Tag Archives: Pennsylvania

Gosnell Case Draws Attention to Abortion Horrors in Delaware

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Kermit Gosnell was convicted of murdering three newborn infants, but he probably killed hundreds more at his Philadelphia abortion center.

He botched abortions and injured women. He allowed unlicensed staff to perform gosnell40medical procedures, waving off the necessary sanitary and safety procedures. He treated his poor and minority patients differently.

News reports this week delve into the question of why Gosnell was not prosecuted in Delaware, where he also was doing abortions.

Some witnesses said Gosnell’s practices were no different in Delaware than they were in Philadelphia.

The problem, according to news reports, is that investigators did not have enough evidence to prosecute Gosnell in Delaware.

But now authorities have a new abortion investigation on their hands.

Last week, two nurses testified in the Delaware Senate that they quit Planned Parenthood Delaware after witnessing “ridiculously unsafe” conditions.

The similarities to Gosnell’s center are chilling: profit-driven “meat-market style assembly line abortions,” botched abortions that sent women to the hospital, unlicensed staff, and unsanitary conditions.

Hopefully, these reports will serve as a wake-up call to Delaware, just as Gosnell did in Pennsylvania. Abortion centers cannot be left unchecked by the state. When they do, women get hurt and babies die. It’s time to hold abortion centers accountable.

Toomey Calls on Feds to Take Action in Wake of Philadelphia Abortionist’s Murder Trial

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HARRISBURG, Pa. – The Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation commends U.S. Senator Pat Toomey, R-Pa., for urging the federal government to investigate abortion policies in the wake of the murder trial of West Philadelphia abortionist Kermit Gosnell.

“Our government hasUltrasound: Window to the Womb a long-overdue responsibility to take action to protect women and babies from the likes of Kermit Gosnell,” said Ms. Micaiah Bilger, education coordinator at the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation. “Gosnell is charged with killing four newborn infants and a female patient inside his filthy abortion center. He allegedly killed hundreds of babies and harmed countless women, but the state Department of Health ignored his horrific practices for almost two decades.”

Toomey is among the Senators who are planning to introduce a resolution today that calls on the government to investigate late-term abortion practices and policies across the U.S.

“Sadly, Philadelphia isn’t the only city where we are seeing these horrors take place,” Bilger said. “Abortion centers in Michigan, Maryland and Delaware are being investigated for deplorable conditions such as using unsterilized equipment on patients and performing what their own staff called ‘meat market-style’ abortions.

“We sincerely thank Sen. Toomey for leading the fight to protect women and babies from abusive abortion practices in our nation,” Bilger added.

Lancaster Teen’s Bathroom Birth Shows Need to Spread Word about Pregnancy Help

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If you live in Central Pennsylvania, chances are you have heard about the tragic Lancaster County incident where a teenager gave birth in a school bathroom and threw her baby in the trash.

Officials say the baby was a boy at seven months gestation. They do not Unborn baby pictureknow yet whether he was born alive.

This story reminds me just how much we need to get the word out about the help available to pregnant women and new mothers in desperate situations.

Pennsylvania has a safe haven law to help new mothers in crisis. The law allows a woman who feels she can’t take care of her baby to drop off the newborn (up to 28 days old) at a health care facility, no questions asked.

Here’s more from a local news station:

Registered Nurse Donna Carr leads the ‘Safe Haven’ program through Lancaster General Health.

She says she knows the stress an unplanned pregnancy can bring, and in extreme cases, the danger that follows that stress. “I think the most obvious thing is denial. I’m just overwhelmed and I shutdown. I don’t tell anybody about it then when labor comes they’re in a panic.”

Mary Steffy is also a registered nurse. She says women need help for many different reasons. “Stories we’ve heard are they were scared to tell their parents. Maybe they broke up with their boyfriend and didn’t want to face the fact that they are now pregnant. Those are all things we can help them deal with through that.”

Please help spread the word that help is available, whether a woman wants to raise her child, make an adoption plan, or take her baby to a safe haven.

A Victory for Pennsylvania Taxpayers!

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House Approves Abortion Opt-out Bill in Federal Health
Insurance Exchange

HARRISBURG, Pa. – The Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed House Bill 818 on Tuesday, supporting the Commonwealth’s longstanding policy of not using taxpayer dollars to fund abortions.

