Monthly Archives: August 2017

Reaching Out to Pregnant Women Facing Challenges

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huggies-3d-fetus-blind-ultrasound-mom

By Maria Gallagher, Legislative Director

gallagher@paprolife.org

One of the greatest attributes of the pro-life movement is the concern it shows to pregnant women facing serious challenges in their lives.

There is no woman in Pennsylvania–or across the country–who should feel as if she is being forced into abortion. Help is as close as the nearest cell phone or Internet connection.

The Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation has the most comprehensive list of PA pregnancy care centers on the World Wide Web. Chances are you or a friend can find a center within driving distance of home. You can find the complete list here.

You can also call the toll-free hotline at 1-888-Life-Aid.  Compassionate, caring individuals are ready to take your call.

To be pro-life is to be pro-woman…both supportive of the woman carrying a child…and of the daughter inside her mother’s womb.

Signs of Life at Walmart

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Picture1By Maria Gallagher, Legislative Director

gallagher@paprolife.org

Signs of life can definitely be found at Walmarts across the country.

A recently released survey found that child-related items are among the top selling-products at a number of the retail giants’ mega stores.

For instance, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the top-selling item at Walmart is Legos! Peanut butter and jelly, a childhood staple, is the top seller in Maine, while apple juice, a perennial favorite of the younger set, wins top honors in Colorado.

Baby products take the lead in Arkansas Walmarts, diapers are a hot commodity in Iowa, and kid-friendly Jell-O leads the pack in Rhode Island.

What this retailing survey shows is that children remain a vital part of the American Family, despite four decades of abortion on demand. While abortions in the U.S. total nearly a million per year, abortion numbers overall are at their lowest level since the tragic 1973 U.S. Supreme Court ruling Roe v. Wade.

Although election results are an important indicator of where the nation is headed, a trip to your local superstore holds some key clues as well. Life is indeed winning in America–from the White House to Walmart!

 

 

Report Details Troubles at Pennsylvania Abortion Center

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HillcrestBy Maria Gallagher, Legislative Director

gallagher@paprolife.org

We now have a better idea of what led state officials finally to crack down on a troubled central Pennsylvania abortion center.

A report on the PA Health Department website dated July 8th offers details of the myriad of health and safety violations found at the Hillcrest Women’s Medical Center in Harrisburg in June.

The failures included:

  • Outdated medication and supplies
  • Lack of documentation that a consultant physician had proper credentials for advising staff to ensure satisfactory treatment of patients
  • Medication stored in refrigerators with inappropriate temperatures
  • Failure to provide a sanitary environment. Deficiencies included ceiling tiles stained with an unidentified brown substance, torn padding on exam tables, and a front yard with grass measuring two to three feet high.

Reading the 12 page report, it’s no wonder health officials shut Hillcrest down–but the closure came only after a complaint letter from state Senators demanding to know why the abortion facility was still open after a previous 44-page list of health and safety violations.

The latest report includes plans of correction for all the deficiencies cited. But, with Hillcrest failing inspection after inspection in the past, how can we trust the management to safeguard the health and safety of women?

Hillcrest has been closed until further notice by order of the state until it could be re-inspected.

However, Hillcrest has failed women time and time again with its abysmal safety record. It is time for the facility to be shut down once and for all.

Eliminating Down Syndrome?

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Image result for down syndrome babyA CBS News feature recently described what the reporter called the eradication of Down syndrome in Iceland. But it was really something else–the abortion of babies diagnosed with Down syndrome. Tragically, while Iceland has gone further than most countries in killing all babies with Down syndrome, they are not the only one.  Because of fear of what life with a child with Down syndrome may be like, parents all over the world, and even in the United States, are choosing to abort their babies if they are diagnosed with Down syndrome.

In Pennsylvania, we have chosen to address the fears associated with potentially having a child with Down syndrome a different way.  In 2014 the Pennsylvania legislature passed, and pro-life Governor Tom Corbett signed into law, legislation requiring that medical practitioners give accurate information about Down syndrome and available resources to parents whose preborn baby is diagnosed with potentially having Down syndrome.  We believe making sure parents who may have a baby with Down syndrome deserve information, not to have their child killed simply because that child is different.

