Yesterday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision on the Affordable Care Act, known as ObamaCare, does not change the sweeping anti-life components of the law. Still in effect are offensive provisions that expand taxpayer-funded abortion coverage and abortion subsidies, initiates the rationing of health care for older Americans, and provides the authority for the HHS mandate and future mandates.
Under the enacted law, federal tax-based subsidies will begin in 2014 to subsidize millions of private insurance plans that will cover abortion-on-demand, including some plans (“multi-state plans”) that will be administered by the federal government. Under another provision of the law, the federal government could even order many plans that do not receive federal subsidies to cover abortion as a “preventive” service. The law also created an array of other mechanisms and funding pipelines by which access to and subsidies for abortion can be expanded if President Obama wins a second term.
Moreover, few Americans realize that under ObamaCare, private citizens’ right to spend their own money to save the lives of their own families will be subject to drastic restriction. Unless repealed, ObamaCare will give federal bureaucrats the power to impose so-called “quality” measures on all health care providers, under which treatment that a doctor and patient deem needed to save that patient’s life or preserve the patient’s health but which runs afoul of the imposed standards will be denied, even if the patient is willing and able to pay for it. In 2015 and thereafter, an 18-member “Independent Payment Advisory Board” is directed to inform the federal Department of Health and Human Services how to use those imposed standards to limit what private citizens are permitted to spend on their own families’ health care to below the rate of medical inflation.
It is extremely clear now that the only way to remove these offensive provisions is through a complete repeal of the Act which can only be accomplished by electing Mitt Romney as President and a Congress willing to replace this horrendous anti-life measure. The path is clear and the Wisconsin Right to Life Political Action Committee has even stronger impetus to work to change the leadership in Washington to protect taxpayers, unborn children, women, older Americans, and religious freedom.
Barbara Lyons
Paid for by the Wisconsin Right to Life Political Action Committee, Richard Fox, Treasurer. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.
It is an understatement to declare that the eagerly-awaited U.S. Supreme Court decision on the constitutionality of ObamaCare will have an enormous impact on our health care system, on the 2012 elections, and on the right-to-life of so many. The decision is expected on Thursday, June 28.
For background, there are significant provisions impacting the right-to-life in the ObamaCare law:
1. Abortion coverage essentially without restriction.
2. Abortion subsidies, both implicit and explicit.
3. Multiple provisions which may be used as bases for abortion-expanding administrative actions.
4. The “preventive health services” provision which has been used by HHS to mandate drugs and services in violation of the conscience of providers. This provision could be used in the future to mandate abortion services.
5. An appointed Independent Payment Advisory Board which has broad authority to determine which health care procedures can be provided or rejected.
6. Provisions that allow HHS to limit care.
7. Denial of treatment, even if the patient is willing and able to pay for it.
If the court declares the law unconstitutional in its entirety, all of these detrimental provisions go away. If the court declares the law constitutional in its entirety, all of these detrimental provisions remain law. If some of the challenged provisions are struck down, the dangerous abortion and rationing provisions in the law remain intact, and can only be repealed by electing a Congress willing to repeal them and a President willing to sign the repeal.
Only about 1/3 of Americans favor the law according to the most recent polls. Like it or not, we must deal with the consequences of the court’s decision and how it impacts those we defend. Our work in ridding the nation of ObamaCare has a long way to go.
The Wisconsin Right to Life Political Action Committee has endorsed Jeff Fitzgerald, Eric Hovde, Mark Neumann and Tommy Thompson for U.S. Senate in the August 14 primary election which will decide who faces pro-abortion Tammy Baldwin in the November 6 general election.
Speaker Fitzgerald has maintained a very strong right-to-life voting record as a member of the State Assembly and was instrumental in ensuring that all of the important right-to-life measures recently enacted into law moved forward in the legislative process.
Eric Hovde has indicated strong support for federal right-to-life issues should he be elected.
Rep. Neumann not only has a strong right-to-life voting record when he was a Congressman, but has remained involved in forwarding the culture of life as a private citizen.
As Governor, Tommy Thompson signed many of Wisconsin’s most important right-to-life laws which have helped to reduce the number of Wisconsin abortions.
