Tag Archives: Tom Corbett

PA Pro-Lifers Scored Victories amid Losses in 2014 Election

Posted on by
Translator

By Maria Gallagher, Legislative/PAC Director

The untold story of Election 2014 in Pennsylvania is how well pro-lifers fared in legislative contests.

Capitol-front-viewLargeThe Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation PAC endorsed 12 candidates for Congress, 69 candidates for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, and five candidates for the Pennsylvania Senate. Every single PAC-endorsed legislative candidate won his or her race.

Noteworthy is the fact that the pro-life endorsements crossed party lines—a number of pro-life Democrats won their contests. Female pro-life candidates also scored exceptionally well, shattering the myth that all women in Pennsylvania politics stand on a pro-abortion platform.

Of course, this welcome news for preborn children and their mothers will receive little airplay, since Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion operation, is playing up the fact that their Executive Branch candidates—pro-abortion Gubernatorial candidate Tom Wolf and his flip-flopping running mate, Lieutenant Governor candidate Mike Stack—defeated pro-life Governor Tom Corbett and Lieutenant Governor Jim Cawley.

Yet, nothing was as touching as the Election Night moment when Governor Corbett, in a graceful concession speech, praised Chloe Kondrich, a special needs child who successfully won passage of a law to ensure that parents of unborn babies diagnosed with Down Syndrome receive helpful information and referrals. The legislation was especially significant, since statistics indicate as many as 90 percent of unborn children diagnosed with Down Syndrome are aborted.

Sadly and tragically, such legislation would have had scarce chance of becoming law under the incoming Wolf/Stack regime.

History will show that, in just four years, Governor Corbett made tremendous progress in the fight for life, answering the Kermit Gosnell tragedy with swift and decisive action. Abortion facilities that went uninspected for more than 15 years finally are subject to regular health inspections…abortion operations must follow basic safety standards…and no taxpayer dollars will be used for abortion under the health insurance exchange created in Pennsylvania through Obamacare.

It will be up to the pro-life General Assembly to keep Wolf’s rabid abortion policies in check, so that protections for unborn children and their mothers will not disappear in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Where the Candidates for Governor Stand on Life

Posted on by
Translator

Our Legislative Director Maria Gallagher just finished a new fact sheet comparing Gov. Tom Corbett and challenger Tom Wolf on abortion and taxpayer funding of abortion.

Click here find out where the candidates stand on these important issues.NRLC-Vote

Abortion rates have been dropping in Pennsylvania in the past four years, and abortion centers have been closing their doors. But there is still a lot of work to do.

Every 15 minutes, a baby dies in an abortion in Pennsylvania. Every 15 minutes, we are losing another precious human life in our state. Every 15 minutes, a woman is being subjected to an abortion, a tragedy that may stay with her for the rest of her life.

Babies and their moms deserve better than abortion. Pennsylvania needs leaders who are dedicated to supporting and protecting both baby and mom from this far too common tragedy.

Election Day is Tuesday, November 4 in Pennsylvania. If you aren’t registered to vote, you still have time to. Click here for details.

Tom Wolf Endorsed by Radical Abortion Group NARAL

Posted on by
Translator

By Maria Gallagher, Legislative/PAC Director

The Democratic candidate for governor of Pennsylvania, Tom Wolf, has the backing of the pro-abortion PAC known as NARAL.

Capitol-front-viewLargeA press release said that Wolf, whose TV ads portray him as an affable cabinet maker, “happily accepted” the endorsement.

“I am thankful to NARAL Pro-Choice America PAC for their support,” Wolf was quoted as saying.

NARAL supports abortion on demand for any reason during all nine months of pregnancy. The special interest group opposes all protective laws, including restrictions on late-term abortions and bans on taxpayer funding of abortion.

The endorsement clearly indicates that a Wolf administration would attempt to turn back the clock on the significant gains Pennsylvania has made in protecting women and children in the aftermath of the massive Kermit Gosnell tragedy. Gosnell was ultimately convicted of killing three full-term babies and causing the death of a female patient in his abortion center “House of Horrors.”

Back in the Gosnell era, abortion centers in the Keystone State went uninspected for 15 years or more. The Gosnell grand jury said the refusal to inspect resulted from the pro-abortion political stands of former Governors Ridge and Rendell.

Governor Tom Corbett took swift action in response to the Gosnell case, holding bureaucratic ideologues responsible, retooling the state health department, and insisting on inspections of abortion facilities.

Governor Corbett also signed into law Pennsylvania’s landmark abortion center regulation act, which placed the Commonwealth at the forefront of national efforts to safeguard the health and safety of women. At least a half-dozen abortion facilities closed because they either could not or would not abide by these basic safety standards.

The media should consider asking Wolf whether the NARAL endorsement means that he also rejects unannounced inspections of abortion facilities and the common sense safety standards that are now protecting women in Pennsylvania.

State Investigates Allentown Abortion Center Allegedly Dodging Facility Inspection

Posted on by
Translator

HARRISBURG, Pa. – Documents from an abortion center in Allentown have prompted state officials to investigate whether the center may be dodging unannounced state inspections.

A Planned Parenthood in Allentown allegedly rescheduled abortion procedures after finding out when the Pennsylvania Department of Health planned to inspect the facility, according to documents released to blogger Jill Stanek. The allegations that Planned Parenthood has inside information about inspections prompted speedy action by the Governor.

“Pro-life Governor Tom Corbett’s office is now looking into allegations that abortion giant Planned Parenthood may be getting preferential treatment when it comes to abortion center inspections,” said Maria Gallagher, legislative director of the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation, an affiliate of National Right to Life. “We commend the Governor for taking swift action to ensure the integrity of the inspection process. The health and safety of women across the Commonwealth are at stake.”

