Author Archives: Matthew Wagner

Saving Mothers and Unborn Babies from Violence

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By Maria Gallagher, Legislative Director
gallagher@paprolife.org

I was reading a health insurance newsletter when an alarming statistic caught my eye: according to a study, each year–each year!–324,000 pregnant women are battered by their intimate partners. That means more than a half million people are at risk, when you consider that each of those women is carrying a vulnerable baby.

SadwomanAdd to that the fact that the number one cause of traumatic death for pregnant women and women who have recently given birth is murder. Of those women killed, a sizable percentage are murdered by their intimate partners.

Abused women are also more likely to suffer from depression, pregnancy complications, and substance abuse. Also, keep in mind that statistics show that 60 percent of abortions are coerced. In many of those cases, the abuser may do the coercing, threatening a woman with violence, loss of shelter, or loss of income if she does not agree to abort her child.

Domestic violence poses a profound threat to preborn children. In many cases, the violence in the home can lead women straight to an abortion facility.

This is one of the reasons pregnancy support centers are so valuable. They can serve as first responders, attending to the needs of a battered pregnant woman. They can help empower a woman so that she leaves her violent situation, thereby protecting both herself and her preborn baby.

If you suspect a pregnant woman you know is being abused, it is important that you provide her with support, a listening ear, and make her aware that she has options to get to a place of safety. For some tips on how to talk to a woman in such a situation, click here.

And for the nearest pregnancy help center in Pennsylvania, click here.

Domestic violence is undeniably a contributing factor to abortions in this country. When we empower pregnant women to seek freedom from abuse, we provide a critical lifeline to both mother and child. There are many reasons the heartbreaking tragedy of abortion remains legal in this country. Domestic violence is one of them.

Baby who defied the odds and lived sends a touching Christmas card to the world

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In the spirit of Christmas, one Florida family is sharing a special message of hope and life with the world.

Brandon and Brittany Buell posted a series of Christmas photos on social media this week to celebrate their son Jaxon’s first holiday at home.

jaxon8Jaxon, who is just a year old, almost never had the chance to sit on Santa Claus’s lap or send a Christmas card. Before he was born, doctors diagnosed him with an incurable brain malformation and advised his parents to abort him.

The Buells refused, but they said they later faced criticism for their decision to choose life for their son.

LifeNews.com shares more about Jaxon’s miraculous story:

A few days ago, the family posted photos of Jaxon around their Christmas tree on social media. One photo shows Jaxon with a special message written on a giant Christmas card. It reads, “I wanted to send a Christmas card to the entire world from me, my mama & my dada. Thank you for supporting me! From my family to yours … Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays & Happy New Year!! #JaxonStrong”

On Sunday, Jaxon “had one of the best days of his life” when he met Santa Claus for the first time, his father told Fox 29 News. The family also watched the movie “Rudolph.”

“More big milestones for our little guy!” his father said.

Jaxon, who celebrated his first birthday this summer, is beginning to walk and speak, the Buells told the news station. He can say “Momma”, “Daddy” and “I love you.”

“Jaxon has already shown how strong, smart and special he is, accomplishing feats that doctors doubted he’d ever be able to do, shows improvements each and every day, and just reached a miraculous milestone in celebrating his first birthday,” his family shared on Facebook. “Ultimately, Jaxon will need a miracle long-term.”

The family said Jaxon still needs prayers for his continued medical treatments.

This precious little boy’s story holds the warmth of hope and love that are so common around the holidays. His story and his parents’ decision to choose life is something to celebrate all year long.

Federation, NRLC Condemn Violence in Colorado Planned Parenthood Shooting

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Three people are dead and nine more injured after a crazed gunman shot at people Friday from a Planned Parenthood abortion facility in Colorado Springs.

Pro-lifers across the nation quickly condemned the horrific violence, which does not appear to be motivated by abortion politics. While the alleged gunman Robert Lewis Dear’s motives remain unclear, he was certainly not pro-life.

According to LifeNews.com, Dear appears to have no association with the pro-life movement and those who know him say he is an awkward man who never discussed religion or abortion. The profile they paint is far from a caricature of a pro-life activist who has an issue with the Planned Parenthood abortion business and more of a loner or renegade who may have mental health issues and, at a minimum, is a bit “off.”

