April 2014 Newsletter

Posted By on April 23, 2014

 

Life Affirming News

 

Forty Days for Life-Reflection by Rev. John Ensor

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest . . . Matthew 11:28

“You have twins. That will be another $350.” She did not speak English. But she finally understood that they were telling her to go get more money and return for her abortion.

She had already given them her rent money. But they were not about to give her a two-for-one deal. They told her to get dressed and return with more cash.

A couple, who was praying outside, comforted her. They brought her to their local pregnancy help center.

The staff quickly saw that her personal circumstances were so desperate, and immediate, that they would need direct and ongoing help from local Christians and churches. They started making calls.

Then they did the ultrasound. It showed there was only one baby, not two. This abandoned, immigrant, powerless mother was being exploited. She would do whatever she was told. Who would know? Who would care?

God calls us to “Rescue the weak and the needy; and deliver them from the hand of the wicked” (Psalm 82:4).

When you provide an alternative to abortion you are not only rescuing innocent babies, you are delivering mothers from the wicked: those who profit in the shedding of innocent blood. Pray for those who rescue and deliver daily at your local pregnancy help center.

 

Father, hear our prayer! Snatch desperate mothers from the fire. Bring them out of our abortion businesses and into our pregnancy help centers. Deliver them from evil. Use us to help them chose life and see your hand of provision.   Amen

 

A Message from Rev. Dr. James I. Lamb

Lutherans For Life, Executive Director

“We limit the power of God if we say He can accomplish things only in people who are healthy and up and around. He’s God! He can work in your life as well as in the life of Paul. He can work in the life of the chronically ill or the terminally ill or the bed-ridden grandma unaware of her surroundings. Christ isn’t honored because of what we do. He is honored because of what He does in us! In fact, you could say that the less we are able to do, the more Christ is exalted as He works through us!”

 

Where is Your Brother?

Reflection by Fr. Frank Pavone- 40 Days For Life

Pray that we fully recognize in the unborn child our brother, our sister, and we recommit ourselves to care for them.

Genesis 4: 8-10

Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.”

 

After Cain committed the first murder in human history, God asked him, “Where is your brother?”

He replied by saying, “I don’t know.”

In 1973, the Supreme Court was asked the same question, and gave the same answer.

Unable to admit that the unborn children are our brothers and sisters, the Supreme Court said in its Roe v. Wade ruling, “We need not resolve the difficult question of when life begins.”

Boil all that down to three words, and it’s, “I don’t know.”

The question, “Where is your brother?” will be asked at the final judgment. Each person will answer it and be judged by it. May we be judged to have recognized and loved all our brothers and sisters, born and unborn.

By participating in the 40 Days for Life, we have been answering that question each day, going to where our brothers and sisters are killed, and proclaiming that we have a responsibility to them.

By all the pro-life work we will continue to do, we likewise answer that question which reaches from one end of human history to the other.

 

Father, today we hear your voice, and we respond to the question you ask each of us: “Where is your brother?” We recognize in the unborn child our brother, our sister, and we recommit ourselves today to care for them. Yes, Father, you have entrusted us to the care of one another. We rejoice that you have given us the grace to respond. As we work to renew our culture, we look forward to the great day of the coming of your Son, when every eye will see him, even of those who pierced him, and every knee shall bend, and every tongue confess, to the glory of God the Father, that Jesus Christ is Lord!   Amen.

 

 

All praise and glory to God, the abortion clinic in Fort Wayne has been closed since Dec. 31, 2013

 

40 Days for Life Prayer Warriors

Posted By on March 10, 2014

 

“Let Us Rejoice and Be Glad” . . . Psalm 118:24

 

 

Dear Faithful 40 Days for Life Prayer Warriors:

Our prayers have been heard and answered.   Allen County has been abortion free since December 31, 2013.  We are a blessed community.  Our Lord is faithful and true.

In Allen County: No blood is being shed; No babies are dying, and No mothers are crying from abortions performed here!

Allen County will not be participating in the National “40 Days for Life” campaign this spring. However, we invite everyone to participate in “40 Days of Praise and Thanksgiving” from March 5th through April 13th, and pray for an end to abortions across our state where babies continue to be lost by the thousands leaving behind wounded mothers.

Please set a reminder on your phone, computer, kitchen timer or whatever works for you for 3:00 p.m. each day to pray a prayer of Praise and Thanksgiving to Our precious Lord.  We stood united in prayer to end abortion, now we are called to follow the example of the healed leper as we stand united in prayer to say “Thank You” and to ask the Lord to make the current status of an abortion free Allen County permanent.

