Life Advocacy Briefing

Breaking

THE EDITORIAL STAFF of Life Advocacy Briefing will be traveling for about two weeks and ask our readers for your prayers for our safety on the road. We expect to return for the July 17 edition. And we wish all our readers a blessed and joyful Independence Day in celebration of America.

Protecting Pregnant Minors

LEGISLATION HAS BEEN FILED IN THE U.S. HOUSE to put parents back into the picture in the nation’s abortion policy.

HR-4123 was filed by Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL) along with GOP colleagues Rep. Paul Gosar & Debbie Lesko (AZ), Lauren Boebert (CO), Diana Harshbarger (TN) and Alex Mooney (WV). The bill has been assigned to the Judiciary Committee. We encourage our readers to call their own Representatives to ask them to co-sponsor and vote for this urgently needed bill. [Capitol switchboard: 1-202/224-3121]

The Parental Notification & Intervention Act, reports K.D. Hastings for The Washington Stand, a publication of Family Research Council, would apply whenever an unemancipated minor seeks an abortion, requiring the abortionist – if he or she is employed by an entity that accepts federal funding – to inform her parents (the grandparents of her unborn child). It further requires a four-day waiting period.

“‘I do believe that if women were fully informed,’” said Rep. Miller in an interview on Family Research Council’s Washington Watch broadcast, “‘if they were required to have an ultrasound and if they had time to think it through and had wise counsel, I think a lot of women would change their minds.

“‘They’re in a panic. They’re driven by fear. They’re getting bad counsel. It’s a rash decision,’ she continued,” reported by Mr. Hastings, “noting her bill seeks to give young people and their parents time to carefully consider this life and death decision. ‘Hopefully the parents will get the daughter medical intervention and wise counsel and share the truth with [her],’ added [Rep.] Miller.”

Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins added in the Washington Stand story, “It is only reasonable that families have the opportunity to intervene when a minor girl is being pressured by an abortion clinic to make such a ‘life-altering and life-destroying decision.’ [Mr.] Perkins pointed out,” adds Mr. Hastings, “that the bill also addresses the issue of young people being trafficked out of their home state to abort their baby without their parents’ knowledge,” something Congress has sought to address in previous years in legislation known as the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act.

CIANA was filed this April as HR-792 by Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) along with 22 co-sponsors and in the Senate in January by Sen. Marco Rubio as S-78. Both these bills are pending in the Judiciary Committee of their respective houses. CIANA pertains only in interstate border-crossing situations and is not pinned to federal funding. It – or Rep. Miller’s bill – is urgently needed because of the patchwork of state laws adopted during the past year since the overturning of Roe v. Wade. It would require notification of the parents of a minor who crosses state lines for an abortion and would penalize a cross-border escort if a minor is transported from a state which requires parental notice to a state which has no such protection. We list the co-sponsors of CIANA at the close of this Life Advocacy Briefing.

Pushing Pills

READERS MAY RECALL A REPORT LAST WINTER alerting us to the Biden Regime’s pressure on pharmacies to begin dispensing the RU-486 abortion drug. The pro-life community responded with petitions to major pharmacy chains to refrain from taking advantage of their new-found authority to sell the death-dealing chemical, when CVS and Walgreens announced they would dispense mifepristone.

But that was not enough to appease Democrats in Congress, more than 50 of whom sent a letter June 15 to Walmart, Kroger, Costco, Safeway and Health Mart, “pressuring” these giant chains, reports Ben Johnson for The Washington Stand, “to carry the abortion pill” and calling their seeming hesitancy to apply for federal certification as marketers of the drug “‘unacceptable.’

“‘Your pharmacies have been able to start the certification process since January but have not done so, despite letters from numerous governors and senators inquiring about your failure to do so,’” wrote the radical House Members, according to Mr. Johnson. The Members of Congress “demanded,” he reports, “the pharmacies detail their ‘plan, if any, to support access to medication abortion by becoming certified to dispense mifepristone,’” giving them less than two weeks to respond.

