46 Reasons for Hope

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StudentBy Maria V. Gallagher, Legislative Director

As we come upon the 46th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court ruling which legalized abortion, here are 46 reasons for hope for the decision’s ultimate demise:

  1. Statistics show the number of abortions in the U.S. are on the decline.
  2. Polls show the Millennial Generation is more pro-life than young people of generations past.
  3. The iGeneration, those born after the Millennials, are also largely pro-life.
  4. President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order barring taxpayer funding of organizations that perform and promote abortions overseas.
  5. The White House supports no federal funding for abortion giant Planned Parenthood.
  6. Vice-President Mike Pence has been outspoken in his defense of innocent human life.
  7. The Trump Administration is a pro-life administration.
  8. The President has vowed to appoint Supreme Court Justices who will not legislate from the bench, hastening the day; when Roe v. Wade will be overturned.
  9. The annual March for Life continues to attract huge crowds, largely made up of young people.
  10. Pregnancy resource centers are reaching out to pregnant women everyday with compassion, love, and support.
  11. The number of pregnancy resource centers in the U.S. far outnumber abortion facilities.
  12. Abortion centers are closing all across the country.
  13. The U.S. Senate is dominated by strong defenders of life, as are many state legislatures throughout the nation.
  14. 4D ultrasound technology is showing babies smiling in their mothers’ wombs.
  15. Women who regret their abortions and who want to help other women avoid similar heartache have found their voice in organizations such as the Silent No More Awareness Campaign.
  16. Healing retreats such as those of Rachel’s Vineyard are bringing hope to women scarred by abortion.
  17. A number of Planned Parenthood workers have left their jobs in the abortion industry and have become powerful spokespeople for the pro-life cause.
  18. Abortion survivors such as Melissa Ohden are speaking out about being targeted for abortion when they were preborn babies.
  19. A number of men are taking responsibility for pressuring their wives and girlfriends into having abortions.
  20. Scientific research supports the pro-life contention that abortion hurts women physically, mentally, and emotionally.
  21. The blogosphere is filled with pro-lifers willing to share their knowledge.
  22. Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter enable the pro-life movement to get accurate information out into cyberspace.
  23. Nurses who work with premature infants are sharing their experiences about the fragility of human life.
  24. A number of abortionists have stopped doing abortions and now promote life instead.
  25. College students are organizing and motivating their classmates to support pregnant women on campus.
  26. Teens for Life are finding innovative ways to promote life in their communities.
  27. Local chapters of National Right to Life are educating people about the life issue at area fairs and festivals.
  28. State affiliates of National Right to Life are passing pro-life laws and changing hearts and minds about abortion.
  29. Campaigns to legalize doctor-prescribed suicide have failed much more often than they have succeeded.
  30. Popular culture is recognizing the humanity of the preborn child by sharing Ultrasound videos and praising “baby bumps.”
  31. People with Down syndrome are showing why it is inhumane to abort a child diagnosed with a disability in the womb.
  32. New attention is being focused on the brutal practice of dismemberment abortion, where a child is torn limb by limb from a mother’s womb.
  33. An increasing number of people are questioning the practice of sex selection abortions, in which babies are aborted just because of their sex.
  34. The gruesome practice of partial-birth abortion, in which a baby is partly delivered, then killed, has been outlawed.
  35. A number of members of Congress are determined to shine a spotlight on allegations of baby body part harvesting in the abortion industry.
  36. Public opinion polls continue to show most people oppose most abortions.
  37. Polls also indicate that the vast majority of Americans oppose taxpayer funding of abortion.
  38. Polls demonstrate that most Americans oppose late-term abortions.
  39. A number of states have passed laws ensuring that no taxpayer funding of abortion can occur in the health insurance exchanges created by Obamacare.
  40. Many individuals want to make the Hyde Amendment, which bars taxpayer funding of abortion except in rare cases, permanent.
  41. A distinguished counselor to the President, Kellyanne Conway, spoke at the March for Life.
  42. Women across the country are courageously stating that Planned Parenthood does not speak for them.
  43. People with disabilities are leading the fight against doctor-prescribed suicide and euthanasia.
  44. Some people who joined the pro-life movement way back in 1973 continue to serve the cause with dignity and honor.
  45. A number of celebrities, such as actress Patricia Heaton, are bucking the Hollywood trend and boldly proclaiming their pro-life views.
  46. The end of Roe v. Wade is in sight, given the changes in our society.

