Life Advocacy Briefing

Desperation

PLANNED PARENTHOOD PRESIDENT CECILE RICHARDS BLASTED another e-mail appeal to supporters March 11 objecting to what LifeSiteNews.com reporter Claire Chretien calls “Pres. Trump’s offer to continue Planned Parenthood’s federal funding if it stops committing abortions.”

In this fundraising pitch, Ms. Richards calls the President’s deal offer “‘obscene and insulting,’” writes Ms. Chretien. “‘Planned Parenthood doesn’t respond to bullying,’” Cecile Richards wrote, adding, “‘I’ve said this is the fight of our lives … and I mean it. … At no time in Planned Parenthood’s 100-year history have our patients’ access to care been so threatened. At no time have lawmakers tried to divide us and turn us against each other as much as they are right now.’”

The abortion cartel executive, whose annual salary reportedly nears $1 million, urged e-mail readers to “‘make an emergency gift’” to the nation’s chief baby butcher.

At Your Expense

SALARIES OF PLANNED PARENTHOOD EXECUTIVES might raise some eyebrows among Members of Congress and should distress taxpayers whom the abortion goliath has been tapping for nearly a half-billion dollars of forced payments every year.

Stop Planned Parenthood executive director Jim Sedlak discussed the executive salary issue in a recent interview with Charlie Butts of OneNewsNow.com, after examining the “federal filings for non-profits” – specifically the so-called non-profit which is currently top on the budgetary axe agenda of many Washington policymakers.

“‘What we found,’” he told Mr. Butts, “‘is that the average salary of the CEOs of those 56 Planned Parenthood affiliates was $237,999 a year – an incredible sum of money for a non-profit organization that claims to serve poor people.’ … Six of those CEOs,” writes Mr. Butts, “earn more than $400,000 a year, and one over a half-million dollars.”

But Mr. Sedlak’s review went beyond the affiliates’ chief officers to examine Planned Parenthood’s national headquarters. “‘We found their CEO, Cecile Richards, now gets the incredible pay of $957,952 a year,’ he states” in the OneNewsNow report. “In addition,” notes Mr. Butts, “top underlings’ pay ranged from $300,000 to $500,000.”

Examining Planned Parenthood’s abortion death toll against the salaries, Mr. Sedlak charged, writes Mr. Butts, “‘Basically $52 from every abortion is paid to these top executives.’”

No wonder Ms. Richards – and her right hand, Dawn Laguens – cling to their outfit’s principal “service” as if abortion is fundamental to Planned Parenthood’s mission. For that matter, it clearly is! 

Wyoming Acts for Life

THE PRO-LIFE CAUSE HAS ADVANCED in Wyoming, where GOP Gov. Matt Mead on March 9 signed two new laws, the first pro-life laws enacted in the state in 28 years, according to LifeSiteNews.com reporter Claire Chretien. The measures were passed by both houses just days before adjournment of the legislature’s general session.

The House gave final approval to HB-116 by a vote of 48 to 12 after the Senate’s 20-to-10 passage. According to Ms. Chretien’s report, it “makes the sale, transfer or distribution of aborted baby parts a felony.”

HB-182 passed by similarly large margins, 47 to 12 in the House and 19 to 11 in the State Senate. That new law “mandates,” writes Ms. Chretien: “‘Except in the case of a medical emergency, the physician performing the abortion on the patient, the referring physician or a person designated by either physician shall inform the patient of the opportunity to view an active ultrasound of the unborn child and hear the heartbeat of the unborn child if the heartbeat is audible. The active ultrasound image and auscultation of fetal heart tone shall be of a quality consistent with standard medical practice in the community.’” (The term “auscultation” is defined by Dictionary.com as “the act of listening, either directly or through a stethoscope or other instrument, to sounds within the body as a method of diagnosis.”)

Marking Wyoming further as a Life-affirming state, an abetted suicide proposal, though achieving bipartisan sponsorship (by just two lawmakers), failed even to be considered before the legislature adjourned. Except for budgetary sessions, the legislature is not expected to meet again until 2019.

Abetted Suicide Bills Withdrawn in Maryland

COMPANION BILLS TO AUTHORIZE DOCTOR-ABETTED SUICIDE IN MARYLAND have been withdrawn by sponsors after concluding, reports Jon Kelvey for the Carroll County Times, “they do not have enough support to pass the bill.”