“When one of them saw that he was healed, he came back. He praised God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked Him.” . . . Luke 17:15

Here is how this blessing unfolded.  As we understand it, Allen County Right to Life routinely requests from the Indiana Department of Health copies of the termination of pregnancy reports for every abortion performed in Allen County that the abortionist is required to file by State law. Thousands of errors and omissions were discovered over a two year period. Staff with St. Joseph County Right to Life and Lake County Right to Life (the other counties where abortionist Dr. Ulrich Klopfer operates in addition to Allen County) found similar errors and lack of reporting abortions performed on young girls under age 14 as required by State regulations.  Klopfer was also quoted in media accounts as saying he planned to instruct the parents of underage girls to seek an abortions in another state to avoid Indiana reporting laws.  Prolife OB-GYN Dr. Geoff Cly had been serving as the “back up” physician for Klopfer as required by our Allen County Patient Safety ordinance. Dr. Cly decided to terminate that relationship due to the reporting errors especially the lack of appropriate reporting of abortions on young girls. Without a local back-up physician Kloper can no longer perform abortions in Allen County. Legislation is moving through the Indiana Statehouse this session to ensure back-up physicians are secured for all abortionists in the State.  Praise GOD ! ! !

Klopfer’s license is currently under investigation by the Indiana Attorney General as requested at a hearing convened by the Indiana Medical Licensing Board to review Klopfer’s license renewal. The hearing resulted from complaints filed by concerned citizens in Allen, St. Joseph and Lake Counties about the reporting errors and omissions.

Our current plans include a Fall 40 Days for Life Campaign. Please look for more information about our next campaign over the summer months.

We thank you and your families for STANDING UNITED for LIFE ! ! !

 

Joyfully,

John and Karla DiFilippo

 

 

February 2014 Newsletter

Posted By on February 18, 2014

Life Affirming News

 

157 Babies Killed in Abortion Every Single Hour

Latest video shows a baby’s heart is beating at four weeks, has brain waves at six weeks and feels pain at eight weeks. Most abortions are done at nine weeks after conception. Planned Parenthood is the largest abortion facility in United States.

 

Abortion Clinic Closed in Fort Wayne

Abortion doctor facing criminal charges, complaints, and an investigation in three counties now faces medical board.

Klopfer will keep his license pending an investigation. The Indiana Medical Licensing Board has shifted the case to the Indiana Attorney General’s office for potential legal charges.

 

Number of Babies Aborted in NYC Exceeds Capacity of Super Bowl Stadium

by Leah Barkoukis

In New York City alone, 83,750 babies were aborted in 2010, according to the CDC’s recent “Abortion Surveillance” report. To put the figure in perspective, CNS News’ Terence Jeffrey notes that that’s more than enough people to sell out the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey where the Super Bowl will be held this year, which fits 82,500 at capacity.

The 83,750 babies aborted in New York City in 2010, according to the CDC’s annual “Abortion Surveillance,” would also fill Madison Square Garden more than four times over. Madison Square Garden, according to its official website, has a capacity of 19,763 for a basketball game.

In New York state overall, abortionists terminated the lives of 115,724 unborn babies in 2010, according to the CDC report. That is more people than have ever attended any Super Bowl.

New York has the second highest abortion rate in the country, and more African-American babies are aborted in New York City than are born alive.

New York Abortion Bill OKs Shooting Babies Through the Heart With Poison to Kill Them

by Dave Andrusko | Albany, NY | LifeNews.com

On Monday the New York State Assembly passed the ‘Women’s Equality Act,’ once again sending the legislation to the New York State Senate.

Last year, despite support in both the Assembly and the Senate for nine of the ten points, the Assembly held the nine points hostage in favor of the abortion-expanding tenth point.

“There is nothing empowering to women about bringing abortion-on-demand up to the moment of birth to New York,” said Lori Kehoe, Executive Director of New York State Right to Life. “In a day and age when females can be killed in utero simply for the crime of not being male, it is a mockery of what our feminist foremothers stood for to try and force this on New Yorkers. Women’s rights must begin in the womb, or women have no rights at all.”

The tenth point of the Women’s Equality Act, the point of contention between the Assembly and the Senate, would expand access to abortion through all nine months of pregnancy for essentially any reason, would allow non-doctors to perform these surgical procedures, and provides no conscience protections for medical professionals opposed to taking human life.

Throughout the second trimester, late abortions can be completed by dismembering the developed unborn child, even when they can feel pain, pulling the baby out piece by piece until the mother’s uterus is empty. After the abortion, the abortionist must reassemble the child’s body to ensure nothing has been left inside the child’s mother.

