Life Advocacy Briefing

Gene Carter, R.I.P.

IT IS WITH DEEP SADNESS that we report the passing of Eugene T. Carter, a pro-life giant who has served since 1992 as treasurer of Life Advocacy Resource Project. We offer our tears and condolences to his family and his many friends in the Chicago area. In the midst of our grief, we are thankful to have counted him a dear friend for 45 years and have just as long admired and appreciated his commitment to the cause of Life, to America as among the sweetest of God’s blessings and to our Lord Jesus Himself.

Sweet Irony

IT’s A LITTLE OFF TOPIC, but we cannot resist an observation about Major League Baseball’s World Series, which is underway as we write this week’s Life Advocacy Briefing.

Two states in the nation have been the principal targets of boycotters on the Left this year. Remember when Major League Baseball moved its mid-summer All-Star festival to Colorado just four months ago? The shift was during the height of left-wing pressure on corporate America to punish the State of Georgia for its election reform legislation. Remember? What city had been scheduled to host the All-Star game? Atlanta.

The current rage in boycott hysteria is – wait for it – Texas. This boycott is over the state’s Heartbeat Law protecting innocent little boys and girls from being aborted before they can ever take a breath.

So regardless of whether you have a favorite in the 2021 World Series contest, do you not find it delicious – we do! – that the championship games will be played in two cities: Atlanta, Georgia, and Houston, Texas. Somebody has a sense of humor.

Backstop?

THE U.S. SUPREME COURT WILL TAKE ORAL ARGUMENTS TODAY, Nov. 1, in Attorney General Merrick Garland’s challenge to the Texas Heartbeat Act. Prayers are urgently in order.

“It is clear that Atty. Gen. Garland will aggressively work,” said Operation Rescue president Troy Newman in a report issued by OR, “to negate this state law that has already saved the lives of perhaps thousands of children. … The US Supreme Court has become the last backstop between innocent babies in the womb and the butcher’s knife.”

Morbid Implications

WE BEGIN THIS ITEM WITH AN APOLOGY to any reader who was unaware of these facts and may have taken action which may now disturb the conscience. LifeSiteNews.com has now published for broad consumption – at least within the pro-life community – a disturbing report under the by-line Caryn Lipson citing “America’s Frontline Doctors” as source, relating a whistleblower interview by the respected investigative journalists at Project Veritas, quoting a “Pfizer whistleblower” named Melissa Strickler, who is reportedly “a manufacturing quality auditor for the [pharmaceutical] company, expos[ing] some of their internal e-mails.

“She was horrified by the information they contained,” writes Ms. Lipson, “and spoke with Project Veritas about what she had uncovered – the use of fetal cells from aborted babies to test their Covid-19 vaccine.

“This is some of what top management wrote,” reports Ms. Lipson: “‘From the perspective of corporate affairs,’ [Pfizer Senior Director of Worldwide Research Vanessa] Gelman wrote in one e-mail, ‘we want to avoid having the information on fetal cells floating out there. … The risk of communicating this right now outweighs any potential benefit we could see, particularly with general members of the public who may take this information and use it in ways we may not want out there.’”

Internally, though, the Pfizer folks clearly knew the implications of their research-and-development method. “In another e-mail exchange [with] Advait Badkar, senior director of the Novel Delivery Technologies group within Pfizer’s Biotherapeutics Pharmaceutical Sciences organization, [Ms.] Gelman can be seen admitting to Badkar,” writes Ms. Lipson, “that ‘One or more cell lines with an origin that can be traced back to human fetal tissue has been used in laboratory tests associated with the vaccine program.’ She warned him that, ‘We have been trying as much as possible to not mention the fetal cell lines.’ …

“What [whistleblower] Strickler wasn’t aware of is that the information about the fetal cells being used for the Covid-19 vaccine is well-known to scientists and researchers. Papers about the manufacturing techniques for Covid-19 vaccines, which included the use of fetal cells, were published online at least as far back as May 2020; she also,” writes Ms. Lipson, “didn’t know that she had uncovered only a small portion of a large scandal.

“The fetal cells referred to in Pfizer’s e-mails were … obtained from the kidney cells of a female fetus in 1973. In reality,” notes Ms. Lipson, “all the currently authorized Covid-19 vaccines are made using aborted fetal cells, including Moderna’s.”

The LifeSiteNews report goes on to identify fetal stem cells used by Johnson & Johnson and by AstraZeneca, CanSino Biologics and Gamaleya Research Institute (Sputnik V vaccine).

“The use of aborted fetal cells in vaccine production has been going on for over 50 years,” reports LSN, “starting in the mid-to-late 1970s.” The report includes two charts noting fetal-cell implications in a variety of vaccines, including childhood vaccines. And the report goes on to describe the means by which the fetal cells were acquired; we will not quote that here.

