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Comments from Some Pro-Life Leaders on 50 years of “Roe v. Wade”

Roe v. Wade” turned 50 years old on Sunday, January 22nd. This is the infamous U.S. Supreme Court decision that effectively gave us abortion on demand (when you add the impact of its companion decision of the same day, “Doe v. Bolton.”) Here are some comments from some pro-life leaders on the fallout from 50 years of “Roe.”

*Abby Johnson, former head of a Planned Parenthood clinic and one-time “Planned Parenthood Employee of the Year,” is strongly pro-life today because she saw a sonogram of an abortion in her own clinic. This wasn’t a blob of tissue fighting for his life—it was a baby.

She gave me a statement (through email to Jerry Newcombe on 1/20/23)  for this article on 50 years of legalized abortion in America:

“One of the biggest fallouts from Roe is that every woman’s bathroom will now become an abortion clinic if she decides to use the abortion pill to end her unwanted or unplanned pregnancy.”

These pills are marketed as safe. But she warns,

“The use of the abortion pill is about to skyrocket and I don’t think the nation is ready for both emotional and physical ramifications of such sweeping actions. I think it’s going to be horrific, and the pro-life movement needs to be there for these women who need love the most when they are considering abortion and in the aftermath of their decision.”

*Father Frank Pavone, founder and director of Priests for Life, who was recently “laicized” by the Vatican, told me through an email (1/22/23):

Roe v. Wade has distorted our entire process of self-governance, replacing the will of the people with the imposition of a fake Constitutional right, and allowing abortion, as the only medical procedure with such a status, to grotesquely disfigure everything from city council meetings to Supreme Court confirmation processes.”

*Eric Scheidler, the son of long-time abortion foe Joe Scheidler, heads up the Pro-Life Action League in Aurora, Illinois. He sent me an email (1/23/23):

“The nearly 50 years of abortion on demand forced on the American people by the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision have had a devastating impact on our culture. If Roe had been reversed much earlier — for example, in 1992 when the Casey v. Planned Parenthood case instead reaffirmed Roe — then it would have been much easier to repair that damage. But after two generations of abortion without limits, one of the most extreme policies on the face of the Earth, we have a scene of devastation on our hands. That means the Christians and all Americans of good will need to get involved in not just promoting pro-life laws, but in promoting such fundamentals as marriage, the blessings of children, and the rebuilding of our support communities.”

*“Abortion is bad for women and babies,” notes the niece of Martin Luther King, Jr. She admits she had two abortions—and now is so grateful for the forgiveness of Jesus in her life. She warns against others making this same mistake. In fact, Evangelist Alveda King of told me in a recent radio segment, “Life should be celebrated and acknowledged and appreciated from the womb to the tomb into eternity.” Alveda has now started the organization, “Speak for Life.”


This article was originally published at JerryNewcombe.com.




Joseph M. Scheidler Memorial “Face the Truth” Tour 2021

This summer the Pro-Life Action League will sponsor the Joseph M. Scheidler Memorial Face the Truth Tour from Friday, June 18th through Saturday, June 26th. Participants will visit sites throughout the Chicago area, holding pictures of beautiful unborn babies along with signs showing the victims of abortion.

The founder of Pro-Life Action League, Joe Scheidler, launched the first Face the Truth Tour in the summer of 2000, and the Pro-Life Action League has held one every year since. Joe passed away January 18 at the age of 93, and this year’s Face the Truth Tour is dedicated in his honor. What better way to celebrate his memory than to take part in this urgent pro-life mission?

Join us as we show our fellow citizens that the victims of abortion are members of the human family just like the rest of us!

