Commentary

Fox News is reporting the arrest of a 17 year old Texas girl following discovery of her dead baby in a neighbor’s shed.

Everyone seems so excited. We must wonder what is so special about this little child?  Was he wrapped with some special instructions declaring that he would be the one to cure cancer or build a cold-fusion reactor?  The news stories don’t go into detail.  But there must be something special, because the police are charging the girl with capital murder and bail was set at a whopping $800,000.00.

If it wasn’t the uniqueness of the baby, then perhaps authorities are worked up about how the young mother ended her baby’s life. She didn’t go to her local Planned Parenthood abortuary.  That is clearly bad. Instead, she thought she could save a few bucks.  Maybe they should let her go with a fine, payable to Planned Parenthood and call it good.

We’re guessing that, as much as the Judge might like that approach, the fact that the mother stabbed her baby nine times after giving birth creates a real public relations problem for the court. And then the baby was found in the neighbor’s shed by the neighbor’s 13 –year-old son.  That sort of public trauma has to be addressed somehow in order that good folks can sleep at night, safe in the knowledge that civilization is secure.

But civilization is surely not secure. That teenage mother is understandably confused about just what the rules are.  Every single day in America – for some 45 years – about four thousand such innocents are put down.  Quietly.  Ever so quietly … and privately.  Of course, Miss Gomez violated those rules.  Her baby’s grisly death has become very public.  And Americans now have to wrestle with the image of a little innocent, taking her first breaths, being stabbed to death. Then discarded like so much hazardous waste.  So, now, someone has to pay.

It breaks one’s heart that the United States of America could tolerate such a hypocritical, dark double-standard for more than four decades.

Here’s a link to the story.

Idaho Planned Parenthood joined with several other abortion organizations to file a lawsuit against the Trump Administration for cutting them off of federal funds under a program known as “Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program”. This scandalous and evil program was apparently created by Congress to study how we can reduce the teen pregnancy rate.

Even more absurd: The federal government under Obama awarded some $220 million to outfits like Planned Parenthood. This is the organization which seeks to sexualize children in grade school, producing pamphlets and classes on how children can participate in virtually every sexual perversion known to mankind.  (See LifeNews article: Trump Admin Cuts Planned Parenthood Funding).

Could even the federal government be so stupid as to not see the connection between sexualizing children and rising teenage pregnancy rates? All of this moral and social chaos funded by our tax dollars.  It is just unbelievable that Planned Parenthood would then receive grant money to “study” the crisis they’ve helped create.  How many ways can one express dumb-founded outrage?

Thankfully, while the GOP Congress continues to diddle around with defunding, President Trump brings a refreshing common sense approach to the problems Congress and Planned Parenthood are making for our families and society. He ended the TPP Program, and is shifting the money toward more responsible programs.  Reading various stories about the move – it seems as if the Trump HHS is actually looking to give funding to pro-Life pregnancy centers.  Most of them have abstinence programs.

Needless to say, Planned Parenthood is deeply offended. They want their money back! Idaho Planned Parenthood is among those who have seen their funding cut by Trump.  So, once again, they turn to a radical federal judiciary to re-affirm their “constitutional right” to our tax money, used to ruin the lives of our children and grandchildren.  One has to believe that the odds of winning this lawsuit are in Planned Parenthood’s favor.

Which brings us back to the deficiencies of our present Congress. In the second year of President Trump’s term – the GOP majority has yet to find the will or means to end funding of Planned Parenthood.  And now they are about to reap the whirlwind: The money Congress has given to Planned Parenthood is about to show up in congressional campaigns across the country, as Planned Parenthood and its allies seek to restore that crazy Nancy Pelosi to the Speakership.  One would think that self-preservation would be enough to motivate a recalcitrant Congress into action.  But, alas ….

SB1243 passed the Idaho Senate this past week by an overwhelming margin. All Republicans members voted in favor of legislation to make sure women and girls learn that a chemical abortion can be reversed in certain circumstances.  The bill was developed by Right to Life and the lead Senate sponsor is Sen. Lori Den Hartog (R-Meridian)

Planned Parenthood and their media allies have attacked the legislation as being fanciful and even misleading – despite the fact that hundreds of babies have been born after the mother has swallowed the first of the RU-486 abortion pills. One of those miracles was present during the Senate committee hearing on the bill.  This important legislation is now awaiting hearing in the House State Affairs Committee.

We also saw the advance of our legislation to create a comprehensive reporting system on abortion complications. HB571, sponsored by Rep. Greg Chaney (R-Caldwell), was approved by the House State Affairs on Friday morning.