Rep. Tammy Baldwin has an extreme pro-abortion position and voting record. Baldwin supports abortion for any reason for the full nine months of pregnancy. As a member of the State Assembly and of Congress, she has voted in favor of taxpayer funding of abortion, continued partial-birth abortions, no conscience protection for those who do not want to participate in abortions, keeping a minor girl’s abortion secret from her parents, human cloning, continued sex-selective abortions and numbers of other anti-life measures.
Wisconsin Right to Life sincerely appreciates the strong commitment of all four endorsed candidates and will be proud to support the winner of the August 14 primary as a necessary alternative to pro-abortion Tammy Baldwin.
Barbara Lyons
Authorized and paid for by the Wisconsin Right to Life PAC, Richard Fox, Treasurer. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.
Like Ronald Reagan and both Presidents Bush, Mitt Romney has gone through an education and conversion process on pro-life issues. It’s hard to watch video of Romney from the early 2000s stating that he is pro-choice. How does that square with where he is today when he says he is pro-life?
Interestingly, Romney’s conversion started with learning about life at the beginning of the life spectrum, at the embryonic stage. As Governor of Massachusetts, Romney began researching the issue of embryonic stem cell research. He was being lobbied strongly to change a state law that protected human embryos, with some of the pressure coming from his alma mater, Harvard University. Romney met with Dr. William Hurlbut, a physician and professor at Stanford University Medical Center Neuroscience Institute. Hurlbut went through the basics of human development at the earliest stages and described what happens to the living human embryo which is killed to obtain embryonic stem cells. It was this discussion that convinced Romney he was pro-life.
Should we believe him? I thought long and hard about this, and became convinced of the sincerity of this conversion. Few right-to-lifers are opposed to Romney because they don’t believe he was converted. After all, isn’t that what true right-to-life education is all about — to change hearts and minds?
Here is what Romney for President says on his website about his abortion position:
“Mitt Romney is pro-life. He believes it speaks well of the country that almost all Americans recognize that abortion is a problem. And in the quiet of conscience, people of both political parties know that more than a million abortions a year cannot be squared with the good heart of America.
“Mitt believes that life begins at conception and wishes that the laws of our nation reflected that view. But while the nation remains so divided, he believes that the right next step is for the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade – a case of blatant judicial activism that took a decision that should be left to the people and placed it in the hands of unelected judges. With Roe overturned, states will be empowered through the democratic process to determine their own abortion laws and not have them dictated by judicial mandate.
“Mitt supports the Hyde Amendment, which broadly bars the use of federal funds for abortions. As president, he will end federal funding for abortion advocates like Planned Parenthood. He will protect the right of health care workers to follow their conscience in their work. And he will nominate judges who know the difference between personal opinion and the law.
“Because the good heart of America knows no boundaries, a commitment to protecting life should not stop at the water’s edge. Taking innocent life is always wrong and always tragic, wherever it happens. The compassionate instincts of this country should not be silent in the face of injustices like China’s One-Child policy. No one will ever hear a President Romney or his vice president tell the Chinese government that “I fully understand” and won’t “second guess” compulsory sterilization and forced abortion.
“Americans have a moral duty to uphold the sanctity of life and protect the weakest, most vulnerable and most innocent among us. As president, Mitt will ensure that American laws reflect America’s values of preserving life at home and abroad.”
So strong, and so vastly different from President Obama, the most pro-abortion president ever.
The Fortnight for Freedom religious liberty campaign initiated by the Catholic Church begins June 21 and runs through July 4. Numerous activities will take place during the Fortnight to underscore the adamant and united stand of people of many faiths to the Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate which requires that religious institutions and individuals provide drugs and services in violation of their religious beliefs and conscience.
This unprecedented assault on religious liberty by the Obama administration, calculated to attract votes for the President’s re-election, has been met with stubborn and broad opposition. Stunned by the initial outcry, the Obama administration quickly changed tactics and proposed a phony “accommodation” which would place the burden of the mandate on insurance companies instead of institutions.