Friday, June 18: Northern Suburbs

9:00-10:30 Waukegan
Lewis Avenue and Harding Avenue (map)

11:30-1:00 Libertyville
Milwaukee Avenue and Route 176 (map)

3:00-4:30 Mundelein
Town Line Road (Route 60) and Route 45 (map)

Saturday, June 19: Near North Suburbs

9:00-10:30 Lincolnwood
Touhy Avenue and Cicero Avenue (Map)

11:30-1:00 Skokie
Golf Road and Skokie Boulevard (Map)

3:00-4:30 Lincolnwood
Touhy Avenue and McCormick Boulevard (Map)

Monday, June 21: Western Suburbs

9:00-10:30 Villa Park/Oakbrook Terrace
Roosevelt Road and Summit Avenue (map)

11:30-1:00 Westmont
Cass Avenue and Ogden Avenue (map)

3:00-4:30 Wheaton
Butterfield Road and Naperville Road (map)

Tuesday, June 22: Northwest Suburbs

9:00-10:30 Lake Zurich
Rand Road (Route 12) and Main Street (Route 22) (map)

11:30-1:00 Palatine
Rand Road (Route 12) and Dundee Road (map)

3:00-4:30 Arlington Heights
Rand Road (Route 12) and Arlington Heights Road (map)

Wednesday, June 23: South/Southwest Suburbs

9:00-10:30 Flossmoor/Olympia Fields
Governors Highway and Vollmer Road (map)

11:30-1:00 Orland Park
159th Street and La Grange Road (map)

3:00-4:30 Mokena
191st Street and La Grange Road (map)

Thursday, June 24: Joliet Area

9:00-10:30 Joliet
Jefferson Street and N. Larkin Avenue (map)

11:30-1:00 Shorewood
Route 59 and Black Road (map)

3:00-4:30 Joliet
Route 59 and Caton Farm Road (map)

Friday, June 25: South Side

9:00-10:30 Chicago: South
Deering 95th Street and Stony Island Avenue (map)

11:30-1:00 Oak Lawn
95th Street and Cicero Avenue (map)

3:00-4:30 Chicago Ridge
95th Street and Ridgeland Avenue (map)

Saturday, June 26: Western Suburbs

9:00-10:30 Aurora
Eola Road and New York Street (map)

11:30-1:00 Naperville
Washington Street and Ogden Avenue (map)

3:00-4:30 Aurora
Lake Street (Route 31) and W. Indian Trail (map)

– View more at: https://prolifeaction.org/event/ftt2021/




A Final Salute To A Pro-Life Champion

Joe Scheidler, sometimes referred to as the “godfather of pro-life activism,” was laid to rest earlier this week. He passed away on Monday, January 18th at his home. He was 93 years old.

The founder of the Chicago-based Pro-Life Action League, Joe  was greatly admired by many in Illinois and across the country. He and his wife Ann were singularly focused on defending the sanctity of life. Winsome even in the face of withering personal and legal assaults, Joe was steadfast for the cause of life.

The left-wing New York Times published this about Joe:

His significance can be measured in the opposition he engendered. In 1986 the National Organization for Women sued him, arguing that by threatening to impede the work of abortion clinics, he was guilty of extortion and racketeering — one reason his allies and adversaries alike called him the “godfather” of the anti-abortion movement. The lawsuit, which he eventually won, lasted 20 years, one of the longest federal cases in history.

His oldest son, Eric Scheidler, told the Chicago Sun-Times that his father “devoted five decades of his long life to proclaiming the value of human life at its most vulnerable stage, the child in the womb.”

We will miss Joe and will continue to pray for his family and the vital work of the Pro-Life Action League. Joe and Ann have seven children,  27 grandchildren, and one great-granddaughter. May his pro-life legacy be passed down through the generations.




March for Life Palatine

“For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.”  Matthew 6:21

Where is your treasure?

With the passage of the Illinois Reproductive Health Law there was a blatant attempt to declare life worthless, having absolutely no value.  If life in the womb can be thrown away up until the moment of birth, then all life is made cheap, meaningless, and worthless.  Yet that same law has had an unintended effect;  we have seen an awakening of the pro-life community as never before.  We are rallying together, working to unite, combining our time, treasure, and talent for a common cause.  What about you?  If you treasure God’s gift of life, put your heart into it and unite with the Greater Chicago-land pro-life community for an afternoon you won’t soon forget!

Download and print a flier to share with others here.

Come get informed, get energized and bear witness that all human life from conception until natural death is a gift from God to be treasured. 

