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

• At Life Training Institute, The Failed Atheist links to his excellent response to the viral UK video of a pregnant pro-choicer chastising Abort 67 pro-lifers for holding abortion victim images in front of an abortion facility. TFA responds to the woman’s arguments, such as, “It’s wrong to show abortion imagery because we don’t know why they are having an abortion,” “You’re a hypocrite because you’ve had an abortion,” and “Some of the women wanting an abortion may have been abused.”
• Abstinence Clearinghouse says a Minnesota school is under fire for allowing a Catholic speaker to give a non-religious abstinence presentation.

• Big Blue Wave points out more of the pro-choice side’s faux concern for babies by quoting from an article that questions the stopping of a chemical abortion once it has been initiated:
  

  I think our main concern here should be for the children we’re supposedly “saving.” Will “reverse abortion” babies be healthy? Will they suffer from side-effects of the treatment? Will they suffer brain damage? Will they develop normally? Those answers should be available already. And they’re not, which is terrifying and unacceptable.

To the pro-death culture, death is a better choice than a life with the potential to be anything other than perfectly healthy.

• Bound4Life updates readers on the battle between the Little Sisters of the Poor and Obamacare’s HHS Mandate:
  

  Mother Loraine puts a fine point on her group’s dilemma: “The government forces us to either violate our conscience — or take millions of dollars for the care of the elderly poor, that we raise by begging, and instead pay fines to the IRS.”

• Euthanasia Prevention Coalition congratulates Dr. Kevin Fitzpatrick and Not Dead Yet from the UK “for their part in defeating the assisted suicide vote” in Wales.
• Live Action News comments on why Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards is headed for future election night disappointments as she bucks the views of pro-life people, who make up half the population. Richards stated, “[W]e want to make it completely unacceptable to run for office as someone who opposes women’s rights or wants to take us backward.”
• Kansans for Life gives the back story on Planned Parenthood’s objections to certain state informed consent weblink requirements, and why they lost the fight.

• American Life League’s Judie Brown notes the media’s recent fixation with “use of excessive force” in connection with recent deaths in Missouri and New York. Brown can’t help but notice the selective outrage:
  

  We are told that these recent cases of men rendered dead by the use of force allegedly perpetrated by policemen are examples of acts of discrimination and brutality. Reporters argue that these acts were committed against those who some say are innocent of any wrongdoing. But as these cases unfold and we hear the rhetoric — much of which is bravado — some of us are left with a very bad taste in our mouths.

  So I will say it again. And again. The innocent baby from the beginning of his biological life is not guilty of any wrongdoing. This child has not carried out even the smallest crime. In spite of these facts, a heinous act of murder is committed against babies hundreds of times daily as the public — including the justice system — looks on.

  Obviously there is a legal distinction. The direct killing of a living, breathing human being who has survived the womb is always an act that should be investigated to the full extent of the law. That is what justice requires. But of course, the justice of which I speak is not applicable to a child whose mother has been given a legal right to pay a third party to kill him as long as he is not yet fully born.

  Excessive force should never be used against an innocent preborn, but it is every day….

  On the one hand man’s law is used to protect those who are accused of a crime, but on the other hand the law protects deadly crimes committed against the innocent prior to birth.

• 40 Days for Life features a video from Brazil, where they just hosted their first 40 DFL campaign:

[youtube]http://youtu.be/A32RmrXnnfc[/youtube]

[Image via tripod.com; townhall.com]

by Kelli

Singer Carrie Underwood, expecting her first child with husband Mike Fisher, recently told Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon that she feels the need to sing well for her preborn son all the time – even while driving in the car – because “he’s listening”:

Email dailyvid@jillstanek.com with your video suggestions.

by Carder

2014 was an incredibly successful year for us that included:

? Partnering with a new public hospital in NYC to provide abortion doulas to pregnant people
? Partnering with a new birth center in NYC to provide birth doulas to pregnant people
? Partnering with a criminal justice organization to provide birth doulas to pregnant people
? Training 25 new full spectrum doulas and a new Board of Directors
? Providing doula support to thousands of pregnant people in NYC

~ Excerpt from a fundraising email in which “pregnant people” (not “women”) are the beneficiaries of The Doula Project, December 10

by Hans Johnson

In the “You Can’t Make This Stuff Up” category comes a video called “The Abortion Desert.” Taking a cue from the idea of “food deserts” – a lack of urban grocery stores - the abortion lobby group Lady Parts Justice nervously brings attention to the dwindling number of abortion clinics.

For a serious subject, it’s an oddly sophomoric presentation (produced by Lizz Winstead, the formerly comedic co-creator of The Daily Show) which features a uterus puppet and a shirtless Chippendales dancer… er, “cowboy.”

They claim to be “a national movement using humor & outrage to remove bodily autonomy-hating local politicians in 2014 & beyond.” Failing at both, they are being bested by many pro-life groups that find nothing funny in this, and balance their outrage with caring for both mother and child (does that make us “Baby Parts Justice”?)…

[youtube]http://youtu.be/hcssQAy3R8c[/youtube]

Email dailyvid@jillstanek.com with your video suggestions.

by Kelli

Only in Washington would anyone ask this question: Can a woman be both feminist and conservative? Why, yes, she can!

