Life Advocacy Briefing

David Daleiden’s Message Getting Out

DESPITE PLANNED PARENTHOOD’s ATTEMPT TO SILENCE pro-life investigative journalist David Daleiden via a determined battle in the courts, he and his Center for Medical Progress (CMP) continue to make progress of their own in exposing Planned Parenthood’s involvement in Nazistic medical experimentation on defenseless unborn humans.

“More and more Americans are … paying attention,” notes Mr. Daleiden in an e-mail communication, “to the barbaric experiments with aborted babies that [Dr. Anthony] Fauci’s NIAID office has funded for years” with our tax dollars.

Viewers of the popular Fox News Channel’s Tucker Carlson Tonight show late last month learned from a guest appearance by Mr. Daleiden about “the horrifying aborted baby scalping experiments at the Planned Parenthood-supplied University of Pittsburgh, which were funded,” notes Mr. Daleiden, “with taxpayer grants from Dr. Fauci.”

Mr. Daleiden’s interview stemmed from a new video released in May by CMP “exposing Planned Parenthood’s deeply enmeshed partnership with the University of Pittsburgh, in which Planned Parenthood abortion doctors supply aborted fetuses for taxpayer-funded experiments at Pitt,” the pro-life journalist explains, noting his own testimony “before the Pennsylvania House Health Committee about the disturbing experiments being carried out on aborted babies at Pitt, including liver harvesting from infants aborted alive, exporting fetal kidneys and the Fauci-funded scalping study.”

And, notes the Daleiden e-mail memo, Newsweek in late May “published my op-ed about my testimony and the government-sponsored aborted fetus experiments supported by Fauci and others.”

More than a Slap in Our Faces

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN (D) HAS SUBMITTED HIS GARGANTUAN BUDGET, and among the chief beneficiaries is the abortion cartel.

As readers can grasp through a commentary by Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins – at the close of this Life Advocacy Briefing – this budget rips the heart out of the long-standing Hyde Amendment and seeks to open a firehose of taxpayer largesse into the coffers of abortionists across America. We commend it to your reading and hope you will respond with immediate messages to your Member of Congress and US Senators. [Capitol switchboard: 1-202/224-3121]

Illinois Legislature Adjourns Without Repealing Parental Notice

ILLINOIS PRO-LIFE CITIZENS HAVE SUCCEEDED – for now – in their campaign to retain Illinois’s 20-some-year-old Parental Notice of Abortion Act, despite a massive abortion lobby campaign for its repeal. After passing a radical bill to undermine abstinence education and replace it with education policies sexualizing young children in Illinois’s public schools in the waning hours of the General Assembly session, the legislature has adjourned until fall, giving pro-life citizens breathing room to step up their drive to retain the last remaining pro-life law on the state’s books.

Through successive elections of radical pro-abortion majorities in the legislature’s two houses, the state has become an abortion magnet surrounded by vigorously pro-life states. Pro-life citizens in Illinois can now use the summer to visit state lawmakers in their districts with an appeal to keep parents in the loop when their children face life-changing challenges.

Another American Sanctuary for the Unborn

LEBANON, OHIO, HAS JOINED 28 OTHER U.S. CITIES in outlawing abortion within its borders and has included a provision outlawing the possession or distribution of “abortion-inducing drugs,” notes Sanctuary City for the Unborn activist Mark Lee Dickson, reporting for Live Action. The ordinance specifically bars “‘mifepristone, misoprostol and any drug or medication that is used to terminate the life of an unborn child,’” Mr. Dickson reports, but makes clear, he writes, “that the term ‘abortion-inducing drugs’ does not include birth-control devices or oral contraceptives.’”

Penalty for violating the Lebanon ordinance – a first-degree misdemeanor – is up to six months in jail or up to $1,000 in fines. Abortion customers are excused from culpability, focusing on medical personnel.

