Life Advocacy Briefing

Accidental Truth

READERS OF LIFE ADVOCACY BRIEFING MAY HAVE SEEN news coverage of a political stunt put on by the Harris for President campaign last week – a “virtual” fundraising rally titled “White Dudes for Harris.” We will not comment on the stunt in itself, but in case our readers missed this aspect, we will report – thanks to a story by Matt Lamb for LifeSiteNews – on the participation of Transportation Secretary and Vice Presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg, whose chief claim to electoral fame is as ex-mayor of South Bend, Indiana, where he opposed establishment of a pro-life pregnancy care center.

“Democrats are ‘for freedom,’ [Mayor] Buttigieg said” during the online event, reports Mr. Lamb. What does he mean by “freedom”?

“‘Women’s freedom is Exhibit A, after Donald Trump demolished the right to choose,’ he said, with reference to the reversal of Roe v. Wade,” reports Mr. Lamb. “‘But of course men are also more free in a country where we have a President who stands up for things like access to abortion care,’ he said. ‘Men are more free when the leader of the free world and the leader of this country supports access to birth control and access to IVF.’”

Mr. Buttigieg himself has exercised the Left’s version of “freedom” in his so-called marriage to another man and their adoption of twin babies, “depriving both kids of a mother,” notes Mr. Lamb.

But pro-life hero Abby Johnson nailed the real meaning – conscious or not – of Mr. Buttigieg’s celebration of unfettered abortion as “more freedom” for men. Her reaction came in a truth nugget on X (formerly Twitter), quoted by Mr. Lamb: “‘Children shouldn’t have to die just so men can use a woman’s body for pleasure with no consequence. … That’s a disgusting concept.’”

It is also one of the many dirty big secrets of the abortion fetish. Commentator Allie Beth Stuckey responded on X, reports Mr. Lamb: “‘Um, yes. … Deadbeats are definitely freer to be deadbeats when they can have unprotected sex with a woman, then pressure her into an abortion.’”

Mr. Lamb also quotes a reaction from conservative radio host Vince Coglianese: “‘Forget weird. This is wicked.’” And he quotes pro-life speaker Christine Yeargin, also writing on X: “‘Abortion allows and encourages neglect, coercion and the abandonment of women while simultaneously ending a life. … This is anything but freedom.’” Bingo.

Victory in Nebraska, For Now

GOOD NEWS OUT OF NEBRASKA. The state supreme court voted 6 to 1 on July 26 “to uphold a law,” reports Calvin Freiburger for LifeSiteNews, “banning both elective abortions starting at 12 weeks as well as ‘gender transition’ surgery on confused minors, ruling both could lawfully be covered in a single piece of legislation.”

The Let Them Grow Act was signed by Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen (R) in May of 2023. Predictably, Planned Parenthood of the Heartland and the ACLU sued, “claiming that covering both abortion and ‘transitions’ violated the Nebraska Constitution’s single-subject rule,” reports Mr. Freiburger. “But the state’s highest court decided overwhelmingly that the law was valid, as both issues fell within the broader subject of ‘medical care,’ ABC News reports.” (Serves them right for lumping abortion into health care!)

The court’s chief justice, Mike Heavican, cited a precedent from 1985, according to Mr. Freiburger, concerning the court’s interpretation of the constitution’s single-subject rule. “Ultimately,’” Justice Heavican wrote, “‘if a bill has but one general object, no matter how broad that object may be, and contains no matter not germane thereto, and the title fairly expresses the subject of the bill, it does not violate’ the single-subject rule.”

The comprehensive law “originally passed following the failure of a much stronger abortion ban,” notes Mr. Freiburger, “that would have applied upon detection of a fetal heartbeat at six weeks. Nearly 94% of abortions occur prior to 13 weeks’ gestation, according to the CDC.”

Said Gov. Pillen, quoted by Mr. Freiburger, “‘We worked overtime to bring that bill to my desk, and I thank God that I had the privilege to sign it into law.’”

The executive director of Nebraska Right to Life Sandy Danek, quoted by LifeSiteNews, said her group “‘will continue to work toward the goal of protecting all life, from the moment of conception to natural death.’”

Clearly, the fight in Nebraska is far from over. “Two abortion-related constitutional amendments have been proposed for possible inclusion on this fall’s ballot,” notes Mr. Freiburger, “one that would ‘amend the Nebraska Constitution to provide all persons the fundamental right [sic] to abortion without interference from the state or its political subdivisions until fetal viability,’ with ‘health’ exceptions after ‘viability’ that could be interpreted broadly enough,” writes Mr. Freiburger, “to authorize almost any abortion. It is also feared to threaten parental involvement laws as well as health and safety regulations.” Of course; this is what the abortion cartel needs for sustained empire building.

