LifeNews.com editor Steven Ertelt recently gave the keynote address at the 33rd annual Wyoming Valley Pennsylvanians for Human Life Respect Life Banquet held in Wilkes Barre, PA.

Ertelt began his talk by talking about how far we’ve come since abortion became legal in 1973. He talked about a report published in the American Journal of Public Health that found the number of abortions has dropped by 25% from 2008 to 2014.   He went on to point out that the number of abortion centers in the United States has fallen from its peak of 220o to just over 500…a reduction of almost 80%.   This has all resulted in a reduction in the ratio of women who have had an abortion from one out of three to one out of five.

Ertelt cited several factors contributing to this decline. First he talked about changes to the abortion laws across the country that have led to stricter regulations of abortion facilities such as Act 122, the 2011 Pennsylvania law which required abortion centers to meet basic health and safety standards. Another major factor he cited was an increase of the general awareness of the horrors of abortion brought on by the Kermit Gosnell trial, despite the limited coverage it was given by the main stream media.

Ertelt ended his talk by reminding attendees there is still much work to do.  In the United States almost a million babies are being killed every year and over 30,000 babies were killed just in Pennsylvania alone in 2015. He talked about a recent New York Times article which labeled pro-life websites and even his own Lifenews.com as “fake news“ but couldn’t identify any specific fake news stories published by any pro-life news site.  Ertelt pointed out that the pro-abortion writer lamented that pro-lifers are doing a good job of sharing pro-life stories while the main stream media’s lies about abortion are regularly ignored on social media.  He encouraged the audience to continue to fight fake news and spread the truth about abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia through social media and by every means necessary in order to hasten the day when abortion is not just illegal, but unthinkable.

              In elections in odd years, such as the one being held Tuesday, November 7, 2017, we choose Judicial and Municipal office holders.  These elections are often referred to as “off-year elections” and have significantly less attention paid to them than elections for the State legislature, Congress, and President in even numbered years.  However, it is extremely important to vote for judges who are strict constitutionalists, who will follow the Constitution, rather than legislating from the bench.

               There is no better example of legislating from the bench than the deadly and incorrect decision in Roe v. Wade. In this case, seven Supreme Court justices improperly determined that a woman has a constitutional “right to privacy,” even though that right is not found anywhere in the Constitution.  Their decision to make a law from the bench has led to the abortion of almost 60 million babies since that bloody decision in 1973.

Ultimately, the goal of the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation is to make abortion, infanticide and euthanasia not just illegal, but unthinkable.  The first step in that process is getting state and federal courts, and ultimately the Supreme Court, to respect the sanctity of human life by overturning Roe v. Wade.  To do that, we need to support judicial candidates who will strictly interpret the Constitution and not legislate from the bench.  The Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation encourages all pro-life advocates to make sure they vote on Tuesday, November 7, 2017, and remind their fellow pro-lifers to do the same.