Why should smart conservative women essentially be blackballed by liberals based on whether they are liberal or conservative enough on this single issue?

~ Kathleen Parker, Washington Post, December 9

[Photo via news.nd.edu]

by Hans Johnson

Since 2003, the Pro-Life Action League has held an Empty Manger Christmas Caroling Event at abortion clinics. It also offers information to support the growing number of groups participating.

While the Empty Tomb is the centerpiece of Christianity, an empty womb – and manger – and crib – prevent all the miracles of life that would follow.

Here is video from some recent protests:

[youtube]http://youtu.be/Tk9l0_PeMZ0[/youtube]

Email dailyvid@jillstanek.com with your video suggestions.

[HT: Susie Allen]

You’ll recall that in August the California Department of Managed Health Care issued a mandate requiring all insurance issuers to immediately add surgical and RU-486 abortion coverage to their plans, even those for nonprofit religious institutions and churches.

This was a violation of the decade-old Weldon Amendment, one of several pro-life riders included in appropriations bills every year. The Weldon Amendment blocks government agencies receiving federal funds from discriminating against any health care entity for not covering abortions.

The only recourse for victims seeking protection under the Weldon Amendment is to file a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services.

In late August and early September that is exactly what two Catholic universities and seven churches in California did.

But to date HHS has taken no action, and the violation is ongoing.

Because the Obama administration has failed to enforce the Weldon amendment, pro-life leaders have pressed to enact the Abortion NonDiscrimination Act, which would make the Weldon amendment permanent and offer judicial recourse for victims impacted by the violation.

Pro-lifers in Congress tried to insert ANDA into the Continuing Resolution Omnibus appropriations bill, i.e., CROmnibus, which will fund the government through September 2015 (except DHS, which is only funded until March, so the GOP can revisit Obama’s immigration executive order after the new legislative session begins, at which point Republicans will control both houses).

But with many Republicans opposing CROmnibus for other reasons, it needs Democrat votes to pass and must also pass the Democrat-run Senate.

Since both parties are loathe to risk shutting down the government over the budget, pro-lifers behind the scenes were instead able to squeeze verbiage into the Explanatory Statement noting the complaints and directing the HHS Secretary to take action.

This is a step toward obtaining relief for the victims of the California mandate and warning other states considering similar action (like Washington) Congress takes the Weldon Amendment seriously. It reads:

Healthcare Provider Complaints. Legislation appropriating funding for the Department of Health and Human Services has carried a general provision relating to health care providers since fiscal year 2005 (Division H, Section 507(d) of Public Law 113-76). Complaints regarding reported violations of these provisions have been filed with the Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services. The Secretary is directed to respond to these complaints expeditiously in accordance with final rule 45 CFR Part 88 published in Federal Register Vol. 76 No. 36.

What this does is put the HHS Secretary (and other states that might want to follow California’s lead) on notice that Weldon is a law that Congress – including the Appropriators – take very seriously.

HHS now has a little time to actually enforce Weldon, but the next appropriations cycle starts in a few months, and this language shows that Congress is not going to let California’s action’s slide.

A source on the Hill noted in an email, “A LOT of work went into pulling this off, and I was actually impressed that they got the report language in.” Again, Democrats as well as Republicans had to agree to this language before it was inserted.

Pro-lifers in Congress will still work to pass ANDA next year easier without Harry Reid blocking everything.

Pro-lifers were also able to add an Explanatory Statement noting the shroud of secrecy surrounding Obamacare-approved insurance plans that cover abortions and directing the HHS Secretary to provide transparency.

The explanatory statement agreed to by both Republicans and Democrats calls for transparency BEFORE enrollment… huge.

It’s not just that pro-lifers care only about transparency, the explanatory statement gives them opportunities to address the issue of abortion coverage under Obamacare. This is no fix for sure, but it’s a move in the right direction.

Additional information on CROmnibus for pro-life budget wonks:

• Funding for the UNFPA remains the same as FY14: $35 million
• Funding for International Family Planning/Population Control Activities remains the same as FY14: not less than $575 million
• Title X Family Planning Program remains the same as FY14: $286 million

[Top photo via Getty‘; bottom photo via Salon]

by Carder

When she interviewed with the company in 2012, Van De Pitte told supervisors she needed some flexibility because she had two young children and was still nursing her 1-year-old son, and would need a private space where she could pump during the work day, according to the complaint.

On her first day of work, another nursing mother told her that the “private space” was the company’s supply room. Her co-worker then cautioned her to keep her breast pump hidden because other employees thought it was “gross.”

~ Christine Pelisek reporting on the gender discrimination lawsuit brought by employee Monica Van De Pitte (pictured with her family) against a company that tolerated harassment against her, especially when she would pump breast milk, People, December 7

[HT: Hans Johnson; Photo via: Oregon Live]