Stanek said the documents came from an informant from the Planned Parenthood Keystone affiliate, which oversees facilities in central and eastern Pennsylvania. One document shows a Planned Parenthood “Changes to Medical Center and Admin Building Schedules.” The schedule was updated on March 11 showing that abortions in Allentown would be moved from Friday, March 21, to Thursday, March 20, due to the Department of Health inspection.

In 2011, Pennsylvania enacted a new law requiring regular and unannounced inspections of abortion centers in an effort to protect the health and safety of women and babies in the Commonwealth.

“Pennsylvania has become a national leader in abortion center regulation and it is critically important that the inspection process not be compromised. We remember all too well the horrors that took place in West Philadelphia under the direction of abortionist and now convicted murderer Kermit Gosnell. We owe it to Gosnell’s victims to learn from the painful lessons of the past,” Gallagher added.

To view the original documents, visit: http://www.jillstanek.com/2014/04/pa-planned-parenthood-reschedules-abortions-to-dodge-inspectors/

One Year after Kermit Gosnell’s Trial, We Must Stay Vigilant

Posted on by
Translator

One year has passed since abortionist Kermit Gosnell went on trial, and his horrific crimes are still having an impact today.

Pennsylvania and other states have taken action to help prevent other abortionists like Gosnell from preying on vulnerable women and their babies; but there is still so much work to be done.

Star Parker, a pro-life leader in the black community, writes at LifeNews.com:

gosnell40“Anecdotes of those who worked (at Gosnell’s abortion facility) suggest the scope of murder, illegal abortions, abuse of women — mostly low income minority and immigrant women — was far beyond what could be adequately documented to stand up for the trial.

“The years that Gosnell committed his atrocities with no regulatory oversight, and the challenges to get national media attention to his trial once it began, should provoke extra vigilance today to ad-dress the issues involved that still are not getting adequate attention and the extent to which similar abuses are occurring elsewhere.

“At the conclusion of the Gosnell trial, the chairmen of the House Judiciary Committee and the House Energy and Commerce committees wrote to Attorneys General and leading health officials in all the states.

“Attorneys General were asked whether ‘state and local officials are being stymied in their efforts to protect the civil rights of newborns and their mothers by legal or financial obstacles that are within the federal government’s power to address.’ State health officials were asked how they regulate and monitor abortion clinics to protect the health and safety of women.

“We’d like to know the results of these inquiries and how this information can be used to create better policies for protecting women and children.

“My colleagues find in their investigations around the nation that Kermit Gosnell was by no means one of a kind. There are more. And, to our dismay, irresponsible and inhumane behavior continues regarding the treatment of women, particularly low-income minority women, in these facilities.”

Pennsylvania, under pro-life Governor Tom Corbett, has done a lot to help protect women and babies from abortionists who would prey on their vulnerability.

Right now, the Pennsylvania Senate is considering a bill that would enact harsher penalties for impersonating a doctor – something several of Gosnell’s employees did.

We must stay vigilant. We must never forget the women and babies who Gosnell slaughtered. And we must never stop working to protect them.

State Shuts Down Philadelphia Abortion Center

Posted on by
Translator

After a thorough investigation, Gov. Tom Corbett’s administration is taking away the license of an abortion facility in Philadelphia alleged to have ties to a notorious abortionist.

The abortion facility, Integrity Family Health, was granted a state permit earlier this fall. However, evidence later came to light that abortionist Steven Brigham was connected with the facility.

BrighamPhilly

Michael Ciccocioppo, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation, said, “We commend Governor Corbett and his staff for taking this matter so seriously and investigating it so thoroughly. Even though officials say Brigham was not personally performing abortions at the facility, this action is good news for women and their preborn babies across the Commonwealth.”

The facility’s license has been taken away, and it may no longer perform abortions at this time.

Published reports say Brigham once ran an abortion ring with 15 facilities in four states, including four in Pennsylvania. His Pennsylvania facilities, in Erie, Allentown, State College, and Pittsburgh, have since closed.

Governor Signs Bill Protecting Pa. Tax Dollars from Abortion

Posted on by
Translator

Legislation Allows the Commonwealth to Opt-Out
of Elective Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance Exchange

HARRISBURG, Pa. – Governor Tom Corbett signed into law Monday a measure to protect Pennsylvania tax dollars from being spent on abortion.

House Bill 818, which passed the state House in April and Senate on June 5, ensuresChoose Life! that Pennsylvania opts out of elective abortion coverage in the state health insurance exchange created through the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare.

“House Bill 818 is a true taxpayer protection bill,” said Maria Gallagher, legislative director of the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation. “We thank Governor Corbett and the legislators for protecting taxpayers’ interests and preserving Pennsylvania’s longstanding and time-tested policy that prevents taxpayer funding of abortion.”

The Affordable Care Act includes a provision allowing states to opt-out of abortion coverage in the health insurance exchanges. Pennsylvania joins more than 30 other states that have, or are in the process of, enacting opt-out legislation.

“National polls show the majority of women and men – on both sides of the abortion issue — agree that our tax dollars should not be spent on abortion,” Gallagher said. “Without this legislation, Pennsylvania taxpayers would be forced to support the abortion industry.”

House Bill 818 includes exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother, which are the same exceptions that apply to Medicaid funding of abortion in Pennsylvania. Therefore, the Pennsylvania bill is in line with state law and the U.S. Constitution.

The bill was sponsored by state Rep. Donna Oberlander, R-Clarion.