Disability rights advocate Sheryl Grossman gave testimony to the House committee hearing the measure during February. Her testimony is posted on the Internet website NotDeadYet.org and may have helped dissuade Maryland lawmakers from advancing the legislation. Space does not permit our reprinting the entire statement; we urge readers to examine it all at http://notdeadyet.org/2017/02/disability-advocate-sheryl-grossman-gives-moving-testimony-against-maryland-assisted-suicide-bill.html.

Explaining that she has “a very rare genetic condition,” which is “so rare in fact that [she is] the 72nd case ever recorded worldwide, historywide,” Ms. Grossman told the committee that doctors had advised her parents “that I wouldn’t live past two, maybe four. It got longer every year,” she said, noting that she is now 41 years old, “and they just throw up their hands and shake their heads. My parents were told,” she testified, “I wouldn’t walk, talk or amount to much. They were told they should just put me away, as they were young and could have other children.” This was urging the elimination of an already born baby.

“Clearly,” said Ms. Grossman, “doctors don’t know everything.”

Turning to the then-pending legislation, Ms. Grossman cautioned, “This bill before you depends on doctors stating that someone has six months or less to live, a prognosis that pretty much everyone agrees is impossibly hard to accurately predict.

“As a disabled person,” she testified, “this bill scares me even more because I know the societal barriers – stigma and discrimination – that we face. Our lives are often seen as being worse quality of life and less worthy than others. Doctors’ whole profession,” she cautioned, “sees us as broken and something to be fixed, but often we can’t be – and don’t want to be – fixed.” 

20-Week Abortion Ban Takes Effect in Ohio

OHIO HAS JOINED SOME 15 STATES which have enacted laws barring the abortion killing of gestating babies aged 20 weeks or older, post-fertilization.

The state’s Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act was signed by GOP Gov. John Kasich in December, to take effect on March 14, according to a report by Jackie Borchardt for Cleveland.com, who indicated “no signs of a lawsuit challenging the new abortion restrictions.” The reporter did indicate, however, that the Ohio lobbyist for the American Civil Liberties Union declared the law “unconstitutional,” said the ACLU “will monitor the law’s implementation” and suggested “a lawsuit is still on the table.” Meanwhile, judging by 2015 statistics on reported abortions committed in Ohio, the law could be saving as many as 145 babies annually; that is the number of post-21-week abortions among “nearly 21,000” committed in Ohio in the most recent year for which statistics are available.

“Physicians who violate the law face fourth-degree felony charges,” writes Ms. Borchardt, “punishable by up to 18 months in prison. Doctors could also be sued by women on whom they perform the illegal abortions or by the fathers of the fetuses.” Father-initiated lawsuit provisions are not typical in pro-life laws and are, in our view, long overdue.

“‘Ohio has passed 21 pro-life laws under Gov. John Kasich,’” noted Ohio Right to Life president Mike Gonidakis, quoted by Ms. Borchardt, “‘and there’s room for four or five more before he’s term-limited.’”

Constantly Dodging the Question

Transcript of Fox News Channel’s “Tucker Carlson Tonight” interview with Planned Parenthood executive vice president Dawn Laguens, from a LifeSiteNews.com report by Claire Chretien

Tucker Carlson: Look, I think health screenings are important. I think Planned Parenthood probably does some good work. But the reason it’s such a controversial place is ’cause it’s the country’s biggest abortion provider. You’re one of the people who run it. So I just wanna know what you think. If you can hear the fetal heartbeat, and then it’s extinguished, what do you think of that? Is that a big deal or not to you? And if not, why not?

Dawn Laguens: Well, I take seriously all of the healthcare work that we provide at Planned Parenthood. I believe in safe, legal abortion. I believe it’s up to each woman and individual. Tucker Carlson: I know –

Dawn Laguens: And so I’m not going to make a judgment.

Tucker Carlson: Why can’t you give me a straight answer? This is at the core of what you do. You’re the biggest abortion provider in the United States. It’s not like you haven’t thought of this. What do you think of that?

Dawn Laguens: We’ve – I would say that it’s a fetus. And so – 

Tucker Carlson: But what is a fetus? Is it a separate entity?

Dawn Laguens: I would say that it’s up to each woman to decide whether – you and I can differ on this all day, Tucker, and that’s fine.

Tucker Carlson: We’re not even differing, ’cause you’re not telling me what you think! We’re not differing at all.            Dawn Laguens: No, I said that I –

Tucker Carlson: You’re refusing to say what you think. Is it a separate being or is it a piece of flesh that’s part of the woman?

Dawn Laguens: What I’m going to say is that 70% of Americans, uh, believe that Roe v. Wade should be the law of the land.  Tucker Carlson: Okay.