It is rather stunning to realize that, some 45 years into the Roe era, we actually know so little about the health and safety risks associated with abortion. The Abortion Industry has largely been in control of everything we think we know about abortion.  Since 1977, abortionists have been required to file reports with the State when they perform abortions.  But reports on follow-up problems – like bleeding, incomplete abortions, infections – are not tracked by anyone.

That has allowed the Abortion Industry to make claims about abortion safety for four decades without fear of challenge.

The FDA has a program to track complications from chemical abortions, but that is also voluntary. This is part of the public relations effort the FDA put in place when they legalized RU-486 back in 2000.  Making matters worse – the FDA has not published a report on complications since 2011.  We need an Idaho system.

Now that Idaho has been forced to accept tele-med abortions, it is imperative that we have a comprehensive system to track complications arising from this experiment with women’s health.

We ask you for your prayers. And please take a moment to contact your legislator urging passage of these two important bills.

Taking advantage of the school holiday on Monday, Planned Parenthood is planning a big lobbying effort to stop pro-Life legislation from advancing at the Statehouse. Sadly, high school kids will be prominent among their minions.

Top of their list: HB 572, which would redirect family planning funds to public agencies. This is one of the tax-paid revenue streams Planned Parenthood uses to transform our culture and corrupt our children.  That legislation, sponsored by Rep. Tom Loertscher and Sen. Todd Lakey, is now awaiting a hearing in the House Health & Welfare Committee – chaired by Rep. Fred Wood (R-Burley).

We are also hearing that Planned Parenthood is waging an aggressive phone campaign to stop SB 1243, sponsored by Sen. Lori Den Hartog. This simple, straight-forward bill would require the State to include the Abortion Pill Reversal protocol in the state’s Informed Consent materials.  They are obviously very scared about this information getting out to women and girls.  They know better than most that a significant number of women and girls taking the Abortion Pill (RU-486) experience immediate regret and remorse.

Their fierce opposition to the APR bill provides insight into the heart of this organization: At all costs, we cannot suffer those babies to live. We cannot tolerate women learning the truth, or learning of their actual options.

Our other legislation – HB 571, sponsored by Rep. Greg Chaney and Sen. Fred Martin – was just introduced last week. But we predict that they will become equally agitated over this bill – even though it has virtually nothing to do with Planned Parenthood.  This legislation would create, for the first time, a comprehensive system of reporting on the complications and problems women suffer in the wake of an abortion.  HB 571 would require ever doctor and hospital to file a report with the Idaho Department of Health & Welfare when they encounter a woman or girl seeking treatment for an abortion complication.

Imagine a database on abortion that is not created, controlled or manipulated by Planned Parenthood!

Please take a moment to pray for our efforts. And phone your legislator.  The local number is 208.332.1000.  Outstate citizens can leave a message for their legislator by using the toll-free number: 800.626.0471.

Legislation (SB1243) to expand Idaho’s Informed Consent Law had a formal hearing before the Senate State Affairs Committee on Monday morning. The Abortion Lobby showed up in force to urge the measure’s defeat.  One would have thought that Sen. Lori Den Hartog and the Pro-Life Lobby was about to repeal Roe v. Wade.

Instead, the modest legislation would require the State of Idaho to include information about the possibility that women and girls might be able to reverse the effects of RU-486 if they move quickly enough. It would become part of the State’s Informed Consent booklet, which the Abortion Industry must provide to each woman during the 24-hour waiting period.

But somehow this proposal to inform girls about their options is “anti-woman” and an “abuse of government power”. This may strike more casual followers of the abortion debate as rather strange and illogical.  But it is part and parcel of the battle.

Planned Parenthood and their fellow-travelers have opposed every single piece of legislation related to informed consent for twenty years. They do not want women to know that there are options.  They do not want women to know that there are risks.  They do not want women to get the phone numbers of adoption agencies or pro-Life centers which can help them deal with a difficult pregnancy.  Yet, somehow, the media continues to refer to them as the “pro-choice” crowd, the “pro-woman” movement.

The truth is, there is no more paternalistic and condescending crowd than the Abortion Lobby.

Monday’s show was stolen, however, by a remarkable young mother named Rebecca. She told committee members of her own experience with the Abortion Pill Reversal process.  At the age of 19, she became pregnant for the second time while in an abusive relationship.  She turned to Planned Parenthood because she was convinced that her only option was ending the baby’s life by using RU-486.  After taking the first pill in the Planned Parenthood office, she left with the second pill in a bag.  She began crying as she sat in her car, suddenly panicked over what she had done.  She began searching the internet on her phone, desperately seeking any advice or information about whether she could do anything to stop the abortion.  And she ran across a website telling her that there were doctors who had developed a protocol for overcoming the effects of the first pill if a mother moved quickly enough.

