Life Advocacy Briefing

Another Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

U.S.A.I.D. IS UP TO ITS OLD HABITS despite Trump Administration policies barring aid to international abortion outfits. Susan Yoshihara, PhD, reports for the pro-life Center for Family & Human Rights (C-Fam) that the US Agency for International Development “just gave a hefty grant to CARE, a global aid organization that is working to undermine the Administration’s pro-life policies and to insert abortion into humanitarian situations worldwide.”

CARE claims “neutrality on the issue of abortion, to maintain US funding,” writes Dr. Yoshihara, but “it also openly promotes, supports and funds abortion as part of its operations.”

The 73-year-old outfit, founded originally to administer American aid to Europe after World War II, “was just awarded a $10 million grant from USAID,” reports C-Fam, including “promoting sexual and reproductive health for adolescent girls in Syria.

“In a memo marked ‘confidential,’” notes Dr. Yoshihara, “CARE said it is deliberately undermining the effects of the President’s expanded Mexico City Policy, the Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance policy. It said it is working with contracts, ostensibly including those within the Administration, to delay the policy’s implementation and blunt its life-saving impact for women and children around the world. …

“According to its financial statements,” reports C-Fam, “CARE USA received more than $600 million in FY 2017. CARE International, the US government and private contributions each make up roughly a third of the sum. … CARE recently circulated a sign-on letter to Members of Congress addressed to USAID Administrator Mark Green asking for the agency’s endorsement for programs for adolescent girls’ empowerment that made no mention of its emphasis on reproductive rights for girls.” But CARE’s website, reports Dr. Yoshihara, “says that its 2018 advocacy agenda prioritizes: robust family planning spending, including for the UN Population Fund, which the Trump Administration has defunded; two bills that conservatives oppose – the REACH Act and the International Violence Against Women Act – and a ‘comprehensive’ approach to ‘reproductive health’ services, which include abortion.”

For a full report on this disturbing news, visit C-Fam’s website at c-fam.org/friday_fax/usaid-gives-millions-grants-group-fighting-u-s-pro-life-policy.

Unmasked in the Show-Me State

AN UNDERCOVER INVESTIGATION of the campaign of embattled pro-abortion US Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) has uncovered “multiple ways,” reports Calvin Freiburger for LifeSiteNews.com, “in which the Senator and her allies at Planned Parenthood mislead voters on the full extent of her pro-abortion stance.” Missouri voters in recent years have shown a deepening inclination to retire openly pro-abortion officials.

The probe was conducted by Project Veritas (PVA), led by James O’Keefe, whose undercover videographic reporting has exposed Planned Parenthood in a variety of unethical and even illegal activities in their shops. This one was conducted in a key campaign office of the 12-year incumbent.

PVA released a report in mid-October, notes Mr. Freiburger, “in which an undercover journalist speaks to several members of the Missouri Democrat’s staff about her positions, how she presents them to her constituents and her campaign’s relationship with the nation’s largest abortion chain.

“‘You were saying that you think [McCaskill is] more progressive than she lets on?’ the reporter asks at one point.’ Staffers Carson Pope and Melissa Balke agree,” reports Mr. Freiburger, “but explain that she ‘can’t be open about that’ because ‘this is a 19-point Trump state,’ and ‘she would completely isolate the moderate Republicans.’

“Of particular concern is [Mrs.] McCaskill’s ‘100%’ support for abortion,” notes Mr. Freiburger. “She holds 100% pro-abortion scores with Planned Parenthood and NARAL. Her [website’s] ‘Women’s Health & Well-Being’ issue page avoids any direct mention of abortion, bases her support for Planned Parenthood on ‘breast and cervical cancer screenings,’ and invokes contraception to ‘prevent unintended pregnancies.’”

And here’s a juicy bit of investigative reporting: “To further downplay any association with abortion, the staffers explained that Planned Parenthood doesn’t directly donate to McCaskill’s campaign because of the optics, but financially supports her through other means. ‘Planned Parenthood will never donate money to Claire even though she’s very pro-choice, because they don’t want to ostracize those pro-life Democrats that might not vote for her if there’s Planned Parenthood funding [to] her,’ [McCaskill staffer] Nicholas Starost explained,” writes Mr. Freiburger. “Darcy Becker added that Planned Parenthood understands ‘it’s a tough state to win for a Democrat, and they don’t want to hurt her chances of winning.’ However, Staros explained that the abortion giant goes ‘through other means to get us that money,’ such as EMILY’s List – a connection people wouldn’t see ‘unless they go like deep, deep, deep down into a campaign, like finance.’

“‘It’s [expletive] beautiful’ that Planned Parenthood can effectively donate to McCaskill’s campaign without disclosing their name,’ Staros boasted,” quoted by LifeSiteNews’s report of the undercover video. “‘It’s great when it works for us and not against us.’”

