortion: in some cases, sterility; in other cases, substance abuse; in more cases than I can count, a flood of regret.

Through well-coiffed celebrities, the abortion industry tries to put an elegant face on abortion. Unfortunately, these stars cannot see the darkness that accompanies abortion — the lies, the denials, the violence. Only once in a while is the pristine imagery shattered by the horrific insider views of the abortion industry, as perhaps best demonstrated by the Kermit Gosnell case. (Gosnell was convicted in Philadelphia of killing three full-term babies and causing the death of a female patient. The grand jury suspected him of causing hundreds of additional deaths, but he could not be prosecuted for them, because he destroyed the records which could have led to more murder counts.)

Since major media outlets seem to be blinded by their own biases, it is up to the pro-life movement to shed light on the abortion industry every day that abortions take place. For the false images and to-die-for accessories will eventually fade away, as a majority of Americans come to realize that the freedom promised by abortion businesses is nothing but false advertising.

Why Support Made All the Difference to My Mom, and to Pregnant Women Everywhere

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By Maria Gallagher, Legislative Director

She was an only child, and both her parents had already passed from this life. Her husband was unemployed and she was struggling to take care of her year-and-a-half-old daughter. A number of her husband’s relatives expressed disdain when they learned she was pregnant.

http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-photo-newborn-baby-meeting-parents-looking-over-their-look-surprise-face-image34534465But then there was her mother-in-law — an immigrant with limited ability to speak English. However, she made her feelings intensely clear. Upon learning of my mother’s unexpected pregnancy, she took out a bottle of wine, raised a glass, and in her heavy Italian accent said, “Anne, I salute you.”

She was the one person who supported my mother’s pregnancy — a pregnancy which resulted in a premature five-pound baby girl — the girl who became the sister I so loved.

While at times she might have felt very much on her own, my mother was not alone. Her mother-in-law, father-in-law, foster-mother, and husband all helped in the child care responsibilities — enthusiastically so. She had a solid support network, despite some naysayers. And she proved herself highly capable of the task of raising two little girls.

According to researcher Dr. David Reardon, of those women who experience difficulties after their abortions, more than 80 percent report they would have brought their babies into the world if the circumstances had been better or if loved ones had shown support.

That means the vast majority of women who regret their abortions were craving help and understanding from those closest to them, but did not receive the assistance they longed for.

The pro-life movement is essentially a pro-support movement. I have known so many parents who have selflessly come to their daughters’ aid when they were facing unexpected pregnancies. I also know many women who have benefited from the pregnancy support centers which offer not only counseling but material assistance to pregnant women (For the nearest pregnancy center in Pennsylvania, call 1-888-Life-Aid or click here).

The importance of these gestures of love cannot be underestimated. For they can provide the bridge to a better future for these women and children. In fact, the outstretched hand can rescue a woman from the brink of despair, and save a child from death at the hands of an abortionist.

Or, raised in a toast, it can simply give a woman the courage to go on and fight for her child.

Wolf Administration Removes Pro-Abortion Link

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By Maria Gallagher, Legislative Director

Following an outcry from legislators and citizens throughout the Commonwealth, the state of Pennsylvania has removed a pro-abortion link from its website.

Mom-and-ChildPreviously at PA.gov, visitors who went to the Information page, clicked on Health and Wellness, then Women’s Health, were directed to the Women’s Law Project, a pro-abortion legal group which opposes any restrictions on abortion.

Now, the series of clicks brings visitors to a page encouraging healthy eating, exercise, breast cancer, cervical cancer, and other issues of interest to women.

While we are grateful that the state no longer links to a site which linked to abortion facilities, we must remain vigilant. The president of the nation’s largest abortion operation, Planned Parenthood, has stated that Governor Tom Wolf previously served as a “clinic escort,” accompanying women to their abortions. His candidacy was also endorsed by both Planned Parenthood and the pro-abortion group known as NARAL.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a pro-life state, and should remain one, despite the governor’s personal views.

Airplanes, Alzheimer’s, and My Grandfather’s Last Days

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My mind jolted to a stop last week as I read an article in The Philadelphia Inquirer about Barbara Bitros.

The 64-year-old woman is a former hospice nurse who doctors say may have early signs of Alzheimer’s. Bitros, an advocate for assisted suicide, has made plans to end her life because she is afraid of living with dementia.

She told the reporter:

“I fear the long, painful, humiliating process where you don’t know who you are or who anybody else is. Nobody should ever die like that.

“I want my grandchildren to remember me as a warm and loving person who’s still capable of reading them books and making them dinner.”

I felt a dark cloud of sorrow shadow my heart as I read her words, and my mind flashed back to memories of my grandfather.

When I was about 8 years old, I watched my grandfather’s life rapidly deteriorate because of Alzheimer’s. His dementia was doubly difficult because it was coupled with trauma from his World War II days. He was rarely at peace, even before the Alzheimer’s set in.

It was more than 20 years ago, but I still vividly remember those last days with Grandpa. Mostly, I remember the times when Grandpa played with my little brother. They often sat together on the kitchen floor playing with airplanes, balls, or tops. When they were together, Grandpa was calm and happy, and the whole family felt at peace.

Even when my grandfather went into the hospital, he connected with me and my siblings in meaningful ways. Grandpa often pulled out his harmonica and played us tunes from his military days. He didn’t remember who we were; he couldn’t read books to us or play on the floor, but we knew he loved us.

Brother

Had my grandfather decided to end his life before the Alzheimer’s, my brother never would have known him. My brother was only about 3 years old when Grandpa died, and his memories of Grandpa are few and vague.

But he remembers them playing airplanes together. Flying was something Grandpa always wanted to learn but never had the means to. Inspired by our grandfather, my brother worked hard and saved his money to begin flying lessons. He flew his first solo flight before he had his driver’s license.

Thinking back, I realize how meaningful my grandfather’s life was even in those last days. It’s why I hope Bitros won’t discount the value of her life, even as her memory fades. She clearly loves her grandchildren very much. I hope that she will see that, even with dementia, she can love and inspire her grandchildren just as my grandfather did.

Pennsylvania Governor Links Women to Pro-Abortion Website

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By Maria Gallagher, Legislative Director

The Pennsylvania Abortion Control Act states that the public policy of the Commonwealth is to encourage childbirth over abortion.

SadwomanThen why does the state of Pennsylvania link to a website that promotes abortion?

If you visit the information page on the PA government website, you’ll find a tab labeled “Health and Wellness.” Clicking there will bring up a number of options, including “Women’s Health.”

But if you click Women’s Health, you end up at the Women’s Law Project — an organization that opposes laws restricting abortion. In fact, the top item on the page’s resource list is “abortion and family planning.” Click on that, and you’ll be directed to a page that connects you with abortion facilities.

In this way, PA government has become an electronic portal to abortion.

Why doesn’t the Pennsylvania website link to a neutral site, one which disseminates information about women’s health topics such as heart disease and cervical cancer? Why, instead, does it link to a pro-abortion advocacy group?

The Governor should not use his office to promote a pro-abortion agenda. If he is truly concerned about women’s health, he will direct state workers to retool his website.