PP thwarts investigation of baby's death
An employee at the Beuna Vista County, Iowa recycling plant found the remains of a dead baby boy after the baby went through a shredder on May 30, 2002. Investigators said the baby was born 24 to 48 hours after his body was found. In an effort to track down the mother they subpoenaed area clinics and hospitals for records of pregnancy tests taken between August 2001 and May 2002.
While others complied with the subpoena, Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa (PPGI) has not and argued that such records are confidential. District Judge Frank B. Nelson disagreed with PPGI and ruled that PPGI's lawyer showed no proof that such test results were protected by state law. In his decision Nelson wrote, "Astonishingly, PPGI (Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa) apparently considers itself and its personnel to be above the law and not required to respond to a valid issued and served subpoena" (CNSNews, 7/19/02).
Nelsen gave PPGI until August 17 to deliver the records. Contempt of court charges for ignoring such a deadline could include fines or even jail time for PP's director. PPGI appealed the matter to the Iowa Supreme Court. On August 6 the Court delayed the deadline while the appeal is being decided (Des Moines Register, 8/7/02).
County Attorney Phil Havens said, "The loss of privacy is outweighed by the need to protect life." Local resident Heidi Hansen, 24, said, "It's a dead baby, come on! It's not just medical records" (People, 7/29/02). While such common sense statements are certainly true, we must recognize that Planned Parenthood's actions in this case are completely consistent with its past track record. Planned Parenthood has consistently put privacy rights before the right to life.
The tragic death of this little boy has been given a lot of attention, but a sad fact is that had his mother gone to an abortion clinic a few days earlier she could have legally killed the baby and there would have been no outcry. While Planned Parenthood may not be guilty of this child's death, it is guilty of over 3 million deaths of other children by post implantation abortion procedures. Planned Parenthood has proven that it just doesn't care about the lives of little innocent babies, so it shouldn't surprise anyone that PP is not cooperating with authorities in Iowa in the investigation of this little boy's death.
Two victories for Planned Parenthood's website for teens
Planned Parenthood has been handed two major victories for its website for teens which should serve as a wake-up call to all pro-lifers about this growing online threat. This site is a web of lies designed to entrap innocent children. It is a cesspool of perversion that denies the very truth and meaning of human sexuality. Planned Parenthood reported that in 2001 this site had 300,000 hits per month. That's a rate of 3.6 million visits per year. Monthly hits that year were triple of what they were in 1999, the year the site was launched.
The first PP victory came on May 31, 2002 when The United States District Court for the Eastern District Of Pennsylvania declared the anti-pornography Children's Internet Protection Act unconstitutional. Planned Parenthood was a plaintiff in the lawsuit because it knew the law would result in its website for teens being blocked on computers at federally funded libraries. On June 20, 2002 the U.S. Department of Justice filed an appeal of this PA court decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The second PP victory came on June 18th when the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences awarded Planned Parenthood's website for teens the Webby Award for Best Health Web Site. Commenting on the award, Planned Parenthood Federation of America President Gloria Feldt said, in a June 21 press release, "We are proud of this award and proud to be a trusted source for teens and their parents." Readers can complain about the decision to give Planned Parenthood a Webby by contacting: The Webby Awards, 3515 - 24th Street, San Francisco, CA 94110.
These recent PP Internet victories should make all citizens sit up and take notice of this growing threat to our children. Parents need to keep a close watch on children while they are using the Internet. STOPP has been informed that the filter service available at www.afafilter.com will block the PP site for teens. We should be demanding that local school districts install blocking software as well.
The PP website for teens is so disgusting that when a father in Coronado, CA recently showed some of its pages to the local school board, the board promptly canceled Planned Parenthood presentations in the school's health classes. The father said, "What's important here is that there wasn't a person that I brought this information to who wasn't surprised. One board member spoke up and said she was a pretty liberal person herself and that she was shocked by what she saw" (San Diego News Notes, 5/5/02).