As disturbing as is this LSN report first released by America’s Frontline Doctors, we call on our Congressional readers to undertake an investigation into these echoes from Nuremberg, anti-ethical research being pursued here in America in the name of “saving lives.”

Rubio Rises

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL) HAS PUT A BRICK ON THE NOMINATION of an abortion fanatic as assistant administrator of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which, notes Matt Lamb for LifeSiteNews, “is tasked with carrying out foreign aid distribution and oversight.”

Atul Gawande “supports partial-birth abortion,” reports Mr. Lamb, prompting Sen. Rubio to declare, “‘Atul Gawande’s defense of infanticide is disqualifying.’” The nomination now cannot move forward without achieving a 60-vote cloture, thanks to the Rubio block.

Criticism of [Mr.] Gawande goes back to a 1998 opinion piece from the nominee,” reports Mr. Lamb, “written during a debate” over legislation banning the cruel procedure.  Mr. Gawande is a surgeon.

The pro-life political action group Susan B. Anthony List “took issue with [Mr.] Gawande and called him an ‘abortion extremist,’” reports LifeSiteNews. “‘A federal ban on the barbaric partial-birth abortion method was enacted in 2003 and upheld by the Supreme Court in 2007,’ SBA List noted,” writes Mr. Lamb. “‘But Biden’s USAID nominee … sees nothing wrong with the procedure.’”

Another Affront

IN ADVANCE OF HIS TRIP TO THE VATICAN, President Joe Biden has nominated ex-Senator Joe Donnelly (D-IN) as his Vatican ambassador.

Mr. Donnelly is a Catholic but has a liberal voting record, including on such issues, notes Matt Lamb for LifeSiteNews, “as abortion, gender ideology and homosexual ‘marriage.’ … While [Mr.] Donnelly has billed himself as a pro-life Democrat and news outlets announcing his nomination used the term,” writes Mr. Lamb, “his voting record looks bad.

“He voted against ending former Pres. Barack Obama’s Title X [Ten] rule,” notes Mr. Lamb, “which directed family planning dollars to abortion facilities. The former Senator,” he writes, “said he supports ‘marriage equality,’ a term used by Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender activists to describe same-sex ‘marriage’ as recognized by the government. He also opposed Pres. Donald Trump’s prohibition on ‘transgender’ people serving in the military.”

What is more, the Human Rights Campaign, which is a well-funded homosexual activist group, “‘rates Donnelly as siding with them between 80 and 85% of the time during his first four years in the Senate,’ the Indy Star reported in 2018,” writes Mr. Lamb, who further notes, “Pro-life Susan B. Anthony List criticized Donnelly in 2018 and helped defeat him and elect now-US Sen. Mike Braun, a Republican,” whose voting record is solid on the cause of Life.

“In the run-up to the 2020 election,” reports Mr. Lamb, “[Mr.] Donnelly co-chaired ‘Catholics for Biden.’”

Where’s Hyde?

LONG-STANDING PRO-LIFE AMENDMENTS ARE MISSING, reports Cassy Fiano-Chesser for Live Action, from the US Senate’s bill to fund the Departments of Labor, Health & Human Services and Education as it was introduced in the Appropriations Committee by chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT).

Absent from the massive spending measure are both the Hyde Amendment and the Weldon Amendment. “Hyde” bars the spending of federal tax dollars for abortion except for the killing of babies conceived in sex crimes or in the extremely rare case of an abortion needed to save the life of the mother. “Weldon,” notes Live Action, “protects pro-life healthcare organizations from being penalized for not providing funding for abortion. 

“Sen. Patty Murray [D-WA] released a statement, notes Mrs. Chesser, “celebrating the omission of the Hyde Amendment, calling it an issue of health care.” But health care, remarks the Live Action writer, “does not intentionally kill human beings.”

Ms. Murray’s Democratic colleague, Sen. Joe Manchin (WV), has said, reports Mrs. Chesser, “he won’t support any legislative package that doesn’t keep the Hyde Amendment.” Millions of Americans – including West Virginians – will be watching his vote.

And Mexico City?

THE ANNUAL SPENDING BILL FOR FOREIGN OPERATIONS was released by Senate Democrats two weeks ago, “gut[ting] federal pro-life policies,” reports the Center for Family & Human Rights (C-Fam), and “open[ing] new funding streams for global abortion groups and the problematic UN population control agency.

“Abortion giant International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) was quick,” notes C-Fam, “to praise Senate Democrats for the permanent legislative repeal of the Mexico City Policy that forbids American taxpayer money from funding or promoting abortions overseas. … A legislative repeal of the Mexico City Policy, as the one proposed in the 2022 State & Foreign Operations Bill, would prevent future Republican Presidents from instituting the policy without a Congressional mandate.