We at the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation and our national affiliate, the National Right to Life Committee, condemn the violence that happened in Colorado Springs and at all abortion facilities across the U.S.

Our official position on violence is this: We support only peaceful efforts to restore the right to life and strongly condemn any acts of violence against advocates of abortion.  Such violent acts are not “pro-life” and only hurt the cause of generating respect for human life. We do not take part in or condone any illegal activity in the fight against abortion.

Carol Tobias, president of NRLC, also issued a statement immediately after the shooting, condemning the violence. She said: “National Right to Life, which represents 50 state affiliates and more than 3,000 local chapters, unequivocally condemns unlawful activities and acts of violence regardless of motivation. The pro-life movement works to protect the right to life and increase respect for human life. The unlawful use of violence is directly contrary to that goal.”

Every loss of life is tragic, and our thoughts and prayers go out to the Colorado Springs victims and their families.

The Man Behind the Myth That Abortion Is Empowerment

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By Maria Gallagher, Legislative Director
gallagher@paprolife.org

SubvertedYou may have heard of Larry the Cable Guy. But do you know about Larry the abortion guy?

In a recently released book entitled Subverted, writer Sue Ellen Browder tells her personal, emotionally riveting story of how she “helped the sexual revolution hijack the women’s movement.” Browder’s personal biography — a writer for Cosmo magazine who eventually saw the light and abandoned the darkness of the culture of death — is fascinating. But here, I want to focus on the individual who might be described as the man behind the modern pro-abortion women’s movement — Larry Lader.

According to Browder’s detailed account, Larry was an atheistic magazine writer whose first foray into the world of book publishing was an account of the life of Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger. Larry was one of the founders of the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws, now known as the abortion lobbying group NARAL.

Browder notes that it was due to Larry’s influence that the woman who might be called the mother of the women’s rights movement, Betty Friedan, inserted abortion into the National Organization for Women’s political platform. This turn of events came about even though Betty originally opposed legal abortion.

As Browder tells it, Larry was on a drive to Bucks County, Pennsylvania, with Dr. Bernard Nathanson (an abortionist who converted into a pro-life champion later in life) in 1967 when Larry stated, “If we’re going to move abortion out of the books and into the streets, we’re going to have to recruit the feminists.”

At a NARAL strategy meeting, Larry told Dr. Nathanson, “We’ve got to keep the women out in front. You know what I mean…and some blacks. Black women especially.”

Interestingly enough, Browder reports that Larry’s commitment to abortion formed a wedge between him and Margaret Sanger, who had called abortion “barbaric.”

Larry ultimately wrote a book on abortion, which was subtitled, “The first authoritative and documented report on the laws and practices government abortion in the U.S. and around the world, and how — for the sake of women everywhere — they can and must be reformed.” Still, as Browder writes, Larry’s book “was laced with poisonous half truth, limited truth, and truth out of context.”

And yet, Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmunn cited Larry’s abortion book at least seven times in writing the tragic decision Roe v. Wade and its companion case, Doe v. Bolton, which brought us abortion on demand for any reason during all nine months of pregnancy.

It is impossible to solve a problem unless we know its origins. Please read Subverted to learn how abortion became the law of the land. History can be difficult to handle, but we owe it to the 58 million and counting abortion victims who have become Larry’s legacy — and to the mothers who are still grieving their children’s deaths.

Making a Family Love Connection through the Internet

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By Maria Gallagher, Legislative Director
Gallagher@paprolife.org

I happened to be reading through a magazine when an interesting tidbit caught my eye. It was a blurb about a website dedicated to “using the Internet to build families.”

Curious, I decided to type https://www.adopttogether.org/ into Picture1my Internet browser. The homepage featured a TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) talk by Hank Fortener, the founder of the website. He starts by going “old school,” talking about how a couple adopted his grandfather in 1929 from an orphanage. His grandfather and grandmother had a son, Chuck, who with his wife Anne had three biological children. Then Chuck and Anne ended up providing foster care to 36 children in their home. They went on to adopt a number of other children from many different countries, creating a stunning family portrait which appears in the video.

