Author Archives: Matthew Wagner

Images of Preborn Babies Open People’s Eyes to Truth about Life

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I love seeing people’s faces light up when a preborn baby’s life becomes real to them.

Image of a baby at seven weeks

Image of a baby at seven weeks

It’s hard for us to relate to people we don’t know, people we’ve never seen or talked to. And most of us don’t see a baby until after he or she is born. It can be easy for us to forget about the ongoing tragedy of abortion, because we almost never know the victim.

That’s why we at the Federation emphasize education about human development. We show ultrasound videos and share little fetal models with people. They remind people that this isn’t just a “product of conception” or a “blob of tissue.” It’s a teeny, tiny beautiful human being – somebody’s baby boy or baby girl.

Click here to read more about a baby’s amazing development in the womb. Or watch a video here.

Pennsylvania Girl Gives Hope to Down Syndrome Families with “Chloe’s Law”

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We have a young heroine for life in our state.

Her name is Chloe Kondrich, and she has Down syndrome. The 11-year-old and her family have made it their mission to educate people about the precious value of individuals with Down syndrome. The family received our Pennsylvania Pro-Life Leadership Award in 2011.

Chloe Kondrich joins Gov. Tom Corbett to sign "Chloe's Law" on July 18, 2014, in Harrisburg.

Chloe Kondrich joins Gov. Tom Corbett to sign “Chloe’s Law” on July 18, 2014, in Harrisburg.

On Friday, July 18, Chloe stood with Gov. Tom Corbett as he signed “Chloe’s Law,” a measure that ensures Pennsylvania moms have access to accurate information and support when their preborn baby is diagnosed with Down syndrome.

Sadly, preborn babies who are diagnosed with Down syndrome often become victims of abortion. One study suggests that 90 percent are aborted.

According to an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

“Kishore Vellody, medical director of the Down Syndrome Center at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC … [said] he sees the necessity of the new law, which will outline physicians’ responsibilities in delivering the news of a Down syndrome prenatal diagnosis.

“‘Published data shows that less than half of people felt like their training was accurate in communicating prenatal diagnosis,’ he said. ‘Even in my med school textbooks, a lot of things we learned about Down syndrome was inaccurate because it takes so long to have them updated.’

“Within the past 30 years, the increase in information and standard medical care has been dramatic and is mirrored by the increase in life expectancy for people with Down syndrome, from 25 in the 1980s to 60 and beyond now.

“‘Our goal in medicine is to make sure people receive balanced and accurate information when they make decisions about health care,’ Dr. Vellody said. ‘That’s why we support endeavors to help expectant parents.'”

Chloe’s parents, Kurt and Margie Kondrich, understand the emotions that families feel when they discover their child has Down syndrome. They believe the new law will help alleviate fears and give hope to the families.

Chloe and her family truly are Pennsylvania heroes, spreading the message to families that there’s always a reason to choose life!

Pennsylvania Senator Votes to Overturn Hobby Lobby Decision

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This week, U.S. Senator Bob Casey Jr. from Pennsylvania voted to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties.

Stop Abortion MandatesThe U.S. Senate failed Wednesday to pass the bill, which aimed to overturn the high court’s decision and force religious people who own businesses to violate their beliefs.

Our Executive Director Michael Ciccocioppo told LifeNews.com that he is disappointed with Casey for supporting measures to overturn the high court’s ruling.

“The U.S. Supreme Court rightly affirmed religious liberty a few weeks ago when it ruled that the families who own Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties can exercise their religious beliefs,” Ciccocioppo said. “The high court agreed that business owners should not be forced to violate their beliefs by providing abortion-causing drugs/devices to their employees.”

“We are disappointed that Sen. Casey has abandoned our nation’s founding principle of religious freedom by trying to overrule the Supreme Court’s decision,” he added. “We agree with Justice Samuel Alito that, had the Supreme Court ruled against Hobby Lobby and Conestoga, business owners could be forced to cover third-trimester abortions and assisted suicide.”

While we gained a victory over the HHS Mandate, we can’t stop working now. There are other abortion-expanding aspects of Obamacare that are still in effect. Read about them here.

Radical Senate Bill Would Protect Gosnells, Force Medical Staff to Perform Abortions

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What would you do if legislators supported a bill allowing abortionists like Kermit Gosnell to keep practicing?

What would you say if the bill would force health care workers to perform abortions Stop Abortion Mandatesagainst their consciences?

What if that same bill would legalize partial-birth abortion again?

Or allow babies in the womb to be aborted just because they are girls? Or take your tax dollars to pay for abortions?

These proposals may seem too radical for thought, but they’re not fiction.

A pro-abortion bill that would allow these drastic, dangerous measures is up for consideration in the U.S. Senate this week. It’s called the “Women’s Health Protection Act,” but our national affiliate has dubbed it the “Abortion Without Limits Until Birth” Act.

