by Carder

Toward the end of the in-depth interview, [Terry] Beatley found herself unexpectedly saying: “If you have a message for America, I will gladly deliver it for you…. I will tell your story, the story of deception but also the story of personal redemption.”

Beatley recalled how Nathanson paused for a moment before replying, “Teach of the strategy of how I deceived America and that the cofounder of NARAL says, ‘Love one another; abortion’s not love. Stop the killing; the world needs more love.’”

~ Excerpt from pro-life activist Terry Beatley’s interview with former abortionist Dr. Bernard Nathanson, Catholic Herald, February 24

It was pro-abortion President Bill Clinton who first coined the term “safe, legal, and rare” in the early 1990s to describe his supposedly moderate view on abortion.

The phrase served Clinton well during the years-long partial birth abortion debate, making him sound reasonable even as he vetoed a ban against the heinous procedure twice. The conflicted masses liked it as well.

But abortion zealots got stuck on that word “rare.” As proponent Jessica Valenti wrote in The Guardian last year:

It’s a “safe” pro-choice answer: to support abortion, but wish it wasn’t necessary….

In a 2010 research article, Dr Tracy Weitz… wrote that “rare suggests that abortion is happening more than it should, and that there are some conditions for which abortions should and should not occur”.

“It separates ‘good’ abortions from ‘bad’ abortions”, she added….

The “rare” framework adds to the stigmatization around the procedure - and that has further-reaching complications for abortion care than just how women feel about it.

Weitz wrote that calling for abortions to be rare has tangible negative consequences for women and women’s health because it legitimizes efforts to legally restrict abortion - i.e., make it more “rare”.

Hence, the 2012 Democrat platform called for abortion to be “safe and legal.” Period.

Jump ahead, and we are launching into another national debate on late-term abortions, this time on two fronts: a federal bill to block abortions past 20 weeks and an emerging state ban on “dismemberment abortions” past 12 weeks.

And already some abortion proponents are violating their own embargo on the word ”rare.”

Furthermore, they’re adding acceptable “conditions” for late-term abortions.

Planned Parenthood is calling late-term abortions “a deeply personal decision [made in] unimaginable situations… for serious medical reasons.”

The Center for Reproductive Rights says there is a susceptibility factor that sets late-term abortions apart:

The women who are most impacted by 20-week bans are often the most vulnerable. #standwithWVwomen #opposeHB2568 @WVFREE

— Center for Reproductive Rights (@ReproRights) February 11, 2015

Apparently, one can be cavalier about abortion just in the first trimester. After that only hardcore zealots can stomach the “any time, any reason” line – like Valenti:

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

• Clinic Quotes says recent polling reveals more Americans want stricter laws on abortion:
  

  In 2015, 34% of Americans say they are satisfied with current U.S. abortion policies. This is the lowest percentage since Gallup first asked the question in 2001…. Americans who say they are dissatisfied with current abortion policies were asked a follow-up question to learn if they are dissatisfied because they want current abortion laws to be stricter or less strict. This year, of those who are dissatisfied, twice as many prefer stricter rather than less strict laws: 24% want stricter laws, while 12% want current abortion laws to be less strict.

• At National Review, Dr. Michael New posts his tribute to “the father of the modern pro-life movement,” the late Dr. Jack Willke, who passed away last Friday.

• The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition highlights longtime pro-lifer Maggie Karner (pictured left), diagnosed with the same terminal brain tumor as Brittany Maynard, who chose to commit physician-assisted suicide. Karner is doing quite the opposite, using her remaining time to fight against a pro-assisted suicide bill in her home state of Connecticut. She says, “the talking point that pro-assisted suicide people use is right to die. My fear is that it will quickly become the duty to die.” View an interview with Ms. Karner here.
• Saynsumthn’s Blog notes some remarks from abortionist Willie Parker, who claims it is racist not to give black women abortions. He once called abortion a “sacred decision.” Parker is known for attaching religious language to his decision to perform abortions.
• Kansans for Life says pro-choicers in Kansas (where the Senate has just “approved… the Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment Abortion Act, by a vote of 31-9″) seem to be running scared from the word “dismemberment,” when discussing abortion policy. You have to almost feel sorry for them – almost:
  

  Sen. [David] Haley riled up his peers by saying SB 95

  • would cost too much to defend,
  • was purely a political ploy using inflammatory terms of ‘unborn child’ and ‘protection,’ and ‘dismemberment,’
  • was advanced by people who are anti-science,
  • was improperly being debated by male Senators, who have no right to vote on this issue since they can’t ever get pregnant.

  He finished by calling himself a defender of mothers, grandmothers, sisters, daughters who should not be restricted from access to ‘healthcare’ – i.e. abortions.

by Hans Johnson

One of the few bright spots for Democratic voters in the last election was the defeat of Pennsylvania Republican Governor Tom Corbett by Tom Wolf.