According to the report, the letter was “spearheaded by Representatives Judy Chu (D-CA) and Dan Goldman (D-NY).”

The letter from the Congressional Representatives “follows a series of letters written to those pharmaceutical chains and others in March,” reports Mr. Johnson, “by 17 US Senators expressing ‘great frustration’ they had not yet agreed to become chemical abortion pill merchants. Separately,” notes Mr. Johnson, “the pharmacies received a separate letter from Democratic governors in 14 states: California, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin.”

Even the pharmacy chains that yielded promptly to the Biden Regime’s demand that they apply for FDA certification to market the drug “did not escape the wrath of Democratic politicians aiming to expand abortion nationwide. In March,” Mr. Johnson reports, “California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) threatened to end all state contracts with Walgreens if it refused to carry abortion pills in all 50 states, including the 20 states where attorneys general say distribution would violate pro-life state laws and the federal Comstock Act. Newsom,” he notes, “backed down within days.”

Mobilizing the federal government to push abortion did not take the Biden Regime and its allies long after the Supreme Court’s late June Dobbs ruling. “Last July,” reports Mr. Johnson, “the Biden Administration’s Dept. of Health & Human Services sent a guidance to 60,000 pharmacies threatening to take legal ‘corrective action’ against anyone who refuses to dispense abortion-inducing drug mifepristone to ‘pregnant people’ and explain ‘how to take’ it. Two days after Christmas 2022,” adds Mr. Johnson, “Biden’s Office of Legal Counsel issued an opinion that pharmacies may mail or ship abortion pills to pro-life states, a move many legal analysts believe violates federal law.”

The Biden Regime is currently appealing, in the 5^th Circuit Court of Appeals, an April ruling by Circuit Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, notes Mr. Johnson, “that the FDA’s approval of mifepristone had been politicized during the waning days of the Clinton presidency and revoked the [FDA’s clearance] order, which would effectively remove the abortion pill from the market.”

DeSantis Talks Faith

IN A CHRISTIAN BROADCASTING NETWORK INTERVIEW broadcast June 16 and reported by Matt Lamb for LifeSiteNews, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a candidate for the 2024 GOP Presidential nomination, “criticized former President Donald Trump for calling Florida’s bill to prohibit abortions when a heartbeat is detected … ‘harsh.’ CBN’s David Brody,” notes Mr. Lamb, “had asked the Florida governor if he thought [Mr.] Trump had gone ‘soft’ on the issue of abortion. … ‘I was really surprised, because he’s a Florida resident, and I thought he would compliment the fact that we were able to do the heartbeat bill, which pro-lifers have wanted for a long time,’ [Gov.] DeSantis told [Mr.] Brody. … ‘He never complimented, never said anything about it. Then he was asked about it,’” Gov. DeSantis said, “‘and he said it was “harsh.”’”

Responding to questions about his faith, Gov. DeSantis told Mr. Brody, quoted by Mr. Lamb, “a ‘strong faith’ would be needed to ‘get us through very turbulent times. … Look, at the end of the day, there’s certain problems, economic problems, there’s problems at the border – they are all very important. But why are we here?’ he said. ‘Why are we free people? We’re free because God has endowed us with inalienable rights. That’s why America was founded,’ [Gov.] DeSantis said. ‘Our Constitution was created not to give us rights but to protect the rights that God has already bestowed upon us.’”

Add Blasphemy to the List

WHEN ONE HAS SUCH A THOROUGH BACKGROUND of abortion activism as that compiled by the Vice President of the United States, her even invoking the Holy God in the cause of abortion, disgusting as it is, comes as no surprise.

The former California Attorney General who instigated the persecution of investigative journalist David Daleiden for the “crime” of exposing Planned Parenthood’s involvement in fetal tissue harvesting, Vice President Kamala Harris (D) brought her abortion fanaticism with her to Washington, demonstrating it again in an early June Twitter interview with Missouri abortionist and Planned Parenthood chief medical officer/St. Louis Colleen McNicholas, reported by LifeSiteNews writer Jean Mondoro.