The embarrassing video prompted a call by Sen. McCaskill for her opponent, the state’s attorney general Josh Hawley, “to recuse himself and appoint a special prosecutor,” reports Mr. Freiburger, “to investigate Project Veritas.” She called the expose “‘fraudulent activity designed to hurt [Mr. Hawley’s] political opponent.’”

The attorney general and GOP Senate nominee “dismissed McCaskill’s demands as ‘absurd,’ the Associated Press reports,” writes Mr. Freiburger. “‘Senator, accusing people of crimes is a serious thing,’ he said” in the AP story quoted by LifeSiteNews. “‘If you have evidence of a crime, please come forward with it immediately. Otherwise, please stop politicizing the legal process for your re-election.’

“As for the video’s revelations,” notes Mr. Freiburger, “McCaskill claimed simply that she’s been ‘very upfront about all my positions’ and that she rejected the interviewer’s attempt to get her ‘to say something different than what my positions are.’ …

“RealClearPolitics currently [as of Oct. 19] rates the Missouri Senate race as a toss-up,” reports LifeSiteNews, “with [Mr.] Hawley holding an advantage of just 0.5%, according to their polling average.”

Redeemed

A FORMER PLANNED PARENTHOOD SHOP in Bettendorf, Iowa, has been taken over, reports Doug Mainwaring for LifeSiteNews.com, by a “pro-life family clinic which provides support for pregnant [mothers], new parents and their families.”

The closure of Planned Parenthood of the Heartland’s “infamous abortion center” was prompted, reports Mr. Mainwaring, by the Iowa state legislature’s move last year to cut off funding to the abortion goliath.

“‘Republicans who won control of the Statehouse after the 2016 election forfeited Medicaid funding for its family planning network, substituting state funds,’ explained a report in the Quad City Times at the time of the real estate transaction last April,” reports LifeSiteNews. “‘The move allowed Iowa to prohibit funding from going to Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers,’” reported the Times, quoted by Mr. Mainwaring. “‘About a week after the budget that included the change was signed, Planned Parenthood said it would close four clinics, including the Bettendorf location.’”

The Bettendorf Planned Parenthood shop closure came after “two decades of persistent prayer,” reports LifeSiteNews. “Twenty years ago,” writes Mr. Mainwaring, “‘pro-life advocates prayed fervently against construction of the facility …,’ according to an Our Sunday Visitor (OSV) report,” writes the LSN reporter. “‘For the next two decades, they prayed unceasingly for closure of the clinic where abortions were [committed].’”

After purchase of the property by local pro-life citizens, “the new owners requested that a priest conduct an exorcism there because of its past use. ‘What better way to salvage a building than to exorcise it and fill it completely with pro-life ministries?’ asked one of the Life & Family board members, according to OSV,” reports Mr. Mainwaring.

And now what Planned Parenthood used for evil has been reclaimed for the love of Jesus. Amen!

The Right Response

Oct. 18, 2018, Commentary by Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List) president Marjorie Dannenfelser, reprinted from NationalReview.com

            Last week, in the presence of his family, his eight new colleagues and Pres. Trump, Brett Kavanaugh was publicly sworn in as the 114th Supreme Court Justice in United States history. Like his predecessors, he pledged to uphold the Constitution and be a fair, impartial interpreter of the law for all Americans.

            At this historic moment, justice was done. An extraordinarily qualified individual, with a sterling reputation and decades of service in both the executive and judicial branches, took office – a triumph for the voters who elected Pres. Trump, trusting him to make these nominations wisely.

            It was a hard-earned, bittersweet victory after the scorched-earth campaign that Senate Democrats waged against Kavanaugh, exploiting human pain and the serious issue of sexual assault for a partisan agenda. They were openly abetted by many allies in the media, who abandoned their role as fact-finders and succumbed to ideological pressure.

            In the end, though, they could not keep a good man down. Kavanaugh’s impeccable record as a fair, impartial judge shone through. Pres. Trump never abandoned his nominee, and leaders in the Senate such as Mitch McConnell, Chuck Grassley, Lindsey Graham and others showed America that Goliath can be defeated.

            Unfortunately, there is no time to relax. In less than three weeks [now just over one week], this success could be either cemented or swept away.

Before Justice Kavanaugh was even sworn in, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) – an abortion-rights extremist who stands to become chair of the House Judiciary Committee, should Democrats regain control of the House in November – is already vowing to further investigate Kavanaugh, and 40 of Nadler’s pro-abortion colleagues floated talk of impeachment. In the House, only a simple-majority vote would be required to adopt articles of impeachment and send them to the Senate for a trial.

            We should be clear: This isn’t about Justice Kavanaugh’s qualifications, and it is certainly not about helping assault victims heal. Kavanaugh’s detractors will never accept him as legitimate, just as they will never accept the pro-life President who nominated him as legitimate.