Our lineup of speakers includes:

– Serena Dyksen, Save the 1, will share her inspiring story of redemption after succumbing to pressure to abort after rape.  Her child may be one of those recently recovered from the home of abortionist Ulrich Klopfer

– Joe Scheidler, Pro Life Action League , knows the secrets of effective pro-life activism and he’ll be letting us in on the secret!

– Morgan Jayne Hill, aka “Baby Mary Grace”, will offer her heartwarming journey from being abandoned in a dumpster to adoption into a loving home to finding out that she was the catalyst for Illinois’ Safe Haven Law – all before she turned 20 years old!

– Jeanne Ives, Former IL State Representative, will tell her beautiful story of choosing life despite her doctor’s advice to abort a child with a prenatal diagnosis.

– Tom Morrison, IL State Representative, will educate us about what the disastrous “Reproductive Health Law” contains and what our next steps should be.

– Fr. Nathan Caswell, St. Peter Volo, leader of the Crusaders for Life Youth Group.

Pastor Warren Schilf, Immanuel Lutheran in Palatine

…and MORE!

TIMELINE:

  • 12:30 pm:  Doors open for T-shirt sales. Get one before they’re gone!
  • 1:00 pm:Gather for prayer, song, & inspirational speakers inside St. Theresa Dolan Center Gym (455 N. Benton, Palatine). Same location as last year behind the church.
  • 1:45 pm:  Procession along Northwest Highway with Life-affirming signs to the plaza at Hicks & NW Hwy (1/2 mile) to share the love of LIFE!   The energetic teens from Crusaders for Life will be back to lead us with drumming, dancing, and cheers!
  • 2:15 pm:  Rally at the plaza with more prayer, songs, and words of hope.
  • Immediately following the March:  Join us back at St. Theresa for FREE refreshments courtesy of the Knights of Columbus Ladies Auxiliary.

Bring the whole family!




Keeping the Abortion Issue Alive in Springfield

It’s one of those issues that many lawmakers and perhaps even Governor Bruce Rauner don’t want you to think about. That is, state taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood. But life activists are keeping Planned Parenthood on the moral and political radar with protests that call attention to the organization’s big abortion business which includes the harvesting and sale of aborted baby body parts. And just think, its all subsidized by your paycheck.



Donate now button

 




Chicago “Bubble Zone” Case Burst For The Third Time

Those who will do anything possible to quash dissent regarding the issue of abortion were foiled once again on Wednesday, August 18, 2010. The case against David Avignone, an MBA student at Chicago’s Loyola University, was dropped by the City of Chicago. Avignone was originally charged with disorderly conduct due to his alleged violation of a controversial ordinance referred to as a “Bubble Zone”. The ordinance applies outside local abortion clinics to prohibit approaching within eight feet of a person to present a leaflet, sign or oral message to that person. Avignone was arrested while praying the rosary in front of a near north side Planned Parenthood abortion mill.

“We are pleased that for the second time, the City of Chicago has dismissed the false charges of disorderly conduct against a man who was properly and legally exercising his First Amendment rights on the public way,” said Peter Breen, in a statement issued by the Chicago-based Thomas More Society. Breen is the organization’s Executive Director and legal counsel.

“We hope these two baseless cases involving alleged ‘Bubble Zone’ ‘infractions’ show the Chicago City Council why it should repeal this controversial ordinance altogether and cease efforts to scare pro-life people away from Planned Parenthood,” continued Breen who defended Avignone in the case.

The Thomas More Society won an historic Supreme Court decision where abortion facilities attempted to restrict any kind of sidewalk counseling, demonstrations or expressions of First Amendment free speech near facilities which provide abortion services. In the case of NOW v. Scheidler, the nation’s highest court ruled that the Pro-Life Action, headed by Joe Scheidler, was not in violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. The Thomas More Society’s victory cleared the way for sidewalk counseling and protests in front of abortion clinics. However, many believe the City of Chicago with its “Bubble Zone” ordinance is attempting to circumvent the Supreme Court decision in the Scheidler case.

The case against Avignone is the third “Bubble Zone” case, all of which have been dismissed. The decision by the City of Chicago not to pursue the case against Avignone and two others who were previously charged with violating the “Bubble Zone” ordinance was a good one in the opinion of most experts in constitutional law.