Life Advocacy Briefing

Question of the Week

NOW THAT THE HOUSE HAS PASSED President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” reconciling the budget for the coming fiscal year, will Planned Parenthood’s handful of GOP sycophants in the Senate hold out for funding the abortion giant?

Revealing Manifesto

THE NATIONAL NEWS MEDIA WERE DEPRIVED OF A HEADLINE last week after the firebombing destruction of an in vitro fertilization (IVF) shop in California. It turns out the bomber was not a radicalized pro-lifer taking too far his objection to the inhumane practices of the IVF “clinic,” but actually, reports Calvin Freiburger for LifeSiteNews, he “allegedly acted out of a nihilist hostility to bringing any new life into the world, according to a manifesto he left behind,” killing himself.

Ironically, first responders were able to preserve the lives of the stored embryonic humans whom the bomber was trying to kill, rushing first to restore power to the shop’s storage facilities.  

The bomb was detonated in the bomber’s auto, parked outside the Palm Springs IVF shop, reports Ben Johnson for The Washington Stand. “The blast … injured four others and damaged buildings as far as 250 feet away,” he writes, killing only one: the bomber himself.

In the declaration he left behind, the attacker identified himself, notes Mr. Freiburger, “as a ‘promotalist,’[?] longing for society to begin the ‘process of sterilizing this planet of the disease of life. … I think we need a war against pro-lifers,” he declared.

We will not quote much of the garbage which Mr. Freiburger quoted, but we will report the 25-year-old “declared his atheism, signaled his support for ‘satan,’” and he wrote that “he had ‘known for a few years now I wasn’t going to allow myself to make it past my 20s’ and was finally pushed ‘over the edge’ by the suicide of his best friend.”

Another Win in Florida

FLORIDA’s ABORTION-BY-JUDICIAL-BYPASS LAW has been struck down by a three-judge panel of the 5^th Circuit federal Court of Appeals, reports Calvin Freiburger for LifeSiteNews, “ruling it inconsistent with both the US Constitution and the state’s parental rights law.”

In the wake of the US Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, the state’s long-standing bypass allowance “was challenged by State Attorney General James Uthmeier,” notes Mr. Freiburger, citing the Associated Press as source, “in a case concerning an anonymous 17-year-old seeking an abortion without her father’s knowledge or consent.”

The 5^th Circuit panel wrote, reports Mr. Freiburger, “that ‘whatever asserted constitutional abortion rights may have justified Florida’s judicial-waiver regime in the past unequivocally have been repudiated by both the US Supreme Court and the Florida Supreme Court.’ …

“Though commonly opposed by the abortion industry and its activist allies,” notes Mr. Freiburger, “parental involvement rules for underage abortions stop the practice from being used by sexual abusers to cover up and continue their crimes, as is often the case … . Most abortions are illegal in Florida, thanks to last year’s defeat of a proposed constitutional amendment that would have gutted the state’s heartbeat law and other restrictions.

“Abortions dropped by more than 12,000 in Florida last year,” reports Mr. Freiburger, “the sharpest decline in the country.”

Cuts to Planned Parenthood – in California?

PLANNED PARENTHOOD IS WHINING about budgetary adjustments being made in California – of all places – which are threatening the abortion giant’s share of taxpayer dough, ironically, it seems, at the hand of their favorite governor, Democrat Gavin Newsom.

The news comes to us via a website called legalinsurrection.com, and we confess, we find it somewhat confusing – as is much coming out of California anyway – but the bottom line is: A voter-approved proposition concerning Medi-Cal spending is forcing the governor to make cuts which are prompting Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California CEO Jodi Hicks to moan, “‘As a result of these cuts, Planned Parenthood’s ability to provide care would be severely impacted. … Low-income Californians who depend on Planned Parenthood and other safety-net providers will endure longer wait times, have fewer appointment options, need to travel farther distances to access care, and will face even more barriers to accessing reproductive health care’” – a perfect example of Planned Parenthood gaslighting.

Since Ms. Hicks is also quoted as saying, “‘To put it simply, these cuts are plain cruel,’” we can only conclude the voters of California have done something right!

Don’t Get Too Excited About California

THOUGH BEING FORCED BY VOTERS TO MAKE CERTAIN CUTS, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is pressing forward a budget plan, reports Calvin Freiburger for LifeSiteNews, “to make abortion pills more easily available through the state’s prescription drug program as a check against future ‘politically motivated’ restrictions in other states.”

Planned Parenthood’s spokesman, Shelby McMichael, reacted to the announcement, declaring, “‘Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California is supportive of any and all tools that protect reproductive health care, including maintaining access to medication abortion in the state.’” Of course.

Do-Over in Missouri?

A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT PROPOSAL is headed to the ballot in Missouri to trim back the disastrous amendment narrowly approved by voters last November which included, notes Ben Johnson in a commentary for The Washington Stand, “a vague and expansive ‘right’ establishing any ‘person’s fundamental right to reproductive freedom.’”