STOPP supporters should also be telling their state and federal representatives that they do not want their tax dollars going to any organization that maintains such a vile website for kids. Voice your outrage that such an organization got $202.7 million from government sources in the PP fiscal year ending in June 2001. Federal legislators will be making important appropriations this fall so act now!
You can write to your members of the Senate at: United States Senate, Washington, DC 20510. Senators' phone numbers can be found at: http://www.senate.gov/contacting/index.cfm. You can write to your member of the House of Representatives at: United States House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515. House members' phone numbers are at http://clerk.house.gov/members/index.php.
Alternatives exist to using the 'pill' for medical purposes
Have you ever been picketing outside of a Planned Parenthood clinic and met a girl or women who has stated that her doctor put her on the pill to "regulate her cycles?" What type of a response can we give to such a statement?
Well, STOPP obtained permission from Fr. Joseph Howard, director of the American Bioethics Advisory Commission, to reprint the following 6/5/02 letter to the editor which he sent to The Catholic Herald in Madison, WI. It addresses this very issue quite well.
In response to Fr. John Dietzen's column in the May 23, 2002 issue of the Catholic Herald, I feel that further elucidation of this issue might be helpful, though this is an issue that is far from being resolved.
Father Dietzen has implied that the Church has no official teaching on the specific question of the use of the pill for medical reasons if the contraceptive effect is not intended. While this could be stated, it is equally true that the Church has never publicly condoned the use of the pill for any reason because it has the potential to kill innocent persons.
For those who have moral objections to taking birth control pills for medical purposes, there is growing support in the medical community.
For example, Chris Kahlenborn, M.D. - an internist from Allenton, Pennsylvania, and a member of the American Bioethics Advisory Commission-- believes the pill "is illicit, even for medical purposes, since it always carries a risk of abortion."
Mary Davenport, M.D. - an ob-gyn in private practice in El Sobrante, California, a founding member of the Society for Natural Family Planning and Fertility Awareness and a Fellow of American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists - states that "for sexually active women, there are always alternatives to oral contraceptives for any medical use. For women who are not sexually active, the abortifacient issue with the pill is not operative, and use would not pose moral concerns (although there might be long-term medical consequences for fertility and other harmful effects).
"Virtually all physicians connected with One More Soul do not believe there is enough of a guarantee with any oral contraceptive regimen to risk the abortifacient effect. There are a number of obstetrician-gynecologists, who treat endometriosis, heavy bleeding, polycystic ovarian syndrome, etc., and never use oral contraceptives, and believe, even if morally permissible, that oral contraceptives are not the best therapy."
In sum, there are alternatives to using the birth control pill for medical reasons, not to mention sound medical reasons for never using it regardless of the reason behind a particular prescription for it. And, of course, from the moral and ethical perspective, the pill can cause the death of an innocent person, and should never be used.
The group One More Soul that Father Howard referred to has a website at www.omsoul.com. Its phone number is 800-307-7685. One More Soul offers a directory of NFP--Only Physicians who do not prescribe, perform, or refer for contraception, sterilization or abortion. They promote Natural Family Planning to those patients who desire to space their children.
Ten Good Reasons to Oppose Public School Sex Education
By Julie Blonigen,
1. The primary teachers of children are their parents. It is their right and responsibility to teach sexual morality to their children.
2. Public school sex ed classes ignore individual differences among children and break down the natural modesty of boys and girls. When children are taught academics, such as math and reading, they are given material suitable to their level of readiness for this material. Yet, when it comes to the extremely sensitive area of sexuality, all children in the same grade level are given the same material, even if some are not yet physically or psychologically ready for the material. This is insensitive and harmful. Forcing boys and girls to listen to, view and openly discuss the sexual functioning of the opposite sex's anatomy while in their presence is embarrassing and contributes to the breakdown of the modesty that is natural and appropriate in human beings.
3. What is taught behind the closed doors of the sex ed classroom can never be known by parents. Learner outcomes and curriculum objectives do not tell parents the teacher's words, actions, attitudes, and responses that occur as the sex ed lesson is actually taught. This means there is absolutely no way parents can control-or even find out-what their children are being taught about sex unless they sit in the classroom alongside their children for each and every sex lesson.