Rebecca found a doctor to help. And she experienced the miracle of motherhood again.  In fact, she brought her son Zechariah to the hearing – who spent most of the three hours sleeping in his mother’s arms.  He is a beautiful 3 or 4 year old boy.

Yet the Abortion Lobby was not to be deterred. Despite the fact that living, breathing evidence sat in the front row of the hearing room – speaker after speaker told committee members that there was no science to back up the APR protocol, that it was not possible to reverse a chemical abortion once it had begun.  It was just astounding to see the triumph of ideology over fact for so many followers of Planned Parenthood.  They have some powerful Kool-Aid over on that side of the room, apparently.

SB 1243 was approved by the Senate committee on a party-line vote and is now pending on the Senate floor.

We commend Sen. Lori Den Hartog and Right to Life of Idaho for bringing the legislation, which we strongly support.

We also want to give thanks for the courage displayed by Rebecca.  May the Lord watch over her and bless her children.

Please take a moment to call or email your legislators about this important bill. Hopefully this proposal will lead to more miracle stories in the years to come.

The pro-Life community has an aggressive agenda for this session of the Idaho Legislature. And the battle is about to be engaged.

On Monday morning, the Senate State Affairs is scheduled to take up legislation prepared by Right to Life. SB 1243 is a proposed law which would inform women who begin a chemical abortion that there is a chance to reverse the process – if she moves quickly.  The lead Senate sponsor of the bill is Meridian State Senator Lori Den Hartog.

Some of our pro-Life readers may be surprised to learn that it is even possible to save the life of a preborn child once a chemical abortion has started. But, in some cases, it is.  The chemical abortion procedure uses two different pills to complete an abortion.  This is the RU-486 regime.  The first pill kills the baby over the course of hours by depriving the baby of oxygen and nutrients.  The second pill (misoprostol) is taken 24-48 hours later, and induces labor to expel the dead baby.

Pro-Life researchers have discovered that the baby can sometimes be saved after the first pill is taken. The basic approach is the same as that used when a mother is at high risk of miscarriage – by using aggressive dosages of the hormone progesterone.

We have learned during the decades of work in the pro-Life field that it is fairly common for women and girls to experience almost immediate regret and grief over the abortion decision. It is almost as if the spiritual veil has been lifted and the profound reality of ending an innocent life sets in.  Of course, Planned Parenthood abortionists are quick to tell women that they have no choice once the abortion procedure begins – but that is not always the case.

This is an important piece of legislation and we ask for your prayer support. Not only does it represent a real chance to save some of those babies at high risk – it represents a viable strategy for saving mothers from a lifetime of guilt and remorse.

Idaho’s two pro-Life senators, Mike Crapo and Jim Risch, voted this week for legislation that would ban abortions across America after a baby has reached 20 weeks’ gestation. Unfortunately, Senate Democrats used the filibuster rule to block the legislation.  It has already been passed by the U.S. House of Representatives.

The defeat leaves America as one of only 7 countries in the world that allow abortions so late in the pregnancy, regardless of the rationale. We belong to an elite club with the likes of North Korea, Vietnam and China.

President Trump issued a statement lamenting the set-back:

“We must defend those who cannot defend themselves. I urge the Senate to reconsider its decision and pass legislation that will celebrate, cherish and protect life.  Under my administration, we will always defend the very first right in the Declaration of Independence, and that is the right to life.”

No doubt we need to get more pro-Life Republicans elected later this year to the U.S. Senate. But we also need to press our legislators to fix the ridiculous filibuster rule which has produced so much gridlock.  The nation simply cannot afford to be held hostage to a militant minority.

What an extraordinary development. On Monday, the President issued a proclamation honoring the pro-Life cause and the movement which has refused to accept the deranged morality of the Supreme Court.

President Trump was as clear about his pro-Life convictions as is he about most things: “Though the fight to protect life is not yet over, we commit to advocating each day for all who cannot speak for themselves.”

This is but another amazing development in the presidency of Donald Trump. He has indisputably established himself as the greatest pro-Life champion to occupy the White House in the Roe era.  What makes him so unique is that he is not simply supportive of one pro-Life law or another – he has established an Administration which advocates a pro-Life philosophy.  Trump is not willing to make a deal here or a concession here.  He wants his presidency to be pro-Life at every opportunity.

It is downright thrilling.

