Monthly Archives: August 2022

Save the Baby Humans, Too!

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By Bonnie Finnerty, Education Director

While on vacation, we tend to sleep in.

But there we were at the crack of dawn, trekking to the beach, drawn to the promise of new life.

We were to meet up with locals trained in protecting loggerhead turtles, a species officially labeled as “vulnerable.” Mama turtle had buried her 100+ eggs about 60 days previously, using back fins to methodically sculpt a deep hole in which her progeny would be well-protected. Signs indicated that the eggs had begun to hatch and babies emerge.  But not all. Some required rescuing or they would die.

The golf cart brigade that monitors the nests every morning staged an intervention. They would dig out the buried babies and set them on a path to life into the ocean. And they welcomed us to share in the experience.

We stood on the periphery, watching the team carefully dig into the deepest pockets of the nest. Anticipation was building.  Digging and more digging. Finally, the announcement—a baby was found! Cheers erupted. We crowded around, eager to glimpse the little survivor.

And then more babies. And more. We marveled at each and every teeny turtle, rejoicing in their saved lives.

We then helped to place about three dozen babies on the beach facing the water.  We watched their painstaking crawl to their new home, a struggle necessary for developing the stamina and strength needed for ocean survival.

It was a beautiful experience. A different kind of pro-life moment, yet one that parallels the heroic efforts made every day to rescue baby humans.

Like these naturalists, trained volunteers and dedicated employees invest time and pool resources to save human babies from death by abortion, rejoicing at each and every life saved and mother supported.

“Save the baby humans” could very well be the mantra of the 2700 pregnancy resource centers throughout our country. Countless people are alive today because of their efforts to support a mother and her child, both before birth and after.

In 2019 alone, pregnancy resource centers served roughly 2 million women, men, and youth with nearly $270 million in services at little or no cost, according to the Charlotte Lozier Institute.

But ironically, while those who save baby turtles are universally acclaimed for their good work, those who strive to protect helpless, vulnerable human babies are being vilified.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren has grossly mischaracterized pregnancy resource centers, calling for them to be shut down across the country. Dozens of centers have been vandalized and even firebombed by abortion extremists, destroying material goods and delaying counseling services that actually empower the very women that abortion advocates claim to care about.

It’s mind-boggling that some people who regard the destruction of a turtle egg as egregiously immoral have no problem with the purposeful destruction of human life.

Since the Endangered Species Act was passed in 1973, the same year Roe had been decided, pre-born turtles have had more legal protections than pre-born humans.

We can and should protect both.

Like baby turtles, some baby humans require rescuing or they will die.  Pregnancy resource centers provide the intervention.  They rescue innocent children, a “vulnerable species,” from a violent death by abortion. They provide the needed support for mother and baby, digging them out of their own proverbial hole, setting them on a path for life, and rejoicing in the unique gift of every single human life.

In this post-Roe world, we need to ask ourselves a question:

If we encounter pre-born humans at risk of dying, would we do less to save them than we do for pre-born turtles?

PA Lawmaker Seeks to Expand Abortion

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By Maria Gallagher, Legislative Director

The days of the slogan “safe, legal, and rare” are long gone in Pennsylvania. Some lawmakers make no secret of the fact that they do not want abortion to be rare–in fact, they are making every effort to increase abortions in the Commonwealth.

A co-sponsorship memo by state Rep. Dan Frankel (D-Allegheny County) is the latest example of this disturbing trend.

The proof lies in the subject line of the memo: “Expanding Access to Abortion.”

Rep. Frankel wants to expand the “pool of providers” by having non-doctors perform abortions. As he states, “I am introducing legislation that would allow physician assistants, nurse-midwives, and certified registered nurse practitioners to prescribe medication abortion.” 

He is referring to chemical abortions, which are rapidly eclipsing surgical abortions as the leading cause of death of preborn babies in Pennsylvania. A number of legitimate safety concerns–both physical and psychological– have been raised about chemical abortions for mothers.

Rep. Frankel is in the minority in the PA House of Representatives, but abortion giant Planned Parenthood is doing its best to change that, pouring countless dollars into campaigns to replace pro-life lawmakers with pro-abortion zealots. This is why it is incumbent upon voters to know the stands of office-seekers when it comes to the life-or-death issue of abortion.