The second pending proposal, reports Mr. Freiburger, “would write into the Nebraska Constitution a prohibition on abortion in the second and third trimesters except for ‘medical emergency or when the pregnancy results from sexual assault or incest,’ while not addressing early-term abortions” – a proposal that has a tint of pro-life sentiment while cementing abortion into the state charter.   “Supporters justified that omission [of a bar to earlier abortions] as a temporary compromise to political necessity, while other pro-lifers backed a third proposal to state that a ‘preborn child at every stage of development is a person.’ That amendment,” unfortunately, “did not gain enough signatures by the deadline.”

Great News Out of Iowa

IOWA’s HEARTBEAT ABORTION BAN HAS TAKEN EFFECT, as of July 29, reports Peter Martin for LifeSiteNews.

“The law which Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) signed in July 2023,” reports Mr. Martin, “bans abortion once a baby’s heartbeat can be detected, which is as early as five weeks of pregnancy.

“The governor had signed a similar heartbeat ban in 2018, but the Iowa Supreme Court failed to uphold it,” notes Mr. Martin, “in a deadlocked 3-3 ruling on procedural grounds last year, and it never took effect.”

Early in July, the high court “ruled in favor of the new Heartbeat law in a 4-3 decision,” reports Mr. Martin. This follows a 2022 high court ruling “that Iowa’s constitution does not include a ‘fundamental right’ to abortion,” notes the LifeSiteNews reporter, “reversing an earlier pro-abortion precedent,” demonstrating the value of principled persistence.

“In states where they have been enforced,” writes Mr. Martin, “Heartbeat laws have reduced abortions by around 50%, as in Georgia, to nearly 80%, as in South Carolina.”

‘Temporary’ Setback

UTAH’s SUPREME COURT UPHELD “a block on the state’s near-total abortion ban” Aug. 1, reports Nathaniel Weixel for The Hill, “keeping in place a law” that allows the intentional killing of unborn children “up to 18 weeks of pregnancy while litigation continues.”

The 4-to-1 ruling “is not the final word on abortion access [sic] in Utah,” writes Mr. Weixel. The court order “keep[s] in place a law that allows abortion up to 18 weeks of [gestation] while litigation continues.” The ruling “impacts only the district court ruling that previously blocked the law. Litigation over the law’s constitutionality,” reports Mr. Weixel, “will continue in the lower court, and the state could still win the case” for the right to protect innocent little children and their moms and dads. 

“Utah’s ban was passed in 2020 as a ‘trigger law,’ which was set to take effect once the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022,” reports The Hill. “The law would prohibit all abortions except in cases of rape, incest or serious risk to the mother’s health, or if two maternal fetal medicine physicians found that the fetus had a lethal defect or severe brain abnormality.” Hardly perfect but certainly a long step ahead of many other states, where all developing little babies are eligible for destruction.

Planned Parenthood Assn. of Utah and the ACLU sued to block the law from taking effect, but “the state challenged the block,” which the district court issued as a temporary injunction, writes Mr. Weixel, “and argued [Planned Parenthood] did not have the legal standing to challenge the constitutionality of a law on behalf of its [so-called] patients.

“In Thursday’s ruling, the majority made clear,” writes Mr. Weixel, “they were not ruling on the merits of Planned Parenthood’s claims, only whether the lower court was correct in issuing the [temporary] injunction.”

Sick Priorities

PLANNED PARENTHOOD GOT A GOLDEN DEAL from the city council of Richmond, Virginia, last week, in the award of a city-owned acre of land to the abortion giant for $10. That’s right. Ten dollars.

“According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the abortion giant plans to build a 10,000 square-foot, $10 million facility on the property,” reports Bridget Sielicki for Live Action, noting this is Planned Parenthood’s “third facility in the city. …

“The city’s willingness to practically give away the land for the killing of its preborn citizens follows a city resolution passed earlier [in July],” writes Ms. Sielicki, “detailing the city’s support for increased abortion.

“‘Access to affordable, quality health care, including reproductive services, is essential to the well-being of our residents,’ said Mayor Levar Stoney in a press release,” writes Ms. Sielicki. “‘I am proud the City Council unanimously voted to approve this land transfer. Richmond is leading the way in the South for protecting reproductive rights and increasing access to health care.’”

Lawsuits against the city might be in the future over such a punch in the gut to taxpaying citizens.

Life Advocacy Briefing cautions that drivel like that expressed by the radical Richmond mayor will continue to bruise the conscience of American citizens and offend Almighty God as long as political candidates who cherish the right to life in their hearts are talked into silence by crass political consultants who insist on their candidates giving aid and comfort – through their silence and equivocation – to the enemies of mankind among us.