The bill is designed to wipe out all protections against abortion for preborn babies and their mothers. Click here for details. It is similar to the “Freedom of Choice Act” that was championed by Barack Obama when he was a Senator.

While the bill is, thankfully, unlikely to pass the U.S. House, it should concern us that pro-abortion forces are going public with a radical agenda that most Americans don’t support. Perhaps they think most Americans won’t find out what’s really in that act.

Please help us expose this dangerous bill for what it is.

At Creation Festival, Young People Learn the Truth about Abortion

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“Did you know that when you were this small, you could already suck your thumb?” I said, holding out one of our tiny 12-week fetal models.

P1060004I watched as their eyes grew wide in surprise, and their hands reached out to hold the little model themselves. They smiled and aww’d at the tiny little baby model in their hands.

Then I picked up our 20-week model and handed it to them. “Did you know that abortion is legal even past this stage in Pennsylvania?”

And I watched as the shock and disbelief came over their faces and the reality of what our society calls “a woman’s choice” set in.

I had hundreds of similar conversations a few weeks ago at our booth during the nation’s largest Christian music festival, Creation. Though I go every year, it always strikes me how critically important it is that we’re sharing the truth about abortion.

Where else do young people see that a preborn baby at eight weeks already looks like a tiny infant? Where else to they learn that abortion is legal through all nine months in some states? Where else do they hear that there is support for moms who choose life?

Public schools and colleges aren’t telling them. The mainstream media isn’t telling them. Our society isn’t telling them.

It’s up to us to educate the next generation about the precious value of every single human life.

To find our volunteers at other fairs and festivals this summer, click here.

Six Tips for Internet Debates about Abortion

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Internet comment debates about abortion quickly can become fruitless and downright immature, but that doesn’t mean that we as pro-lifers should never try to bring the truth to a conversation.

girlPro-lifers can have good conversations with the other side on the Internet. We just have to be tactful and respectful when we do it.

Here are just a few tips:

First, make sure you’re addressing the person’s actual argument. For example, if they’re comment is something along the lines of “my body, my choice,” don’t just respond: “It’s not just your body. Do you have two heads and four feet?” The “my body, my choice” argument can mean several different things. So, don’t just assume you know what the other person is thinking. Ask questions.

Second, back up your argument with sources. It’s best to use something from a neutral source, such as a mainstream news outlet or a reputable research group. If you can find a source from their side, such as research from the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute, share it.

Third, be respectful of the other person when you disagree with them. Don’t respond with an attitude that makes them feel stupid, or resort to name calling. It’s childish, and it doesn’t win any arguments.

Fourth, if you start feeling angry, take a deep breath and step away from the keypad. It’s easy to get frustrated and angry, but remember that you’re conversing with another human being who you want to help see the truth. “A gentle answer turns away wrath …”

Fifth, don’t feed the trolls. If a commenter keeps responding with nasty remarks, just ignore them. They’re probably just trolling you.

Sixth, if you don’t know, just say so. No one expects you to be the Pro-Life Encyclopedia. Go do some research and get back to them.

To get you thinking, here’s a great example of an Internet debate from Live Action News blogger Kristi Burton Brown.

Clearing Up Some Confusion on the Hobby Lobby/Conestoga Case

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I’ve noticed a lot of confusion this week in reports about the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the HHS Mandate. Here are two clarification points for you as you’re reading about the case:

Supreme CourtFirst — Many media outlets are saying the two companies, Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties, oppose providing birth control coverage to their employees. This is not true. The family owners of Hobby Lobby and Conestoga opposed only four of the 20 types of contraception that the government requires employers to provide. The families argued that the four types aren’t just contraception; they can be abortion-causing, life-destroying. Abortion is what the families object to paying for.

Second — Some pro-abortion groups claim that the four drugs/devices in question don’t cause abortions because they don’t interrupt a pregnancy. However, these groups define pregnancy as beginning when the embryo implants in his/her mother’s uterus. They fail to acknowledge that a new human life begins before that point. According to biologists, a new human being forms at the moment of fertilization. The four drugs/devices may sometimes work by preventing an embryo from implanting in the womb, thus killing him or her. That’s why the families who own Hobby Lobby and Conestoga are opposed. They do not want to be forced to pay for the destruction of innocent human lives.

As you read news about the case, please keep these facts in mind.

Hillary Clinton Still Doesn’t Get Mother Teresa’s Message

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It’s probably the most highly publicized book of the summer — Hard Choices by Hillary Rodham Clinton. Curious, I decided to download a sample onto my electronic tablet.

HillaryClintonBookI was surprised when Mother Teresa made an appearance within the pages of the memoir. Hillary Clinton talks about her first visit to India in 1995, accompanied by her daughter Chelsea. Hillary refers to the celebrated Teresa as the “humble Catholic nun whose charity and saintliness made her a global icon.” The former First Lady talks of touring an orphanage filled with baby girls, abandoned because of their sex (boys being considered more valuable than girls.)

