Life Advocacy Briefing

Disrupting the March for Life

THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA HAS LAID DOWN AN EDICT, effective Jan. 15, requiring proprietors of “indoor public spaces,” notes Doug Mainwaring, to refuse admittance to anyone who does not display a certificate of vaccination against the Chinese virus. That means what amounts to a vaccine passport is required to enter “restaurants, bars, theaters, gyms, and meeting and convention spaces,” writes the LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) reporter. The mandate applies even to children, age 12 and older.

Could it be coincidental that the edict takes effect just a week before what had been anticipated to be a huge turnout for the annual March for Life, scheduled for Friday, Jan. 21, and a week before a planned Defeat the Mandates March scheduled for Jan. 23?

Though the outdoor March for Life is still expected to convene at noon on the National Mall, the March organizers have canceled the annual expo, reports LSN staff, “where pro-life organizations from across the country exhibit and interact with pro-lifers in town for the March. The March also announced that anyone over age 12 attending its annual Rose Dinner must present proof of having received an abortion-tainted coronavirus injection or a proof of a negative Covid-19 test taken within the past 24 hours,” reports LSN. Masks will also be required.

“‘A medical exemption needs to be in writing from a medical provider and must be accompanied by a negative Covid test in the last 24 hours,’ the March for Life’s website says,” quoted by LSN. “‘A religious exemption may be stated verbally or provided in writing and must be accompanied by a negative Covid test in the last 24 hours.’” The organizers warned that tests might not be available in the DC area, so urged participants to arrange to be tested just before leaving their hometowns.

“While the regulations will not prevent those who have chosen not [to] receive the not-fully-tested, abortion-tainted jab to participate in either of the marches,” writes Mr. Mainwaring, “they will not be able to dine in DC restaurants or easily shelter from what is often freezing, inclement January weather” in Washington.

Though we hope for robust participation in the DC March for Life – particularly during the Supreme Court’s deliberation on a key challenge to Roe v. Wade – we hope also that those reluctant for whatever reason to subject themselves to the DC vaccine passport scheme will participate in a local March for Life and swell the turnout in yet-free cities across America.

Ohio Outlaws Neglect of Babies Surviving Abortion

OHIO GOV. MIKE DeWINE (R) IN DECEMBER SIGNED a Born-Alive Infant Protection Act, establishing a first-degree felony of “abortion manslaughter,” reports Calvin Freiburger, “meaning that abortionists and nurses that fail to attempt to provide life-saving care to a baby delivered alive could face prison time.” The new law also, writes the LifeSiteNews.com reporter, “allows the mother of the child to file a civil lawsuit for ‘wrongful death.’”

Further, notes the LSN writer, “it also helps the public understand the extent of the problem of infanticide by requiring the Ohio Dept. of Health to ‘develop a child survival form that an attending physician must complete each time a child is born alive after an abortion or attempted abortion,’ according to a legislative analysis.

“Another provision of the new law,” writes Mr. Freiburger, “forbids physicians that partner with abortion facilities for their hospital transfer agreements from teaching or being paid by state-funded institutions, which could force the closures of Women’s Med and Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio, unless the law is blocked from taking effect in the next 90 days, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.”

Though a Born-Alive Infants Protection Act has been on the federal books since 2002, it does not include enforcement mechanisms with criminal penalties for medical neglect of abortion survivors. State-level laws are also more likely to be enforced even if federal penalties were provided, which is why many states have enacted partial-birth abortion bans, for example, even though a federal Partial-Birth Abortion Ban has been upheld by the US Supreme Court.

Illinois Repeals Parental Notice of Abortion

WHAT MAY BE THE FINAL SHOE has dropped in Illinois, a state which, in the 1970s and ’80s was among the leaders in pro-life state legislation. That was before the state’s Democratic Party made a massively lucrative “marriage” with a well-financed state abortion political action committee.

As the Democratic Party’s control of the legislature tightened in the past two decades, the abortion lobby blocked passage of any pro-life legislation, and when Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker took office in 2019, along with his party’s super-majority rule in both houses of the legislature, the abortion lobby went from defense to offense and secured repeal of many of the state’s limits on their industry.

In 2021, the abortion fanatics took on Illinois’s Parental Notification Act of 1995, and on Dec. 17, Mr. Pritzker signed the repeal of the law which had required abortionists to notify at least one parent of a minor seeking an abortion 48 hours before the deed was done. The Act takes effect Jan. 1, 2024. That delayed effective date elevates this issue in the 2022 Illinois election campaigns at the state legislative and gubernatorial levels.

