For those who weren’t politically active in the 70’s or never got around to learning the specifics about the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), here is a thumbnail sketch of the purpose and danger of the ERA.

This proposed U.S. Constitutional Amendment is deceptively named. Men and women already have equal standing and equal protection before the law and possess God-given rights which are delineated in the Bill of Rights.

If the goal is to ensure equal opportunity, then the path is not the broad and ambiguously written ERA. Even supporters of the ERA cannot answer questions about its full impact on existing legal protections for women (and children) in state and federal statutes.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg wrote Sex Bias in the U.S. Code when she was with the ACLU. In her book, she admitted that at least 800 federal laws would likely be struck down – laws aimed at protecting women.

Are men and women different? Over the course of centuries, common sense and science have detailed the physical and mental differences that are biologically based. The push today by Leftists to pretend these obvious differences don’t exist is not a new phenomenon — and the ERA was once such an effort that ended in failure in the 1970s.

The Equal Rights Amendment says: 

“Equality of rights under law shall not be denied or abridged
by the United States or any State on account of sex.“ (Emphasis added.)

The Equal Rights Amendment is a poorly worded amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would restrict all laws and practices that make any distinctions based on gender or “on account of sex.” Under the ERA men and women could not be treated differently, even if the different treatment is due to physical differences.

The ERA is centrally about abortion.

Since abortion is unique to women, any attempt to restrict a woman’s access to abortion would be seen, under the rules of the ERA, as a form of sex discrimination. As a result, abortion restrictions would be overturned.

In addition, since medical procedures unique to men are funded by Medicaid (such as circumcision and prostatectomies), then abortion which is unique to women, must also receive Medicaid funding under ERA requirements.

Pro-abortion groups, including Planned Parenthood, NARAL, the ACLU, the Center for Reproductive Law and Policy, and the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund have all submitted legal briefs stating that the ERA supports abortion rights.

Using this same ‘sex discrimination’ logic, legal scholars have reasoned that the ERA would do the following:

• Eliminate all abortion restrictions including the federal partial birth abortion ban, third trimester abortions, and parental notification of minors seeking abortions.

• End conscience clauses for nurses, doctors and hospitals who do not want to facilitate abortions in any way.

• Threaten tax exemptions of private religious schools that do not believe abortion is moral and that discourage it when teaching students.

• ERA would also provide a new basis for abortion rights in the U.S. Constitution. Roe v. Wade is founded on an unwritten “right to privacy” assumption that is vulnerable in legal challenges. The ERA would insert a written, defined right based on sex discrimination into the U.S. Constitution, and thus provide a strong legal basis for overturning all abortion restrictions.

Americans need to become informed on this issue and seek to help educate others on the consequences of the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment. Then they must make sure their state representatives and state senators know both the dangers of the ERA and their opposition to it.

Take ACTION: Click HERE to send an email to your lawmakers, urging them to protect women’s rights by opposing the Equal Rights Amendment.

The Illinois Family Institute has posted important articles outlining what the ERA is all about – examples can be found here, here, here, and here.

State lawmakers will be back in Springfield for the veto session November 7-9, and this legislation may come up for a vote during that time.  PLEASE speak out today!

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-and, please-

Planned Parenthood is having a fundraiser in Chicago at a restaurant called Revolution Brewing next Tuesday, August 29th.

Because Planned Parenthood aborts over 300,000 unborn humans each year, pro-life advocates wrote negative reviews on the Revolution Brewing Facebook page on August 21st. The response was so great, Revolution Brewing took down the entire review section of their Facebook page!

There are two action steps we can take as we demand Revolution Brewing CANCEL this Planned Parenthood fundraiser.  Please stand for LIFE by taking these steps, and share this with your pro-life friends:

Take ACTION: Click HERE to give Revolution Brewing a negative review on Yelp!, demanding that they cancel this fundraiser.  Yelp is similar to the Yellow Pages but is an online business directory with social elements. Customers can leave feedback on their experiences with that business which does two things. It informs future customers of what they might expect and it keeps standards high, or forces an improvement of those standards to prevent negative feedback.

More ACTION: Please join the Pro-life Action League’s protest on Tuesday, August 29th

TIME:  5:30 PM – 7:00 PM
ADDRESS: Revolution Brewing, 2323 N. Milwaukee Ave, Chicago (map)

This event is also listed on Facebook.

Recently the California Board of Registered Nursing determined that the scientific evidence in support of the Abortion Pill Reversal was important to the health and safety of mother and child.

The Board audited the method for over a year and, according to LifeSite News, then “decided that the Abortion Pill Reversal a medical intervention that has been pioneered by doctors George Delgado and Matthew Harrison and now includes a network of 350 physicians throughout the U.S.” This method allows mothers who have taken the abortion pill (Mifeprex or RU-486) to call a 24/7 helpline at (877) 558-0333 in order to have the process reversed.

Over 300 women have stopped their abortion from working by means of the abortion pill reversal.

“We’re grateful to California’s Board of Registered Nursing for their professionalism and diligence throughout this process,” Heartbeat International president Jor-El Godsey said, according to National Right to Life News. “Every nurse needs to know the truth about abortion—including the truth that a woman can change her mind in some cases even after the abortion has begun.”