4. Public school sex ed has never been shown to reduce teen pregnancy or abortion. As a matter of fact, a study in the March 2002 issue of the Journal of Health Economics, entitled "The Economics of Family Planning on Underage Conceptions," debunks the typical sex-ed theory that providing contraceptives to teens will reduce underage conceptions and abortions. Indeed, the study found some evidence that greater access to contraception is associated with an increase in underage conceptions.
5. The public school has no right to judge the quality of information on sexuality that parents provide their children. Some do a good job, some do a poor job. The school has no right to say they must teach sex because they don't like the job parents do. The school should stay out of the bedroom.
6. Sexuality involves more than plumbing and birth control pills. The school sends the wrong message to students when their sex ed courses are mere "how to do it and how not to get caught" lessons. The best lesson in sex parents can provide their children is the love and respect they show for each other.
7. When proponents of public school sex ed say kids need to know more, what they really mean is they want to teach our kids to use condoms, the pill, and the IUD, and if they fail, where to get an abortion. These people just don't want any more babies. They never talk about reducing fornication or meeting the spiritual needs of our children. They focus on bodies when the real concern is souls.
8. Children don't need sex ed, they need chastity ed. Kids need to learn how to say no and why saying no is in their best interest-physically, emotionally, spiritually. The biology of sex takes 10 minutes to teach, so what are the teachers talking about in a five or ten week course?
9. There is no such thing as "value-free" sex ed. When anything more than the biology is taught, someone's values are going to be presented. Telling students to "make up your own mind" tells them there are no standards to go by. Telling students it's "best to say `no,' but if you're going to be sexually active, be protected" sends them the message that the teacher doesn't really expect them to control themselves. Presenting birth control without saying it's wrong for them to use it tells the students the teacher doesn't think it's wrong.
10. Public school sex ed attacks and undermines the religious faith of many students. Catholic and Christian students who have been taught by their parents that premarital sex, birth control and abortion are wrong must sit in class and hear an authority figure contradict their beliefs.
Copyright 2002. Used by permission of Julie Blonigen Executive Director of Human Life Action Council, P.O Box 705, St. Cloud, MN 56302.
Protestors at PP fundraiser in Oneonta, NY
Where are Planned Parenthood's 159 post-implantation abortion clinics?
By Suzanne Bergeron
As American Life League public policy research staff, Danielle Blosser and I were enlisted in a "covert operation." We were asked to determine which of Planned Parenthood's individual facilities within their various affiliates throughout the States actually perform surgical and/or methotrexate/misoprostol (chemical) abortions.
Our procedure for obtaining this information was fairly simple. We first went to the Planned Parenthood web page (www.plannedparenthood.com), and looked up the section in which they list addresses and phone numbers for the affiliates and their facilities in all 50 states. Initially, we tried calling affiliate headquarters in various states to see if they would tell us which of the PP facilities in their region provided surgical and/or non-surgical abortions.
Well, one of the first things we found out is that employees at PP affiliate headquarters lie. Perhaps, we sounded suspicious, or perhaps, PP affiliate headquarters have caller id. In any case, when I called the Planned Parenthood affiliate headquarters in Indiana, I was told that none of the PP facilities in Indiana perform abortions. One could hardly believe one of the largest PP affiliates, with 38 facilities, wouldn't offer PP's most highly prized "option for women." The truth is there are at least three clinics that offer "abortion services" in Indiana--a fact which is indicated right on Planned Parenthood of Greater Indiana's web page! (See: http://www.ppin.org/)
So in order to obtain accurate information, we were forced to contact all of the Planned Parenthood clinics individually. We called saying that we were trying to find out about abortion services "for a friend." For the most part, calling the individual Planned Parenthood clinics allowed us to obtain information we were seeking. However, at least one clinic receptionist told Danielle that they could not give out any information over the phone; she would have to come down to the clinic to receive more information about her "options."