A joint resolution to limit the effects of that voter-approved amendment passed the Missouri Senate on May 14, reports Mr. Johnson, after “Republicans … overcame a Democratic filibuster.” The proposition had already cleared the state House.

The state election ballot proposition, if approved, writes Mr. Johnson, “would allow abortions only for rape, or incest up through 12 weeks of pregnancy, or thereafter in the case of medical emergency or fetal anomaly. It restricts state funds from most abortions, except for rape or incest, and does not affect miscarriages, ectopic pregnancies or medical emergencies.

“Importantly,” he adds, “it allows the state to make laws ‘to ensure the health and safety of the pregnant mother,’ including assuring abortion facilities maintain ‘clean and safe conditions’ and that abortionists have admitting privileges to a local hospital.”

This comes after a county judge last December struck down “numerous state pro-life protections including an informed consent requirement,” notes Mr. Johnson, and another judge “overturned additional licensing requirements on Valentine’s Day.”

The judicial rulings followed voter passage – by just 51.6% of the vote – of a “so-called ‘Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative,’” writes Mr. Johnson, which “allows the state to permit abortion until viability, or later with a broad exception for the ‘health’ of the mother,” the kind of provision which was used repeatedly to strike down any restriction on abortion during the 49+ year reign of Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton in America.

The new proposition, notes Mr. Johnson, “contains a severability clause, so if a judicial activist deems one or more of the provisions ‘unconstitutional,’ the rest of the resolution stands. All legal challenges would have to be heard in overwhelmingly Republican Cole County, which contains the state capital.”

How Can Anyone Vote to Fund Planned Parenthood?

Excerpt from fundraising letter* by David Daleiden for Center for Medical Progress

             Nearly 400,000 unborn babies have their lives extinguished every year thanks to Planned Parenthood. And you are helping to pay for it, because Planned Parenthood receives $700 million in taxpayer funding each year, which equals nearly 40% of its total national budget. …

             Planned Parenthood … has pioneered cruel and barbaric practices against women and children, including partial-birth abortion and baby organ harvesting. It pushes dangerous chemical abortions that cause nearly 11% of patients to experience sepsis, infection, hemorrhaging and other serious adverse events. It preys upon vulnerable women, pushing abortion and providing just one adoption referral for every 228 abortions.

             Abortion is its business model, and it’s how Planned Parenthood executives grow rich: by killing unborn children. Our undercover journalism exposed how the highest levels of Planned Parenthood were greedy to not only profit from abortion but also to make money selling the body parts of aborted babies afterward. Outrageous!

             Planned Parenthood knows that the optics of taking taxpayer money for abortions is not good, so it claims that the majority of its Medicaid reimbursements are for non-abortion work. But the truth is that, as Planned Parenthood’s government funding has grown, its patient population has shrunk by more than half – and its abortion numbers have skyrocketed. More and more of its work is exclusively performing abortions. …

             After our undercover journalism exposed how Planned Parenthood exploited women to maximize its abortion business by selling baby body parts, the American public was outraged and federal investigations were launched. But that didn’t stop Planned Parenthood from finding more ways to profit from abortions. My further investigative reporting with the Center for Medical Progress shows Planned Parenthood signed contracts with the University of California to supply “proprietary” aborted babies in exchange for owning the intellectual property and patents from any experiments on them.

             Our investigative reporting even discovered that Planned Parenthood has been delivering preemie-age babies alive to harvest and sell their organs on an industrial scale.

[Life Advocacy Briefing editor’s note: Read that last sentence again. The Capitol switchboard is 202/225-3121 for the House and 202/224-3121 for the Senate. Calls to support defunding Planned Parenthood are timely.]

*It is not our custom to quote from fundraising letters, but we make an exception in this case, because the question of Planned Parenthood funding is paramount and urgent and because the facts presented herein have been publicly reported in news media over several years of investigative reporting by Mr. Daleiden. We find his letter to be a good summary.

Ominous Report

May 19, 2025, news report with commentary by Calvin Freiburger for LifeSiteNews

             The Trump Administration may soon be ready to unveil its final plans to carry out Pres. Donald Trump’s campaign promise to establish a new federal entitlement to embryo-destructive in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures, according to a new report. The White House is preparing a report on ways to “combat infertility,”* and as part of those discussions is weighing a slate of policy ideas, the New York Times reports. Among them are adding IVF coverage to US military health insurance, declaring IVF an “essential health benefit” that must be covered under … ObamaCare, and calling on Congress to enact a federal mandate for private insurance companies to cover IVF.

             “Infertility doctors and other leaders in the industry, along with representatives of conservative policy groups skeptical of the procedure, have been shuttling in and out of the White House for months to meet with senior officials, including the chief of staff, Susie Wiles,” the Times reports. “The conversations have been both wide-ranging and highly specific, with aides signaling their interest in a variety of ideas that would make IVF accessible to a far greater swath of the country, some participants said.”