“The Senate bill doubles the funding for the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) to $55 million and removes reporting requirements for the agency’s programs in [Red] China,” notes C-Fam. “UNFPA would no longer be required to forfeit US funding equal to the amount it spends on family planning programs in [Communist] China. …

“The Senate Foreign Operations Bill retains the Helms Amendment,” reports C-Fam. “But the Biden Administration may still try to reinterpret the law, which prevents US taxpayer funds from being used for overseas abortion. The Biden Administration expressed support in March for repeal and/or reinterpretation of the Helms Amendment.”

Going to Court

ATTORNEYs GENERAL FROM 12 STATES filed a lawsuit last Monday against the Biden Regime to block the White House’s action last month purporting to rescind former Pres. Donald Trump’s 2019 Protect Life Rule, which bars abortion outfits like Planned Parenthood from receiving Title X (Ten) federal funds in the guise of “family planning.”

The 12-state coalition is being led by Ohio Atty. Gen. Dave Yost (R), who argues, according to LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) reporter Matt Lamb, “‘Ohio will likely prevail on the merits, both because the Final [Biden] Rule is contrary to law and because it is arbitrary and capricious.’ … He said that Section 1008 of the Public Health Service Act makes clear that taxpayer dollars under Title X cannot be used for abortions. ‘None of the funds appropriated under this title shall be used in programs where abortion is a method of family planning,’ Sec. 1008 says,” notes Mr. Lamb. “Biden’s new rule clearly violates this section, [Mr.] Yost says.”

The new rule “requires recipients of taxpayer dollars under the Health Service act to refer people for abortions,” reports LSN.

Quoting the lawsuit, the report goes on, “‘Money is fungible, whether [the Dept. of Health & Human Services] likes it or not … . Thus, there must be adequate safeguards to ensure that Title X grants are not used to subsidize abortion. The Final [Biden] Rule does not include any.’”

Fighting Off Federal Oppression

A COALITION OF 18 STATE ATTORNEYs GENERAL HAVE FILED A BRIEF at the 5^th Circuit Court of Appeals supporting the Texas Heartbeat Act and, notes National Right to Life News Today editor Dave Andrusko, “accusing the Biden Administration of overstepping by bringing the challenge.

“‘The [US] Attorney General has no authority to act as a roving reviser of state law, challenging as unconstitutional any rule with which he disagrees,’ Indiana Atty. Gen. Todd Rokita told the appeals court,” reports Mr. Andrusko.

Other attorneys general joining the brief, according to Mr. Andrusko, include those from Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah and West Virginia.

Illinois Takes Another Step Down

DESPITE A ROBUST OUTPOURING OF PLEAS FROM VOTERS, Illinois lawmakers last Wednesday voted to repeal the state’s 1995 Parental Notice of Abortion Act. Tuesday’s vote in the Senate, where the bill originated, was 32 to 22; 30 votes were needed. The House vote late Wednesday night was 62 to 51, clearing the 60-vote threshold. Its effective date is June 1, 2022.

Both houses are dominated by the Democratic Party, which called its repeal of the popular legislation “The Youth Health & Safety Act.” The state’s Democratic Governor, J.B. Pritzker, is expected to sign it. This slap in the face of Illinois families and undermining of the state’s youth will no doubt be a major political issue in the 2022 campaign, including in challenges to the governor’s attempt to secure a second term.

Pop-up Abortuaries

TO SOME, IT MIGHT APPEAR CLEVER. TO US, IT LOOKS DESPERATE. A Minneapolis abortion outfit is raising funds to dispatch “mobile abortion facilities” to the Texas border as an emergency response to Texas’s sustained suppression of baby killing.

“In a shocking desire to commit infanticide,” writes Jack Bingham for LifeSiteNews, “Minneapolis-based pro-abortion group ‘Just the Pill’ disseminated a fundraiser via e-mail asking for donations to send two mobile abortion units to the Texas border … . Just the Pill, founded in 2020 with the goal of proliferating abortion, will use the crowdfunded money,” remarks Mr. Bingham, “to deploy ‘mobile units’ at the Texas border to distribute abortion ‘pills’ to women who are 10 weeks or earlier into pregnancy.  The organization claims that the mobile units are necessary because ‘Anti-abortion extremists in Texas have created a human rights disaster,’ with the passing of the life-saving Heartbeat Act.”

The outfit is reportedly charging $350 for a pill-inflicted abortion, with, notes Mr. Bingham, “the purported efficacy rate [for] killing the child [of] 95-98%.”

The report did not indicate whether a doctor would be on hand to examine the customer before dispensing the deadly chemical or to follow up on any complications which might befall her.

Nor did the report suggest the “mobile units” would be welcomed by authorities in Louisiana, Arkansas or Oklahoma, which border Texas on the east and north. Nor is a new competitor likely to be welcomed by New Mexico’s own abortion industry.