We also found out that either Planned Parenthood's affiliates web page is not up to date, or they keep some of their abortion-providing facilities "hidden." Both Danielle and I happened upon clinics that were not listed on PP's web site, but were either listed in the internet White Pages or whose numbers were given to us from individuals working at PP's "birth control" facilities.
Many abortion facilities operated by affiliates of Planned Parenthood do not carry the Planned Parenthood name. Many adopt the name of the town in which they are located and tag on "Health Center." One of the most ironic and disturbing names I found for a Planned Parenthood abortion facility was the Santa Maria Center on Chapel Street in Santa Maria, California. To think, a baby-killing facility bears the most blessed name of Our Lady, the Mother of God! The very thought makes me feel ill.
We encourage all Ryan Report readers to conduct their own undercover research on Planned Parenthoods and other abortion facilities in their neighborhoods to help focus picketing and protesting efforts. The receptionists at these facilities are usually quite willing to give out useful information such as clinic operating hours and the days and hours abortions are performed at their facility. We recommend that when you call that you sound a little unsure of yourself--too much confidence is a clear giveaway. You might also say that you are calling to obtain this information for a friend (we assume you will have friends and fellow pro-lifers who will also be interested in this information) --this will help you avoid falling into the trap of lying without giving away the true nature of your inquiry.
With regard to the object of our investigation, we found out that most Planned Parenthood affiliates offer abortion services at facilities in the major cities within their area. We also found out that the majority of the PP facilities who offer surgical abortion also offer the RU-486-style "chemical abortions," known as Mifeprix/Mifepristone. The receptionists at some of the PP's facilities we called that did not currently offer "chemical abortion" but offered surgical abortion said their facility expected to be able to offer chemical abortions within a few months. It is our belief that all PP clinics currently offering surgical abortions services will offer chemical abortions by the end of 2002.
Editor: Thanks to the study above STOPP was able to put together the chart below. The column after the state name is STOPP's estimate to date of the total number of Planned Parenthood clinics in that state. The next column lists the number of those clinics that were identified in the above study to be offering post implantation abortion procedures. The last column lists the location of these post implantation abortion clinics.
The estimated total number of current US PP clinics is 842. Remember that all PP clinics provide contraceptives that sometimes abort children before implantation. Of these 842, a total of 159 US PP clinics were identified as also providing post implantation surgical or chemical (RU-486) abortions.
Total clinic numbers decline
In the December 2000 issue of the Ryan Report we published a similar research project that sought to identify PP clinics in the US as of September 2000. Back then we counted 857 total clinics. If our numbers are correct, there has been a decline in the number of PP clinics in the last two years in the US of 15 clinics. That's good news! Planned Parenthood's 2000-2001 Annual Report claimed they have 875 clinics. Hmmm, could they be inflating the numbers a bit?
For most states over that two-year span there was little or no change in the number of clinics. However, there are some noteworthy exceptions. Hawaii went from 0 to 3. Indiana seems to have 6 less clinics and Texas 5 less clinics. The losses in Texas can be attributed to the phenomenal success that Bishop Yanta has inspired in his Diocese of Amarillo. Since he was installed in 1997 the number of PP clinics in his diocese dropped from 18 to 5. See the November 2001 issue of the Ryan Report as well as the June/July 2001 issue for stories about Bishop Yanta's strong stand against PP.
Remember that PP clinics are opening and closing on a regular basis and that in some cases it is difficult to even find consistent and up-to-date information on PP's own websites. Therefore, we urge readers with evidence of changes that need to be made in the chart below to send such evidence to STOPP. Thanks.