            Three of the country’s most radical abortion advocacy groups – Planned Parenthood, EMILY’s List and NARAL – are spending more than $70 million combined on the midterm elections, including multi-million-dollar campaigns specifically to try to flip the House. If Democrats take control of the Senate, the past few weeks’ experience will look restrained and modest by comparison.

            Imagine the scene if, for instance, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat were to become vacant. Like the rest of Pres. Trump’s pro-life agenda, judicial reform will grind to a halt if abortion extremists control either chamber of Congress, and current judges will not be spared their rancor. We cannot allow that to happen. With so much at stake, sitting out this election is simply not an option.

            Our greatest opportunity to restore a pro-life Senate majority lies in states carried by Pres. Trump in 2016 where incumbent Democrats voted against the confirmation of Kavanaugh. Joe Donnelly (IN), Bill Nelson (FL), Claire McCaskill (MO), Heidi Heitkamp (ND) and Jon Tester (MT) betrayed their constituents in doing so. Susan B. Anthony List’s field team of more than 700 canvassers has spent months on the ground in these states, reaching more than two million pro-life voters at their doors to inform them and motivate them to get to the polls.

            Equally important are several new opportunities to elect courageous pro-life women leaders to the Senate: Republicans Marsha Blackburn (TN), Leah Vukmir (WI), Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (MS), Karen Housley (MN) and Martha McSally (AZ).

            This is an all-hands-on-deck moment for voters in these states, who believe in our nation’s founding principles and long to see human life protected at every stage of development and condition of dependency. Pro-life candidates for the House too numerous to list also need our support. These elections are essential, because it would be a tragedy to lose so much as an inch of the ground we have fought so hard to gain on the sanctity of life.

            Some naysayers in the media dismiss Americans’ joy at the confirmation of Justice Kavanaugh as a mere “sugar high” and dismiss their outrage over his vilification as something that will soon fade away and have no lasting impact. We in the pro-life movement intend to prove them wrong.

            In this crucial test of our resolve, knowledge and the ballot box are powerful tools. Each and every one of us must do our part to champion the unborn on Election Day.

High Stakes

Oct. 16, 2018, National Right to Life News Today report by Texas Right to Life

            Finally, the executives at Planned Parenthood are being honest about what is central to their business model. In case there is any lingering confusion, Planned Parenthood has said loudly and clearly: Planned Parenthood, America’s largest abortion business, is all about abortion.

            In an announcement last Wednesday, Planned Parenthood unveiled a massively expensive plan to expand abortion, lobby for abortion and inject pro-Planned Parenthood, pro-abortion messages into television shows, music and movies. The business, which commits more than 320,000 abortions each year, already does all of these things.

            The new three-part plan is an expansion of all abortion-related sales and marketing. Or, in the words of Planned Parenthood Executive Vice President Dawn Laguens, Planned Parenthood is going to “super-size” the abortion mill.

            The strategic plan laid out this week is called “Care for all: A 3-Part Plan to Protect & Expand Access to Abortion in the United States.” Does “care for all” mean Planned Parenthood will stop violently ripping apart babies in the womb? Well, obviously not, because the entire “care” plan is about expanding abortions, not stopping them. So, preborn human beings are clearly not part of “all” in Planned Parenthood’s book.

            The plan is framed in altruistic terms, with the first part dubbed “access to health care.” But a closer look reveals a lucrative business model within their plan to “help.” Planned Parenthood will increase the abortion capacity in anti-Life states and funnel women from states with stronger pro-Life laws to their mega-abortion mills in regions run by their cronies. The business would then function with high-volume abortion centers that end the lives of preborn children with greater efficiency.

            On the lobbying front, Planned Parenthood will “fight bad laws and work to enact good laws … .” Foremost among these “good” laws is mandated taxpayer funding of elective abortions. Planned Parenthood is dead set on using your tax dollars to directly pay for elective abortions.

            Under current law, the Hyde Amendment stipulates that federal tax dollars cannot be used to directly pay for elective abortions for pregnant mothers who rely on Medicaid (with rare exceptions). This reasonable pro-Life protection has saved 2.1 million lives from abortion … .

            Planned Parenthood and the anti-Life Democrat politicians they donate to want to abolish the Hyde Amendment. If that happens, not only will Planned Parenthood continue to receive fungible taxpayer dollars for the few legitimate health services they provide, but they will actually be paid to kill preborn babies in abortions on your dime.

            Whether you agree or not, Planned Parenthood’s new scheme includes you funding abortions and subsidizing anti-Life marketing in the media and entertainment industry through the third tenet of their plan. Your tax dollars already foot over one-third of the abortion giant’s bill. Can you imagine how many more lives Planned Parenthood will end under this agenda if they elect more pro-abortion [candidates] in November?

            Electing pro-Life women and men who will defund Planned Parenthood and pass prudent legislation to dismantle Roe v. Wade will cripple the new super-sized abortion plan and sever you from the agenda. Early voting [in many states] runs Oct. 22 through Nov. 2, and election day is Nov. 6.