The Catholic Health Association (CHA), a network of more than 2,000 Catholic hospitals and health care facilities, initially opposed the HHS mandate but then accepted the “accommodation.” Late last week, the CHA sent a letter to HHS rejecting the “accommodation.” Sister Carol Keehan wrote: “The more we learn, the more it appears that the…approaches for both insured and self-insured plans would be unduly cumbersome and would be unlikely to adequately meet the religious liberty concerns of all of our members and other Church ministries.” The CHA concludes that, “it is imperative for the Administration to abandon the narrow definition of ‘religious employer’ and instead use an expanded definition to exempt from the contraceptive mandate not only churches, but also Catholic hospitals, health care organizations and other ministries of the Church.”
So the Administration has lost one of its closest allies in passing the Obamacare law. It is important to note that the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) and Wisconsin Right to Life strongly opposed a provision added to Obamacare dealing with “preventive health services.” This provision, which provides the authority for the current HHS mandate, gives the HHS Secretary broad authority to mandate coverage of any medical service. In a second Obama term, HHS could easily add elective abortion to the list of preventive health services which would be required to be provided.
As NRLC’s Legislative Director Doug Johnson explains, “The same twisted logic will be applied. By ordering health plans to cover elective abortion, health plans would save the much higher costs of prenatal care, childbirth, and care for the baby.”
It is imperative that all citizens work tirelessly to defeat the HHS mandate and preserve one of our most basic freedoms — the freedom of religion.
Search and Destroy. Cleaning the gene pool via abortion. It is a recurring theme discussed openly in news articles and journals. Here is the latest ugly installment.
New research published in “Science Translational Medicine” is based on the unborn baby’s DNA circulating in the mother’s blood which can be analyzed for genetic disorders. The lead scientist, Dr. Jay Shendure, said, “This work opens up the possibility that we will be able to scan the whole genome of the fetus for more than 3,000 single-gene disorders through a single-non-invasive test.” The test involves taking blood from the mother and saliva from the father.
According to National Public Radio’s Rob Stein, there is already something on the market to detect genetic anomalies. “They don’t analyze the entire genome,. They don’t spell out every single letter in the genetic code. They look for specific variations, usually things like Down syndrome and conditions related to that,” says Stein. In response to questioning from another NPR reporter, Stein replied, “The tests that have come on the market in the last year or two, they’re now considered pretty reliable, but they still need to be confirmed by followup tests if there’s a positive result. The concern there is that maybe some people would get frightened and act prematurely and terminate the pregnancy without getting that confirmatory result.” So, the real tragedy here would be aborting the “perfect” child.
But it gets worse. Just last week, the chief medical editor on NBC Today, Nancy Snyderman, told viewers that it’s really good science to abort an unborn child with a genetic disorder. “I think the future will be such that you’ll find out that your child may have a genetic hit. You can fix that genetic problem, and improve your chance, a child’s chance…,” says Snyderman. When asked about the ethics of aborting a child under those circumstances, Snyderman replied: “Well, I’m pro-science, so I believe that this is a great way to prevent diseases.” A genetic hit. Pro-science. Preventing disease, not the child.
Chiming in is New York Times columnist Ross Douthat who raises the concern that, “it is hard to imagine that more expansive knowledge won’t lead to similar forms of prenatal selection on an ever-more-significant scale. “ Then Douthat ends with reference to our capacity to rationalize such actions, and an attempt to distance ourselves from the eugenicists of the past. “From a rigorously pro-choice perspective, the in utero phase is a space in human development where disease and disability can be eradicated, and our impulse toward perfection given ever-freer rein, without necessarily doing any violence to human dignity and human rights. But this is a convenient perspective for our civilization to take…..it’s easy for us to look back and pass judgement on yesterday’s eugenicists. It’s harder to acknowledge what we have in common with them.” Mr. Douthat — we have a lot in common with them.
Two stories surfaced in the eastern part of the world so brutal that they are incomprehensible. The first involves a Chinese woman who was subjected to a forced abortion at seven months of pregnancy. According to LifeNews.com, “Feng Jianmei was beaten and dragged into a vehicle by a group of family planning officials while her husband, Deng Jiyuan, was out working.” The family was asked to pay a fine by officials for having this child and when no money was paid, “…..they forcibly aborted Feng at seven months, laying the body of her aborted baby next to her in the bed.”