Mississippi 0 0
North Dakota 0 0
Idaho 1 0
West Virginia 1 0
Louisiana 2 0
Alaska 3 0
Arkansas 3 0
Kentucky 4 0
Utah 6 0
Oklahoma 8 0
Wyoming 1 0
Alabama 4 1 Birmingham
Georgia 5 1 Augusta
Kansas 4 1 Overland Park
Maine 4 1 Portland
Minnesota 21 1 St. Paul
Nebraska 8 1 Lincoln
New Hampshire 8 1 West Lebanon
Rhode Island 1 1 Providence
South Carolina 1 1 Columbia
South Dakota 2 1 Sioux Falls
Washington DC 2 1 Washington, DC
Colorado 22 2 Denver, Durango
Delaware 5 2 Dover, Wilmington
Illinois 21 2 Champaign, Chicago
Iowa 21 2 Des Moines, Sioux
Nevada 4 2 Las Vegas, Reno
New Jersey 33 2 Shrewsbury, Trenton
New Mexico 7 2 Albuquerque,
Santa Fe
Michigan 32 2 Ann Arbor,
Kalamazoo
Missouri 21 2 Columbia, St. Louis
North Carolina 8 2 Chapel Hill, Durham
Tennessee 3 2 Memphis, Nashville
Wisconsin 31 2 Appleton, Milwaukee
Arizona 21 3 Glendale, Phoenix,
Tempe
Connecticut 18 3 West Hartford,
Norwich, New Haven
Hawaii 3 3 Is. of Hawaii, Is. of
Maui, Is. of Oahu
Indiana 45 3 Bloomington, Indian-
apolis, Merrillville
Massachusetts 3 3 Boston, Worcester,
Springfield
Maryland 10 3 Annapolis, Baltimore,
Silver Spring
Montana 5 3 Billings, Helena,
Missoula
Florida 27 4 Fort Myers, Sarasota
Jacksonville, Saint Petersburg,
Ohio 49 4 Bedford, Cincinnati
Columbus, Dayton
Oregon 11 4 Beaverton, Bend
Portland, Salem
Vermont 13 5 Barre, Burlington (2)
Randolph, Rutland
Virginia 9 5 Norfolk, Roanoke,
Charlottesville, Falls Church, Richmond
Pennsylvania 43 6 Philadelphia,
Pittsburgh, Reading, Warminster, West Chester, York
Texas 79 7 Bryan, Dallas, Fort
Worth, Houston, Midland, San Antonio, Waco
Washington 29 10 Bellingham,
Bremerton, Everett, Federal Way, Kenmore, Kennewick
Olympia, Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma
New York 84 22 Albany, Beacon,
Brooklyn, Bronx, Glens Falls, Hempstead, Hudson, Ithaca, Newark, New Rochelle, New York, Plattsburgh, Poughkeepsie, Rochester, Schenectady, Smithtown, Syracuse, Troy, Utica, Wheatfield, White Plains
California 96 36 Bakersfield, Burbank,
Concord, Dale City, El Monte, Eureka (2), Fairfield, Fresno, Hayward, Lawndale, Los Angeles (2), Mountainview, Oakland, Orange, Pomona, Redwood City, Rohnert Park, Roseville, Sacramento, San Bernadino, San Francisco, San Jose (2), San Rafael, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, Santa Maria, Seaside, Salinas, Stockton, Van Nuys, Ventura, Walnut Creek, Whittier
Child Protection Project
Life Dynamics and Priests for Life are collaborating on a Child Protection Project (CPP) which can block Planned Parenthood's access to schools, and therefore to a large portion of their funding. The project builds on the evidence that abortion facilities nationwide break the law by failing to fulfill their duty as mandated reporters when they know or suspect that a minor is having sexual activity.
Any school district that refers students to Planned Parenthood therefore can incur legal liability. Every school district has been alerted to this liability via certified mail. The CPP is asking taxpayers to attend their local school board meetings and request an explanation of the school district's policy on this matter.
The CPP is not asking people to make a moral or religious argument against Planned Parenthood or its activities. The CPP is simply requesting that they ask the School Board how it is protecting itself against the liability that can result from negligent referral, and more fundamentally, how it is protecting our children.
Schools and taxpayers will naturally be averse to legal and economic liability. The CPP's goal is to persuade them that associating with Planned Parenthood is more trouble than it is worth.