             Administration spokes[man] Kush Desai reaffirmed that Trump considers expanding IVF a “key priority,” saying that “close coordination with outside stakeholder groups across the political spectrum to inform our IVF access plan reflects our commitment to delivering on this priority for the American people.”

             A bill enacting a new mandate would likely face an uphill battle in Congress, but Fertility Provider Alliance trade group chief T.J. Farnsworth reportedly told the White House that much could be done with a stroke of a pen,” i.e. executive orders. “Federal employee health benefit plans could be expanded relatively easily,” added Allison Swartz, an attorney for the “fertility benefits” company Progyny, which is also consulting with Trump’s team.

             Whatever final form the Trump policy takes, it will mark one of the President’s more consequential shifts of the Republican Party since his return to dominate it. After an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos qualified as children in a wrongful death suit thrust the issue into the national spotlight last year, most national Republicans rushed to declare their support for IVF (with just a handful of exceptions). Leading the charge was Trump himself, who cast himself as a “leader on fertilization” and even promised to enact a new federal entitlement to IVF, whether through direct subsidy or insurance mandate (though he also suggested he would support religious exemptions to the latter).

             In February, Trump signed an executive order directing his administration to brainstorm administrative action and policy recommendations to strengthen IVF “access” and “affordability,” though not yet committing to a specific policy. A White House official later told the Daily Wire’s Mary Margaret Olohan that input from pro-life groups will be considered in formulating a final policy, but many pro-life and religious leaders continue to point out that any pro-IVF policy will be fundamentally anti-Life. The IVF process is gravely unethical, as it entails the conscious creation of scores of “excess” embryonic humans only to be killed and human lives being treated like commodities to be bartered over.

             It has been estimated that more than a million embryos are frozen in storage in the United States following IVF, and that as many as 93% of all embryos created through IVF are eventually destroyed. A 2019 NBC News profile of Florida IVF practitioner Craig Sweet acknowledged that his practice has discarded or abandoned approximately a third of the embryos it places in cold storage.

*We at Life Advocacy Briefing suggest the Administration look into whether chemical contraceptives have polluted the nation’s supply of drinking water as a means of stemming our country’s apparent loss of fertility. Make America Healthy Again.

Baby Steps

May 16, 2025, Focus on the Family’s Daily Citizen report by Nicole Hunt

             The FDA will perform a “complete review” of the abortion medication mifepristone [RU-486], Health & Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced [May 15] in a Senate … hearing. RFK’s announcement was in response to a line of questioning by Sen. Josh Hawley [R-MO]. Hawley asked the Secretary if he was aware of the recently released study by the Ethics & Public Policy Center investigating the over 865,000 mifepristone chemical abortions between 2017 and 2023.

             The study revealed that nearly 11% of women who take the pill experience very serious adverse effects including sepsis, hemorrhaging, infection and emergency room visits. The rate is 22 times higher than the FDA’s current label, which suggests the rate of adverse effects is only 0.5%. Secretary Kennedy confirmed that he had seen the study and acknowledged the data was “alarming” and that, at the very least, the label should be updated to reflect its true danger to women.

             He then explained he has instructed the director of the FDA to do a “complete review” of the chemical abortion pill and report back to him with the findings. Secretary Kennedy confirmed the review is a top priority but didn’t have a deadline for when the work will be finished.

             Sen. Hawley also asked whether long-standing safety protocols, which were previously required when dispensing mifepristone (like doctor visits, in-person dispensing and screening for ectopic pregnancies), would be reinstated. Secretary Kennedy clarified that HHS would make recommendations based on the data, but the ultimate decision would come from the White House. …

             A coalition of organizations in the pro-life community have issued a letter asking Secretary Kennedy to reinstate safety protections for women who are prescribed the abortion pill. …

[LifeAdvocacy Briefing editor’s note: With respect to that letter asking the Secretary to reinstate safety protections for RU-486 customers, we have a better idea for the White House. Stop pretending the abortion pill is a medication. Enforce the 19^th century Comstock Act forbidding the use of the US mail to ship poisons, as a start. But take it a step further: Direct the FDA to withdraw marketing approval for a substance whose only purpose is to snuff out human life. The states cannot act to do either of these mercies, so it must be done from the federal level, like it or not, Mr. President. Stop the killing.]

Wisdom from the Great Communicator

EXCERPT #6 from Abortion & the Conscience of the Nation, 1983 treatise by then-President Ronald Reagan, published in Human Life Review, then as a hardcover book from Thomas Nelson Publishers

             Many of our fellow citizens grieve over the loss of life that has followed Roe v. Wade. Margaret Heckler, soon after being nominated to head the largest department of our government, Health and Human Services, told an audience that she believed abortion to be the greatest moral crisis facing our country today. And the revered Mother Teresa, who works in the streets of Calcutta ministering to dying people in her world-famous ministry of mercy, has said that “the greatest misery of our time is the generalized abortion of children.”