Dawn Laguens: They believe that women should each individually be able to have their choices about what they wanna do in their pregnancy. And they definitely believe that women are at risk for losing care under the plan that Donald Trump and –

Tucker Carlson: But you know, one of the reasons – Okay, I get your talking points. I’ve let you repeat them a lot – now, hold on. With respect, I’ve let you repeat your talking points, which I’ve heard a thousand times – many times. But I wanna take it just a level deeper ’cause I think it’s worth it. It’s a big deal to a lot of people. And people say, “Look, this is killing a life. A heart is beating.” You can hear it at 5-1/2 weeks, and the majority of our abortions take place after 5-1/2 weeks. So I wanna know if that bothers you at all. Does it at all? Do you ever stop and think – wow, what is happening here? Is a life being taken? People say the life is being taken. Do you think that?

Dawn Laguens: I personally favor safe, legal abortion in this country decided on by each individual woman and her doctor to decide for themselves. I personally do not believe that that is a viable fetus at that point.  Tucker Carlson: I’m not saying viable. Is it –

Dawn Laguens: And there are rules – well, there are rules we follow. Roe v. Wade laid out –

Tucker Carlson: Why are you giving me robotic responses? I’m asking you a human question, and I hope you’ll favor me with a human answer. I’m not saying it’s viable; at 5-1/2, it’s not. But you can hear the heartbeat. Is that a human being or not? Is it separate from the mother or not? – Different blood type, often a different sex – different DNA – it doesn’t seem like a tumor or something that is connected to the woman wholly? It’s distinct. What does that mean? I would think you would’ve thought about it, considering you provide more of them than anyone.

Dawn Laguens: I have thought about it very much for myself, but I am not gonna project onto other women what I believe. What I believe is that women have the right and the choice, and we’re gonna leave it up to them. And if – at Planned Parenthood … high quality health care –

Tucker Carlson: You’re not helping them make that choice with your stilted answer. At all.

Dawn Laguens: We do. No, we do help them make a choice. Tucker Carlson: If you think it’s a profound choice –

Dawn Laguens: I don’t help them personally make the choice. They get to make it. Whether it’s with their minister or their doctor or their partner or husband or –

Tucker Carlson: With respect, I know you’re smart, but you’re giving me a series of rehearsed and very childish answers. And it’s disappointing – I would think that you would have grappled with this a little bit.

House Voting Record

HR-7 – Motion to Recommit (Block) Permanent ‘Hyde’ Amendment – Procedural motion – Jan. 24, 2017 – Rejected – 187-235 (Democrats in italics)

Voting “no” / pro-Life: Aderholt, Brooks, Byrne, Palmer, Roby, Rogers/AL; Young/AK; Biggs, Franks, Gosar, McSally, Schweikert/AZ; Crawford, Hill, Westerman, Womack/AR; Calvert, Cook, Denham, Hunter, Issa, Knight, LaMalfa, McCarthy, McClintock, Nunes, Rohrabacher, Royce, Valadao, Walters/CA; Buck, Coffman, Lamborn, Tipton/CO; Bilirakis, Buchanan, Curbelo, DeSantis, Diaz-Balart, Dunn, Gaetz, Mast, Posey, F.Rooney, T.Rooney, Ros-Lehtinen, Ross, Rutherford, Webster, Yoho/FL; Allen, Carter, Collins, Ferguson, Graves, Hice, Loudermilk, A.Scott, Woodall/GA; Labrador, Simpson/ID; Bost, R.Davis, Hultgren, Kinzinger, LaHood, Roskam, Shimkus/IL; Banks, Brooks, Bucshon, Hollingsworth, Messer, Rokita, Walorski/IN; Blum, King, Young/IA; Jenkins, Marshall, Yoder/KS; Barr, Comer, Guthrie, Massie, Rogers/KY; Abraham, Graves, Higgins, Johnson, Scalise/LA; Poliquin/ME; Harris/MD; Amash, Bergman, Bishop, Huizenga, Mitchell, Moolenaar, Trott, Upton, Walberg/MI; Emmer, Lewis, Paulsen/MN; Harper, Kelly, Palazzo/MS; Graves, Hartzler, Long, Luetkemeyer, Smith, Wagner/MO; Bacon, Fortenberry, Smith/NE; Amodei/NV; Frelinghuysen, Lance, LoBiondo, MacArthur, Smith/NJ; Pearce/NM; Collins, Donovan, Faso, Katko, King, Reed, Stefanik, Tenney, Zeldin/NY; Budd, Foxx, Holding, Hudson, McHenry, Meadows, Pittenger, Rouzer, Walker/NC; Cramer/ND; Chabot, Davidson, Gibbs, Johnson, Jordan, Joyce, Latta, Renacci, Stivers, Tiberi, Turner, Wenstrup/OH; Bridenstine, Cole, Lucas, Mullin, Russell/OK; Walden/OR; Barletta, Costello, Dent, Fitzpatrick, Kelly, Marino, Meehan, Murphy, Perry, Rothfus, Shuster, Smucker, Thompson/PA; Duncan, Gowdy, Rice, Sanford, Wilson/SC; Noem/SD; Black, Blackburn, DesJarlais, Duncan, Fleischmann, Kustoff, Roe/TN; Arrington, Babin, Barton, Brady, Burgess, Carter, Conaway, Culberson, Farenthold, Flores, Gohmert, Granger, Hensarling, Hurd, S.Johnson, Marchant, McCaul, Olson, Poe, Ratcliffe, Sessions, Smith, Thornberry, Weber, Williams/TX; Bishop, Chaffetz, Love, Stewart/UT; Brat, Comstock, Garrett, Goodlatte, Griffith, Taylor, Wittman/VA; Herrera-Beutler, McMorris-Rodgers, Newhouse, Reichert/WA; Jenkins, McKinley, Mooney/WV; Duffy, Gallagher, Grothman, Sensenbrenner/WI; Cheney/WY.