10 Reasons to Love the Pro-Life Movement

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While driving into my office one day, I began to think of all the reasons that I love the pro-life movement. Although this is not an inclusive list, it does begin to express the gratitude I feel for this life-saving, life-changing movement:

1. It recognizes the intrinsic worth of the most vulnerable among us. It sees beyond appearances and stereotypes and attests to the value of the preborn, the infirm, and the elderly.

2. It is filled with young people. They give heart and hope to this incredible movement.

3. It is peopled with seasoned veterans, who enrich us with their wisdom and inspire us with their perseverance.

4. It is a movement of love. It is powered and sustained by a profound love for one’s fellow man and woman.

5. It is hopeful. It sees beyond the death and destruction of Roe v. Wade and envisions an America that is abortion-free.

6. It reaches out to women and men who have suffered from abortion. It is dedicated to the principle that individuals whose lives have been shattered by the scourge of abortion can find healing and hope.

7. It is peaceful, calling for a non-violent revolution of love.

8. It is inclusive, including people of all races and nationalities. It does not discriminate based on background or ethnicity.

9. It reaches out to the poorest among us–the preborn child.

10. It is compassionate, extending friendship to people in desperate circumstances and undergoing trying times.

The pro-life movement is truly one of America’s greatest treasures. I am thankful to all of you who make it so!

Pro-Abortion Movement Began With Lies

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Dr. Bernard NathansonBy Maria V. Gallagher, Legislative Director

History shows that the pro-abortion movement was founded on lies.

The late Dr. Bernard Nathanson co-founded the pro-abortion lobbying group known as NARAL. He admitted:

“A truthful poll of opinion then would have found that most Americans were against permissive abortion. Yet within five years we had convinced the Supreme Court to issue the decision which legalized abortion throughout America in 1973 and produced virtual abortion on demand up to birth.”

He further stated that NARAL produced fictional polls to bring about the legalization of abortion:

“We announced to the media that we had taken polls and that 60% of Americans were in favor of permissive abortion. This is the tactic of the self-fulfilling lie. Few people care to be in the minority.”

He also lied about the number of illegal abortions performed in the U.S. prior to the 1973 Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion in all fifty states.

“We aroused enough sympathy to sell our program of permissive abortion by fabricating the number of illegal abortions done annually in the U.S. The actual figure was approaching 100,000 but the figure we gave to the media repeatedly was 1,000,000. Repeating the big lie often enough convinces the public.”

He also fabricated the number of deaths from illegal abortions:

“The number of women dying from illegal abortions was around 200 – 250 annually. The figure constantly fed to the media was 10,000. These false figures took root in the consciousness of Americans convincing many that we needed to crack the abortion law.”

But Dr. Nathanson later testified to the truth by renouncing his pro-abortion advocacy and adopting a pro-life stance. He also served as a compelling witness to the deceitful origins of the pro-abortion movement–a movement which has led to the deaths of more than 60 million preborn children.   

Roe Still Must Be Overturned

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down-syndrome-group-picture-baby-kidsBy Maria V. Gallagher, Legislative Director

This week the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to take up two cases involving the defunding of Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion operation.

The cases involved the states of Kansas and Louisiana, which chose to take Medicaid money away from the abortion giant, which has been involved in a range of controversies. Those controversies include everything from disregard for the sacred nature of baby body parts to charges of covering up the sexual abuse of minors.

Because the Supreme Court declined to take up the cases, lower court rulings barring states from taking Medicaid money from Planned Parenthood stand.

Naysayers are quick to use this ruling to claim defeat for the pro-life movement’s efforts to stop abortion. But the fact of the matter is that the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision which legalized abortion, Roe v. Wade, can and must be overturned.

It is an inherently flawed decision. It claims a “right” which appears nowhere in the U.S. Constitution. The ruling came long before medical science was able to save “micropreemie” babies and 4D Ultrasound provided a window to the womb.

Case law needs to catch up with medicine. The courts need to recognize the vast body of knowledge which demonstrates the humanity of the preborn child. The judicial system should also listen to the cries of the many, many women nationwide who have been harmed by abortion.

For the sake of our children, for the well-being of women, and for the good of our nation, Roe must go.

 

A Doctor’s Duty

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Elderly handsBy Maria V. Gallagher, Legislative Director

The late Charles Krauthammer had a provocative way of writing that cut through to the heart of the matter.

