Missouri Right to Life State and Federal Political Action Committees Announce 2016 Candidate EndorsementsFor August 2 Primary Election
There are over 45 pro-life laws in the Missouri statues. In recent years there has been great pro-life legislation passed. This is only possible because of the strength and commitment of the pro-life legislators in our state capitol. Pro-life political action makes that possible. Because of today's U.S. Supreme Court decision, making your vote count for life has never been more important. Your vote is the voice for innocent unborn children, protection for women who seek abortion, for preventing taxpayer funding of unethical research and for advancing the cause of life. The Missouri Right to Life State and Federal Political Action Committee (PAC's) endorsements for the August 2nd Primary Election are now available to be viewed on the MRL PAC website. Endorsements are based on voting records of sitting legislators as well as survey responses, interviews, public statements, public record and information from MRL PAC volunteers in the districts. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down a commonsense Texas law that requires abortion facilities to meet the same standards as other similar surgical centers, putting the lives of women at risk.
Autumn Leva tells us the effects of the decision may be felt far beyond the Lone Star State. Yesterday was an especially difficult day for the pro-life movement thanks to the Supreme Court decision striking down part of a Texas pro-life law that protects pregnant women and unborn children from shoddy abortion practitioners and dilapidated abortion clinics. But there’s some good news.
When they filed a lawsuit against the Texas law, the abortion businesses behind the suit and Planned Parenthood did not challenge the law’s prohibition on abortions that take place at 20 weeks or later, a provision based on evidence that demonstrates the baby can feel pain at that stage. The good news is that that abortion ban, despite today’s Supreme Court ruling, still stands. “Because the abortion industry never challenged the provision of HB 2 which protects pain-capable preborn children from excruciating dismemberment abortions from 20 weeks gestation, a measure on the 2013 Priority Pro-Life Legislative Agenda, spearheaded by Texas Right to Life, that provision of the law will remain in effect,” the pro-life group Texas Right to Life informed LifeNews. (read more) At five months gestation, Sierra Yoder went to the doctor for a routine ultrasound to find out how her baby was growing and whether she was having her second little boy or her first little girl. She was told her baby was a boy, but she also learned that her son had an encephalocele, which meant part of his brain was growing outside of his skull. Doctors advised Yoder and her husband Dustin to abort the baby.
Doctors continued to tell the couple that their son would die at birth and he may not even take a single breath. They said he would be “a shell.” But Sierra Yoder decided her son wasn’t going to have the outcome that the doctors said he would. They headed for the hospital to deliver the baby they had named Bentley, but without any car seat or plan to bring him home. They were excited to meet their son even if it was only to say goodbye. Then, to their delight and surprise, Bentley was born kicking and screaming. At five months old, Bentley had a pouch of skin at the top of his head which held important parts of his brain used for motor function, problem-solving, and eyesight. Doctors agreed with the Yoders that Bentley was likely using that portion of his brain, and they decided it had to be placed inside his skull. It’s been a month since the surgery and Bentley is doing well. He’s eating and smiling, and his mother says he looks just like his big brother. While his future is uncertain, it is a miracle that he is alive and that the right doctors were located and able to help him. For these miracles, his parents are grateful. (read full article) In 2007, Lila Rose first exposed Planned Parenthood’s willingness to cover up sexual abuse and statutory rape. She went undercover at clinics around the country, posing as an underage girl who had become pregnant by an older man. Even when Rose claimed to be as young as 13, and impregnated by a man as old as 31, Planned Parenthood employees still didn’t report the abuse to police, as required by law. Instead, they encouraged Rose to lie about her age or counseled her on how best to obtain an abortion without her parents or police finding out.
Sadly, there are numerous instances of this happening in real life as well. Danielle Cramer was a teenager who was kidnapped by 40-year-old Adam Gault. For over a year, he held her captive, and raped her. When she became pregnant, he took her to Planned Parenthood…where they asked no questions, performed the abortion, and gave her right back to Gault. A clinic in Philadelphia was caught covering up multiple cases of child rape. In California, a 13-year-old girl was repeatedly subjected to sexual abuse at the hands of her stepfather. When she became pregnant, he took her to Planned Parenthood, where staffers did not report the abuse, but performed the abortion and sent her back home with her stepfather. She continued to be the victim of abuse for another seven months. In San Francisco, an 11-year-old girl was raped, and Planned Parenthood covered up the crime. (read full article) Abortion Survivor on Meeting Her Mom: “I Don’t Think I Was Prepared for That Look In Her Eyes”6/8/2016
If there’s any question about whether an unborn child is a human being worthy of legal protection, abortion survivors erase any doubt. When a baby survives an abortion, the survival is further proof of the humanity of the unborn child who is the subject of the “medical procedure” done specifically to terminate their life.
Melissa Ohden is one such survivor. The LifeNews writer had written and spoken out extensively on her survival, her earth-shattering story and how she eventually met her birthmother. In Ireland to support pro-life efforts to keep the nation protecting babies before birth, Ohden shared more about that experience of meeting her mother, saying the healing and reconciliation was “better than anything I ever expected:” Melissa explained: “My biological mother was 19 years old, a university student, wasn’t married to my biological father but was engaged to be married”. She recalled: “It was better than anything I ever expected, but at the same time it was probably more difficult than I expected – only in the circumstance that I knew she was hurt by what was done to her. But to look in her eyes and to see how much pain it caused her… I don’t think I was prepared for that look in her eyes. Melissa says that for 30 years her birth mother never knew her daughter had survived. The discovery that she had was a ‘complete and utter shock’. (read full article) by Kristan Hawkins
For the past couple of months, I’ve been considering how our movement should proceed in the upcoming Presidential election. While Students for Life is a culture-changing non-profit and not a political organization, we have the unique opportunity in each major election to mobilize young, passionate people to vote pro-life as well as educate those running for office, on both sides, on our “issue” – the greatest human rights tragedy our world has ever known. For many, Donald Trump has not been their first-choice, and over the past several months I’ve heard conflicting statements from him, especially on defunding Planned Parenthood. A couple of weeks ago, I was presented with the opportunity to join with other key leaders in both the pro-life and Christian spheres to convene a meeting this June with Donald Trump and Dr. Ben Carson, so I took it. It’s just that – a meeting, or rather, a conservation where no big rallies or speeches will happen, but where a constructive dialogue will hopefully take place as we are able to share our deep concerns. (read more) |
Contact your elected officials Senator Josh Hawley 212 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 202-224-6154 www.hawley.senate.gov/contact-senator-hawley Senator Eric Schmitt 260 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 202-224-5721 www.schmitt.senate.gov/contact/ Representative Ann Wagner 2350 Rayburn Office Building Washington, DC 20510 (202) 225-1621 wagner.house.gov/contact Washington Missouri Office 516 Jefferson Street Washington, MO 63090 (636) 231-1001 Click here to find your House Representative
October 2024
|