Planned Parenthood thanked and praised the governor, of course. But Kenzie Dillow, reporting for WSIL-TV, quotes GOP State Sen. Terri Bryant, saying “she was saddened and angered by the governor’s decision. ‘The Governor has chosen to once again attack the rights of parents by signing a bill that essentially tells parents that they do not deserve to know about the health care of their children. Repealing this vital law will prevent parents from being able to provide the support these young girls need during the most difficult time in their life.

“‘The Governor and his allies continuously claim,’” asserted Sen. Bryant, quoted by Ms. Dillow, “‘that repealing the Parental Notice of Abortion Act would help protect victims of rape, incest and domestic abuse, but the reality is the opposite. The PNA has mechanisms built-in,’” she said, “‘that actually help to identify young girls who have been trafficked or abused.’”

Yea, Team!

THE GROWING TREND OF SOCIAL CAUSE ADVOCACY among professional athletes has now brought attention to the cause of Life.

Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Jacob Hollister “promoted Live Action,” reports Joseph Summers for LifeSiteNews.com, “as part of the National Football League’s My Cause My Cleats Campaign, which allows players to wear custom cleats featuring charities of their choice that are auctioned off after the game. The proceeds of the auction,” writes Mr. Summers, “go directly to the charity.” Congratulations to Live Action for having landed this benefit!

The player’s cleats, notes the LSN reporter, “feature an image of a pregnant mother holding her womb on one side with the caption ‘Love them both,’ and on the other the phrase ‘Save lives.’

“‘I don’t think that the baby’s life is any more important than the mother’s, and I don’t think that the mother’s life is any more important than the baby’s,’ [Mr.] Hollister said,” reports Mr. Summers. “‘Both have equal worth and demand equal protection – the only difference is, the baby doesn’t have a voice or a choice in this.’” Bingo!

Wisdom from an Unexpected Source

IT IS SO RARE AS TO BE NOTEWORTHY for those of us committed to the right to Life – and no doubt for those who have yet to grasp the reality and the threat of global depopulation. A multibillionaire – indeed the man said to be the wealthiest in the world – made news early in December with the warning Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder Elon Musk issued at the Wall Street Journal’s annual CEO gathering, reports Emily Mangiaracina for LifeSiteNews.com (LSN), citing the New York Post as source.

“‘I think one of the biggest risks to civilization is the low birthrate and the rapidly declining birthrate,’ the father of six said. … ‘And yet, so many people, including smart people, think that there are too many people in the world and think that the population is growing out of control,’ [Mr.] Musk continued. ‘It’s completely the opposite. Please look at the numbers – if people don’t have more children, civilization is going to crumble, mark my words.’”

Mr. Musk certainly stands out from many of his peers. Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett come to mind as billionaires who not only fear the shibboleth of world overpopulation but determinedly “invest” huge sums of “charitable investment” in seeking to suppress population.

But his December declaration was not an anomaly for Mr. Musk, notes Ms. Mangiaracina. “In August 2019 at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai,” she writes, “[Mr.] Musk said he believes ‘the biggest problem the world will face in 20 years is population collapse,’ also noting, ‘Most people think we have too many people on the planet, but actually this is an outdated view.’

“Statistics show,” writes the LSN reporter, “that the rate of world population increase has been on an overall steep decline since 1970, when it was 2.06% per year, now down to the current rate of 1.05% per year.

“Back in 2017, [Mr.] Musk remarked,” reports Ms. Mangiaracina, “‘The world’s population is accelerating toward collapse, but few seem to notice or care,’ in a tweet comment upon a November 2016 New Scientist article expecting a global population ‘crash’ in 2076 due to below-replacement fertility rates in half of the world’s countries.

“Indeed, most developed countries are falling short of the 2.1 children per woman needed for replacement fertility,” writes the LSN reporter. “The Population Research Institute recently shared that at least 96 countries – or about half of the world – are projected to be below replacement fertility for the 2020-2025 period. Population Research Institute,” she adds, “has pointed out if these below-replacement trends continue, whole societies will decrease in number exponentially and will be in danger of extinction.”

The LSN writer goes on to quote columnist Don Feder, who has said “he believes ‘the most important factor’ is ‘a culture that tells people that children are a burden rather than a joy, … a culture that tells us that contentment comes from careers, love, friendship, pets, possessions, travel, personal growth – anything and everything except family and children.’”