While it was well-known that Wolf was ardently pro-choice, and has reappointed one of those most responsible for allowing Kermit Gosnell to get away with murder for so long,  it was only  recently revealed that he was much more than an advocate. Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards, in both her congratulatory tweet on inauguration day and recent speeches, proudly touted Wolf as the first governor who had been a deathscort:

Former PP clinic escort Tom Wolf is sworn into office as Governor of PA, and a new era for PA women begins! #PAinaug pic.twitter.com/t4nGTGaCLr

— Cecile Richards (@CecileRichards) January 20, 2015

Richards campaigned for Wolf with a video of Top Ten Reasons not to vote for Corbett, and this video aimed at women voters:

[youtube]http://youtu.be/9UnexDHmrvM[/youtube]

Email dailyvid@jillstanek.com with your video suggestions.

[HT: J.D. Mullane]

by Kelli

It seems to me that there are better ways to tackle the issue of why some women feel they have to terminate otherwise healthy pregnancies; namely, by targeting the communities in which such misogyny is not just tolerated but encouraged, often with threats of violence. It is unacceptable that leaders of these societies go unchallenged, while doctors face court and pregnant women are left with the option of either lying to medical professionals about the reasons for a termination or finding themselves in a back alley with a coat hanger being brandished at them….

As a Londoner born and bred, I am of the opinion that multiculturalism is a brilliant thing. But women being abused and targeted in the name of religion and ‘culture’ makes my blood boil, and I wish that politicians like [pro-life MP] Fiona Bruce would focus on changing that, rather than trying to alter the law to suit their own religious viewpoints.

~ Bryony Gordon (pictured), railing against pro-lifers for not solving the age-old, worldwide problem of misogyny before trying to pass pro-life laws, The Telegraph, February 23

[Photo via hayfestival.com]

Planned Parenthood has partnered with “riot grrrl” feminist indie rock band Sleater-Kinney on tour to sell t-shirts, make it rain condoms, get people to sign a pro-abortion pledge, and promote the hashtag #Riot4Repro.

Whatev. Planned Parenthood teamed up with Sleater-Kinney on a tour 15 years ago, and a lot of good it did either of them. S-K went on to disband after that, while Planned Parenthood’s brand took a nosedive. S-K’s February 9 tour kick-off show in Spokane, Washington, was their first date in nine years.

Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest thought it would be cool to celebrate feminism at the concert by having women pose for photos while holding a pink stuffed uterus. Because feminism is all about uteruses, right?

Actually, wouldn’t unstuffed pink uteruses be more politically correct?

On the same day, February 20, the pro-life movement lost two of its heroes, Dr. Jack Willke and Brother Paul O’Donnell.

I was honored to know both and to be close friends with Bro. Paul. The photo right is us at a wedding last year. His death at the youthful age of 55 came as a shock, but it happened peacefully during his sleep, which brings some comfort, along with knowing he now lives on in blissful happiness of which we cannot yet fathom.

You can read Bro. Paul’s obituary here.

Bro. Paul was long involved in the pro-life movement before the plight of Terri Schiavo in 2005 thrust him into the national spotlight as the Schindler family’s spokesperson.

I met Bro. Paul sometime after that. What bonded me to him was first his engaging personality and then his strong will to protect the defenseless among us.

Bro. Paul belonged to the Franciscan Brothers of Peace, and he wore a Franciscan habit, but those who thought these may have signified a passive personality were mistaken. Bro. Paul was passionate, tough, vocal, and bold in his attempts to protect those without a voice. I loved and was inspired by those qualities about him.

Bro. Paul was also my March for Life walking buddy. It was our tradition. The last time I saw him was at the Washington, D.C., pro-life hang-out pub, The Dubliner, a month ago. I will be attending his wake and funeral in Minneapolis on Thursday and Friday. I will really miss him.

Dr. Willke and his wife Barbara, who preceded him in death by almost two years, helped launch the anti-abortion movement even before abortion was legalized in 1973.  The 89-year-old retired obstetrician died at his home.

I’m grateful Dr. Willke lived to see his memoir published - just two weeks before he died. Entitled, Abortion and the Pro-Life Movement: An Inside View, it describes the history of the pro-life movement from his vantage point.

A poem by pro-life stalwart Congressman Henry Hyde concludes that “a chorus of voices that have never been heard in this world but are heard beautifully and clearly in the next world” will greet pro-lifers as they enter Heaven.

What a wonderful moment that must have been for Bro. Paul and Dr. Willke.

by Kelli

Created Equal continues to show us, in video form, ways we can engage people on the topic of abortion. In their latest, they speak to a high school student who says he doesn’t “have much of a problem” with abortion. CE writes:

The student is quick to admit that human fetuses are living, but runs through several reasons why they don’t count as one of us — their lack of self-awareness, their age, their development. After our team works him through each objection, he begins to see through the “pro-choice” arguments on his own. After starting to put forward one final objection, he cuts it off himself, saying, “No, no, nevermind. I already can see the argument against my logic there in that one.”

Our task is not only to convince students that abortion is wrong, but also to help them learn how to think about these critical topics of humanity and equality so that they can see through the snares of abortion advocacy:

[youtube]http://youtu.be/DWfu3nMSjMA[/youtube]

Email dailyvid@jillstanek.com with your video suggestions.