YouTube sensation Logan Paul has recently come under fire for an insensitive video he posted on YouTube.  In the offending video Paul, whose YouTube channel has over 15 million followers, visited Japan’s Aokigahara forest, also known as the “suicide forest.”  During their visit, Paul and his friends came across the body of someone who recently committed suicide and made jokes about the suicide victim.  Their insensitivity led to him to delete the video and issue an apology.

The backlash to the insensitivity of Paul and his friends has been swift and strong, and rightly so. What’s interesting is the notable silence of the Hemlock Society, rebranded as Compassion and Choices.  Its advocacy for legalizing doctor-prescribed suicide (and ultimately euthanasia) hinges on an assumption that suicide is no big deal and should be treated as cavalierly as Paul and his friends did.  The fact that the organization has not come out in full-throated defense of Paul is indicative of its hypocrisy.

Paul has stated he posted the video “to raise awareness for suicide and suicide prevention” but admits he doesn’t expect to be forgiven.  He has even apologized to the family of the person who committed suicide.  Similarly, Compassion and Choices, and other advocates of doctor-prescribed suicide should apologize to all who commit suicide for the cavalier attitude they display toward suicide and should refocus their attention on reminding people considering suicide they can always choose life.

The annual number of abortions has declined in Pennsylvania,  bringing them to their lowest level ever recorded in the Commonwealth, according to figures released by the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

The figures show that, in 2016, 30,881 abortions occurred in the Keystone State, down about three percent from 31,818 the previous year.

“The decline in abortions is good news for Pennsylvania mothers and babies,” said Maria Gallagher, legislative director for the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation, an affiliate of National Right to Life. “Our protective laws, scientific advances such as 4D Ultrasounds, and pregnancy resource centers around the Commonwealth are contributing to this encouraging trend,”Gallagher added.

The Department of Health reports more than 80 percent of abortions in Pennsylvania occurred in four counties: Philadelphia (14,626), Allegheny (6,080), Northampton (3,042), and Dauphin (1,504). The figures indicate the largest contingent of women having abortions were in the age range of 20 to 24 years.

Abortion totals in Pennsylvania would be much higher were it not for the vast number of pregnancy resource centers around the state. “The caring, compassionate individuals within these centers offer everything from diapers to day care referrals, from mentoring to maternity clothes to women and their families,” Gallagher said. “These pregnancy centers are truly a lifeline for women facing challenging circumstances.”

“Make no mistake—every single abortion is a tragedy, because it is the taking of an innocent, unrepeatable human life. Yet, Pennsylvanians can take great pride in the decline in abortions, which has been aided by the loving alternatives to abortion that exist in the Commonwealth,” Gallagher added.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                        CONTACT:  MATTHEW WAGNER,                                                                                              PA PRO-LIFE FEDERATION

December 18, 2017                                                                   717-541-0034

The following statement can be attributed to Michael Ciccocioppo, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation, an affiliate of National Right to Life:

“This is a sad day for women and children in Pennsylvania. With his veto of Senate Bill 3, Governor Tom Wolf is allowing the inhumane practice of dismemberment abortion to continue in the Commonwealth. No living child should have to endure being ripped limb by limb from a mother’s womb, and no mother should have to endure the emotional pain of losing a child in such a brutal manner. Governor Wolf’s distressing decision goes against the will of the vast majority of Pennsylvanians, who want to see cruel dismemberment abortions banned, once and for all.”

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.

cartoon by Dan Bartkowiak

Romeo and Juliet…Lancelot and Guinevere…Pocahontas and John Smith…tragic love stories abound throughout our culture. However, none of those love stories are nearly as tragic, or have had near the devastating impact, as the love story between pro-abortion Governor Wolf and Planned Parenthood.

The “relationship” between Governor Wolf and Planned Parenthood goes back to his days as a private citizen when he acted as a volunteer “escort” at a Planned Parenthood in York.  As an escort, Wolf would go out to the vehicles of mothers as they arrived at Planned Parenthood and prevent them from hearing the loving and supportive statements of pro-lifers outside the abortion center.  It blossomed into Planned Parenthood spending thousands of dollars supporting Governor Wolf’s election in 2014. It is no wonder then that Governor Wolf repeats Planned Parenthood’s lies every chance he gets and that just last week, he visited and praised the Elizabeth Blackwell abortion center in Philadelphia, despite it failing over 50% of its safety inspections.

The love story between Governor Wolf and Planned Parenthood is tragic for the over 17,000 Pennsylvania babies who die at a Planned Parenthood abortion center every year.  It is time for Governor Wolf to end his partnership with Planned Parenthood and start helping people remember there is always a reason to choose life.