LifeVoice - May / June 2009

FOCA Watch: Mandated Abortion Funding Through Health Care

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) announced in March that he will introduce the most dangerous anti-life bill ever — the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) . A spokesperson for Nadler said it will be “sooner rather than later…It is among the congressman’s priorities.”

While political experts debate whether FOCA will come to the floor of either house of Congress this year, the pro-abortion Democratic leadership is working hard and fast to enact portions of FOCA into law. The most serious threats are:

• Removing over 20 right-to-life provisions inserted into appropriations bills each year. The most well-known provision facing possible elimination is the Hyde Amendment which prohibits federal tax dollars from being used to perform abortions. It is estimated that the Hyde Amendment has saved over one million lives.
  
  
• Mandating that abortion be covered in the health-care legislation which Congress hopes to fast-track into law this summer.

To help prevent these catastrophic events which will cause abortions to skyrocket, please be a voice for the unborn by joining our online E-Voice community at www.wrtl.org/e-voice.

President Obama tells the American people he wants to reduce abortions. But in looking at the long list of bill signings, appointments, speeches, executive orders and other actions Obama has taken since his election, it is clear that his real agenda is promoting more abortions.

Obama has appointed many staunchly pro-abortion individuals to key administrative posts. Among them are Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who has a long, radically pro-abortion record; Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who is allied with the nation’s most notorious late-term abortionist; Communications Director Ellen Moran, the former director of the pro-abortion group Emily’s List; Dawn Johnsen as Legal Counsel, whose abortion views are so extreme that she once equated pregnancy with slavery; and others with equally anti-life beliefs.

Don’t let Barack Obama fool you into thinking he wants to reduce abortions. His actions clearly signal that unlimited abortion is an integral part of his philosophy which will result in increased abortions.

Obama Watch is a regular feature of Life Voice.

UW Officials Change Tone on
Late-Term Abortions at the Madison Surgery Center

As of this writing, the late-term abortion practice approved for the Madison Surgery Center is not yet in operation. Apparently plaguing the project are medical professionals who refuse to participate in the abortion plan, and complex funding issues.

Recently, the University of Wisconsin Medical Foundation (UWMF) issued a statement claiming they were “sensitive to personal beliefs of faculty/staff and to business impact the decision.” This is a giant change of tone from UWMF original statements that “we are providing a valuable service,” and appears to result from you and tens of thousands who are voicing outrage about this new abortion practice.

The operators of the Madison Surgery Center are aware that public funds cannot be used for the abortion practice, and that patients do not want their payments for routine medical procedures mixed with abortion monies. UWMF stated that “Fees from abortion procedures will be segregated and will not be commingled with other UWMF funds in any way.”

Former abortionist, Dr. Anthony Levatino, was the featured speaker at a Wisconsin Right to Life event in Madison on May 6 where he described in detail the dismemberment abortions he used to perform. Dismemberment abortions are the type expected to be performed at the Madison Surgery Center. Radio talk show host Vicki McKenna was the MC for the event.

You are urged to visit our web page at http://www.wrtl.org/petition2 to sign the petition in opposition to late-term abortions, and go to http://www.wrtl.org/madison to download the Patient Form telling Madison officials that you will not seek medical services at any of the sponsoring hospitals.

Read the latest on this topic here: http://www.wrtl.org/madison

Protect Wisconsin Abortion Ban; Keep Health Care for Unborn Children

Saving Wisconsin's Historic Abortion Ban
Pro-abortion Assembly Representative Terese Berceau (D-Madison) plans to once again introduce legislation that would repeal Section 940.04 of the Wisconsin statutes. S. 940.04 prohibits abortions in Wisconsin except when the mother's life is in danger. When Roe v. Wade is overturned, this protective law will once again go into effect and all Wisconsin's abortion clinics will finally be closed! But this will happen only if s. 940.04 stays on the law books.

Contact your Assembly representative and state senator and tell them to vote AGAINST repealing Section 940.04, Wisconsin's law that protects unborn children. *

Ensuring Unborn Children Receive Medical Care Under the BadgerCare Plus Program
Governor Doyle's proposed budget would delete the unborn child from eligibility under the BadgerCare Plus Health Care Plan. Unless unborn children are specifically deemed to be eligible under BadgerCare Plus, they could be denied life-saving treatments and surgical interventions that are carried out in-utero before the child is born. In these lifethreatening situations, the unborn child is THE patient who is being treated for a condition unique to that child. There are numerous in-utero treatments and surgeries that are performed to save the lives of unborn children. Some of them are: spina bifida corrective surgery; surfactant replacement therapy for lung development; tumors of the lungs and many, many others.