In abortions that take place later in pregnancy, which would be legalized in New York by the abortion-expanding Women’s Equality Act, often babies are killed by sliding a needle filled with a chemical agent, such as digoxin, into the beating heart, before being delivered.

“Like the majority of New Yorkers, we oppose expanding abortion-on-demand through all nine months of pregnancy. We stand strong in supporting the right of every individual to have that first right, the right to life,” added Kehoe. “New York’s daughters deserve better than abortion.”

How can you tell women what they can and can’t do with their bodies?

While it is certainly true that a woman’s body is greatly impacted by pregnancy, it is not true that abortion is simply a matter of her choosing to do something with her body. The fetus growing within her womb is a separate person with its own distinct genetic makeup. Abortion does not remove some part of the woman’s body; it destroys the body of a separate, unique individual.

That said, the truth is that pro-lifers cannot “force” a woman to choose life for her body. Abortion is legal, and even if it weren’t, illegal abortion would still be an option. That is why we seek instead to inform women about the consequences of abortion and do what we can to help her choose life for her unborn child.

March for Life

Posted By on January 22, 2014

marchforlifeii11

41st annual March for Life Rally

Washington DC  ∫  January 22, 2014

 

12:00 March for Life Rally on the National Mall at 7th St NW

12:45 March for Life to the U.S. Supreme Court

 

January 2014 Newsletter

Posted By on January 22, 2014

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.   Psalm 139: 13-14

 

 

“The Evil of the Age” 

The following words were written August 23, 1871 by Augustus St. Clair and appeared in the New York Times regarding abortions in New York City: 

Thousands of human beings are murdered before they have seen the light of this world, and thousands upon thousands more adults are irremediably robbed in constitution, health and happiness. …The facts herein set forth are but a fraction of a greater mass that cannot be published with propriety. Certainly enough is here given to arouse the general public sentiment to the necessity of taking some decided and effectual action. 

It is useless to talk of such matters with bated breath, or to seek to cover such terrible realities with the veil of a false delicacy. … From a lethargy like this it is time to rouse ourselves. The evil that is tolerated is aggressive.  

The good … must be aggressive too. 

 

Speaking Up For Life

John Scott, English Christian leader and Anglican cleric: 

“The Bible has much to say about God’s concern for the defenseless. And the most defenseless of all people are unborn children. They are speechless to plead their own cause and helpless to protect their own lives. So it is our responsibility to do for them what they cannot do for themselves.”

 

Incompatible With Life? Baby Clodagh Lived for 33 Days and Every Day Was Precious

 by Youth Defence | Dublin, Ireland | LifeNews.com

All too often parents are told that their babies are “incompatible with life” and pushed towards abortion. Derbhille McGill and her husband Darren were told their baby would not live after birth, but the doctors were wrong. Baby Clodagh lived for 33 days.

“She was never, ever left on her own. One of us was always with her. She brought nothing but joy, nothing but love,” says Derbhille in a new video sharing the life of Clodagh and offering hope and healing to parents facing a similar situation.

At a time when the BBC in the north of Ireland are leading a charge to abort babies with serious disabilities, it’s so important to hear from parents like Derbhille and Darren and remember the love their precious child brought to their family and everyone she touched in her short life.

 

She Was on Her Way to Have an Abortion, When She Saw a Pro-Life Bumper Sticker

by Carol Tobias | Washington, DC | LifeNews.com

“Debbie” was going to have an abortion. In fact, she was literally in her car on her way to the abortion facility that was going to kill her baby.

The “counselors” there hadn’t told her the full truth about her baby’s development. They rarely do.

So many women choose abortion simply because they don’t know the truth about the humanity of their little babies. But sometimes, those little babies are given one last chance.

This was one of those days.

Years earlier, National Right to Life wanted to know what messages could most impact women considering an abortion – what would make them see that their baby was not a “glob of tissue” or “mass of cells” as the abortion “counselors” so often told them. So we conducted focus groups and polls and found a number of themes that seemed to really touch hearts and express how deeply human these precious little babies are.

Then we converted those themes to media ads, to print materials, to messages on our website. And on this day, Debbie saw one of those themes.

As “Debbie” headed to the clinic where her baby was scheduled to die, she saw something on the bumper of the car in front of her. It was National Right to Life’s red and white bumper sticker that told a simple, but powerful truth:

“Abortion Stops a Beating Heart.”

That’s all Debbie needed to know. Her baby had a heartbeat. Her baby wasn’t simply a “mass of cells,” but a little human being whose heart was already providing life-giving oxygen and nourishment, just as it does for her. She realized she couldn’t abort her baby!