Unborn child2“The legislation is in line with the restriction on public funding of abortion present in Pennsylvania’s landmark Abortion Control Act. It’s a long-standing policy that works,” said Maria Gallagher, legislative director of the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation. “We applaud House members – Republicans and Democrats, women and men – who have followed the will of the people in passing this critical bill.”

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Donna Oberlander, R-Armstrong, would allow Pennsylvania to opt-out of abortion coverage in the state health insurance exchange, which will be created by the Affordable Care Act using public dollars. The bill includes exceptions for rape, incest, and the mother’s life.

“Unless this legislation becomes law, starting next year, Pennsylvania will be in the abortion business – dramatically and radically reversing the Keystone State’s long-standing policy against public funding of abortion,” Gallagher said.

A Quinnipiac University poll showed that more than 70 percent of Americans, including the same majority of women, oppose public funding of abortion in the federal health care plan.

So far, 21 states have passed similar legislation to opt-out of abortion funding. A provision written into the Affordable Care Act allows states to opt-out of abortion funding in health care reform.

House Bill 818 now moves to the Senate for consideration.

Now, it’s important that we let our state Senators know that we want them to support HB 818 too.  To find out who your state Senator is, or to find out contact information for your state Senator, please click here.

Please call your state Senator to let the Senator know you want a “yes” vote on HB 818 when it is voted on in the Senate.

 Please share this message with your pro-life friends and family members.

Legislature Urged to Take Swift Action to Stop Tax Funding of Abortion in Pennsylvania!

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House Bill 818 simply safeguards Pennsylvania’s long-standing policy against tax funding of abortion—a policy which works, and which is supported by the vast majority of taxpayers.

Baby feetA Quinnipiac poll shows that more than 70 percent of Americans oppose public funding of abortion under the federal health care law. More specifically, in the same poll, 70 percent of American women opposed such abortion funding.

The bill is about only one thing: ensuring that Pennsylvania continues its long-standing policy against taxpayer funding of abortion. Twenty-one other states have passed similar legislation and signed it into law, and other states are expected to follow suit.

If HB 818 is not passed by the PA House and Senate and signed by the Governor, starting next year, Pennsylvania taxpayers will be paying for abortions under the health insurance exchange created by the federal health care law—radically reversing Pennsylvania’s decades-old policy against tax-funded abortions.

Call your state rep NOW and urge a yes vote on HB 818! To find out contact info for your state lawmaker, call us at 717-541-0034.

Why Hyde Amendment Won’t Prohibit Govt-Funded Abortion in Health Insurance Exchange

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Right now, Pennsylvania legislators are considering two bills that would allow our state to opt-out of abortion coverage in the state health insurance exchange programs under the Affordable Care Act.

The Pennsylvania House and Senate must pass an opt-out bill before January 1, 2014, or public funding of abortion will happen in Stop Abortion MandatesPennsylvania.

But some people have asked how that is possible. Doesn’t the Hyde Amendment prohibit government funding of abortions?

The simple answer is no, not under the federal health care law.

Douglas Johnson, legislative director for the National Right to Life Committee, explains in more detail:

“In reality, the Hyde Amendment is not a government-wide law — it applies only to funds appropriated through the annual appropriations bill that funds the Department of Health and Human Services. As National Right to Life has pointed out … and as the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service confirmed in two memoranda …, none of the funds that would be expended by the public plan, and none of the funds that will subsidize the purchase of private insurance plans, will ever flow through an HHS appropriations bill. Therefore, none of the funds will be covered by the Hyde Amendment.”

FactCheck.org also wrote an article calling out President Obama in 2009 for his false claim that there will not be government funding of abortion in the health care law.

This is why opt-out legislation must be passed in Pennsylvania. Please check out our legislative director’s excellent column on The Patriot-News to learn more about this important legislation.

Pa. Abortions Decrease, Complications Increase in 2011

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HARRISBURG, Pa. – While abortions in Pennsylvania declined for the third year in a row in 2011, complications as a result of the procedure increased sharply, according to statistics released by the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

Statistics show 498 (1.4 percent) fewer abortions in 2011 compared to 2010. In total, there were 36,280 abortions performed in Pennsylvania in 2011. The 2011 total represents a 44.8 percent decrease from the all-time high of 65,777 recorded in 1980.