“‘Abortion bans stand between doctors and their patients,’” Ms. Harris declared, reported by Ms. Mondoro. “‘It’s a shame that in this year of Our Lord 2023 people are trying to take us back. … [It’s] causing a lot of folks to really consider that we have to be vigilant and understand all of the ramifications of this and have a federal law that protects reproductive care [sic] in all 50 states,’ [V.P.] Harris continued,” notes Ms. Mondoro.

“Harris has backed all pro-abortion initiatives of the Administration,” writes Ms. Mondoro, “claiming that the ability to kill the unborn is critical for ‘real people, including children.’ In January, during a speech intended to lament the return of abortion legislation to individual states, the Vice President declared that ‘we are each endowed with the right to liberty and the pursuit of happiness.’ Ironically,” concludes Ms. Mondoro, “she omitted ‘life,’ the first right that is outlined in the Declaration of Independence.”

Progress

June 19, 2023, BreakPoint commentary by John Stonestreet

             According to a recent report on the online source FiveThirtyEight, the Dobbs decision has made a big difference.

             “There were almost 94,000 fewer abortions in states that implemented bans post-Dobbs, just between July and March,” author Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux summarized in a Twitter thread. “Almost 100K affected, and that’s not even the full year.” And in states without bans, “Abortions rose by [approximately] 70,000 … .”

             In other words, the Dobbs decision from the US Supreme Court that overturned Roe v. Wade and returned the abortion decision back to the states has meant a net decrease of 24,000 abortions nationwide.

             Some bans have had a more significant impact than others. For example, abortion in states that “have banned abortion after six weeks … tend to drop by 50-60%. If that happened in Florida, where a six-week ban is pending, we could be talking about 4,000 fewer abortions MONTHLY.”

             To be clear, Thomson-DeVeaux is alarmed by these numbers.

             At the same time, data points to huge shifts in how abortion is [ob]tained in America, most notably abortion tourism and an uptick in chemical abortions. So, the work continues. And yet, it is safe to say that elections matter.

It’s a Baby!

June 17, 2023, The Washington Stand commentary by Baylie McClafferty

             Don’t be surprised if, when you turn on your TV this week and next, the commercials flash an ad about the Life issue. Focus on the Family launched an ad campaign this week titled “It’s a Baby” in honor of the one-year anniversary of the overturning of Roe v. Wade. They hope to “change the hearts and minds on the issue of abortion,” [Focus’s] Daily Citizen reports.

             Focus on the Family is a faith-based organization championing the institution of the family with a Biblical worldview. They partner with foster care and adoption agencies, provide post-placement resources and host outreach missions. The organization has been a voice and advocate for the pro-life movement, and now they are bringing their beliefs to a screen near you.

             The commercial that they filmed relays a sequence of different clips, where folks are referring to pregnancy, yet when they talk about it, they replace the word “baby” with the word “fetus.” This continues for a few scenes, until a little girl corrects her mom’s grammar. She says, “Um, it’s a baby.” The commentator’s voice follows: “Call it what you want, but the truth does not change. It’s still a baby.”

             The message is knocking the pro-choice movement because they often use different, dehumanizing names for the living baby in the mother’s belly, one of which is the scientific classification of a “fetus.” The idea conveyed in the ad is one of great controversy. While it is painted as a light-hearted, upbeat message, it is one that has torn society apart for decades. Is the baby inside the mother’s belly considered a human? Where do we draw the line?

             … In honor of the anniversary [of the Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade], Focus on the Family determined to promote thought-provoking content that would influence Americans to think about this issue and what it means for them personally. They plan[ned] to run this ad from June 14 until June 24, leading up to the court decision’s first birthday.

             Pro-life advertising and messaging is necessary due to the ignorance of those viewing the content. Hopefully, this commercial will impact viewers across the country, as it directly responds to the leftist campaigning technique of “phraseology.”

