Life Advocacy Briefing

March for Life Coming Up

NEXT MONDAY, JAN. 23, HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of pro-life citizens will rally at noon in Washington, DC, for the 39th annual March for Life, marking the anniversary of the Jan. 22, 1973, Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton edicts of the US Supreme Court. The rally will gather this year on the National Mall west of 8th Street, near the Smithsonian Castle. Following a rally of stirring presentations by Members of Congress, clergy and key leaders from the pro-life community, marchers will walk the traditional route down Constitution Avenue, ending at the Supreme Court building in the vicinity of Capitol Hill.

Other Life-advocating activities will be offered throughout the weekend and in the hours following the March. We list as many of those as we have discovered, at the end of this Life Advocacy Briefing. We expect to publish transcripts from Congressional speeches at the March in coming editions.

Lawmakers Back Ohio in Defense Against RU-486

SEN. TOM COBURN (R-OK), HOUSE SPEAKER JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH) and 15 other Members of the US House have filed an amicus brief, prepared by Americans United for Life, defending Ohio’s statute regulating the dispensing of the RU-486 abortion drug in the state, reports AUL in a news release.

The modest, commonsense law has been subjected to litigation and is under review before the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals.

“Eight women in the US have died from bacterial infection following the misuse of RU-486,” said Dr. Charmaine Yoest, AUL CEO in the news release; she noted the improper dispensing of RU is “advocated by Planned Parenthood.” Indeed, Planned Parenthood is known to be violating FDA safety protocols, which Ohio is seeking to put into law.

The amicus brief, notes AUL, “focuses on the medical data demonstrating that misuse of RU-486 is dangerous and that US Supreme Court precedent clearly demonstrates that the regulation imposes no ‘undue burden’ on women.”

Among the signers of the brief, in addition to the Speaker and Sen. [Dr.] Coburn are Representatives Paul Broun MD (GA); Charles Boustany MD, Bill Cassidy MD & John Fleming MD (LA); Andy Harris MD (MD); Dan Benishek MD (MI); Diane Black RN (TN); and, from Ohio, Steve Austria, Steve Chabot, Bob Gibbs, Bill Johnson, Jim Jordan, Robert Latta, Jean Schmidt, Steve Stivers and Pat Tiberi.

Texas Freed to Enforce Sonogram Law

A 3-JUDGE PANEL OF THE 5th CIRCUIT APPELLATE COURT TUESDAY UPHELD a Texas law requiring abortionists, reports Kathleen Gilbert for LifeSiteNews.com, “to tell mothers details of their baby’s stage of development and to make the sonogram image of their child visible and his or her heartbeat audible, leaving it to the [aborting] woman to decide whether to look at the screen or not.

District Judge Sam Sparks, late last summer, awarded an injunction against enforcing the law to the Center for Reproductive Rights, which sued to block its implementation. Last week’s ruling overruled Judge Sparks, who will continue to hear the case against the law.

Though the case is not yet concluded, the law can now be enforced. What is more, reports Kathleen Gilbert, the three-judge appellate panel “went further, deeming several of opponents’ central claims against the [statute] false. ‘To belabor the obvious and conceded point, the required disclosures of a sonogram, the fetal heartbeat and their medical descriptions are the epitome of truthful, non-misleading information,’ wrote Chief Judge Edith H. Jones, who also noted,” writes Ms. Gilbert, “that denying [an] abortion-bound [woman] data about her decision ‘is more of an abuse to her ability to decide’ than supplying it.”

In a rare and delicious twist, “the panel also directed,” writes Ms. Gilbert, “that any other appeals or motions would have to come to the same panel of three judges, barring an appeals trial more favorable to opponents … .”

Judge Sparks, who has made clear his personal antipathy to the sonogram measure, is expected to issue a ruling by Friday and can ignore the appellate court opinion.

But the appellate panel’s decision “set important precedent,” regardless of what Judge Sparks decides, said Americans United for Life’s ultrasound law expert Mailee Smith, quoted by LifeSiteNews, “for pro-life informed consent bills in the future. ‘This affirms other areas of informed consent as well,’” she told LifeSiteNews, “‘such as the giving of truthful information on studies demonstrating a link between abortion and breast cancer, and abortion and the risk of suicide.’”

Planned Parenthood Rakes in Our $ & Kills Our Future

NOW THAT PLANNED PARENTHOOD HAS RELEASED ITS ANNUAL REPORT for its 2009-2010 sucker-playing season, we can see, as notes Christine Dhanagom, writing for LifeSiteNews.com, “the organization’s abortion business is booming, with the help of government subsidies even more massive than have previously been revealed.”

Ms. Dhanagom writes, PP “attempted to present the 329,455 abortions it committed last year as only a small aspect of its business.” [Thank you, Ms. Dhanagom, for using the verb “committed” in connection with abortion; all of us should!] She further notes that Stop Planned Parenthood’s analysis “tell[s] a different story about the abortion-centered nature of PP’s business model.