However, the year brought a disturbing 78.7 percent increase in the number of complications from abortions. The 109 reported complications included bleeding, infections and “retained products of conception” including fetal parts, according to the department.

“As these statistics show, abortion not only destroys a preborn child’s life but also puts its mother’s health at risk,” said Micaiah Bilger, education coordinator at the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation.

The year 2011 brought to light the gristly practices of Philadelphia abortionist Kermit Gosnell, who is charged with the murders of a woman and seven newborn babies. In response to the tragedy, Pennsylvania implemented Act 122, which requires abortion facilities to be licensed as outpatient surgical facilities and to submit to unannounced inspections.

“Every life, from the moment of conception to natural death – and everywhere in between, deserves to be protected,” Bilger said.

To access the Pa. Department of Health report on abortion, click here.

Women Tell Stories of Abortion in New Pro-life Film Produced in Pennsylvania

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A teenager faces a life-threatening pregnancy after being raped.

A woman buries the hurt of her abortion by performing them on others.

A vulnerable young woman feels pressured by her boyfriend to have an abortion.

A young nurse discovers a live baby left to die after a failed abortion.

These women are the voices of a new pro-life documentary coming out of Pennsylvania this November. “The Voice of John” is a feature-length documentary produced by RiverSong Productions in cooperation with the Pennsylvanians for Human Life of Hazleton, a chapter of the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation.

“The Voice of John” is based around the story of producer Maryann Lawhon, who as a young nurse discovered the atrocities of abortion.

It was 1977, and she was working in an obstetrics unit in another state. One day, she found a baby left to die in a dirty utility room. The staff told her to leave the baby alone, because it was an abortion. Against their instructions, she held the baby and baptized him.

“I will name you John, and I will tell the world what I saw here today,” she promised. “I will be your voice!”

Now, “The Voice of John” brings her promise to fruition. Lawhon’s voice joins many others as filmmakers expose the truth about abortion and the laws that allow these unnecessary killings to continue.

Notable pro-life and Christian figures also make appearances in “The Voice of John,” including Dr. Alveda King, Ken Ham, Father Frank Pavone, and Mike Huckabee, as well as leaders from Silent No More, the Population Research Institute, and the National Right to Life Committee.

To watch the trailer or learn more about film showings, visit The Voice of John website.

Understanding Abortion Numbers

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Sometimes it’s hard to put abortion statistics into perspective.

Since abortion became legal across the board in 1973, our nation has lost 55 million babies. But that number can be hard to really comprehend.

Benjamin Bull, an attorney with the Alliance Defending Freedom, makes the numbers a little easier to understand with this example:

“If a number like ‘55 million’ is hard to grasp, think of it this way—if you added together the populations of New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Diego, Dallas, Jacksonville, Indianapolis, and San Francisco, you would only have about 26.1 million people—less than half the number aborted.”

In Pennsylvania, about 37,000 abortions happen every year. That’s about 80 percent of Harrisburg’s population lost – every year! If there were 37,000 deaths in the county where I grew up, no one would be left.

Or think of abortions this way:
• Count to 24. Another baby has been aborted in the United States.
• Watch the clock for 15 minutes. Another baby has been aborted in Pennsylvania.

To see the number of abortions in Pennsylvania every year, click here.

Numbers do matter – especially when they represent the lives of people who we will never know.

Celebrating Life with Our Neighbors in Ohio, New York

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This week, we are celebrating with some of our neighboring states because more babies are alive!

Ohio’s newly released abortion statistics showed an all-time low for the state. Comparing 2010 to 2011 statistics, Ohio saw a 12 percent drop in the number of abortions. This means 3,359 fewer babies were lost to abortion.

In 2010, Pennsylvania’s abortion rates also dropped. Compared to 1980, when the most abortions occurred in our Commonwealth, the number of abortions in 2010 was 44 percent smaller. Numbers for 2011 have not been released yet.

And up north, a New York City health clinic said it will stop offering abortions this month. The decision came in response to pro-life advocates – some of whom spent decades advocating for an end to the abortion practices.

More precious lives are being saved – a great reason to celebrate!