Voting “yes” / anti-Life: Sewell/AL; Gallego, Grijalva, O’Halleran, Sinema/AZ; Aguilar, Barragan, Bass,  Bera, Brownley, Carbajal, Cardenas, Chu, Correa, Davis, DeSaulnier, Eshoo, Garamendi, Huffman, Khanna, Lee, Lieu, Lofgren, Lowenthal, Matsui, McNerney, Napolitano, Panetta, Pelosi, Peters, Roybal-Allard, Ruiz, Sanchez, Schiff, Sherman, Speier, Swalwell, Takano, Thompson, Torres, Vargas, Waters/CA; DeGette, Perlmutter, Polis/CO; Courtney, DeLauro, Esty, Himes, Larson/CT; Blunt-Rochester/DE; Castor, Crist, Demings, Deutch, Frankel, Hastings, Lawson, Murphy, Soto, Wasserman-Schultz, Wilson/FL; Bishop, Johnson, Lewis, D.Scott/GA; Hanabusa/HI; Bustos, D.Davis, Foster, Gutierrez, Kelly, Krishnamoorthi, Lipinski, Quigley, Schakowsky, Schneider/IL; Carson, Visclosky/IN; Loebsack/IA; Yarmuth/KY; Richmond/LA; Pingree/ME; Brown, Cummings, Delaney, Hoyer, Raskin, Ruppersberger, Sarbanes/MD; Capuano, Clark, Keating, Kennedy, Lynch, McGovern, Moulton, Neal, Tsongas/MA; Conyers, Dingell, Kildee, Lawrence, Levin/MI; Ellison, McCollum, Nolan, Peterson, Walz/MN; Thompson/MS; Clay, Cleaver/MO; Kihuen, Rosen, Titus/NV; Kuster, Shea-Porter/NH; Gottheimer, Norcross, Pallone, Pascrell, Payne, Sires, Watson-Coleman/NJ; Lujan, Lujan-Grisham/NM; Clarke, Crowley, Engel, Espaillat, Higgins, Jeffries, Lowey, C.Maloney, S.Maloney, Meeks, Meng, Nadler, Rice, Serrano, Suozzi, Tonko, Velazquez/NY; Adams, Butterfield, Price/NC; Beatty, Fudge, Kaptur, Ryan/OH; Bonamici, DeFazio, Schrader/OR; Boyle, Brady, Cartwright, Doyle, Evans/PA; Cicilline, Langevin/RI; Clyburn/SC; Cohen, Cooper/TN; Castro, Cuellar, Doggett, Gonzalez, A.Green, G.Green, Jackson-Lee, O’Rourke, Veasey, Vela/TX; Welch/VT; Beyer, Connolly, McEachin, Scott/VA; DelBene, Heck, Jayapal, Kilmer, Larsen, Smith/WA; Kind, Moore, Pocan/WI.

Not Voting: Costa/CA; Price/GA; Gabbard/HI; Rush/IL; Zinke/MT; Slaughter/NY; Jones/NC; Blumenauer/OR; Mulvaney/SC; E.B.Johnson/TX; Ryan/WI.