“Based on a survey of average charges for abortions at PP locations each year,” Ms. Dhanagom writes, “STOPP is estimating that abortions accounted for more than half of the income brought in” by the outfit’s shops in 2009-2010.

The STOPP analysis also unmasks PP’s suppression of its supposed adoption referral component, reports LifeSiteNews. “Since 2007, when the ratio of adoption referrals to abortions was a staggering 1:62,” writes Ms. Dhanagom, “the [PP] adoption referral rate has declined dramatically, and the disparity between abortions and adoptions has become even greater. The 2008 ratio was one adoption for every 134 abortions, and the 2009 ratio was 1:340.” Further, the ratio in 2010 was 1:391, according to LifeSiteNews.

Bottom line, PP’s total net assets topped $1 billion, “a new record high, according to the Susan B. Anthony List,” writes Ms. Dhanagom.

What did PP take in from taxpayers during the period covered by its latest report? “Planned Parenthood,” writes Ms. Dhanagom, “received $487.4 million in government money in 2010, a huge jump from the $363.2 million reported last year. At the same time,” she reports, “contributions to the organization from private sources dropped from $308.2 million the year before to $223.8 million” – the one element of right-trending news in the report.

The LifeSite story concludes that the huge jump in government funding might actually have been an accounting adjustment. “According to a footnote in the report,” writes Ms. Dhanagom, “the new figure of government funding includes payments made by patients on Medicaid-managed care plans, money that in previous reports had been buried under the category of ‘health center income.’ The only taxpayer-subsidized income reported [in the outfit’s previous report] was money that came directly from the government in the form of grants and contracts. This year’s restructured report lumps all government money under the category of ‘government health services grants and reimbursements,’” writes Ms. Dhanagom, “revealing a more complete picture of how much taxpayer money the organization is actually pocketing.”

Ladies and Gentlemen of the House and Senate and of the struggling State Legislatures: If you want to know how to cut your spending, this is the first place to start, with a total defunding.

Notorious Baby Killer Indicted for Murder

WHILE WE WERE CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS & THE COMING OF 2012, some very good news came from Maryland, where a grand jury indicted notorious serial abortionist Steven Brigham on 11 counts of murder related to illegal late-term abortions. Yes, we said Maryland.

“[Mr.] Brigham was arrested after a 16-month grand jury investigation culminated in murder indictments for [Mr.] Brigham and his Utah associate Nicola Riley,” reports Operation Rescue in an OR news release, “after a botched abortion led to a police raid of his ‘secret’ Elkton, [Maryland] abortion clinic where the remains of 35 late-term aborted babies were discovered in a freezer.”

Maryland law permits murder charges to be brought for the abortion killing of late-term babies.

Mr. Brigham’s temporary incarceration in a Maryland jail, ending with his release on $500,000 bond, appears to have hampered business at two Pennsylvania abortuaries with which Mr. Brigham has been associated in the past. After losing his medical license in the state and being ordered not to commit abortions in Pennsylvania, Mr. Brigham transferred ownership to a company said, according to OR, to be owned by his mother.

OR discovered last week that his “former” shops in Allentown and Pittsburgh were not currently scheduling abortions because “the abortionist for the [facilities] had taken a ‘temporary leave of absence,’” according to a receptionist at one of the shops, who added, according to OR, “it was not known when he would return.” Pennsylvania, are you paying attention?

We’ve Lost a Friend

WE MOURN THE DEATH OF CAROLE GRIFFIN, a champion for Life and family, who hosted our first Winning with Life seminar in Orlando, Florida, in 1992, and several Florida seminars thereafter. Strategically located in Tallahassee, Carole became one of the most effective lobbyists in the state capitol for all the right causes. She served long as Eagle Forum’s state president and was chairman of the board for Project Reality, the abstinence education pioneer. Several years ago she ran for Congress as a Republican. She cannot be replaced, but her leadership has and will inspire many.

D.C. Events Related to the March for Life

MOST INFORMATION IN THIS LISTING is taken from www.marchforlife.org. The website also includes valuable information about transportation.

• March for Life organizers have booked the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill and the Washington Court hotel (across New Jersey Avenue) for lodging of participants. Inquiries may be sent to [email protected].

• A March for Life convention will take place throughout the weekend, we believe at the Hyatt Regency. We were unable to discover further information.

• An exhibit hall will occupy the main lobby of the Hyatt Regency from noon to 5 and 7 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 21, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 22, and from 8 to 11 a.m. on the morning of Jan. 23. The exhibit hall will re-open after the March Monday until 6 p.m.

