I have a new poll question up:

Who would you like to see Mitt Romney pick as his running mate?

Vote on the lower right side of the home page.

Obviously, no one in the world guessed Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts would be the deciding vote in favor of Obamacare. And only 11% of you thought the court would decide as it did…

As always, make comments to either the previous or current poll here, not on the Vizu website.

For the past couple weeks I’ve featured an ad asking you to take a survey on the state of the pro-life movement, this to learn how this blog and I can better support and inspire you.

The response has been great. Almost 400 of you have shared your thoughts, which is phenomenal. But if you haven’t taken five minutes to complete the survey and get your two cents in, your window of opportunity is about to close. We’ll be ending the survey Monday evening, July 23.

So click on the image above or here to answer five questions (with one bonus).

Thanks!

My top five favorite political cartoons for the week…

by Bob Gorrell at Townhall.com…

… referring in part to this ad attacking Mitt Romney on abortion…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60ziBFRKTnk[/youtube]

First, it is beyond me that the mainstream media continues to give Obama a pass for focusing on that dreaded social issue of abortion.

That said, I do marvel at Obama’s boldness in taking on an issue where he is particularly vulnerable, particularly among young people, while positively spinning Planned Parenthood in the process, not only the United States’ largest abortion provider but also coming under increased scrutiny.  The ad further portrays Romney incorrectly to say he is pro-life without exceptions. I wish Obama was right on that, but he’s not.

Obama has a lot of nerve. I wish Romney would release an ad attacking Obama on his radical abortion positions, which would shock Americans who don’t yet know he supports partial birth abortion and infanticide.

Moving on, by Michael Ramirez at Townhall.com…

Another one from Michael Ramirez, sad but true, and about which the abortion psyche plays a part (click to enlarge)…

by liberal Clay Jones at GoComics.com…

by Henry Payne at Townhall.com…

… referring to this July 13 comment by Obama…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKjPI6no5ng[/youtube]

There’s a great story told in the Old Testament that always reassures me.

A foreign king became angry with the prophet Elisha and sent “a large fighting unit” to surround the city where Elisha lived and capture him. Picking up the story from there:

When the servant of the man of God got up in the morning and went outside, he saw troops, horses, and chariots surrounding the city. Elisha’s servant asked, “Master, what should we do?” Elisha answered, “Don’t be afraid. We have more forces on our side than they have on theirs.” Then Elisha prayed, “LORD, please open his eyes so that he may see.” The LORD opened the servant’s eyes and let him see. The mountain around Elisha was full of fiery horses and chariots.

We may not see them, but we have the same army of angelic warriors helping us.

Read the entire story told in II Kings 6:8-23, God’s Word translation

Yesterday came the tragic news that young pro-lifer Andrew Moore, age 20, (not my son-in-law) of Concord, California, was struck and killed by a car while walking in Indiana as part of the Crossroads summer sojourn to raise awareness against abortion. Reported LifeNews.com:

At the time of his death, Moore, a Catholic, was reportedly praying the rosary.

Moore was  participating in the Crossroads Walk Across America – five separate, simultaneous journeys of college students traversing the U.S. and Canada in defense of the unborn. A rising junior from Concord, California, Moore was part of the Central Walk, which began in San Francisco on May 19 and will conclude in Washington, D.C., on August 9.

On the group’s website, Moore, 20, talked about why he joined the Crossroads tour.

“I heard about Crossroads from (Jason Handcock, a Crossroads director) when he gave a talk at Thomas Aquinas College. I had already been involved in the pro-life movement for several years: when I am at home I pray in front of the local abortion mill almost every day, and try to speak to the people going in,” he said.

Moore added, “Crossroads sounded like a good way to serve God and help His children. Having hardly ever left California and my sedate suburban life I was also interested in seeing the country, meeting new good people, and just doing something crazy! I have been considering a vocation to the priesthood for some time and Crossroads is a great way to work on my discernment: prayer, sacrifice, and separation from the distractions of the world.”

I was so sorry to learn of Andrew’s death. He sounds like a wonderful young man, in a sense a martyr for the preborn.

Here were some of the news headlines:

Meanwhile, a man named Michael Judge, from North Attleboro, Massachusetts, was found dead on a running track on July 19, apparently of natural causes while exercising.

Michael was a “well-known area anti-abortion activist,” according to The Sun Chronicle, hence the photo, right, and these headlines:

This all got me to thinking that when I die I probably will get headlines along these lines. I expect I will foremost be known for the stand I took against abortion. And although I am foremost a wife, mother, and grandmother, to be remembered for this would be a good thing.