The CPP needs:
a) people in every school district who can go to the school board meetings;
b) attorneys who can assist people in articulating the school district's legal liability.
The CPP will provide
a) the specific questions that need to be asked at the school board meeting;
b) ongoing training, coordination, and encouragement.
The CPP has a more detailed explanation of the project and the questions that can be used at school board meetings available at:
http://priestsforlife.org/schools/projectmemo.htm
You can also obtain details contacting
Priests for Life -- Child Protection Project, PO Box 141172, Staten Island, NY 10314; Tel: 718-980-4400, ext. 297; Fax: 718-504-3590; email: schools@priestsforlife.org
Correction: In the July 2002 issue on page 1 we inadvertently identified Life Dynamics, Inc. as Life Decisions International at one point in the story titled "Life Dynamics study shows PP conceals sex-abuse crimes." STOPP regrets this error.
Action needed now on Vitter Amendment to Title X
Please contact your representatives in Congress immediately and ask, them to vote in favor of Congressman David Vitter's amendment to the 2003 Labor/HHS/Education Appropriations Bill. The Vitter Amendment will prevent Title X 'family planning' funds from going to private agencies that provide chemical or surgical abortions in the United States.
The matter will likely be addressed sometime in September in the Appropriations Committee, so action on your part is needed today. If the amendment passes in committee, the matter will go before the entire House where Vitter believes it has a good chance of passing.
Vitter's office asked STOPP to contact our supporters because STOPP is firmly against the entire Title X program. Current funding is $265.1 million and Planned Parenthood will get about $61 million of this. With the Vitter Amendment, which can be characterized as a domestic version of the Mexico City policy, Planned Parenthood and other private abortion providers in the United States would not qualify for Title X funds.
STOPP would like to see the entire Title X program eliminated and we urge you to convey that message your representatives in Congress as well. While the Vitter Amendment does not eliminate Title X, it is a worthy effort to restrict the program, and, thus, it deserves our support.
Remember that Title X funds do not pay for surgical or RU-486 abortions but Title X does fund organizations that, with other funds, provide surgical and RU-486 abortions. Also, some of the contraceptives that Title X does fund often act to prevent implantation of a human embryo in his or her mother's womb. That's an early abortion and via Title X your tax money is paying for it!
You can write to your member of the House of Representatives at: United States House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515. House members' phone numbers are at http://clerk.house.gov/members/index.php. You can write to your members of the Senate at: United States Senate, Washington, DC 20510. Senators' phone numbers can be found at:
http://www.senate.gov/contacting/index.cfm.
Walkers protest at PP clinic in Sanger's hometown
Margaret Sanger, a leader in the early 1900's eugenic movement and the founder of Planned Parenthood, was born and raised in Corning, NY located on the border with Pennsylvania. Today that city has a Planned Parenthood clinic named the Margaret Sanger - Katharine Houghton Hepburn Clinic which was the site of a peaceful prayerful protest on August 1, 2002 by eight college students belonging to Crossroads.
Crossroads is a division of American Life League and its walkers are spreading the Gospel of Life as they walk across America. Crossroads is dedicated to witnessing to the sanctity and dignity of all human life from conception to natural death and praying for an end to all offenses against the human person (see www.all.org/crossroads/ ).
The stop at the Corning Planned Parenthood clinic occurred on a hot and humid day during a trip the walkers were taking from World Youth Day in Toronto to Washington, DC. Wendy Love, the president and chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood of the Southern Tier came out to talk to the protestors. She said that the vigil was the first to her knowledge to be held in front of the Corning clinic (Star-Gazette, 8/2/02). Let's hope the presence of the Crossroads walkers and the media attention they got while in Corning will inspire pro-lifers in the region to get out in front of this clinic in prayer on a regular basis to witness to the sanctity of human life!