Hillary also writes of leading a U.S. delegation to Mother Teresa’s funeral in 1997. According to Hillary, Mother Teresa’s successor later led her to a private meeting at the Missionaries of Charity headquarters. There, Hillary says, the nuns asked Hillary to offer a prayer before the closed casket.

“I hesitated,” Hillary writes, “then bowed my head and thanked God for the privilege of having known this tiny, forceful, saintly woman during her time here on earth.”

But what made Mother Teresa saintly? Merriam-Webster defines saint as “one eminent for piety or virtue.” Mother Teresa’s care for the poor, people with AIDS, and the dying were legendary. She entered into the messiness of life, took on tasks that were hard and distasteful, and showed love and respect to people that might have been ignored by polite society. And she did it day after day, hour after hour, with an angelic smile that radiated the warmth within.

Back in 1994, the diminutive Mother Teresa delivered a powerful speech before the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. There, she spoke the following words:

“But I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child, a direct killing of the innocent child, murder by the mother herself.

“And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another? How do we persuade a woman not to have an abortion? As always, we must persuade her with love and we remind ourselves that love means to be willing to give until it hurts. Jesus gave even His life to love us. So, the mother who is thinking of abortion, should be helped to love, that is, to give until it hurts her plans, or her free time, to respect the life of her child. The father of that child, whoever he is, must also give until it hurts.

“By abortion, the mother does not learn to love, but kills even her own child to solve her problems.

“And, by abortion, the father is told that he does not have to take any responsibility at all for the child he has brought into the world. That father is likely to put other women into the same trouble. So abortion just leads to more abortion.

“Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want. This is why the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion.

“Many people are very, very concerned with the children of India, with the children of Africa where quite a few die of hunger, and so on. Many people are also concerned about all the violence in this great country of the United States. These concerns are very good. But often these same people are not concerned with the millions who are being killed by the deliberate decision of their own mothers. And this is what is the greatest destroyer of peace today — abortion which brings people to such blindness.”

You can view the video of the speech here. Hillary Clinton was there, too. It has been 20 years since Mother Teresa spoke unflinchingly of the devastation caused by abortion. Hillary heard the message, but she has yet to embrace it. Instead, she continues to trumpet the abortion-on-demand philosophy of Planned Parenthood.

Citing Mother Teresa is always a crowd-pleaser, especially among Catholics. Mother Teresa stood for social justice, but it was and is a justice that serves all — including the women inside their mothers’ wombs. The 20th century trailblazing Teresa wanted an abortion-free world. That is not Hillary’s World.

Supreme Court Upholds Religious Freedom for Business Owners

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The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the overreaching Obamacare HHS Mandate on Monday.

“This is a victory for religious freedom,” said Michael Ciccocioppo, executive director of the Pennsylvania Pro-Life FederatioGaveln. “Government cannot force business owners to pay for abortion-causing drugs for employees.”

“This decision renounces the Obama administration’s attempts to overreach the basic provisions of Obamacare by imposing unlawful mandates on Americans,” Ciccocioppo said.

The high court ruled in favor of family-owned businesses Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties, a Lancaster-based Mennonite company. Both objected to paying for abortion-causing drugs for their employees.

Click here to read the full Supreme Court decision.

My Childhood Friend Died Young, but Her Life Is Still Making an Impact

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I don’t remember how old Jessica was when she died. We moved away when I was 6 years old, and I never saw her again.

The other day I was reading through some old papers when a name popped out at me, and with it a long-packed-away memory of Jessica.

Me at about age 6

Me when I was about 6 years old

She was several years older than me, but we knew each other from church. She had cancer, and it kept her home from school a lot. When Jessica had to stay home, she sometimes invited me over to play. 

Jessica always made me feel special. She was a big kid who took an interest in me. She trusted me with her big kid toys and treated me as her equal. We played dolls and dress-up just as I did with my other friends – but with Jessica I always felt honored because she chose to play with me. I was just a little kid, after all.

I remember giggling while we played Barbies in her room. I remember her kindly instructing me to use her new toy this way so I wouldn’t break it. She never complained or argued with me about what we would do next.

Honestly, I don’t remember much more. I was very young, and we spent just a short time together. Yet, she left a lingering impression on me. She encouraged me. She cared about me. She made me feel valuable. Every time I remember her, I can’t help but smile.

Jessica probably never knew how special those few playtimes were to me. She probably never thought that I would still warm at the thought of her friendship more than 20 years later.

As I think back, I believe Jessica is one of the reasons why I do what I do. Though I was only 6 years old, I was changed by Jessica forever. She taught me that every person is valuable, no matter what their age; and no matter how much time you have with someone, you can change their life for good.

Because of that, I will never forget her. Thank you, Jessica.