Family Research Council’s Director of the Center for Human Dignity, Arina Grossu writes for the Daily Signal:

This innovative procedure was discovered by Dr. Matt Harrison in 2006. He realized that if he gave women extra progesterone, it competed with the effects of mifepristone and could save the baby’s life by allowing nutrients to once again reach the growing baby.

Since 2009, Dr. George Delgado has also been involved in the abortion pill reversal. Delgado and others established the Abortion Pill Reversal hotline in 2012. Now, there are more than 350 providers nationwide who are equipped to do the abortion pill reversal technique.

A medically inaccurate and misleading video by Planned Parenthood instructs its viewers to first take mifepristone, saying, “it stops your pregnancy from developing.” It then instructs its viewers to take misoprostol one to two days later, claiming that the drug “causes cramping and bleeding that empties your uterus.” But this is far from reality. A Live Action video featuring Dr. Levatino details what really happens during this type of abortion:

At the abortion clinic or doctor’s office, the woman takes pills which contain mifepristone, also called RU 486. RU 486 blocks the action of a hormone called progesterone. When RU 486 blocks progesterone the lining of the mother’s uterus breaks down, cutting off blood and nourishment to the baby, who then dies inside the mother’s womb. Twenty-four to forty-eight hours after taking RU 486, the woman take misoprostol… that is administered either orally or vaginally. RU 486 and misoprostol together cause severe cramping, contractions, and often heavy bleeding to force the dead baby out of the mother’s uterus. The process can be very intense and painful, and the bleeding and contractions can last from a few hours to several days. While she could lose her baby anytime and anywhere during this process, the woman will often sit on a toilet as she prepares to expel the child, which she will then flush.

For abortion pill regret stories, visit here. For abortion pill reversal stories, visit here.

A bold voice for pro-family values in Illinois!

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Two days before she was scheduled to have an abortion, Nikita heard an interview on the radio about our local 40 Days for Life efforts. Shortly thereafter, she contacted the Fox Valley 40DFL Team Leader, Catherine. After they spoke, Nikita chose LIFE for her baby girl! Zari was born in April 2016, as a direct result of our prayers and efforts to end abortion in our community!

40 Days for Life is a focused pro-life campaign to end abortion with a vision to access God’s power through prayer, fasting, and peaceful vigil.

You are invited to join this powerful and effective team today. Through prayer and fasting, peaceful vigils and community outreach, 40 Days for Life has inspired 750,000 volunteers!

Here’s how to take part:

• Sign up at 40daysforlife.com/aurora 
• Sign up for an hour (or more) – vigil hours: 7 am to 7 pm daily.
• Come out to pray – vigil location: 3055 E New York Street, Aurora (next to Planned Parenthood in Aurora)
• Call or text the 40DFL representative – Catherine Walker at 224-999-3701
• Like us on Facebook – 40 Days for Life Fox Valley
• Attend the 40DFL Fox Valley Kick Off Event – Sat. Sept. 23rd 9-10:30 am

Specific details are provided at 40daysforlife.com/aurora

Attention Pastors – We need your support!

The 40 Days for Life Fox Valley team invites you to a special pastors’ breakfast to hear the vision, the importance, and the details of the upcoming “40 Days” campaign, which takes place September 27th to November 5th.

WHERE:

Christ Community Church, Blackberry Creek Campus
40W098 Galena Blvd. (map)
Aurora, Illinois  60506

WHO: Shawn Carney, President & Founder of 40 Days for Life will be presenting.

WHEN: Thursday, September 14, 2017

Breakfast begins at 8:00 AM
Speaker begins at 8:30 AM
Q & A follows speaker

RSVP: PLEASE RSVP TO RICK ROBERTS at rroberts@ccclife.org.

Find flyers here: church full-page flier; church bulletin insert -half page; Pastors’ Breakfast.

When I say “Colgate,” what comes to mind? Well, toothpaste, of course. Too bad no one in the 1980s explained that to Colgate when they launched a line of frozen dinners named “Colgate Kitchen Entrees.” Understandably, customers found the idea of eating food from a toothpaste company less than appetizing, and the whole experiment bit the dust.

But there’s another brand today trying very hard to convince the public that it sells more than one product. Planned Parenthood has spent the last few years insisting that its clinics offer all kinds of services besides abortions. As the latest stunt in this ongoing campaign, they’ve partnered with “Avengers” director Joss Whedon to produce a high-budget ad titled “Unlocked.”

In this three-minute propaganda piece, Whedon depicts a world without Planned Parenthood. It’s a dark and scary place where a mother dies of cancer because she can’t get screenings, where a couple breaks up because of a sexually transmitted disease, and where a young woman’s dreams of college are crushed by a positive pregnancy test.

Speaking with TIME magazine, Whedon said that if Planned Parenthood shuts down, “millions of people lose access to basic health services” like contraception, cancer screenings, and sex ed. In other words, he’s parroting the talking points we’ve heard non-stop from Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards and others who insist that the organization “does so much more than abortion.”

But as our friends at Save the Storks point out, Planned Parenthood’s 2014-15 annual report shows that they perform a meager 1 percent of the nation’s pap smears, and less than 2 percent of all clinical breast exams. The pro-choice Guttmacher Institute reports that over 80 percent of teens receive sex ed instruction from somewhere besides an abortion clinic, and contrary to repeated claims by Planned Parenthood’s leadership and advocates, they perform a grand total of zero mammograms.