We encourage all pro-lifers to educate themselves about Down syndrome.  You can then help educate someone who receives this diagnosis for their child.  That may be the information they need to remind them they can always choose life.

Pushing Doctors to Perform Assisted Suicide

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Assisted suicide 2

By Maria Gallagher, Legislative Director

The old Hemlock Society wants to push doctors to perform assisted suicide–which is more aptly described as doctor-prescribed suicide.

Under the revised name of Compassion & Choices, they want the American Medical Association to end its long-standing opposition to the lethal practice. You can urge the AMA to stand strong by clicking here.

In addition, the lawyer who tried to create a Roe v. Wade-style judicial edict for assisted suicide is now suing a California hospital that refused to perform doctor-prescribed suicide. As ethics expert Wesley Smith notes:

The lawsuit illustrates where the assisted suicide/euthanasia movement wants to go. As in Ontario, Canada, they want doctors and hospitals to be forced to participate in assisted suicide or get out of medicine.
For resources for fighting the threat of doctor-prescribed suicide in Pennsylvania, visit www.noassistedsuicidepa.org .

Why This Veteran with Cancer Opposes Assisted Suicide

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JJ Hanson & family

J.J. Hanson is a natural fighter. He fought for his country as a Marine. He combatted cancer as a civilian. And now he is battling doctor-prescribed suicide in his role with the Patients Rights Action Fund.

In 2014, Hanson was told he had four months to live, after having been diagnosed with brain cancer. But he has refused to give up on his life, or the lives of other people placed in vulnerable positions by some insurance companies and members of the medical establishment.

As he told the Daily Signal, “People who are making end-of-life decisions have basically been told ‘We’re not going to give you what you’d like to get, but we will give you assisted suicide,’ which is very scary for someone like myself.”

Hanson’s wife, Kristen, is supporting him wholeheartedly in his fight against doctor-prescribed suicide. Kristen told the Daily Signal, “It’s really not about offering more choices. It takes choices away from patients like J.J. who want to fight,”

To read more about the Hanson’s fight, click here.

To find out how you can stop the legalization of doctor-prescribed suicide in Pennsylvania, click here.

Happy Book Lovers Day

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August-9-National-Book-Lovers-DayThese days there seems to be a holiday for everything. As someone who spent much of his childhood with his nose in a book, today is a celebration I can really get behind—Book Lovers Day.  Recently I read two pro-life books that I thought were particularly interesting, and I thought I would share some thoughts on them in honor of the day.

The first is Not Equal: Civil Rights Gone Wrong by Ryan Bomberger. Yes, the same Ryan Bomberger who is the keynote speaker at this year’s Celebrate Life Banquet September 28, 2017 in Harrisburg.  Ryan’s book addresses important pro-life issues such as abortion, adoption, liberal feminism, free speech, and religious liberty. What I appreciated most about his book is that it is primarily a series of articles he’s written over the years so it is an easy read for those who can only sit with a book for a short period at a time.  The great thing is, if you pick up his book now, when you attend the Celebrate Life Banquet September 28th you can get it signed!

The second book I wanted to mention is Gosnell: The Untold Story of America’s Most Prolific Serial Killer by Ann McElhinney and Phelim McAleer.  In this book the authors examine all the aspects of the trial of Kermit Gosnell, the Philadelphia abortionist who committed infanticide in his filthy and unsanitary abortion office in Philadelphia.  I was admittedly a little hesitant to read this—I’ve never been a fan of horror movies or literature, but the authors do a great job of applying an unbiased, journalistic viewpoint to the situation.

The links to the books above will take you to where the books can be purchased on www.amazon.com.  Before purchasing them, please visit www.smile.amazon.com and choose the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation Education Fund as the charity you support so a portion of your purchase will benefit our life-saving work.  Happy reading, and email me at lifelines@paprolife.org and let me know what you think of these pro-life books.