The Harris Record

July 25, 2024, commentary by Brad Mattes, president, Life Issues Institute

             We’re in a time when American politics is anything but the predictable. While anticipated, Joe Biden’s decision not to seek re-election still rocked the political world. He then endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris.

             Since Life Issues Institute has fielded calls for more information on Kamala Harris’s stance on abortion, I am providing specifics here. This does not serve as either an endorsement for or opposition to any political candidate but is for informational purposes only.

             As California Attorney General, Kamala Harris supported legislation that would force pro-life pregnancy resource centers to refer women to abortion centers.

             When a journalist [David Daleiden] exposed Planned Parenthood’s scheme of selling aborted baby body parts, Harris prosecuted the whistleblowers [Mr. Daleiden and Sandra Merritt].

             Then, as a US Senate candidate, she met secretly with Planned Parenthood to discuss her investigation which resulted in a raid of the journalist’s home.

             Kamala Harris has refused repeatedly to say at what time if any during pregnancy she would support limits on abortion. … She continually says she supports reinstating Roe v. Wade in legislative form.

             Let’s look at her record in the US Senate.

             Harris was a co-sponsor on multiple occasions of the Democrats’ signature abortion bill called Women’s Health Protection Act. If passed, this bill would surpass Roe v. Wade in its support of abortion.

• It would force all 50 states to accept all-trimester abortion.
• The abortionist who is paid for the procedure is the only person allowed to determine whether or not the baby is “viable.”
• It would invalidate many existing state pro-life laws such as parental consent and notification.
• States are free to expand abortion, such as civil protections for abortionists who botch procedures and harm women.

             Harris repeatedly voted against laws providing protection for unborn babies when they can feel pain.

             She also repeatedly opposed protections for babies who survived botched late-term abortions.

             Harris voted multiple times against laws ending abortion after 20 weeks, long after the baby can feel the pain of an abortion. She called it an “immoral” bill.

             As Vice President, Kamala Harris launched what the White House called a “Reproductive Freedom Tour.” The sole purpose of the events is to promote all-trimester abortion.

             Kamala Harris’s stance on abortion is very public and clear. To our knowledge, no one has been able to find any circumstance or time during pregnancy that she would limit abortion.

Eyewitness Testimony

July 24, 2024, commentary by David Daleiden, investigative journalist with Center for Medical Progress (CMP)

             As California attorney general [AG], Kamala Harris weaponized the powers of her governmental office to cover up Planned Parenthood’s illegal sale of aborted baby body parts and chill our First Amendment rights to speak freely about it.

             It’s not hard to figure out why. Planned Parenthood and the rest of the abortion industry have been her major political sponsors for almost 15 years. And now they want her to be their extremist Abortion President.

             I have first-hand experience with Kamala Harris’s weaponization of government. In late 2015, in retaliation for CMP’s undercover reporting on Planned Parenthood using partial-birth abortions to sell aborted babies and their body parts, AG Harris opened a criminal investigation, not of the traffickers of aborted babies – but of my reporting on it.

             After a secret meeting with top Planned Parenthood officials implicated in the undercover videos, Kamala Harris ordered a raid on my home by eleven California State officers. Planned Parenthood specifically asked for the undercover footage to be seized. …

             Along with federal Judge William Orrick III – who opened, funded and operated a Planned Parenthood clinic – AG Kamala Harris was Planned Parenthood’s not-so-secret SanFrancisco weapon to silence critical reporting on their wrongdoing and obstruct ethical officials’ attempts at holding them accountable for the barbaric crimes of selling aborted babies.

             Would it surprise you to learn that Judge Orrick was also an early elite supporter of Kamala Harris for California Attorney General?

             The fact is, my team and I have been fighting against a corrupt and coordinated lawfare campaign from Planned Parenthood’s key allies in both federal and state, civil and criminal court systems for nine years!

How About a Smile?

July 31, 2024, nugget from Focus on the Family’s The Daily Citizen

             “I was told social conservatism was dead and buried – that Obergefell v. Hodges and ‘Modern Family’ drove a stake through the heart of traditional values in America. Yet a Gallup poll last year found that the percentage of Americans who said they were conservative or very conservative on social issues was at the highest level in a decade. Like zombies and the mullet hairstyle, social conservatism won’t stay dead,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

             “Take Republican Vice Presidential nominee [U.S. Senator] J.D. Vance. He presents himself as a classic social conservative. He opposes abortion, believes marriage is between a man and a woman, and frequently says things that you aren’t supposed to say about the family and sex roles.”