Angry protests are occurring in China following this horrendous action, according to ChinaAid, a U.S.-based human rights group. The mother has an attorney to represent her and to focus attention on the violence used to enforce the government’s one-child-per-family policy. The New York Post reports that Chinese officials will “probe” the incident.
The second incident occurred in India where a father killed his three-month-old baby girl because his wife did not give birth to a son. According to CNN, “Authorities say the baby was admitted to the hospital with bite marks, cigarette burns and a dislocated neck. Police say she was killed by her father. ‘After my delivery my husband had come to see me and the baby. He said ‘It is a girl, why did you give birth to a girl?’ nineteen-year-old Reshma Banu said. ‘For her wedding we will require a hundred thousand rupees (about US $1,800 dollars) for all the expense. If you can get that amount from your mother, then keep her, but if you can’t then kill her.’ Banu recalled her husband as saying. She didn’t believe he meant it and was sure he would change his mind once he held his soft bright-eyed baby girl. Three months later, her baby is dead, and her husband is under arrest, accused of beating the baby to death. Police say he confessed to the killing.”
So brutal. So sad. So lacking in morality and humanity.
The Planned Parenthood Federation for America (PPFA) is all-in for Obama, and determined to take down Governor Mitt Romney in November. Just ask their President, Cecile Richards, who lambasted Romney in remarks late last week to Netroots Nation, a gathering of bloggers who are pro-abortion. “In the next five months, the offensive you should go on is Mitt Romney’s own statements about what he would do to women’s health care if he was elected president,” Richards advises the bloggers.
In an interview with a CNN affiliate, Romney said, “…Planned Parenthood, we’re gonna get rid of that…” Romney later clarified that he meant that he would get rid of federal funding for PPFA, not the organization itself.
Richards told Netroots Nation about PPFA’s ambitious plans prior to the November election. PPFA is already airing a $1.4 million ad campaign against Romney in Florida, Iowa and Virginia. The ad narrator zeroes in on Romney’s interview comments by saying: “When Mitt Romney says ‘Planned Parenthood — we’re gonna get rid of that,’ Romney is saying he’ll deny women the birth control and cancer screenings they depend on.” The ad summarizes by calling Romney “just wrong for women.”
And so, the “war on women” narrative continues. Plan on hearing it over and over again.
I remember the meeting like it was yesterday. All of the clinic directors assembled in the main conference room. Sitting in a sort of squared-circle facing each other.
We were being told that we had all been guilty of fraudulent billing to the state and federal government. We didn’t even know that we had been participating in the fraud. We were all sitting there in silence. What did this mean? Were we in trouble? Could we potentially get in trouble? So, I broke the silence. I simply asked, “What are we going to do about the money we shouldn’t have received?” The response, “We are going to hope we don’t get caught.” But…”What if we do get caught? Can we be held responsible?” She then went into a long story about a similar situation she had once been in at a clinic where she once worked. The moral of the story was, yes, we could all be held responsible…but not to worry, “we” wouldn’t get caught.
A couple years later, I left Planned Parenthood. I talked to several attorneys about that meeting. I knew what I had been involved in was wrong, and I knew Planned Parenthood needed to be held accountable. That meeting had nothing to do with pro-life or pro-choice issues; this was about our tax dollars and fiscal responsibility. So, I decided to come forward with the information I knew and am now involved in a lawsuit against Planned Parenthood.
I often think about the people I worked with at Planned Parenthood. When this case goes to court, can they be held accountable? Yes. Can they be put in jail for this fraudulent activity? Yes. Is that a scary thought? Absolutely.
When I look back, I realize just how shocking and disrespectful Planned Parenthood was. You can see how much they value their personnel. “We are going to hope we don’t get caught”…but if we do, we will throw you under the bus instead of correcting our mistake.