Mary Worthington, a Crossroads walker from Charlotte, NC was not afraid to speak the truth about contraception to a local reporter either. "We're against all contraceptives," Worthington said. "The contraception mentality leads to abortion because it says 'I want to have sex with you but I don't want to have your baby.' That mentality is what started abortion. Contraception was legal first, then abortion was legal. Contraception was accepted first, then abortion was accepted" (The Leader, 8/2/02).
Crossroads walkers at PP clinic in Corning, NY (Photo by Jon Methven, The Leader. Used with permission).
The same article also quoted Eddy Herty of New Orleans who said, "The main reason I'm against contraceptives is being Catholic, or Christian, period. I want to follow God's will. I want God to work in my life to the fullest. By using contraception, if I was married, that's saying, 'Hey God, I know I'm not ready for a kid, I know what's best for me.' That's kind of pushing Him to the side, and that's not good."
Mary and Eddy and the rest of the walkers are to be congratulated. The message they brought to this PP clinic is exactly the type of message that STOPP supporters should bring to every PP clinic. We must speak out not only against abortion, but also against contraception. This Corning PP clinic, like many others (see story on page 4) does not provide post implantation abortion procedures. Typically such clinics like to emphasize that fact in order to deflect criticism. Pro-lifers need to counter with a strong case against contraception, as did these young people from Crossroads.
By the way, this group of walkers was later joined by Fr. Norman Weslin when they reached Pennsylvania. Fr. Weslin had been with the walkers earlier in the summer as well as they walked from Florida to the American Life League conference held in New Orleans in early July. The Ryan Report printed articles about Fr. Weslin being jailed for 5 months for praying in front of an abortion clinic (Dec. '01, Feb., & June, '02). We included his prison address. It was while visiting STOPP's office at American Life League in May to thank STOPP and A.L.L. for the mail he received that Fr. Weslin met the Crossroads walkers and was invited to come on the summer walk with them. This turned out to be a great blessing for both him and the walkers. A "divine setup," as he would say.
Fr. Weslin inspired this new generation of pro-lifers as they walked together. He also got them singing his favorite "Song to Our Lady of Guadalupe," which he used many years before to inspire members of Operation Rescue with hope as they languished in prison with him. For a copy of this beautiful song contact Crossroads' Martha Nolan at mnolan@all.org.
Crossroads walkers XX,XX,and XX with Fr. Weslin
Planned Parenthood Loses Suit Against Choose Life License
The following information is excerpted from an 8/7 report that Russ Amerling of Choose Life, Inc. sent to STOPP. For more information visit www.choose-life.org or call 352-624-2854.
The lawsuit filed by Committee for Reproductive Law & Policy on behalf of Planned Parenthood in Miami federal court has been adjudicated in favor of the State of Florida. What that means is that Planned Parenthood failed in their efforts to get some of the Choose Life license plate funds.
They can appeal that decision, but as of this writing, they have not done so. This makes the State of Florida 3 and opposition 0 in the suits to try to stop the Choose Life license plate.
Hopefully they will stop filing the suits and we will be able to get on with the advertising campaign to let the citizens of Florida know the Choose Life license plate is here to stay!
There are now 32,515 Choose Life license plates on the road in Florida. The total sales for June were $60,000. Based upon these numbers, the Choose Life license plate should be in the top ten Specialty Plates in Florida by 12-31-02. It is still the fastest selling license plate released since 1998.
The following states should have the Choose Life license plate bill before their legislature in the 2003 session: Texas, California, Arkansas, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Georgia and possibly West Virginia, Indiana, Illinois and Maryland. Stay tuned! If an effort is underway in your state and I have not listed it, please contact me russ@choose-life.org.
Action Items
- Contact your representatives in Congress today and ask them to support the Vitter Amendment to Title X.
- Take part in the Child Protection Project in your local school district.
- Send a tax-deductible donation today to help us keep fighting PP and sex education.
- Pray that God will lead us in our work and that we will always have the courage to do His will.
Mention of a person or group or a person's or group's publication does not constitute an endorsement of all the work, publications and/or information of such person or group.
Leave a comment