In other words, all 650 Planned Parenthood-affiliated clinics in the U.S. barely participate in real healthcare. In fact, Americans so rarely choose this abortion giant for other services, we hardly notice when the few clinics not offering abortions close.

LiveAction News reports that Planned Parenthood quietly shuttered three of its six New Mexico facilities, all of which were dedicated to those “other services.” Apparently, they weren’t covering expenses. Waving off the closures as no big deal, a Planned Parenthood regional official said—get this—that community health centers could pick up the slack. She might as well have admitted her organization’s services were not needed.

Colgate sells toothpaste, and Planned Parenthood sells abortions—more than anyone else in the business. In fact, it’s where over a third of all abortions in America happen. We know how Planned Parenthood’s bread is buttered, and Planned Parenthood employees know it, too.

Recent footage from undercover investigator David Daleiden captured affiliates at the National Abortion Federation conference who spoke openly of Planned Parenthood “selling” fetal body parts to “increase revenue.” Some also joked about pulling unborn babies apart and how “gross” it is when tiny eyeballs fall into their laps.

YouTube quickly removed the video, and now U.S. District Judge William Orrick is considering contempt sanctions against Daleiden, who’s already facing fifteen felony charges for taking this undercover footage in the first place.

Planned Parenthood wants to be known for nicer, less horrifying, less controversial services. But ladies and gentlemen, at the end of the day, their name means one thing: abortion. And lives depend on putting this big-name brand out of business.

This article was originally published at Breakpoint.org

Not long ago we reminded people that scientific evidence proves that unborn babies feel pain when being aborted. As an extension of that question, we asked: In light of continuing federal funding of abortion (despite GOP promises to end it) — what do those 535 members of the United States Congress feel?

Below is a video that runs less than five minutes. We challenge you to not feel anything while watching it.

Operation Rescue has documented a total of 48 medical emergencies at Planned Parenthood abortion mills across America since January 2016 — twenty-one of which took place within the first five months of 2017.

Appropriately, one of the emergencies featured in this short video is from earlier this year at the “Margaret Sanger Planned Parenthood” in New York City.

The video is straightforward, featuring recordings of call after call from Planned Parenthood facilities to 911 for emergency medical assistance.

Call after call. The pain felt watching and listening to them is nothing compared to the pain felt by the babies. Or by the mothers who often suffer physically and emotionally following an abortion.

Early on the video documents the 59th documented emergency transport from a Planned Parenthood in St. Louis, Missouri. Spoiler alert: more from the same facility follow.

The next one is the 911 call from a mother finding her daughter dead in her home following an abortion at a Planned Parenthood facility in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

That call should put congressional budget bargaining in perspective. Will it?

Later a 911 call is heard regarding a patient that is hemorrhaging in a Planned Parenthood facility in Annapolis, Maryland.

The video is horrendous. But you need to watch it anyway.

Here is the video’s introduction on the YouTube page:

Every day, women are placed at risk of injury, hospitalization, and death at Planned Parenthood abortion facilities around the nation. Think that is hyperbole? Watch this video then contact your Congressmen and demand that they #DEFUNDPLANNEDPARENTHOOD NOW!

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On Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the American Health Care Act (AHCA) of 2017. This bill, which will now head to the U.S. Senate, would redirect over 80 percent of funds away from Planned Parenthood for a year. Those funds (more than $390,000,000) would instead be used for comprehensive community health centers which outnumber Planned Parenthood facilities 20 to 1.

Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council issued the following statement:

“Today is a day that should and will be remembered. The House GOP today fulfilled its nearly decade old promise to pass a bill that replaces Obamacare with a law that is pro-life and reduces premium costs for the American people.

“We are proud of the House Freedom Caucus for working diligently in coalition with conservative groups and others to make this day possible. After entrusting the GOP with authority to lead the country based upon their campaign promises, the House GOP has made good on turning promises into policy. Now it is time for the Senate to follow in the House’s footsteps and pass the AHCA, so that this vital legislation can be signed into law by President Trump who understands the value of every person, born and unborn.

“As a nation, we are without excuse in paying for abortion on demand in Obamacare and subsidizing Planned Parenthood’s gruesome trafficking of baby body parts and its inhumane treatment of mothers and their unborn children.

“I look forward to even more pro-life gains under the Trump administration, as we continue to move toward once again being a nation where all human life is welcomed into the world and protected under our laws,” Perkins concluded.

This is a major pro life step in the right direction but not an absolute victory. This is the third time the House has now voted to strip funding away from Planned Parenthood. The provisions to redirect funds away from Planned Parenthood are included as part of a reconciliation bill, so it’s passage will require 51 votes in the Senate.

Regarding the House’s passage of the American Health Care Act, which includes a provision that would eliminate federal funding for Planned Parenthood if the bill is eventually signed into law, Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Kevin Theriot said:

“[T]his billion-dollar abortion giant has been implicated in massive fraud, waste, and abuse of Medicaid and other federal and state programs. Congress’s well-founded concern that Planned Parenthood and its affiliates are engaged in a pattern of deceptive practices designed to maximize their bottom-line revenue should be enough reason to end the public largesse on their behalf, even apart from the fact that they destroy a third of a million human lives every year and have been involved in numerous other scandals.”