Planned Parenthood Yields in Lubbock

June 2, 2021, Washington Update commentary by Family Research Council’s Human Dignity Center director Mary Szoch

             On Tuesday, just one month after Lubbock, Texas, became the state’s largest sanctuary city for the unborn (and the only sanctuary city for the unborn with an active abortion clinic), Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas agreed to stop performing abortions within the city limits. This announcement came after a federal district judge dismissed Planned Parenthood’s lawsuit citing lack of standing.

             Lubbock’s ordinance, which declares abortion, except in the case of life of the mother, “an act of murder,” outlaws procuring or performing an abortion and aiding or abetting an abortion, including by providing transportation, giving instructions over the phone, providing money for and coercing a mother into having an abortion.

             Unlike other sanctuary city laws, until Roe v. Wade is overturned by the Supreme Court, this law – which prohibits penalties for the mother, but penalizes all other parties involved – is not enforced by state or local officials, but merely by private citizens.

             The brilliant thought behind this double enforcement mechanism is two-fold. First, it ensures that the ordinance will be immediately enforceable and not reliant on overturning Roe. And second, because the city would not be party to civil lawsuits triggered by the ordinance and would not be enforcing the ordinance, Planned Parenthood – or any other pro-abortion business – does not have standing to sue the city over this ordinance. Hence, once Planned Parenthood’s lawsuit was dismissed, the leader of the culture of death had no option but to comply.

             Originally, the sanctuary city proposal was brought before city council, who unanimously rejected it, stating that Roe v. Wade was law of the land and this law could not go into effect. However, the pro-life movement remained steadfast.

             Texas State Sen. Charles Perry, a deacon at Southcrest Baptist Church, and other ardent pro-lifers led the charge requesting placing the sanctuary city law on the ballot. Pro-life leaders argued the people of Lubbock should have the option to vote on ordaining Lubbock a sanctuary city for the unborn, “because we fear God, view the intentional shedding of the blood of unborn children to be an inconceivably wicked action, and we believe that we all have a responsibility to protect the lives of the smallest and most vulnerable humans among us.”

             As Jim Baxa, President of West Texas for Life, mentioned on [FRC’s] “Washington Watch,” over 200 churches across Lubbock … said, “We’re not afraid of politics anymore. We’re going to get involved, and we’re going to save babies lives.” These churches held signature drives for the ballot initiative, and within 18 days, the pro-life movement had the signatures required to place naming Lubbock a sanctuary city for the unborn on the ballot.

             The ballot initiative passed by an overwhelming 62% majority, joining the ranks of several other Texas cities who have recently become abortion-free.

             When Americans stand together for the unborn, lives are saved, a culture of life flourishes, and sometimes even Planned Parenthood backs down. Lubbock … is a great example for all of us to never give up fighting for the unborn. God bless Texas!

[Life Advocacy Briefing editor’s note: In a news bulletin on the Lubbock victory, Operation Rescue’s Cheryl Sullenger helpfully reports: “The Planned Parenthood abortion facility in Lubbock, Texas, has been dealt two significant losses recently that have forced it to stop all abortions as of June 1… . The Lubbock Planned Parenthood had started dispensing abortion drugs in April, 2021. … [O]n May 1, 2021, the people of Lubbock voted 62.46% to 37.54% to approve an ordinance making Lubbock a Sanctuary City for the Unborn. The ordinance, which went into effect on June 1, essentially bans abortions within the Lubbock city limits. … Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas, which operates the Lubbock facility, sued to block the ordinance claiming it was unconstitutional. But late yesterday [June 1], US District Court Judge James W. Hendrix dismissed the suit due to lack of jurisdiction and failure to show standing.” Judge Hendrix was appointed by Pres. Donald Trump, taking office in August, 2019.]

Red China’s Birth Control Policy Backfiring

June 1, 2021, Washington Update commentary by Family Research Council Human Dignity Center director Mary Szoch & Arielle DelTurco, assistant director of FRC’s Center for Religious Liberty

             On Monday, in an effort to reverse China’s rapidly declining birthrate, Chinese authorities announced expanding the country’s two-child policy to three. The three-child policy is the third iteration of China’s one-child policy instituted in 1979 for the purpose of slowing population growth.