So, maybe you are currently a clinic worker. Maybe you are aware of fraudulent activity taking place at your facility. Maybe it is happening and you don’t even know about it. We just recently saw videos exposed by Live Action that show clinic workers knowingly breaking the law. Has that been you? Can you really trust your employer, the abortion industry? This is the same industry that has multiple lawsuits pending (all brought on by former clinic workers) that allege fraud. This is the same industry that is currently under Congressional investigation because of suspected misdeeds. This is the same industry that has been caught again and again by Live Action and other groups breaking the law and deliberately lying to patients. These are the people you trust? You think they are loyal to you? Think again. Just months before I left Planned Parenthood, I had received their “Employee of the Year” award. Three weeks after I left, I was sitting in a court fighting against the people I once called my closest friends. You’ve heard the saying, “There is no honor among thieves.” Well, there is even less honor in the abortion industry.
You may hear things from your supervisors like, “Oh, those Live Action videos are a hoax.” Why don’t you check it out for yourself? We always post unedited video on our site, www.liveaction.org. If they are indeed a “hoax” then why do these clinics always fire the employees involved in the videos? I understand tolerance and acceptance, but those two things do not require law breaking…which is what we see over and over again.
I remember watching one video…I heard the clinic workers say, “We don’t judge here. We accept people from all walks of life.” I could almost hear my voice making that statement. The clinic worker was reassuring a pimp and a prostitute that their illegal sex trafficking ring was “safe” with Planned Parenthood. You see what we have done? We have forgotten who we are working to protect. We have allowed the idea of “tolerance” to cloud our judgment of right and wrong.
I suspect you have run into similar situations at your clinic…I know I did. Did you brush them off under the idea that ‘you are a tolerant person’ or did you do the right thing and stand up against what you saw? I bet you let “tolerance” and “acceptance” get the best of you.
Are you willing to take the fall for your job? Are you willing to go to prison for this industry? If not, then we can help. You don’t have to feel trapped. There is a way out and it is called “And Then There Were None.” It is an organization to help you leave the abortion industry. We provide 4 streams of assistance.
- Up to three months of financial support after a worker resigns and help with job placement
- Emotional support during the transition time
- A spiritual advisor of the former worker’s choosing
- Free legal counsel to protect the worker’s interests during transition
There is no reason to stay in the abortion field if you want out…and we have a strong desire to help you. You deserve better than the abortion industry. You deserve to work somewhere where you are valued and respected. Let us help — our website is here.
Everything. Governor Scott Walker’s decisive and stunning recall victory is rippling through Wisconsin and the nation. The consequences are huge – especially for continuation of building a culture of life in this great state. Make no mistake – Governor Walker is a true believer in preserving the sanctity of human life. He began his advocacy for life as a student at Marquette University where he was leader of the campus pro-life group. As a State Assembly Representative and now as Governor, Walker has established an unprecedented record of leadership and support for the most vulnerable among us.
In the short time he has been Governor, numbers of impactful laws have been signed to take dollars away from Planned Parenthood, curb the abortion involvement of the University of Wisconsin Hospital Authority, protect taxpayers from paying for abortions, and protect women from coerced and dangerous RU 486 chemical abortions. As a result of one of these laws, Planned Parenthood and one other abortion clinic have stopped doing chemical abortions in Wisconsin.
The recall victory has huge national implications. President Obama’s election team just placed Wisconsin in the toss-up or battleground category, despite the President’s 14 point victory in 2008. Although exit and other polls still show Obama leading Romney in Wisconsin, the 18-month chaos, huge Walker turnout, and sophisticated get out the vote effort have gotten the full attention of the Obama team and national pundits. President Obama did not come to Wisconsin to campaign for Mayor Tom Barrett, probably for good reason as he sensed a Barrett loss. Now, his election team is watching what seemed like a sure win for Wisconsin’s electoral votes slip away.
Planned Parenthood and its allies are reeling. Governor Walker has taken on the status of cult hero, or, as described by Barrett, a “rock star.” He is truly loved by his supporters who came out in droves to work and vote for him. Walker’s recall victory surpassed his 2010 totals by significant numbers. It appears that Governor Walker will have a long tenure as leader of our great state of Wisconsin, and that is very good news for those we defend.
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