Trump does not merely respond to pressure from the Life Lobby to help with the new project for defending the innocent. He has identified himself as one our members, even a leader of the movement in his own right.  We just have never seen that kind of leadership before.

May the Lord continue to protect and guide him. And may the Congress get on the train and strengthen this historic moment.

We have been informed that Idaho Planned Parenthood took advantage of the Martin Luther King Holiday to organize teenagers to lobby their legislators at the State Capitol on Monday. The call it “Teen Lobby Day”.

We don’t yet have information about how many legislators actually held meetings with these young people, but our understanding is that it was a pretty aggressive effort.

We’re more interested in the underlying moral and social questions associated with using minors to push Planned Parenthood’s perverse sexual agenda. Let’s start with the proposition that it is illegal for young people under the age of 17 to engage in sexual conduct; by legal definition and long-standing social custom, such persons are not capable of giving valid consent to sexual activity – even with a peer.

Yet Planned Parenthood would present these children as authorities to Idaho’s policy makers on matters of sexual behavior and its consequences. They advocate for access to free contraception, STD testing and abortion services.  At a most basic level, this is an outrageous abuse of these young people.

This is but a most recent example of the pernicious affect Planned Parenthood is having on our culture and the lives of our children. By manipulating teenagers into becoming their free lobbyists, they send a powerful message to young people across Idaho which demeans the law and moral standards: Planned Parenthood makes it clear that they think teenagers have every right to engage in sexual activity – indeed, that such behavior is “normal” and should be accepted as such even by the icons of our state government.

And, furthermore, Planned Parenthood demeans those teenagers by taking advantage of them to enculturate them into a dangerous lifestyle and ensnaring them in the work of a most evil organization. Looks like grooming and victimization to us.

And how ironic that Planned Parenthood should engage in such a shameful practice on the day set aside to mark King’s fight for a better social order.

Guest Opinion by Casey Mattox

There is a 48-year-old woman, born in Texas, who should be dead right now. In fact, she should have never been born. Forty-three years ago, the Supreme Court decided that the Texas law that prevented Jane Roe from ending the life of her unborn daughter was unconstitutional. But by the time the Supreme Court issued its decision in 1973, she had already been born and adopted by a family—likely not knowing that all that ink spilled in Roe v. Wade was about her.

Norma McCorvey was “Jane Roe.” She claimed then that her pregnancy was the result of a rape, although she became outspokenly pro-life and publicly admitted that this, and virtually every fact on which her case was built, was a lie. Both McCorvey and Sandra Cano, the Doe of Doe v. Bolton—Roe’s companion case from Georgia decided the same day—became outspoken pro-life advocates who swore that their cases were built on lies.

But before the Supreme Court could decide whether McCorvey did have a constitutional right to end her unborn daughter’s life, it had to overcome a procedural obstacle that slowed down the process—a delay that factored into whether her daughter would ever have a family.

Because of that delay, McCorvey had already had the child by the time the Supreme Court issued its decision in January 1973. She had been adopted into a Texas home, perhaps somewhere in the Dallas area where McCorvey lived. The court nevertheless said that McCorvey’s case was not moot since her circumstances were “capable of repetition” because courts would never be able to decide the question during the time of a woman’s pregnancy.

Procedural history is never the exciting part of a lawsuit. But for McCorvey’s unborn daughter, the dry complexity of legal procedure is the reason she exists today. Fortunately for a three-year old girl, “the wheels of justice grind slowly,” and by the time the court issued its decision, a Texas family had adopted her. If the courts could have moved more quickly, she (and her family) would have never had that chance.

It is unknown to me whether the adoptive family ever even knew that their daughter was the supposedly unwanted child who was the subject of Roe. As far as we know, they raised her not knowing who she was and certainly never telling her.

This week many are talking about the more than 60 million people whose lives have been brutally ended by abortion. And rightly so. The numbers are staggering. Imagine the average attendance at every NFL, NBA, and NHL game – gone. Eliminated. The population of the 18 states in the area from Arkansas and Wisconsin in the East to Idaho and Nevada in the west: gone. More than either the Hispanic or the African American population of the U.S.

It’s horrific. But it’s also personal. And today somewhere, maybe still in Texas, there lives a 48-year-old woman, perhaps with a family and a career of her own, with beautiful children that she loves dearly. Perhaps with a husband and family that can’t imagine life without her. The 58 million other babies deserved that same chance at life. Like McCorvey’s daughter, they were all created in the image of a loving God and would have been loved and wanted by someone. That’s why we fight. That’s #WhyWeMarch.

LifeNews Note:  Casey Mattox is an attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom. Follow him on Twitter @CaseyMattox