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It’s dangerous to paint with a broad brush. I think we do that too often when we, as conservatives, go after the press for media bias. Many times when I see conservative leaders decry media bias, I ask “was that a biased story, or were you just unprepared for the interview?”

Now that’s not to say media bias isn’t real – everyone knows that the majority of the press comes from a liberal perspective.  Even CNN’s Jake Tapper has admitted that media bias is real, and Mark Leibovich of the New York Times agrees that most of the media is center-left.

One of the most obvious examples of media bias shined through in the last few weeks.

Here’s the situation: You have two high profile state Attorney Generals. Both have clear and distinct ideologies:

Attorney General #1 is a conservative.

Attorney General #2 is a liberal.

As such, they work with and receive donations from organizations that support their ideologies.

When Attorney General #1 is making national news, these ties are reported in the Associated Press, New York Times, Washington Post, etc, etc. When Attorney General #2 is in the news, these ties are conspicuously left out. You get one guess on which one is the conservative…

If you guessed the Attorney General #1, you win!

Attorney General #1 is Scott Pruitt, the former Oklahoma Attorney General, who is now President Trump’s head of the EPA (a great selection in my opinion). As Oklahoma Attorney General, Pruitt sued the EPA more than a dozen times because, under President Obama, the agency continually issued unlawful regulations on states and businesses.

The coal and gas industries Obama was attempting to regulate were supportive of these lawsuits, and therefore, supported Pruitt. I think most people would agree that it’s noteworthy and good journalism for the media to report on Pruitt’s ties with the oil and gas industry as he’s taking on a job like this. This certainly doesn’t disqualify him, but it’s relevant information.

Meanwhile… in California. Two Attorney Generals have investigated David Daleiden and The Center for Medical Progress. Daleiden is the undercover journalist who exposed Planned Parenthood’s sale of aborted baby-body parts.

Yet instead of going after Planned Parenthood for their inhumane business practices, the California AG’s have turned their wrath on Daleiden: first raiding his home, and now pressing charges.

The two California Attorney Generals Kamala Harris (who is now a U.S. Senator) and Xavier Becerra have received tens of thousands of dollars in donations from Planned Parenthood and other backers of the abortion industry.

Yet when this story broke in the Associated Press, this detail was left out. Don’t you think it’s a little relevant that the person pressing charges against Daleiden received campaign contributions from the organization that was embarrassed and exposed by his reporting?

Apparently none of the major media outlets did. Showcasing once again why trust in the media is at an all time low.

Read more:  62% in U.S.: News media has party favorites

The Center for Medical Progress has released a disturbing new video in which David Daleiden interviews abortionist/obstetrician Dr. DeShawn Taylor who used to kill humans in the womb for Planned Parenthood but started her own abattoir in Arizona in 2013. Taylor is also a member of NARAL Pro-Choice Arizona and the National Abortion Federation Society of Family Planning.

The occasion of Daleiden’s conversation with fetus-killer Taylor was the swanky George Tiller Memorial Networking Reception co-sponsored by Planned Parenthood and the Society of Family Planning. The emcee for the evening’s festivities was none other than wine-swilling, salad-munching abortionist Deborah Nucatola.

Yep, the infamous late-term abortionist George Tiller is honored by abortionists everywhere.

Starting at 20 weeks gestation, Dr. Taylor uses digoxin to stop babies’ hearts:

So the thing is…it’s really an issue because in Arizona, if the fetus comes out with any signs of life, we’re supposed to transport it to the hospital.

Taylor injects the hearts of humans in the womb with digoxin to ensure she kills it. She definitely does not want to have to transport a living “fetus” to a hospital. Since Taylor is a stickler for technical language, she is likely familiar with Planned Parenthood’s definition of “fetus”:

The organism that develops from the embryo at the end of about eight weeks of pregnancy…and receives nourishment through the placenta.

A human that has exited a woman’s body is no longer being nourished through a placenta and, therefore, is no longer a “fetus” even by Planned Parenthood’s definition. It’s finally a baby.

When asked whether there is “any standard procedure for verifying signs of life,” Taylor offered this odd response:

The key is you need to pay attention to who’s in the room….because the law states that you’re not supposed to do any maneuvers after the fact [i.e., after delivery] to cause [fetal] demise. So, it’s really tricky….So most of the time we do [digoxin], and it usually works.

Well, she didn’t answer the question but she did make clear that the tricky business of ensuring death in the womb is solved by the use of digoxin. Here’s how digoxin works:

To help ensure the baby will be delivered dead and not alive, the abortionist uses a large needle to inject digoxin or potassium chloride through the woman’s abdomen or vagina, targeting the baby’s heart, torso, or head. When the digoxin takes effect, the lethal dose causes a fatal cardiac arrest, and the baby’s life will end. (Even if the needle misses the baby, digoxin can still kill the baby when released into the amniotic sack, but will usually take longer to kill the child.)

Taylor kills fetuses up to 24 weeks gestation. At 24 weeks gestation, these tiny humans are about 11 ½ inches long and weigh about 1 ½ lbs. They have ears, eyes, eyebrows, eyelashes, fingers with unique fingerprints, toes, female or male genitalia, brains, and functioning organs including pumping hearts.