Pennsylvania is home to a staggering 32,000 abortions each year.
We cannot afford policies that seek to expand that number even further.

A Ring Symbolizing Life

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By Maria V. Gallagher, Legislative Director

I wear on my finger a symbol of the Culture of Life.

It is a ring with two dates: 1972, the year before the tragic U.S. Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade was decided, and 2022, the year Roe was finally overturned.

The ring comes courtesy of COL (Culture of Life) 1972, a family owned and operated company in Pennsylvania. The company offers clothing and other merchandise which celebrates the incomparable gift of life. It was founded as an alternative to retailers that support Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion operation.

Each time I look at the ring, I am reminded of the nearly 50-year struggle to rescind a dangerous and lethal Supreme Court ruling. I mourn the more than 63 million preborn children who died as a result of that traumatic decision.

But I also have tremendous hope–that wrongs can be righted…that bad decisions can be reversed…and that compassion and sanity can be restored.

In essence, I wear an unusual type of promise ring–a symbol of the promise of the beauty of life. I wear the ring in expectation of a future in which each preborn baby and her mother are treasured and protected, and life is respected as a fundamental good.

Op-Ed: Setting the Record Straight

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By Senator Judy Ward


Over the past few weeks, my Senate colleagues have had to continually correct false and misleading statements regarding the recently passed Senate Bill 106. Sadly, the misrepresentations have continued, and it has become increasingly necessary for me as a sponsor of one of the bill’s amendments to join them in their efforts.

Senate Bill 106 consists of five different amendments to the Pennsylvania constitution with the subjects being the election of the Lieutenant Governor, legislative disapproval of regulations, voter ID, auditing of elections by the Auditor General, and taxpayer funding of abortions. 

These amendments become part of the Pennsylvania constitution if the legislature passes Senate Bill 106 in two consecutive legislative sessions followed by a majority of voters approving each of the amendments individually at the ballot box. 

To correct what has been reported in numerous media outlets, if this legislation is approved by voters, it would not be the result of undemocratic procedures and a General Assembly that was deaf to the will of the people. Rather, Senate Bill 106 gives the people of Pennsylvania a voice. It would be the most democratic and fair method for lawmaking that is available to us as citizens, as it requires both representative democracy when our legislature votes on the amendment and direct democracy where the people get the final say at the ballot box.  

There have been many falsehoods circulating about what the amendments would do. The most egregious are the reports on the amendment relating to abortion. 

For background, Allegheny Reproductive Health Center is suing the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, arguing that there is a right to abortion in our Constitution. This is despite previous court precedent and state and federal law that indicate otherwise. This “right” they are asking the court to find would apply to all nine months of pregnancy and would force taxpayers to pay for abortions.

The amendment would simply preserve the status quo, keeping the fate of abortion policy out of the hands of the courts and in the hands of those who are accountable to the people, their elected representatives in the legislature. 

There have been claims that the amendment is an abortion ban. This is completely false. Unfortunately, the falsehoods don’t stop there. Some have reported that if this amendment goes into effect, people’s ability to use in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments will be at risk. Others state that ectopic pregnancies will be forced to term regardless of if doing so would kill the mother, or that D&C procedures will be outlawed, forcing those who have miscarriages to risk serious infection and disease. None of those statements are true.    

Here are the facts. Should the abortion provision of Senate Bill 106 be approved by the voters, Pennsylvanians will continue to have a statutory right to an abortion under Pennsylvania’s Abortion Control Act. That Act would remain in place and unchanged.  Medicaid will continue to cover both non-elective abortions and voluntary abortions involving cases of rape or incest but will still withhold funding for all other elective instances. IVF, ectopic pregnancies, and D&C procedures would be allowed under the same rules that exist today, and doctors will continue to save women’s lives in the event of life-threatening complications during pregnancy.  

With Senate Bill 106, the fate of abortion law in Pennsylvania will be left up to the people’s elected representatives through the legislative process. Policymaking on abortion will be taken out of the hands of the courts and placed exactly where it belongs; in the hands of the people, first through a ballot referendum and then through their elected officials.  

Our job as elected representatives is to create public policy that represents the will of the people. I can think of no better way to do that than by putting these issues in front of the voters through Senate Bill 106.