Determined to help other children find families despite tremendous obstacles, Hank founded a non-profit crowdfunding platform to help lower the financial hurdles that prospective adoptive couples face. Fortener notes that adopting a child today can cost as much as a luxury car. That’s where his organization comes in. Couples complete an online profile, submit a homestudy and the parent organization of Adopt Together then awards grants for adoption to prospective adopting families.

The marriage of entrepreneurial spirit and the Internet to create a family love connection is truly inspiring. Let’s hope that others can create equally innovative ways to promote adoption, which is the truly loving option for children who, in today’s society, could otherwise face extinction through abortion.

Couple Offers to Adopt after Watching Undercover Planned Parenthood Videos

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The undercover videos exposing Planned Parenthood’s abortion practices have left many in our nation shocked and horrified.

kevincookBut one young couple who watched the undercover investigation decided they wanted to do something more.

LifeNews.com reports more about their story:

Kevin and Nicole Cook lost a baby to miscarriage almost two years ago and have been struggling with infertility ever since.

When the Kentucky couple saw the undercover videos showing Planned Parenthood profiting off aborted babies’ body parts, they were heartbroken, Live Action News reports.

“… it doesn’t break my heart .. it completely shatters it,” Kevin, a seminary student, wrote on his blog after watching the fourth undercover video, showing Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains’ Vice President and Medical Director, Dr. Savita Ginde, negotiating a fetal body parts deal, agreeing multiple times to illicit pricing per body part harvested, and suggesting ways to avoid legal consequences.

Kevin and his wife were moved to take action. Kevin sent out a call on his blog to mothers considering abortion:

If anyone out there reads this and is considering abortion, I will take your baby. My wife and I will gladly take all your babies! I’m completely serious. If you are pregnant and don’t want your child, we will. It’s not a fetus. It’s a blessing. Life matters.

That was in July. In October, the couple took their desire to adopt one step further and joined sidewalk counselors outside the abortion clinic in Lexington, Kentucky. Kevin and Nicole made signs that read: “God loves you and your baby” and “Please don’t abort … we will adopt your baby. Come talk to us!” Their passionate plea was met with mockery at the abortion facility, but they persevered.

Before going home, the Cooks took a picture of themselves outside the abortion center. They shared the photo and their dream to adopt on Facebook. Friends and family began to share the post and then it spread – to tens of thousands of others, according to the blog.

Four days later, Kevin shared good news on his blog – pregnant moms were messaging them about adoption.

He wrote:

The past few days have been insane! I’ve barely been able to touch my studies. … We’ve had literally thousands of messages from people all across the country. Many of them are supportive messages of encouragement. Even more are from families looking to adopt, either asking to be connected with a mother or for help in getting started.

… We’ve been in touch with dozens of pregnant women who were considering abortion, but after seeing our post reconsidered and messaged us. Amen to choosing life! However, a number of them seem to have fallen through for various reasons (miscarriage, no follow up communication, legal issues, etc).

We are still looking for the right situation for God to use us to save the life of a child who would otherwise be aborted, and we would love to be able to save two if God provides that!

The couple also has been very busy helping connect many of the pregnant women to local adoption agencies, according to the blog. They said many women who have contacted them want to choose adoption over abortion – but they just don’t know where to go.

The Cooks said they hope to “completely overwhelm” adoption agencies with birth mothers who have contacted them about their babies – and help save thousands of innocent lives from abortion.

Simple Reminders about the Value of Adoption

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Editor’s note: We are re-running one of our old column this month as part of Adoption Awareness Month.

By Micaiah Bilger

As I sit here at my desk and type, I can see my little sister’s picture in the corner of my eye. Her face is vibrant as she poses in her pink and blue ballerina tutu with little fairy wings and a flower pinned in her hair.

PortraitBelow that is a funny little picture that she sketched in church one day, a scribbly portrait of me and my husband. Every time I look at it, I smile. My husband has one big curly hair coming off the top of his head, and I think I have a tail.

Sometimes, I forget that my little sister was adopted. Even though we are 20 years apart and I was married before she was part of our family, I don’t think of her with an “adopted” label.

But when I saw that November is National Adoption Awareness Month, I was reminded that adoption brought her into my family’s lives. She has been a blessing in big ways and small ways, from her scribbly picture that greets me every morning at work to her filling my parents’ empty nest with the joy that only a child can bring.