             The one-child policy was carried out with unrestrained brutality, and it proved all too effective. Under the one-child mandate, Chinese women were given permission to have one child. Those pregnant with a second were forced to abort their child and were then sterilized. Those who managed to hide until the birth of a second child were fined, demoted at work and shunned socially.

             Second children were excluded from ration coupons, leaving families who defied the policy at risk of starvation. In some areas of the country, government officials separated second children from their families shortly after birth. Unsurprisingly, the policy prevented 400 million births and caused a drastic decline in China’s population.

             Now, Chinese leaders observe an aging population and a shrinking young workforce – a direct result of the campaign to limit births. Foreseeing the looming economic disaster and desperately hoping to maintain the country’s demographic advantage, policymakers hope to right the course with the latest easing back on birth restrictions. The Chinese government thinks that it can change policies and the reality of population trends will similarly change overnight. This grossly underestimates the damage that was done by the one-child policy over the course of more than three decades.

             When China sought to reverse their declining birthrate by extending their one child policy, to two in 2015, the “expansion” had little effect. Years of state propaganda arguing women should limit their families to just one child, claiming that one child was more likely to be clever, pretty and lovely, and incentivizing “less births, better births, to develop China vigorously,” had a huge impact on Chinese culture. As evidenced by the 29,000 responses of “I would never think of it” to a 31,000 person online Chinese poll asking “are you ready for the three-child policy,” that cultural impact continues today indicating that – similar to the two-child policy – the three-child policy will fail to reverse China’s population decline.

             The Chinese government should not be surprised that their propaganda efforts have been effective and that having more than one child is still outside the realm of what most Chinese couples will consider. One Chinese mother admitted to Reuters that, “it would be a bit better if a child has siblings.” Yet, economic pressures and social norms are affecting her decision. She said, “realistically, I don’t want to have a second child. And a third is even more impossible.” The same government that told couples one child was better for families and for society can hardly be surprised at the reluctance for families to exceed two, or even one, child.

             Americans should take note of and learn from this tragedy while the United States still has the opportunity to choose a different path. Thankfully, the United States government has not imposed a child-limit on families, but American culture and the new policies promoted by the anti-life Biden Administration pose a similar threat.

             In 2020, the US birthrate fell by 4% to its lowest point in history. In 2021, the birthrate is predicted to fall 12-14% percent more. During that same time period, overt disrespect for human life has increased. Avow, formerly known as NARAL Pro-Choice Texas, announced a $3,000 per year stipend for employees who have abortions, a satanic temple raffled off an abortion up to $2,500 as part of a fundraising campaign, Planned Parenthood lobbied girls as young as 11 to be part of a birth control study without their parents’ knowledge, and Americans elected the most anti-Life, pro-abortion president in history, who has already championed countless extreme anti-Life policies including: abolishing the Mexico City Policy, providing more funding to the abortion business than any other president, creating an “American Families” plan that uses families as a tool of the economy, and creating a budget that does not include the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits American taxpayer dollars from funding abortions.

             While the United States does not have a one-child, two-child or three-child policy, the US is currently promoting a culture of death similar to China’s. Families are not valued, unborn children in the womb are systematically destroyed, conscience rights are violated and evil is celebrated. Though failing, China is clearly trying to turn back the clock. The reality is that healthy families benefit individuals, societies and economies. Both the American government and Chinese government should learn this lesson and implement policies that truly support, rather than undermine, families.

Crossing the Rubicon

May 28, 2021, Washington Update by Family Research Council president Tony Perkins

             Joe Biden got a lot of exercise during the 2020 campaign sprinting to the Left. He turned himself inside-out to prove his radical cred to everyone from Planned Parenthood to Squad socialists. But his biggest surprise – at least after 40 years of saying otherwise – was his flip on taxpayer-funded abortion.