She turned around and went home. Her baby lived!

 

December 2013 Newsletter

Posted By on December 19, 2013

“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, that you and your descendants might live!” . . . Deuteronomy 30:19

 

Undercover Video: Underage Girls Can’t Buy Sudafed But Can Easily Buy Plan B Drug

by Steven Ertelt | Washington, DC | LifeNews.com

A pro-life student group today released a new video showing young girls not legally old enough for sexual relations were unable to buy the Sudafed cold medicine but could easily purchase the Plan B drug. Although sex with a girl 15-years-old or younger if statutory rape, the girls had no problems getting the drugs at nationally-known stores.

Earlier this year, the Food & Drug Administration announced that “Plan B,” also known as the “morning after pill”, should be sold over the counter to anyone of any age. Before that it could only be sold to those 17 and older. Plan B contains very high doses of the birth control pill, which a woman needs to see a doctor to obtain, and is meant to either prevent pregnancy or stop implantation of a unique human being following conception.

Students for Life of America opposed the decision, saying it completely cut out the woman’s doctor and in the cases of minors, her parents or guardians.

In August and September, Students for Life of America went undercover in 30 Walgreens, Rite-Aid, and CVS stores across the nation to find out what would happen when a minor, 15-year-old girl tried to purchase Sudafed, a common cold medicine, as well as “Plan B.” The undercover videos were shot in Ohio, South Carolina, and Arizona.

At each store, the 15-year-old girl was legally unable to purchase Sudafed because of her age but was able to purchase “Plan B.”

At two stores in Arizona and South Carolina, the minor’s mother returned the package of “Plan B” and asked the clerk as to why her daughter could purchase a birth control drug but not a cold medicine. In South Carolina, the pharmacist told the mother that she, “almost refused the sale” because she was uncomfortable selling “Plan B” to the minor.

“In efforts to supposedly ‘help women’ and give them ‘access’, the abortion industry and their leaders at Planned Parenthood, have completely disregarded a woman’s health in the process,” said Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America. “Young girls are able to purchase an abortion-inducing drug without their parents’ permission but aren’t able to buy cold medicine. The logic makes zero sense.”

Hawkins told LifeNews that the release of this, and other videos to come, is the first step in launching SFLA’s Expose Plan B Project, which aims to create and pass legislation on both the national and state levels that will put into place common-sense restrictions of Plan B, like preventing the sale of the drug to minors without parental consent and allowing drug store employees to refuse to sell the drug if their conscience dictates.

She told LifeNews that her group has also asked supporters to sign a petition that calls on Walgreens, CVS and Rite-Aid to stop selling Plan B until common-sense regulations can ensure the rights of parents and the safety of minors are protected.

“While the sale of Plan B is legal, it is in no way safe or controlled as it takes the parent and doctor out of the young girl’s healthcare choices,” said Hawkins. “This legislation will aim to control the sale of the drug as well as provide conscience protections to those employees who have moral objections.”

Adult Stem Cells and Family’s Love Help Young Father Beat Leukemia

by David Prentice, Ph.D. | Washington, DC | LifeNews.com

Terry Killman and his grandson Eli are like two peas in a pod, almost inseparable. When Terry was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia almost three years ago, it was devastating to both of them. While Terry’s cancer was diagnosed early, it escalated dramatically.

Terry declined drastically, and in months he was wasting away. His oncologist at one point told him he had to start treatment immediately or be dead within days.

An adult stem cell transplant from Terry’s brother, Vic, saved his life. Terry’s wife, Michelle, says “And to know now what they’re doing with adult stem cells is absolutely amazing.”

Now the former Navy engine man is back to college studying to be a teacher, and fishing with his grandson.

As Terry says, “If it wasn’t for the love of my family, I wouldn’t be here. We’re very tight. You trust in God to carry you through, because between family and faith, you’ve got to have both to survive.”

 

New York City Mayor Wants More Abortion Clinics, Will Use Tax Dollars to Build Them

by Maria Cheng | LifeNews.com

New York City is the abortion capital of America — with higher abortion rates than almost anywhere else in the nation. But that’s not good enough for newly-elected Mayor Bill de Blasio, who wants more abortion clinics build and is pledging to employ taxpayer funds to do so.

Anna Higgins of the Family Research Council notes that de Blasio, “has promised to partner with Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers to help them expand their business in the city. He says he plans to help abortionists find neighborhoods that lack convenient clinic access and provide them with ‘city sponsored’ space to set up shop.”