After explaining that most of the abortions she performs are elective abortions, Taylor shares this grotesque and euphemistically clinical description of her “technique” for killing small humans:

My technique is a disarticulation technique.

For those who wonder what the heck a “disarticulation technique” is, it’s the dismemberment of the tiny human. Feticidal physician Taylor goes on to explain why she uses the dismemberment technique:

It’s not a matter of how I feel about it coming out intact…but I got to worry about my staff, and people’s feelings about it coming out looking like a baby.

It’s so weird that fetuses could come out looking like babies. I mean, “progressives” keep telling everyone that the humans growing inside women are definitely not babies. I guess if their little heads are crushed—I mean, if their calvaria are “compressed,” they probably do look less like babies and less like fetuses. They probably look more like the bloody messes we see in movies about sociopathic killers.

Taylor says the conservatism of Arizona mitigates against her delivering an intact human:

Arizona is so conservative, I just don’t even want to send a full fetus to, for cremation or any of that.

Some may be beginning to think that nothing bothers the seared conscience and sensibilities of Taylor, but they would be wrong.  She complains about her “people who do the paper work for the fetal death certificates” for the humans whose heartbeats Taylor stops:

They email us calling them “babies.” “Baby” this. “Baby” that. “Baby” so-and-so. And I’m like, that’s creepy.

In the dystopian world of morally-untethered womb-killing, injecting the developing bodies of defenseless humans with digoxin to stop their hearts and “disarticulating” their bodies so as to assuage the feelings of her staff are not creepy, but referring to these tiny humans as “babies” is creepy.

Taylor’s chosen profession as a baby killer feticide specialist involves manifold inconveniences for her. Not only does Taylor have to worry about the feelings of her staff when confronted with a fetus that looks surprisingly like a baby and deal with “creepy” descriptions of tiny humans as “babies,” but she also has to exercise to perform her job:

I have to tell you anecdotally, my biceps appreciate it when the [digoxin] works. It does not take me any longer to complete the procedure [when the digoxin doesn’t work], but it takes more force….I remember when I was…training, I was like, oh, I have to hit the gym for this.

Taylor explains that even when babies are in breech positions (i.e., feet first), which is the easiest position for abortionists, those darn baby heads—or calvaria as abortionists prefer to call them—still pose a delivery problem:

Breech makes it a lot easier…but there’s still going to have to be some decompression of the calvarium for it to come out.

“Progressives” affirm a non-existent moral “right” to crush babies’ skulls, inject babies’ hearts with digoxin, and dismember babies’ bodies, and they call it “choice.” To add insult to the injury and sanitized evil done to millions and millions of babies, we subsidize this barbarism.

The Illinois Family Institute is completely dependent on voluntary contributions of individuals just like you. Without you, we would be unable to fulfill our mission. Please consider a donation to support our efforts!

The American Culture and Faith Institute (ACFI) released a fascinating survey recently revealing that 95 percent of “Spiritually Active, Governance Engaged Christian Conservatives” or “SAGE Cons” are not satisfied with the state of American culture today. While this finding may not be surprising, what may prove to be informative and encouraging is that 67 percent of these “SAGE Cons” desire to be more directly involved in “cultural transformation” here in the United States.

Today’s social media news-feeds show much conversation over current events, and inevitably, some discussions become heated and even hostile at times. With social media readily available, some people may wonder if political engagement online is productive—especially for those of us who desire to be a positive influence on the culture at large.  Unfortunately, I know some Christians who have fled social media precisely because they are unwilling to take a stand.  In effect, they are hiding their light under a bushel.

On one hand, we understand how easy it is to get fatigued. Pew Research Center released findings that show one third of social media users are “worn out” by political content. Fifty-nine percent of respondents in the Pew survey say that discussions with those in which they are in disagreement are “stressful and frustrating.”

Undeniably, social media is a vital tool if used properly and in moderation. However, we should also keep in mind there are many other ways we can effectively inspire “cultural transformation” in our state and nation.

How can we inspire “cultural transformation?”

Invest in your family and close relationships. It was recently reported that Barbara Bush, daughter of President George W. Bush (43), spoke at a fundraiser for Planned Parenthood in Fort Worth Texas.  While we know former President Bush is pro-life, we also know how liberal his wife’s political views are. Evidently, Momma Bush did a better job passing down her worldview to her daughter than did Poppa Bush. What a missed opportunity!

Deuteronomy chapter six teaches us that we should intentionally and diligently teach our children and grandchildren a love of the Lord and His commandments.  We are to teach them so that they do not forget what God has done and so they will live according to His Word.

Investing in our families, churches, and even in our neighbors and neighborhoods is a great first step to inspire the “cultural transformation” that God desires.

Hold elected leaders accountable. It can be tempting to think that our civic duty ends the moment we cast our ballots; however, it is critical that we do more. Our elected leaders need to hear from us before they make important decisions regarding policy and law. In order to take part in informed conversation and correspondence with legislators and government officials, keep up-to-date on local news and be on the lookout for IFI action alerts that detail ways you can engage legislative leaders. The IFI Action Center lists current action items and provides a simple way for you to contact your elected officials.