How do you want to be remembered? Do you think your stand against (or for) abortion will be part of your obituary?

Again, we are so sorry for these losses of pro-life stalwarts.

Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the nation’s leading reproductive health care advocate, seeks a Billing Manager to work with the Health Care Reform team in evaluating and implementing billing strategies.

The Associate Director/Billing Manager, Affiliate Billing Assistance will work directly with the Director, Affiliate Billing Assistance to improve billing efficiencies by conducting site visits and workflow analyses before recommending strategies to enhance revenue at Planned Parenthood affiliates around the country….

Skills or Related Knowledge: 

• In-depth knowledge of third party billing (Medicaid and commercial0

~ Planned Parenthood website

by Susie Allen, host of the blog, Pro-Life in TN, and Kelli

We welcome your suggestions for additions to our Top Blogs (see tab on right side of home page)! Email Susie@jillstanek.com.

• Moral Outcry writes that California environmentalists are fighting to halt an infected tree’s destruction – a tree that lives in front of a San Fernando Valley hospital which performs “therapeutic” abortions on preborn children with abnormalities. Like the Roe decision, the tree is 40 years old.
• At National Review Online, Michael New notes broad support for the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which would ban abortions in D.C. after 22 weeks.
• At our newest blog, The Road to Roe, Clarke Forsythe describes how the perceived discord in the United States Supreme Court over the Obamacare ruling is small compared to the discord which took place in 1972 before the announcement of Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton.

• Stand for Life reports on local media’s coverage of a Truth Truck, which parked in front of Southwestern Women’s Options late-term abortion mill. Local television covered the story, and radio talk show host Scott Stiegler chose to devote two hours to an interview with the pro-life leaders involved as well as listener reaction:
  

  Stiegler’s approach was one of the fairest I have seen by the mainstream news media on an abortion-related subject. He started off by saying how we use graphic images for stop-smoking campaigns, driver training videos, and other examples, so why is this any different? Bud Shaver spoke for the first 10-15 minutes about why he uses the truck and the reactions he has received.

• University of Michigan Students for Life highlight their best and worst summer moments for the student pro-life campus club, including the unfortunate (and not very tolerant) removal of their purchased campus dialogue board.
• Secular Pro-Life continues a discussion on whether the outlawing of abortion should/would lead to prosecution for women who obtain abortions. Many pro-life activists admit they haven’t given this topic much consideration, as they are motivated by compassion for the aborted child as well as the child’s mother.
• Life Training Institute reviews Christopher Kaczor’s The Ethics of Abortion, advising pro-lifers to frame arguments with language that is not “loaded” in order to be more readily received.
• Reflections of a Paralytic counters the view of some that they would rather die than be confined to a wheelchair by highlighting the accomplishments of Paralympics athletes.

I wrote on June 28 that the Vatican had cleared Father Frank Pavone as a priest in good standing in response to Bishop Patrick Zurek’s September 9, 2011, letter “suspend[ing]” him “from public ministry,” words with ominous implications.

Whatever Bishop Zurek meant by the term “suspend,” which some argue was just a poor word choice, was overruled by the Vatican. Father Pavone, while still under Bishop Zurek’s authority, has been authorized by the Vatican to continue his work at Priests for Life, which includes traveling and speaking around the country and world on behalf of innocent human life.

Since then Priests for Life has announced two collaborative endeavors with the Vatican, an obvious added show of approval on the part of Rome.

Training

On July 13, Priests for Life announced:

Priests for Life is pleased to announce today to all its supporters that it is sponsoring and promoting a three-day training course in Rome this September for Catholic-Inspired NGOs, hosted by the Pontifical Council for the Family and relevant offices of the Secretariat of State of the Holy See.

With specific focus on social issues, training and networking, the event has at its heart the promotion and defense of the rights and dignity of human life and will feature contributions from leading international scholars.

Day of Life

Next year has been designated by Pope Benedict XVI as “The Year of Faith.” Within that year will be a “Day of Life.” It is for that day that Priests for Life will lead a pilgrimage to Rome in conjunction with the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization, a new office established by the Holy Father. Per Priests for Life’s website:

The group will be at the Vatican on June 16, which the Vatican has announced will be a day dedicated to the Gospel of Life. Special events in the presence of Pope Benedict XVI are planned on that special day.

Carry on, FP.