• A youth rally will celebrate Life in the ballroom at the Hyatt Regency on Saturday, Jan. 21, from 7 to 10 p.m., featuring dynamic speakers from major pro-life youth organizations. The rally is hosted by Bryan Kemper, founder of Stand True Ministries and recently named youth outreach director for Priests for Life.

• Lafayette Park, across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House, is the site for a March for Life Mini-Rally on Sunday, Jan. 22, from 3 to 5 p.m.

• The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (www.usccb.org) is hosting an all-night National Prayer Vigil on Jan. 22 into Jan. 23, in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

• On Jan. 23 from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m., Family Research Council will host ProLifeCon, annual conference for on-line pro-life activists, which will be live-cast on the Internet at www.frc.org for those who cannot attend in person. Speakers include renowned photojournalist Michael Clancy [visit www.michaelclancy.com], 11-year-old pro-life hero Samuel Armas [whose hand you’ll see on the Clancy website, reaching out of his mother’s womb and grasping the doctor’s finger during prenatal surgery], pro-life youth leaders Lila Rose and Ryan Bomberger, Gerard Nadal, Congressional Pro-Life Caucus chairman Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and more, including pro-life blog queen Jill Stanek.

• March for Life rally at noon Jan. 23, followed by the massive march down Constitution Avenue to the Supreme Court.

• Rose Dinner featuring Ken Cucinelli, Virginia’s outstanding pro-life Attorney General, starting at 7 p.m. following a social hour at 6, at the Hyatt Regency. Tickets at $75 may be purchased on-line through noon this Friday, Jan. 20. Those purchasing tickets at the door will be charged $100.

Follow the Money

Weblog report and commentary by Life advocate Jill Stanek, originally published at www.JillStanek.com under the title “Planned Parenthood CEOs: ‘We are the 1%’”

American Life League’s STOPP [Stop Planned Parenthood] International released a significant report [last Monday] listing the salaries of Planned Parenthood CEOs. Occupy Wall Street protesters may want to move their tents over to 434 W. 33rd St. in New York City, where Planned Parenthood Federation of America headquarters are located and where the top eight officers of this supposed nonprofit made over $2 million altogether in 2010, none less than $245,000.

• Cecile Richards, president: $353,819
• Maryana Iskander, chief operating officer: $288,886
• Maria Acosta, chief financial officer: $263,443
• Vanessa Cullins, vice president of medical affairs: $257,115
• Barbara Otten, vice president of general counsel: $251,379
• Laurie Rubiner, vice president of public policy: $248,438
• Karen Ruffatto, vice president of operations: $247,932
• Lisa David, vice president of affiliates: $245,322

Planned Parenthood Federation of America is an entirely administrative organization. It operates no clinics. No salaries are billable; they are all overhead.

Across the country are 81 Planned Parenthood affiliates. Altogether they made $12,862,560 [in salaries] in 2010. According to American Life League’s report, the average annual salary of a PP affiliate CEO is $158,797. Twenty-two percent made over $200,000 in 2010. The top dozen were:

• PP North Texas, Dallas, TX (salary of previous CEO): $324,381
• PP Mar Monte, SanJose, CA (Linda Williams): $315,950
• PP Illinois, Chicago, IL (salary of previous CEO): $302,014
• PP Hudson Peconic, Hawthorne, NY (Reina Schiffrin): $296,908
• PP Northern New England, Williston, VT (Steve Trombley): $292,297
• PP Orange & SanBernadino, Orange, CA (Joe Dunn): $278,871
• PP Treasure Coast, West Palm Beach, FL (Lillian Tamayo): $275,238
• PP MN, SD & ND, St.Paul, MN (Sarah Stoesz): $268,710
• PP Heartland, DesMoines, IA (Jill June): $265,389
• PP Southern New England, New Haven, CT (Judy Tabar): $264,766
• PP Great Northwest, Seattle, WA (Chris Charbonneau): $259,405
• PP League of MA, Boston, MA (Dianne Luby): $256,474

Some interesting statistics on the 81 CEOs:

• 52 (64%) are women
• 9 (11%) have a political background
• 10 (12%) have a health background
• 2 (2%) have an educational background

The remaining 75% have backgrounds in management.

Thus, over one-third of all Planned Parenthood CEOs are men, and 88% of PP CEOs have no healthcare background.

ALL’s report goes into detail on each affiliate and each state.

Cecile Richards’s salary is now “close to $400,000 per year,” according to www.wweek.com [a Willamette, OR, news site].

The next time Cecile or a PP spokesperson complains that defunding the abortion giant will hurt women, the astute mainstream journalist (who doesn’t exist) should ask why PP salaries don’t reflect their austerity concerns.

I don’t mind private industry CEOs making whatever the market will bear. But it is wrong on so many levels for the officers of this top-heavy supposed nonprofit – to which you and I now “contribute” almost $500,000,000 annually and which makes a large part of its profits from abortion – to make the salaries they do.