Serve the community. There are many ways you can influence the culture as you serve in your community. If you have a heart for women facing unplanned pregnancies, search online for a pregnancy care center near your home. Perhaps you might consider helping in a soup kitchen or rescue mission. Often community centers need volunteers for ESL classes or after school tutoring. The local church also offers a multitude of areas in which you can serve and invest in the culture.

And of course, there is a desperate need for Christian citizens to serve in elected office. A favorite quote underscores this point powerfully:

“Public business, my son, must always be done by somebody… if wise men decline it, others will not; if honest men refuse it, others will not.”  ~John Adams

Have you ever wondered why we have so many foolish and dishonest lawmakers in office? It is because wise and honest citizens are not stepping up to fill these spots.  This void creates a vacuum which is filled too often with the lowest common denominator.  Many of us who are well-qualified for public service are wasting a valuable opportunity.  Consider this exhortation from our Founding Father:

“It should be the highest ambition of every American to extend his views beyond himself, and to bear in mind that his conduct will not only affect himself, his country, and his immediate posterity; but that its influence may be co-extensive with the world, and stamp political happiness or misery on ages yet unborn.”  ~ George Washington

Civic engagement is an essential part of the Christian life and witness. If we neglect our civic responsibilities, our freedoms, including our civil right to shed the Light of Christ in our communities and throughout our nation, will be destroyed and the light of Christian witness will grow dim.

The situation we face is difficult, but we are not without hope! Let’s renew our efforts to engage the culture around us and also determine to be open to new ways of service that will effectively increase the well-being of our society.

IFI is partnering with pro-life advocates to put up pro-life billboards throughout the Chicago metro area with the simple and bold statement “Abortion Takes Human Life,“ but we need your financial partnership to make this a success.  Can you help with a tax-deductible donation to this campaign?

Read more HERE.

Pro-life advocate Chris Iverson noted this fact in an article here at IFI recently:

The U.S. abortion rate is the lowest in recorded history! The Guttmacher Institute found that there were 14.6 abortions for every 1,000 women aged 15-44 in 2014. That’s lower than the abortion rate in 1973 (when the Roe v. Wade case was decided) and every year since then.

Republicans in Washington, D.C. are taking steps to defund Planned Parenthood and prevent the use of federal taxdollars for abortions.

Illinois Democrats are going in the opposite direction. State Representative Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago) has re-introduced legislation that would remove all prohibitions on taxpayer funding of abortions through HB 40. Here is the Illinois Citizens for Life:

For decades, Illinois has had a public policy of not paying for abortions under the Medicaid assistance program except for life of the mother. Court decisions have added “health” and rape and incest. The Illinois law went to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1979 and was upheld in its entirety in 1980.

Survey after survey has shown that a clear majority of Illinoisans, even those who say they are pro-choice, do not want their tax dollars paying for abortions.

HB 40 would remove this ban and require taxpayer funding of abortions for any reason throughout the full nine months of pregnancy. If this bill passed into law, the thousands of these abortions added [estimated at 15,000 or more each year] would be paid for only with state taxpayer dollars, since the federal government prohibits paying for abortions other than for life, rape and incest.

Pro-life lobbyist Ralph Rivera says that there would be no limit to the number of abortions a woman could have using tax-dollars, and the abortion could be for any reason through all 9 months of the pregnancy. There would also be no age restriction, so minors would be eligible for taxpayer funded abortions.

A large part of the targeted population in HB 40 is those who are covered under Medicaid. The website Illinois Health Matters provides a breakdown on the “Demographics of the Medicaid Population,” noting that “about 600,000 Illinois residents age 19 to 64 with low income became eligible for Medicaid.”

According to Illinois Citizens for Life, the year the Illinois Law was passed that prohibited taxpayer funding, “over 12,000 abortions were paid for under Medicaid with tax dollars.” Since the number of abortions was substantially higher when tax-dollars were used, it should be expected that more abortions will be performed once the restriction is removed. One question that follows is who is going to be having those abortions? Note these numbers:

• Blacks make up 30 percent of the Medicaid recipients in Illinois while they are 14 percent of the whole.
• Latinos make up 16 percent of the Medicaid recipients in Illinois while they are 16 percent of the whole.
• Asians make up 5 percent of the Medicaid recipients in Illinois while they are 5 percent of the whole.

Since 51 percent of the Medicaid recipients in Illinois are minorities, whether it is intended or not, the passage of HB 40 will increase the number of abortions in the minority community.

A bit of history is important here. IFI contributor Tami Jackson wrote in an article titled “Margaret Sanger’s Dream Come True: Eugenics by Abortion”:

[Margaret] Sanger was a nurse and a birth control advocate in the early 20th century. But more importantly, she formed the organization, American Birth Control League, which would eventually become Planned Parenthood.

. . .

[She] espoused sinister motives for advancing birth control and abortion: she fully endorsed eugenics for the betterment of race and society.

Sanger was a Darwinist who embraced a utilitarian view of human life, and proposed to rid our nation of the criminal element and “inferior races” through abortion and breeding programs.

Margaret Sanger was born in 1879 and died in 1966, so this issue is not new. Today, Sanger is seen as a feminist hero and the Democratic Party supports full funding for Planned Parenthood.