Call your state senator and Assembly representative today and tell them to reject any attempts to
remove the unborn child from eligibility under the BadgerCare Plus program. *

* Not sure who your legislators are or how to contact them? Go to www. legis.state.wi.us then click on "Who Represents Me" and follow the directions. Get regular updates with direct links to your legislator’s email by signing up for E-Voice at www.WisconsinRightToLife.org/e-voice No Internet access? Call the toll free legislative hotline 800-362-9472.

Governor Doyle Takes Campaign Donations
from Notorious Wisconsin Abortionist

Wisconsin Right to Life recently demanded that Governor James Doyle return $33,000 in tainted abortion money. Since 2001 Doyle received $17,000 from abortionist Dennis Christensen and $16,000 from Christensen’s wife, Lynn. In September of 2006, a critical time before the November gubernatorial election, Lynn Christensen gave $8,000 to Doyle. Christensen is the “dean” of Wisconsin’s abortionists, having performed abortions for 36 years, 31 of them in Wisconsin.

Governor Doyle was silent when the UW Hospital Authority Board approved a plan to perform late-term abortions at one of its outpatient facilities. Since Doyle is in the pocket of radical pro-abortionists, it is no surprise that Doyle looked the other way when the university’s plan was announced.

Christensen submitted a declaration in 1998 to a Wisconsin federal court in which he admitted performing one to two partial-birth abortions each year. The declaration was entered when Christensen sued to keep partialbirth abortions legal in Wisconsin after the Wisconsin legislature had enacted a law to prohibit partial-birth abortions.

Christensen told a Michigan court in the late 1990s that he had performed 60,000 abortions in his career at that time, with 9,000 of them beyond the first trimester. Christensen performed abortions up to 24 weeks (six months) of pregnancy. He referred women wanting abortions after 24 weeks to an abortionist in Wichita, Kansas, most likely the notorious George Tiller who is under investigation in Kansas at this time.

Bobby Schindler's Tribute to his Sister Receives Emotional Response
The 2009 Annual Education Fund Dinner and Auction Gala, held on April 2 at the Midwest Airlines Center in Milwaukee, was a resounding success thanks to all of our guests, donors and underwriters. Over 560 attendees, from teens to octogenarians, enjoyed the event. The highlight of the evening was Bobby Schindler's moving story of his beloved sister, Terri Schiavo.

If you were unable to attend the dinner, you can watch a video of Bobby’s presentation online at www.WisconsinRightToLife.org/video. You will be asked for an email address and password to log in to view this stirring presentation.

Dr. Alveda C. King Receives Warm Welcome at State Convention

Dr. Alveda C. King was greeted with loud applause and cheers at the Wisconsin Right to Life state convention held recently in Sheboygan. She is the niece of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, slain civil rights activist. King is also a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and serves as the Director of African-American Outreach for Gospel of Life headed by Fr. Frank Pavone of Priests for Life.

Dr. King gave a moving presentation on the abortion issue, identifying the injustice of singling out African-American women for abortions, specifically by locating abortion clinics in low-income neighborhoods. As a result, abortion has become the number one cause of death in the African-American community. She also spoke of her involvement with King For America, an organization which has many ideals to offer families and right-to-life groups. Dr. King spoke of the need for strengthening marriage and family, and to reduce the high rates of abortion which affect our youth today. She also addressed the need for cooperation with other right-to-life groups to maximize resources to meet the needs of those in crisis, most especially pregnant women and their families.

Senator Rick Santorum to Speak at 2010 Education Fund Dinner & Auction

Mark your calendar for next year’s Annual Education Fund Dinner and Auction Gala to be held on April 29, 2010 at the Midwest Airlines Center, Milwaukee. Our featured guest will be the former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, right-to-life champion Rick Santorum. Join us for an evening of good food, fun, friends and fellowship. Doors open at 5:00 p.m. Silent Auction and hors d’oeuvres from 5:00 - 6:30 p.m. Dinner is served at 6:30 p.m.

More information can be found here.

Teens invited to 2009 Summer Leadership Camps

Are you a teen or do you know one who would like to learn more about right-to-life issues while having a great time with other teens? Join us at our 2009 Wisconsin Teens for Life Summer Leadership Training Camps scheduled for July 19 to 24 in Walworth and August 2 to 7 in Osceola.

Contact jlittle@wrtl.org to sign up or to receive more information.

You can visit here to download the registration packet. Camp fees begin at only $95 for Wisconsin residents who register early.

Stay up-to-date on Stop FOCA and Help Save our Abortion Ban! Join E-Voice at www.wrtl.org/e-voice