And I just want to thank her birth mother and every birth mother who makes the difficult decision to make an adoption plan. I don’t know if my little sister’s birth mother considered having an abortion, but I do know she had the wisdom to see the value of her little girl’s life.

This is a short, simple post, but I just wanted to remind you (as I remind myself) of the value of adoption.

Learn more about adoption in Pennsylvania at AdoptPAKids.org.

11th Video: Abortionist Laughs about Harvesting Aborted Babies’ Brains

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The Center for Medical Progress released its 11th video today revealing more disturbing details about Planned Parenthood’s abortion practices.

Watch the video here. Warning: Some graphic content.

Undercover investigators catch abortionist Amna Dermish for Planned Parenthood in Austin, Texas, laughing as she talks about harvesting intact aborted babies’ brains.

Dermish says she has not been able to harvest intact heads yet, but exclaims with laughter, “This will give me something to strive for!”

Dermish also describes another staff member who is interested in organ development and often picks through the aborted babies’ body parts. She says the staff member enjoys identifying aborted babies’ hearts and kidneys.

“It’s cute,” Dermish says of the aborted babies’ hearts. “It’s amazing. It’s sort of, I have so much respect for development. It’s just incredible.”

Where is her respect for preborn babies — innocent human lives who Planned Parenthood destroys every day?

Read more about the undercover investigation here.

Congress Votes to Defund Planned Parenthood

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The U.S. House of Representatives voted today to defund Planned Parenthood and repeal dangerous anti-life provisions of Obamacare.

PlannedParenthood1Thirteen Pennsylvania Congressmen were among those voting with the majority to strip $400 million from the abortion giant and remove Obamacare directives which can lead to rationing of essential health care.

Click here to see how your representative voted.

According to LifeNews.com:

“The legislation the House approved today would hopefully be able to overcome the Democrats’ filibuster and be approved on a majority vote in the Senate.  H.R. 3762 is a special once-a-year measure called the ‘reconciliation bill.’ Unlike almost every other kind of bill, the ‘reconciliation bill’ cannot be filibustered in the U.S. Senate — so it can pass with only 51 votes, rather than 60 (of 100 senators). Republicans currently hold a narrow majority in the U.S. Senate, 54-46.”

Watch the undercover videos that spurred the move here.

Abortion Case Similar to Gosnell Is Breaking in Michigan

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A horrific abortion case eerily similar to Kermit Gosnell’s is being exposed in Michigan this week.

According to LifeNews.com:

michaelroth2“Local police have raided the upscale West Bloomfield, Michigan home of abortionist Michael Roth after acting on evidence that Roth may be performing illegal abortions — doing abortions either out of his home or in the private homes of his customers. In the course of the raid, police found what they believe are 14 containers that possibly contain the bodies of aborted babies along with other human tissue.

“The trunk of Roth’s car also contained medical equipment used for abortion procedures. Investigators confiscated medical ‘materials’ in bags and boxes at Roth’s home. Now, Roth is now under investigation by the Michigan Attorney General.”

These gruesome discoveries are reminiscent of what Pennsylvania officials discovered almost five years ago in Kermit Gosnell’s Philadelphia abortion center. Like Roth, Gosnell kept a grotesque collection of the aborted babies’ body parts on the shelves of his office and in the freezer.

It also is telling that authorities accidentally discovered these abortion horrors after investigating Roth and Gosnell for unrelated incidents.

In Roth’s case, police were investigating after “the doctor was driving … (and) hit a special needs child who was critically injured.” In the midst of the investigation, police found evidence that Roth was performing illegal abortions.

In Gosnell’s case, police raided his facility because of evidence that he was illegally selling prescription drugs.

Other similarities include botched abortions, injuries to women, unsanitary equipment, and drug-related violations of the law.

Tragically, Gosnell and Roth are not outliers. Abortionists like Steven Brigham, Doug Karpen, Ulrich Klopfer, and James Pendegraft are just a few others with similar reputations.

These are the back-alley butchers that Roe v. Wade was supposed to stop, according to abortion advocates’ narrative. But cases like these show that Roe v. Wade didn’t stop back alley butchers or protect vulnerable women. It simply opened the door to more horrors, including 58 million babies who were legally killed in abortions.