             Wording is everything, and it is important to call the baby what it is, which is, well, a baby.

[Life Advocacy Briefing editor’s note: We agree, and we add this: It is important also to call the mother what she is – a mother – whether she has “chosen” that role or not.]

What to Expect from Planned Parenthood at School

June 8, 2023, Live Action report by Nancy Flanders

             A Washington State elementary school has come under fire for reportedly using Planned Parenthood sex-ed materials that parents learned about only after the lessons took place. According to radio host Jason Rantz, fourth and fifth-grade students (typically ages nine and 10) at Lincoln Elementary in the Olympia School District were given sex education lessons on May 9 which parents were told were approved by the district. However, the lessons the students were given were reportedly not actually approved, and the lesson included information and graphics that parents found concerning.

             Rantz reported, “Materials presented by Planned Parenthood included drawings of pubic hair shaped like an animal, and students were told they could pick from a number of contrived genders to identify as. Some of the materials promoted medication to block puberty.”

             While some of the information given to students was to be expected, some parents found other information inappropriate. For example, on a page stating, “Supplies that could be helpful during puberty! (you get to choose what works best for you!),” multiple items were listed such as razors, tampons, deodorant and bras. However, “puberty blockers” (drugs given to suppress the natural changes of puberty) were also included.

             “Our primary concern for our kids is the fact that the school district presented the information as being very neutral and quite honestly basic pubescent/anatomy driven,” one father of a Lincoln Elementary student said in an email to The Jason Rantz Show. “Then when we became privy to the actual content of the presentation (after the fact and at our own discovery, not the school’s disclosure), it was completely different.”

             In addition to being asked what pronouns “feel good” to them, the students were given a “gender wheel” worksheet that included different so-called identities including “trans,” “intersex,” “drag king,” “trans femme,” “agender person,” “boi grrl” and “nonbinary.” Possible pronouns included “he” and “she” but also “they,” “ze” and “tree.”

             Drawings of vaginas and penises were also included with pubic hair “art,” such as a cat and a heart. Other drawings featured “examples of intersex variation.”

             According to Rantz, the sex-ed lesson was led by Teen Council, a peer-led sex ed program from Planned Parenthood with an adult giving the lesson in this case. The school’s principal allegedly said that the presenters “went off script” and that the school staff was “surprised and did not know what they were going to do.” The school said it will not use the same presenter in the future. “We are investigating the matter and working with staff to get more information to determine next steps,” a district spokesperson told The Jason Rantz Show.

[Life Advocacy Briefing editor’s note: for responsible, God-honoring abstinence education materials, see www.ampartnership.org or contact Abstinence & Marriage Education Partnership at 224/735-3622.]

Co-sponsors of Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act

In the House, HR-792 is sponsored by Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) along with GOP Representatives Robert Aderholt (AL), Doug LaMalfa (CA), Doug Lamborn (CO), Matt Gaetz & Gregory Steube  (FL), Rick Allen & Andrew Clyde (GA), Russ Fulcher (ID), Mary Miller (IL), Ron Estes & Tracey Mann (KS), Trent Kelly (MS), Christopher Smith (NJ), Dan Bishop & David Rouzer (NC), Jeff Duncan (SC), Bob Good (VA) and Representatives Jody Arrington, Brian Babin, Jake Ellzey, Ronny Jackson & Randy Weber (TX).

In the Senate, S-78 was filed by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and is co-sponsored by GOP Senators Mike Crapo & James Risch (ID), Mike Braun (IN), Roger Marshall (KS), Bill Cassidy & John Kennedy (LA), Cindy Hyde-Smith & Roger Wicker (MS), Josh Hawley (MO), Steve Daines (MT), Deb Fischer & Pete Ricketts (NE), Kevin Cramer (ND), James Lankford (OK), Tim Scott (SC), John Thune (SD) and Ted Cruz (TX).