Take ACTION: Click HERE to send a message to your state to ask him/her to vote AGAINST this pro-abortion bill.  Ask them to consider how abortion providers and eugenicists are promoting abortion to destroy the innocent pre-born human lives of black and brown babies.

Let’s see, Planned Parenthood provides age-inappropriate, Leftist dogma packaged as sex “education” to children and kills incipient human life in the womb. Moreover, no Planned Parenthood performs mammograms, and very, very few offer prenatal care. And yet Planned Parenthood is an essential provider of women’s healthcare?

Curiouser and curiouser.

In 2013, Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood (PP), was paid $590,928. In regard to her 2013 income, U.S. News and World Report said “Richards makes about $100,000 more than the typical CEO for a nonprofit similar to the size of Planned Parenthood.” Here’s the kicker, in 2014 Richards was paid $957,952. PP vice president Dawn Laguens pocketed $599, 721 of blood money.

It’s time for the federal government to cease funding Planned Parenthood until such time as they  stop killing humans in the womb; stop providing contraception and abortifacients; and stop peddling a Leftist sexuality ideology to minors.

If Planned Parenthood wants to provide those products and services to minors and women of childbearing age, they should ask George Soros, Madonna, Miley Cyrus, and Ashley Judd to subsidize them.

Taxpayers should not be forced to do so.

The national pro-life organization Live Action has just released a bombshell video that darn well better be the final nail in the coffin of Planned Parenthood—a coffin brimming with baby corpses.

Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards, in a futile effort to persuade the public that the pro-death organization she heads is all about women’s “health,” has publicly stated that Planned Parenthood provides prenatal care. In so doing, she clearly suggested and the gullible public believed that all Planned Parenthood facilities provide prenatal care. Surprisingly, that’s not what Live Action found in its undercover investigation.

Of the 97 Planned Parenthood facilities Live Action contacted, only 5 provided prenatal care. Live Action’s short video provides persuasive evidence that Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards lied through her pearly whites.

Here’s a sampling of the responses featured in Live Action’s video:

Tempe, AZ: “Planned Parenthood offers abortions, so they don’t offer prenatal care.”

Albany, NY: “No Planned Parenthood does prenatal care, hon.”

Farmington, NM:“We don’t offer prenatal care at Planned Parenthood…We specialize in abortions. You know that’s what our ultrasounds are for, to see how far along the, um, patient is.”

Elizabeth, NJ: “We do birth control, things like that—terminations.

Cornell, NY: “We tell you you’re pregnant, and then we offer…to do the abortions.”

Merrillville, IN: “No, we don’t do prenatal services. I mean it’s called Planned Parenthood. I know it’s kind of deceiving.

Dallas, TX: “We only offer termination services.”

Ironically when the undercover patient asked where she could receive prenatal care, the Planned Parenthood operative recommended Care Net, the type of crisis pregnancy center that “progressives” accuse of not caring about women and babies.

Racist eugenicist Margaret Sanger was the founder of Planned Parenthood, and today’s money-sucking  organization bears the morally corrupt values of its founder. While blacks comprise 12 percent of the population, they comprise 28 percent of abortions, a statistic that would please Sanger who was hell-bent on ridding the world of blacks:

We should hire three or four colored ministers, preferably with social-service backgrounds, and with engaging personalities.  The most successful educational approach to the Negro is through a religious appeal. We don’t want the word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population, and the minister is the man who can straighten out that idea if it ever occurs to any of their more rebellious members.

In Sanger’s proposed “baby code” she recommended the extermination of those deemed unfit:

[F]eeble-minded persons…those afflicted with inheritable disease, and others found biologically unfit by authorities…should be sterilized or, in cases of doubt, should be so isolated as to prevent the perpetuation of their afflictions by breeding.”

Which populations do “progressives” today exploit to promote abortion as an act of compassion? Don’t death merchants talk about feticide as a compassionate act for babies with tragic physical anomalies? Aren’t children with Down Syndrome—in earlier, less enlightened times referred to a “feeble-minded”—being aborted in numbers that should offend and outrage all decent people?

Cecile Richards is an attractive corporate mask that conceals incomprehensibly evil acts, and where there is evil, there is deception.

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The U.S. abortion rate is the lowest in recorded history! The Guttmacher Institute found that there were 14.6 abortions for every 1,000 women aged 15-44 in 2014. That’s lower than the abortion rate in 1973 (when the Roe v. Wade case was decided) and every year since then.

We’re receiving this news just as we celebrated Sanctity Of Human Life Sunday, the great March for Life events across the country (including Chicago), and the news that President Donald J. Trump reinstated the Mexico City policy — which bans taxpayer funds from being used to pay for international abortions.

Next on the pro-life agenda is a determined push to defund Planned Parenthood at the Federal level, including a nationwide protest of Planned Parenthood on Saturday, February 11^th.

Abortion Statistics

The abortion rate is the lowest it’s been since 1973, during the post-Roe era. However, because our population is higher now than it was in the 70’s, the number of abortions is the lowest it’s been since 1975.  In 2014, there were 926,200 abortions. That’s lower than the 1 million in 1975, but higher than the 898,570 in 1974 and higher than the 744,610 in 1973.