             Pushed and prodded by reporters and activists, the self-professed Catholic finally took a question on the Hyde Amendment that sealed the deal with his party’s extremists. Asked by a liberal voter about the wall between taxpayer dollars and abortion, Biden replied: “It can’t stay.” Two years later, the test of whether he meant it has finally come. And the answer is: He does.

             When Biden released his first budget proposal this week – a $6 trillion boondoggle of every Leftish wish under the sun – there was one thing noticeably absent. For the first time since 1976, a President presented a budget that didn’t protect the American people from paying for them. To the liberal media establishment, it was the clearest sign yet that Biden has come full circle. “A budget blueprint that omits the Hyde Amendment and other anti-abortion provisions could be Biden’s strongest statement yet … ,” Politico agreed.

             Of course, Joe Biden didn’t exactly need to prove his radical bona fides. He’s already made more pools of government money available for abortion spending than any President – including Barack Obama. Whether taxpayers realize it or not, this Administration has opened up $479,905,584,775 to the killing of innocent unborn children, almost 20 times what Obama allowed.

             In just four months, FRC’s Connor Semelsberger points out, Biden is poised to do more damage in one term than Obama did in eight years!

             Until Hillary Clinton’s campaign in 2016, the idea of forcing open Americans’ wallets and ordering them to pay for the destruction of life was never really a question. Bill Clinton called for it in 1993 but never succeeded. The Hyde Amendment’s history, as Biden’s pre-Presidential run showed, was a story of bipartisan consensus. Even radical Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) admitted, “This is one of those things where it’s hard to change people’s minds. I don’t think we’re quite there yet.”

             And she’s not just talking about her own more moderate colleagues. The American people are solidly against the idea – and have been since pollsters started asking. Just this past January, the Marist organization found Democrats may have staked out new ground on the issue – but voters haven’t followed. Almost 60% of Americans don’t want their money financing abortion, including 31% of Democrats and 65% of Independents. As even liberal outlets like Slate have been trying to warn Biden’s party, this idea isn’t as nearly popular as Democrats think. On the legality of abortion, it’s a smorgasbord of opinions. “But on the question of direct payments, most voters agree with the GOP. If Democrats make that question a litmus test,” Slate’s William Saletan says, “they’ll regret it.”

             Of course, the Democratic Party has never really let public opinion (or human dignity) get in the way of their radical agenda. As we speak, Democrats in Congress aren’t waiting for Biden’s budget proposal to move forward with this disastrous 180-degree turn. Leftists like Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), who just took over the House Appropriations Committee, have already started the drumbeat to kick the four decades-old Hyde to the curb. Her party got a good start with the $1.9 trillion dollar COVID relief bill this March, which – despite three Democratic Senators joining the GOP – fell a handful of votes shy of protecting the unborn in every area of the proposal’s funding.

             It’s a dramatic contrast to the states, where legislatures are moving just as fast to tighten up pro-life laws and pass new abortion limits. In the last handful of months, at least four states – Idaho, Arkansas, Montana, and Oklahoma – took a bite out of the abortion industry’s budget, defunding groups like Planned Parenthood by name or in broader appropriations. (To see how your state stacks up, check out FRC’s Pro-Life Maps. [https://www.frc.org/prolifemaps]) As many as 15 other states have similar proposals in the pipeline.

             That momentum isn’t lost on the White House or Democrats, Politico says. “With states pushing forward a new wave of sweeping abortion restrictions and the Supreme Court gearing up to hear a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade, progressives have been pressing Biden to move fast.” And so far, he seems quite content to oblige them.

             If that surprises Biden voters, it shouldn’t. This is the same radicalism that Democrats spelled out plainly in their last two party platforms. And frankly, it’s what Biden promised to do. If squishy Republicans or misled Christians were under the impression Democrats would lighten up after Biden took the reins, they were either painfully naïve or desperately trying to justify their vote. Either way, the unborn will pay the price. And at $6 trillion dollars, it’s a steep one.