His son Daniel recently released a posthumous collection of his father’s writings, entitled The Point of It All. While Krauthammer did not always fully embrace the pro-life viewpoint, his column on “A Doctor’s Duty” proclaims the physician’s role in preserving innocent human life.

Krauthammer wrote, “Even if the patient asks you to, you may not kill him.”

He went on to blast the trend toward doctor-prescribed suicide.

“In some advanced precincts–Holland and Oregon, for example, this is thought to be a quaint idea, and the state permits physicians to perform ‘assisted suicide.’ That is a terrible mistake, for the state and for the physician. And not only because it embarks us on a slippery slope where putting people to death in the name of some higher humanity becomes progressively easier.”

Krauthammer explained, “Even if there were no slippery slope, there is a deeply important principle at stake. Doctors are healers, not killers. You cannot annihilate the subject you are supposedly serving–it is not just a philosophical absurdity, it constitutes the most fundamental violation of the Hippocratic oath. You are not permitted to do any harm to the patient, let alone the ultimate harm.”

That is exactly what assisted suicide is–the ultimate harm. May public officials now take Krauthammer’s immortal words to heart.

Starting with the Children

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Child with balloonsBy Maria V. Gallagher, Legislative Director

I recently wrote an article about how there is so much “wrong” with the so-called “right” to abortion. A Twitter follower responded, “You are right but you have to start with the children.” I quite agree.

When I was in seventh grade, my astute teacher took our class down to the state Capitol to demonstrate against Roe v. Wade, the tragic U.S. Supreme Court decision which led to the killing of a million (sometimes more) preborn babies each year.

As I participated in my first pro-life event, I wondered, “Where are all the other people who should be protesting against this?”

I was not aware of the fact that, on the same bitterly cold day in January, masses of people descended on the nation’s Capitol for the annual March for Life. Nevertheless,  standing on the state Capitol grounds with my sign, I felt a powerful concern for unborn children everywhere, for our country, and for the movement I had just joined.

At the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation, the National Right to Life affiliate where I work, we reach out to young people everyday through Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. We give presentations to classes and hand out soft-touch fetal models to masses at the Creation Music Festival. We reach out to junior high and high school students with our annual essay and oratory contests. And we’ve reached more than 600,000 teens through our innovative partnership with the website TeenBreaks.com.

We know that, for the children and mothers of tomorrow to be saved from the tragedy of abortion, we need to reach out to young people today. The iGeneration is a critical link in the chain of hope crafted by the pro-life movement. The building blocks for a renewed culture of life rest in their hands.

Hearing the Cries of the Victims

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APR_Girl_VerticalBy Maria V. Gallagher, Legislative Director

In the wake of a tragedy, it is important to listen to the voices of the family members who have been left behind. That is why, at trials, victim statements are so powerful–they put into words the trauma and anguish of losing a family member to violence.

Abortion is such a tragedy. We cannot hear the silent screams of the babies who are killed in their mothers’ wombs. But we can pay attention to the testimony of mothers who have experienced the profound loss of a child to abortion.

The Silent No More Awareness Campaign (www.SilentNoMoreAwareness.org) gives voice to these courageous mothers. They underwent abortions, at times under heavy pressure. They have now come to regret those abortions, and they want to share their experiences with the world.

Take for instance Nicole from Illinois:”Immediately after, I sat there in recovery, crying and bawling. I had wanted to keep my baby, but I was so sick. However, I immediately regretted my decision, and I felt like a horrible mother. I should’ve fought my way through the pregnancy.”

Or Janet from California: “My sister took me the first time to a Planned Parenthood clinic, and it was wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am, over and never discussed again. I didn’t dare bring up being upset about it. It wasn’t allowed.”

Or Sue from Oklahoma: “I really didn’t have a clue.  This was back in the 70’s when abortion wasn’t as widely publicized as it is today.  Back then we were still being told that it wasn’t a real baby, just a clump of cells. No one came to me and told me I was ending the life of a human being.  No one.”

Or Laura from Utah: “I cannot change what happened but I can share about it and speak out, in the hopes that perhaps one woman out there will make a different, wiser, better choice-–a life-giving rather than a life-taking choice. I pray that that will be the case!”

When I did a search of the Silent No More website, 2,331 records came up of women who wanted to speak out about their abortion regrets. Their tear-filled testimonies must not be ignored.

 

 

 

Winning the Argument on Abortion

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Baby girlBy Maria V. Gallagher, Legislative Director

In these days of social media frenzy, when arguments break out on Facebook faster than you can press the “angry” icon, it’s important to keep in mind that rational discussions on the right to life are indeed possible.