A higher share of abortions are now being done with abortion pills and a lower share are done as surgical abortions. In 2014, the abortion pill accounted for “31% of nonhospital abortions, up from 24% in 2011.”

The study highlighted pro-life laws as a major reason for a decrease in abortions.  Laws that shut down abortion clinics or otherwise make abortion less accessible result in fewer abortions. In years past, pro-choice groups claimed pro-life laws didn’t reduce the number of abortions, but as the number of life-affirming laws increase and the number of abortions decrease, the data is becoming too difficult to ignore.

Guttmacher found that Illinois is #6 in the nation for number of abortions.

Guttmacher also reports that Illinois has the 11^th highest abortion rate, at 16.3%.

More detail on Illinois abortions can be found here.

These statistics do not include the sale of abortifacient drugs and devices which result in newly created humans dying, including birth control, the patch, minipill, NuvaRing, Yaz, Yasmin, IUD’s, Plan B, and Ella. They also do not include the number of unborn humans frozen in IVF clinics and how many of those humans died. Lastly, they do not include any data on embryonic stem cell research where newly created humans are destroyed for the purpose of experimentation.

The abortion statistics come from the Guttmacher Institute, which is a pro-choice organization. Their data matches the trends from the CDC (Center for Disease Control). Since Guttmacher relies on multiple sources of data, its reports are widely viewed as closer to the actual number of abortions than the CDC (the CDC relies on incomplete data because of varying reporting requirements in each state).

The reduction in abortion is good news. However, we know that abortion is still the leading cause of death, by far.

Next: Defund Planned Parenthood

The pro-life movement has the edge right now, and we need to use it! If we can defund Planned Parenthood at the federal level, it will be one of the biggest pro-life victories we have ever experienced.

Planned Parenthood receives over $500 million in tax dollars each year. Over $400 million of those tax dollars come from the federal government and the rest comes from the states. While the Hyde Amendment prevents federal tax dollars from paying directly for abortion, money is fungible.  The federal tax dollars Planned Parenthood receives are used to free up other money to use for abortion.

Planned Parenthood was an ardent opponent of Donald Trump in the election, and they continue to oppose Trump. Multiple times during his campaign, Trump promised to defund Planned Parenthood (here, here, and here). It’s not only a campaign promise, it’s in Trump’s moral interest since Planned Parenthood aborts more humans than anyone else and has a long history of scandals.  It’s also in Trump’s political interest because Planned Parenthood will certainly oppose him in 2020 as they did in this last election, endorsing Hillary and spending tens of millions against him.

Recently, U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan committed to defunding Planned Parenthood during a CNN Town Hall on January 12, 2017. The wheels are in motion for a major pro-life victory, but the votes are very close! We can defund by using a reconciliation process in the U.S. Senate to prevent pro-choice Senators from filibustering, but we must get every pro-life vote in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate to make that happen.

Therefore, major national pro-life organizations from the political and advocacy arenas are calling on the pro-life community to hold a nationwide protest of Planned Parenthood on Saturday, February 11, 2017.  We all need to get involved! We’re on the verge of a huge victory, and our involvement can make the difference.

In Illinois, there are 17 Planned Parenthood locations, but at the time this article is published, only 4 of those clinics have a protest scheduled.

Take ACTION:  You can lead an event. It can be a protest, a picket, a prayer vigil, etc.  Click HERE to select one of the Planned Parenthood locations that does not have an event yet, and sign up at this website to lead an event at that location.

You can purchase signs HERE:

We can make this happen together. We can defund Planned Parenthood. We can save mothers and babies from abortion.

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Planned Parenthood – America’s largest abortion provider – is in an outright panic over the prospect of being stripped of federal funds.

Annually, the abortion giant gets more $500,000,000 from taxpayers. This is why they are predicting the end of the world if lawmakers in DC cut them off the federal dole.

Here’s what Cecil Richards, Planned Parenthood’s CEO had to say about the prospect:

Yet the reality of cutting Planned Parenthood off is good for pretty much everyone. Here are 4 really good things that would happen if Congress defunds Planned Parenthood:

1.)  Community Health Care Clinics would get more funding. According to the Charlotte Lozier Institute and Alliance Defending Freedom, in Illinois, Community Health Clinics outnumber Planned Parenthood 670-18. Nationally, they outnumber Planned Parenthood 13,540-665. The plan to defund Planned Parenthood would redirect that money to these important centers, and the relatively few people that go to Planned Parenthood would have plenty of options to get healthcare.

2.)  Women would get better, more comprehensive care. Remember when Planned Parenthood pretended they provide mammograms? The truth is the organization provides very few services. This means if a low-income woman needs a mammogram or medical attention at a Planned Parenthood clinic, they most likely will be sent to a hospital or a health clinic. Let’s just cut out the middleman.

3.)  Taxpayers would no longer fund abortions. Planned Parenthood likes to say taxpayer dollars don’t pay for abortions because the money they get from the feds is for Medicaid reimbursements. But Planned Parenthood uses the same facility, the same staff, and the same equipment to provide their other (limited) services that they use to perform abortions. Money is fungible, and their argument is weak.

4.)  America would value life a little more. We should never forget the horrible things we witnessed in the David Daleiden undercover videos. It is to our great national shame that we allow these atrocities to continue.

This article was originally posted at CCV.org