One Lawyer’s Rant

Dec. 28, 2021, commentary by Live Action writer Carole Novielli

             After the Court heard Dobbs, multiple news outlets and pro-abortion advocates indicated the view that Roe was coming to an end. “Roe v. Wade is probably doomed,” wrote Bloomberg. “Supreme Court … Ready to Gut Roe,” a CNBC headline read. “Roe v. Wade’s future is in doubt after historic arguments at Supreme Court,” NPR stated. “We are witnessing the end of Roe v. Wade,” a Nation headline read.

             Noah Brandt, director of government affairs for Live Action, explained the process. “For an opinion to rule, five Justices of the nine on the Court must sign onto it. On the current Court, three Justices have made their pro-abortion stance clear and continued to advocate for that view during oral arguments: Breyer, Kagan and Sotomayor. The other six indicated they would choose to uphold Mississippi’s law, but it is unclear how they may vote on overturning Roe in totality.”

             “What’s the Supreme Court going to do about abortion? They’re not really going to overturn Roe v. Wade, are they? They can’t do that, can they?” Kolbert began her TED Talk by asking. “I can’t tell you how many people have asked me questions like this in recent months.”

             Kolbert, who argued two abortion cases at Supreme Court and defended abortion rights for 20 years, continued: “So, my answer is depressing but direct. Roe v. Wade will be dead within the year,” she claimed. “This Court is likely to overrule Roe and Casey, or so undermine its meaning that it will be effectively unavailable for its use. …

             “We have been saying for five decades, ‘save Roe, save Roe, save Roe;’ that strategy is no longer feasible – give it up!” Kolbert later claimed.

             In her TED Talk, Kolbert confirmed that the magic number for SCOTUS is five. Since Casey allowed states to restrict abortion, Kolbert claimed that “in the following three decades, we’ve seen states pass hundreds of restrictions on abortion, and the increasingly conservative courts uphold those restrictions. And, as a result, we’ve seen a dwindling availability of abortion,” Kolbert stated.

             “Today, about 11% of the counties in this country have an abortion provider. There are six states that have one abortion provider,” Kolbert added. “The question is, what’s going to happen now? And unfortunately, things are going to get worse.”

             Of the Dobbs case, Kolbert said, “We are likely to see at least five Justices overrule Roe and Casey and send the question of abortion back to the states. … What’s going to happen when Roe and Casey are overturned? I’d guess that about half the states in this country will ban all or most abortions. … Women will be forced to travel to the 15 states that are controlled by pro-choice legislators and governors. …

             “Other women will seek medication abortion using the Internet or grey or black markets and subject themselves in some states to criminal prosecutions. Still other women will carry their unintended pregnancies to term. The bottom line is, this is not a pretty picture,” she added.

             Kolbert presented her idea of how to make sure abortion continues in the US in the event that Roe is overturned:

1. “Build a coalition – first we’ve got to build a [expletive] social justice movement, which means loudly crying for our rights … . We know from watching the Black Lives Matter movement and the Marriage Equality movement that coalition is queen. We’ve got to find allies and work with them to make sure our rights are protected,” Kolbert said.
2. “Elect pro-abortion ‘champions’ to Congress on state and federal level – But, equally important, we’ve got to make sure that we elect … legislatures [sic] throughout the states and in Congress who are champions for Reproductive Health. … What you need to do is get politically active. …” [Later she added] “We need to elect champions for choice to the 500,000 elected seats in our government in this country. Everything from school boards to town councils to state legislatures, to Congress and the White House. All those seats need to be controlled by champions to our cause … . And that can happen only if you get politically active … even run for office … .
3. “Wrest the reins of governmental power – What would our world look like if we were able to wrest the reins of governmental power away from those who oppose abortion and allow an agenda that reflects reproductive freedoms and justice?” Kolbert asked. “In my world where we control the reins of power … we would make sure that abortion is affordable and available – no more bans – no more barriers – no more restrictions on funding. And medication abortion – the abortion pill – would be available, not just at Planned Parenthoods and the dwindling number of abortion clinics in this country, but at pharmacies without a prescription, at walk-in health centers and on every college campus in the United States.”

             “And if you have any doubt about the importance of getting politically active, we could also pass a Constitutional Amendment – what I call a Gender Equity Amendment – that would guarantee to all persons the ability to make decisions. Not just about abortion but about pregnancy and marriage and sexuality and parenting. And it would be a permanent part of the United States Constitution,” Kolbert added.

             Kolbert ended her talk by stating, “While dire, the end of Roe is not the end of the story. To paraphrase Joan Baez, the best antidote to despair is action … .”

             While it remains unclear how the Supreme Court will rule in Dobbs, advocates of abortion as well as the pro-life movement are beginning to prepare for the battle to turn to the state level.