In fact, we can learn a lot by considering the points made by Bishop Robert Barron in his recent book, which is a summary of talks he gave at the offices of Facebook and Google. While the auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles’ book is entitled, Arguing Religion,the ideas he offers for argumentation can be applied to a non-religious context.

One example he uses is of a video that went viral. It is of a six-foot tall male, interviewing college students by posing a series of provocative questions: “What if I told you I was a woman? What if I told you that I felt I was a Chinese woman? What if I told you that I claim the identity of a six-foot-five-inch Chinese woman?”

As Barron writes, the students “all agreed that they would be fine with that description if that’s what he truly felt he was.”

He points out that the interviewees “are in the grips of a deeply distorting ideology” that distances them “from reality.”

A similar argument could be used to characterize those who support legal abortion. They deny the reality that a living being with separate DNA from the mother lives in the mother’s womb. They deny the fact that the words “right to an abortion” appear nowhere in the U.S. Constitution. And they routinely ignore the cries of women who say they have been deeply harmed by their abortions.

A case in point which Barron specifically references is Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the 1992 U.S. Supreme Court ruling which failed to overturn Roe. The decision curiously stated, “It belongs to the nature of liberty to determine the meaning of life, of existence, of the universe.”

This is clearly wrong. My freedom does not determine your existence. You exist independently apart from me, and you were a separate being from your mother from the time of your conception.

On facts alone, the pro-life side wins!

 

Guide to President George H. W. Bush’s Pro-Life Achievements

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George HW BushBy Maria V. Gallagher, Legislative Director

I must admit, I was ignorant of President George H.W. Bush’s Pro-Life achievements.

It’s been three decades since he was elected leader of the free world, so I imagine I was not alone.

But for the sake of history, it is important that we educate ourselves about Bush 41’s record of accomplishment on the pro-life front.

Here’s what I found out:

  • The Bush Administration wanted the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade, the tragic Supreme Court ruling which brought us abortion on demand for any reason, and for no reason, during all nine months of pregnancy.
  • The Bush Administration stated that “protection of innocent human life–in or out of the womb–is certainly the most compelling interest that a state can advance.”
  • Of the radical Freedom of Choice Act, which would have established a pro-abortion policy beyond Roe, President Bush said, “It will not become law as long as I am President of the United States.”
  • President Bush vetoed ten bills with pro-abortion provisions, including taxpayer funding of abortion.
  • The President defended the “Mexico City Policy,” which prevents taxpayer funding of organizations that promote or perform abortions overseas. He also banned abortions at U.S. military bases, with the rare exception of saving the mother’s life.
  • President Bush banned thousands of federally-funded clinics from counseling or referring for abortions.

These are just some of the many pro-life milestones during the Bush 41 administration. As we mourn the loss of this pro-life President, let us be thankful for the graceful manner in which he strove to protect innocent human life.

There is So Much Wrong with This “Right”

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Baby sleepingBy Maria V. Gallagher, Legislative Director

We as Americans take our rights very seriously. The right to free speech. The right to freedom of religion. The right to peaceable assembly.

But there is so much wrong with the so-called “right” to an abortion.

To begin with, each abortion ends an innocent, unrepeatable human life. It is an act of killing a defenseless human being. There is nothing right, and everything wrong, with that.

In addition, the image of a woman freely and independently exercising a “right” to abortion is deeply flawed. Research shows that, much of the time, women are pressured into abortion by a boyfriend, husband, parent, or even a grandparent. In other words, they are making a choice they don’t want. A study also indicated that the vast majority of women who experience difficulties after abortion would have chosen life if just one person had supported it–just one!

The so-called “right” to abortion also completely ignores the rights of fathers. Under Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision which legalized abortion, a father’s right to defend the life of his child is stolen away. How many men are suffering in silence today, grieving the loss of a child they very much wanted?

Our society has suffered greatly from the loss of the more than 60 million preborn children who have died under Roe. We’ve lost doctors and diplomats, social studies teachers and scientists, and all manner of other professionals from legalized abortion.

A so-called “right” to abortion appears nowhere in the U.S. Constitution. It was invented by a group of men on the U.S. Supreme Court who did not have access to the 4D Ultrasound we have today–technology which clearly shows the development of the preborn child.

For the sake of our nation and our posterity, the so-called “right” to an abortion cannot stand. It will fall under the weight of its own hypocrisy.